“Down in the depths, in the pit, in the abyss, like the murmuring of a stream in the current, a voice arising from the depths like perfume, like haze, like steam, wailing, passion, melody, ascending on the wings of a night breeze, soaring, gentle, soothing, pure, whispering, slender, climbing in the gusts, tuning the air, greeting the vastness, pleading with the infinite, childlike, harmless, winding, the voice of a virgin lamenting, the chirp of a bird enduring, longing for the return of spring.” [The Fallen Dervish, 1896]
Like the sound of the ney playing in the streets of Athens, the voice of the fallen dervish in the eponymous story resonates, just as the voice of Papadiamantis (1851-1911), this master of the Greek language, does in the 23 masterpiece short stories that are anthologized in this volume.
This cane ney played by the foreign Muslim, just as the voice of Papadiamantis, “differs by two grains in order to be the 'yes' that Christ spoke of. The 'yes' that is gentle, humble, mild, the 'yes' that is humane.” [Excerpt from the text on the back cover of the edition]
