Featured Interview With Alex Athanassakos
Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was born and raised in Greece, but now I live in Toronto, where I moved in 1979. I initially came to Toronto to visit my brother, but fell in love with economics and stayed to do a graduate degree on that subject.
I don’t have any pets, but I do have two sons.
At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I have always loved reading. By grade 11 I had even compiled a list of “must” reads that included HG Wells’ World History, Marx’s Das Capital and Plato’s Republic.
This particular book (i.e., Our Travels with Alexander) I began writing 24 years ago when we returned to Canada from our year off.
Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
Some of my favorite authors include: Graham Green (the title of my book is a play on one of his books “Travels with my Aunt”), Par Lagerkvist, Xenophon, and Harry Mulisch.
My favorite genre is history. However, I find that contemporary history books read more like fiction these days. So I began reading the “original” texts of ancient writers. I started with Herodotus and in 3 years I have reached Dios Cassius. I believe I will stop when I reach the 16th century authors since, owing to the invention of the printing press, a lifetime will not be enough to read everything that was published after that.
I also like science books, especially biographies, and went I go to bed I usually read fiction (books about saving the world from impending disaster).
Tell us a little about your latest book?
The book describes a year off in France through the wines, food, culture and history of Burgundy, Provence and Dordogne. The adventures of a new family whose original plan never included the challenges of travelling with a toddler are intended to show that raising a baby and living the dream, while not easy, can be funny, enlightening and worthwhile. While this is a how-to for all those parents who plan to live differently, even if it is only for a short time, it is also an in depth exploration of what makes France famous for “la belle vie”.
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