Interview with Dimitris Nollas on the occasion of the publication of his book ‘The Garden in Flames’.

Dimitris Nollas, on the occasion of the publication of his book The Garden in Flames (the third part of the Difficult Times trilogy), spoke with Dionysis Marinos in the newspaper Eleftheria tou Tupou.The interview was published on Monday 19 June and you can read it below: What if Greece were an amateur theatre troupe? And what if the play they were staging ended with a ‘forest’ of flames that would leave nothing intact in its wake? Does destruction also contain the seed of creation? Dimitris Nollas, having completed the trilogy ‘Difficult Times’, speaks to ‘Eleftheria tou Typou’ about his latest novel ‘The Garden in Flames’ and more. Mr Nollas, having completed the ‘Difficult Times’ trilogy, can we conclude with ‘what is our homeland?’ I think your question concerns the reader of the book more. For me, however, my homeland is everything I still experience in this blessed land and the joy I derive from those literary works created in the Greek language by the masters of the past, the present, and the future. Have you decided within yourselves whether we were struck by storms we could not withstand, or whether we brought them upon ourselves? Only the dead cannot withstand the storms that befall them. Man can overcome all storms. Of course, whoever provokes them is asking for trouble. Don’t you think that those who provoke storms should be prepared to foot the bill? Note that even left-wingers, when faced with power, did not hesitate to play their part.Do you think that left-wingers are immune to the cult of power? That they are angels who exist outside this world? Your heroes are part of an amateur theatre troupe. One might say that the choice is no accident. As if this troupe symbolises Greece. No, it is not a random choice. In a fictional construct, chance is controlled. Even the ritual burning at the end of the book suggests that only destruction can lead to a new beginning. Do you believe that? I believe what I write and I always take responsibility for it. I believe, therefore, that when we stray from moderation, it is always destruction that follows. This is true in society, just as it is in nature. A new beginning always comes to heal the harm caused by a catastrophe. I do not believe that a catastrophe is the end of the world. One need only recall, to stick to our modern history, the years 1897, 1922, and indeed the entire 1940s. Is there any personal responsibility for how we got here? For many years, the phrase ‘we all ate it together’ was at the heart of a fierce debate. Without personal responsibility, we have no individuals, we have a faceless mass. What made this statement so outrageous was that it was uttered by a political leader who did not have the courage, at the very moment he said it, to repent and apologise to all those sheep who followed him and voted for him, taking advantage of the handouts he showered upon them (with borrowed money, let us not forget). That is why it ‘became the focus of intense controversy’, as you say, because that condemnation stung, as it forced each of us to face up to our own personal responsibility. Further proof that this statement corresponded to reality. Such words, however, require courage, which this particular individual lacked. And he did well to withdraw from politics shortly afterwards. Let us give him credit for that. Did the ruling Left prove to be little or no Left at all? Or, in the end, is it succeeding? What do you think? Left or no left, whether it’s a lot or a little, it is obliged to manage the communal areas of the block of flats. The most important thing, however, is that, for the time being at least, it is not rummaging through our souls, but our wallets. Do hard times produce good works of art? Does literature need ‘crises’ to flourish? I think that, in any case, works of art are the fruits of intellectual crisis. Does the movement of ‘partakism’ (an excellent neologism) still exist in these times of crisis? In extreme circumstances, such as a crisis like the one we are experiencing, selfishness (‘philotomaris’ is a suitable term) evolves into the ‘partakism’ movement. In other words, the primitive feeling that I am the centre of the world becomes widespread, and thus only my personal survival will ensure the world’s continued existence. The salvation of the Universe will depend solely on my own. Others do not exist. I do not see them, I do not understand them, nor do I perceive them as my fellow creatures of God. You realise that we have already entered the antechamber of the prehistoric jungle. And if that sounds exaggerated to you, well, the antechamber of the madhouse. Are we an angry people, Mr Nolla? I don’t know. What is worrying, however, is that very few of us are angry about our own actions, about our own choices. What I do know is that, in any case, the angry person finds it hard to find a ‘solution to their drama’.