Greek literature

[Libra]

The most known ofcourse being Homer's Odyssey and Iliad and a lot of others, mostly poets,at the mention of someone saying that the Greeks have stuck to their famous poets and don't have much contemporary Greek literature,I went on a search.

I have been naive about Greek writers,and in my search I have found that
the person who said it ,is not far from the truth. Most of the authors are poets, short stories and not many novels,Although there is a vast selection on modern writers , the ones I have read are really not worth mentioning as the stories have not been engaging.

I have ordered from different places and I got a greek bookstore in Ontario(that makes trips to Greece for book buying)to search for some titles that I could not find through other means. As soon as I read them I hope to post reviews on them.

Here is a brief history on Greek literature and a list of authors if anyone is interested to delve into.

I am starting with Fool's Gold-Maro Douka who was given the Kazantzakis Literary Award.




Greek literature - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[bookworm fellow]

I have a curiosity about the Odyssey, it seems to be an interesting adventure. But the reason why I never read it is the text structure: verse. I only get interested in prose.

Anyway, your research is really interesting. I bet you'll find something that worths the reading--and in prose.

I think every country has its great authors. And I also believe that in some countries many great authors don't find any publisher who accepts publishing their books due to moral/cultural incompatibilities. But I'd guess this is not the case.

I'm exited to see what you will find. Do tell us

 

[Libra]

Mauthausen by Iakovos Kambanellis is both a love story and the story of surviving the notorious Nazi death camp and the effort to make sense of this experience. The book is based on the notes Kambanellis took after he was liberated by the Americans in 1945. Like Primo Levi's writing about Auschwitz, Mauthausen is a literary masterpiece and a testament to the resilience of the human spirit in the aftermath of unimaginable horror. One of the best books in the Kedros: Modern Greek Writers series.

This is one I have bookstores looking for.

This is a nice site.Greek Books: Literature

I have about 15 modern novels that I loaned my neighbor, and she told me they sucked. Thank goodness they were borrowed

 

[Peder]

I hope your neighbor was not including Nikos Kazantzakis, the only modern name I have heard of (apart from the award). I too will be interested to hear the books you come up with.

 

[Stewart]

You'll find Amanda Michalopoulou's I'd Like to be easily available, printed as it is by the Dalkey Archive. It's also on this year's Reading The World list.

A couple more novels in Stolen Time and Four Walls by Vangelis Hatziyannidis, as well.

Panos Karnezis is another Greek writer I'm aware of, but he writes in English, having in lived in London for about fifteen years.

 

[abecedarian]

I'll be checking these links and titles with interest. I read The Seventh Elephant, Alexis Stamatis for my challenge, and thought it awful. Perhaps that's what I need to do after this first world tour; find at least one great book to redeem the bad ones I endured just to be able to put a check on my list. It doesn't seem fair to judge a place by one (or more) bad books.

BTW- I read The Last Temptation way back in the dark ages(1979) and while I don't buy Kazantzakis' ideas, the book is fascinating.

 

[Peder]

BTW- I read The Last Temptation way back in the dark ages(1979) and while I don't buy Kazantzakis' ideas, the book is fascinating.

That is the one I have always been curious about. Interestingly enough it is the one that makes Boxall's list of 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die (so-called :whistling: ).

 

[abecedarian]

That is the one I have always been curious about. Interestingly enough it is the one that makes Boxall's list of 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die (so-called :whistling: ).

I really don't entirely see the hoopla over this book/movie(didn't see the film myself). Besides being entirely a work of fiction, it merely presents one interpretation...AND the point of it is, it's about a temptation....a vision of how it might have been...I read it as part of a class on the life and teachings of Jesus..and it provoked interesting discussion. Plain and simple.

 

[Peder]

I really don't entirely see the hoopla over this book/movie(didn't see the film myself). Besides being entirely a work of fiction, it merely presents one interpretation...AND the point of it is, it's about a temptation....a vision of how it might have been...I read it as part of a class on the life and teachings of Jesus..and it provoked interesting discussion. Plain and simple.

Many thanks for your reaction ABC. It was never very near the top of my list; now it is a little less near.

 

[Libra]

peder no , it did not include Kazantzakis. She is a reader too, so I trust her judgment, we had read one last year and talked about it and we had the same views.I will still try them so I can see from my own point of view though.

You'll find Amanda Michalopoulou's I'd Like to be easily available, printed as it is by the Dalkey Archive. It's also on this year's Reading The World list.

A couple more novels in Stolen Time and Four Walls by Vangelis Hatziyannidis, as well.

Panos Karnezis is another Greek writer I'm aware of, but he writes in English, having in lived in London for about fifteen years.

Have you read them? I found I'd Like at abe books.thanks.



abecedarian I am searching for that book that will make me want to read more Greek literature.