The latest addition to my website is Thanassis Valtinos‘ Στοιχεία για τη δεκαετία του ’60 (Data from the Decade of the Sixties). As the title of this book, tells us, though it calls itself a novel, is not really a novel but a mish-mash of information about what was going on in Greece during he 1960s. There are two main types of information. The first is about the many Greeks emigrating or seeking to emigrate. We get many letters written by ordinary Greeks on emigration. They have to go to emigration school and require various permits. Some of hem are semi-literate and clearly do not know how to follow the rules. We never see the replies they get if any. The second main documents we get are mainly women writing to Mrs Mina, a radio agony aunt. It would seem that Greek women have many problems with their boyfriends, husbands, in-laws and their own family in romantic matters. Other information we get is varied, from government announcements to celebrity gossip, from reports of crime, often very violent, to ads for anything from job offers to sexual aids. It gives a fascinating view of Greece in the 1960s but it is not what I would call a novel.