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bloodravenlib's review against another edition
2.0
I picked this up mostly because it was convenient (my local public library had it) and because it is the 2011 Nobel Prize in Literature. So, given I had not really heard of this author before, I was curious. I gave it a low rating because, for me, the book was just ok. I think other people may have a higher opinion, and that is ok. This book has some positives and some negatives. On the positive, when the author is good, he is good. There are some very rich images, very evocative of dreams and imagination. However, a lot of this poetry does seem pretty dark and depressing. I am not sure if that is just reflective of the fact he is Swedish, and a lot of the poetry is set up there in Scandinavia, where days can be very gray for very long, but some of the poetry could be right down depressing. Or at least, the kind of poetry to read in a winter's night when you have to stay inside with your hot beverage and a blanket. This is definitely not summer reading.
I did like the earlier works better than the later works. The book collects all his work, according to the introduction, and it is arranged chronologically. I would advise reading this book in small doses. Maybe that is why I just liked it so-so. I read all through it, and this book is best read in small doses. In fact, maybe reading a part of it now, and then putting it aside and picking it up again later, may be the better option. So, for me, it was just alright. And if nothing else, I got to read a Nobel Laureate's work.
I did like the earlier works better than the later works. The book collects all his work, according to the introduction, and it is arranged chronologically. I would advise reading this book in small doses. Maybe that is why I just liked it so-so. I read all through it, and this book is best read in small doses. In fact, maybe reading a part of it now, and then putting it aside and picking it up again later, may be the better option. So, for me, it was just alright. And if nothing else, I got to read a Nobel Laureate's work.
jason461's review against another edition
5.0
I have never read anything like this. That doesn't happen very often.
deea_bks's review against another edition
4.0
Medieval Motif
"Beneath our spellbinding play of faces there waits inevitably the skull, the poker face."
"Beneath our spellbinding play of faces there waits inevitably the skull, the poker face."
ilovewongkarwai's review against another edition
4.0
The forest is full of abandoned monsters which I love.
Creo que leí algo de Tranströmer cuando ganó el Nobel porque entonces trabajaba en una librería, pero no me acuerdo de casi nada de esa primera colección que se tradujo al español. En todo caso, qué bueno que volví a él y esta vez puse atención, hubiera sido muy triste perderme de estos poemas. Regularmente leo poesía tomándome mi tiempo, alternando con otros libros, pero con esta colección fue imposible parar, sentía que leía un diario y en otros momentos que escuchaba los pensamientos de alguien más, no como si me hablara en voz alta pero como si fuera un susurro dentro de mis oídos.
On my way home I see mushrooms
sprouting through the grass.
They are the fingers, stretching for
help, of someone
who has long been sobbing alone
down in the the darkness.
No creo que mis reseñas sean en realidad reseñas, pero me parecen aún menos cuando se trata de poesía. Casi nunca sé qué decir cuando algo me gusta (qué curioso que muy seguido tengamos más palabras para lo que odiamos y nos convirtamos en Marcel Marceau cuando algo nos toca el corazón). Supongo que el silencio también es una muestra de admiración.
I am carried in my shadow like a violin in its black case.
gettyhesse's review against another edition
4.0
These poems are enigmatic. They are beautiful. At times they almost feel as if they come from someone who, impossibly, can love everything within the world, who sees its beauty and looks upon even the horrible with a sad, wistful longing for what is lost. They read like the thoughts of a god without judgement.
I think I'll have to return to these poems in order to make more sense of them.
I think I'll have to return to these poems in order to make more sense of them.
partypete's review against another edition
5.0
I feel blessed to work next to a magnificent and cheap used book store that has treasures like this book available.
Fave book was probably The Sad Gondola.
Will have to read this collection again.
Fave book was probably The Sad Gondola.
Will have to read this collection again.
beaisabel's review against another edition
4.0
4.5+ stars
The short memoir Memories Look At Me at the close of the book is wonderful. This and the Virginia Woolf essays were my favorite reads of IB English Y1.
The short memoir Memories Look At Me at the close of the book is wonderful. This and the Virginia Woolf essays were my favorite reads of IB English Y1.
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