∎ Download Christ Recrucified A Novel Nikos Kazantzakis 9780571066728 Books

Christ Recrucified A Novel Nikos Kazantzakis 9780571066728 Books

Download As PDF : Christ Recrucified A Novel Nikos Kazantzakis 9780571066728 Books

Christ Recrucified A Novel Nikos Kazantzakis 9780571066728 Books

Adding to my enjoyment of this story (set in a Greek isle) was my recent trip to several Greek isles. The story was very well-written. The life and settings of the characters, while clearly bearing a resemblance to the gospel narrative of the life of Christ, was so subtle and sparse, I as the reader did not feel a forced-fit was being made, and could enjoy the unfolding of the Greek (and some Turkish) characters in their historical and geographical settings. The story is a brilliant depiction of the struggles within a small Greek village during the period of Turkish rule. The power plays between the Greek religious leaders and their Turkish rulers, often resulting in internal squabbles between people of the same nationality and faith, is colorfully depicted. As the reader I felt drawn into the story at what I would refer to as a street level observer. Loved it!


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Christ Recrucified A Novel Nikos Kazantzakis 9780571066728 Books Reviews

A perfect novel and not to be missed.

Profound, harrowing, and bursting with the fullness of the human heart-- also boisterous, merry, and bitingly satiric.

And Unceasingly Entertaining.

The year leading up to Easter week and the performance of the town's Passion Play finds the people of this Ottoman-occupied Greek village becoming transformed by Christ's story, as author Kazantzakis' novel encapsules the very history of the Christian Church.

His is a fiercely nature-centric vision of Man's rude and clamorous confrontation with the struggle for right-ness, for rightousness in the face of smothering societal hypocrisy.

Funny and sardonic, shocking and brutal, and often deeply beautiful, Christ Recrucified get's my highest recommendation.
Following the tradition of his previous efforts, Kazantzakis here once again exemplifies the very tragedy of human nature through his allegory of Christ's crucifixion. This literary drama takes place in a remote Greek village where upon a group of wandering populace, who have lost their homes due to an invasion stumble, and come into conflict with the locals there. The story revolves around the dissonance between the affluent villagers and the down-trodden, starving wanderers. The key figure is Manolios, the son of the village's leader here who as the story unravels he slowly metamorphosises from a local childlike village boy into the figure of martyrdom that essentially symbolises Jesus Christ. Representing each camp are two orthodox priests who are antithetical in their demeanour and attitude. Papa-Fotis who is the priest leading the wanderers is a lean, poignant figure; disillusioned by the hardships of the world his ordained position as a priest takes on a tragic sense. It becomes apparent throughout the story that his tenacity lays more in a faith in Man rather than in an all-powerful Deity who will set things aright. Kazantzakis is quite known for his keenness in personalising intimate emotions and desires in key characters of his works. Here the sin of greed takes the form of an old loan shark who literally starves himself lest he spends money, the sin of pride takes the form of the stout, self-righteous priest of the village while the sin of envy takes the form of a man who is so overrun by enmity for Manolios in the end he will doom an entire village to see him perish. Manolios here is in constant torment, he denounces all worldly pleasures as he feels himself destined to martyrdom, an almost sacred debt he has been bestowed with. Throughout the work, one can feel his frustration, his temptations of his ascetic struggle towards the attainment of divinity. Yet Kazantzakis shines in this book not necessarily because of his exquisite depiction of his human characters but in his epic portrayal of the self-perpetuating drama of Mankind the wandering people in the end continue to be wanderers; the villagers continue to indulge in sin, while the tragic realisation of the absurdity of human existence reverberates throughout the reader's mind. It's a book which leaves the reader with a rather bitter aftertaste with its pungent poignancy but is greatly rewarding in its climactic prose and spiritual insight.
As far as depictions of the life of Christ, "Christ Recrucified" (also published as "The Greek Passion") is far superior to the better known "Last Temptation of Christ" by the same author.

This novel is set in a little Greek village during the time of the Turkish occupation. Starting with the assignment of roles of villagers to play in the annual passion play, the novel turns into a real passion play.

The village elders, a dismal lot of overfed, oppressive, back- biting types, pick various villagers to play roles in the once- every-seven-years passion play. However, Manolios (chosen to be Christ for his gentle looks) and three friends, chosen as apostles, are humbled by the honor and inspired to begin to struggle with God's will. The crisis is provided by a band of refugees from another village. Run out by the Turks, they seek sanctuary in this village only to be refused both land and food by the village elders who fear their corrupting influence and the loss of revenue. The contradiction between the words of Christ, and the actions of those who claim leadership of the church and the village lead Manolios and his friends to ask dangerous questions. The elders, as elders tend to do, are reluctant to give up any power, and not inclined to accept theological analysis from those who they command. Eventually, the passion is acted out for real, with Manolios accused of treason and the sleepy Turkish overlord acting the part of Pilate to perfection.

Liberation Theology is a term we associate with the Roman Catholic Church in Latin America, but I would suggest that this work, dating from 1953, has anticipated the movement in amazing detail. Such standard concepts of Liberation Theology as "the preferential option for the poor," "base communities," reading the Bible out of experience rather than theology, and so forth, are portrayed here as Manolios and his friends struggle with what God has to say to them.
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The print of this edition (paperback) was very small and took time to read. The literary aspects as excellent - well written, great insight and quite theological.
This is a great and timely book. It's themes are a challenge to anyone calling themselves a follower of Christ.
Adding to my enjoyment of this story (set in a Greek isle) was my recent trip to several Greek isles. The story was very well-written. The life and settings of the characters, while clearly bearing a resemblance to the gospel narrative of the life of Christ, was so subtle and sparse, I as the reader did not feel a forced-fit was being made, and could enjoy the unfolding of the Greek (and some Turkish) characters in their historical and geographical settings. The story is a brilliant depiction of the struggles within a small Greek village during the period of Turkish rule. The power plays between the Greek religious leaders and their Turkish rulers, often resulting in internal squabbles between people of the same nationality and faith, is colorfully depicted. As the reader I felt drawn into the story at what I would refer to as a street level observer. Loved it!