Literature Reviews 1

One Hundred Years of Solitude

by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (be sure to read the translation by Gregory Rabassa)

Paperback: 464 pages
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0060740450
ISBN-13: 978-0060740450

"stands at the apex of 20th-century literature"

Rating ***** 5 stars out of 5. Absolutely magnificent

How can I possibly express how meaningful, beautiful, unique and wonderous the experience of reading this masterpiece was to me. This was the first book that I felt was the equal of the beauty and significance of one of my favorite symphonies. I've read it many times, and I can pick it up and read a page at random, and it floods me with the images and memories of the story and has greatly enriched my life. It is strange and curious to me, that this story, which is filled with great pain and loss (murder, suicide, rape, incest, insanity, utter futility), is also filled with the wonder of life and the transforming power of love untimately results in a unqiue, meaningful, and beautiful (even spiritual) experience. It is the very meaning of life that is experienced in the reading, for all the struggles and complexities of relationships serve to point out the simple beauty of being alive, the wonder of life.

I was drawn to read 100 Years of Solitude, when I ran across a review on the Internet, in which a woman said that this was the book that she cherished mostly deeply and had re-read many times. She went on to write that if she would ever become blind or too weak of vision in her old age to read, that she'd ask her children to read this book to her once a year as their birthday gift to her.

So I was curious, what book, could move someone to such an expression. From the (now so famous) first sentence:

"Many years later, as he faced the firing squad, Colonel Aureliano Buendía was to remember that distant afternoon when his father took him to discover ice."

I was truly enthralled and mesmerized by the beauty of the writing (I often re-read a paragraph, simply for it's beauty of expression).

I entered the story, a 100 years of the history of the Buendia family, an enduring family living in a South American town called Macondo. Macondo is a very mysterious place where every day brings its inhabitants a share of wonder, magic, grief, sorrow, and almost magical opportunities for transformation. It is a world of great beauty and great cruelty; a world where love brings both redemption and pain.

The book is woven from a rich tapestry of unique characters, each brimming with a life that makes their passions and quirks seem like reflections of us all – it is an emotional swirl that is sensuous and filled with sentiment, but never sensational or sentimental. As we follow the Buendía family through growth and decay, war and peace, hardship and joy, we realize that we a witnessing nothing less than the slow process of life itself – like watching rust form beautiful patterns in the timeless eye of God.

This was my introduction to "magic realism" and Latin novels (which I've read extensively since, but yet to found an equal of this novel). I can image that many readers will find it puzzling, boring and slow moving, but it may also be the greatest book you will ever experience. The novel says volumes about what it means to be human. Garcia uses the Buendia family to explore fundamental themes related to how we as human beings perceive our reality. The ending was unexpected and perfect. Read this book, it may stay with you forever.

Recently, after remembering the lady's review that prompted my reading of this book, I bought a Large Print edition.. in case my eye-sight fails in my old-age.. this is one book I always want to be able to reread.

Others have written about this book.. here are excerpts..

This is a book I will read over and over again to savor the richness of its poetic tones and the multiple layers of ironic and dramatic richness. It is like an English trifle, to be visually admired as a whole then to be nibbled away at in bites, each time savoring a new flavor and an unexpected taste

This is a masterpiece! Magical and powerful, the story of four generations of Buendias will haunt your soul. You will never forget them, their lives, and their losses. I have read it three times and plan to read it many more times because it is a timeless story, and each time is a new journey....

This book is by far one of the most beautiful pieces of art ever created. One of the greatest novels of our time. If you haven't read "One Hundred Years of Solitude" you are missing the sensory journey of a lifetime.

It has more firmly cemented my belief that the right things find their way to you at the right time. As I read the last words on page 81 of this beautiful book, I broke into a fit of joyous laughter and saddest tears such as I have never experienced in my life! As if all of the pain and joys of living up to this moment had found release.

I can find no proper words to describe what I feel, except to say that I feel strangely at peace; with a sense of hope and love for this life that is ours. No matter that all that we work and strive for in life may end in being "tied to a chestnut tree with a shelter of palm fronds".

I am reminded that it is the very struggle that makes life worth living and beautiful. I am left with a sense of indefinable courage to go on. I love this life! What a wonderful adventure it is, and how lucky I am to have all that I do. When it comes down to what is important, I shall die happy knowing that my life is filled, and made worthwhile, by the gifts of love and friendship of many wonderful souls. Thank you for your gift my friend."

These words were written spontaneously upon finishing the first part of the book. That was over 3 years ago. Although I have not yet reread it, the ghost of this fantastic work has never left me. I would have liked it to end differently, but the magical power was not in my control. Truly one of the most compelling and glorious works I have ever read.

The greatest and the most beautiful, moving, and spiritually uplifting book I have ever read.

When I finished this book, I closed it and almost started laughing and crying at the same time. Laughing, because it is so wonderfully and joyously alive. Crying, because I would never again have the opportunity to read it for the first time. Simply marvelous. Everyone in the world owes it to themselves to read this book.

William Kennedy, New York Times Book Review
"One Hundred Years of Solitude is the first piece of literature since the Book of Genesis that should be required reading for the entire human race. It takes up not long after Genesis left off and carries through to the air age, reporting on everything that happened in between with more lucidity, wit, wisdom, and poetry that is expected from 100 years of novelists, let alone one man...Mr. Garcia Marquez has done nothing less than to create in the reader a sense of all that is profound, meaningful, and meaningless in life."

Ahead of All Parting:

The Selected Poetry and Prose of Rainer Maria Rilke
by Rainer Maria Rilke, Stephen Mitchell (Translator)

Hardcover: 640 pages
Publisher: Modern Library;
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0679601619
ISBN-13: 978-0679601616

Rating ***** 5 stars out of 5. Essential

I studied German, just to read Rilke (my favorite poet, even in translation) in his native language.

This is one of my favorite collections of poetry. Excellent translation (though I'd recommend you collect several to get different views to clarify the exact meaning), very , very rewarding reading. This translation manages to capture not only the meaning but also the "feel" of the original text. Mitchell's rendering of Rilke enables the non-German-reader to experience Rilke's poetry in spirit as well as sense. (I'm not a great fan of all of Mitchell's work, but this is exceptional). I have virtually every translation of Rilke in print, and this is the book that I return to most often. This volume contains all of Rilke's major poetry and selections from his prose, so it's a great introduction to his work. (And the book itself has great quality)

The first poem, "I live my life in widening rings," is alone worthy of years of contemplation (see my next review for more on this one). And I never cease to find inspiration and solace in "For the Sake of a Single Poem." . And the great Duino Elegies, I have nearly memorized from so many re-readings. I consider "Ahead of All Parting" one of the most cherished books that I own.

Most Highly Recommended.!

The Book of Hours: Prayers to a Lowly God

by Rainer Maria Rilke, Annemarie S. Kidder

Paperback: 234 pages
Publisher: Northwestern University Press;
ISBN: 081011888

Rating *** 3.5 stars out of 5. .., December 26, 2001

Nice to have a new, complete translation however...why not give a more careful (more direct) translation of this great work? This version is certainly a much better reading than the disastrous attempt by Anita Barrows. But why rewrite and interpret what is clear. Some examples from the first page: the beautiful passage,

'I live my life in expanding (growing) circles'

has a phrase 'Ich weiss noch nicht'

very easy to translate as 'I know not yet' or 'I don't yet know'

here it is translated as 'yet unclear of my role' (which is interpretation, which the reader would have seen, and it misses the direct beauty of Rilke's style).

And 'um den uralten Turm' is translated 'around the tower of old', which is not bad but isn't 'around the ancient tower.' more direct and poetic?

And the wonderous conclusion of the passage is 'bin ich ein Falke, ein Sturm oder ein grosser Gesang' which is translated as

'be it falcon or storm or another magnificent song? (another?) instead of the direct

'am I a falcon, a storm, or a great song'.

Another example in this paragraph is 'Ich kreise um Gott.und ich kreise jahrtausendelang' this passage poetically uses the word 'kreise' twice to create a symmetry

'I circle around God' and I circle (for) thousands of years.'

instead it is translated as 'I circle around God and I spin amidst thousands of years'.

So for the paragraph we have Kidder's:

I circle around God, around the tower of old, and I spin amidst thousands of years;
yet unclear of my role, be it falcon or storm or another magnificent song.

my version

I circle around God, around the ancient tower, and I circle for thousands of years;
and I know not yet, am I a falcon, a storm, or a great song.

(or
and yet, I do not know, am I a falcon, a storm, or a great song.)

(or
and still, I do not know, am I a falcon, a storm, or a great song.)

... see why translating poetry is impossible... Well in any case, I do recommend this translation as the best available, but hope another will appear in the near future or this one will be revised.

Winter's Tale

by Mark Helprin

Paperback: 768 pages

Publisher: Harvest Books

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0156031191

ISBN-13: 978-0156031196

Rating ***** 4.5 stars out of 5. A great dreamy adventure into magic realism

Beautifully written, this is another story that I have reread many times simply for the beauty of language. If the author tightened this up (cut 30-50 pages) and strengthened the ending, it would be the great American Novel of the 20th century.. But still great writing, and well worth the read.

A Primer of Jungian Psychology

by Calvin S. Hall, Vernon J. Nordby

Paperback: 144 pages
Publisher: Plume
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0452011868
ISBN-13: 978-0452011861

Rating **** 4 stars out of 5. Great Introduction (though would prefer a bit deeper)..., December 26, 2001

Jung's writing can provide a better insight into the meaning and method of life than any philosophical text. His writing on the Archetypes alone is worthy of deep study and contemplation. Symbols are a most powerful communication means to the soul. And I am convinced that these Archetype exists long before the universe was created and are innately part of us and give meaning and form to all of life's experiences. This is a good starting point, a good introduction.

Being and Time: A Translation of Sein and Zeit

by Martin Heidegger, Joan Stambaugh (Translator)

Rating 5 of 5 Heidegger's worth contemplating., January 10, 2002

To me, Heidegger is one of the most interesting philosophers, his writing is very meaningful and cause of great reflection and insight. If you get the point of his contemplations, this book (and his later writings) can change you life. This is difficult reading, but is very rewarding. However, Being and Time is not the place to begin reading Heidegger. There are several very excellent introductions: Steiner's Martin Heidegger, and Macquarrie's Heidegger and Christianity both are very excellent. When you read Being and Time (which is so much better than Being and Nothingness, I can't begin to tell you) you WILL need a commentary, there are several, but I would recommend Being-in-the-world by Dreyfus. I approached Heidegger as a Buddhist, so his main concept, dealing with the recognition of Being, was very familiar to me. I found Heidegger to be wonderfully enriching in my own insight into the most essential question of philosophy. Then I studied German for 2 years in order to read Heidegger in his Original language (and also to read Rilke's poetry in it's original). The German source is very precise (a trait of the German language, which lends itself to precision of language with new word combinations to create new expressions). The terms are necessary to get us to see the meaning that would not be visible with out new expressions. For me this works, and put into words (as nearly as anyone has) some of the great "mystical" insights. If you are reading only in English, you must have a commentary and both translations; start with the Joan Stambaugh, it is easier reading; but you will need the older Macquarrie & Robinson translation for comparison. Some concepts are better explained in one, some in the other. Also recommended Basic Writings : From Being and Time (1927 to the Task of Thinking) and WHAT ARE POETS FOR? and Heidegger's writing on Kant and Holderin. If you enjoy philosophy, this has my highest recommendation. This is philosophy that will awaken you in this moment.