Ζ

by Vassilis Vassilikos, Βασίλης Βασιλικός

...Πλοία απ' το βοριά, που δεν αφήσατε ούτε την ηχώ απ' το πέρασμά σας, φωτιές που κάψατε δίχως στάχτη, κι εσύ, σπίτι μου, ζεστασιά μου, εσύ που μου έδινες καινούρια πίστη στη ζωή, πόδια μου, κολόνες που σήκωναν το σύμπαν, τώρα, εσύ, χέρια από φως, μάτια δίχως την εικόνα μου, γιατί, γιατί έτσι να φύγεις, με τόσο πόνο, με τόση αγωνία, με τέτοια κούραση, σταματημένο ρολόι του ουρανού, να που όλο ψηλώνω, χωρίς να το θέλω, όπως κατεβαίνεις εσύ, χωρίς να το θέλεις, δεν υπάρχει πια καμιά ελπίδα να σε ξαναβρώ, το ξέρω πως δεν υπάρχει και δεν θέλω να φύγω, θέλω να μείνω τουλάχιστο κοντά στα πράγματα που αγάπησες, που ζήσαμε μαζί, στα κάδρα που στόλιζαν το σπίτι μας, κοντά στις ραγισματιές των τοίχων, θέλω να μείνω κοντά στους δρόμους όπου έμεινες, μα δεν μπορώ, ψηλώνω, φεύγω, χάνομαι κι εγώ στον αέρα, και δεν ξέρω πώς να σου το πω, σπίτι μου, αγάπη μου, μου λείπεις...

Genres: Fiction, Greece, Historical Fiction, Classics, Politics, Literature, Crime

423 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 1966

About the author

Vassilis Vassilikos (Greek: Βασίλης Βασιλικός) was a prolific Greek writer and diplomat. A native of the northern Greek island of Thassos, Vassilikos grew up in Salonika, graduating from law school there before moving to Athens to work as a journalist. Due to his political activities, he was forced into exile following the 1967 military coup, where he spent the next seven years.

Between 1981 and 1984 Vassilikos served as general manager of the Greek state television channel ET1. Since 1996, he has served as Greece's ambassador to UNESCO.

As an author, Vassilikos has been highly prolific and widely-translated. He has published more than 100 books, including novels, plays and poetry. His best known work is the political novel Z (1967) (English language ISBN 0-394-72990-0 or ISBN 0-941423-50-6), which has been translated into thirty-two languages and was the basis of the award-winning film Z directed by Costa-Gavras (with music by Mikis Theodorakis).

In 2008, Vassilikos was among to 41 other personalities of Greece that condemned the action of the withdrawal of Ersi Sotiropoulos's book Zigzag Through the Bitter-Orange Trees from the Greek school libraries, after the appeal of insurance measures by Konstantinos Plevris against to the Ministry of National Education of Greece for this issue. In 2001, Petros Tatoulis had asked the withdrawal of this specific book and he characterized this as pornographic due to the provocative sexual scenes that it contains

Reviews

[Miltos S. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Δεν μπορώ να μην σκεφτώ ότι και αυτό το βιβλίο, ουσιαστικά είναι μια "αρπαχτή" πάνω σε ένα διάσημο θάνατο. Είναι διαχρονικό το φαινόμενο άλλωστε.
Καλά στην εποχή μας πλέον έχουν ξεφύγει τα πράγματα (βλ. Μικρούτσικο για εμάς που βγήκε μετά ο καθένας και έγραφε τη μπαρούφα του για να ακουστεί το όνομά του και τον χαμό που έγινε με τον Kobe που και καλά κλαίγανε όλοι, βγάζανε σπαραχτικούς λόγους και γράφανε δακρύβρεχτα tweets).

Παρόλα αυτά, το βιβλίο αυτό αξίζει το ντόρο που έχει προκαλέσει. Καλογραμμένο, λυρικό, σκληρό όπου πρέπει, είναι η τοιχογραφία μιας εποχής που σημάδεψε και δίχασε.
Μην διστάσετε να το διαβάσετε αν έχετε την ευκαιρία.

[Nikolas Banos · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ο πατέρας μου είναι παιδί του μόχθου. Ανέκαθεν ήταν. Οι συνθήκες των δεκαετιών, που έζησε, ο ίδιος, και δημιούργησε, και η φτώχεια που βίωσαν οι παππούδες μου εκείνη την εποχή, τον ανάγκασαν να βγει από μικρός στο «κουρμπέτι». Οι συνθήκες αυτές, λοιπόν, και το άδικο του κόσμου, το οποίο έχει την τάση να πέφτει σε ανθρώπους κοινωνικά και οικονομικά ασθενέστερους, οδήγησαν τον πατέρα μου σε μια αριστερή, πολιτικά, σκέψη. Εγώ, πάλι, ως παιδί, είχα μπούκλες και έπαιζα με τα κατσαρολικά. Ήθελα να γίνω μάγειρας. Όταν, λοιπόν, οι μπούκλες μου άρχισαν να ισιώνουν και το όνειρο για την μαγειρική ξεθώριασε, ο πατέρας μου άρχισε να μου μιλά για πράγματα πιο σοβαρά και να με πηγαίνει βόλτες στο Λαζαρέτο, ένα νησάκι στα χωρικά ύδατα της Κέρκυρας, στο οποίο είχαν αφήσει την τελευταία τους πνοή, ουκ ολίγοι, αριστεροί, πολιτικοί κρατούμενοι και κομμουνιστές. Όταν, δε, με είδε να διαβάζω μου πρότεινε και δύο βιβλία. Τα μοναδικά βιβλία που μου έχει προτείνει, έως και σήμερα. Το «Σκλάβοι στα δεσμά τους» του Κωνσταντίνου Θεοτόκη και το «Ζ» του Βασίλη Βασιλικού. Δεν με απασχολούσε, επ ουδενί, αυτή η θεματολογία στην εφηβεία. Έτσι, έμεινε το βιβλίο στο μυαλό μου, ως τίτλος και μόνο. Το σωτήριο, για μένα, ακαδημαϊκό έτος 2008 – 2009 τριγυρίζω στο Μπιτ Μπαζάρ με την Κορίνα και την Γιώτα. Δίπλα στα επιπλάδικα του Μπιτ Μπαζάρ, ένας βιβλιοπώλης είχε βγάλει, στον ηλιόλουστο αυλόγυρο, την πραμάτεια του. Στην συγκλονιστική τιμή των πέντε ευρώ, ήρθε στα χέρια μου το μεταχειρισμένο «Ζ» από τις εκδόσεις «Α. Α. Λιβάνη». Ήταν πολιτικό. Βαθιά πολιτικό. Αλλά τι; Μυθιστόρημα; Πολύ αληθινό για μυθιστόρημα. Θα μπορούσε να γράφει στο τέλος: «Οποιαδήποτε ομοιότητα με πρόσωπα ή καταστάσεις δεν είναι καθόλου συμπτωματική και έχει απόλυτη σχέση έχει με την πραγματικότητα.». Χρονικογράφημα; Ίσως να είναι πιο κοντά, αυτός ο όρος, στο συγκεκριμένο λογοτεχνικό έργο. «Λογοτεχνικό ρεπορτάζ» ή το «φανταστικό ντοκιμαντέρ ενός εγκλήματος», όπως είναι ο υπότιτλος αυτού του έργου; Στο blog της Κυριακάτικης Αυγής, «Αναγνώσεις» ο κ. Αγάθου αναφέρει πως: […] «Ο Τάσος Βουρνάς, ο Βασίλης Ραφαηλίδης, ο Απόστολος Σαχίνης αναρωτιούνται εάν το βιβλίο του Βασιλικού είναι μυθιστόρημα ή ντοκουμέντο, ενώ η Marguerite Duras το χαρακτηρίζει «μια μεγαλοπρεπή, μοντέρνα, εξαντλητική αφήγηση της πολιτικής αλήθειας». Ο ίδιος ο συγγραφέας το εντάσσει στην κατηγορία του μη μυθοπλαστικού μυθιστορήματος (non-fiction novel) που αρχίζει με το Εν ψυχρώ του Truman Capote.* Ο κάθε αναγνώστης νομίζω αποφασίζει, αν θα βάλει ετικέτα σε αυτό το έργο. Εγώ, ωστόσο, συμφωνώ απόλυτα με τη Marguerite Duras.

Read More Here: https://nikolasinbookland.wordpress.c...

[Alexander Theofanidis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Μια συμπαγής δόση ιστορικού λυρισμού από τον Βασίλη Βασιλικό, στην εξιστόρηση του χρονικού της δολοφονίας Λαμπράκη από το πανταχού παρόν παρακράτος της μεταπολεμικής περιόδου.
Οι χαρακτήρες ολοζώντανοι, λες και τους χαιρέτησες προ 5 λεπτών δια χειραψίας, η ιστορία ρέει απρόσκοπτα, η αλλαγή από ιδιόλεκτο σε ιδιόλεκτο κάθε φορά τονίζει τις διαφορές, στη μόρφωση, στην κοινωνική θέση, ακόμα και στις προθέσεις∙ απολαυστικές καθαρεύουσες και ελληνικούρες των σολοικισμών συνταιριάζουν με μαλλιαρές δημοτικές.

Ακόμη και τα "εσωτερικά" κομμάτια, οι αναστοχασμοί και οι λυρικότεροι των μελαγχολικών συλλογισμών που αποδίδονται στα πρόσωπα του δράματος (αλλά και αυτά του συγγραφέα) δεν κουράζουν.

Αν προσέθετα κάτι θα ήταν... λίγο περισσότερος Δελαπόρτας.
(Στη δίκη που έγινε το 1966 ο εισαγγελέας Παύλος Δελαπόρτας τόνισε: «Σήμερα, εδώ, ένα σύμφυρμα κλεφτών, βιαστών, δωσιλόγων και κάθε είδους κακοποιών, εμφανίζεται προς εθνοκαπηλία και ανομολογήτως ιδιοτελείς σκοπούς, ως προστάτης κοινωνικών καθεστώτων, ως φύλακας ιερών και οσίων και ως Κέρβερος του νόμου και της τάξης. Τι άλλο έπρεπε να περιμένει κανείς απ αυτό πλην του ότι θα εξελισσόταν σε κακοήθη νεοπλασία της κοινωνίας;»)

Έξι δεκαετίες μετά τη δολοφονία Λαμπράκη (της οποίας οι περιγραφόμενες μεθοδεύσεις θυμίζουν τόσο πολύ την ενορχήστρωση -παρά τα 50 χρόνια διαφορά- της δολοφονίας του Παύλου Φύσσα από το ανώμαλο μόρφωμα της Χρυσής Αυγής, αυτονομημένο δεκανίκι κι αυτή, σκυλί που γύρεψε να δαγκώσει περισσότερο απ' όσο του επέτρεπαν και μόνον τότε σφίχτηκε το λουρί) είναι πέρα από απολαυστικό στην ανάγνωση και χρήσιμο: γιατί γενιές που μεγάλωσαν μέσα σε "αποκαθαρμένη" δημοκρατία (ναι, με τα όποια στραβά της), δεν έχουν εικόνα της δύναμης και της βίας που άσκησαν τα χυδαία κέντρα αποσταθεροποίησης και ιδιοποίησης της εξουσίας που εξέφραζε μερίδα των νικητών του εμφυλίου, κήνσορες της σχεδόν θεσμοθετημένης ανωμαλίας, ταγοί της νομιμότητας με το ψευδές εθνικοφροσυνόμετρο ανά χείρας, συχνά πρώην συνεργάτες των Γερμανών επί κατοχής, δοσίλογοι, ένοχοι εσχάτης προδοσίας σε ρόλο τιμητή των ηττημένων του '49 αλλά και κάθε προοδευτικής ή ουσιαστικά δημοκρατικής φωνής. Λαός χωρίς μνήμη, είναι καταδικασμένος να ξαναζήσει, αν όχι τα ίδια, χειρότερα.

[Νατάσσα · Rating 5 out of 5]

Το ξαναδιάβασα, κοντά 30 χρόνια μετά την πρώτη φορά, με άλλα μάτια, άλλες γνώσεις.
Η ιστορία είναι γνωστή, αληθινή και συγκλονιστική από μόνη της. Η γραφή του Βασιλικού εξαιρετική, δυνατή και ξεκάθαρη, χωρίς περιττούς "φιόγκους". Ένα από τα καλύτερα έργα της νεοελληνικής λογοτεχνίας, το 'χει αποδείξει ο χρόνος έτσι κι αλλιώς.
Να σημειώσω πως η καινούρια έκδοση των εκδόσεων Gutenberg είναι προσεγμένη, και το επίμετρο της Γ. Φαρίνου-Μαλαματάρη διαφωτιστικό.

[Panos · Rating 4 out of 5]

Αφήγηση ρέουσα, ζωντανή, με έντονο ρυθμό. Τα μόνα σημεία που με χάλασαν ήταν αυτά που περιγράφεται η διαδρομή της ψυχής και τα χωρία που η σύζυγος και και ο Πηρουχάς απευθύνονται σε β' πρόσωπο στον εκλιπόντα. Μάλλον ήταν πιο λυρικά και συναισθηματικά από όσο θα ήθελα ή απ' όσο ταιριάζει στην ποιότητα της γενικότερης αφηγηματικής δομής που συγκροτείται από την αρχή του έργου.

[Stratos · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ενα βιβλίο το οποίο διαφημίστηκε από την ομώνυμη κινηματογραφική ταινία. Βιβλίο ντοκουμέντο έχει πλέον βάλει τη δική του σφραγίδα στην σύγχρονη ελληνική βιβλιογραφία

[Ferda Nihat Koksoy · Rating 5 out of 5]

-(Toplumlarda) Ortak sağduyunun ötesi bir karanlık. Ne bir şizofrenin ani ışık geçişlerinin ne de şimşeklerin dağıtamayacağı kadar yoğun bir karanlık.

-...denize varmak için bir kanala girmesi gerekiyordu. Bunca su ortada kalmaz! Bunca verimli kaynak kimse onu değerlendirmenin bir yolunu bulamadı diye kurumaz!

-Diğerlerine inandığın zaman hayat ne kadar da güzeldir. ...Sen bana el ele tutuşalım dediğinde hayat ne güzeldir.

-Ruhu paslanmamış bir insan için AŞK her zaman aşktır. Aşk her bir yüzün, her bir çift parlak gözün ardında hep aynı kalır. Aşk ağzı dili kuruyan birinin suya duyduğu şiddetli istektir, bizi aşan şeylere karşı duyulan şiddetli arzudur. Sesimin içindeki sesindir. İki ses... Sen ve ben olmadan sen ve ben olmaktır. Tarih öncesi çağlardan gelme trompet seslerinin ritmini tekrarlamak; kendinden güneşin varlığından emin olduğu kadar emin bir eylemdir aşk.

-Gözleri, kocaman gözleri, üzerine çivilenmiş, mıknatıs gibi çekici, üzerinde hiç denize açılmamış ya da çok açılmış denizcilerin gerginliğiyle dolu, ışık saçan, dünyevi, içindeki bir titreştirdiği zaman dünyaya bağlanan bir teli titreten gözler...

-...canlılığının içindeki sonsuz ölü, beyazlığının içindeki sonsuz esmer. Ve ellerindeki toprak tadı.

-Tüm çok güçlü insanlar gibi tek bildiği okşamaktı.

-Ne yazık asla bir düşüncenin üzerinde bir araya gelmenin bilince varmadan deri hücreleri gibi ölüp gidenlere.

-Yaşam her an ölmeye hazır olduğunda güzel.

-Hayatın ve doğru düşüncelerin güzel olduğunu söylemek için eriştin bu bilgeliğe.

[Moshtagh hosein · Rating 4 out of 5]

کتابی که ۹سال پیش خریدم
و اکنون خواندمش،بیشک اگر همان موقع می‌خواندمش بیشتر شگفت زده میشدم و کیف میکردم ازش
اگر گیرتون اومد و اهل خواندن رمان معاصر با تم سیاسی هستید جذبتون می‌کنه

[Γιώργος Ζωγράφος · Rating 4 out of 5]

Τό ὅτι δέν μπορῦμε νά συνυπάρξουμε εἶναι γιατί ἐσύ καί ἐγώ ἀνήκουμε σέ κόσμους διαφορετικούς: ἐσύ στόν κόσμο τῶν ζωντανῶν νεκρῶν καί ἐγώ στόν κόσμο τῶν νεκροζώντανων...

Αν και στις τελευταίες 150 σελίδες μου φάνηκε κάπως βαρετό, δεν το θεώρησα μειονέκτημα γιατί δεν είναι μυθιστόρημα αλλά «μη-μυθιστορηματικό μυθιστόρημα» και οι απολογίες που περιέχει στο τέλος ήταν απαραίτητες. Μου άρεσε αρκετά γιατί πρώτα απ' όλα έμαθα πολλά για την δολοφονία του Λαμπράκη και γιατί η γραφή του Βασιλικού είναι εξαίρετη, ειδικά στο δεύτερο μέρος του βιβλίου όπου περιγράφεται το ταξίδι της σορού του Λαμπράκη και το παράλληλο ταξίδι της ψυχής του έξω από το τραίνο. Αν και κάπως κουραστικό, το προτείνω ως ένα πολύ καλό «δημοσιογραφικό» βιβλίο και ως ένα αξιόλογο μυθιστόρημα.

[George · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting political novel about truth and corruption. Set mainly in Salonika, Greece, in 1963. A left wing man, ‘Z’, a doctor, is killed. The killing was planned by a secret fascist organisation. An examining magistrate is urged to close the case quickly, but he refuses, slowly uncovering the unsavoury details of a conspiracy.

This book was first published in 1966.

[DoctorM · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brilliant novel about the murder of a leftist parliamentary deputy in early 1960s Salonika--- a political killing in a Greece on the edge of the coup that brought the Colonels to power. Vassilikos' "Z" is also the source for Costa-Gavras' film of the same name--- one of the great political thrillers of the 20th century. The novel is complex, and told through multiple viewpoints and conflicting voices, with the streets of Salonika and Athens as players as important as army officers, bureaucrats, and hired thugs. A fine, fine political novel, and one worth reading as Greece seems to be fracturing again. Very much worth finding and reading.

[Antonis Giannoulis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Μελέτησε τα δεδομένα σε βάθος, είναι μια καταγραφή ντοκουμέντο χρήσιμη που λέει πολλες αληθειες , αποκαλύπτει τρόπους δράσης , παράδρασης και συγκάλυψης . Θεωρώ ότι πραγματικά τα έδωσε όλα κατά την γραφή αυτού του βιβλίου και μαρεσει πολύ η αποτύπωση του Λαμπρακη . Θα ήταν ενδιαφέρον βεβαια να μαθαίναμε τι κάνουν στο σημερα κάποια από τα πρόσωπα αυτής της ιστορίας . Ποσό κοντα και ποσό μακρυα είναι η αριστερα του τοτε από την ζωή σημερα ;; Ποσό έχουν αλλάξει τα πραγματα και δολοφονίες γίνονται και στο σημερα από το παρακράτος ;

[Julio Bernad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Audiorreseña detallada en mi podcast Gabinete de Curiosidades en el programa "Mis diez mejores novelas de 2023: https://go.ivoox.com/rf/122452942

1001 Libros que hay que leer antes de morir: N.º 189 de 1001

Este año el periodo electoral ha coincidido con el verano. Es decir, si a la mala leche que produce la política le añades la que produce el sol abrasador, las camisas empapadas de sudor y el ruido de los perros y los coches que entra por las ventanas siempre abiertas, el fermento es un coctel molotov bien empapado en gasolina y ansioso por recibir la chispa que lo active. Si encima leéis Z, la magistral novela política de Vassilikos, vais a saber perfectamente dónde lanzar el proyectil flamígero. O a quién.

Abstenerse cínicos, descreídos, fatalistas, depresivos o desencantados. Esta novela es puro veneno.

[Kamakana · Rating 5 out of 5]

110813: this was made into an excellent film too, retains its interest even as you know how it ends...

[Elizabeth (Alaska) · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was so looking forward to reading this novelized story of an assassination in Greece in 1963. Unfortunately, it is not very well written. Set aside at something around 75 pages.

[Max Nemtsov · Rating 4 out of 5]

возвращаемся к местной классике, пора. Василис Василикос не просто греческий писатель, а фракийско-македонский, совсем наш здешний: родился в Кавале, родители с Тасоса, учился в Салонике. известен в первую очередь этим романом, который в свое время экранизировал Коста-Гаврас, причем так, что Салоника в нем похожа на настоящую, хотя снималась не тут. читая роман, становится понятно, до чего вообще хороша была та экранизация. памятник Ламбракису реально существует, он красивый, это место притяжения всех правильных протестантов в городе. там, в частности, был мемориал Навальному после его убийства.

сейчас, как это ни печально и ни странно, такой роман - о современном мученике за правое (не в смысле политической стороны) дело - вновь звучит остро и актуально:

The dead do not know how history is made. They have fed it with their blood; what comes after, they never learn. They are unaware of their sacrifice and this makes them still more beautiful. The early Christians knew why they were being sacrificed; they went to conscious martyrdoms. But in our day why should anyone talk of being sacrificed when what he believes is simply common sense—just common sense? Who ever said that justice and injustice should go hand in hand? Poverty and wealth? Peace and war? Nonetheless, though no one has ever said it, many people—a great many people—seem to uphold it every day in their words and actions.

отношение к Зи в романе - натурально как к мессии, с этим то ли греческим, то ли балканским надрывом, что местами может и покоробить. но жизнь микробиоты Салоники выведена прекрасно: начинаешь вообще лучше понимать этот т.н. народ, а также этот т.н. рабочий класс. роман меж тем любопытно сконструирован (и в экранизации это сохранено) - как гроздь историй разных участиков браунова движения в тот вечер на перекрестке улиц Эрму и Венизелу, где сам Зи - лишь этого движения катализатор, и разные версии "правды". в этой части написан роман незамысловато стилистически, хоть и с выходами в пафосную до слезливости риторику местами, что вообще, похоже, отличительная черта греческой прозы хх века. т.е. это когда автор не пускается в натурально Джойсовы пассажи и внутренние монологи или не играет газетными или казенными стилями, которыми изъясняются полицейские вши. в целом же роман - вполне образчик греческого полифонического модернизма, что видно даже по переводу.

...но получится занимательно, если прочесть его не только с левых позиций, с каких он, собственно, и был написан, а все же не забывая, каким мерзким злом был и остается совецкий имперский коммунизм (кстати, Стратису Циркасу в "Городах без руля и ветрил" не забыть это удалось). тогда все эти люмпены и ушлепки с дубинками, фашиствующие лавочники и их кукловоды приобретают некоторую, ну, что ли глубину и неоднозначность. неодномерны они уж совершенно точно, при этом оставаясь мерзкими неразвитыми насекомыми, из которых и вырастают отвратительные кишечнополостные и членистоногие путины и им подобные путиноиды.

That’s the difference between Communists and donkeys: when Communists get obstinate, they don’t refuse to budge; they simply bray twice as loud.

вместе с тем левые тогда были за мир:

Peace, I want to say, is practice. It’s refusing to pay your taxes when the money goes for armaments. It’s acting crazy to avoid military service. Peace is not an iсon of the Virgin appearing on the front to inspire the soldiers. It’s an iсon of statistics, figures, tangible truths. It is not—above all, it is not an idea.

из смешного - неожиданный привет параллельно посмотренному "Призраку свободы" Бунюэля:

In accordance with time-sanctioned usage, the accused went to the head office of the police department and “took cognizance.” When the former Chief of Police saw someone else behind his desk, “impersonating” the Chief of Police, he thought for a moment that he was going mad.

что собой представляет совецкий перевод романа, сказать трудно, потому что его название "дзета" по-гречески - это всего лишь название буквы, а "зи", как оно должно звучат на самом деле - глагол "живет", 3 лицо, ед.ч. (ежу понятно, что название буквы не может быть глаголом) поскольку главный герой-мученик тоже называется этим инициалом (и к нему так и обращаются), крайне странно и неестественно видеть обращение: "Послушайте, Дзета...", но, зная совецкую школу перевода, легко допустить, что там оно так и есть.

[iliooon · Rating 5 out of 5]

όχι, δεν πεθαίνει κανείς όταν χιλιάδες στόματα φωνάζουν «αθάνατος»

[Jordan Iordanis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Εξαιρετικό. Είναι βιβλίο που θα έπρεπε να διδάσκεται στα σχολεία. Πολύ καλό και αναλυτικό και το επίμετρο της Φαρίνου - Μαλαματάρη.

[Jenia]

Honestly I don't know what I think. It made me realise I read very little outright political fiction (rather than fiction with e.g. vague feminist themes), and I enjoyed that. In contrast the more ..... passionate, poetic bits I didn't like. I also find it weirdly tacky to describe the feelings of a widow whose husband died in a political assassination, when said widow was (is?) still alive. I kept thinking, what if she doesn't feel like this, what if she's angrier or number or whatever? Idk why that bothered me in a way that the flowery descriptions of his other friends'/political allies' didn't, maybe because it's a private, personal relationship in a book which is primarily political. Or because she's basically the only woman ;) Ah well. It does make me wanna read more old-timey political fiction - maybe I'll finally tackle Kollontai!!!!

[Rock · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kind of like the 60s version of Rashomon - it's all the depositions and newspaper accounts of the assassination of a Communist MP in Greece by some thugs paid by right-wing politicians. I've wanted to read this ever since I saw the movie in high school. With the exception of a psychedelic interlude that immediately dates the book to the 60s, Z will likely activate your hippie hell-no-we-won't-go gene, if you have one.

[Mel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was written during the trials of those accused of the assassination of 'Z' in Greece in the 1960s. Sometimes the floral writing got annoying, but the pseudonyms were rather interesting (depending on the translation from Greek). If you're very interested in getting into the nitty gritty of Greek history, this is a key book to read.

[Kealan O'ver · Rating 5 out of 5]

The film took me by surprise in just how gripping it was and the book did the same. It's narrative is interesting as it follows the account of a fictional assassination which fills in for a real one that took place in Greece in the 1960's. Shocking to think that this can take place in the western world so recently.

[Vasilis Kanatas · Rating 5 out of 5]

When a true story, that has shaken Greek Political system and society, comes to a well-written book, it is our obligation to read it!

[Martinocorre · Rating 4 out of 5]

Italia e Grecia sono due nazioni potentemente affini e imparentate (Stessa faccia, stessa razza) e leggendo della politica greca mi è sempre sembrato di leggere della politica italiana, mi pare sia solo più esasperata della nostra…in tutto!
Per fortuna è da poco che ho finito di leggere un libro sulla storia della Grecia dal 1935 al secondo dopoguerra, questa cosa mi ha aiutato a godermi di più questo romanzo che ha tanti pregi tra cui quello di fare la fotografia di un momento storico restituendone tutti i colori e le vibrazioni, Salonicco nel 1963 rivive in queste pagine in maniera viva e prepotente, così come risalta la tensione di un ambiente sociale letteralmente esplosivo marcio di connivenze e complicità, dove il potere tutto corrompe.
Unica nota negativa la traduzione italiana che a volte mi ha lasciato un po’ perplesso, ad esempio: il Kamikaze, il veicolo di uno dei protagonisti, strumento che è centrale per la trama, per tutto il libro viene a volte definito “furgone” a volte “motocicletta”. La sensazione è che ogni tanto la traduttrice abbia tradotto le singole frasi perdendo di vista il libro nel suo complesso.

[Faustibooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5
A fine and well-written book! I enjoyed the setting of Thessaloniki and I found Vassilikos’ way of writing to be enjoyable. I didn’t particularly like or dislike the constant switching of perspectives, but I do think that it was executed quite well. Some sections of the book, especially Part 2 and the chapters in the perspective of Z’s loved ones, were exceptionally beautiful. The book could have been shorter in my opinion, but all in all I liked it!

“I am alone and the panic is mounting. In the end we are all alone. However much we deceive ourselves, however much we think otherwise, each of us suffers in private.”

“I am beginning to forget your face,” thought Pirouchas. “Little by little it is being erased from my brain cells, as new faces arise and supplant your beloved features. What will become of me? Little by little you are disappearing. Only your eyes in the enveloping darkness. What will become of me? Your movements I so admired. Merely to see you walk made the world my own. I no longer expect your phone call. Worst of all, one grows accustomed. We haven't time to mourn forever. I forget you and something inside me rebels, twists, a blade, a bayonet that pierces me. It isn't possible. I am inhabiting your last dwelling place, this hospital built with money from Greek emigrants in America. You are sinking and I sink with you. Neither of us has any hope. You are a dead man reborn. I am a live man dying.”

[Mady · Rating 3 out of 5]

For the speech ahead, he’d merely made some notes. When you have something to say, it’s not difficult to say it. The difficulty comes when you have nothing to say and must talk anyway.

[Mehdii · Rating 3 out of 5]

نمرهٔ واقعی: ۳.۵

[Damiana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Z l'orgia del potere racconta la vicenda, realmente accaduta, dell'uccisione del deputato di sinistra Grigoris Lambrakis (che nel libro viene chiamato Z - "è vivo" in greco). L'omicidio, architettato dalla polizia in collaborazione con un'organizzazione di estrema destra, grazie a vari tentativi di insabbiamento e depistaggio all'inizio viene archiviato come un tragico incidente. Ma, dopo l'arresto di due dei responsabili, un giudice decide di vederci chiaro e aiutato da un testimone volontario e un giornalista, riesce ad accertare la verità e fa incriminare per omicidio premeditato i due arrestati, il capo della polizia e alcuni alti ufficiali dell'esercito. Il tutto, qualche anno prima che in Grecia si insedi la dittatura dei colonelli.
Il libro, scritto nel 1970, è diviso in 5 parti: la prima racconta il dramma di quella notte, e la bravura dell'autore ci fa immergere in un'atmosfera a tratti asfissiante; la seconda, a mio giudizio la più bella e poetica, con la descrizione del viaggio in treno della bara del deputato ucciso e parallelamente della sua anima, che lo segue dall'alto; la terza, col racconto serrato delle indagini, dei tentativi di depistaggio e insabbiamento; la quarta, con gli interrogatori dei principali accusati; la quinta, che racconta il vuoto lasciato da Z nella vita di chi lo aveva conosciuto.
Un libro scritto in maniera eccellente, che mi ha permesso di conoscere più a fondo la figura di Lambrakis e che, grazie al suo alto contenuto emotivo, è un potente atto d'accusa contro il futuro regime dei colonelli.

[Siddharth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Z is a really good book. It leads you to think critically about the government and the people in it, especially the beaurocrats (not the politicians) and the power they weild over people. What does it mean to be righteous? What does it mean to do the right thing at any cost? There are several books that go through those dilemmas. Several classics, surely.

Z is another book that does that. What would you do if you were a poor carpenter, dependent on the police's grace for your license, if you saw a murder happen? Would you report it? Would you volunteer to reveal what you know? Would you stick to your story even when you know the consequences? It's hard to describe this book because there's so much going on. At the core of the story is the murder of Z. What follows, is a sometimes-comical, sometimes-Kafka-esque, mostly realistic game of shadows and mirrors as people try to mask their role in the murder.

In every man—especially in a porter—there are smoldering embers from a life never lived, a house never built, a pickup license never obtained. At the slightest breath, the embers flare up and the past comes to life.

Such things keep bobbing to the surface and there are left, unexamined forever, because no one can wrest the truth from those who don’t want to tell it.

P.S: If you have ever had to get a group of engineers to explain what their system does to you with a diagram and they were unable to explain it to you despite 4 hours of meetings over 2 weeks, you know what the author is talking about in this quote.

The Longer Version

Every once in a while, you come across a movie so good, so intricate and subtle, so resonant with your own experiences around the system the movie is depicting, that you are stuck watching it in a never-ending loop. Shanghai (2012), a Hindi movie, was one of those movies for me. It perfectly portrayed everything that I had experienced and heard about from other people about the way the government really works, about how contracts are awarded, and how people talk to each other when they are the ultimate decision makers in their own little play-world.

I found out that the movie was actually adapted from a book on my n-th re-watch of the movie in the first few weeks of September this month. Once I realized that a book existed, I had to read it. And now, I have read it and I am very glad that I did!

Z is a really good book. There are several parallel narratives which go hand-in-hand as the story progresses:

the conversations real and imagined, between Z, his followers, his wife, Z's own thoughts
The Investigator's beliefs and attempts to bring the truth to light, his almost spiritual belief that light can be shone on the truth no matter how long the process or how crafty the people who want the darkness to persist forever
The Journalist and his make-belief world of a private investigator, the advice he gives to people around him, the assurances of protection, often putting himself at risk
Yango, Vango, Baron and the world of the toughs, the people at the very bottom of the food chain. They are at the mercy of everyone else most of the time. But at a few key moments, they rise to the top and they are beyond everyone's control. And these moments, even though engineered by the people at the top who like to believe that they control the outcomes and are acting in a crafty knowing way, are just as powerless as the victims that they wish to oppress
The General and his belief in the ideology, his frustrations with the people around him, the difficulty he has in getting out of an analogy that he thought was useful but turns out to be too all-encompassing
The Tiger and Nikitas, the righteous people in this group. The people who believe that it is their duty to tell the truth, whether the consequences be favorable or not. The people who are hard to pursue, the people on whom even their own mother turned. It is the sense of duty in the people like Nikitas that leads to an inability to ignore facts.
And finally, at the very end, The Commissioner. He was at the top of the food chain, and now he was imprisoned with the likes of Yango. He was orchestrating the events, and before he knew, he realized that he was part of a much larger plot with a much more important conductor. He decided to tell-all and thus, we understand the full story. Right from the first meeting about downy mildew to the last scene of the book, the General trying to pay off the Tiger

In all these narratives, the common thread is often Z. The other common thread is the system that they live in. Implicitly, they understand their place in the system. The General knows that by being at the meeting, he has undermined the command of the Chief. The Chief knows that by being there, he's basically taken over control from the Assistant Chief. The Commissioner can't act when a "full-blown General" is at the scene. Yango wants people to see him having coffee with The Commissioner. Whether they like it or not, whether their interest is on the left or the right, whether they are Communist-Zionist or Hellenic-Christians, the system has kept them aprised of their place and their responsibilities. The Baron doesn't see a choice when he's asked to beat up people, he must do it. He has a stall and he would only be asking for trouble if he were to deny to perform an act that ensures his place in the system.

This book forced me to ask the question: What system are you a part of? What is your place in the system? Do you know your responsibilities? Are you performing them? Are you doing the right thing?

Hard questions, and half imagined, I am sure.

Quotes

When he compared the number of patients he cured with the number of human beings the world over who could not buy even the most ordinary medicines, it was enough to make him shudder. The same with begging. What was the good of giving money to the poor? The balance of poverty on the planet remained unaltered. For the world to change, the system had to change.

-- Z on the importance of systemic change

His own pulse was calm. For the speech ahead, he’d merely made some notes. When you have something to say, it’s not difficult to say it. The difficulty comes when you have nothing to say and must talk anyway.

-- Z on oration

I imagine myself at a railway crossing and the guard has put up the chain between us, an endless train roars over the rails, with as many cars as the years I shall not see you. Only at fleeting moments, through the spaces between the cars, I catch a rare image of you waiting for me on the far side.

-- Mrs. Z on Z

What was politics anyway, Hatzis wondered. Did it hold nothing sacred? Or maybe there was no difference at all between the bourgeois parties? Sometimes the one rose, sometimes the other, like two peasants sharing the same mule, and the mule—the common people—just went on carrying them one after the other upon its back, understanding the change only from the difference in weight.

-- The Tiger on Politics

The first chapter where Z narrates in first person is the best chapter in the book. I always wondered what that character was thinking and what his beliefs were whenever I saw the movie, this chapter was incredibly enlightening on that account.

P.S: This was also the first time that I was able to fit all my #quote Kindle notes into the review of a book!

[Mahmoud · Rating 4 out of 5]

داستان کاملا تم سیاسی دارد. چقدر جوامع به هم شبیهند. ما در جامعه خودمان وانگو و یانگو و کمیسر و... نداریم؟
طیف وسیع بازیگران بسیار جالب و ارتباط و دنبال کردن آنها بسیار جذاب است.