Of my 24 books, this one caused me the most pain. It could be called a love story, if it weren't for the inhuman harshness of this patriarchal family. The main characters are women who behave as they should, wasting their lives on societal conventions and having no love lives. Lily Zografou tells a Cretan story from the past that unfolds like a magical fairy tale through its young protagonists. The women of the Ftenoudos family defy the harsh conditions into which they were born, facing life in very different ways and patiently waiting for love. But only one fully surrenders to it. At the end of the rocky path they are forced to walk, freedom unexpectedly awaits her. Zografou's most famous work is a parable about imposed moral standards and prohibitions, against lies and self-deception.