Crumbled rusk
Kritonas Salpingtis’s new book, ‘Shattered Toast’, is a gripping crime novel set in Thessaloniki during the Occupation.
‘... it dissolved me with the same ease that a crumbled rusk melts in tea’.
Two old acquaintances, from the 1950s, Telis Dimitrelis, a popular Greek poet, and Alexandros Teflionis, or Alex Teff, a renowned mathematician with a career in the US and author of an internationally successful crime novel, meet after many years in their hometown, Thessaloniki.
This meeting sets off a chain of events, as Dimitrelis takes on the role of detective and unearths a case with its roots in the years of the Occupation: a notorious treasure that legend has it was stolen by the Nazis and buried somewhere in Northern Greece.
The poet Dimitrelis’s first adventure weaves the canvas of a noir novel featuring countless victims, unsolved murders, family interests and the secret services of superpowers, which interact to bring hidden events and secrets to the surface.
- Pages: 564
- ISBN: 978-960-572-256-2
- Publication: 2018
- Date of publication: 29/10/2018
- Dimensions: 13,3 x 20,5 εκ.
- Categories: Literature, Books, Greek Literature
"...Greece in the midst of the crisis is vividly brought to life through the descriptions, as the political element is present in generous doses, taking us back to the dark years of the Occupation. Written with awareness, a deep knowledge of the genre and the necessary sarcastic humour, something that is consistent with the relevant book review the author includes within the narrative: “In Teff’s book, even in his bloodiest descriptions, it is not the depiction of horror that wins you over. It is the search for a solution amidst completely unexpected scenarios that captivates you.”
– Tina Mandilara, LIFO"...It is clear that the author wishes to address a dark period in the history of Thessaloniki, as he subsequently refers to the notorious lawyer Max Merten, a war criminal who held a high office in the city during the Occupation. Drawing on well-known historical events and mentioning those involved in them, he writes a crime novel full of twists and turns, centred on Merten’s treasure...”
– Filippos Filippou, To Vima"...A rich novel, peppered with the author’s sarcastic humour, which offers a scathing commentary on our post-war social and political life, reaching back to the dark years of the Occupation."
– Katerina Schina, The Books' Journal
"..._The Shattered Toast_ is the ‘swan song’ of Kritonas Salpingtis, a great crime writer who ‘passed away’ last month. His final novel – and arguably his finest – is a powerful, multi-layered noir set in Thessaloniki, which uniquely blends poetry, mathematics and history."
– Vasilis Danellis, Athens VoiceKriton Salpingitis
Kriton Salpingitis was born in Thessaloniki in 1947. He studied civil engineering at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and worked as a freelance professional, carrying out studies for both the public and private sectors. He distinguished himself in national architectural competitions. He taught as a part-time lecturer at the Technological Educational Institute of Thessaloniki (1979–1985). Until 2007, he wrote articles for magazines (Gia ti, Entyktirio, Kanonaki, Cine 7), film journals (Fix Carré, Exostis, Proto Plano) and newspapers (Thessaloniki, Makedonia, Eleftherotypia). His books include three further novels, a novella, a historical study, two academic works, whilst two of his texts have also been included in anthologies. He was the creator of the highly popular 1988–89 Northern Greece comedy radio show ‘The Father and the Mother’s Monster’ (ERA, FM 102). He was a founding member of the Hellenic Club of Crime Writers (ELSA) and edited the ‘Crime Library’ series for Aigaion Publications in Nicosia.
