Reviews
I waited for this book with great anticipation, but it was sent so carelessly—torn and crumpled. I have been a loyal customer of Kyobo until now, so I am extremely disappointed. I considered returning or exchanging it, but I decided to let it slide this time because it is too much of a hassle. As a true Kyobo customer, I would be very upset if this happened again. However, I plan to calm my anger by reading this book. I am really looking forward to the contents.
It is a masterpiece. You must read it.
This is a book I have been working on for a long time.
I heard that author Park Woong-hyun read this book five times because it is considered one of his all-time favorites, so I went to a bookstore in person to compare translations from various publishers before choosing this one. In my opinion, it is the most natural and comfortable book to read; it is a direct translation of the original text into Korean rather than a translation of a translation; and I have faith in the translator's background. I have high expectations for this book, which has
Nikos Kazantzakis's masterpiece *Zorba the Greek*, a representative work by the world-renowned Greek author, has been published by Minumsa with a new translation. Based on a real-life figure, Kazantzakis's *Zorba the Greek* has been translated into dozens of languages and is a steady seller that has risen to the ranks of a classic regarded by people worldwide. Translator Professor Kim Wook-dong, an emeritus professor of English Language and Literature at Sogang University, based his translation
"On the ship were Greeks, cunning devils with rapacious eyes, brains like the trumpery goods of bazaar-dealers, wire pulling and quarreling; an untuned pinao: honest and venomous shrews." This sentence was interpreted as, "The ship was filled with cunning Greeks, greedy eyes, heads full of business acumen, trivial political debates, a piano with loose strings, virtuous wives turned venomous from anger, and the spiteful and monotonous squalor of the countryside." This interpretation is
"I," the incarnation of the author himself, is a 35-year-old young intellectual and a bookworm seeker who despises physical pleasures, eating only small, secret bites. "I" also harbored an idealistic dream of organizing a community where, if the lignite mine prospered, everyone would work together like brothers, share everything, eat the same food, and wear the same clothes. "I," a bookworm who prioritizes reason and views the world through writing rather than by diving into it, undergoes a
Zorba the Greek: The Life and Deeds of Alexis Zorba, by Nikos Kazantzakis, published by Munhak & Jiseongsa. The book selected for October to be read by my youngest daughter's school parents' book club is *Zorba the Greek*, a masterpiece by the great Greek writer Nikos Kazantzakis. It is a new release directly translated by a Greek major, based on the teacher's unilateral recommendation. It is rare for a work written in a language with only about 10 million speakers to achieve such worldwide
Like South Korea, Greece is a peninsula surrounded by the sea on three sides. It was fighting a war with Turkey at sea and a war of independence against Macedonia on land. Zorba, while developing mines in Egypt with his companions, sought a romantic life free from war. After the death of his friend's spouse, he returned to a monastery intending to live a life of detachment and detachment—that is, the life of a monk—but he became disillusioned by the duplicity of those who betrayed him. After
1. This is a completely new translation, a direct translation from Greek into Korean, and a highly anticipated masterpiece. 2. I believe that this literal translation of *Zorba the Greek*, which has completely corrected the numerous mistranslations and errors that occurred during the translation process through English, French, Swedish, and other languages, will convey the author's heart most accurately. 3. Translated with the utmost care by a translator who studied and lived among Greeks,
Nikos Kazantzakis: Zorba the Greek
Over 70 years after *Zorba the Greek* first saw the light of day, and about 40 years after its initial introduction to Korea in 1975, we encounter it for the first time in a translation from the original Greek text, rather than a retranslation. Translator Yoo Jae-won—an expert well-versed in Greek studies, a Ph.D. from the University of Athens, an Emeritus Professor of Greek Studies at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, and President of the Korea-Greece Association—has translated this work by capturing the very breath of the characters and the culture, drawing upon the expertise he has accumulated over a lifetime of researching Kazantzakis's complete works, tracing the actual paths of Kazantzakis and Zorba, and examining even the settings within the stories. On his way to the lignite mines of Crete to live among ordinary people, such as laborers, away from the bookworms of his own kind, "I" meet Zorba. He was a free spirit with a laughter capable of instantly shattering and demolishing the obstacles—ethics, religion, and homeland—that terrified, pitiful humans had erected to live in peace and comfort. I listened to him speak of Bulgarian rebels, lignite, women, God, his homeland, and death. And when suddenly seized by passion and words alone were no longer enough to satisfy him, he would jump up and dance on the coarse pebbles of the seashore. He was a man who accepted and enjoyed our lives, which repeat endlessly like Sisyphus rolling the boulder; at the same time, rather than silently and passively following, he lived actively like a lion, marveling at and rejoicing in every moment like a child. Zorba, who acted without hesitation according to his inner voice, unbound by homeland, custom, or authority, and who boldly stood against both God and the devil.
Korean title: 그리스인 조르바
Korean author: 니코스 카잔자키스
Korean publisher: 문학과지성사
ISBN-13: 9788932030982
Reviews
I waited for this book with great anticipation, but it was sent so carelessly—torn and crumpled. I have been a loyal customer of Kyobo until now, so I am extremely disappointed. I considered returning or exchanging it, but I decided to let it slide this time because it is too much of a hassle. As a true Kyobo customer, I would be very upset if this happened again. However, I plan to calm my anger by reading this book. I am really looking forward to the contents.
It is a masterpiece. You must read it.
This is a book I have been working on for a long time.
I heard that author Park Woong-hyun read this book five times because it is considered one of his all-time favorites, so I went to a bookstore in person to compare translations from various publishers before choosing this one. In my opinion, it is the most natural and comfortable book to read; it is a direct translation of the original text into Korean rather than a translation of a translation; and I have faith in the translator's background. I have high expectations for this book, which has
Nikos Kazantzakis's masterpiece *Zorba the Greek*, a representative work by the world-renowned Greek author, has been published by Minumsa with a new translation. Based on a real-life figure, Kazantzakis's *Zorba the Greek* has been translated into dozens of languages and is a steady seller that has risen to the ranks of a classic regarded by people worldwide. Translator Professor Kim Wook-dong, an emeritus professor of English Language and Literature at Sogang University, based his translation
"On the ship were Greeks, cunning devils with rapacious eyes, brains like the trumpery goods of bazaar-dealers, wire pulling and quarreling; an untuned pinao: honest and venomous shrews." This sentence was interpreted as, "The ship was filled with cunning Greeks, greedy eyes, heads full of business acumen, trivial political debates, a piano with loose strings, virtuous wives turned venomous from anger, and the spiteful and monotonous squalor of the countryside." This interpretation is
"I," the incarnation of the author himself, is a 35-year-old young intellectual and a bookworm seeker who despises physical pleasures, eating only small, secret bites. "I" also harbored an idealistic dream of organizing a community where, if the lignite mine prospered, everyone would work together like brothers, share everything, eat the same food, and wear the same clothes. "I," a bookworm who prioritizes reason and views the world through writing rather than by diving into it, undergoes a
Zorba the Greek: The Life and Deeds of Alexis Zorba, by Nikos Kazantzakis, published by Munhak & Jiseongsa. The book selected for October to be read by my youngest daughter's school parents' book club is *Zorba the Greek*, a masterpiece by the great Greek writer Nikos Kazantzakis. It is a new release directly translated by a Greek major, based on the teacher's unilateral recommendation. It is rare for a work written in a language with only about 10 million speakers to achieve such worldwide
Like South Korea, Greece is a peninsula surrounded by the sea on three sides. It was fighting a war with Turkey at sea and a war of independence against Macedonia on land. Zorba, while developing mines in Egypt with his companions, sought a romantic life free from war. After the death of his friend's spouse, he returned to a monastery intending to live a life of detachment and detachment—that is, the life of a monk—but he became disillusioned by the duplicity of those who betrayed him. After
1. This is a completely new translation, a direct translation from Greek into Korean, and a highly anticipated masterpiece. 2. I believe that this literal translation of *Zorba the Greek*, which has completely corrected the numerous mistranslations and errors that occurred during the translation process through English, French, Swedish, and other languages, will convey the author's heart most accurately. 3. Translated with the utmost care by a translator who studied and lived among Greeks,
