Reviews tagging 'Death'

Βίος και πολιτεία του Αλέξη Ζορμπά by Nikos Kazantzakis

3 reviews

aodhan_maclennan's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful reflective relaxing sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

I think that this books is really underappreciated in modern times because of the way we've been taught to consume media. The reviews complaining about misogyny in the book are really missing the point in the most dense and shallow way possible. A huge theme in the book is that people are generally terrible, especially when their morals are founded on religion, proud ignorance, and patriarchy. Even Basil and Zorba were not written for you to idolise: they are written to be flawed, complicated, and lost people trying to make sense of a brutal, absurd, and short life in an endlessly complex universe and their own place in the ocean of history. The book was not written to spoon feed you ideals, give concrete answers, make you feel good about life, or confirm your views on life. Why would you read a book about philosophy if you aren't willing to keep an open mind and think even a little about the meaning of the book?

Original Review:
A wonderfully profound book with gorgeous imagery praising the beauty of Greece. In the latter half of the book it gets quite disheartening, but it eventually resolves in a way that left me with a sense of awe at the vastness of life, the strangeness of the human mind, and our webs of influence on others through our interpersonal relationships. The book addresses imperfection, ambiguity, and the transience of all things.
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amavi's review against another edition

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funny reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

This is a rough one, I didn't know what I was getting into but I was expecting a lot more. I was also very excited to read something from Greece.

Now...The only positive thing I can say about this book is that the prose was sooo beautiful. I soaked up every description of nature that I got. It truly made me crave the beautiful islands of Greece. (The book was also very funny to me)

Now the negative... I really disliked the way women are portrayed and used in this book
a woman gets legitimately beheaded for what??? And the fact that it's forgotten in like 3 pages.....

All the characters are unlikable to me.
As I come from this part of the world(Balkan, countries that have been under the Ottomans, Orthodox Christianity etc.) I am very familiar with the mentality of the people, customs, traditions etc. So I didn't get much from the historical/educational aspect.
The philosophy didn't change me/my life.

This wasn't my cup of tea, I can't say it was an enjoyable read but I wouldn't tell people not to read it. I just wish it worked better for me/I enjoyed it more.

I do want to read more from the author.
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forestfae's review against another edition

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emotional inspiring reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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