Anyone can tell (or write) a story. The real trick is all about engaging the listener or the reader...grabbing hold of them in such a way that they set aside the hustle and bustle of their lives and become engrossed in the story. This is the storytelling skill Petrakis has demonstrated throughout his long and illustrious career. Tales of the Heart exhibits all of Petrakis' power as a storyteller, but it goes much farther. When I was young, my dad, an educator, used to stop every once and a while, in the midst of some thankless task, glance sideways at me, and say: "This counts." He wanted me to understand that we were engaged in something bigger. Tales of the Heart points us all toward something bigger.

Petrakis, whether writing fiction or essays, or whether delivering a public address, is one of my favorite storytellers. Tales of the Heart provides an inspiring look into the heart of a superb writer, the likes of which may never pass this way again.

I had the honor of meeting Mr. Petrakis at my school just a short while ago. He is a very unique man and weaves humor in with some of the most nostalgic of memories. His books are great, personally, i had dreaded reading someone's memoirs, but even though there is a considerable gap of decades in between our ages, i can still identify with some things he experienced and grew stronger by.

Harry Mark Petrakis' new book, "Tales of the Heart: Dreams and Memories of a lifetime," is an amazing piece of autobiography that speaks with the force of lyrical poetry. Although prose that is either fiction, nonfiction, or both, the book immediately brings to mind the poetry of Yannis Ritsos, or Pablo Neruda. The book, like almost all of the work by Petrakis, is so tightly constructed that the reader can feel and hear the words alliteratively exploding off the page. What makes this book so unique in the world of contemporary literature is that it is impossible to define by genre. It is not a novel even though it reads like one. Although it looks like a collection of essays it is not that at all; instead, what we haveis a powerfully packed series of highly emotional and poetically told tales by a master storyteller in memory. Finally, "Tales of the Heart: Dreams and Memories of a Lifetime," is the type of book that may change the readers life. The world in which it presents is so moving, emotional, and poetically told that the reader is forever drawing back to personal memories of their own,and as strange as it may seem, simultaneously laughing and crying. Don't miss this one!

I believe Harry he is a great writer! Very underrated. You will read just the first few stories and be amazed that you have not heard of him. "Dark Eye" is a haunting story.

The stories are ripe with the feeling and culture of the greek movement to America.

This book might be out of print, but I urge you to track it down and read it. It's less than 200 pages. The story will hook you. If you don't fall in love with Anthoula, then something is wrong.

There are lots of good storytellers in print, but few with the raw power of Harry Mark Petrakis. The heart and soul of traditional Greek epic runs deep in his novels and short stories, and I love them all. The Odyssey of Kostas Volakis resonates from the very highs to the very lows of human experience. Birth, life, and death, and all the struggles in between are told through the eyes of a young Greek immigrant and his bride...a bride whose dowery paid their way to America in 1919.

This period in our melting pot history is rich with drama, and even though fewer of us each year remember it firsthand, most of us can trace our roots to a time when someone made an ocean voyage to these shores. And while Petrakis shows us Chicago of the '20s and '30s in a way we could never otherwise know it, he also shows us an intimate picture of the human soul that we will all recognize in a very personal way. I always love Petrakis' secondary characters like Glavas the diner owner who sponsors Kostas and Katerina, Dr. Barbaris, who delivers the children, and Father Marlas the priest who connects the newcomers to community and teaches them to read and write in their new language.

You will be moved to laughter and you will be moved to tears. And you won't soon forget The Odyssey of Kostas Volakis.

REFLECTIONS is one of those books I can't stop recommending. The STELMARK stories are lovingly rendered, particularly those dealing with Petrakis's father. JOURNAL OF A NOVEL is the author's honest and inspiring account of the daily issues, the highs and lows, he faced while writing THE HOUR OF THE BELL. It's a useful look at the creative process that will be of interest to anyone who writes.

Not bad, not bad. Drags a bit and romance doesn't go anywhere but not bad.

One of the best historical novels ever written. Thankfully, it's now back in print. You'll see the early adventures of how Nick became who he was and a legend in the 20th Century gambling world. A must read!!!