Reaching Mithymna

Praise for Steven Heighton [A] brilliant storyteller ... [His] exquisite, powerful meditations on who we are place Heighton among the great Canadian writers ... His focus is contemporary, but he is a practitioner of the old school, a writer for those who love to read widely and deeply. --Donna Bailey Nurse, Literary Review of Canada In scintillating prose and with masterly control of his plot and characters, poet and novelist Heighton (Afterlands) weaves a spellbinding tale of love, loyalty, and betrayal. This timely (press reports indicate that reunification talks between Greek and Turkish Cypriot leaders are advancing) novel is highly recommended to all readers. --Edward B. Cone, Library Journal (starred review) As this fascinating ... well-plotted novel draws to a tense conclusion, Heighton skillfully knits together the difficult history and politics of the region, military machinations, and the nuanced inner lives and relationships of Elias and the villagers. --Publishers Weekly [An] elegantly crafted tale of a young poet and boxer who fights his way out of the backwoods of Canada, drunk on Kerouac and the unbounded promise of his future. Heighton chronicles [his characters'] growth with impressive restraint and sensitivity... [and] ably captures the emotional costs of a young man's dream. --Washington Post Vivid and powerfully drawn ... The Shadow Boxer is an energetic, fluent and interesting novel by a writer who has already shown himself to be gifted, capable of exploring and experimenting with language. --Times Literary Supplement