I am a Kazantzakis junkie. This author of
Zorba the Greek and
The Last Temptation of Christ wrote a novelization of the life of Francis of Assisi -
Saint Francis: a Novel - which is one of my all-time favorites.
Greek Passion was less enjoyable but still interesting, a reworking of the Gospel Passion in a small Greek village controlled by the Turks during the Ottoman period. I liked it for its extremely vivid depiction of the setting; on the other hand, the development of the characters to represent various Gospel figures felt sometimes forced and cookie-cutterish. I did like the Pilate figure, the Turkish governor, fat, drunken and debauched, with no more concern for his subjects than animals but powerfully motivated to keep the peace.
