Theo Panayides tells the stories of 60 very different people, taken from the many hundreds he’s interviewed over the years for the Cyprus Mail newspaper.
Author/Photographer: Theo Panayides
€18.00
“For the past 10 years, since February 2009, I’ve been writing the Sunday profiles for the Cyprus Mail newspaper…”
Theo Panayides tells the stories of 60 very different people, taken from the many hundreds he’s interviewed over the years. All human life is here – from a humble street sweeper to a former President, from a pig farmer to a millionaire businessman, from a lifelong drifter to a pastry chef turned Iraqi refugee, from an LGBTI activist to a mystic who claims to have spoken to Jesus.
World-champion freediver William Trubridge is here. Bestselling British novelist Victoria Hislop is here too. Some lives have been successful, others tragic. One man lost his family in the Rwandan genocide, another in the Turkish invasion of Cyprus.
Some of the stories are emotional; many are feelgood. Most relate in some way to Cyprus, the Mediterranean island where Panayides is based. With a smart, highly readable style and a deep compassion, he reveals the personalities of his very diverse subjects – though also finds himself returning often to the same questions of Time passing and life turning out unexpectedly, finding many of the same hopes and fears in these very different lives. Are they – and we – really so different, after all?
Panayides is such a terrific writer and interviewer that I still remember profiles he wrote from 10 years ago. His characters jump off the page. Most are Cypriots, including visitors from the diaspora. And they’re from all walks of life… Entertaining, intelligent, highly recommended.
Mike Theodoulou former Middle East correspondent for The Times (London)
Theo Panayides has compiled a unique reading experience: introducing readers to sixty different lives from the rich and famous to the lowly and dispossessed, capturing not only their unique story but more importantly their essence.
Richard Romanus Actor and Author
“Included in this anthology…“]
Latif Yahia, double for Saddam Hussein’s son
Arie Zeev Raskin, chief rabbi of Cyprus
Mike Togni, circus clown
Evie Michael Katsiola, street sweeper
Klaus Kenneth, the man who spoke to Jesus
Photos Photiades, business mogul
Andreas Artemiou, animal doctor
Dinos Tellalis, 60s hippy
Petros Souppouris, childhood victim of the Turkish invasion
Dr. Naasson Munyandamutsa, survivor of the Rwandan genocide
Tim Hunt, Nobel Prize-winning scientist
George Vasiliou, former President of the Republic
Yolanda Lang, “an interesting life”
Eleni Meleagrou, “the Cypriot terrorist”
Hermes Angeloudis, meetings with glamorous people
Deniz Birinci, frustrated high achiever
Christodoulos Angastiniotis, small businessman and patriot
Michalis Paraskevas, fiery lawyer
Rasul Yagudin, Russian fugitive
Nikos Lygeros, genius
Nadir Yousif, refugee and former pastry chef
Jacques-Marie Bardintzeff, enthusiastic volcanologist
Patrick Byrne, 49-year-old busker
Stephane Fissentzides, nostalgic architect
Stelana Kliris, committed Cypriot filmmaker
Victoria Hislop, a rogue streak of southern European
Sergio Canavero, maverick scientist
Pambos Ioannou, kebab-shop owner
Costas Schiniou, actor and children’s entertainer
Sean O’Neill, wandering restaurateur
Marios Kittiras, former junkie
Kim Longinotto, documentary filmmaker
William Trubridge, world-champion freediver
‘Fidel’, disruptive influence
Janet Zenonos, soldier, lawyer, cancer survivor
Kyriacos Kyriacou, tetraplegic ‘mouth painter’
James Ker-Lindsay, academic and friend of Cyprus
Mrs. Santa, the force behind Christmas
Anna Aristotelous, prison chief
Gloria Kassianides, art-gallery owner
Christakis Neophytou, pig farmer
Maroulla Violari-Iacovidou, the first female journalist
Michele Valley, cult film actress
Albert Kagalksi, Krav Maga expert
Edie Meidav, American author, intrigued by islands
Kyriakos Philippides, 97-year-old juice seller
Marios Ioannou, a sense of drama
George Tardios, working-class poet
Dean Psaras, lifelong drifter
Sener Levent, persecuted newspaper owner
Robin Chater, “a strange fish”
Marios Georgiou, Olympic gymnast
John Zacharias Theophanous, LGBTI activist
Demetrios Pierides, culture maven and local aristocrat
Avgoustinos Papadopoulos, lifeguard
Haig Indjirdjian, angry antiques dealer
Maria Hassabi, Bessie-winning dancer/choreographer
Christopher Morris, BBC reporter and war correspondent
Father Panaretos (Samuel Kimani), Kenyan-born Orthodox priest
Helen Christofi, Comic Con organiser
| ISBN | |
|---|---|
| Writer | |
| Year | 2019 |
| Edition | 1st |
