The Clover House

First generation Greek-American Callie Notaris Brown has little connection to the homeland her mother fled. But an unexpected inheritance from her Uncle Nestor draws Callie back to Greece for the first time since childhood. Leaving her fianc%C3%A9e behind, she reconnects with relatives and searches for her once wealthy family's lost farm. Soon Callie is drawn into the local Carnival celebration and away from broiling family turmoil. Alongside revelers, Callie journeys into the countryside to find the family farm in spite of a local cousin who mocks her obsession with a past that cannot be traced. Prodded along by cassettes, videos, and pictures found in Uncle Nestor's house, Callie discovers not only the key to the family's wartime misfortunes, but also the source of her mother's complicated ties to Greece. Power does little to freshen this well-worn tale of an immigrant seeking closure in their ancestral homeland. While the family has a compelling legacy, Callie's present-day actions%E2%80%94an unconvincing will-she-or-won't she marriage plot%E2%80%94diminish that story's power. This slow-to-start, seemingly autobiographical novel never opens up enough to transcend the familiarity of its foundation. Agent: Kent D. Wolf, Global Literary Management. (Apr.)