Acts of Love

by Elia Kazan

A beautiful and strongly sexual young woman seeks security and certainty within her husband's Greek-American family but is soon on the move again, toward an inevitable final reckoning.

508 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1978

About the author

Credits of Turkish-born American stage and film director Elia Kazan include A Streetcar Named Desire (1947) of Tennessee Williams and the movies On the Waterfront (1954) and East of Eden (1955).

This award-winning theatrical producer, screenwriter, and novelist co-founded of the influential actors studio in New York in 1947. Kazan won Academy Award thrice, Tony Award five times, and Golden Globes four times and received numerous awards and nominations in other prestigious festivals as the Cannes film festival and the Venice film festival.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elia_Kazan

Reviews

[Veronica-Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Acts of Love was a violent tale of desperation that was filled to the brim with bitterness, rage, dishonesty, and a loss of true identity for not only the main character Ethel, but for all those who were touched by her passionate beauty and their own cruel desire to possess this disturbed young woman. It was an unsettling and a very sad read but in some ways a fascinating insight into such relationships.

[Lora Grigorova · Rating 2 out of 5]

Acts of Love: http://readwithstyle.wordpress.com/20...

“I have always disturbed people with what I do”, says Elia Kazan, one of the most famous directors in Hollywood and in Broadway. He has discovered immortal actors such as Marlon Brando. Warren Beatty, and James Dean, he was driven actors to 12 Oscar nominations (resulting in 9 wins) and he has himself won two Oscars for a Best Director and numerous other awards. Among his most famous movies are “East of Eden”, “A Streetcar Named Desire”, and “On the Waterfront”. Only at the age of 54 did the prominent director decide that the novel is the greatest form of art. His forth book, Acts of Love shows the genius of the Greek-born director, who is equally successful in movies, plays, and novels

I actually found out this impressive background information after reading Acts of Love. Before starting it, I had never heard neither of the book itself, nor the author. After finishing, I had one thought in my head – disturbing, controversial, and shocking. Set in the turbulent 1980s, Acts of Love tells the story of two people from different generations and with different perspective on life, whose destinies become entangled in a tragic and destructive way.


Kosta is a conservative Greek immigrant in the US, for whom Greek traditions determine the right path of life for his family. With a steady hand the rather dogmatic man maneuvers the actions of his wife, his son, and his close relatives. He is strict, demanding, and frightening. Kosta doesn’t allow any deviation from the righteousness and virtuousness of the Christian faith. He keeps his wife in control, showing her the exact place of a woman n the 1980s – in the house taking care of her husband. Kosta attempts to influence the life of his only son, Tedi, until he meets his new bride-to-be. Ethel, unfortunately, is far away from an obedient Greek wife.

Read more: http://readwithstyle.wordpress.com/20...

[Maryann · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book and have read it several times.

[Thaís Jarandilha · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm a big fan of Kazan's work in movies, that's why I was attracted to know his writings.
I honestly liked his style, but speaking of the plot...well, to me it was quite unclear of what was all really about.
It was extremely hard to go through the pages to finish the book... too annoying and hateful characters, confusing situations...
Even the author's investment in sensual/romantic parts did not save the overall shallowness of the story and its characters.

[MiekeWin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lekker hoor. Heb ervan genoten. Vooral de dialogen waren erg goed. Die oude Griek! Hoe die werd neergezet, met zijn "... so on, so forth". Een geweldig personage. Maar anderzijds was het ook wel pulp ook.. Mixed feelings, dus, maar ... lekker van genoten ja.

[Li Funes · Rating 1 out of 5]

Malísimo realmente no vale ni un poco la pena.

[Courtney · Rating 4 out of 5]

So in the last 20 pages or so, this book took a really violent and unexpected turn. A page-turner, but yikes.

[Julz]

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