What do you think?
Rate this book
Finger of an Angel
Lily's journey on a long winding road and beyond
After a loved-up adventure in a wood in North London, sixty-odd-year-old Lily drives off in her Classic Mercedes and takes a wrong turn. The day is unbearably hot, and the snazzy car’s air-con is broken, blowing out hot air instead of cold. Lily follows the meandering road in a state of dehydration, and experiences a series of encounters with angels and demons and ghosts from the past.
As time begins to travel backwards, Lily knows that very soon she will find her way back to the city. But even when eventually she does, events nearer home seem to mirror her encounters on the long winding road that disappeared.
After a loved-up adventure in a wood in North London, sixty-odd-year-old Lily drives off in her Classic Mercedes and takes a wrong turn. The day is unbearably hot, and the snazzy car’s air-con is broken, blowing out hot air instead of cold. Lily follows the meandering road in a state of dehydration, and experiences a series of encounters with angels and demons and ghosts from the past.
As time begins to travel backwards, Lily knows that very soon she will find her way back to the city. But even when eventually she does, events nearer home seem to mirror her encounters on the long winding road that disappeared.
167 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 5, 2019
217 people are currently reading
205 people want to read
About the author
Panayotis Cacoyannis
10 books131 followersPanayotis had a magical childhood growing up in a small seaside town in Cyprus. After two years as an army conscript (at a time when the island suffered first a military coup and then an invasion), he travelled to Britain where he studied law at Oxford and qualified to practise at the Bar. Having then decided (very wisely) that he didn't want to be a lawyer, he also graduated art school, and for many happy years he worked as a painter and sculptor, until a spell of artist's block led to a very short course in creative writing...
For the moment at least, Panayotis has no plans (not to mention the energy or any trace of talent) to embark on a fourth career. His time now exclusively devoted to writing, he lives in London but travels to Cyprus often, to visit friends and family and be near the sea. Aside from reading, writing and playing with his cat, his favorite pastime is going to the movies, and ever since his friend/therapist/barber recommended The Sopranos, he has also discovered good TV.
If anyone would like to get in touch with him, or get regular updates, including news about discounts and giveaways, a newsletter subscription form and a contact email address can be found on his website, where you can also see examples of his artwork.
For the moment at least, Panayotis has no plans (not to mention the energy or any trace of talent) to embark on a fourth career. His time now exclusively devoted to writing, he lives in London but travels to Cyprus often, to visit friends and family and be near the sea. Aside from reading, writing and playing with his cat, his favorite pastime is going to the movies, and ever since his friend/therapist/barber recommended The Sopranos, he has also discovered good TV.
If anyone would like to get in touch with him, or get regular updates, including news about discounts and giveaways, a newsletter subscription form and a contact email address can be found on his website, where you can also see examples of his artwork.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 53 reviews
April 16, 2019
Finger of an Angel by Panayotis Cacoyannis introduces us to Lily the sixty year old protagonist who goes on a spiritual journey. Blending realism with time travel and mind bending experiences, the author takes us down an interesting road. As Lily shares her sexual encounters in the woods, cavorting with men, drinking her bloody marys and freaking out about flies, we rally behind her to make sense of her life. There is a fine line between fiction and reality in all of our lives, Lily just seems to lurk in the in between spaces more. Maybe this is how she copes with tragic loss that has infused her life. This is mystical and magical writing, the author well versed in keeping the reader on his or her toes. When you think logically things should veer one way in the story, they go another. Wholly unique and a challenging read, this book is highly recommended.
May 31, 2019
Finger of an Angel knows what it wants to say, and knows how to not outstay its welcome. In fact, this story will stay with you after you read the closing line and stay welcome in your mind and memories.
The dialogue flows like butter, often starting off short and snappy before easing into longer sentences as characters become more comfortable with each other. This can be said about the book as a whole, too. It starts off mysterious and unknown before drawing you in with its poetic speech and story.
All in all the book is about a journey, following a lot of different interlinking characters and how they fit into the world that Cacoyannis has created. The conflict is genuine and believable, especially when it is conflict that passes from one generation to another.
Lilly is out of her time and depth, but also is an incredible character to follow as her journey develops. She becomes more aware and, in a sense, reborn by the end proving that age is just a number.
A great read, would highly recommend.
The dialogue flows like butter, often starting off short and snappy before easing into longer sentences as characters become more comfortable with each other. This can be said about the book as a whole, too. It starts off mysterious and unknown before drawing you in with its poetic speech and story.
All in all the book is about a journey, following a lot of different interlinking characters and how they fit into the world that Cacoyannis has created. The conflict is genuine and believable, especially when it is conflict that passes from one generation to another.
Lilly is out of her time and depth, but also is an incredible character to follow as her journey develops. She becomes more aware and, in a sense, reborn by the end proving that age is just a number.
A great read, would highly recommend.
May 16, 2019
What an awesome book. Lily has quickly topped the list of my favorite book characters. Smartly written and incredibly insightful, this is definitely not a mindless read. You have to have your head in the game for this novel, but it's so worth it.
April 8, 2019
In some ways reminiscent of the author's Bowl of Fruit, its focus is the line between reality and fiction. If we examine them closely, all our worlds consist of more fictions than we care to admit.
The writing reminded me of A Single Man, there's not a single word out of place. But Finger of an Angel is a much warmer book.
The writing reminded me of A Single Man, there's not a single word out of place. But Finger of an Angel is a much warmer book.
April 7, 2019
Five stars for the long winding road that disappeared, and for the voice that helped Lily survive. Striking imagery, of a fly, of a wood, of a deer, of men's swinging private parts during Naked Yoga...
April 15, 2019
My radio has just told me I should give this book five stars...
September 12, 2019
This is not an easy read. Page by page, you melt into a world of heat, loss (literal and figurative) and ghosts. It felt like one of those disturbing yet gripping dreams you often see right before you wake up and can't shake the whole day.
Most the story takes place in the past or in the imagined reality of the narrator, Lily, a 60-something who's trying to deal with the trauma of her past by seeking out casual sexual encounters with strangers. The trauma is a heavy one, the death of a child, I will not say more because uncovering what haunts this woman is one of the main and few bits of actions of the story.
The prose is lyrical and indulgent and the entire novel takes place within one or two scenes and reads like a play.
Most the story takes place in the past or in the imagined reality of the narrator, Lily, a 60-something who's trying to deal with the trauma of her past by seeking out casual sexual encounters with strangers. The trauma is a heavy one, the death of a child, I will not say more because uncovering what haunts this woman is one of the main and few bits of actions of the story.
The prose is lyrical and indulgent and the entire novel takes place within one or two scenes and reads like a play.
April 18, 2019
Finger of an Angel is a day and night-long journey with Lily (which seems to cover most of her adult life), who may be completely mad, but is definitely delightful; Bella, her imaginary friend from naked yoga; Bob the Blob, Lily’s one true love whom she met this morning when she was Barbarella; Gemma, Lily’s dull daughter; Noah, Gemma’s stick-in-the mud boyfriend who Lily doesn’t like; and Patrick, Lily’s closest friend and neighbor who she met previously, in a brief interlude, when she was the Mercedes bird, but reacquainted herself with this afternoon on this journey.
It includes possible heat stroke, visions, time travel, the heartbreaking death of a child, suicide/murder, love, and family drama. So much in such a short story. This is all told with Panayotis Cacoyannis’ refined storytelling grace, which always reminds me of a simpler time than the one in which we currently live.
It’s a quick read, but one that will stick with you. I keep re-living it in my mind, especially the conversations between Lily and Bella. I want to meet Lily and maybe be her when I grow up. You’ll love her!
It includes possible heat stroke, visions, time travel, the heartbreaking death of a child, suicide/murder, love, and family drama. So much in such a short story. This is all told with Panayotis Cacoyannis’ refined storytelling grace, which always reminds me of a simpler time than the one in which we currently live.
It’s a quick read, but one that will stick with you. I keep re-living it in my mind, especially the conversations between Lily and Bella. I want to meet Lily and maybe be her when I grow up. You’ll love her!
April 19, 2019
Each time I read a novel by Panayotis Cacoyannis I feel that I’ve met a new friend. Finger of an Angel gave me Lily, a worldly woman in her 60s, who is smart, funny, kind, and not afraid to live her life on her own terms. This enchanting story allows us to accompany Lily on a surreal journey in that begins with an early morning tryst in the forest. As we travel with Lily in her classic Mercedes down a seemingly endless road, we cross the tenuous line between magic and reality. It’s a long journey, and not always pleasant, but when it’s over, Lily’s life is changed forever.
April 30, 2019
Cacoyannis seems preoccupied with madness, specifically the madness of grief. He has a magical, lyrical touch, combining elegance, humanity and humour.
December 6, 2019
Beware of oversharing reviewers! I don't want to call anyone out, but if you keep scrolling and reading these, there is at least one that exceeds good boundaries for a synopsis. IMHO at any rate; I'm quite relieved to have read the book before the reviews! I never do the synopsis thing myself anyway, too many of you are too good at writing them. Isn't it all about how a book makes you feel? Remember? Learn? To open a door, invite something new in?
Cacoyannis has done that consistently for me. I'm not sure I ever would have come across his work if not for a kindle giveaway. I praise authors and publishers for this practice, because if you keep at it and scroll past dozens of cozy mysteries featuring the likes of witches, cupcake bakers and psychic pets (no offense meant, cozy mysteries serve a purpose...I suppose), you occasionally come across something truly worthwhile. Bowl of Fruit sat on my kindle for some time before rising to the top of the heap, and I've been hooked ever since. I'm even a paying customer now!
It's the characters that I really fall for, and you're going to really root for Lily. The author has a great touch with characters that have had some sort of trauma and live on the fringe, but ultimately end up in a better place, sometimes magically so....
Cacoyannis has done that consistently for me. I'm not sure I ever would have come across his work if not for a kindle giveaway. I praise authors and publishers for this practice, because if you keep at it and scroll past dozens of cozy mysteries featuring the likes of witches, cupcake bakers and psychic pets (no offense meant, cozy mysteries serve a purpose...I suppose), you occasionally come across something truly worthwhile. Bowl of Fruit sat on my kindle for some time before rising to the top of the heap, and I've been hooked ever since. I'm even a paying customer now!
It's the characters that I really fall for, and you're going to really root for Lily. The author has a great touch with characters that have had some sort of trauma and live on the fringe, but ultimately end up in a better place, sometimes magically so....
April 16, 2019
As stunning as that of Bowl of Fruit, its imagery is amplified with noises, voices and songs. A quotation from the book that sums it up: "the invisible and visible joined in men and women to drive at least some of them to look at the stars."
April 5, 2019
Meet Lily, 60 years old, still searching for men in all the wrong places. She is in her ancient Mercedes whose air conditioning seems to have failed on this blistering day. Lily's hobby is meeting inappropriate men from a sleezy hook-up dating site, and screwing their brains out in the woods outside of London. She seems to enjoy herself. Dang. I should give up needlepoint and reconsider my hobby options.
She has a grown daughter, Gemma, who has a dull and irritating boyfriend. Neither Gemma nor the boyfriend approve of Lily, but then again, Lily doesn't approve of them either. Lily also has a friend, Bella. They go to Naked Yoga together. Kudos for having the courage to display her 60-year-old body at Naked Yoga. Turns out Bella is not what you would call real. She is a Figment that Lily created 30 years ago when her 8-year-old son drowned in the bathtub while in the care of her husband, while she was out doing the horizontal hula with another fella. Shortly after, the husband fell to his death in front of a subway train. Did Lily push him? Did he jump? Will we Gentle Readers ever know? But whatever, he left her a bundle from a business of which she was ignorant, but appreciative.
After an encounter in the woods, when Lily's car starts to act up, Lily tries to get home quickly, takes a wrong turn, and finds herself on an endless road to nowhere, where she meets a couple of baddies, a deer, a fly whom she believes is the embodiment of her dead son, or else an angel called Ithuriel. Then a mysterious wasp. Then her dead husband with whom she has a disturbing three-way conversation which included the disembodied Bella.
Time becomes flexible, moving forward and backward with alarming casualness. If time seems to be moving backwards, does that make us time travelers? We Gentle Readers become confused, first being certain that Lily is having hallucinations, then, no it actually is all happening, then deciding she is suffering delusions, then no, it is real, then thinking possibly we have been transported like time travelers, and finally wishing we had a drink, along with Lily who seems to be becoming dehydrated.
Lily finally reaches home, and is visited in the wee hours by a young male neighbor checking to see that she is OK, then her new suitor from the woods, then her daughter and boyfriend, to tell her they got married a couple of days ago, to which wedding Lily was not invited.
This last third of the book reads like one of those old Oscar Wilde farces, with all these people arriving at these weird hours and the witty, as it were, conversation going on.Some threads are never exactly tied up, some things remain elusive to us, and some situations resolve themselves quite satisfactorily. Just like life, actually.
So, basically, this book is an examination of what the mind is capable of in its attempt to keep itself healthy and functioning. Or it's about angels. Or it's about ghosts.
Cacoyannis is an interesting and inventive writer, and I am always delighted to see in what new direction he has gone.
She has a grown daughter, Gemma, who has a dull and irritating boyfriend. Neither Gemma nor the boyfriend approve of Lily, but then again, Lily doesn't approve of them either. Lily also has a friend, Bella. They go to Naked Yoga together. Kudos for having the courage to display her 60-year-old body at Naked Yoga. Turns out Bella is not what you would call real. She is a Figment that Lily created 30 years ago when her 8-year-old son drowned in the bathtub while in the care of her husband, while she was out doing the horizontal hula with another fella. Shortly after, the husband fell to his death in front of a subway train. Did Lily push him? Did he jump? Will we Gentle Readers ever know? But whatever, he left her a bundle from a business of which she was ignorant, but appreciative.
After an encounter in the woods, when Lily's car starts to act up, Lily tries to get home quickly, takes a wrong turn, and finds herself on an endless road to nowhere, where she meets a couple of baddies, a deer, a fly whom she believes is the embodiment of her dead son, or else an angel called Ithuriel. Then a mysterious wasp. Then her dead husband with whom she has a disturbing three-way conversation which included the disembodied Bella.
Time becomes flexible, moving forward and backward with alarming casualness. If time seems to be moving backwards, does that make us time travelers? We Gentle Readers become confused, first being certain that Lily is having hallucinations, then, no it actually is all happening, then deciding she is suffering delusions, then no, it is real, then thinking possibly we have been transported like time travelers, and finally wishing we had a drink, along with Lily who seems to be becoming dehydrated.
Lily finally reaches home, and is visited in the wee hours by a young male neighbor checking to see that she is OK, then her new suitor from the woods, then her daughter and boyfriend, to tell her they got married a couple of days ago, to which wedding Lily was not invited.
This last third of the book reads like one of those old Oscar Wilde farces, with all these people arriving at these weird hours and the witty, as it were, conversation going on.Some threads are never exactly tied up, some things remain elusive to us, and some situations resolve themselves quite satisfactorily. Just like life, actually.
So, basically, this book is an examination of what the mind is capable of in its attempt to keep itself healthy and functioning. Or it's about angels. Or it's about ghosts.
Cacoyannis is an interesting and inventive writer, and I am always delighted to see in what new direction he has gone.
May 7, 2019
Cacoyannis has a very particular way of writing that, despite being unusual, is capable of attracting people. Even better, it is able to stick with readers long before they finish the book.
Finger of an Angel is, once again, a great reminder of the author’s talent. He’s capable of blurring the lines between reality and a delusional state, giving us an intense psychological thriller, a story that dwelves into one’s madness, grief, hopes, dreams and lust. In a short story, the author forces to look into Lily’s inside world, reflecting on her experiences and her own journey. Beautifully written, it’s raw and sensitive and unapologetic in all its glory. Lily and her story are a great mirror pointed to every reader and we’ll all be able to find something that resonates with us. And that is what makes Cacoyannis writing so powerful.
Finger of an Angel is, once again, a great reminder of the author’s talent. He’s capable of blurring the lines between reality and a delusional state, giving us an intense psychological thriller, a story that dwelves into one’s madness, grief, hopes, dreams and lust. In a short story, the author forces to look into Lily’s inside world, reflecting on her experiences and her own journey. Beautifully written, it’s raw and sensitive and unapologetic in all its glory. Lily and her story are a great mirror pointed to every reader and we’ll all be able to find something that resonates with us. And that is what makes Cacoyannis writing so powerful.
April 26, 2019
Always countering sentimentality with irony and humour, what all the author’s books have in common are central relationships that in some way are “other” - between James and June in The Dead of August, Jack/Leon/Angel and Anna in Bowl of Fruit, Adam and Eva in Polk, Harper & Who, Jane and Mia-Mia/Jack in The Madness of Grief, and finally between the different parts of Lily in Finger of an Angel. For me it's their complexity (and often the absurdity of their detail) that makes these books such fun.
September 8, 2020
Lily is a hoot! It's a fun, psychedelic and scary ride with her and Bella on the road to nowhere, but I kept worrying that she might miss her date with Bob! I shed some tears when Frank showed up and loved meeting Lily's friend Patrick. All of these characters are complicated as you can expect from Panayotis Cacoyannis. You can also expect some welcome and sophisticated humor, as well as much pathos for the human condition and understanding of deep loneliness. This is another of this author's most remarkable works.
April 15, 2019
PRRR...
(Sound of satisfaction)
(Sound of satisfaction)
April 19, 2019
Spellbinding fiction full of wonder and awe. Even if not all of it makes sense, none of it is nonsense.
December 25, 2019
Reading this very short novel was like enjoying a delicious dessert after feasting on The Madness of Grief, which was recommended to me by my brother. I've now recommended The Dead of August to him. It's cool to find good books by unknown authors every now and again, or am I wrong that Cacoyannis is unknown?
June 3, 2019
FINGER OF AN ANGEL is a novella that throws the reader off balance in a fun and humorous manner with a free-spirited protagonist. Lily, a mature woman, gets lost driving to her home in Convent Gardens after having a sexy romp in the woods. As she is driving and trying to find the right road, she talks to her imaginary friend and relieves traumatic memories of her late son and abusive husband. Despite the dramatic turns in the novella, there are sweet scenes that show the love between her and her demure adult daughter. Cacoyannis manages to immerse the reader in vivid details to the point where the reader feels that they are in the same hot Mercedes Benz car as Lily and are experiencing her emotions. It is a great novel, and I am looking forward to more writings from this author!
May 24, 2019
Fantastic book, in every sense. A body-and-soul adventure and battle for survival. Flawed but bold, stable enough to have invented Bella, unstable enough to have needed to, Lily is one formidable woman.
June 14, 2021
Lily is bonkers
Lily has a screw loose, but she’s a good person in every way that matters. Bob’s a charming man.
Naked yoga.
Lily has a screw loose, but she’s a good person in every way that matters. Bob’s a charming man.
Naked yoga.
May 25, 2019
Following on from my review of The Madness of Grief, this really is a devilish book, and another devilish triumph, with an appearance by the devil incarnate himself!
May 25, 2019
Carnal scenes of bodily excess, hazy trips through mind-blowing mental landscapes, early morning family troubles laced with early morning triple Bloody Marys...
The book deals with difficult subject with visionary humour, insightfully, and always sympathetically.
The book deals with difficult subject with visionary humour, insightfully, and always sympathetically.
May 26, 2019
A book that celebrates life!
British author Panayotis Cacoyannis was born and grew up in Cyprus, studied Law at Oxford, and then moved to London and qualified to practice at the Bar. The Legal landscape was not to his liking so he changed careers and entered Art School. Winning a Degree in Fine Art, and an MA in Painting from the Royal College of Art, he spent his next years painting and sculpting. Another career step directed him to courses in Creative Writing. So in his debut novel THE DEAD OF AUGUST be tossed in all prior experience and out came a novel that is a delight to read on many levels. Cacoyannis seems to have a penchant for satire and parody and has absorbed that inherently British sense of comedy touched with Cyprian flavors that makes his writing not only entertaining but lightens our own lives a bit - seeing how absurdity just may be the best medicine for surviving at the moment! Much the same can be said about his subsequent novels – BOWL OF FRUIT (1907), POLK, HARPER & WHO, THE MADNESS OF GRIEF, and now FINGER OF AN ANGEL - only now the increasing sophistication of how Panayotis dissects the meanderings of an aging mind as touched by madness is even more apparent.
How best to meet a our main characters than in a strange incident that opens the story – ‘GRRR…It was the middle of a Saturday in the middle of July, the hottest hour of the hottest day of the hottest month since records began, and the aid-con in Lily’s old Mercedes was broken. GRRR, it went, but instead of icy cold, the air it blew out at her was hot, scorchingly hot. Lily swore under her breath and waved a fist at it’ ‘You stupid, stupid machine!’ GRRR, it roared back at her thunderously, tearing at her throat with eh hardness of its heat. ‘Come on now, old friend.’ A measure of appeasement might succeed where threats and rudeness had failed. Discovering her fist, Lily had already soft-landed wiggling fingers on the grill of the air-con, to pet it as though stroking a cat. ‘Please will you stop?’…’
The story surveys many aspects of living life and is well tallied in the Panayotis’ own synopsis – ‘Tense, funny and bold, FINGER OF AN ANGEL tells the story of how Lily, a woman stricken by grief at a young age, has built around her a world of make-believe that has helped her survive. With a grown-up daughter now, she dates men for casual sex in an exclusive wood in North London, having been saved from the depths of her despair by a voice in her head that has become her friend, protector and constant companion. On the day when her disapproving daughter has behaved appallingly, Lily gets lost on a long country lane, where in various guises the past catches up with her. If anything, this makes her even stronger, and she returns invigorated to the city, ready for its challenges and affronts.’
Panayotis Cacoyannis, now in this third career, seems to have found his niche. Though spend some time and look at his collected drawings, paintings, collages, and constructions and see the same quality of tongue in cheek and sensitive humor. The man has talent! Highly recommended.
British author Panayotis Cacoyannis was born and grew up in Cyprus, studied Law at Oxford, and then moved to London and qualified to practice at the Bar. The Legal landscape was not to his liking so he changed careers and entered Art School. Winning a Degree in Fine Art, and an MA in Painting from the Royal College of Art, he spent his next years painting and sculpting. Another career step directed him to courses in Creative Writing. So in his debut novel THE DEAD OF AUGUST be tossed in all prior experience and out came a novel that is a delight to read on many levels. Cacoyannis seems to have a penchant for satire and parody and has absorbed that inherently British sense of comedy touched with Cyprian flavors that makes his writing not only entertaining but lightens our own lives a bit - seeing how absurdity just may be the best medicine for surviving at the moment! Much the same can be said about his subsequent novels – BOWL OF FRUIT (1907), POLK, HARPER & WHO, THE MADNESS OF GRIEF, and now FINGER OF AN ANGEL - only now the increasing sophistication of how Panayotis dissects the meanderings of an aging mind as touched by madness is even more apparent.
How best to meet a our main characters than in a strange incident that opens the story – ‘GRRR…It was the middle of a Saturday in the middle of July, the hottest hour of the hottest day of the hottest month since records began, and the aid-con in Lily’s old Mercedes was broken. GRRR, it went, but instead of icy cold, the air it blew out at her was hot, scorchingly hot. Lily swore under her breath and waved a fist at it’ ‘You stupid, stupid machine!’ GRRR, it roared back at her thunderously, tearing at her throat with eh hardness of its heat. ‘Come on now, old friend.’ A measure of appeasement might succeed where threats and rudeness had failed. Discovering her fist, Lily had already soft-landed wiggling fingers on the grill of the air-con, to pet it as though stroking a cat. ‘Please will you stop?’…’
The story surveys many aspects of living life and is well tallied in the Panayotis’ own synopsis – ‘Tense, funny and bold, FINGER OF AN ANGEL tells the story of how Lily, a woman stricken by grief at a young age, has built around her a world of make-believe that has helped her survive. With a grown-up daughter now, she dates men for casual sex in an exclusive wood in North London, having been saved from the depths of her despair by a voice in her head that has become her friend, protector and constant companion. On the day when her disapproving daughter has behaved appallingly, Lily gets lost on a long country lane, where in various guises the past catches up with her. If anything, this makes her even stronger, and she returns invigorated to the city, ready for its challenges and affronts.’
Panayotis Cacoyannis, now in this third career, seems to have found his niche. Though spend some time and look at his collected drawings, paintings, collages, and constructions and see the same quality of tongue in cheek and sensitive humor. The man has talent! Highly recommended.
May 27, 2019
I must start by saying that I did become attached to Lily...I was rooting for her...I felt her pain over losing people close to her and I can appreciate the safety net she built for herself in her imaginary friend, Bella. Many of us live inside our heads as Lily is doing here...we build walls to keep people out to protect ourselves from getting hurt. Lily has done all of those things. Could she be going mad? Maybe. Or maybe she's the sanest one in the room!
That being said, I found the story felt very odd. It felt like what I might expect a trip on a hallucinogenic drug might be like. Bella even questions Lily about that herself at one point. I would suppose it could also be caused by the delirium from heat stroke/dehydration, but it was a little bit out there. It was an effective creative tool to look into Lily's past, though. Even though the story takes place in about 24 hours of Lily's life, we get a look at much of her past and how she has become the woman she is at this point in her life.
That being said, I found the story felt very odd. It felt like what I might expect a trip on a hallucinogenic drug might be like. Bella even questions Lily about that herself at one point. I would suppose it could also be caused by the delirium from heat stroke/dehydration, but it was a little bit out there. It was an effective creative tool to look into Lily's past, though. Even though the story takes place in about 24 hours of Lily's life, we get a look at much of her past and how she has become the woman she is at this point in her life.
May 25, 2019
An older woman experiences strange hallucinations and dreams (?) on a trip back from a sexual encounter in the woods. Panayotis Cacoyannis's novel, his latest in a string of acclaimed self-published work, is high on imagination and psychological deep-diving, but it doesn't take the time to set up, let alone follow, any kind of dramatic structure. Our protagonist, Lily, is clearly off her rocker from the start; how interesting it could have been to instead see her slowly crumble. Perhaps a nitpick, but the often florid dialogue drags the proceedings down, too.
April 21, 2020
This book definitely takes an open mind and a good bit of imagination. I love how alive the main character is, living her life as she wants. The end was fulfilling and I hope Bella sticks around, she's a hoot.
September 8, 2019
Maybe in his next novel Cacoyannis could include some of Patrick's "street" poetry. Large parts of his books read like poetry anyway. Lily herself is like a poem. BRRR...
May 20, 2019
Finger of an Angel takes you on a journey of discovery and raw emotion as Lily, a middle-aged free spirit, becomes lost in an overheating car on her drive home. Lily is a unique protagonist with a distressing past that has often driven her to create a world of fantasy within her head. With some very surreal moments, this tale will leave you wondering what is really happening in Lily’s life and what is delusion. The quirky characters and events will keep the reader engaged, even while reading though some emotionally challenging sections. While I don’t think this book is for everyone, it definitely had a distinctive style and story that could resonate with many woman along their life journey.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 53 reviews