Zorba the Greek by Nikos Kazantzakis Book Review

 Zorba the Greek 

By Nikos Kazantzakis 

Published Year : 1952

Page Count: 335 pages 

Medium Used: Paperback 

Genre: Spirituality, Religion, Christianity, Memoir like, Historical fiction, Greece, 2025-read,Good Prose, Satire. 

Rating : 5/5 !😍😍😍😍😍

This is a solid 5 pointer for me. The writing is stunning. The pacing is fast and the scenes are memorable. The characters are sensational - especially Zorba and his old aged lover Bouboulina. All through the book, I was wondering one thing only: Has this author won the nobel prize or not. This is my second book from him .. the first one was The Last Temptation of Christ  and it was sensational too. I absolutely love this book. Its a satire on the religious beliefs of Christians and makes one wonder the concepts of good and evil, existence of God and if God intervenes in the affairs of men. A profoundly thought provoking read. 

This is purely my take on this. I feel Christianity as such doesn't expand and console the desires of spiritually inclined followers. The beliefs and teachings are very limited. Zorba is a Macedonian who is an explorer by nature and cheerful, easy going yet deeply feeling in spirit. He has some piquant observations on life and some unanswered questions which he poses to the narrator. The narrator is a spiritual seeker and a bibliophile. He tries to answer the questions to the best of his ability. But those questions don't have ready answers .. atleast they cannot be found in the religious texts of Christian teachings. 

If I need to use one or few words to explain the character of Zorba, I will fall short. He is this creature that has heart hanging on his sleeves. Yet he pretends valor and courage when in the presence of women folk. He transformed the narrator into his mold. When separation was inevitable, I felt very sad for both of them. The narrator and Zorba. Like the narrator explains towards the end, they have conjoined like two souls into one and when one is in danger/pain, the other one cries out! 

What a wonderful read this is. I will remember the levity and also the poignancy of the characters. Bouboulina..I felt pity for her but also knew that her death brought perhaps only relief to Zorba. The monks and the events at the monastery .. how ludicrous and hypocritical, untrue these monks are to the spirit of their religion. The satire and the sarcasm directed towards them felt justified. I didn't understand why the widow was beheaded.. was it heresy or something she had done and the narrator didn't include in the story? Zorba is like an old man over sixty years old.. with a perpetual childish heart and young spirit. He has a weakness for women and every other passion, in his life, starting with cherries in his childhood, he claims  to having conquered by indulging it to the fullest! He doesn't understand why so many bad things happen in the world, if God would involve himself in petty keeping track of every soul and if God really is there.