Zorba the Greek

Nikos Kazantzakis published the novel in 1946. A young Greek intellectual decides to set his books aside and heads for Crete to reopen a disused lignite mine, hiring Alexis Zorba, a Greek born in Macedonia, as his foreman. Zorba’s soliloquies set the tone for much of the story. Michael Cacoyannis directed a successful 1964 film adaptation. Gospodinov wishes he could come to it all over again as a new reader.