Customer Reviews

A Man

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This book is much more than just a book. It is a true story that had to be told, and most importantly has to be read. The more it is read, the more it achieves its purpose. It is not there to entertain you, so don't bother if you are looking for a nice bed-time story. If you are one of those who think individually and alternatively, this piece of writing will shake you and probably make you very very angry. But don't forget: this is a story that happens all the time, in different parts of the world, with different settings, locations and names, but always with the same bottom-line meaning. This time the setting is Greece in 1968, just a year after the Colonels' coup d'etat and the establishment of military junta in the country for seven sorry years. The character is Alecos Panagoulis, the man who under no political label, no party protection and generally acting on his own, unsuccessfully attempted to kill the dictator. The message of the story is not so much the unfair punishment and the horrible years in prison of the hero, but his heroic aloneness after he is out trying to make sense of the meaning of the sacrifice. For somebody who suffered five years of solitary confinement in a tomb-like prison cell and intense physical and psychological torture, it is hell to realize that even after "democracy" resumes, it is the same people who put him to jail, who crippled the name of freedom for seven years, the people who rule now and for ever. The realization that the fight never ends is what makes a hero. And don't be thinking of Che Guevara and the like. Alecos was no stereotypical hero. He had no party under him, he organized no guerrilla fights. When you read him, all the comparisons in your head will fade away and Alecos will emerge exactly the way he was: his own person. And a final remark. We, the readers of this book, should never forget how lucky we are that we get this story first hand, from somebody who was there and able to feel the power of Aleco's reality more than anyone. Oriana Fallaci met him just after he came out of prison, and since then they were together, companion souls, until his death, and I am sure long after that too. Judging from her own life (I am not going to talk about her life here, you can look that one up. It is the book I am reviewing) , she has extensive experiences in similar settings and situations, so she is the most qualified to talk about them. Her love for him is of course the first qualifier.

Having been recommended this book by a friend some time ago I have recently read it. I now wish I had read it long ago. The book is not just of interest to those who are interested in Greece, or Greek politics, but to all of us who are interested in life, and love and hatred. A summary of the book would not do it justice, it is about a Man, his life, his passions, his crimes and his cruel punishment,but more importantly about the woman who fell in love with him and wrote this book for all to read. This book simply has to be read, no book collection should be without its own copy.

Perhaps one of the most powerful books ever in Western culture, this recasting of a profoundly human story cuts as deep to the core of the heart and soul as anything you will ever read. This isn't the pop trifle of mystery writers like Ludlum et al, but the dire consequences of becoming a true existential hero. Sartre and Camus should have had the huevos of Alekos.
I first read this in the early 80's and have read it many times since. This is a story of bravery, of frustration, of human frailties, of the struggle of a people to wrest control of its destiny away from the merciless militaristic regime (anyone in America paying attention here?) in the very land where democracy was created, of a man dealing with his mysoginy, and a woman loving this man as he works through the conflicts that he has willingly inherited and just as willingly seeks to resolve.
All the characters are flawed and that is why this is such a remarkable triumph. You will break down in tears as you move toward the inevitable conclusion. Greece has not had a hero like this since Socrates. And what all of them go through is more gut wrenching than anything you will ever read anywhere else. This is the story Costa-Gavres' "Z" was based on. By all means, if you care about freedom, the human soul, the passions that grip a man and a woman as they attempt to deal with the highly charged issues of their own romance while facing down a government prepared to grind them under the wheel, you have a moral imperative you owe to yourself to read this story.
Oriana Fallaci is a remarkable, liberating writer. Whatever I have read by her has moved me, whether or not I agree with her opinions and directions. This book stripped my soul bare and made me ask myself more questions than anything I have ever read.
Do you want to know hat is a man? Do you really want to know what is in the soul, the heart, the intelligence of a man? Are you really prepared to face the answers and implications of these questions?.....

A MAN is an unforgettable literary experience. Written by an Italian, it was hailed in Europe as a masterpiece. There is such a man who has caused me considerable literary consternation from Europe, perhaps. The hero of this book fights for freedom and truth, never giving up. But can he really ever forgive and love his enemies?

Alexander, after being imprisoned for trying to assassinate dictator Papadopoulos, has discovered that he is a poet who doesn't want to be one. He finds the perfect woman but denies his love for her at first. It took him awhile to begin what to say to her, not knowing that she felt the same way he did. But he feels that some good would come of doing the right thing.

She, too, was having some doubts but admitted: "All I could think about was him." She thinks that she has to trust in something stronger than herself but declares that "my future isn't in your hands." He had been so cruelly abused in prison, how could they still believe in God. Some things you take on faith but, at instances such as theirs, it might need a little miracle.

He is freed by general amnesty but is killed by the masters and by the servants, by the "violent and by the indifferent." This was a book about loneliness of the individual who refuses to "be catalogued or categorized by ideologies, societies or power."

The author wrote THE USELESS SEX, THE EGOTISTS, IF THE SUN DIES, and LETTERS TO A CHILD NEVER BORN. This A MAN was a great success in Europe and she was awarded the Premio Viareggio and the Premio Nazionale in Italy. It was well received in America as well. Sometimes a man enters your life mysteriously and without notice to change how you think and live, as he is always in your consciousness. This hero is such a man.

This is one of the best books I have ever read in my life. When I first heard about this book, I thought I might cry throuhout the book, but that didn't happen, i only shed tears in one of the chapters. Still this is one of the most moving books I have ever read. It grabs you, especially if you have gone through real love. You will echo with all things she is decribing when she is talking about her emotions towards him.

One point towards the end of the book, I had to put it down and go run some errands. I got into the car and forgot how to drive. It was that powerful.

I loved it. I would like to read it in Italian.

did the author write fact or fiction? Written from the perspectiove of personal experience one is left wondering ... did Oriana Fallaci *actually* know a person on whose life the novel is based? The story is about Alekos, a Greek patriot and political prisoner. It is written after the military rule in Greece (which occured in the mid-1970s). This is a gripping, powerful novel about a man who has solid convictions and beliefs. It shows you the strength and vulnerablilites of *one* individual who is caught in the midst of political changes, a man who remained true to his cause. He fought and loved on his terms. The literary technique, of a memoir is highly effective, the emotions and events depicted are *even* more penetrating and mysterious ... this is one novel I could not put down. Although first read in the mid-1980s it still has me spell-bound. I have recently reread it and the effect is still the same!
Erika Borsos (erikab93).

I had a marvelous blind date for dinner with 4 other friends on a cold January night in Milano.
Oriana was my unknown date and I was the only non-communist at the table and, working occasionally with the CIA, I kept my mouth shut the entire evening. When the coffee came, she glared at me saying: " You haven't spoken all night !
Why are you here ? My response was, I am a professional eater which just broke her up.. did you come here to eat or just to talk ?? ! " Both New Yorkers,too, we remained friends for the rest of her life. This book is of course political in nature, but written ever so lovingly as a tribute to her deceased husband, Alexandros Panagoulis and in their moments, a very dangerous life !
Yes you will cry too !! " the politics change but never the faces ". garner tullis

Simply the best book that ever passed through my hands. I'm not a frequent reader, but this one was first given to me a long time ago, and I just read and read and read. It's not a book about politics, though it is a political book. It's a book about an increadible charcter of A PERSON.
Try to get it if you can! Make sure you're ready for a long night up when you read it. You'd never guess that a person can reach that much. It's facts that feel like fiction

I'll underscore the sentiment to not let Fallaci's later writings about Islam dissuade you from reading this work. Fallaci was a terror to powerful dictatorial forces in both her life and her writing. A MAN is a masterpiece of political fiction and I want to underscore that word: political. A combination of biography, autobiography, and fiction (and the boundaries aren't clear) this screed rips her soul open and exposes itself to the reader. It's a political story, and she writes with political intent and does so with a unique ferocity. One of the other reviewers says that they received a copy from her during student strikes in Poland (I am jealous) and that it changed their life. Me too. My daughter is named after Oriana Fallaci. (Review also posted on LibraryThing)

It was not so long ago that Oriana Fallaci passed away in her home in Tuscany of cancer. I have always known about her impressive record as a journalist and a feminist/activist, but until now have never read any of her work. This book "A Man" his her autobiographical recall about her relationship with Aleksandar Panagoulis, Greek political activist. I must say I was curious to learn more about Oriana's love for thsi man and I expected so much of him. As I read the book, I could not but resent the man she loved. As a young man, Panagoulis attempted to assasinate Greek President but his attempt failed. That led to his long imprisonment and torture in Greek political prisons. Once he was released, he spent time in exile living with Oriana in Italy. Her recalls of his outbursts, possesiveness, general lack of direction in life, drinking and womanizing got me thinking of why she has put up with it at all? Perhaps in 80s when this book was written it was considered heroic to attempt to kill someone, but to my sensibilites, this man was a brute and a terrorist who wanted to pretend to be some sort of Greek Gavrilo Princip. He has unnecessarily endangered on many occasions not only his life but the lives of the ones closest to him - and he did so knowingly and intensionally. I must say I was touched by the first chapter where Oriana describes her lover's funeral procession. It is sincere, heartbreaking encounter that anyone who has lost someone significant in their life can relate to at some degree. But by the end of book, I cannot but think of what is it exactly that this man gave to her other than heartache and disappointment? Without her, his life would have no direction and no meaning. If anything, it is Oriana who has elevated his existance and gave it some meaning by writing this book.