Constantia Soteriou

Set in Cyprus during the twentieth century, Brandy Sour explores the island’s turbulent history through the lives of people connected to the iconic Ledra Palace Hotel in Nicosia. Built in the 1950s as a symbol of a modern, independent Cyprus, the hotel becomes a meeting place for people whose personal stories reflect the island’s political upheavals, cultural divisions, and uncertain future. Through a series of interconnected vignettes, Soteriou introduces a diverse cast of characters, including King Farouk of Egypt, a hotel porter who secretly cultivates roses from his village, a United Nations officer struggling with the heat and political deception, and a housekeeper who carries holy water wherever she goes. Each character has a distinct relationship with the hotel and the world beyond its walls, revealing how history shapes even the most ordinary aspects of daily life. Food, drinks, memories, and personal rituals become powerful symbols of cultural identity and belonging. As political tensions deepen between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, the hotel stands as a witness to the hopes, disappointments, and divisions that have shaped the island. Written in a fragmented, evocative style, Brandy Sour transforms the history of Cyprus into an intimate portrait of ordinary people caught in extraordinary circumstances. The novel explores how collective memory is preserved through individual lives, and how a country’s past continues to influence its present. The book won Cyprus’s National Book Prize in 2023.