“The Making of Mrs. Petrakis” by Mary Karras is a poignant narrative that weaves together the themes of family, migration, and the resilience of the human spirit. Set against the backdrop of Cyprus during the 1970s civil war, the story follows Maria Petrakis, who escapes a tumultuous marriage to start anew in London. Opening a bakery in Harringay, the heart of the Greek Cypriot community, Maria finds solace and purpose in the art of baking, offering a taste of home to her fellow expatriates through her shamali cakes and cinnamon pastries.

The novel offers a window into the lives of the community members, each grappling with their own struggles and losses. From Mrs. Koutsouli, whose heart aches over her son’s marriage to an outsider, to Mrs. Pantelis, who is consumed by grief over the loss of her son in the war, and Mrs. Vasili, who seeks divine connection through her unique hairdo. The story also touches on the challenges faced by Elena, Maria’s daughter-in-law, as she battles the darkness of postpartum depression.

Karras skillfully captures the essence of a community bound by shared history and the universal quest for healing and redemption. The novel is not only a testament to the limited choices women often face but also a celebration of motherhood, love, and the transformative power of baking. It’s a story that resonates with anyone who has ever sought to rebuild their life in the face of adversity.

With its evocative mix of history, food, and storytelling, “The Making of Mrs. Petrakis” has been recognized as one of the best fiction works of 2021 by the Evening Standard and has garnered praise for its heartwarming and heartbreaking portrayal of life’s complexities. Mary Karras emerges as a fresh and exciting voice in fiction, with prose as delectable as the pastries in Mrs. Petrakis’ renowned bakery.

Unfortunately my version ended on about page 55 but I wasn’t loving it up to then. I didn’t warm to the characters & wasn’t disappointed to end it there.

This book is set in England and Cyprus. I didn’t like the structure of the book. It was told in a very unlined timeline and I didn’t like this. I felt that the connection between the two stories was very loose.

I’m not sure what it was that drew me to this story originally but I always like the surprise of a book that I wouldn’t ordinarily pick up.

There is something very cosy about this book, I think the small community aspect, the bakery and Maria herself created a warm atmosphere which was easy to sink into. It was needed because it was set against the trials and tribulations of Maria, Elena, and their families and some quite harrowing topics are depicted in the story so the warmth gave some balance to help me through.

It was fascinating exploring the lives of this family, it is centred around Maria and Elena, but as well as seeing them at the different stages of their lives we are also seeing the rest of their family. We get to experience the life they came from in Cyprus and the changes they go through as they move to England and have to adapt to a new way of life.

The story jumps around quite a lot, it is told through Maria and Elena’s POV but it isn’t linear it goes back and forth to different years in their life and it can be quite hard to keep a hold of who and at what time in their life you are reading about. I did struggle with this a little but I soon got used to it and quite enjoyed the unexpected nature of where in the timeline I would be.

However, there is a point in Elena’s storyline where it jumps past something quite significant and as a reader you aren’t sure what that is. Instead of hinting at what was to come, it left me confused about what was happening, so much so that I had to read the section a few times to make sure I wasn’t misreading it. Whilst stylistically this can be an interesting way to spur a story on I don’t think it works well here, it just added more disorientation.



I did love the characters though, Maria who fights so hard for a better life for herself and her son and becomes a reliable and warm matriarch, I liked her meddling because it was always with good intentions, and her ear for gossip. Elena just wants to feel like she belongs to a loving family without the weight of so much expectation and ends up getting a little lost along the way. I love that they both gravitate to each other and even when Elena is struggling Maria feels like an anchor.

I approached this book thinking that it would be quite a light-hearted read and whilst it had some lighter moments it does not fall into that category. Even though it does deal with some heavy topics I still felt a lot of joy whilst reading, it is an engaging story and it made me appreciate the strength and resilience of women. It also had me craving all sorts of sweet treats, I was pining for a proper bakery for days.

I was looking forward to reading this book as I have holidayed in Cyprus and lived in London. The descriptions of life in Cyprus, the food the families and lifestyle etc., was a treat. Mrs Petrakis, her life with a brutal husband and her son and her eventual move to London, where she opened her Greek bakery was also descriptive and a pleasure to read. However the book constantly jumps back and forth in time, country and family members and I found it quite difficult to follow which did spoil it for me.

I loved the description of this book and expected great things from it but I just couldn’t get into the story as it kept jumping around the different time lines.

I found this a very atmospheric novel. Set in Cyprus and London, with one family and a bakery at the core of the story, I felt I learned a lot about the Cypriot culture and the war there.

This is a tale mostly of women, and how they support one another and hold families together. It has happy times and some very hard and sad times, but overall, felt warm and charming. More than anything, it made me want to find a Cypriot bakery. More please!

Unfortunately I couldn't get into this story. I couldn't connect with the characters. I ended up DNF this book. Beautiful book cover though.

This was an interesting read, well written and engaging. It jumps around a bit in terms of characters and timelines making it a bit challenging to follow. But overall a good read.

Lovely feel good book to read. It was a joy to read. Lovely characters. Great plot. The book was charming. Very well written. I’d definitely recommend this book

I liked this one even though it wasnt what I was expecting. I really didnt know about Cypriot history and I found it very interesting.

“One family, two countries”



OMG! Where would I be without my faithful pack of tissues. At times I laughed until I cried, at others I cried until I laughed, but always tears were involved, as my emotions were pulled first one way and then the other.

From my own personal perspective, it seems to me that there were in fact two families and two countries at the beating heart of this sprawling, generational saga. That the Petrakis family had the loudest voice, is without question. However, notwithstanding that Elena does eventually marry into the Petrakis family; she, her sister Valentina and their mother Lenou, played such a pivotal role in shaping much of the early Cyprus based narrative and dialogue, that without them things just wouldn’t have been the same.

The story encompasses two countries and timelines. I visited a Cyprus, which in the 1960s/70s, is fast heading towards a Civil War between Greece and Turkey, in which there can be no winners. Fast forward to the 1980s/90s, where, as a result of the cultural dissonance, there has been an exodus of many of the Cypriot population, to the much calmer environs of London, where they are fast establishing a new, small and close-knit community of their own, in the Harringay, Greens Lane area in the Borough of Haringey. At first, despite the short and well signposted chapters, I did find the timeline switches back and forth, a little disjointed and I confess to ending up by drawing my own little chart, so that I could track events more easily. However, it didn’t take too long to get into the swing of things and sort out the characters and then I witnessed the two timelines converging beautifully, to present a well structured, fluent and seamless storyline, where events of the past have such a huge influence over the present.

Skilled in the imagery of words, there was a lovely perceptive visual depth and range to Mary’s writing. The assured, observational and descriptive narrative, together with some excellent conversational dialogue, offered a real sense of time and place, as befitted her own parents Cypriot heritage and hence, much of the inspiration for the story. As my own husband was in the military at the time of the Cypriot troubles, many of the sights and sounds resonated deeply with me and took me on a really personal trip down memory lane.

Life in Cyprus was harsh and difficult for both families, so England was definitely the land of opportunity and new beginnings for them, as war became an inevitable outcome for this divided country. Without giving away too many spoilers, in what, at the time, was a predominantly male led, arranged marriage society, Maria and Costa endured Mickali’s brutal form of physical and mental domestic abuse, for many years, with stoicism and in silence. Even the tragic loss of a beloved daughter doesn’t unlock Michali’s heart of stone, but only serves to strengthen his resolve to make a grief stricken Maria pay for all the ills in his personal world of misfortune. When a way out is offered, Maria has to make the ultimate choice and pay a terrible personal cost, with a secret she can never reveal and which she takes to her grave.

When Lenou’s husband and soulmate is taken from her and her girls, she becomes very bitter and twisted, venting her anger, sorrow and distress on her daughters in both terrible physical and mental abuse, which will haunt them for the rest of their lives. For Valentina, being exiled to London in disgrace, finding history repeating itself and being forced to make a life-changing decision she will ultimately find it impossible to live with, has far-reaching and devastating consequences for her sister Elena, who is herself now living in London and married to Maria’s son, Costa. With an already fragile mind, Elena believes herself to be personally responsible for all the ills and misfortunes of both her own and Costa’s family. This, together with her own battle with undiagnosed PND, following the births of her two daughters, neither of which she is truly able to bond with, eventually finds Elena succumbing to a spell in an institution.

Much of the recent background story focusses on Maria’s skills as a traditional Cypriot baker, which is how she makes a living when she arrives in London, with her son Costa. Fortunate enough to establish her own high street business, the pages of the book are replete with the names and descriptions of some divine sounding dishes and pastries, which I have to say, did rather side-track me and kept Google busy for many hours. It wasn’t until I had finished reading my Kindle edition of the book, that I discovered the glossary at the end, where any Cypriot words and phrases used in the story, were defined and explained. Possibly there might have been scope for this to have been mentioned at the beginning of the book, so that readers could mark the relevant glossary pages. Although for me personally, I found it just as easy to switch between Kindle and computer, where my search page was open and at the ready, as were paper and pen to jot down some of the more mouth-watering recipes.

Fast forward to London 2007 and this beautiful story has once again evolved and is now focussed on the bonds of family, about learning to survive, and ultimately learning and growing from shared experiences. For Maria, the London bakery has always been her saviour in times of stress and trouble, as she can lose herself totally in her artistic ability to produce such stunning delicacies. Perhaps she almost left it too late in realising its healing potential, although for the short time he was with her before his PTSD, following his stint in a Cypriot army at war, claimed his life, her assistant, Maki would always be grateful for Maria’s large and gentle heart. Whether Elena would have benefitted from the restorative powers of Petrakis Bakery at an earlier time is a debatable point, however, as Maria’s parting gift to the next generation of the Petrakis family, Elena and Costa look set to call the business their own, to treat it with the reverence and love it deserves and just maybe, in return, it will be the saving of some badly damaged hearts and minds. Which means that after so many years of toil and struggle, safe in the knowledge that she has raised a son to be proud of, to carry on the family name, the ‘Mighty Maria Petrakis’ can finally find peace and solace, although without ever having truly experienced for herself the enduring love and devotion between two people, which she so richly deserved.

The making Of Mrs Petrakis was a wonderfully rendered, mature work of cultural and societal fiction, compassionately written from the heart, unique and unconventional, often disturbing, brutally and heartbreakingly honest, yet desperately compelling, powerful and completely immersive. Multi-layered, slowly unfolding and evolving, the story is evocative, intensely textured, rich in atmosphere and detail, and totally and utterly emotionally draining.

All the women in this book have their own tragic story to tell and it is clear that their strengths and weaknesses have been shaped by their past, often traumatic, experiences. Mary gave them their own space and afforded them a strong voice with which to tell their story. They were all pieces of a complex jigsaw of human emotions, raw and passionate, vulnerable and often searching for a sense of belonging. However they were always genuine and believable, addictive, worth investing in and identifying with.

Equally worth investing in, was the stalwart figure of Costa. A true reflection of Maria’s loving influence, who gains surprising magnitude, not in his looks or deeds, but by the sheer power of his love and devotion to his family, which sets him apart from many of his fellow Cypriot male counterparts. His refusal to abandon Elena when she is most in need of his support and the stability he is hoping to provide for her as she readjusts to life back out in society, bonding with her daughters and setting their family life back on course, is to be commended.

An excellent debut novel from an accomplished and polished author. I hope there are plenty more storylines in Mary’s portfolio, just waiting to be developed.

What makes reading such a wonderful experience for me, is that with each and every book, I am taken on a unique and individual journey, by authors who fire my imagination and stimulate my senses. I recommend that you read this story for yourself and see where your journey leads you!

I loved that this book attempted to picture life in Cyprus in the 1970s and this is the main reason that I chose to read it. It raised some of the issues of the society of that time (e.g. domestic violence and the role of women in general) but I was expecting a bit more, especially since this point in time is very critical for the Cypriot nation. The story of the Petrakis family divided between two countries is a heartbreaking tale of loss, sorrow and perseverance. It becomes a bit confusing though at times when the story is split into two periods. This affected my reading pace and I frequently found myself disengaged.

One thing that I thoroughly enjoyed was the descriptions of the delicacies in the bakery. I could almost feel I was there!

I really wanted to enjoy this book, and it did start quite well.
The descriptions of the food make your mouth water, and Maria Petrakis is a great lead character.
The Turkish invasion of Cyprus isn’t something I knew much about, and whilst it was interesting to read a book which covered this period of history I found it quite a difficult book to follow. The jumping back and forth of the timelines and locations was a little bit confusing, and some of the issues explored may make it difficult for some readers to enjoy this book.

From the blurb I’d expected this to be a more uplifting book that it was, and whilst I did learn a lot about a this particular period in history I was left a little disappointed.

Could have been interesting reading about Cyprus, however it jumps around so much that it is impossible to follow

Very enjoyable read. I love the character and love the title of the book.
The story of the two families is wonderful and I read this in one day

This book didn't quite work for me. I found the chapters being set in different times confusing because the characters weren't clear enough to me.
I realised later in the book that some of this confusion was because the character of Elena was confused about her own reality.
I was interested enough to read the whole book though as there were a few threads of stories which I wanted to know the outcome of.

The Making of Mrs Petrakis by Mary Karras

Despite some of the heavy themes in this book (mental illness, death, unhappy marriages, domestic abuse) this book was actually hugely uplifting to me.
I loved all the characters, especially Mrs Petrakis and her relationships to her family, daughter-in-law and her customers.
I was actually drawn to this book for a pretty lightweight reason – that is, that I miss the bakeries and shops along Green Lanes! So the descriptions of Mrs Petrakis' breads and pastries were mouth-watering, nostalgic and made me want to drive to London just to visit Yasar Halim!!
But I was also soon drawn into the characters and their storylines and I also found the parts about life during and after the partition of Cyprus in the 1970s fascinating and hugely informative.
So glad that I requested this book – it's one that I may have easily skipped past, seeing it on the shelf.

* Thanks to John Murray Press and Netgalley for the Arc.

First off, Thank you so much for letting me review this wonderful book! I absolutely adored this book! I enjoyed the characters and the story! The story flowed great and had me reading and finishing the book in no time! I highly recommend this book! Stunning, a page-turner which stays long in the memory!

I’ve not been having much luck with books lately! I wanted to love this one. From the blurb and the reviews I thought it was right up my street; turns out I was on the wrong street!

I love the character of Mrs Petrakis, but she just didn’t shine like I thought she should. The book is about her, but somehow she fades into the background and the book becomes about the people around her. I understand this to an extent, but the people around us make/influence who we are, but Karras didn’t show enough of the heart of Mrs Petrakis for me to make this connection.

“Mrs Petrakis belonged in her bakery, surrounded by cakes that smelled of cinnamon and brought joy to people’s lives.”

From about 100 pages in my interest began to dwindle. The prose remained a constant delight throughout the novel; it is very well written, yet the story becomes muddled. For me, there are too many switches between characters. The domesticity and repeated topics of sadness, misunderstanding, love and motherhood could have worked, but Karras used the same tone and the outcomes for each woman felt extremely similar, I became bored. The power that the central female characters could have had was lost in translation.

What this book lacks in the rounding of the characters, is made up by a deep dive into the Greek culture. Personally, I think Karras missed a trick my not including some of the recipes for the delicious things her characters make and sell. My mouth was watering for Greek food!