Unique
Through her memoir, Sister of Darkness, Lili Bita tells the story of her upbringing on a small Greek island, the difficulties she faced, and how she over came them. Greek culture has very strict rules for women. Lili writes, ¿Girls from good families never cross their legs,¿ ¿Girls from good families never appear at windows,¿ ¿Girls from good families are never unchaperoned,¿ and the list goes on.
In addition to the subequal treatment Greek culture requires, Lili¿s father, Yorgos Bita treated her even worse for another reason. As a military man, he wanted a family of young, strong men. His wish was satisfied for his first born, Thomas. But when Lili was born Yorgos was disgusted by the infants apparent lack of a penis.
As you¿ll learn if read the back, Lili isn¿t the type of person to just settle for what life handed to her. She fought back, against both Greek culture and her father¿s disappointment with the only weapon available to her: promiscuity. For Lili, sex was what allowed her to free herself from chains of an oppressive father and country.
Lili¿s openness is refreshingly honest, and even at times, shocking. She includes all of the experiences that had any part in forming who she is, whether they are good or bad, uplifting or embarrassing. In one scene, Lili describes her encounter with a man who wanted her to urinate in his mouth. One might expect a scene like this to come across as self-consciously crass, but it doesn¿t Lili writes it. She writes in style that gives significance and a certain sense of dignity to every topic she touches. She explained the man¿s request as an expression of the man¿s desire for freedom. That the man spent eight hours a day trying to please his boss, and that in this moment, the man was able to rise above everything else in his life and just please himself.
Sister of Darkness challenges the reader to examine his own ideas of morality, telling us to ask ourselves, why do we believe what we believe. And it is for this reason that I highly recommend the book.
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Overview
From childhood on an idyllic Greek island to coming of age in a world torn by war to entrapment and final escape from a brutal marriage, Sister of Darkness is the powerful story of a woman's journey of self-discovery and personal liberation. Through the saga of her own life, Lili Bita expresses the quest of a generation for freedom, and the ongoing struggle of women everywhere against violence and oppression. Rich in sensuous evocation, unsparing in its candor and lucidity, this long-awaited work fulfills the prophecy of Anais Nin: "Lili Bita transcends the individual woman. Her experiences, love or hatred, birth or death, ecstasy or despair, become universal." Sister of Darkness is destined to be a feminist classic. ...