''The Great Eastern'' () is a

novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...

by Greek writer and poet

Andreas Embirikos Andreas Embirikos ( el, Ανδρέας Εμπειρίκος; September 2, 1901 in Brăila – August 3, 1975 in Kifissia, Attica) was a Greek surrealist poet and one of the first Greek psychoanalysts. Life Embirikos was born in Brăila, R ...

. Described as the author's "lifework", it is the largest modern Greek novel, of approximately 2,100 pages, comprising in its final form five parts and spanning over a hundred chapters. Its writing lasted from 1945 to 1951, though the author continued to work on the project until its final version became standardized around 1970. The book was first published in eight volumes in the period 1990–1992, fifteen years after the writer's death. Described as the most daring Greek novel, it has been received with both unbridled enthusiasm and harsh criticism. Its

libertine A libertine is a person devoid of most moral principles, a sense of responsibility, or sexual restraints, which they see as unnecessary or undesirable, and is especially someone who ignores or even spurns accepted morals and forms of behaviour ob ...

nature and highly erotic content provoked reactions, allowing it to be compared to other well-known works of erotic literature, such as

Marquis de Sade Donatien Alphonse François, Marquis de Sade (; 2 June 1740 – 2 December 1814), was a French nobleman, revolutionary politician, philosopher and writer famous for his literary depictions of a libertine sexuality as well as numerous accusat ...

's ''

120 Days of Sodom ''The 120 Days of Sodom, or the School of Libertinage'' (french: Les 120 Journées de Sodome ou l'école du libertinage, links=no) is an unfinished novel by the French writer and nobleman Donatien Alphonse François, Marquis de Sade, written in ...

''. The novel is centred around the maiden voyage of the British

ocean liner An ocean liner is a passenger ship primarily used as a form of transportation across seas or oceans. Ocean liners may also carry cargo or mail, and may sometimes be used for other purposes (such as for pleasure cruises or as hospital ships). Ca ...

"Great Eastern" sailing from Liverpool, England to the United States in May 1867. Passengers of various social backgrounds and different nationalities embark on a ten day trip through the Atlantic, during which time they find themselves abandoning all their ethical predispositions and any sense of moral restraint. The role of the Greek poet Andreas Sperchis, one of the few Greek characters on the ship, is by general consensus recognized as partly autobiographical. The text is written predominantly in the Greek ''katharevousa'' of the late 19th century, although it encompasses other linguistic styles as well.

References

Sources

* * * * {{Cite book , last=Elytis , first=Odysseas , title=Αναφορά στον Ανδρέα Εμπειρίκο , publisher=Ypsilon , year=1980 , language=Greek , trans-title=A reference to Andreas Embirikos Greek novels Modern Greek literature 1990s novels