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Mission Box

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Schematic illustration similar to those drawn by Aris Alexandrou to describe the route taken by the rebels in his novel "Mission Box". The sketch is not identical to the ones made by the writer; it does not depict the exact route described in the novel.

Mission Box (Greek: Το Κιβώτιο, romanized: To Kivotio, lit. 'the crate') is a political novel by Greek writer Aris Alexandrou, his most known work. It was written from 1966 to 1972 in Paris, where Alexandrou lived in self-exile, following the 1967 coup.[1][2] The novel was first published in Greek in 1974, by Kedros Publications.[3][4] It was translated in French by Colette Lust in 1978[5] and in English by Robert Crist in 1996.[6]

Its plot is set in the Greek Civil War era, and revolves around various related thematic poles.[7] It is considered to be one of the greatest works of 20th-century Greek literature.[8][9]

Plot

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During the final period of the Greek Civil War, following an order from General Headquarters, a group of rebels undertakes to transport a crate of unknown contents to a rebel-held city, passing through enemy territory. They are told that succeeding in delivering the box shall ensure their army's final victory. As the mission unfolds, the team's members perish one after the other.

In the end, only one rebel survives, finally managing to deliver the crate. However, when he arrives at his destination, the box is found to be empty and the rebel is imprisoned by his comrades for sabotage. He then begins to write reports to an anonymous interrogator, without knowing whether the interrogator reads the reports or not; these reports constitute the novel.

References

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  1. ^ Kantzia, Emmanuela (Spring 2010). "A Lifetime Squared: Of Performativity and Performance in Aris Alexandrou's Mission Box". Études Helléniques / Hellenic Studies. 18 (1): 80. ISSN 0824-8621 – via University of Crete.
  2. ^ Katsan, Gerasimus (2013). History and National Ideology in Greek Postmodernist Fiction. Fairleigh Dickinson University Press. p. 127. ISBN 9781611475937.
  3. ^ Άρης Αλεξάνδρου. Το κιβώτιο. Κέδρος. Αθήνα. Τριακοστή δεύτερη έκδοση 2016. Πρώτη έκδοση 1974. ISBN 978-960-04-0165-3.
  4. ^ Papadogiannis, Nikolaos (2015). Militant Around the Clock? Left-Wing Youth Politics, Leisure, and Sexuality in Post-Dictatorship Greece, 1974-1981. Berghahn Books. pp. 214. ISBN 9781782386452.
  5. ^ Volkovitch, Michel (2008). Babel & Blabla, journal de travail d'un traducteur, avec aperçus sur langue (in French). publie.net. p. 143. ISBN 9782814551312.
  6. ^ Sidiropoulou, Maria (2021). Linguistic Identities Through Translation. Brill Publishers. p. 134. ISBN 9789004486652.
  7. ^ Sidiropoulou, Maria (2021). Linguistic Identities Through Translation. Brill Publishers. p. 135. ISBN 9789004486652.
  8. ^ Vardoulakis, Dimitris (2012). "The Greek Utopia: Aris Alexandrou 'The Mission Box'". In Marks, Peter (ed.). Literature and Politics: Pushing the World in Certain Directions. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. p. 130. ISBN 9781443836036.
  9. ^ Calotychos, Vangelis (2012). Manolis Anagnostakis. Poetry and Politics, Silence and Agency in Post-War Greece. Fairleigh Dickinson University Press. p. 147. ISBN 9781611474664.


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