Serpent and Lily

Serpent and Lilly (in Greek: 'Όφις και Κρίνο') is the first novel by the Greek writer Nikos Kazantzakis.

It was probably written in Heraklion in 1905. The author was only 20 years old when he completed the book and published it under the literary pseudonym Karma Nirvami.

The book takes the form of a diary, describing Kazantzakis's youthful preoccupations with life, death, women and love.

Plot

A young painter, a lover of pleasure and beauty, enjoys all that life has to offer and is gradually overcome by the idea of death. Deciding that death and life are linked to beauty and love, he invites his lover to a room full of fresh flowers to spend a night of love. In the morning, they are found dead of suffocation.