A masterpiece by Nikos Kazantzakis, a pioneer of 20th-century literature

Zorba the Greek is the work that brought Kazantzakis worldwide fame, and it depicts with rich imagination the spiritual struggle of Zorba, a cheerful and playful free spirit.
Zorba, the main character of this book, is a real person, and Kazantzakis tells the following story in Autobiography of a Soul:

“… … If I had to choose a guide in life, whom Hindus call ‘Guru’ and monks call ‘Father,’ I would have chosen Zorba without a doubt… … .
“Whenever I look back on the amount of nutrients I have absorbed from books over the years to fill my hungry soul, and the amount of freedom I have felt from Zorba in just a few months, I feel a sense of injustice for the years I have wasted on books, and I cannot bear the indignation and bitterness in my heart.”

To properly understand Zorba the Greek, we must keep in mind the concept of 'methoisono', that is, 'becoming holy'.
This is a change that takes place beyond the critical state of the visible and the invisible, the body and the soul, the matter and the spirit.
If the change of grapes into grape juice and wine is a physical and chemical change, then the change of wine into love and the Eucharist is the 'methoisono'.
In this book, Kazantzakis shows the 'methoison of life' through the struggle of Zorba's unstoppable and free spirit.