Small-sized reviews, raves, and recommendations.

Mistaken identity, a translation residency, and an impulsive road trip. These conceptual fragments make up Archipelago, by Natalie Bakopoulos. In the novel, the unnamed narrator attends a translation residency on the Dalmation Coast. She reunites with her old friend Luka and they begin a romantic relationship. Amid the passionate feelings, Luka starts calling her Natalia, a version of her that appeared in his novel.

In Archipelago fact and fiction become fluid and entangled. The unnamed narrator doesn’t stop Luka from calling her Natalia. The name is very similar to the actual author’s name, Natalie. Despite its very grounded nature as fiction, it ekes closer to the notion of autofiction. Is this Natalie, this version of the narrator created by Luka, a version of Bakopoulos? Bakopoulos, an academic, is no stranger to residencies and fellowships. She has taught in the United States and Greece.

When Natalia finally separates from Luka, she makes an impulsive road trip back to her home town. On one level, it is a personal journey. But at another – a heightened literary level – it is a subversion of The Odyssey. Instead of a sea voyage, it is over land in a car. Instead of male hero, it is a female protagonist. The interweaving of the ordinary and the mythic play against each other, creating a unique reading experience.