Report to Greco
by Nikos Kazantzakis
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Book Summary Information
Author: Nikos KazantzakisEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2001-06-18
ISBN: 0571195075
Number of pages: 512
Publisher: Faber & Faber
Book Reviews of Report to Greco
Book Review: A book so powerful, so essential, so life-altering no wonder its out of print...
Summary: 5 Stars
I found this book, used, for a dollar outside the Strand in NYC. It was like finding a diamond ring in a box of Crackerjacks.
What is the matter with the American publishing industry that a giant of modern literature like Nikos Kazantzakis and a book like `Report to Greco' can possibly be out of print? What...are 45 bazillion copies of the latest John Grisham nonsense not enough? Certainly an entire wall of the new James Patterson novel is sufficient, especially inasmuch as its exactly the same as the first 300 James Patterson novels. Are publishers and booksellers *that* greedy that they can't spare three inches of shelf-space like they used to back in the days when books weren't marketed like fast-food burgers? Sure, it's great to read, everyone says so, but does it make absolutely no difference *what* we read? Is it worthwhile to read any old junk? Why is it good to read anyway...just to boost the economy?
Reading is of value *because* of books like `Report to Greco.'
`Report to Greco' is the philosophical/spiritual autobiography of a truly extraordinary seeker. To call Kazantzakis merely a `poet' or a `novelist,' even an `artist,' is to short-change a man whose remarkable life and work records the effort to live at the highest possible level. `Report' lays out Kazantzakis's personal philosophy perhaps more directly than in any of his other works. Much more than a strictly factual biographical chronicle, `Report' is a kind of mythological record of the most important aspects of his life. Kazantzakis provides the key to understanding `Report'--and his spiritual approach in general--when he describes his habit of amplifying and interpreting the major events and turning points of his life in archetypal terms. His father isn't merely a `father' but a Father. His mother isnt any old 'mother' but the Universal Mother. His first experiences of sex, death, love, and violence are all elevated to the colossal proportions that they assume in our soul--and thereby more `real' than real. For Kazantzakis, reality doesn't consist of a simple recitation of facts...but of the monumental emotional and spiritual inner truths that those facts elicit from our souls.
Yes, Kazantzakis speaks seriously about the `soul,' about `God,' about `meaning' and a `spiritual life.' And he does so in a way that doesn't embarrass an educated human being in the 21st century. Indeed, if a spiritual life is possible at all at this point in human history, if a search for `God' can be anything other than a charade of retrogressive nostalgia or fundamentalist lunacy, then Kazantzakis shows, if not the path, then a way to find the path. A way to live with fire, spirit, and heart.
This is a book of discoveries, dramas, and ideas writ large. The kind of book that isnt written any more, or, if its written, apparently isn't published. It's more than only a shame that 'Report to Greco' is out of print--it's a disgrace. I suppose we can always hope for the movie version to inspire some publisher to run off a few copies. After all, it got Kazantzakis's `Zorba the Greek' and `The Last Temptation of Christ' back on the shelves. For now.
How ridiculous.
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