Plot

This work condenses Kazantzakis' impressions of the Soviet Union and his experiences there. The protagonist is a Negro named Toda Raba, which is the Hebrew for "Thank you". He is flanked by seven further characters, each of whom is of different descent and cultural background: Sou-Ki, an aged Chinese teacher; Amita, an elderly Japanese poet; a Polish Jewess named Rahel (the literary persona of Kazantzakis' friend Rahel Lisptein, from his time in Berlin); the Cretan Crane ("Crane" is one of Kazantzakis' pseudonyms); Azad, an elderly Armenian labourer, and "the man with large jaws".

All of these people arrive in the Soviet Union, travelling first to Astrachan to attend an Oriental Congress, and then to Moscow, where the anniversary of the Revolution is celebrated with magnificent parades. At the end, while visiting the Lenin Mausoleum, Toda-Raba has a vision of a nuclear holocaust that destroys the world. After the purification of the old world, he sees seeds under the earth being brought back to life by rain to form the image of Lenin.

Writing history

Written in French at Gottesgab in 1929, under the initial title Moscou a crié [=Moscow Shouted]. The foreword and afterword to Toda-Raba were translated by P. Prevelakis and published in the periodical Protoporia ("Moscow Shouted", issues 8-9, August-September 1929, pp. 202-207, and "Toda-Raba", issue 1, January 1930, pp. 1-15). The French original was first published in French periodicals.

Greek editions

  • Nikolai Kazan, Toda-Raba, in Revue des Vivants (periodical), Paris 1931 (abridged)
  • Nikolai Kazan, Toda-Raba, Le Cahier bleu (periodical), no. 14.42, Quai les Orfèvres, Paris 1934
  • Nikos Kazantzakis, Toda-Raba, translated from the French original, Yiannis Manglis, Athens: Difros 1956
  • Nikos Kazantzakis Toda-Raba, Athens: Eleni Kazantzakis 1969 (and subsequent editions)

Foreign editions & translations

  • Nikolai Kazantzakis, Toda-Raba, translated into Dutch by Simon Koster, Amsterdam: Werelbibliotheek 1933, 1936, 1938
  • Nicolas Kazan, Toda-Raba. Moscou a crié, translated into Spanish by Hernan del Solar, Santiago (Chile): Ercilla 1937
  • Nikos Kazantzakis, Toda Raba. Moscou a crié, Paris: Plon 1962, 1976
  • Nikos Kazantzakis, Toda Raba, translated into English by Amy Mims, New York: Simon and Schuster 1964
  • Nikos Kazancakis, Toda Raba, translated into Turkish by Ahmet Angin, Istanbul: Habora Kitabevi 1968
  • Nikos Kazantzakis, Cristo nuevamente crucificado (translated into Spanish by José Luis de Izquierdo Hernández) - Toda-Raba (translated into Spanish by Hernán del Solar), Barcelona: Planeta 1990, 1991, 1992