Three Summers

Three Summers (Greek: Τα ψάθινα καπέλα) is a Greek novel written by Margarita Liberaki and first published in 1946. In 1995 the novel was translated into English by Karen Van Dyck; it was reissued in 2019 by NYRB Classics. In 2019 Van Dyck discussed the work she did translating the novel in a blog post for The Paris Review. She noted that the original title translated literally to The Straw Hats which she changed to avoid negative class connotations associated with the term "straw hats" in English. Three teenage sisters, Maria, Infanta and Katarina, come of age in the countryside near Athens shortly before the outbreak of WWII. Summary In Kifisia three teenage sisters Maria, Infanta and Katarina, live on their grandfather's estate with their grandparents, mother and aunt. Their parents are divorced due to their father's infidelities. Maria, who is nineteen, spends the first summer being deliberately flirtatious while ignoring the attentions of Marios, their neighbour who is deeply in love with her. After abruptly losing her virginity to a handsome stranger, Maria decides she wants to marry and agrees to marry Marios.