Plot Introduction
Set on a single day in late summer of 1975, it is about the rise to wealth and fame of Marco Timoleon, a 72 year-old Greek shipping magnate who for that end of August day has arranged a grand party on his private island in the Aegean to celebrate his daughter's 25th birthday. In a series of flashbacks, the omniscient narrator of the novel chronicles the businessman's life from his childhood days in İzmir to his present cosmopolitan existence and status as one of the richest men in the world. However, being a master at deception, the billionaire has rewritten his own history so often that there are patches of his past his family know next to nothing about and of which even his official biographer cannot make head or tail. Sensing now that his life is gradually drawing to a close, Timoleon plans to use the birthday party as his final attempt to take influence on his daughter's extravagant life and, by doing so, to ensure that his accumulated wealth stays in the family.
Practically all reviewers have pointed out the numerous parallels between the fictional protagonist and Aristotle Onassis.
Read more about this topic: The Birthday Party (novel)
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