Kazantzakis, Nikos

The Odyssey: A Modern Sequel (Touchstone Books)

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Best read straight through without stopping
Mithras and Apollo
No hope No despair
Homer would have loved it
Homer would have loved it

The Odyssey: A Modern Sequel (Touchstone Books)
Nikos Kazantzakis , and Kimon Friar
Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Customer Reviews:

Best read straight through without stopping.......2006-04-26

I read this in a period of weeks while homeless in a city, each day I would return to the library and read another huge section,never missing a day...the incredible prolixity and repetition, far from being burdensome, were like great rolling waves of majesty and freedom upon which I floated until the last cantos, surely one of the greatest climaxes in all world literature, brought me to rest and peace as Odysseus was united with Christ, and sailed off through the ice. And then I knew that for the rest of my life I would be as free as Odysseus had showed me how to be in this work. How's that?

Mithras and Apollo.......2001-01-26

I read Kazantzakis absorbing and compelling verse novel over a two-month period, rich and crazy as a Christmas fruit cake, and only to be nibbled in small doses. This is a deeply flawed work of consumate art; flawed, because it expresses a weltangshaung and philosophical stance utterly at odds with the complexities and values of the human spirit which it still succeeds in celebrating in verse of passion, intensity and beauty. Flawed, because it defines the human spirit in terms of the unsubtle, extroverted, violence of masculinity at its most obnoxious, a Nietzschean ubermensch driven to sweep through the human mind like a panzer division; flawed because it present a vision of utter and self-serving solipsism.

But of consumate art in that within those paramaters it creates, with a richness and intensity rarely encountered in modern literature, a detailed, elaborate and sensory world of image, passion and experience; and in positioning the human spirit dancing at the edge of the abyss, in celebrating the defining moments and relationships of life, it ultimately triumphs over its own weakness.

Its stages of the soul's evolution, its imagery and its passionate invocation of the sun link it with the old warrior-cult of Mithras; and while the leopards, elephants, drunkards and maenads seem at first more of Dionysos, the elegance and elegaic elements also link the work with the Greek Apollo, and the discipline of an exact and exacting verse.

Essential to an understanding of the twentieth century vision - and also to an understanding of what made so many of us passionately feminist.

No hope No despair.......2000-12-06

A long, long time ago, I read this book and it changed the way I read literature. Kazantzakis' book goes beyond writing - it is a vivid exploration of the flame that consumes man. To go back to reading the frivolous so-called literature of today almost seems pointless. I am just thankful that Kazantzakis left us with such a rich body of work to read. The libraries were full of his books twenty years ago, but today I rarely find them on any shelf. To those of us who were lucky enough to discover him early, we know that he is the best kept secret of the twentieth century.

Homer would have loved it.......2000-08-30

This is the best book I have ever read. Granted, I have read it in greek but still, there is no match. Homer would have loved his hero over again.

Homer would have loved it.......2000-08-30

This is the best book I have ever read. Granted, I have read it in greek but still, there is no match. Homer would have loved his hero over again.

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A Classic Work Still Relevant Today
Great Place to Start
An underrated classic!
How to Experience Life!
Zorba says everything!

Zorba the Greek
Nikos Kazantzakis
Manufacturer: Touchstone
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Customer Reviews:

A Classic Work Still Relevant Today.......2007-06-22

Zorba the Greek is Nikos Kazantzakis' most successful novel. Despite being an older novel, it remains a classic for the very reason that it's entertaining, engaging, and has a theme and philosophy still relevant to new and old readers alike.

The book is read from the view of the main character, whose name is never revealed and his experiences on Crete with his hired hand, Alexis Zorba. From the beginning to the end of the novel, the narrator learns from and about Zorba's paradigm of life. Zorba is a Nietzschian-like character who is spontaneous and wills to experience life with absolute enthusiasm. He teaches the narrator how to value aspects of life that are usually taken for granite, like food, women, the ocean, stories, music, etc. He is the adult with the child-like appreciation for life and all that it provides for the human experience. The young narrator is commonly regarded as a bookworm and an academic. He represents order and rationality, but immediately appreciates Zorba perspective on life. The discussion and life between the two characters produces a story where the reader can learn and appreciate how each character develops.

It's a solid and heartwarming book that represents a discussion and exploration of the excitements of life; a definite recommendation.

Great Place to Start.......2007-06-09

This book is a great introduction to a fantastic author that is often overlooked by American readers. "Zorba" is fascinating, deep, and hilarious, all at once, and it's short and playful enough such that it won't turn off more casual readers. I recommend this title as a starting point for people who want to read Nikos Kazantzakis for his philosophical insights or for his moving stories.

An underrated classic!.......2007-03-31

"Zorba the Greek" is simply a great novel. Kazantzakis is brilliant in his dialogue, story-telling, and word pictures. I have read Zorba over and over again, particularly when I want to feel the vibrant life of Greek culture. Many find themselves in opposition to Kazantzakis' philosophies, but this book should be savored for its pure celebration of life, brilliantly embodied in Zorba and his intellectual friend, a young British Greek.

Sexist, yes. Anti-religious, yes. A great read, nonetheless!

Reviewed by David Lundberg, author of Olympic Wandering: Time Travel Through Greece

How to Experience Life!.......2007-01-03

I truely enjoyed reading Kazantzakis' "Zorba the Greek".

Our reserved Narrator (I don't recall the author ever naming him, so I'm using the capitol "N"--Zorba simply calles him "boss") meets the lanky Alexis Zorba in a Piraeus cafe, and being charmed by his wit, spirit, and the honesty of his emotion, hires him on as his foreman in a coal mining venture. The fact that Zorba can play the santuri and knows stories and songs for the journey doesn't hurt, either!

On Crete, we meet the inhabitants of a traditional village, from the cafe proprieter and patrons to the aged yet still attractive matron of the local "house of ill-repute". The characters are uniquely portrayed, the scenery vivid. I almost felt I was standing among them as I read. There is no hiding of emotion here, whether jelousy, fear, or exhuberant joy.

Zorba rejected self-denial long ago, and of all the characters here, seems to be the most accepting and least judgemental of any. He takes joy in becoming the lover of Dame Hortense, a retired prostitute of respectible years. He is protective of the miners he supervises, and sets a good example. And when a jealous mob of villagers gathers to run down and murder the defenseless village Widow, it is Zorba alone who stand up for her. For all his flippant and off-handed comments about women, the truth is that Alexis Zorba recognizes women's needs as he recognizes his own, and treats the women he has known--and those he hasn't--with respect. Zorba is mischevious but true, comforting and counseling a mad monk who has dreamed of turning his Hypocritical monastary into an inferno as a cleansing act. There are so many things happening here!

Zorba has thrown off the manufactured constraints of society and bends to them only when he wishes to. He is true to his heart, and a true friend and brother to the Narrator. Through observing and experiencing Zorba, the Narrator learns to experience life, not just watch it from the outside. He abandons the Buddhist wheel of self-denial under which he had pinned himself. These men remain brothers of sorts, in the end separated by miles and borders, but not by heart and spirit. One of my favorite passages, spoken by Zorba after the Narrator asks him about being accountable to God for his life reads thus:

" 'God enjoys himself, kills, commits injustice, makes love, works, likes impossible things, just the same as I do. He eats when he pleases; takes the woman he chooses. If you see a lovely woman going by, as fresh as clear water, your heart leaps at the sight. Suddenly the ground opens and she disappears. Where does she go? If she's a good woman, they say: 'The devil's carried her off.' But, boss, I've said so before and I say it again, God and the devil are one and the same thing!' " (page 263)

I came to re-appreciate the simple joys of everyday life in reading this book. Zorba is an active participant in life, not simply as our Narrator seems to be at the beginning, a passive observer. If you enjoy living literature, I would strongly recommend this book to you.

Zorba says everything!.......2006-07-25

My cousin, a hard-boiled attorney in Athens, once told me, "You want a good Greek book? Read Zorbas. It says everything, everything.

I bought the book and ended every day of my season in Greece by devouring a dozen pages. My cousin was right. This book explores a zillion aspects of human nature, from its best to its worst. Kazantzakis knew that he'd met a live one when he met the real Zorbas (yep, the guy really existed!). And, he was duty-bound to record the life of this odd, passionate guy, whose zest for life and for keeping it real seem uniquely Greek (read the last chapter in Kazantzakis' "Report to Greco" for more on the real Zorba and why K. was compelled to write about him).

Some comments on this page suggest that the reviewers might know very little of the context in which this book was written; the contexts of Kazantzakis, of Crete, of village life in Greece, of Greece's history, of Orthodoxy and nationalism in Greece, of a million things without which this book seems strange, flat, or even cruel. It helps to know Greece, but it isn't necessary to savor this book, which is really a mirror on the best and worst of humankind. Also, it's good to read this book before or during an extended stay in Greece. You'll want to read more Kazantzakis, for he's one of the best ones to have captured the pulse of Hellas.

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A Riveting Classic
It's a love letter
Used By Mel Gibson, It is All Fiction.
"Everything Has Begun!" ~ Reconciling God With Man
The heart of this great book can be found in these passages...

The Last Temptation of Christ
Nikos Kazantzakis
Manufacturer: Touchstone
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Customer Reviews:

A Riveting Classic.......2007-05-15

I picked this up not expecting too much. I thought that this would just be another safe retelling of a Bible story. Boy was I wrong! The Jesus depicted in this book is very human. He struggles with temptations and unpleasant situations. This book challenged me, made me think, and failed all my predictions. I like that this book is unpredictable but satisfying. This book really made me stay up late at nights until I finished it. I was in a book rut until I picked up this one. A riveting story. Oh and it will not bore you to tears, it's one of "those" classics!

It's a love letter.......2007-01-31

One cannot review this book as a work of literature, although it certainly is that. Kazantzakis wrote it as a love-letter to Christ and a meditation on the nature of the man. In that sense, he succeeded wildly, ecstatically, anachronisms and misplaced Greek characterizations and all. "Gunpowder", even - it's all part of Nikos Kazantzakis, and it all serves to drive us deep into the heart of his Jesus, and himself.

That said . . . I have to take issue with Kazantzakis (of course. Else why write a review?)

I was mystified at the ease with which The Baptist turned Jesus from his Gospel of "Love, Love" to that of "the Axe is laid at the root of the tree." Jesus seems to get the better of John in their discussions, arguing most persuasively why his message must differ from John's - and then he goes out sounding like John redux. Did his sojourn in the desert cause this change in direction? It seemed a little too facile for me.

And the ending (I'm perpetually disapointed by endings - seems to be a thing with me). . . why did he have to die? That was very disappointing.

Just kidding - what disappointed about the ending is that Jesus did not really prevail over the final temptation as he had in the desert. He was drawn in to his fantasy life, luxuriated in it even, and then was surprised to find himself once again upon the cross (hope I'm not giving anything away here). I suppose this is Kazantzakis' final identification with the humanity of Jesus, but it seemed an odd perspective on the final moment of Jesus' life as a man - surprised relief rather than victory.

It's too much to expect of a writer, that his inner-most meditation on the meaning of Jesus should provide any "answers" to a reader looking for illumination (I've given up on "Truth"). For all that I've failed in each of my three readings of this book over the last twenty years to fully grasp Kazantzakis' Jesus in all his dimensions, the journey has been well worth the cost in time and frustration. Kazantzakis was a natural writer as well as a Natural writer, and his Jesus is more human (with all that it entails) than any other treatment has dared allow him to be.

Used By Mel Gibson, It is All Fiction........2006-09-20

This narrative novel was written by Nikos Kazantzakis, author of 'Zorba the Greek' (also made into a movie) and 'The Odyssey: A Modern Sequel." It was written originally 45 years ago in Greek and some facts distorted in translation to English. The movie interpretation led people in the wrong direction and disrupted the Christian community as to the significance of such distortion. If you've read the New Testament, you read about the agony on the cross when Jesus called out, "Father, why has thou forsaken me." Nowhere in the Bible (Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John, even Paul), is there any evidence that he attempted the life of a mortal man with Mary Magdelene. That is the devil's work, through Mr. Gibson, the director.

Christ was on this earth with a mission to help the downtrodden. Mary M. was a woman of ill repute and he came to her aid by demanding of the crowd," You without sin, cast the first stone." He did seem to enjoy visiting the other Mary and her sister, Martha; who was he partiala to: Mary who cooked for him or Martha who washed his feet?

The movie inferred that he may have avoided the cross and lived a family life with Mary M. some other hiding place, and produced an assortment of offspring. "Man without God was born as he is unarmed, and would have been obliterated by hunger, fear and cold..." Why did his mother, Mary, weep and pray for his soul at the crucifixion -- if Christ was not on the middle cross, then who was! Who appeared before his disciples after the ressurection?

The book was written as a novel by someone with aspirations to write about great happenings with his own twist. Gibson's movie blasphemed Jesus and his Jewish heritage, and the Christian Bible version in the New Testament. Isaiah in the Old Testament prophesized the coming of the son of God and his sacrifice so that we can be free to worship him in the denomination of our choice. His was the ultimate sacrifice for mankind. This book is fictional account of his life and does not claim to be true. Much of the content came from the author's imagination. He wrote modern history before there was such a thing, a precursor of today's historians.

"Everything Has Begun!" ~ Reconciling God With Man.......2006-07-17

I read Nikos Kazantzakis' `The Last Temptation of Christ' back in '75. It was assigned as required reading for a college course I was enrolled in called, "Radical Christianity". Actually I faked my way through the assignment, who wants to read another book on the life of Christ? I certainly didn't. It wasn't until the end of the semester and summer was upon me that I actually opened the book for the first time and begin to read. Once I began I couldn't put it down.

Kazantzakis is a brilliant writer who looks at the world and perceives the intangibles around us like no other author I've ever read. His narrative is surreal, hallucinogenic and disturbingly earthy all at the same time. His ability to look into the human psyche and translate its intensely personal contents into concrete terminology is truly amazing. At times his writing seems more akin to poetry than composition.

This life of Christ is unlike anything you've ever come across before, which explains why there was so much turmoil and Christian backlash over the release of the movie adaptation by Scorsese in '88. They still haven't learned that a closed mind can never be a truly spiritual mind. Don't pass on reading the book because you saw the film. The difference between the two is the difference between night and day.

One of my Top Ten Books of All-Time! My Highest Recommendation.

The heart of this great book can be found in these passages..........2006-07-06

I marked some passages that are very telling about the novel's wonderfully passionate sentiment. Foremost, I greatly appreciated the lack of fear and hate Kazantzakis' Jesus shows repetitively in the novel:

{p155} 'Judas, my brother is that you?'
'...I swore to my brothers and to the mother of the crucified that I would kill you.'
'I'm delighted to see you, Judas, my brother. I'm ready... I offer you my neck...'
It disgusted him to touch a neck which was offered undefended, like a lamb's... 'Why don't you resist?'
'...I prepared myself to be killed... Death is not a door which closes; it is a door which opens.'

This courage alone could change a world. It is displayed here again:
{p177} Barabbas went wild... he lifted his hand and slapped [Jesus]...
'Hit the other one too, Barabbas, my brother.'

These scenes are even more powerful for us to read with Kazantzakis portraying early that Jesus is merely a confused, deserted man aspiring for greatness:
{p145} A gypsy woman passed by... she said, 'I'll tell you your fortune... I see crosses -- crosses and stars... You'll become King of the Jews!' '...ever since then ... I haven't been in my right mind.'

Nikos' Jesus later rises to touch this greatness. But it's in the novel's wonderful parables he tells that hold keys to an emerging paradigm of Christianity:
{p202} 'God, how can anyone be happy in Paradise when he knows that there is a man, a soul, roasting for all eternity?' ... God heard [Lazarus'] thought and was glad. '...Beloved [Lazarus],' He said, 'go down... bring him here so that he may drink and refresh himself...' 'For all eternity?' asked Lazarus. 'Yes, for all eternity.' Jesus got up without a further word.

It's this passionate direction and frankness that makes this character so enjoyable to read. Nicos shows it again here, in an absolutely poignant way:
{p224} Jesus said... 'God is everywhere, old man, and we all are brothers.'
'Samaritans and Galileans too?'
'Samaritans and Galileans too, old man...'
'God and the devil too?' he asked finally.
Jesus was terrified. Never in his life had he been asked if God's mercy was so great that one day he would forgive even Lucifer... 'I don't know. I am a man, and my concern is for men.'

I so much wish that this was the concern of theologians today. These humanistic new ideas, found blasphemous by literal interpretations, appear again, in a compelling argument between Jesus and his best mate, Judas:
{p347} 'If the soul within us does not change, Judas, the world outside us will never change. The enemy is within, the Romans are within, salvation starts from within!'

And finally:
{p466} [The angel says to Jesus], 'here is the kingdom of heaven: earth... Here is eternity: ...each moment that passes. Moments aren't enough for you? If so, you must learn that eternity will not be either.'

If that's not liberating, then I have lost its meaning. This should be required reading. It's Kazantzakis' best attempt at living this moment (this one) as courageously and compassionately as one man did.

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Lost in the Translation
One of Kazantzakis most passionate books
Grim
Being with St. Francis
Saint Francis: This novel will change your life for good

Saint Francis
Nikos Kazantzakis , and John Michael Talbot
Manufacturer: Loyola Press
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Book Description

Kazantzakis infuses this tale with a fervent vision that is uniquely his own, highlighting the saintís heroic single-mindedness in the face of extreme physical and spiritual suffering. He portrays the saint as a great lover and inspiring leader, who embraced radical poverty in the face of many obstacles and temptations.

Customer Reviews:

Lost in the Translation.......2007-02-18

In 1972, I read The Last Temptation of Christ by Nikos Kazantzakis. I will always consider it one of the greatest books ever written. I found it an incredibly faith-affirming book and it changed my life as it changed my outlook on Jesus Christ. Thirty-five years later, I decided to read Saint Francis.

I was very disappointed. Not because it is a bad book, but because it fell way short of what I expected. Over the last three decades, I would say to anyone, "Open The Last Temptation of Christ to any page, and read. The words flow from each page like poetry." Such was not the case with Saint Francis.

I had a similar experience recently with Par Lagerkvist. I read Barabbas 40 years ago and then read The Sybil last year. I'll remember Mr. Lagerkvist for Barabbas, not for the disappointing Sybil. Similarly, I will remember Mr. Kazantzakis for the Last Temptation, not for Saint Francis. I truly believe that my failure to connect with these books recently is because of the translation, not because the author's work was of less value.

Saint Francis is a dark book of personal sacrifice. I continually saw visions of the Opus Dei sect as I read the book. Francis clearly led a life of personal sacrifice dedicated to the glory of God, but the translation left me empty and not inspired. I'll not refute any of the superlative reviews that this book has earned, but from this man's point of view, I'll be cautious in the future when selecting translated material regardless of the author.

One of Kazantzakis most passionate books.......2005-12-08

I am pleased to find that a number of reviewers find this book life-changing. It presents the entire anguish of human being, and it is the book that describes one of the highest concerns of Kazantzakis, an issue that he deals on several other books, but never with such fever: the desire of the human being to talk with God, and the depths that the human mind has to go in believing and disbelieving, in facing irrationality and hearing the voice of God.
You do not have to be religious in the strict christian sense. If that is the case, then this book might be offending, as it presents the passions of man that tries to reach God in an 'uncoventional' way, that does not abide by the doctrine of the church.

Still, I was deeply affected and deeply shaken by this book, more than any other book of Kazantazakis that I have read. Reading it was a 'passion' in itself. I had to reach the same depths, and I felt some of the anguish of St. Francis, as presented by Kazantakis. A lst remark. Do not compare the book with a biography. St. Francis is a tragic hero, an embodiment of mans religious passions, an example of faith.

Grim.......2003-12-16

I have read a lot of books on St. Francis of Assisi, and viewed several films. Kazantzakis presents a "fictional re-creation" St. Francis as an aescetic who travels a journey that few of us would want to take. An aescetic with a disgust for anything having to do with "the flesh" Francis suffers throughout most of the novel from malnutrition, dehydration, and a collection of maladies brought on by the neglect and abuse of his own body, the "temple of the Holy Spirit." This form of mortification of the body has thankfully been abandoned, but was considered a path to salvation coming out of the Dark Ages. His fear/avoidance and mysognistic view of women was unfortunate, and I think this perhaps was a bit overblown and not well researched by Kazantzakis, for I have not found this pathological view in any other writings about St. Francis.
For a deeper understanding of St. Francis of Assisi, and the wide attraction of this most famous saint, please read G.K. Chesterton's biography of St. Francis. Don't get me wrong, I admire and love St. Francis and the revolution he began in Christianity, but I disliked his portrayal by Kazantzakis.

Being with St. Francis.......2002-04-03

I read this book a year ago while on Spring break with my husband and two little daughters. It completely took me away and put me on a higher spiritual level that lasted a long time. Kazantzakis somehow captured the essence of what St. Francis was all about...St. Francis was a man who truly tried to do what Jesus said to do, sell everything you have, give it to the poor, pick up His cross daily and follow Him. The feeling I get when I read the book was one of actually being with St. Francis and understanding why so many followed him and liked him. I am in the middle of reading it again (another Spring break!), and I see why I loved it so much the first time. It's a great novel, even if you aren't a Christian, because the characters and the writing are so good, but being a Christian adds a spiritual level that makes me want to read this book over and over, even though I think I am so far from where St. Francis was! It makes one think about what Jesus really said and what it would be like to TRULY do what He said! I highly recommend it.

Saint Francis: This novel will change your life for good.......2002-03-28

Saint Francis is a passionate and highly personal vision of the life of Francis of Assisi, the poor man of God, by the late Nikos Kazantzakis, author of The Odyssey: A Modern Sequel (1958), The Last Temptation of Christ (1960), Zorba the Greek (1953), The Greek Passion (1954) and Freedom or Death (1956). (Note: dates are those of the first American editions.)

Nikos Kazantzakis' books transcend the usual limitations of the novel: they go beyond the mere telling of an exciting story and enter the sublime world of the spirit. Their themes are powerful and heroic, for above all they are concerned with the struggle between good and evil in man's soul, and with the ability of ordinary men, at all times in history, to leave behind their daily occupations and their pleasures and to dedicate themselves to a noble ideal, often at the cost of their lives.

In Freedom or Death, Kazantzakis wrote of the mortal combat between Greek and Turk on his native island of Crete; in the THE LAST TEMPTATION OF CHRIST, he wrote of the Saviour's spiritual passion and agony as He prepares His own martyrdom. In SAINT FRANCIS, Kazantzakis has re-created the story of Christianity's best-known, most human, and most beloved saint -- Francis of Assisi.

It is a historical novel, and the reader will grasp in it all the miseries and glory of medieval Italy. But Kazantzakis has not limited himself to the retelling of this well-known story. He has tried to show us Saint Francis as a person, tempted by the life that is offered to him and the comforts of his home, but driven by his own restless spirit to rise above the level of his fellow men and to assert his belief in goodness and submission. Kazantzakis' Francis is not the calm and undisturbed saint of legend, preaching to the animals. His is a man, tempted, weary, but searching for spiritual peace in a world of evil and war.

Kazantzakis has made his narrator, Saint Francis' companion, a cheerful monk, happy with wine and good food, weak in the ways of the flesh, but faithful to the master he cannot fully understand. Through his eyes we see the endless strife between the flesh and the spirit, the bitter wanderings over Europe and the Holy Land, the struggle against complacent and entrenched men in the Church that finally led to the founding of the Franciscan order.

This is the story of Saint Francis as only Nikos Kazantzakis could tell it.

It is a book that cannot fail to move everyone who reads it.

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A Beautiful Autobiography of A Profound Thinker & Writer
Absolute Repose, Absolute Fecundity
A literary masterpiece
Christ, Buddha, Lenin
Overcoming Twentieth Century Angst

Report to Greco
Nikos Kazantzakis
Manufacturer: Touchstone
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Customer Reviews:

A Beautiful Autobiography of A Profound Thinker & Writer.......2005-05-16

The spiritual travels to find himself and his inner soul are fascinating and the geography covered is extensive and with Kazantzakis' descriptions of the scenery, one feels that they are walking right along side him from Europe to Greece, the Mid East and beyond.

At one point, Kazantzakis is traveling with his friend Buddhaki to Mt. Athos to visit the many monasteries there and they come upon a Father Makarios. They muse on the ego, separation from God, etc., and when it is time to go, the good Father says, ["Good luck. God be with you." And a moment later, mockingly: "Regards to the world." "Regards to heaven," I retorted. "And tell God it's not our fault but his-because He made the world so beautiful."] (p 225)

On a trip to Jerusalem they meet a young man who ["...was passionately condemning the dishonesty and injustice of present-day economic and social life. The masses went hungry while the great and powerful piled up fortunes. Women sold themselves, priest did not believe, both heaven and the infernal pit were here on earth. The afterlife did not exist; here was where we had to find justice and happiness.... Cries rang out: "Yes, yes, you're right!" "Fire and axe!" Only one person attempted to object." ..."It was frightening. The purpose of trip was to worship the sweet, familiar face of God-so gentle, so tortured, so filled with hopes for life everlasting." ..."...we were carrying as a terrifying gift the seed of a new, dangerous, and as yet unformed cosmogony."] (p 245)

Later and on the road to the Dead Sea, "I had found it necessary to purge my bowels and expel the demons inside me-wolves, monkeys, women; minor virtues, minor joys, successes-so that I could remain simply an upright flame directed toward heaven. Now that I was a man, what was I doing but enacting what I had so ardently desired as a child in the courtyard of our family home! A person is only born once; I would never have another chance!" (p 252)

*Kazantzakis begins to summarize his spiritual journey with, "Our journey to the fatal intellectual Golgotha thus becomes more loaded with responsibility because now, looking at the Cretans, we know that if we fail to become human, the fault is ours, ours alone. For this lofty species-man-exists, he made his appearance on earth, and there is no longer any justification whatever for our deterioration and cowardice." (p 441)*

At the end is, "Just then-as fate was in a mood to play games-I made the acquaintance of an elderly mineworker named Alexis Zorba." (Zorba the Greek). This leads Kazantzakis to an introductory chapter on Zorba wherein he states, "My life's greatest benefactors have been journeys and dreams. Very few people, living or dead, have aided my struggle. If, however, I wished to designate which people left their traces imbedded most deeply in my soul, I would perhaps designate Homer, Buddha, Nietzsche, Bergson, and Zorba."
(p 445)

Kazantzakis was a prolific writer with incredible insight and wisdom and some of his best known works are: "The Last Temptation of Christ" and "Zorba the Greek". Start in on any book, though, and one will most likely feel compelled to read them all!

Absolute Repose, Absolute Fecundity.......2004-04-18

Autobiography of the Greek novelist, poet and philosopher. In his own words, the author of Zorba the Greek, Saint Francis, and The Last Temptation of Christ tells the story of his life and art. Translated from the Greek by P. A. Bien.

Report to Greco is comparable in importance to The Education of Henry Adams. It is not a formal autobiography, but rather the summing up, by a great artist, of a lifetime's ideas, work, experiences and friendships. In it, Kazantzakis searches for the roots of his own genius, describes his early interest in Nietzsche, his apprenticeship with Henri Bergson, his travels through Russia in the early days of the revolution, his tempestuous and deeply moving friendships and loves and -- above all -- the agonizing and never-ending process of artistic development that culminated in a whole series of inspired masterpieces.

It is a book of epic themes, dominated by Kazantzakis' agonized search for a means to combine his love of life and art with his ceaseless quest for spiritual truth -- a quest that led him from Bergson to Freud, from Freud to Lenin, from Lenin to Buddha, compelled by a deep desire to bring about, not only in art, but in life, a spiritual revolution, a 1917 of the soul.

Kazantzakis has been acclaimed as one of the truly great writers of our century by both Albert Schweitzer and the late Thomas Mann. Report to Greco is his credo, his summing up, his report to posterity on the efforts and the journeys of a lifetime. Together with The Odyssey: A Modern Sequel and The Saviors of God: Spiritual Exercises, it forms the cornerstone of his work.

A literary masterpiece.......2004-01-04

I have read the book in both the original Greek and the translated version. The translated version is exceptional which is a rarity in literature. The book is a quasi-autobiography of Nikos Kazantzakis but the main theme is not his life. It's the spiritual struggle of man to find his place on earth and to understand the concept of a God. A deeply spiritual person, Kazantzakis, struggled throughout his life trying to draw the right path for him. He traveled throughout the world in order to witness how other cultures dealt with the same notions. He returns home at the end because the call of his birth land is too strong. The book is written supposedly as an account to his grandfather, an arab pirate, but a view also exists that it is a report to El Greco (Domenikos Theotokopoulos), a famous Greek artist (1541-1614). Kazantzakis was a great admirer of El Greco and a visit to his homeland is described in the book. Kazantzakis is a literary giant, Albert Camus was one of his friends and admirers, and the book is not for the casual reader.
To me this is the book I would choose to have if I was only allowed to own one book.

Christ, Buddha, Lenin.......2003-10-15

A truly challenging work. A consumate traveller, truth-seeker, inetellectual, Kazantzakis creates a remarkable memior. The fact that Christ, Buddha and Lenin were the author's three primary heros and inspirations should be enough to pique anyone's interest. I would especially recommend this book to anyone feeling disillusioned with modern life. See how the world was just 100 years ago, and how it still might be for those adventurous enough to think they can redesign it...

Overcoming Twentieth Century Angst.......2003-01-21

This superb tome is meant to be read as part metaphor, part autobiography, and part myth. A truly glorious and inspirational work. Here, fellow readers, is the essence of the book: "Rise up, brothers! Join the struggle of life! Have no fear! Yes, all is vanity, but by boldly confronting the Abyss and experiencing each day anew, we can overcome the pettiness and sheepishness of the Age! Stand and fight! Though life is but a finite struggle, do not despair! Live life to its fullest! By doing so, each one of us may existentially triumph over our own mortality." Remember what is written on Kazantzakis' tombstone in Crete: "I want nothing, I fear nothing. I am free!"

Average customer rating:

freedom and death
Timeless and Inspiring

Freedom and Death
Nikos Kazantzakis
Manufacturer: Faber & Faber
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Spanish | Foreign Language Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Zorba the Greek
At Palaces Of Knossos
Christ Recrucified
Alexander The Great: A Novel
Saint Francis

ASIN: 057117857X

Customer Reviews:

freedom and death.......2006-01-07

Before reading the book the title confused me; shouldn't it be Freedom OR Death? You would think....until you read the book. I won't spoil it for you by telling you what message Kazantzaki is trying to convey; you can find this out for yourself. What I can tell you is the setting is in Crete late 1800's while Crete was still under Turkish rule. It's a story of one family's (perhaps Kazantzaki's?) pride in their Greek Christian heritage and their irrepressible and explosive drive for freedom. Might I add that I have never read a book where an author displayed more love for his native land than Kazantzaki's passion for Crete and his "mother" Greece. This novel is classic Kazantzaki; powerfully raw but deeply profound all at the same time. It left me feeling like I had a knife stuck in my heart, like after reading an ancient Greek tragedy - absolutely beautiful. I highly recommend this book.

Timeless and Inspiring.......2005-11-09

I was kind of surprised not to see any reviews on this amazing novel by Nikos Kazantzakis. Let me start by saying that I 've read this novel only in the original Greek version. Nevertheless, I feel I can comment on the content and the feelings that this "journey" inspired me.

I originally felt that you have to be Greek to really feel the intensity of the ideas that storm through this story that takes place during the Greek Revolution era (1820's) against the Turkish oppression in the island of Crete. However, any reader can rise above the distinctive historical and cultural context (which with marvel you will experience its description) and get swept by the powerful ideas of love for one's home, love for one's family and such love for one's freedom that death is a duty. It is suggested however to familiarize yourself with some facts about Kazantakis' life and work by reading "Report to Greco" or/and his classic "Zorba the Greek". The fight for freedom is an idea that can be symbolized in many aspects of our lives and that sadly has now become a very commercial and misunderstood concept. It is in this book however that I read about it being given in its purest form as the ultimate fight for an idea that is more precious than life itself. The title of the book encompasses its substance: it is Freedom AND Death.

The writing by Kazantzakis is greatly colorful with beautiful details that create the reality of that time. At the same time, his writing is very affecting; being a Cretan himself you can see his deep love for his home testified on the pages. This is not an easy read, I feel you need to be in a specific mood to engage in this book since it requires your soul to be present and not just your mind. It is emotionally drenching, the human struggles (both psychological and physical, inner and overt) depicted are fiercely touching and the glorious and bloody climax builds up in a ceremonial way. In the end of this book I trully experienced a catharsis, for the first time at such strength, having gone through so many emotional stages with the characters and the plot of the story. As in other Kazantakis books, people might find sexist elements or even misogyny, but bear in mind the historical era and the patriarchic structure of society at the time.

I realize this review is quite personal, but I just felt the need to share my thoughts and feelings about this masterpiece. Approach this novel with an open mind and an open heart and I assure you, you will be rewarded.

Average customer rating:

I am really disappointed!!!!
A book so powerful, so essential, so life-altering no wonder its out of print...
Religion for modern people

Report to Greco
Nikos Kazantzakis
Manufacturer: Faber and Faber
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
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Freedom and Death
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ASIN: 0571195075

Customer Reviews:

I am really disappointed!!!!.......2007-05-12

I have this book in Arabic and I decided to read the english version, but to my utter disappointment i could not find such a great book on amazon!!!..

So Amazon, I need that book desperately... help !!!!... What is the answer?!!!!!!!

A book so powerful, so essential, so life-altering no wonder its out of print..........2006-12-30

I found this book, used, for a dollar outside the Strand in NYC. It was like finding a diamond ring in a box of Crackerjacks.

What is the matter with the American publishing industry that a giant of modern literature like Nikos Kazantzakis and a book like `Report to Greco' can possibly be out of print? What...are 45 bazillion copies of the latest John Grisham nonsense not enough? Certainly an entire wall of the new James Patterson novel is sufficient, especially inasmuch as its exactly the same as the first 300 James Patterson novels. Are publishers and booksellers *that* greedy that they can't spare three inches of shelf-space like they used to back in the days when books weren't marketed like fast-food burgers? Sure, it's great to read, everyone says so, but does it make absolutely no difference *what* we read? Is it worthwhile to read any old junk? Why is it good to read anyway...just to boost the economy?

Reading is of value *because* of books like `Report to Greco.'

`Report to Greco' is the philosophical/spiritual autobiography of a truly extraordinary seeker. To call Kazantzakis merely a `poet' or a `novelist,' even an `artist,' is to short-change a man whose remarkable life and work records the effort to live at the highest possible level. `Report' lays out Kazantzakis's personal philosophy perhaps more directly than in any of his other works. Much more than a strictly factual biographical chronicle, `Report' is a kind of mythological record of the most important aspects of his life. Kazantzakis provides the key to understanding `Report'--and his spiritual approach in general--when he describes his habit of amplifying and interpreting the major events and turning points of his life in archetypal terms. His father isn't merely a `father' but a Father. His mother isnt any old 'mother' but the Universal Mother. His first experiences of sex, death, love, and violence are all elevated to the colossal proportions that they assume in our soul--and thereby more `real' than real. For Kazantzakis, reality doesn't consist of a simple recitation of facts...but of the monumental emotional and spiritual inner truths that those facts elicit from our souls.

Yes, Kazantzakis speaks seriously about the `soul,' about `God,' about `meaning' and a `spiritual life.' And he does so in a way that doesn't embarrass an educated human being in the 21st century. Indeed, if a spiritual life is possible at all at this point in human history, if a search for `God' can be anything other than a charade of retrogressive nostalgia or fundamentalist lunacy, then Kazantzakis shows, if not the path, then a way to find the path. A way to live with fire, spirit, and heart.

This is a book of discoveries, dramas, and ideas writ large. The kind of book that isnt written any more, or, if its written, apparently isn't published. It's more than only a shame that 'Report to Greco' is out of print--it's a disgrace. I suppose we can always hope for the movie version to inspire some publisher to run off a few copies. After all, it got Kazantzakis's `Zorba the Greek' and `The Last Temptation of Christ' back on the shelves. For now.

How ridiculous.

Religion for modern people.......2006-04-26

"Report to Greco" is Kazantzakis "autobiography" although even his widow in the introduction admits both that the book is a mixture of "fact and fiction" and that there are some "small modifications" when he speaks about his own adventures. So, think of it as another novel, or philosophical tract.

The work begins with some of the most profound and true words about death I have ever read: "I collect my tools: sight, smell, touch, taste, hearing, intellect. Night has fallen, the day's work is done. I return like a mole to my home, the ground. Not because I am tired and cannot work. I am not tired. But the sun has set."

The book is full of sayings and brief passages like this, revealing at every turn the familiar Kazantzakis struggle for "ascent": growth, unity, passion. "It is our duty to set ourselves an end beyond our individual concerns, beyond our convenient, agreeable habits, higher than our own selves, and disdaining laughter, hunger, even death, to toil night and day to attain that end. No, not to attain it. The self-respecting soul, as soon as he reaches his goal, places it still farther away. Not to attain it, but never to halt in the ascent. Only thus does life acquire nobility and oneness." (p. 80)

In this quest for ascent, Kazantzakis is led into both a journey of ideas and to physical travel. The book abounds with accounts of his adventures in Israel, Mt. Athos and throughout Europe in addition to his encounters with the great ideas.

It is the significance of the stories that captivate me, as I remain suspicious of the biographical value of the material. He speaks of the "balance" of the ancients as not effortless but difficulty won against the forces of chaos that triumphed before and after the magic moments of the 5th century. As he describes the decline: belief in the country replaced by individual self- sufficiency; the arts shifting their attention to glorification of the indulgences of the wealthy; and to ever more "realistic" descriptions of degradation (p. 170); he could be describing our time as well. Other striking stories of original sin (p.25) or an encounter with a monk who found the one true joy of his life not in worship but in illicit sex (p. 225), his warning of the dangers of the "minor virtues" (p. 142, 213) are worthy of reflection and study.

His struggle for oneness, to unite passion and discipline, the Dionysian and Apollonian sides of the Greek heritage (p. 323-4), remains our struggle. Or at least it should be the struggle of those who wish Christianity to speak to the full person, not just to the self-flagellating ascetic.

Serpent and Lily: A Novella, with a Manifesto: The Sickness of the Age

Average customer rating:

Serpent and Lily: A Novella, with a Manifesto: The Sickness of the Age
Nikos Kazantzakis
Manufacturer: University of California Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

General | World Literature | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

General | Classics | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

At Palaces Of Knossos

ASIN: 0520038851

Average customer rating:

Odyssey: A Modern Sequel
Nikos Kazantzakis
Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: B000GSKAXI

Average customer rating:

recommended for a greek audience
Yet another saintly person suffers for everyone's sins
A Book for the Whole World
So-so
Myth or Reality?

Greek Passion
Nikos Kazantzakis
Manufacturer: Touchstone Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

The Odyssey: A Modern Sequel (Touchstone Books)
Freedom and Death
Saviours of God
Report to Greco
Christ Recrucified

ASIN: 0671212168

Customer Reviews:

recommended for a greek audience.......2005-11-19

The setting is a Greek villiage deep in the interior of Anatolia in the early part of the twentieth century at the twilight of the Ottoman Empire. The colorful imagary, vibrant characters, humor, lustiness, and spirituality are present in this novel just as they are in Zorba the Greek. It's a wonderful read. If you loved the Zorba novel, you will also love The Greek Passion. I don't want to tell you the theme of the novel because that would surely spoil it for you. I didn't realize Kazantzakis' message until almost the last chapter. It was not a complete surprise, but then I wasn't expecting it either. What I can say, is that every person who calls themselves Greek should read this book. It was written specifically for you, so get going and read. As for the others in this forum, this may seem odd, but I don't recommend this book for you. This novel does not have a universal theme. Unless you are Greek or very familiar with Greek history and the Greek character, you will not realize the meaning of this novel and gain full appreciation of its genius. Some may disagree, but that's all I can say without divulging too much.

Yet another saintly person suffers for everyone's sins.......2004-04-13

_The Greek Passion_ is a work of art written by a genius who undeniably knew his own people. Nikos Kazantzakis transports the story of the passion of Jesus Christ to a Greek village that is under the control of the Turks during the final years of the Ottoman Empire. This version of the passion is one of great beauty and is told with tremendous fervor and emotion. Here, a simple, innocent shepard receives blame for, then accepts personal responsibility for the sins of his neighbors so that their lives may be spared. The shepard and his followers are called bolsheviks and worse because they believe that a band of starving refugees from another village, which includes children with distended bellies, should be fed and clothed from the storehouses and the homes of some of the wealthy community elders. Two aspects of religion are shown:
a hypocritical priest who is so concerned with protecting his power and authority that he panders to the enemy, a Turkish Agha, over the welfare of the Greek people; and, a saintly priest, who acts in the true spirit of Christianity by endeavoring to relieve his peoples' suffering. The forces of these two disparate priests eventually clash and the results are both tragic and heartbreaking. It is apparent that very little has changed since the time of Jesus. Special interests are still putting up road blocks to prevent the meek from inheriting the earth. _The Greek Passion_ is a novel that the admirers of Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, and perhaps even Jesus Christ, himself, would love.

A Book for the Whole World.......2003-03-18

I think there is no doubt that in this book the writer tells the story for the whole world not just for Greece.The story happens in a little village that is a sign of the whole world. Kazantzakis tells us a story of a cruel man who just likes to kill people.We can clearly see the scream of the author for liberity.He tells us that living like Jesus has it's own way which is fighting for truth and against the lies.
I think that by reading this book we can not stay silence anymore against the lies in our world.

So-so.......1999-06-05

As with all his books, rich imagery. Not as good as "last temptation of Christ" I was stuck by the cruelty that the hero Manolios did to the woman who sacrifice her life for him. He is all politically correct and lukewarm to her. Even when she died he didnot feel slightest trace of sadness but went around saying that he envied her because she is in heaven. If that is what follow Christ lead to I want no part of Christianity!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Myth or Reality?.......1999-06-04

Kazantzakis masterfully transcribes the many trials and tribulations of a Greek Mountain Village. He definitely digs deep into the contradiction that is religion and life. While many have been turned off by Kazantzakis' realism(commotion raised by "The Last Temptation of Christ" being turned into a movie), it would most certainly be to their advantage to read Kazantzakis for the characters which he creates. To this end Kazantzakis is unparalelled(If you haven't already, score yourself a copy of "Zorba the Greek" to see what I mean. His concentration on the evils that guide men through their actions really makes this novel move. In the end we are left to ask ourselves if these characters, and this mountain village really exist or not. The answer--You tell me.

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