Profane Feasts

Profane Feasts, 13 stories by Tom Tolnay, is a sequence of thirteen story-chapters focussing on a family of Greek immigrants who settled in Brooklyn, New York in the 1970s, with their misadventures extending up to the present day. With humanistic and humorous intent, the subplot follows the Hestiakos-Dropoulos family as part of an unconscious "movement" to reinvent the greatness of their ancient culture by "taking over" North America one coffee shop at a time. The surface storyline is how these individuals--each story focuses on one particular family member--make their way as transplanted products of that early great culture into the "upstart societies" thriving across the Atlantic. Subliminally their lost greatness makes them feel part of something important even though they are far removed, by time and circumstance, from the civilisation upon which the western world was founded. The word "Feasts" in the book''s title refers to various human "celebrations" which act as signposts in their journey, including a wedding, baptism, funeral, Christmas, Easter, Greek Independance Day. The "Profane" from the title refers to the wacky occurences which arise as these celebrations unfurl or, in some instances, unravel...