“Zorba the Greek” by Nikos Kazantzakis (Greece)

Synopsis

This moving fable sees a young Greek 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, he is gradually won over, transformed and inspired along with the reader.

Zorba the Greek, Nikos Kazantzakis’ most popular and enduring novel, has its origins in the author’s own experiences in the Peloponnesus in the 1920s. His swashbuckling hero has legions of fans across the world and his adventures are as exhilarating now as they were on first publication in the 1950s.

Favourite Quote

You have seen what happens when you hold a glass out to the sun and concentrate all the rays onto one spot, Zorba? That spot soon catches fire, doesn’t it? Why? Because the sun’s power has not been dispersed but concentrated on that one spot. It is the same with men’s minds. You do miracles, if you concentrate your mind on one thing and only one. Do you understand, Zorba?

Nicola’s Creative Reading Group reading list

Year 5 – “Western Europe” (Oct 2010 – Jun 2011)

“The True Deceiver” by Tove Jansson (Finland/Sweden)
“The Withered Root” by Rhys Davies (U.K.-Wales)
“Loving Sabotage” by Amélie Nothomb (Belgium)
“The Following Story” by Cees Nooteboom (Netherlands)
“The Wall Jumper” by Peter Schneider (Germany)
“Women as Lovers” by Elfriede Jelinek (Austria)
“A Heart so White” by Javier Marias (Spain)
“If on a Winter’s Night a Traveller” by Italo Calvino (Italy)
“Zorba the Greek” by Nikos Kazantzakis (Greece)