Freedom or Death

For me, this book was very difficult to stay with for about the first 100 pages. In fact, I put it aside one night but something pulled me back to it the very next day, and I am so glad it did (though I will have to read it again)!

It turned out to be one of the best I've ever read - one that will stay with me in a very positive way.

So to clarify, the reason for my difficulty initially was that Kazantzakis sets the scene by introducing a seemingly vast array of colorful characters - it felt to me like too many, but as it turned out they were essential to the story. That's because this gem turns out to be a time capsule. A taste of day to day life on the island of Crete in the 1890s.

At the time Crete was ruled by a fading Ottoman Empire. So the story includes both Greek and Turkish neighborhoods and social circles - and both clergy and lay people. Kazantzakis no doubt draws on his childhood experiences, and the story unfolds in some ways, as if seen through the eyes of a Greek child. We see Greek resistance fighters rise out of Crete's soil. These are men who show up as very human, with a variety of foibles and shortcomings, who in peacetime are farmers, goat herders, merchants, etc.

Turks also presented in an even-keeled and objective manner. I found the dynamics and interaction between the two groups, who were assigned differing degrees of rights & privilege, quite complex and interesting.

Being familiar with Greek culture and the variance between city and village life, I really appreciated the author's attention to detail and appreciation of the values, mores and characteristics of prior generations. This in fact was the most powerful aspect of this novel in my mind.

The scenes in which a centenarian patriarch of a family sorts out his affairs and prepares himself for death was truly intriguing to me. Aside from the fact that the narrative reaches back into the 18th century, it's especially poignant due to the nature of the Greek people under the Ottomans. Resistance fighters organized under “Captains”, men who were most charismatic and able, who were born to lead and who inspired others to follow. In addition to this, there's the age-old natural affinity for sea faring.

This all culminates in a summit involving four captains and resistance heroes who muse on the meaning of their lives and call on each other to declare their take-aways in a sequence as powerful as any I've ever read.

I will re-read this book at least once and I know more complexities will surface for me. It is truly an under appreciated classic....