In Nostos and Algos a mature poet tells a simple story and yet underlying it all is a tension formed by intense, glaring, cutting, gripping and captivating images. This collection, Manolis' best so far, is subtle and unexpected, and you are left to imagine what may occur. You feel this sense of expectation in many of the poems, and this keeps them from feeling dry or overwrought. Most fascinating is how Manolis captures a sense of motion just before it begins to take place, almost an anticipation of a gesture. His work is rich and evocative and tugs at something deep within the reader: poetry that reveals the observer of life assimilation in the new land, a mixture of pleasures and tears. His voice echoes amid the labyrinths of inexplicable senses. Some metaphors are like a panel of dreams taken from reality. Nostos and Algos is a collection that requires some meditation to best enjoy. The glimpses of human nature throughout combine to create a pensive mood that at the same time liberate and enchant the reader with images of days past and days present.