Cavafy Gets a Back Story
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What’s Left of The Night
by Ersi Sotiropoulos
Translated by Karen Emmerich
New Vessel Press.  257 pages, $16.95

THIS IMAGINATIVE NOVEL tells the story of the early years of the poet C. P. Cavafy when he was simply Constantine. Set during three days in Paris in 1897 while Cavafy is traveling with his older brother, it shows him slowly discovering his voice and subject matter while exploring the city and remembering its history.

         Much of the action takes place in Constantine’s mind as he wanders Paris alone and with his brother John or with a fellow Alexandrian, Nikos Mardaras, secretary to the French poet Jean Moreas.

Charles Green is a writer based in Annapolis, Maryland.