Vassilis Vassilikos Knihy

In the novel "Z," Vassilis Vassilikos depicts the assassination of Grigorios Lambrakis, a young, progressive, and popular socialist MP who was a vocal critic of the government. Not a professional politician, Lambrakis was a physician and a professor at the University of Athens, a beloved figure and former champion of the Balkan Games. In 1963, he was murdered in Thessaloniki as part of a government-organized conspiracy, igniting a nationwide surge of anti-government resistance. While the government eliminated a political opponent, they inadvertently created a national hero. His funeral was attended by around half a million people, and the letter "Z" (meaning "lives") appeared throughout the country. This movement continued until the fall of the government and the rise of the military junta that ruled for seven years. Vassilikos skillfully utilized his knowledge of Thessaloniki and available documents to create a gripping literary work that embodies the essence of ancient tragedy. The book was banned in Greece, yet it spread worldwide, akin to a mythical phoenix, translated into numerous languages.

Greece's most acclaimed living novelist gives us a magical realist portrait of contemporary Europe and contemporary Europeans. Here are seven tales that explore the themes of materialism, post Cold War politics, love, religious faith, and the power of imagination. In the tradition of Gabriel García Márquez and Luigi Pirandello, Vassilikos writes of the fantasies within reality, the spirit in existence, and the art within life.

Un matin de mai 1963 les murs d'Athènes se couvrirent d'innombrables «Z»: le député de gauche Lambrakis venait d'être assassiné en pleine rue sous l'oeil complice de la police. «Z» pour «zei» - il vit - devenait le symbole, le cri de révolte du peuple grec. L'étude des minutes du procès a permis à Vassili Vassilikos de faire, à travers l'autopsie d'un meurtre politique, celle du mécanisme universel qui fait d'un homme un assassin et d'une caste, ses complices.

Vassilis Vassilikos est le romancier des succès mémorables, comme le mythique Z. Ses mémoires littéraires sont le roman d'une vie riche en rencontres - W.H.Auden,Yves Montand, Simone Signoret, Jean-Paul Sartre, Marguerite Duras, Leonardo Sciascia, Italo Calvino... -, en amitiés célèbres - Costa Gavras, Théodorakis... -, en voyages - Italie, France... Ses mémoires littéraires mêlent l'histoire d'une vie de découvertes, parfois vagabonde, parfois d'exil, à celle du monde, de la Grèce aux Etats-Unis, en passant par un pays imaginaire d'Amérique Latine où rôde la figure tutélaire du Che. Ses mémoires littéraires servent de modèle de vie à tout écrivain en devenir tant elles sont généreuses, envoûtantes et passionnantes.