Set before the start of the First World War, this moving fable sees a young English writer set out to Crete to claim a small inheritance. But when he arrives, he meets Alexis Zorba, a middle-aged Greek man with a zest for life. Zorba has had a family and many lovers, has fought in the Balkan wars, has lived and loved - he is a simple but deep man who lives every moment fully and without shame. As their friendship develops, the Englishman is gradually won over, transformed and inspired along with the reader.
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Product Description
Book Description
The original work of inspirational fiction - a delightful tale which has changed the lives of generations of readers.
About the Author
Nikos Kazantzakis was born in 1883 in Herakleion on the island of Crete. During the Cretan revolt of 1897 his family was sent to the island of Naxos, where he attended the French School of the Holy Cross. From 1902 to 1906 he studied law at Athens University. He worked first as a journalist and throughout a long career wrote several plays, travel journals and translations. His remarkable travels began in 1907 and there were few countries in Europe or Asia that he didn't visit. He studied Buddhism in Vienna and later belonged to a group of radical intellectuals in Berlin, where he began his great epic The Odyssey, which he completed in 1938. He didn't start writing novels until he was almost 60 and completed his most famous work, Zorba the Greek, in 1946. Other novels include Freedom and Death (1953) and The Last Temptation (1954), which the Vatican placed on the Index. Return to Greco, an autobiographical novel, was published in 1961.Nikos Kazantzakis finally settled in Antibes with his second wife, and died there from leukaemia in October 1957. He is buried at Herakleion, where the epitaph on his tomb reads: 'I hope for nothing. I fear nothing. I am free'.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
By Rory Carr
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
When Mark Twain wrote that the secret to life and happiness was to, "Dance like no one was watching, sing like nobody's listening and love like you've never been hurt", he may have had in mind a great spirit like Alexis Zorbas (Zorba the Greek). There is no more life-affirming novel than Nikos Kazantzakis's great tale and no more life-affirming character in all of literature, with the possible exception of Huckleberry Finn, than Zorba as he leads his grieving and bewildered "Boss" towards the light . It is the great spiritual masterpiece of the twentieth century and I turn to it about every seven years or so simply to remind myself that life is worth living and that giving of oneself, which also necessitates the ability to take graciously what is offered, is all.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
By jacr100
VINE™ VOICE
Format:Paperback
The character of Zorba the Greek has entered mainstream culture, having subsequently been the subject of a successful film and musical, but the original lies here in Kazantzakis's timeless novel, based in Crete in the 1930s. And what an unforgettable character he is - a simple man, based on a real individual called George Zorbas whom the author met, who lives intensely according to his passions and whims; who loves women, wine and music, and distrusts any form of repression.
Zorba meets the narrator, a young Greek intellectual, when the latter is about to leave for Crete to open a lignite mine; the narrator is instantly charmed by Zorba and employs him as a foreman. Once on the island they stay with Madame Hortense, a former beauty who seduced naval captains, and who soon also falls under Zorba's spell.
Much of the novel is centred on the conflicting views of the narrator - a Buddhist, a bookworm, a man of unfulfilled dreams - and Zorba, who has journeyed far and wide, has a zest for life, sees religion as a sham and views books as an inferior substitute for reality. For Zorba women are essentially weak creatures that need to be loved, and some will object to his chauvinism, but undeniably he also loves them in turn and sees an existence without them as futile. More than anything, Zorba's spell begins to work its magic on the reader, who starts to wonder: am I living my life fully? Why do we distract ourselves from pleasurable things? Is there anything to fear after death if we have lived our lives well? As Zorba himself says:
"I (Zorba) shall go to hell, not because I've robbed, killed or committed adultery, no. All that's nothing. But I shall go to hell because one night in Salonica a woman waited for me on her bed and I did not go to her."
A classic - like all great literature, it will change your perspective on what it means to live.
Zorba meets the narrator, a young Greek intellectual, when the latter is about to leave for Crete to open a lignite mine; the narrator is instantly charmed by Zorba and employs him as a foreman. Once on the island they stay with Madame Hortense, a former beauty who seduced naval captains, and who soon also falls under Zorba's spell.
Much of the novel is centred on the conflicting views of the narrator - a Buddhist, a bookworm, a man of unfulfilled dreams - and Zorba, who has journeyed far and wide, has a zest for life, sees religion as a sham and views books as an inferior substitute for reality. For Zorba women are essentially weak creatures that need to be loved, and some will object to his chauvinism, but undeniably he also loves them in turn and sees an existence without them as futile. More than anything, Zorba's spell begins to work its magic on the reader, who starts to wonder: am I living my life fully? Why do we distract ourselves from pleasurable things? Is there anything to fear after death if we have lived our lives well? As Zorba himself says:
"I (Zorba) shall go to hell, not because I've robbed, killed or committed adultery, no. All that's nothing. But I shall go to hell because one night in Salonica a woman waited for me on her bed and I did not go to her."
A classic - like all great literature, it will change your perspective on what it means to live.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By Teapot
Format:Paperback
An absolutely brilliant novel, as fresh and relevant today as it was when first printed in the '60s. It's main themes are head vs heart, contemplation vs instinct, abstinence vs indulgence, religion vs immorality. For me, Zorba's particularly simple philosophy reminded me of a few home truths, expressing complex ideas so succintly and clearly. Aside from the great philosophical debates, Zorba the Greek is so compelling for its human content, full of warmth and humanity. Outstanding.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Adored it for the right and wrong reasons
An masterfully told tale of an unusual sort of fellow who danced according to his own beat and his cautious companion in a Greece that now exists only in books. Read more
Published 8 months ago by Renata Lopes Vincent
5.0 out of 5 stars
Existentialism through the medium of Dance
Zorba the Greek is a tale of two men on an island in Greece; the young engineer/book worm narrator and the 65 year old Macedonian Alexis Zorba. Read more
Published on 8 Jan 2011 by H. Tee
5.0 out of 5 stars
A pleasure!
The love of life explored through the character of Zorba, a man who loves women, hard work, wine, music and dancing, all of the fundamental pleasures of life, and explores them all... Read more
Published on 13 Jan 2010 by Michael Llewellyn
1.0 out of 5 stars
A brutal adolescent fantasy philosophy
Definitely time this got a review to provide some balance. I wouldn't usually review a book from one angle only but in this case I feel it is justified: this is one of the most... Read more
Published on 3 Dec 2009 by Agent
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Greatest Greek Literature ever written
After reading this book I can confidently say it is by far one of the greatest books I've ever read. Read more
Published on 29 July 2009 by Zorba26
5.0 out of 5 stars
Zorba the Greek
Having been to Crete for a holiday and being told the story of Zorba the Greek I decided it would be good to read the story and this edition is a good read. Highly recommended
Published on 26 July 2009 by Mrs. D. A. Churchman
5.0 out of 5 stars
PRODUCT DESCRIPTION WRONG!
Hi, I don't feel like writing a review for this wonderful book but I'm just writing a comment to point out that the book description is wrong. Read more
Published on 16 May 2009 by the
5.0 out of 5 stars
Do it at least once, go on...
One of the richest experiences I have ever had with any story. Kazantzakis is a very good story teller and Zorba the Greek is a great novel. Read more
Published on 29 Sep 2008 by Hamaad Djamshidi
5.0 out of 5 stars
An underrated classic!
"Zorba the Greek" is simply a great novel. Kazantzakis is brilliant in his dialogue, story-telling, and word pictures. Read more
Published on 23 April 2007 by David Lundberg
5.0 out of 5 stars
This Book challenges you to open your Eyes
I haven't read a good fiction book in a long time... but this book demanded attention. It brought me back to my senses, after being swept away by philosophical meanderings for so... Read more
Published on 3 Nov 2006 by Gaitry
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