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Χασίς: από την Ελλάδα στην Αίγυπτο
Το βιβλίο αυτό έφτασε στα χέρια μου στα φοιτητικά μου χρόνια, γύρω στο 1970. Τα χρόνια εκείνα, ήταν χρόνια που συνέβαιναν πολλά στην Ευρώπη, και ιδίως μετά τον Μάη του '68 που έδωσε άλλο αέρα στα πράγματα αλλά και σε μας τους ίδιους, που εκείνη την εποχή αγωνιζόμασταν και προσπαθούσαμε να διώξουμε την Χούντα.
Πιστεύω ότι το βιβλίο αυτό έβαλε ένα λιθάρι στο χτίσιμο της ζωής μου εκείνα τα χρόνια. Χάρηκα το θάρρος, την αυτονομία αλλά και την ποιητική αυτού του ανθρώπου, που πέρα από την καλή μεριά της ζωής, των προνομίων, της υγείας, της ασφάλειας αλλά ταυτόχρονα και πέρα από την κακή μεριά της, τράβηξε έναν δικό του δρόμο ακολουθώντας το δύσκολο όραμά του.
Ο Ανρί ντε Μονφρέ (Henry de Monfreid) σίγουρα στα νιάτα του διάβαζε Ρεμπώ (Arthur Rimbaud), με τον οποίο μάλιστα αργότερα γνωρίστηκαν. Οπωσδήποτε θα είχε διαβάσει Κίπλινγκ (Rudyard Kipling), ο οποίος είχε μεταφραστεί στα γαλλικά ήδη από το 1900, ήταν φίλος με τον ποιητή, ναυτικό, γιατρό και εθνογράφο Βίκτορ Σεγκαλέν (Victor Segalen).
Ο Ανρί ντε Μονφρέ έφυγε από τη Γαλλία και έζησε μια σπάνια ζωή, τη ζωή ενός ευγενούς τυχοδιώκτη, ενός καλλιτέχνη ο οποίος θέλησε να ζήσει ελεύθερος, να εκπληρώσει το όνειρό του και την ιδεολογία του. Ήθελε να μάθει να αρμενίζει, για να ξέρει ποιος άνεμος είναι ούριος και ποιος ενάντιος σ' αυτόν.
Μισός συγγραφέας, μισός πειρατής, λαθρέμπορος όπλων και χασίς, αλιεύς μαργαριταριών και ταυτόχρονα και λίγο κατάσκοπος, ήταν ο εφιάλτης του βασιλικού Αγγλικού ναυτικού της περιοχής που του έδωσε και την προσωνυμία "ο λύκος της θάλασσας".
Παρ' όλα αυτά ο Ανρί, θαυμαστής του Τζόζεφ Κόνραντ (Joseph Conrad), ήταν σεβαστός από όλες τις εθνότητες, τόσο τις ευρωπαϊκές όσο και τις ντόπιες, που ζούσαν στα μέρη που ταξίδεψε -από την Ερυθρά θάλασσα, τον Περσικό Κόλπο, τις ανατολικές ακτές της Αφρικής αλλά και της Ινδίας, όπου έκανε πολλά ταξίδια για τα θαλασσινά εμπόριά του.
Το ανά χείρας βιβλίο είναι μια συνέχεια στα διαβάσματά μας που ξεκίνησαν με τον Μικρό Ήρωα, τα Κλασικά Εικονογραφημένα, τον Corto Maltese του Ούγκο Πρατ (Hugo Pratt), τον Κόνραντ, τον Ρεμπώ, τον Τζακ Λόντον (Jack London), τον Σεγκαλέν και ουκ έστιν τέλος.
Νομίζω ότι ο Μονφρέ είναι όλα αυτά και άλλα πολλά, και το κυριότερο αληθινά. Εύχομαι να ευχαριστηθείτε και να αγαπήσετε αυτό το βιβλίο όπως κι εγώ. (Κ. Γ., από την παρουσίαση της έκδοσης)
Πιστεύω ότι το βιβλίο αυτό έβαλε ένα λιθάρι στο χτίσιμο της ζωής μου εκείνα τα χρόνια. Χάρηκα το θάρρος, την αυτονομία αλλά και την ποιητική αυτού του ανθρώπου, που πέρα από την καλή μεριά της ζωής, των προνομίων, της υγείας, της ασφάλειας αλλά ταυτόχρονα και πέρα από την κακή μεριά της, τράβηξε έναν δικό του δρόμο ακολουθώντας το δύσκολο όραμά του.
Ο Ανρί ντε Μονφρέ (Henry de Monfreid) σίγουρα στα νιάτα του διάβαζε Ρεμπώ (Arthur Rimbaud), με τον οποίο μάλιστα αργότερα γνωρίστηκαν. Οπωσδήποτε θα είχε διαβάσει Κίπλινγκ (Rudyard Kipling), ο οποίος είχε μεταφραστεί στα γαλλικά ήδη από το 1900, ήταν φίλος με τον ποιητή, ναυτικό, γιατρό και εθνογράφο Βίκτορ Σεγκαλέν (Victor Segalen).
Ο Ανρί ντε Μονφρέ έφυγε από τη Γαλλία και έζησε μια σπάνια ζωή, τη ζωή ενός ευγενούς τυχοδιώκτη, ενός καλλιτέχνη ο οποίος θέλησε να ζήσει ελεύθερος, να εκπληρώσει το όνειρό του και την ιδεολογία του. Ήθελε να μάθει να αρμενίζει, για να ξέρει ποιος άνεμος είναι ούριος και ποιος ενάντιος σ' αυτόν.
Μισός συγγραφέας, μισός πειρατής, λαθρέμπορος όπλων και χασίς, αλιεύς μαργαριταριών και ταυτόχρονα και λίγο κατάσκοπος, ήταν ο εφιάλτης του βασιλικού Αγγλικού ναυτικού της περιοχής που του έδωσε και την προσωνυμία "ο λύκος της θάλασσας".
Παρ' όλα αυτά ο Ανρί, θαυμαστής του Τζόζεφ Κόνραντ (Joseph Conrad), ήταν σεβαστός από όλες τις εθνότητες, τόσο τις ευρωπαϊκές όσο και τις ντόπιες, που ζούσαν στα μέρη που ταξίδεψε -από την Ερυθρά θάλασσα, τον Περσικό Κόλπο, τις ανατολικές ακτές της Αφρικής αλλά και της Ινδίας, όπου έκανε πολλά ταξίδια για τα θαλασσινά εμπόριά του.
Το ανά χείρας βιβλίο είναι μια συνέχεια στα διαβάσματά μας που ξεκίνησαν με τον Μικρό Ήρωα, τα Κλασικά Εικονογραφημένα, τον Corto Maltese του Ούγκο Πρατ (Hugo Pratt), τον Κόνραντ, τον Ρεμπώ, τον Τζακ Λόντον (Jack London), τον Σεγκαλέν και ουκ έστιν τέλος.
Νομίζω ότι ο Μονφρέ είναι όλα αυτά και άλλα πολλά, και το κυριότερο αληθινά. Εύχομαι να ευχαριστηθείτε και να αγαπήσετε αυτό το βιβλίο όπως κι εγώ. (Κ. Γ., από την παρουσίαση της έκδοσης)
376 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1933
15 people are currently reading
357 people want to read
About the author
Henry de Monfreid
139books21followersHenry de Monfreid (14 November 1879 in Leucate � 13 December 1974) was a French adventurer and author. Born in Leucate, Aude, France, he was the son of artist painter Georges-Daniel de Monfreid and knew Paul Gauguin as a child.
Monfreid was famous for his travels in the Red Sea and the Horn of Africa coast from Tanzania to Aden, Yemen, the Arabian Peninsula and Suez, that he sailed in his various expeditions as adventurer, smuggler and gunrunner (during which he said he more than once escaped the Royal Navy coast-guards cutters).
Monfreid is probably best known in the English-speaking world for the following two books:
Hashish: A Smuggler's Tale and
Secrets of the Red Sea, a book about gunrunning.
His books include
Les secrets de la mer Rouge (1931)
Aventures de mer (Grasset, 1932)
La croisière du hachich (Grasset, 1933)
Vers les terres hostiles de l'Éthiopie (Grasset, 1933)
La poursuite du Kaïpan (Grasset, 1934)
Le naufrage de la Marietta (Grasset, 1934)
Le drame éthiopien (Grasset, 1935)
Le lépreux (Grasset, 1935)
Les derniers jours de l'Arabie Heureuse (N.R.F, 1935)
Les guerriers de l'Ogaden (N.R.F, 1936)
Le masque d'or (Grasset, 1936)
L'avion noir (Grasset, 1936)
Le Roi des abeilles (Gallimard)
Le Trésor du pélerin (Gallimard, 1938)
Charras (Editions du Pavois, 1947)
Du Harrar au Kenya (Grasset, 1949)
L'homme sorti de la mer (Grasset, 1951)
Ménélik tel qu’il fut (Grasset, 1954)
Sous le masque Mau-Mau (Grasset, 1956)
Mon aventure à l'île des Forbans (Grasset, 1958)
Le Radeau de la Méduse : comment fut sauvé Djibouti, (Grasset, 1958)
Les Lionnes d'or d'Ethiopie (Laffont, 1964)
Le Feu de Saint-Elme (Laffont, 1973)
Journal de bord (Arthaud, 1984)
Lettres d'Abyssinie (Flammarion, 1999)
Lettres de la mer Rouge (Flammarion, 2000)
by Monfreid's daughter, Gisèle
Mes secrets de la Mer rouge, 1982, Editions France-Empire
Monfreid was famous for his travels in the Red Sea and the Horn of Africa coast from Tanzania to Aden, Yemen, the Arabian Peninsula and Suez, that he sailed in his various expeditions as adventurer, smuggler and gunrunner (during which he said he more than once escaped the Royal Navy coast-guards cutters).
Monfreid is probably best known in the English-speaking world for the following two books:
Hashish: A Smuggler's Tale and
Secrets of the Red Sea, a book about gunrunning.
His books include
Les secrets de la mer Rouge (1931)
Aventures de mer (Grasset, 1932)
La croisière du hachich (Grasset, 1933)
Vers les terres hostiles de l'Éthiopie (Grasset, 1933)
La poursuite du Kaïpan (Grasset, 1934)
Le naufrage de la Marietta (Grasset, 1934)
Le drame éthiopien (Grasset, 1935)
Le lépreux (Grasset, 1935)
Les derniers jours de l'Arabie Heureuse (N.R.F, 1935)
Les guerriers de l'Ogaden (N.R.F, 1936)
Le masque d'or (Grasset, 1936)
L'avion noir (Grasset, 1936)
Le Roi des abeilles (Gallimard)
Le Trésor du pélerin (Gallimard, 1938)
Charras (Editions du Pavois, 1947)
Du Harrar au Kenya (Grasset, 1949)
L'homme sorti de la mer (Grasset, 1951)
Ménélik tel qu’il fut (Grasset, 1954)
Sous le masque Mau-Mau (Grasset, 1956)
Mon aventure à l'île des Forbans (Grasset, 1958)
Le Radeau de la Méduse : comment fut sauvé Djibouti, (Grasset, 1958)
Les Lionnes d'or d'Ethiopie (Laffont, 1964)
Le Feu de Saint-Elme (Laffont, 1973)
Journal de bord (Arthaud, 1984)
Lettres d'Abyssinie (Flammarion, 1999)
Lettres de la mer Rouge (Flammarion, 2000)
by Monfreid's daughter, Gisèle
Mes secrets de la Mer rouge, 1982, Editions France-Empire
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
February 6, 2019
201117: adventures in smuggling in Mediterranean and Suez, detailed, bold, of a Frenchman who does not know what he is doing... getting by on nerves, luck, poise, in the 1920s. what you imagine such a dangerous life is like. what say Rick from 'Casablanca' used to do...
September 13, 2015
One of the most fun travelogues I've encountered. Really a hoot. Monfried is a well-tempered writer who handles pragmatic details with elan and efficiency. Rich in detail; but never tiring.
Fine descriptions of small craft handling on the open sea--certainly some hair-raising adventures. All manner of colorful, mendacious, unscrupulous, underhanded Mediterranean characters populate the adventure, as promised. There is occasional and startling violence.
In the beginning of the tale, spectacular descriptions of an unspoilt Greece; later come the landscapes around Suez and the Red Sea (up close and personal). You can feel the grit between your toes as you listen to descriptions of Monfried moving contraband around from promontory to promontory.
It's a wonderful saga of ramshackle hijinks at sea --and really a primer on shady business dealings. The typical maneuvers smugglers must always engage in, are well-laid out. A curious angle on human nature, for sure.
Final comment: it is a book to AVOID if you a modern, squeamish, hand-wringer. Too real for the PC crowd, definitely. You'll come across casual remarks like 'all Somali boys can swim like fish' or 'all Greeks have a knack at smuggling to some degree'. So, you lot keep clear of this story or you'll suffer a case of the vapours.
Fine descriptions of small craft handling on the open sea--certainly some hair-raising adventures. All manner of colorful, mendacious, unscrupulous, underhanded Mediterranean characters populate the adventure, as promised. There is occasional and startling violence.
In the beginning of the tale, spectacular descriptions of an unspoilt Greece; later come the landscapes around Suez and the Red Sea (up close and personal). You can feel the grit between your toes as you listen to descriptions of Monfried moving contraband around from promontory to promontory.
It's a wonderful saga of ramshackle hijinks at sea --and really a primer on shady business dealings. The typical maneuvers smugglers must always engage in, are well-laid out. A curious angle on human nature, for sure.
Final comment: it is a book to AVOID if you a modern, squeamish, hand-wringer. Too real for the PC crowd, definitely. You'll come across casual remarks like 'all Somali boys can swim like fish' or 'all Greeks have a knack at smuggling to some degree'. So, you lot keep clear of this story or you'll suffer a case of the vapours.
July 17, 2013
While it was a long and laboured read, it was still quite enjoyable. I found the stories rather outrageous, and at times strangely modern, given the time when they were written, but all in all, it was a lovely book.
Also, Henry de Monfreid narrated it all from memory, 60 odd years after the events happened. Fantastic memory.
Also, Henry de Monfreid narrated it all from memory, 60 odd years after the events happened. Fantastic memory.
June 3, 2016
The surprising thing perhaps in this narrative is how easily it seems to flow in translation from French to English and how fluidly the tale is told matching its nautical setting. Admitedly, as an adventure yarn some might consider it more of a 'guy' tale, but it might be one that could keep the interest of any reader .
September 9, 2020
After almost 15+ years of picking through this book on and off, I finally read it beginning to end in one go.
I think previously it’s slow pace and sailing sequences threw me off, but being older with the Aubreyad under my belt, I was able to push through the nautical passages with more ease. Plus, being more interested in that milieu now than the first couple times I attempted the book, also made it a better read.
...and now that I’m remembering it all - Ida Treat’s ghost written memoir of de Monfreid, “Pearls, Arms, and Hashish�, gave me a broader contextual framework in which to place this book - which is just a small sliver of de Monfried’s career as a “gentleman of fortune�.
de Monfreid is a great writer. He can turn a phrase, and tell a story. He provides evocative descriptions of a fascinating, hard scrabble, cut-throat world which leaves you wanting more. And indeed, it’s a shame the other 90% of his work isn’t translated into English.
de Monfreid was an unscrupulous man, who became a smuggler to make money, but his memoir is colorful and thoroughly interesting. Recommended for travel or adventure enthusiasts.
I think previously it’s slow pace and sailing sequences threw me off, but being older with the Aubreyad under my belt, I was able to push through the nautical passages with more ease. Plus, being more interested in that milieu now than the first couple times I attempted the book, also made it a better read.
...and now that I’m remembering it all - Ida Treat’s ghost written memoir of de Monfreid, “Pearls, Arms, and Hashish�, gave me a broader contextual framework in which to place this book - which is just a small sliver of de Monfried’s career as a “gentleman of fortune�.
de Monfreid is a great writer. He can turn a phrase, and tell a story. He provides evocative descriptions of a fascinating, hard scrabble, cut-throat world which leaves you wanting more. And indeed, it’s a shame the other 90% of his work isn’t translated into English.
de Monfreid was an unscrupulous man, who became a smuggler to make money, but his memoir is colorful and thoroughly interesting. Recommended for travel or adventure enthusiasts.
August 17, 2017
Διαφωτιστικό, γοητευτικό σαν πειρατική περιπέτεια, με στιγμές ποίησης και την ιστορική του ιδιαιτερότητα να το κάνει ακόμα πιο συμπαθητικό. Βιβλίο για δώρο στον πιο τυχοδιώκτη, μπλουζμαν, πότη φίλο μας.
March 26, 2017
This is the third in a series of memoirs, though the first one I read. De Monfried is a selfish, amoral, bigoted...scumbag (there's no other word for it). If you met someone like him today, you'd take a shower afterward. That said, the book is an entertaining and well-drawn description of an unusual time and place: the Red Sea between the wars. De Monfried exploits, gets exploited in turn, and has several narrow escapes from well-deserved punishment. You have to read it for the atmosphere, and not the man.
September 22, 2008
It's a good book. One that gets better as it goes along.
One funny thing about it: The blatant racism of the author! You can really tell it was written in another era.
It helps to know a little bit of sailing, as he throws around terms expecting the reader to know.
Anyone looking for a drug book, this isn't it. They renamed it with Hashish in the title when it was reprinted, probably to attract attention, but it's really about smuggling and sailing, not drugs.
One funny thing about it: The blatant racism of the author! You can really tell it was written in another era.
It helps to know a little bit of sailing, as he throws around terms expecting the reader to know.
Anyone looking for a drug book, this isn't it. They renamed it with Hashish in the title when it was reprinted, probably to attract attention, but it's really about smuggling and sailing, not drugs.
December 20, 2013
Truthfully, this is more about sailing than it is about hashish, though it occasionally delves lightly into the geopolitics and market of the drug. Interesting story from an interesting character, nonetheless.
April 1, 2019
An adventure-packed tall tale of a sailing voyage, hashish smuggling and all the intricacies and business that goes with such a venture. A short, enjoyable read, albeit certainly with some time-appropriate language that's a bit hard to read now.
November 12, 2016
A little much and kinda like Forrest Gump in the way he effortlessly succeeds at everything.
November 6, 2018
This is an amusing and interesting travelogue/memoir said to have taken place in the 1920s but I found its long descriptive passages about life at sea a bit trying at times. But fun.
October 9, 2023
A tale of adventure, of ‘winging it�, told through the eyes of the adventurer himself. Insightful, honest and frank record of events & his personal reflections on them.
Interestingly, whilst the world seems very different back then, human nature appears to remain a constant; it is only circumstances which change.
Reflections on chance events, fortune, and how the experiencer can seemingly, albeit carefully, manifest their desires & receive help from the universe.
Fortune seems to favour the ‘ballsy�; those who know what they want and are courageous enough to try and get it.
By being independent, a free person obeying no authority other than ‘nature�, you will discover your individuality and your fighting spirit.
“If he really studies himself, he will hear the echoes of an ancient wisdom which guides him to act as is best for his own safety�
Interesting insights on the power struggle between nations, their ulterior motives, the inevitable corruption & crime from rule-makers intervening in profitable endeavours.
Interestingly, whilst the world seems very different back then, human nature appears to remain a constant; it is only circumstances which change.
Reflections on chance events, fortune, and how the experiencer can seemingly, albeit carefully, manifest their desires & receive help from the universe.
Fortune seems to favour the ‘ballsy�; those who know what they want and are courageous enough to try and get it.
By being independent, a free person obeying no authority other than ‘nature�, you will discover your individuality and your fighting spirit.
“If he really studies himself, he will hear the echoes of an ancient wisdom which guides him to act as is best for his own safety�
Interesting insights on the power struggle between nations, their ulterior motives, the inevitable corruption & crime from rule-makers intervening in profitable endeavours.
June 24, 2022
A little slow toward the middle of the book but picks up toward the end when the actual smuggling transactions take place. There are also some interesting anecdotes sprinkled throughout the book, including those about shark fins, turtle hunting, and a character's brief backstory.
Would rank this a 3.5, almost a 4 - an interesting look into this man's adventures.
Would rank this a 3.5, almost a 4 - an interesting look into this man's adventures.
July 11, 2023
Some aspects of the story are interesting. For example the whole story is not that hashish was illegal (it was not in Greece and, if I understand well, in Egypt neither) but the whole story is how to avoid to pay taxes. The equivalent of smuggling cigarettes today! But else I did not find the story that interesting.
February 24, 2025
A fascinating autobiographical tale from a man who sought adventure and would do anything to avoid keeping a normal job. This book tells how he randomly decided to try out hashish smuggling in a different manner than anyone else was doing, and the perils and pitfalls that were found therein.
December 2, 2021
Maybe suffers a little in translation but a great read of a bygone era...maybe the language would be offensive to many a contemporary reader but the tales stand the test of time.
February 17, 2022
I don’t know, just didn’t connect to it. Maybe it is good and historically interesting, but it gave me a depressive, meaningless picture of poverty.
September 22, 2024
Delightful and entertaining.
April 23, 2023
This is not an easy book to find but I highly recommend it for many reasons - it is a travel book set in times past. It has an underlying sadness based on parental grief for a lost child.
The journey is set on a journey to buy and sell hashish. It takes the reader around the Mediterranean sea, through the Suez canal and across the Red sea. It touches on a series of landward adventures where we meet a many people of many origins.
If you were brought up on the adventures of Tintin you will already know the protagonist as he appears in the Red Sea Sharks.
A book to discover and relish.
The journey is set on a journey to buy and sell hashish. It takes the reader around the Mediterranean sea, through the Suez canal and across the Red sea. It touches on a series of landward adventures where we meet a many people of many origins.
If you were brought up on the adventures of Tintin you will already know the protagonist as he appears in the Red Sea Sharks.
A book to discover and relish.
September 16, 2020
(read in French but review in English)
What can I say? In the 1930s when he wrote this, there was no such thing as political correctness. The way Monfreid refers to people from other races is often highly offensive to our ears. Most of the time it's words he uses without backing them up with the sentiment, however. In fact, he's known as somebody who was more antagonist to European whites than people from other races.
I don't know that that's strictly true either, but in order to get anything out of this book (and his others), very generous allowances have to be made, and the reason I'm happy to go that far in this case is that he gives me insight to countries around the Red Sea in the early decades of last century, and that's exaclty what I'm looking for (it's research for my next book which is partially set there and then).
It helps, that Monfreid can write. In fact, he writes very well.
For my purposes, the book was very helpful and enjoyable.
What can I say? In the 1930s when he wrote this, there was no such thing as political correctness. The way Monfreid refers to people from other races is often highly offensive to our ears. Most of the time it's words he uses without backing them up with the sentiment, however. In fact, he's known as somebody who was more antagonist to European whites than people from other races.
I don't know that that's strictly true either, but in order to get anything out of this book (and his others), very generous allowances have to be made, and the reason I'm happy to go that far in this case is that he gives me insight to countries around the Red Sea in the early decades of last century, and that's exaclty what I'm looking for (it's research for my next book which is partially set there and then).
It helps, that Monfreid can write. In fact, he writes very well.
For my purposes, the book was very helpful and enjoyable.
August 14, 2015
L'aventurier absolu raconte une histoire de contrebande de haschich qu'il a évidement tellement vécue. Quelle vie que la sienne ! On ne peut qu'être jaloux forcément. On comprend pourquoi le grand Kessel en a fait un de ses héros dans le superbe "Fortune carrée".
November 25, 2007
Great visual descriptions of people and places
November 16, 2014
Une passionnante aventure écrite dans un style complexe et très imagé.
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