Last week as I rinsed off my sweaty face with cool water and looked into the mirror I thought of Zorba. I pictured him staggering down the mountain with a coal blackened face, grinning ear to ear at the boss, which made me wonder why I was not grinning ear to ear after laboring in the heat all day. I read this book about five years ago and loved it. I think back then it was the theme of friendships unraveling and lost forever that touched me, and helped secure a spot on my favorite list, but what stuck out this time was Zorba's insatiable zest for life. No matter what he's doing its 110%, and its as if he's seeing the world for the first time everyday.
"He has been all over the racked and chaotic Balkans and observed everything with his little falcon-like eyes which he constantly opens wide in amazement."
His fun loving and free spirited attitude is envied by the boss. He loves to talk to Zorba and take everything in because living a studious knowledge driven life has left him bereft of life. The boss waxes philosophical in many parts throughout. He just can't wrap his mind around the time he's wasted not seizing the day, and regret eats at him constantly.
I loved the tid bits of truth, by both men, which the book is full of:
Zorba - "What is a woman, and why does she turn our heads? Just tell me, I ask you, whats the meaning of that?"
Boss - "I felt once more how simple and frugal a thing is happiness: a glass of wine, a roast chestnut, a wretched little brazier, the sound of the sea. Nothing else.
Its a fun read that was thought provoking and has made me more Zorba-like in my approach to daily life.
