Rating: 
Summary: A Great Story for All Seasons
Review: The classic movie starring Anthony Quinn was based upon this book.
As the story goes, Alexis Zorba is an old Greek workman who accompanies the narrator, a bookish philosopher, to Crete to exploit a mine he owns there. Zorba is a figure created on a huge scale: his years have not dimmed the flame by which he lives, the gusto with which he responds to all that life offers him, whether he is organizing the work at the mine, coping with mad monks in a mountain monastery, embellishing the endless tale of his past adventures, or making love to Dame Hortense. Nikos Kazantzakis is one of the most distinguished and individual of modern Greek writers, and in Zorba the Greek he has written a book that lives by a vitality and rhythm that seems to owe little or nothing to the comtemporary traditions of the Western novel. It is bursting with wit, fantasy, and enjoyment of life, and at the same time has a continual undertone of serious philosophical reflection. Zorba the Greek is Rabelaisian, a Don Quixote in which the role of the knight and Sancho Panza are reversed, plus a distinct Arabian Nights touch. About the Author
Nikos Kazantzakis was born in Crete in 1885. He studied at the University of Athens where he received his Doctor of Laws degree, later in Paris under the philosopher Henri Bergson, and completed his studies in literature and art during four other years spent in Germany and Italy. Also author of The Last Temptation of Christ and Saint Francis, not to mention one of the best spiritual autobiographies I have ever read, Report to Greco.
Rating:
Summary: Tragedy and beauty: our short time on earth
Review: In approximately 1914, before World War I, the narrator, a young cerebral writer who wants to become rooted in the earth and physical labor, rents a lignite mine on the beautiful island of Crete. As he is about to depart, he meets a much older, experienced, and very earthy Alexis Zorba, whom he hires to be his foreman and cook. What he learns, and we through him, may change your life. First, a warning: to appreciate this amazing book, one must be able to look past the misogyny and sexism of life on Crete in 1914, and focus on the love and relationship of two men. Zorba plays the santuri, has had a family and many lovers, has fought in the Balkan Wars, has lived and loved-his knowledge is rooted in love, suffering, sweat, and blood. He is a simple but deep man who lives life without shame, bares himself, has no guile or guise, and lives every moment fully--not only his joy, but his tears, his compassion, his anger, his hunger, his thoughts and his questions. His character is perceptively portrayed by the first person narrator who is a contemplative who gradually comes to see the poverty of a life always filtered through philosophical, religious, or cultural judgments. He immediately appreciates Zorba's wonder at life, Zorba's music and dance, and the way Zorba sees the same old things every day as if new. Zorba is life itself, a fleeting moment with a discrete beginning and final end. The narrator especially learns that by holding on to his safety and security he has sacrificed much by failing to live to the fullest like Zorba. The book is absolutely beautifully written, makes you cry at the beauty and wonder of being alive, makes you ache for loved ones who are gone, and cry at our ultimate fate, death, in the face of which we must live with ever more Zorba-like zest.
Rating:
Summary: Against moral accountability
Review: Although this is a review to the book it is also a response to the review of besario. Kazanzakis as I mentioned in my review to "Report to Greco" spend all his life trying to understand the role of humans on this earth and our struggle with spirituality. Zorbas comes in as a character that is the complete opposite to the character of Kazantzakis in "Report to Greco". He is the portrayal of a man that is morally accountable to no-one but himself. This is along the lines of existentialism (as in "Caligula" by Albert Camus). It is up to the reader to understand what Kazantzakis wants to convey in this book, but the reader must be familiar with the author and also to have the ability to think beyond the surface. Our behavior depends on whether we believe that at the end we will have to account for our actions or just disappear. This is a choice that centers on idividual humans as we are the sole judges. We can either follow Kazantzakis' character in "Report to Greco" or his character in "Zorba the Greek" or just a happy medium. Zorba the Greek is not a celebration of the Greek spirit and it is not how the majority of Greeks are. The books is not meant to be a travel guide to Greece but rather an outline of human behavior when it has no moral boundaries. This book is not light reading, as you have to be the judge of Zorbas' actions and it is for an audience that is capable of higher level thought.
Rating:
Summary: Against moral accountability
Review: Although this is a review to the book it is also a response to the review of besario. Kazanzakis as I mentioned in my review to "Report to Greco" spend all his life trying to understand the role of humans on this earth and our struggle with spirituality. Zorbas comes in as a character that is the complete opposite to the character of Kazantzakis in "Report to Greco". He is the portrayal of a man that is morally accountable to no-one but himself. This is along the lines of existentialism (as in "Caligula" by Albert Camus). It is up to the reader to understand what Kazantzakis wants to convey in this book, but the reader must be familiar with the author and also to have the ability to think beyond the surface. Our behavior depends on whether we believe that at the end we will have to account for our actions or just disappear. This is a choice that centers on idividual humans as we are the sole judges. We can either follow Kazantzakis' character in "Report to Greco" or his character in "Zorba the Greek" or just a happy medium. Zorba the Greek is not a celebration of the Greek spirit and it is not how the majority of Greeks are. The books is not meant to be a travel guide to Greece but rather an outline of human behavior when it has no moral boundaries. This book is not light reading, as you have to be the judge of Zorbas' actions and it is for an audience that is capable of higher level thought.
Rating:
Summary: Where is the heart Mr. Zorba!!
Review: I read this book with great expectation. I first came across Zorba from Osho. I must say the book does not disappoint. The message of the book is quite clear "be a bit crazy, don't take life too seriously", And I agree with that completely. Drink, eat and be merry. But the problem with this approach start getting clear as you read, and it is here I think the book or the thought behind the book lacks.
How long one can avoid I the question of his own existence, his identity. In this regards I like Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse which I think is an extension of Zorba.
Be like Zorba, but be aware the life demands more than.
Just add enlightenment to Zorba and you will get what Osho once called "Zorba the Buddha". That could be the best possible synthesis of a human being. Remember Mr. Zorba we need to have a heart towards other as well. Highly recommended!!
Rating: 
Summary: Unforgettable, ebulliant Zorba!
Review: The novel has ist origins in the author's own experiences of mining and harvesting in the Peleponnesus in the 1920s. The narrator's adventures are exhilarating and havoc-making. If you like a humorous adventure set in the beautiful landscapes of unforgettable Greece, this is the book to read.
Rating: 
Summary: A big disappointment
Review: In preparing for a trip to Greece, I decided to read some novels
of Greek origin. I think perhaps this book is too dated to
get the feel of present day Greece, at least for those areas where I will be going, but that was not the big problem. The book is about a self-absorbed lecherous hedonist (am I being redundant here?) that for the most part is utterly boring. One of Zorba's oft repeated ideas is that, while he didn't believe in God, if such an entity did exist the only reason why he would condemn a man to hell was if the man did not bed all the women
who wanted bedding. And of course, there was the assumption (repeated ad nauseum) that woman's primary source of joy and
solace is to be bedded. I don't know about God, but this woman would be more likely to condemn a man to hell if he didn't help out around the house. Self-proclaimed "God's gifts to women" are nearly as boring in literature as they are in real life. The advantage of
the literary type is that you can get rid of them in a moment's notice by just closing the book. The reason for the 2nd star is for the fact that the author does
have some literary talent.
Rating:
Summary: A Lust For Life
Review: This novel by Nikos Kazantzakis is about a Greek peasant named Zorba
who encounters an Englishman who is the antithesis of himself in every way. Zorba is impulsive,he does not think of tommorrow or the future and he seems incapable of too much contemplation or pondering. Which may be his strength or advantage.Rather he lives life fully without much thought and with a spontaneous spirit that should be the envy of those who have burdened themselves with too much pondering on the nature of existence,the universe,god and whatever else we spend time meditating on.
What I especially found intriguing and admirable about Zorba is the fact that even as a grown man he can still display a child-like fascination or interest in the world around him.
Probably because he is largely uneducated for it seems in the story that he had never attended a college or university.
He may not have been illiterate but the impression in the novel is that he hadn't spent much time reading a great many books.
For those interested in foriegn countries and the lives of people there this provides a good description or illustration of greek peasant life in a small village.
The narrow-mindedness and intolerance of the villagers is manifested in that unforgettable scene where the widow is murdered by a mob of villagers. Their crassness and greed is really displayed when an old courtesan in the village dies.
The minute after she is dead they come like a hoard of vultures and strip her house and belongings clean. One of them even carries away the door to her house.
Besides this novel I would also reccomend the movie that was made starring Anthony Quinn. He was the right actor for the part and did a fine job portraying Zorba with all his peasant manners and spontaneous spirit.
When I think of Zorba I think of Anthony Quinn as Zorba.
I may not want to be like Zorba all the time but sometimes as a matter of relief like a vacation,I do want to be him and live like him. Then go back to being my rational and less spontaneous self.
Rating:
Summary: Sacred Awe
Review: There really isn't much of a consensus worldwide about the artistry of Nikos Kazantzakis. It seems that half of the scholarly world finds him to be a genius and the other half a failed genius not worthy of really being remembered. Zorba the Greek was my first time to read anything by him, and for me, he didn't really quite fall into either category. I did find the work brilliant with some excellent writing and a lot to think about, but I have a few drawbacks to buying whole-heartedly into Kazantzakis's philosophy. Zorba the Greek is told by a narrator (Kazantzakis) who does not find satisfying answers to the questions of life in Western thought. He sets out to actually live life while running a mine in Crete. He hires Zorba, and the exuberant Zorba becomes the focus of the story as he teaches the narrator what he knows about life. Zorba the Greek is certainly entertaining, and there are so many wonderful lines and insights. The book teaches to live life as if it were the first day of your life and as if it were the last day of your life. It says that the greatest goal in life would be to attain a Sacred Awe of all life. Of course, the way promoted by Zorba is a type of God-less hedonism which strikes me as pathetically shallow. But considering the whole novel, I would recommend it; I do not have to agree with everything a book says to learn from it. Zorba the Greek is a good work with some simply beautiful and insightful episodes.
Rating:
Summary: magnificent omnipotence
Review: words eat up the page
eat some Zorba
your belly feels full of wine and song if this book were a taste it would be cinnamon
if this book were a melon it would be water
if this book were a critical theorist it would be Derrida
if this book were a body part it would be both feet
if this book were a day of the year it would be Thanksgiving
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