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Living to Tell the Tale, the first of three projected volumes in the memoirs of Nobel Laureate Gabriel Garcia Márquez, narrates what, on the surface appears to be the portrait of the young artist through the mid-1950s. But the masterful work, which draws on the craft of the author's best fiction, has a depth and richness that transcends straightforward autobiography.
Echoing Vladimir Nabokov's Speak, Memory: An Autobiography Revisited, Márquez uses his memoir as justification for telling an artful story that challenges notions of authoritative record or chronology. Time is porous in Márquez's Colombia, flowing back and forth among the mythic moments of his personal history to accommodate his fascination for place. While recalling a trip he took as an adult to his grandparents' house in Aracataca, he veers suddenly back to childhood and his earliest infant memories in that house. Nearly one hundred pages have passed before he returns effortlessly to the pivotal moment on the trip when he declares to himself and family: "I'm going to be a writer... Nothing but a writer.'
Similarly, Márquez toys with the boundaries of truth and fiction throughout his book. He acknowledges that his memory is often faulty, especially with regards to his crucial, formative years with his grandparents. And his explorations of key moments in his life show that, despite his vivid mental snapshots, the events were often temporally impossible. Further, he colors his tale with recollections of ghostly presences and occult events that pass without a wink into his narrative, alongside the documented accounts of his early successes as a poet and singer or details of his first published writings.
With its play on time and truth, memory and storytelling, Living to Tell the Tale's literary form acts as early evidence for Márquez's inevitable calling as a writer, and the language of Edith Grossman's translation, which frequently skirts the boundaries of poetry, mirrors Márquez's effort. While he meanders on his picaresque artistic journey--distracted by trysts with a married woman, the tumult of Colombian politics, and the raw energy of the journalist's life--he ends this first volume with the tantalizing promise of the literary career about to explode, and the impossible prospect of even greater riches for his readers. --Patrick O'Kelley
Book Description
In this long-awaited first volume of a planned trilogy, the most acclaimed and revered living Nobel laureate begins to tell us the story of his life.
Like all his work, Living to Tell the Tale is a magnificent piece of writing. It spans Gabriel García Márquez’s life from his birth in 1927 through the start of his career as a writer to the moment in the 1950s when he proposed to the woman who would become his wife. It has the shape, the quality, and the vividness of a conversation with the reader—a tale of people, places, and events as they occur to him: the colorful stories of his eccentric family members; the great influence of his mother and maternal grandfather; his consuming career in journalism, and the friends and mentors who encouraged him; the myths and mysteries of his beloved Colombia; personal details, undisclosed until now, that would appear later, transmuted and transposed, in his fiction; and, above all, his fervent desire to become a writer. And, as in his fiction, the narrator here is an inspired observer of the physical world, able to make clear the emotions and passions that lie at the heart of a life—in this instance, his own.
Living to Tell the Tale is a radiant, powerful, and beguiling memoir that gives us the formation of Gabriel García Márquez as a writer and as a man.
Customer Reviews:
Delightful trip.......2007-07-03
This book had me traveling over the time, places, aromas and dreams. I enjoyed it.
Always Brilliant..........2007-03-29
I have enjoyed reading this book and look forward to the next two in this trilogy. I will say the book has not been as "captivating" as some of Marquez's other titles, but since I love this writer, I will continue to seek out and read his writings! The rich history he decribes of Colombia is fascinating!
What a writer ..........2006-12-28
The story of his family and his coming of age is incredible, and incredibly told. It will carry you away. If Marquez had not spent quite as much time giving one pargaraph to each of his acquantances in what amounts to an excercise in name dropping, and spent less time describing his debauchery, I would have given this 5 stars.
Painting a Picture.......2006-11-02
Only once in a while can an author paint a picture that is so alive that you step into it and live it with them. Marquez does an amazing job at this. He brings us into his past in this autobiography and allows us to get to know him and the world of rural Columbia. The old banana plantations, the ancient railroad cars, the quirky family members.
If you ever wondered what South America is like - ready Marquez!
Largely for die-hard fans; maybe not even for all of them........2006-10-28
I started this book the same way I started almost every Marquez book in the past - expecting to be mesmerized and taken away for a while from my world to one of the magical-real worlds of Marquez. The first few tens of pages of this book took off the way those in any other Marquez book do: slowly, but promisingly creating a solid loom to weave a tale on. And then the next tens of pages continued in the same vein, as did the next few chapters, and so on and so forth.
Actually, to be fair, at least a part of the problem could be with my expectations. I was expecting another stunning piece of writing, even if it was a recount of reality. But then, how many readers of Marquez would hold that against me and expect differently of him? After all, his books have been as much about his writing style as they have been about his vivid imagination, haven't they? So that's primarily what I felt let down about in this book - the book just fails to grip. Marquez's writing seems weak like never before (except for the odd brilliant phrase here and there), and there aren't enough interesting tales to tell anyway. The book never moves beyond the context-setting; there is almost no dramatic arc, and; there is hardly any climatic resolution.
To summarize quickly then, I would recommend this book to very die-hard Marquez fans only. The only real value of this book lies in helping Marquez's readers undestand how he came to be the writer he did. If you are prepared to go through 500 pages of tedium for that, go for it.
Book Description
"Writing is a second chance at life," writes Jane McDonnell. "I think all writing constitutes an effort to establish our own meaningfulness, even in the midst of sadness and disappointment." In Living to Tell the Tale, McDonnell draws on this impulse, as well as her own experiences as a writer and teacher of memoir, to give us what should become the definitive book on writing "crisis memoirs" and other kinds of personal narrative. She provides specific techniques and advice to help the writer discover his or her inner voice, recognize--and then silence--the inner censor, begin a narrative, and develop it with such aids as photographs and documents. Citing many landmark works such as Maxine Hong Kingston's The Woman Warrior and Frank McCourt's Angela's Ashes, as well as unpublished writings, McDonnell shows how writers can recreate past experiences through memories, and imaginatively reshape material into the story that needs to be told. Each chapter concludes with exercises to help the writer grapple with particular problems, such as trying to write about experiences that are only partly recalled. McDonnell also offers a list of recommended reading.
• Memoirs--such as Mary Karr's The Liars' Club (Penguin)--have hit bestseller lists nationwide during the past year, and are of great interest to aspiring writers.
Customer Reviews:
Writing isn't as lonely with a guide.......2005-08-25
Writers often work alone, winding their way through often-dark passages of memory. With Jane Taylor McDonnell's warm, wise book as a guide, writing is less lonely, less frightening, especially when one is writing about a difficult obstacle life has thrown their way, be it a friend's suicide, a child with autism, or the too-often-neglected childhood traumas, which has rightfully come into its own alongside literature of the Vietnam War and now the war in Iraq. You may not think you can write like Tobias Wolff (This Boy's Life) or Mary Karr (The Liar's Club), but McDonnell offers her supportive cousel like a hand held out to guide us. In this, the only writing how-to book to cover exclusively crisis memoirs (Vivian Gornick, McDonnell's mentor, has written a terrifically useful book on the wider issue of autobiographical writing). McDonnell warns against the most common traps the crisis memoir writer can fall into: too much self-focus, self-indulgence, or overt emotionality, and offers the instruction every writer needs to give their own work universal appeal. Ethical topics are covered efficiently and closely, such as the use of recalled dialogue and compressed memories. Above all, McDonnell teaches writers to be searchingly honest, using photos or interviews if necessary to recall key elements that may not have come to the forefront of consciousness. McDonnell is the teacher you always wanted, at times funny, always caring, and her own writing is exemplary. She emphasizes that especially when writing about an emotional topic, the writing must have distance and clarity, while evoking the feel of an event. Gornick's introduction nearly takes over the stage, but McDonnell steers a clear course, offering a flashlight for the dark parts.
E. Brinkley, Seattle
Remembering Well.......2002-03-24
"Memoir writing shares with fiction writing the obligation to lift from the raw material of life a tale that will shape experience, transform an event, deliver wisdom," Vivian Gornick states in her foreword to Living to Tell the Tale, a point McDonnell (who teaches memoir writing classes) proves in what follows.
In the first few pages of the book we see she's a formidable talent in command of her subject: "It isn't enough just to live a life; we must be continually explaining it to ourselves, sorting, remembering, casting out the less important stuff, interpreting, sometimes justifying ourselves to ourselves."
The first half of the book offers strategies (such as "learning to remember") designed to help generate material, while the second half provides techniques to use in shaping your story, complete with examples from published and student memoirs.
Describing the rich content of photographs - in particular, the material gleaned from a photo from her own past - McDonnell notices, "Only after I had written and rewritten this passage did I discover that I was at least three selves within it."
She goes on to describe the value of other documents and provides insight into what to tell - and what not to tell - in writing memoir.
In the end, McDonnell lends an artistry to her understanding of the form that is nothing less than sensational.
Advice for Writing About Memoirs.......2000-06-09
Has anything drastic ever happened to you and you couldn't find a way to deal with it? Or you were so hurt from an experience the only way that you saw fit to overcome it was to write about it? That is what Jane Taylor McDonnell's book, Living to Tell the Tale is about. It is a book to help a writer overcome a bad experience from the past. This book is set up in a way that the reader will find all the proper and necessary steps in writing a book about memoirs easy.
Memory is the key part in writing about an experience. Her suggestions for trying to remember details include making lists of all the things that the writer can and cannot remember. Think of the little details that are important in the story. Another way to get the memory working for writing your book is to use pictures and legal documents such as wills, divorce papers, and receipts to help remember things from the past.
McDonnell uses language that is easy for the reader to comprehend, no matter what degree of education the reader may have. I would highly recommend it to anyone who is going to write a book or a paper about a past experience that was very painful.
Book Description
Down East Yankee John Gould, age ninety-two, has spent most of the last century observing and writing about the human condition. Now he presents a whole new perspective on life as he leads us into the brave new world of the assisted-living facility. Charming, sarcastic, despairing, flip, taciturn, erudite, and altogether wonderful--with a razor sharp wit and a knack for turning a phrase--Mr. Gould is an American original and a perfect tour guide. Whether he's complaining to management about his apartment windows that don't open or socializing with the other "inmates" at happy hour; whether wondering why they put a napkin over the stone-cold bread at dinner or taking comfort in the memories ("making do with the reruns") of his loving and eccentric collection of old friends and colleagues from Maine, Mr. Gould proves that you can write a funny book about a serious subject, namely, how we treat our elderly.
Customer Reviews:
John Gould has prepared me for my turn in 'Rhapsody Home'.......2002-06-19
I purchased my copy of John Gould's "Rhapsody Home" when vacationing on midcoast Maine near his hometown of Rockland. Knowing that Gould was somewhere nearby made the reading that much more meaningful for me. I also related in these ways: There may be a 'Rhapsody Home' in my not too distant future. Also, unable to contain my enthuisiasm for the book, I read select passages aloud to my wife who retired as the head RN at a 'Rhapsody Home.' The nature of her responses validated for me the authenticity of John Gould's rhapsodic musings.
Gruffly charming, and wise.......2000-12-30
Odds are this is the best book by a nonagenarian you are likely to read this year. Gould, a Down East Yankee and columnist for the Christian Science Monitor since 1942, offers a collection of short commentaries from an assisted living center. The book isn't simply a humorous indictment of the foibles and peculiarities of life in a retirement home (though there is plenty of that, from comments about food to the saga of the unopenable window and the familiar refrain "There is nothing to be done about it"). The author ranges across all his 92 years to draw on memories of doctors, raising bees with his Grandfather, and the perfect tomato.
This is a great book for reading out loud, my wife and I found -- the sentences tend to be short and simple, belying the emotional nuances and complexity of the thoughts underneath. The author is not a simple, genteel sort, despite the appearance of his prose. There are passages on the joys of farting humor, reproductions of the light verse with which he lampooned the failures of the management (these never survived more than three minutes on the bulletin board because they "offended the staff"), and a truly fierce (but nevertheless funny) indictment of the insurance industry.
Think of this book as Robert Fulghum in a retirement home and you'll be close to it.
A must for anyone who is, knows, or plans to be, an elder........2000-12-14
A long term care and assisted living administrator for manyyears, this book amused me, unnerved me, angered me. I hooted withlaughter and got choked up with sympathy. A gifted wordsmith and storyteller both, Gould spun a tale I couldn't put down. I thoroughlyenjoyed digesting his delicious words and phrases. Educational,entertaining and absorbing; a must read for any aged reader. LindaLaPointe,MRA,...
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Living to Tell the Tale
Manufacturer: Knopf - Borzon Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 0965806774 |
Product Description
Autobiography by the Latin literature giant
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The New Politics of the Old South: An Introduction to Southern Politics
Charles S. Bullock III
Manufacturer: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
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The last presidential election showed without a doubt the prominence of the Southern states in the national political landscape. When it first appeared in 1998, The New Politics of the Old South broke new ground by examining Southern political trends at the end of the twentieth century. Now in its third edition, with all chapters extensively revised and updated to cover events up through the 2004 elections, the authors continue their unique state-by-state analysis of political behavior. Written by the country's leading scholars of Southern politics, and designed to be adopted for courses on Southern politics (but accessible to any interested reader), this book traces the shifting trends of the Southern electorate and explains its growing influence on the course of national politics.
Book Description
One of the most important developments in American politics has been the growing prominence of the Southern states in the national political landscape. The first edition of The New Politics of the Old South broke new ground by examining Southern political trends at the end of the twentieth century. Now extensively revised and updated, the second edition looks toward the future of politics in the South and continues the unique state-by-state analysis of political behavior written by the country's leading scholars of Southern politics. Designed to be adopted for courses on Southern political culture, but accessible to any interested reader, this book traces the shifting trends of the Southern electorate and explains its growing influence on the course of national politics.
Book Description
The last presidential election showed without a doubt the prominence of the Southern states in the national political landscape. When it first appeared in 1998, The New Politics of the Old South broke new ground by examining Southern political trends at the end of the twentieth century. Now in its third edition, with all chapters extensively revised and updated to cover events up through the 2004 elections, the authors continue their unique state-by-state analysis of political behavior. Written by the country's leading scholars of Southern politics, and designed to be adopted for courses on Southern politics (but accessible to any interested reader), this book traces the shifting trends of the Southern electorate and explains its growing influence on the course of national politics.
Average customer rating:
- Great overview of Southern politics!
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The New Politics of the Old South: An Introduction to Southern Politics
Charles S. Rozell, Mark J. Bullock III
Manufacturer: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0847686132 |
Book Description
Written by the country's most prominent scholars of Southern politics, The New Politics of the Old South is a state-by-state analysis of contemporary Southern political behavior that analyzes the influence of race and religious interest groups on the Southern electorate. Designed to be adopted for courses on Southern politics but accessible to interested general readers, this book traces the shifting trends of the Southern electorate and explains its growing influence on the course of national politics. Visit our website for sample chapters!
Customer Reviews:
Great overview of Southern politics!.......1999-11-01
This books is a seminial survey text of Southern politics. All of the Southern states are analyzed individually by various authors. Also, Oklahoma is included as a border state where Professors Keith Gaddie and Scott Buchanan have an interesting argument as to why the Sooner State should be considered nominally Southern. Overall, a great book that focuses on the the Republican growth of the region. We also see how religion is beginning to play an important role along with race in the realignment of white voters at varying stages in all of the South.
Average customer rating:
- Entertaining and educational
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The New Earth Reader: The Best of Terra Nova
Manufacturer: The MIT Press
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Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0262181959 |
Amazon.com
What is nature? A philosopher of a certain bent, contrasting it with culture, its classically paired opposite, might answer that nature is the realm of being that happens independently of human consciousness. But humans, of course, are part of nature, too, and David Rothenberg finds room for us there in his journal Terra Nova. "Everything that connects humanity to the world that surrounds us brings the mind closer to nature," Rothenberg wrote in the inaugural issue. "Connections between humanity and nature are far more diverse, mysterious, and confusing than most ecological writing has been willing to admit."
Gathering 16 of Rothenberg's favorite essays from the first 10 issues of the journal, The New Earth Reader marks an effort to reconcile the human and natural worlds. It includes Australian philosopher Val Plumwood's eye-narrowing memoir of being attacked by a crocodile, the title of which, "Being Prey," speaks volumes; Rick Bass's thoughtful travelogue "Romania"; Charles Bowden's "Tuna Country," a harrowing journey into the desert's dark side; Rothenberg's far-ranging conversation with the virtual-reality pioneer Jaron Lanier; and television producer Ted Perry's account of how his free adaptation of a translation of a Native American text became Chief Seattle's famous speech on the sanctity of the Earth--an inauthentic, but still often-quoted, touchstone of environmental thought.
This is hardly the stuff of the usual nature anthology. But perhaps it should be, for Rothenberg and his contributors are working toward a larger, more encompassing view of nature, the environment, and nature writing itself. --Gregory McNamee
Book Description
This is a collection of the best essays, stories, and interviews from Terra Nova, the cutting-edge literary journal. It explores the complex and multifarious ways humanity is loose in the natural world. Find out who really wrote the famous Chief Seattle speech. Read why Jaron Lanier wants to turn us all into giant squid so we can talk to one another without language. Rick Bass travels to the country with the most grizzly bears per square mile: Romania. Gary Nabhan dreams of raven stew. Val Plumwood is half-swallowed by a crocodile and lives to tell the tale and affirm her vegetarianism. Charles Bowden enters Tuna Country in Mexico and struggles to find his way back across the border. Ray Isle fights with a wild turkey; see who wins. And find out why filmmaker Errol Morris thinks that human dreamers are the most endangered species around.
Customer Reviews:
Entertaining and educational.......2000-05-26
From Planeta Journal - This anthology gathers 16 of editor David Rothenberg's favorite essays from the first 10 issues of the journal I never heard of. The book format suits the subject well. The New Earth Reader marks an effort to reconcile the human and natural worlds. The highlights of this collection are Rothenberg's interview with the translator of the Chief Seattle Speech and one of the best essays about the US-Mexico border, "Tune Country" by Charles Bowden.
Books:
- Max Perkins: Editor of Genius
- Means of Ascent (The Years of Lyndon Johnson, Volume 2)
- Monsieur Proust (New York Review Books Classics)
- My Dog Skip
- Nell Gwyn: Mistress to a King
- On Women Turning Fifty: Celebrating Mid-Life Discoveries
- One Soldier's Story: A Memoir
- Portrait Of A Killer: Jack The Ripper -- Case Closed (Berkley True Crime)
- Radical Son: A Generational Odyssey
- Reagan: A Life In Letters
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