Ρόδα και μήλα
Γιάννης Ψυχάρης, 1888
A linguistic war fought with wit and bile: why the Greek people's living language deserved to be written, by the man who made it a literary weapon.
Γιάννης Ψυχάρης
1854–1929
These works show a writer who uses language to explore the complexities of modern Greek life and thought. You might begin with «Αγνή» to find a story about internal struggle and memory, or with «Το ταξίδι μου» for his sharp observations on the world around him.
Start with Ρόδα και μήλα.
Psycharis wrote this long polemic from Paris in exile, in demotic Greek with a spelling of his own devising, and it scandalised the Athens literary establishment. Which is still exactly why it reads well. Actually,
A man who has gone blind remembers the taste of unripe berries.
Όλα, όλα τα ξαναβλέπω με μιας. Τα χαρούμενά μου τα νιάτα, τη ζωή μου από παιδί. Κάθουνταν ο παππούς απάνω στο σοφά και μ’ έπαιρνε στη γούνα του μέσα και κρύφτουμουν και γελούσε ο παππούς! Αχ! όλα, όλα τα θυμούμαι. Πόσο μ’ αγαπούσε! Κάτω, εκεί κάτω στον μπαξέ μας, τι πρασινάδα που ήταν! Πήγαινα κι έτρωγα ερίκια. Άγουρα τα διάλεγα και μου άρεζαν. Όχι! κι από το παράθυρο να σκύψω να διω, δεν τα βλέπω πια τα δέντρα και τις πρασινάδες. Είναι νύχτα παντοτεινή για μένα. Αχ! τι καλός, τι ωραίος που είναι ο ήλιος! Books by Γιάννης Ψυχάρης
Το ταξίδι μου
Γιάννης Ψυχάρης, 1888
A fiercely playful travel book that turns landscapes, language and encounters into arguments about what Greece could become.
Αγνή
Γιάννης Ψυχάρης, 1907
A Greek poet in Lausanne cannot stop rehearsing the love he ruined. A novel about memory, self-deception, and the many selves inside one person.
Authors with a similar feel
Read pages from books like this, one at a time
BookFeed is a feed of real passages from real books. It learns what moves you and finds your next book.
Open BookFeedFree, no sign-up.