American Aphrodite is a book all women of Greek heritage should read, especially those of us who have been reared in two cultures. This book deals with the treatment, place and feelings of women in Greek/American society (which could very easily be translated to Greek/Australian society), their role as defined by men, and in some cases their eventual rebellion against this.

Ms Callinicos interviewed three generations of women, the "picture bride" generation (brought to America in the twenties and thirties) and their daughters and grand-daughters. The main impact of the book is derived from way their stories, often very personal, have been woven into the author's narrative. The documentary style of the book allows the interviews to be presented in the first person thus giving the reader close contact with each individual.

It is impossible to escape emotional involvement in the book and it is rather like travelling through India where the toll on human emotions can leave one mentally exhausted. Chapter by chapter the anger, frustration, humour and bitterness of these women, is shared with the reader, as they talk about their experiences of being female in Greek/America. They tell of arranged marriages, suppression of their sexuality, their lowly status in family, social and religious life as compared to males, the inability to pursue tertiary education and the continual pressure to be a "good Greek girl" and to do the "right" thing which meant marriage to a "nice" Greek boy and producing children (preferably boys.) It meant never being allowed to mix with their American friends or work mates who, it was implied, were morally corrupt and were part of the evil non-Greek world.

American Aphrodite is not an easy book to read. As already described, it is emotionally draining but at times it is difficult to decide whether the author's narrative is fact or fiction. The continual condemnation of the Greek male (which is not unfounded), and, it seems, everything Greek, often reaches saturation point, leading to a feeling of sympathy for men and frustration with the women for not doing something about their position. However, these feelings do not last long when you read about an 18 year old girl, born and educated in America, being taken to a village in Greece to be married off lest she be tempted by life outside the Greek influence and bring shame on her family. Change was certainly not going to be instigated by the traditional society - it had (has?) to be forced by the victims even to the extent of "escaping" the clutches of society or suffocating within it.

Escape is what some achieved but in many cases only after the death of a father or grandmother. It would appear that occasionally this also meant the total rejection of everything Greek - customs, culture, and religion. The book interestingly points out that while they were living most definitely in a male dominated society, it was often the grandmothers and even the mothers who perpetuated such a restrictive attitude.

This is not a book of fiction, but a book of fact and it would be difficult for even those of us who had an upbringing that was not as rigid and controlled as the ones described, to deny totally, certain restrictions, obligations and expectations placed on us by being part of a patriarchal society both in a religious and secular sense.

Whilst it is easy to say that this book could have made more of an impact in the early to mid eighties and that many of today's Greek/American, Greek/Australian or Greek woman in Greece is choosing the kind of she will lead - "an education, the right to choose whom to marry, when to marry or whether or not to marry at all", it cannot be categorically denied that there are communities (ghettos as the author calls them) where women are still trapped in the kind of society American Aphrodite documents

American Aphrodite obviously offered a catharsis to the women interviewed and to the author who found that "writing this book healed me". It gave them the opportunity to speak out, to vent their feelings and voice objections at being forced to lead lives they had no control over. In allowing themselves to be the subjects of this book they have brought attention to not only their own frustrations, anger and hostility towards the patriarchal society but those same emotions of thousands of other women who have been, or remain part of, similar communities.