The Woman of Porto Pim - Softcover

Antonio Tabucchi; Tim Parks

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1935744747 ISBN 13: 9781935744740

Publisher: ARCHIPELAGO BOOKS, 2013

Synopsis

"Triumphs of nuance and suggestion."--"Chicago Tribune""Ruminative, elegiac, and mordantly funny, Tabucchi's prose conjures a state between waking and dreaming."--"The New York Times"From "A Whale's View of Man": "Always so feverish, and with those long limbs waving about. Not rounded at all, so they don't have the majesty of complete, rounded shapes sufficient unto themselves, but little moving heads where all their strange life seems to be concentrated. They arrive sliding across the sea, but not swimming, as if they were birds almost, and they bring death with frailty and graceful ferocity . . . Sometimes they sing, but only for themselves, and their song isn't a call to others, but a sort of longing lament. They soon get tired and when evening falls they lie down on the little islands that take them about and perhaps fall asleep or watch the moon. They slide silently by and you realize they are sad."By the Medicis Prize-winning author of "Indian Nocturne "and "Pereira Declares "comes a collage of evocative, hallucinatory fragments about the Azores islands from the perspective of an Italian traveler seeking something that he is yet to discover. Along the way, he collects legends, relics, and stories of the island-dwellers: an elegant married woman's love of an Azorean fisherman, glimpses of a whaling expedition, and assorted shipwrecks, both figurative and real.Antonio Tabucchi (1943-2012) is one of the most beloved Italian writers of his generation. His works have been translated into more than forty languages and have received many prestigious prizes including the Medicis Prize and the Europaeischer Staatspreis. His most celebrated titles include "Pereira Declares," "Little Misunderstandings of No Importance," "Requiem: A Hallucination," and "Indian Nocturne." In France he was named a Chevalier of Arts and Letters.Tim Parks teaches literary translation at IULM University in Milan, Italy.

About this title

Product Description:

A collage of evocative, hallucinatory fragments about the Azores islands from the perspective of an Italian traveler seeking something that he is yet to discover. Along the way, he collects legends, relics, and stories of the island-dwellers: an elegant married woman's love of an Azorean fisherman, glimpses of a whaling expedition and assorted shipwrecks, both figurative and real.

Review:

"What a strange and wonderful book this is! If, like me, you are interested in shipwrecks, whales, the Azores and the unique way in which only literature can bring a location to life, and if you like the unclassifiable, small works by authors such as Michael Ondaatje and Italo Calvino -- then have I got the book for you ... Wildly inventive." -- Ethan Rutherford, Minneapolis Star-Tribune

Tabucchi's prose creates a deep, near-profound and sometimes heart-wrenching nostalgia and constantly evokes the pain of recognizing the speed of life's passing which everyone knows but few have the strength to accept ... Wonderfully thought-provoking and beautiful. --Alan Cheuse, All Things Considered

Ruminative, elegiac and mordantly funny, Mr. Tabucchi[s prose conjures a state between waking and dreaming. --The New York Times

There is in Tabucchi's stories the touch of the true magician, who astonishes us by never trying too hard for his subtle, elusive, and remarkable effects. --The San Francisco Examiner

A witty and subtle meditation on the limits of memory and imagination. --Nick Hornby, Times Literary Supplement

Elegant, cosmopolitan, inventive, ambitious, and disquieting; his writing is, paradoxically, sensual and economical. --Boston Review

Meticulously crafted . . . marked by wit, emotion, memory, and lost grandeur. --Publishers Weekly

"On a final note, I must add that this reviewer had the pleasure of reading The Woman of Porto Pim at the seaside. If at all possible, I recommend all others do the same. I imagine, however, that Tabucchi's prose, and Parks's translation, would allow the sea to come to you, wherever you may find yourself reading." -- Monika Seger, World Literature Today

Like good short fiction, the stories in this volume act in ways that suggest a wider world outside the frame of the story. --Sycamore Review

About this edition

• Publisher: ARCHIPELAGO BOOKS
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 1935744747
• ISBN 13: 9781935744740
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 120