After a summer which saw the British Museum plagued by thefts and added weight to Greece’s desire to see their ancient artefacts returned home, the arrival of Victoria Hislop’s new novel could not be timelier. The author has become synonymous with the Mediterranean country in recent years, and The Figurine is her most impassioned and overtly political story yet.
Like the Elgin Marbles before her, protagonist Helena hails from Greece but lives in Britain, returning to her native land each summer to visit her grandparents. It is during one such holiday that she first encounters the Cycladic figurine, a stark and enigmatic celebration of the female form, first created during the Bronze Age. Entranced by its beauty, she signs up to take part in an archaeological dig only to find herself unwittingly drawn into the dangerous, high-stakes world of illegal smuggling and cultural desecration.
What follows is an engaging, overly long but impeccably researched exploration of the tenuous, often highly contentious link between the past and present, and the difference between ownership and appropriation. There’s certainly treasure to be found here, but you have to dig a little deeper compared to Hislop’s other works in order to reach it.
The Figurine, Victoria Hislop (Headline)
Price: £11.99/£29.99 audiobook. Info: here
words RACHEL REES
Victoria will be launching The Figurine in person at Griffin Books, Penarth on Thurs 28 Sept. Doors 2.30pm; info here.