Sukhumi. Caucasus. Early 20th century. A man, a woman. He falls in love with her at first sight, when he sees her gathering reeds under a scorching sun. She accepts his love. Panaila and Leontis. An unspeakable love binds them, a love that does not resemble love. Almost hunted, with two small children, they are forced to abandon their homeland and their loved ones, seeking refuge in the place they called home. Pain, despair, wanderings and deceptions lurk in the refugee's path. They fight furiously to exist. And they succeed. Through bitterness and joy. They separate and meet, clash and kiss. Unsubmissive, they integrate. They experience life with intensity and passion. In a foreign land, they are looking to find their homeland. And they find it.

Giota Ioannidou achieved two very important things: First, to present to us, the readers, a novel that moves us dramatically, emotionally, and heartily, and second, to unfold confessionally, psychoanalytically I could say, the web of relationships and events within the flow of a story that defined her and probably still defines her to some extent.
― Lizetta Kalimeri

Sohum by Giota Ioannidou is an anthropological novel of high intensity and pace. The language of the book is fleshy, sharp and at the same time exuberant. It permeates the reader who reads the book in one go.
― Philippa Hadzistavrou