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Review thread.
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1. “This Zorba was precisely the person I had been seeking for such a long time and not finding: a vivacious heart, warm voice, a great unrefined, unsophisticated soul with its umbilical cord not yet severed from the earth.� (I) How would you describe Alexis Zorba’s chance encounter with the narrator in a café? In the course of his conversation with the narrator about his love for santouri, what integral elements of his personality does Zorba reveal?

2. To what extent is the narrator’s decision to rent a lignite mine in Crete an effort to escape from his life as a man of letters? What role does his friend, Stavridakis, play in the narrator’s choice to throw himself into “a life of action�? How does Alexis Zorba stand in as a surrogate for Stavridakis in the narrator’s life?

3. “I imagined this Madame Ortense to be the island’s queen, a sort of mustachioed, glistening seal that had been stranded half-rotted on this sandy beach thousands of years earlier, perfumed and happy.� (II) How does Madame Ortense in the flesh compare to the narrator’s vision of her? What accounts for Zorba’s attentiveness to Madame Ortense, whom he dubs Bouboulina? What traits do Zorba and Madame Ortense share that might enhance their romantic compatibility?

4. “One thing at a time in proper order. Right now we’ve got pilaf in front of us; let our minds be pilaf. Tomorrow we’ll have lignite in front of us, so let our minds, then, be lignite. No half-measures—understand?� (III) To what extent is Zorba’s ability to be fully absorbed in the present moment apparent in his exploits in Zorba the Greek? How might the narrator interpret Zorba’s pragmatism in light of his own focus on asceticism?

5. Why does Zorba reject the narrator’s efforts to become better acquainted with the workers at the lignite mine? In what ways are the narrator’s aims at odds with Zorba’s when it comes to the mine? How would each man define success in the context of the lignite mine?

6. “I believe in nothing and no one, only in Zorba. Not because Zorba is better than others, not at all—no, not at all! He, too, is a brute. But I believe in Zorba because he is the only person I have under my power, the only one I know.� (IV) What does Zorba’s abundant faith only in himself suggest about his egotism? How does the narrator understand his friend’s faith?

7. In the novel, the sixty-something-year-old Alexis Zorba refers to his friend, the narrator, as “Boss,� and the thirty-five-year-old narrator occasionally refers to his employee, Zorba, as Sinbad the Sailor. How significant are their ages in the context of their working relationship? How does the narrator’s control of the purse dictate his position? How does Zorba’s wealth of experience affect his status?

8. “I never had my fill of watching the immense care and tenderness with which Zorba undid the cloth that cloaked his santouri, as though he were cleaning a fig or undressing a woman.� (VI) How do Zorba’s attitudes about women compare to his feelings for his santouri? How would you describe the significance of both in Zorba’s life?

9. “My life had taken the wrong path; my contact with fellow humans had ended up as an internal monologue. My degeneration was so great that if I were to choose between loving a woman or reading a good book about love, I would choose the book.� (VIII) How does the alluring widow who passes outside the Modesty Café and Meat Market alter the course of the narrator’s life? How would you characterize Zorba’s role in the narrator’s shift from an intellectual being to a sexually-awakened being?

10. Until the unexpected collapse of the lignite gallery, Zorba’s work at the mine seems of little consequence. What does the collapse reveal about the courage and cowardice of Zorba, the narrator, and the miners? What role does the collapse play in the narrator’s decision to allow Zorba to travel to Iraklio for supplies when they have no money left to pay their workers?

11. What propels the narrator to fabricate a lie about Zorba’s desire to marry Madame Ortense? How is Zorba able to reconcile his cynical views on marriage with his tender feelings for his beloved Bouboulina?

12. How are Christians and Christianity portrayed in Zorba the Greek? Consider Zorba’s ambivalence about God and the Devil; the bewildering experiences that befall the narrator and Zorba at the Monastery of the All-Holy; the figure of Father Zacharias; the story of Zorba’s grandfather’s fake relic from the Holy Sepulcher; the widow’s murder on the church’s threshold; and the plunder of Madame Ortense’s home on her deathbed. How does the novel’s subtitle: “The Saint’s Life of Zorba,� hint at some of the book’s spiritual contradictions?

13. Zorba’s aerial transport scheme for the lignite mine seems doomed from the start. Why does the narrator take so little interest or concern in his traveling companion’s folly? How might such ignorance call into question the reliability of the narrator’s account of Zorba? What less-appealing qualities of Zorba does the narrator overlook or avert his gaze from in promoting the goodness that Zorba exudes?

14. “Boss...I have so many things to tell you. I never loved anyone as much as you.� (XXV) How does Zorba’s affection for the narrator compare to the narrator’s feelings for Zorba? What accounts for the intense bond between these two strangers? Which one is the more emotionally dependent in their relationship?

15. In the aftermath of his time living with Zorba, the narrator reflects on Zorba as “a great soul� and “a madman,� (XXVI). To what extent are these identities mutually exclusive? How might Zorba’s character encompass both qualities? How would you characterize Zorba?

1. “This Zorba was precisely the person I had been seeking for such a long time and not finding: a vivacious heart, warm voice, a great unrefined, unsophisticated soul with its umbilical cord not yet severed from the earth.� (I) How would you describe Alexis Zorba’s chance encounter with the narrator in a café? In the course of his conversation with the narrator about his love for santouri, what integral elements of his personality does Zorba reveal?

Zorba picks out the narrator in the cafe precisely because the narrator was hiding in the corner musing about the last conversation he had had with his friend. Zorba instantly knew that here was someone who would potentially see Zorba as a unique person worthy of getting to know. We learn that Zorba drinks, has no respect for careful judgement, believes himself a miner because he believes himself capable of anything (and he has been a miner) as well as a maker of soup. We learn through the story of how he came to play the santouri that he is passionate and obsessive at times. We also learn that he has an ambiguous relationship with God, the Devil and religion in general.

2. To what extent is the narrator’s decision to rent a lignite mine in Crete an effort to escape from his life as a man of letters? What role does his friend, Stavridakis, play in the narrator’s choice to throw himself into “a life of action�? How does Alexis Zorba stand in as a surrogate for Stavridakis in the narrator’s life?

All three of them, the narrator, Zorba and Stavridakis believe that our narrator is a "paper gnawer" who can not live life fully and directly but only through the distance of writing it down in words. Our narrator looks to live in a more immediate and direct fashion by going off to the rented mine. However, he could have gone off with Stavridakis and so the mine is really a diversion from a truly direct experience.

3. “I imagined this Madame Ortense to be the island’s queen, a sort of mustachioed, glistening seal that had been stranded half-rotted on this sandy beach thousands of years earlier, perfumed and happy.� (II) How does Madame Ortense in the flesh compare to the narrator’s vision of her? What accounts for Zorba’s attentiveness to Madame Ortense, whom he dubs Bouboulina? What traits do Zorba and Madame Ortense share that might enhance their romantic compatibility?

One of the ugly aspects of the book is that our narrator never seems to see Madame Ortense and therefore we can not see Madame Ortense through his words. How he treats her with perpetual teasing about getting married is cruel. The best we can do is listen to Zorba's take on her and Zorba doesn't in general think highly of woman as much as he loves them. Zorba and Madame Ortense have both been wanderers who have chosen passion over security and who have lived lives of adventure. Madame Ortense and Zorba are both holding off old age as best they can. Zorba feels sorry for Madame Ortense but also is able in his own way to find her attractive because she used to be attractive.

4. “One thing at a time in proper order. Right now we’ve got pilaf in front of us; let our minds be pilaf. Tomorrow we’ll have lignite in front of us, so let our minds, then, be lignite. No half-measures—understand?� (III) To what extent is Zorba’s ability to be fully absorbed in the present moment apparent in his exploits in Zorba the Greek? How might the narrator interpret Zorba’s pragmatism in light of his own focus on asceticism?

Our narrator has been attempting to live in the moment through denial or rather, in a Buddhist way, through the denial of even denial. He does not want to want or have any desires. However, he uses his intellectual skills to confront these issues whereas Zorba is all about desire and is able to focus his attentions on what is in front of him. He sees everything new whatever he sees.

5. Why does Zorba reject the narrator’s efforts to become better acquainted with the workers at the lignite mine? In what ways are the narrator’s aims at odds with Zorba’s when it comes to the mine? How would each man define success in the context of the lignite mine?

Our narrator wants to come to understand the workers by eating with them and giving them time off while Zorba believes that you come to know workers by their work. He needs to drive them both for his own ends and for theirs and the "Boss" being so undemanding doesn't help him.

6. “I believe in nothing and no one, only in Zorba. Not because Zorba is better than others, not at all—no, not at all! He, too, is a brute. But I believe in Zorba because he is the only person I have under my power, the only one I know.� (IV) What does Zorba’s abundant faith only in himself suggest about his egotism? How does the narrator understand his friend’s faith?

Zorba does believe in himself although he is not blind to his own flaws or times that he has made poor decisions. However, he doesn't look back. He is who he is and he works hard at being a good version of Zorba. He believes God is unreliable and the Devil more so and he can not understand either one and therefore doesn't really believe in them. The narrator enjoys the conversations in which they discuss, without conclusions, the nature of God, and why people are on the earth, and why there is death in the world.

7. In the novel, the sixty-something-year-old Alexis Zorba refers to his friend, the narrator, as “Boss,� and the thirty-five-year-old narrator occasionally refers to his employee, Zorba, as Sinbad the Sailor. How significant are their ages in the context of their working relationship? How does the narrator’s control of the purse dictate his position? How does Zorba’s wealth of experience affect his status?

They are a good partnership because each is getting something specific from the other which they value highly. The narrator is getting a life line to true passionate experience and Zorba is getting a forgiving Boss who nevertheless allows him to plunge forward with work. Age only comes into it because the narrator should be enjoying life more "at his age" and Zorba is trying to live as if he will die tomorrow. The Boss has money but does not value it and therefore Zorba is free to crayon outside the lines. However, there is a tone of class status in the book. Our narrator clearly believes himself "above" the workers he is attempting to befriend.

8. “I never had my fill of watching the immense care and tenderness with which Zorba undid the cloth that cloaked his santouri, as though he were cleaning a fig or undressing a woman.� (VI) How do Zorba’s attitudes about women compare to his feelings for his santouri? How would you describe the significance of both in Zorba’s life?

In Zorba's world women are weak, fragile and manipulative while the santouri is strong willed and full of the passion that Zorba loves.

9. “My life had taken the wrong path; my contact with fellow humans had ended up as an internal monologue. My degeneration was so great that if I were to choose between loving a woman or reading a good book about love, I would choose the book.� (VIII) How does the alluring widow who passes outside the Modesty Café and Meat Market alter the course of the narrator’s life? How would you characterize Zorba’s role in the narrator’s shift from an intellectual being to a sexually-awakened being?

The funny thing for me is that I would answer that it did not change the narrator's life. Zorba felt that the narrator should take advantage of the widow's interest in the "Boss" because it is a sin to turn down such an offer in his 'religion'. The narrator had a wonderful sexual experience which then allowed him to open up to sensual experiences all around him but it didn't seem to actual change him in any real way. He was not able to help Zorba save her for example.

10. Until the unexpected collapse of the lignite gallery, Zorba’s work at the mine seems of little consequence. What does the collapse reveal about the courage and cowardice of Zorba, the narrator, and the miners? What role does the collapse play in the narrator’s decision to allow Zorba to travel to Iraklio for supplies when they have no money left to pay their workers?

The way that this passage is written, the collapse is expected by the reader but not by the narrator, which in and of itself is interesting. Again the narrator, valuing the passionate life rather than his own money agrees to let Zorba go in order to better engineer the mines with enough tree beam support.

11. What propels the narrator to fabricate a lie about Zorba’s desire to marry Madame Ortense? How is Zorba able to reconcile his cynical views on marriage with his tender feelings for his beloved Bouboulina?

The narrator is cruel and is not able to see Madame Ortense as a full human being so in his pity for her and in his desire to make her happy in the moment, he talks to her about Zorba's desire to marry her. This is like lying to a child and is truly done to satisfy himself and not her. Zorba must then support the lie or be equally cruel, and unlike the narrator he can not treat her so poorly.

12. How are Christians and Christianity portrayed in Zorba the Greek? Consider Zorba’s ambivalence about God and the Devil; the bewildering experiences that befall the narrator and Zorba at the Monastery of the All-Holy; the figure of Father Zacharias; the story of Zorba’s grandfather’s fake relic from the Holy Sepulcher; the widow’s murder on the church’s threshold; and the plunder of Madame Ortense’s home on her deathbed. How does the novel’s subtitle: “The Saint’s Life of Zorba,� hint at some of the book’s spiritual contradictions?

The Greek Orthodox Christianity as practiced on Crete (as depicted in this book) is there to provide rituals and maintain a societal status quo and has little to do with faith. The Holy Mother and Our Lady of Revenge are more superstitions than something to believe in. The Monastery provides another world to escape the hunger, poverty and sexual rules of the outer world and is not at all concerned about helping men's souls in this world or the next. Clearly, killing the widow for being a "tease" is not a good example of turning the other cheek. In fact, it is not clear that the widow did anything other than be a widow, and have a life without one man. Killing her was a way of saying: "get behind me Satan" and therefore her murder was justified in the villager's minds.
Neither Zorba nor the narrator treat this form of religion seriously. Zorba at least questions it over and over while the narrator acts as if he is above it all. It amuses him even to the point that although the death of the widow is not a good experience he appears to get over it quickly.

13. Zorba’s aerial transport scheme for the lignite mine seems doomed from the start. Why does the narrator take so little interest or concern in his traveling companion’s folly? How might such ignorance call into question the reliability of the narrator’s account of Zorba? What less-appealing qualities of Zorba does the narrator overlook or avert his gaze from in promoting the goodness that Zorba exudes?

From the start the narrator is not interested in giving the reader a full unbiased document about a real man. The narrator is writing a fiction about "a saint" and therefore he is giving us what is needed for us to worship this man as he does. However, the narrator is biased in a specific way. He is forgiving of anything that Zorba does that exudes a pure life force even if it is ridiculous or foolish including wasting his money on a young woman.

14. “Boss...I have so many things to tell you. I never loved anyone as much as you.� (XXV) How does Zorba’s affection for the narrator compare to the narrator’s feelings for Zorba? What accounts for the intense bond between these two strangers? Which one is the more emotionally dependent in their relationship?

See answer #7 - it is a good pairing and although the narrator needed Zorba more than Zorba needed the narrator from both an intellectual and psychological point of view, in the long run, the narrator is happy to live without him once he has gleaned his essence. In contrast, Zorba does not need the narrator at all other than as a boss who gives him something to do. If he had not found the narrator he would have found someone else. However, he comes to love the narrator because the narrator sees in him a life well lived. The narrator appreciates Zorba in all his flawed exuberance and that reflection is incredibly satisfying to Zorba. Zorba would have continued this relationship and tried to rekindle it multiple times but the narrator no longer needed him.

I didn't enjoy this book, so I'm not going to answer all the questions as honestly, I don't really feel like dwelling on the book, I would much rather just move on from it. But here are a few thoughts:

1. The chance meeting was probably less chance on Zorba’s part, as we get to know him throughout the book it is clear he is always on the lookout for his next opportunity and has no qualms about pursuing a lead. When he speaks of the Santouri again we see that he is not a man to be pushed into anything, the Santouri will only be played when the mood is right.

2. I struggled with the lead into this novel so I didn’t really pick up much from their initial conversation, other than that it does lead our narrator into his next course of action to escape his bookish life.

4. It’s clear Zorba only does one thing at a time throughout the novel, but it’s very evident at the time when he goes off to buy some cable, but instead of a short trip, he ends up having an affair and staying away for longer than planned and spending a huge chunk of his boss’s money in the process.

5. Zorba and the boss have very different views on life, the boss wants to see progress in life for all men, but Zorba thinks the men will take advantage of the boss’s interest in them to slack off.

7. The boss seems to have status in the village because he has brought jobs and money to the villagers. Zorbas hard-working attitude and life-saving actions bring him the respect and awe of the villagers but only to a point. As was seen during the fight in the courtyard regarding the fate of the widow, they both had limited power to change that outcome.

8. My biggest dislike in this book was how women were treated and described by most of the male characters but Zorba was the biggest offender. I grew very tired of ready ‘women are weak� or ‘women don’t know how to help themselves.

11. Malice - The narrator was very cruel towards Madame Ortense and just mislead her for some small amusement of his own. Zorba was away and he was bored and resentful that Zorba had been gone so long, so he decides to play a cruel trick that is set to hurt Madame Ortense much more than it would have any impact on Zorba.

I read this many years ago and loved it. I can see I am in the minority here. I agree with the misogyny, but that unfortunately was part of the culture and the time period.

1. Zorba is always looking out for an opportunity and strikes up a conversation with the narrator, who is attracted to Zorba for the reasons mentioned in the quote above. Zorba is charismatic, persuasive and passionate.
2. Stavridakis accuses the narrator of being a bookworm, and stung by this criticism he decides to become a businessman and engage more with the world instead of being obsessed with the book he is writing on the teachings of Buddha. The narrator and Stavridakis appear to have a very close and passionate relationship, and a similar connection is established with Zorba.

3. The narrator describes Madame Ortense in critical terms, mocking her croquetry while enjoying her hospitality. He emphasised her grief at losing her looks. Zorba attests that wherever he goes he finds a widow to serve his physical needs because they invariably are eager for sex. Madame Ortense has never been married but she lives alone and fits Zorba's requirements. Zorba has a dim view of women but great experience of the endearments they enjoy. His experienced lovemaking saisfied Madame Hortense. I don't agree that the narrator was being deliberately cruel to her as a revenge for Zorba's lack of responsibility. At the time he fabricated messages of love and intentions to marry her, the narrator did not know if Zorba would ever return. His clumsy attempts to tell her what she wanted to hear was him trying to emulate Zorba's easy manner with women.

4. Zorba is telling the narrator to live in the moment. The narrator is trying to practise asceticism He admires Zorba's zest for life and ability to enjoy the moment, which is why he so easily forgives Zorba for spending his money on a young lover.
5. The narrator wants to get to know the workers so that he can understand their lives but Zorba sees this as a huge mistake because the workers will slacken off if they think their boss has too much empathy for them. Zorba sees profit as the aim of the mine, while the narrator is wanting the experience of running it as a way to understand better a life of action. This is why he can be so detached when the mine proves to be unsuccessful.
6. Zorba has confidence in himself and therefore relies on noone else, especially not the prop of religion. He repeatedly attests that God and the Devil are the same thing. The narrator admires Zorba's philosophy.
7. Zorba constantly advises the narrator on how to live, He sees himself as a mentor because he has greater experience of life. The narrator has the money but is much less worldly and so their power relationship is balanced.
8. Zorba is much more constant in his relationship with his santouri than he is in relationships with women. It is his most beloved possession and he bequeaths it to the narrator.
9. The narrator takes Zorba's behaviour as an example and allows the widow to seduce him. But the relationship is precarious because she is being ostracised for turning down the young lover. Her subsequent beheading would be reason enough for him to return to his ascetic life.
10. The miners, with Zorba leading them are fatalistic about the dangers involved in mining. The narrator was intrigued by Zorba's idea of using a flying fox to convey timber and so was supportive of his scheme. The financial success of the mine was not of paramount importance to him and so he indulged Zorba's idea.
11. See answer 3. Zorba continued the pretence because he did not want to hurt Madame Hortense's feelings.
12. While describing some of the religious superstitions of Greek Orthodoxy at the time Kazantkis is criticising religious practices in all the above examples.
13. See answer 10 above. I should have read all the questions before I began!
14. I do not see one as being more dependent than the other. See answers 2 and 7

1. The encounter was not due to chance it was Zorba looking for his next chance.

2. I obviously lost interest in this. The mine was his way of being a man of the world.

3. Theatrical they are both playing a role.

4. Zorba appears to throw himself into everything he is passionate while the passion lasts and then he moves on.

5. No idea

6. I didn't see it as egotism more that he understands himself better than he understands anything so he is a God to himself.

7. II didn't see age as being important. The possession of money makes the narrator the boss while his world wide adventures make Zorba seem like Sinbad.

8. Santuri - Zorba can only play when the spirit takes him. It seems to be a spiritual past time. Women - Zorba adores women, all women in all their guises to him they are all sexual but they are also interchangeable although he does appear to have settled by the end of the book.

9. Honestly this question makes it sound so romantic but really it was a quick bonk and then move on.

10. ...

11. I got the impression he was being mischievious and was annoyed at Zorba's behaviour while away.

12. Religion is treated lightly and the bad side of it is far more to the fore than any good that religion does.

13. ...

14. The narrator is more dependent in my view.

15. Irritating, womanising, self centred.