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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ASIN: 0671202472

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 explorati L'anglais pour mieux voyager en Grande-Bretagne

L'anglais pour mieux voyager en Grande-Bretagne

L'anglais pour mieux voyager en Grande-Bretagne
Authors: Jacqueline Grekin
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ringtone88.com 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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ASIN: 068485256X

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 n Le Brésilien pour mieux voyager

Le Brésilien pour mieux voyager

Le Brésilien pour mieux voyager
Authors: Araujo, Caroline Lopez
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ringtone88.com
{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
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0829421297

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.) < Latin Terminales

Latin Terminales

Latin Terminales
Authors: Michèle Callon, Renée Scemama, Françoise Colmez
Catalog: Book
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Release Date: 28 May, 2003
Publisher: Bordas
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ringtone88.com r 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!"

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freedom and death
Timeless and Inspiring

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

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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 p Les animaux de la ferme

Les animaux de la ferme

Les animaux de la ferme
Authors: Françoise de Guibert, Aurélie Guillerey
Catalog: Book
Media: Cartonné
Release Date: 28 May, 2003
Publisher: Larousse
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ringtone88.com 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

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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

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At Palaces Of Knossos

ASIN: 0520038851

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Odyssey: A Modern Sequel
Nikos Kazantzakis
Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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Saint Francis
God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything

ASIN: B000GSKAXI

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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 Licenciements : Procédure - Indemnités - Contentieux

Licenciements : Procédure - Indemnités - Contentieux

Licenciements : Procédure - Indemnités - Contentieux
Authors: Hubert Flichy
Catalog: Book
Media: Broché
Release Date: 28 May, 2003
Publisher: Delmas
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