Ismini Kapantai: “Were we turning a blind eye? Were we self-destructive? […] Today we’re simply paying the price, which is greatly inflated, of course. In life, everything—and I mean everything—comes at a cost, and we’d obviously forgotten that.”

To mark the release of her first crime novel, *Asitiki Oikia sto Halandri* (A Townhouse in Halandri), Ismini Kapantai gave an extremely interesting interview to Elpidoforos Intsembelis for diastixo.gr.You can read it below: What inspired you to write the book *Asitiki Oikia sto Halandri*?Recently, I have been trying to understand when and where we went wrong as a society and how we arrived at what we are experiencing today – namely, the crisis, a crisis that is not merely economic, but primarily social. It was only natural, then, to look back to the years that preceded this, the years of false bliss, not so much the 1980s as the 1990s, years during which the certainty had taken root within us that whatever happiness we enjoyed had, and would never have, any cost. At the same time, I should perhaps add that recently I have been rereading, for other reasons of course, the history of the creation of the modern Greek state (Diamantouros, Dertilis, Klog, as well as memoirs of freedom fighters). If one delves into this material, one realises, however unbelievable it may seem, that in so many respects—and these are always the ‘bad’ ones, the negative ones—we remain unchanged in our social behaviour. Experience clearly does not teach us, and we repeat, indeed with passion, the same mistakes. This, I believe, is how the Urban House in Halandri came about.Is the title you chose symbolic, or does it refer to specific people or situations? The title is purely symbolic. From time to time, the issue of social classes in Greece is raised, and specifically the issue of the middle class, sometimes as a question, ‘Does Greece have a middle class?’, and at other times as a definitive conclusion: ‘Greece has never had, nor does it have now, a middle class’. The answer, of course, will eventually be provided by scholars and historians. In *The Bourgeois House* in Halandri, however, some of my fictional characters are, in my view as a writer, a version of the Greek bourgeoisie. In the novel, the main character is Aspasia Arnaouti. Where does she find the strength to assert herself over the whole family?In the Greece of Aspasia Arnaouti’s youth, and whilst gender equality could only exist in the realm of science fiction, it was women who, in essence, ruled their households, and this with the consent of the men. Their roles were, of course, separate and distinct, but the man was always regarded as the head of the household. Let us not forget, however, that during the Ottoman period on many islands, where the seafaring men of the family were away all year round, women took on their roles in all areas of life. This resulted, amongst other things, in the family home being legally bequeathed not to the eldest son, as was the case elsewhere, but to the eldest daughter, also known as the ‘kanakari’. Aspasia is a woman who has fought hard and who knows in advance what lies ahead. Is that enough for her to survive in the business world? Aspasia Arnaouti belongs to a particularly gifted, yet on the other hand terrifying, breed of people, men or women, who have resolved never to be defeated, never to lose, and are, consequently, prepared to pay any price in the game they are playing in order to win, without a second thought. People who do not hesitate to sacrifice everyone and everything – Aspasia in my book not only sacrifices children and grandchildren but, in a sense, by doing so, actually enjoys it. It is the human species that has no inhibitions, the people who, particularly in decadent societies, not only impose themselves but also serve as role models. You are referring to the 1990s. So why did everyone believe that money could buy them everything? Unfortunately, I don’t have an answer to your question. Looking back now, we are all baffled by the naivety that characterised us as a society back then. Were we turning a blind eye? Were we self-destructive? I don’t know, but when we look back, we are astonished to realise how readily we accepted all the positives (the ‘free’ positives) without ever asking ourselves how they came about or why. Today we’re simply paying the price, which is, of course, vastly inflated. In life, everything—and I mean everything—comes at a cost, and we’d obviously forgotten that. You describe harsh situations and, more importantly, the exploitation of people. Is there no justice to punish those who use the weak as pawns to achieve their goal, which is profit? Justice has always existed and continues to exist, but alongside it there is also institutional corruption, which flourishes in periods of social decline. The society in which my characters live is clearly in decline. Mitrodora, or Dori, is playing with fire. Is she perhaps overstepping the boundaries set for her? I wouldn’t say so. Who, after all, sets these specific ‘boundaries’, as you call them, and when? Are they always the same, in every era? Dori grew up and lives in an environment where the only thing that matters is ‘how much you have’, and certainly not how you acquired it. It is a society where the main and primary concern of those who make it up is ostentation. Dori, too, is a member of this society of ‘appearances’, and acts accordingly. The standards were set by others and Dori operates according to them; I would consider her more of a victim, and by no means a perpetrator. Blackmail, underhand dealings, fraud. Do all these things coexist in the daily lives of businesspeople, or do they belong to the realm of fantasy? I consider ‘daily’ to be an exaggeration. Alas, surely in every field there are also the honest, the worthy, those who do not cheat or blackmail to succeed. The successful, yet dishonest, who are accepted without hesitation by society, and in many cases even serve as role models, existed back then and, unfortunately, continue to exist today. A glance at the newspapers, or listening to the radio and watching television, is enough to see this. And then a murder takes place. Is it a consequence of the abuse of society’s unwritten laws? Certainly, and not only of the unwritten laws but also of the written ones. It is not the commandment ‘Thou shalt not kill’ that has prevented us and continues to prevent us from getting rid of anyone who, at any moment, annoys us. There is also the criminal justice system, which, however, is violated with alarming ease by those in power – those with money and access to the so-called ‘deep state’, that is who I mean. On the other hand, we have police officer Christou. What makes him charismatic? Christou is a man of the people who set himself goals early in life. He is intelligent, ambitious, hard-working and methodical, so it is only natural that he succeeds most of the time. Let us not forget, however, the factor of luck, as well as his harmonious working relationship—which is his own choice—both with his superior and with his subordinate, with whom he develops another kind of relationship: a romantic one. At one point you write that Christos reads crime novels. Could something like that happen in real life? Personally, I haven’t yet had the chance in my life to come into contact with people working in that particular field so as to exchange views with them on literature; I cannot, therefore, know whether this is the case, that is, whether police officers enjoy reading crime novels, but why not? I would, in fact, consider it highly likely. After all, we know that crime novels are popular with the reading public, far more so than many other genres. And, as always, the presence of romance. Is this also one of the factors that makes the novel more interesting?In my novel, as you will have seen, there are many characters. They are men, they are women, young or not so young; it would be natural and to be expected, I think, for love to arise between them at some point, just as it does in real life.How do you use suspense to keep the reader hooked and engaged? In a good crime novel, there is always ‘suspense’ and, if you’d like my opinion, I believe there is plenty of it in *The City House*. However, as I am the author and may be biased, we will have to wait for those who read it to provide the answer that really matters to your question. I would, however, like to pose another question here. Is it only the suspense that keeps the reader hooked on a crime novel? My personal view, as a member of the reading public now, is that suspense alone is not enough. You need well-developed characters, above all, and a plot that rings true. Which crime writers do you like? Many, from the classics like Simenon, Conan Doyle, Hammett, James; I’ve also recently read Jo Nesbø, but my favourite remains Agatha Christie with her unsurpassed *And Then There Were None*.Why are so many crime novels being published lately? I believe a publisher would give you the most authoritative answer to that question. However, with the economy in its current state – that is, with the crisis that has literally crushed the market across all sectors – I imagine that publishers prefer them because crime novels have always sold very well and consistently.