"No author who lives in Greece," writes Peter Bien, "can avoid
politics." This first volume of his major intellectual biography of
Nikos Kazantzakis approaches the distinguished--and
controversial--writer by describing his struggle with political
questions that were in reality aspects of a fervent religious search.
Beginning with Kazantzakis's early career in fin-de-siècle Paris and his
discovery of William James, Nietzsche, and Bergson, the book continues
by describing his experiments with communism in turbulent Greece, his
visits to Soviet Russia, and the publication of his epic Odyssey in
1938. Bien demonstrates that politics and religion cannot be separated
in Kazantzakis's development. His major concern was personal salvation,
but the method he employed to win that salvation was political
engagement. Did deliverance lie in nationalism? Communism? Fascism? He
eventually rejected each of these possible solutions as morally
appalling. Abused by both left and right, he insisted on an
"eschatological politics" of spiritual fulfillment.
This compelling biography will be essential reading for Kazantzakis
scholars and for a wide audience of those who already admire the Greek
author's work. In addition, it will provide an introduction to the first
three decades of Kazantzakis's career for those who have yet to enjoy
such passionate and stirring novels as Zorba the Greek, The Greek
Passion, and The Last Temptation of Christ.
This first volume provides an introduction to the initial three decades
of Kazantzakis's career for those who have enjoyed such vibrant and
stirring novels as Zorba the Greek, The Greek Passion, and The Last
Temptation of Christ.
