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mantissss's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
"The blood of the killed is crying out."
Crete revolted seven times. Seven times men clad in black sariki took up their arms, took to the mountains, and fought for freedom. The first ended in a public torture and flaying of the revolt's leader, while the last ended with the kissing of Prince George of Greece's hand as he set foot on Crete, unifying the long-suffered island with her "beggar mother." Kazantzakis saw the last as a child, walking the laurel and myrtle strewn streets his fathers dreamed of seeing, feeling those forefathers rise again within him bellowing and screeching with joy and relief. He felt their bones rattling in their graves with the fulfilled promise of freedom, shorn of it six times over a hundred years. It is that sixth revolt, the penultimate struggle of Crete becoming Greek, that he wrote of in this book, immortalizing his monstrous father within it forever.
For me, this book solidified Kazantzakis' position as one of the greatest writers of modern Greek literature. Owing to his being the inheritor of ancient literary traditions, (once he said that Homer, alongside Christ, Buddha, and Nietzsche were his spiritual masters) he seamlessly blends magical realism into grounded historical context. His words bring to life a love of "suffering Crete," poignantly depicted through a tormented woman-Christ on a cross, crying "Eli, Eli, lama sabachtani." For Kazantzakis, Crete and her suffering goes beyond religion. For what is salvation, if the motherland is not saved? For her, heresy is worth it. Such is the weight of Crete's sufferance. Yet, there is also an emphasis on Crete's beauty, with her "close-knit body," her "gleams" and "glows" when white sand turns blood-red as the sun sets. Through this juxtaposition, Kazantzakis's writing embodies another of his major influences: Nietzsche. For only when one realizes the meaninglessness and suffering of life would they be free to make their own meaning, to find their own personal idea of beauty in it. This idea, I perceive, is explored further in Captain Michales's final fate, wreathed with the other themes of the book.
For me, this book solidified Kazantzakis' position as one of the greatest writers of modern Greek literature. Owing to his being the inheritor of ancient literary traditions, (once he said that Homer, alongside Christ, Buddha, and Nietzsche were his spiritual masters) he seamlessly blends magical realism into grounded historical context. His words bring to life a love of "suffering Crete," poignantly depicted through a tormented woman-Christ on a cross, crying "Eli, Eli, lama sabachtani." For Kazantzakis, Crete and her suffering goes beyond religion. For what is salvation, if the motherland is not saved? For her, heresy is worth it. Such is the weight of Crete's sufferance. Yet, there is also an emphasis on Crete's beauty, with her "close-knit body," her "gleams" and "glows" when white sand turns blood-red as the sun sets. Through this juxtaposition, Kazantzakis's writing embodies another of his major influences: Nietzsche. For only when one realizes the meaninglessness and suffering of life would they be free to make their own meaning, to find their own personal idea of beauty in it. This idea, I perceive, is explored further in Captain Michales's final fate, wreathed with the other themes of the book.
"Who's that nice girl?" He indicated Renio with a glance. "I've seen her somewhere. But where?"
Katerina sighed. "She's your daughter."
Captain Michales bent his head and made no sound after that.
In this book, Cretan manhood and her freedom are intertwined. The soul of a Cretan is with their land, and a Cretan man is not a man unless he fights for her freedom, whether that be at the end of his knife or at the crack of his gun. Such ideas of manhood and its costs are illustrated by Kazantzakis, embodied by Captain Michales. And its costs are heavy. Having taken an oath to not laugh nor shave his beard, to only wear black until Crete has thrown off her Ottoman yoke, this captain has indeed grown monstrous. He knows not his daughter, having forbidden her from his sight the day she turned 12. He regards a newfound love as a "worm," gnawing away at his resolve for the "ancient duty" of Cretan freedom. Repeatedly he is referred to as a "wild beast" of a man, and in the end, he dies as a wild beast does. He dies hopelessly and pointlessly, ultimately free forevermore of any other worms aside from Cretan independence, left only with the single mind of his idea of self-determination, for himself, and for his motherland. Readers would be quick to criticize these concepts, and they would be right to. But by no means does that take away from the literary value this book holds. For with such beauty and pathos in his words, Kazantzakis shows that through this pointlessness, Captain Michales ultimately attains freedom and death.
annoulaplayo's review against another edition
adventurous
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
3.5
beatrice_apetrei's review against another edition
5.0
Freedom or Death is the fourth book written by Greek author Nikos Kazantzakis that I managed to get my hands on. I started it not because of the summary or plot, or good reviews, but because of its author ( and I have no shame to admit it ). Of course, it doesn’t mean there were no chances of disliking it, that was one of the possibilities, but him being my favorite author so far and having read other 3 books by him in the last 6 months, I was somehow certain of it.
Reading his previous works, I was always intrigued by his characters never-dying desire to see Crete released of the Turkish authority. For Kazantzakis, Crete is not only his physical birth place, but his souls home. No matter where he traveled, what he saw and learned, where he lived, his mind was always in Crete and his heart always bled for it. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t know much history and all I know about the ottoman dominion there is from his books only.
In my opinion though, this obsession of his with Crete is exhausting. Most of his protagonists are exhausting. Beautiful, but exhausting. The whole time I was reading this, I kept wondering, what makes them so passionate about a freedom that shows itself only when death occurs ? Why can’t they see that there is more to life than this controlling obsession they allowed to take root in their minds ?
There was this fearless power that tied strong men to Crete, making them loyal to it. A power that makes men deny themselves any kind of pleasure because they don’t find it appropriate to laugh or smile while having Crete under the Turkish rule. Here, Crete is a living being, breathing, screaming and at night going silent. It is observed by many and pitied for its helpless desire to be free. But it keeps fighting, men keep fighting.
It’s a story about loyalty, hatred, pride, reason, death, ambition and freedom. Or is it better said lack of freedom ? Lack of freedom drives men insane, discourages them, holds them prisoners.
How does this affect their lives ? The connection they have with other people ( children, wives ), their feelings, desires ? That’s what this novel is about : the lives of those who had fallen under the charms of this dream.
I have talked about Kazantzakis’ writing in a previously written review of [b:Christ Recrucified|82531|Christ Recrucified|Nikos Kazantzakis|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1366544033s/82531.jpg|1685425], I will not repeat myself, just add that somehow it manages to express how events, places, spaces, people are perceived in a way that makes everything feel horrifyingly real.
I don’t believe this novel is for everyone, not because it’s hard to read, but, how I’ve previously stated, it can easily exhaust you. It made me sigh a lot, made me sad and left me with a bitter taste. After all, this book is about freedom and death.
Reading his previous works, I was always intrigued by his characters never-dying desire to see Crete released of the Turkish authority. For Kazantzakis, Crete is not only his physical birth place, but his souls home. No matter where he traveled, what he saw and learned, where he lived, his mind was always in Crete and his heart always bled for it. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t know much history and all I know about the ottoman dominion there is from his books only.
In my opinion though, this obsession of his with Crete is exhausting. Most of his protagonists are exhausting. Beautiful, but exhausting. The whole time I was reading this, I kept wondering, what makes them so passionate about a freedom that shows itself only when death occurs ? Why can’t they see that there is more to life than this controlling obsession they allowed to take root in their minds ?
There was this fearless power that tied strong men to Crete, making them loyal to it. A power that makes men deny themselves any kind of pleasure because they don’t find it appropriate to laugh or smile while having Crete under the Turkish rule. Here, Crete is a living being, breathing, screaming and at night going silent. It is observed by many and pitied for its helpless desire to be free. But it keeps fighting, men keep fighting.
It’s a story about loyalty, hatred, pride, reason, death, ambition and freedom. Or is it better said lack of freedom ? Lack of freedom drives men insane, discourages them, holds them prisoners.
How does this affect their lives ? The connection they have with other people ( children, wives ), their feelings, desires ? That’s what this novel is about : the lives of those who had fallen under the charms of this dream.
I have talked about Kazantzakis’ writing in a previously written review of [b:Christ Recrucified|82531|Christ Recrucified|Nikos Kazantzakis|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1366544033s/82531.jpg|1685425], I will not repeat myself, just add that somehow it manages to express how events, places, spaces, people are perceived in a way that makes everything feel horrifyingly real.
I don’t believe this novel is for everyone, not because it’s hard to read, but, how I’ve previously stated, it can easily exhaust you. It made me sigh a lot, made me sad and left me with a bitter taste. After all, this book is about freedom and death.
nefeli_k's review against another edition
not in the right mindset to read it. i will pick it up again at another time.
evankouk3's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
sashas_books's review
dark
emotional
informative
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
2.75
Somewhere in my social media feeds, I happened to see "Look, Nikos Kazantzakis' great novel! Published in Russian for the very first time!" So I thought "right, I've been meaning to read "Zorba the Greek", because I liked the movie so much, but here is another Kazantzakis, why not?"
Well, the good thing is that I now know a lot more about Crete, its history, and what it was like to live there in the late 19th century.
Now, on to my complaints... I have read a great many books, but until now I have never come across a novel full of such blatant romanticising of machismo, toxic and false masculinity, and misogyny. There were moments when the author seemed to question the above, but I cannot be certain. And if Kazantsakis' foreword is anything to go by, he MEANT to romanticise. I got tired of cringing.
Also, I strongly suspect that this Russian translation is simply not very good. I had the feeling that I kept missing a lot of nuances. It makes me give Kazantzakis' literary merits (at least) the benefit of the doubt.
It's been a while since I was THAT relieved after finishing a book I was not happy with.
Well, the good thing is that I now know a lot more about Crete, its history, and what it was like to live there in the late 19th century.
Now, on to my complaints... I have read a great many books, but until now I have never come across a novel full of such blatant romanticising of machismo, toxic and false masculinity, and misogyny. There were moments when the author seemed to question the above, but I cannot be certain. And if Kazantsakis' foreword is anything to go by, he MEANT to romanticise. I got tired of cringing.
Also, I strongly suspect that this Russian translation is simply not very good. I had the feeling that I kept missing a lot of nuances. It makes me give Kazantzakis' literary merits (at least) the benefit of the doubt.
It's been a while since I was THAT relieved after finishing a book I was not happy with.
marouloo's review against another edition
4.0
This book left me with mixed emotions. In the very beginning, the use of rich language and literature terms made it hard to understand, even for me. But that is what made it interesting. It was captivating and exciting. It describes exactly what the famous “φιλότιμο” is; pride, the sense of honor.
Something I did not like about this book is the description of the Turkish characters. I totally understand that it was war times and Greek people in the 19th century viewed Turks as the greatest enemy, but they were not cowards, they were not weak. From the history I know, the Turkish people were reckless and powerful, they had built a whole Empire!
Let’s not start talking about the final chapter that left me speechless. It so was powerful. I felt it, and it was not like other times. I have read books and books, none like this one.
Something I did not like about this book is the description of the Turkish characters. I totally understand that it was war times and Greek people in the 19th century viewed Turks as the greatest enemy, but they were not cowards, they were not weak. From the history I know, the Turkish people were reckless and powerful, they had built a whole Empire!
Let’s not start talking about the final chapter that left me speechless. It so was powerful. I felt it, and it was not like other times. I have read books and books, none like this one.