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kaji's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail
mbahnaf's review against another edition
4.0
“Changing the subject is one of the most difficult arts to master, the key to almost all the others.”
Johann Moritz Rugendas was a renowned German landscape painter of his time. He was particularly well-known for his work in the Americas. Inspired by Alexander von Humboldt, he sought financial support for an ambitious project of recording pictorially the life and nature of Latin America. In his word, it would be "an endeavor to truly become the illustrator of life in the New World". In 1831 he traveled first to Haiti, and then to Mexico. In Mexico, he did drawings and watercolors of Morelia, Teotihuacan, Xochimilco, and Cuernavaca. He also began to practice oil painting, with excellent results. After becoming involved in a failed coup in 1834 against Mexico's president, Anastasio Bustamante, Rugendas was incarcerated and expelled from the country.
From 1834 to 1844 he travelled to Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, Peru and Bolivia, and finally returned in 1845 to Rio de Janeiro. Well-accepted and feted by the court of Emperor Dom Pedro II of Brazil, he executed portraits of several members of the royal court and participated in an artistic exposition. At the age of 44, in 1846, Rugendas departed for Europe.
His depiction of black culture in his works are widely discussed. In some images, for example the Enterro de um Negro na Bahia, Rugendas identified the dead body of a "black man with another corpse: the suffering Christ the ‘Savior’ honored by the city’s name. Catholic themes and romantic images of slavery were common themes.
An Episode in the Life of a Landscape Painter is a fictionalized account of an eventful trip to Latin America taken by Rugendas, in search of inspiration. A painful misfortune befalls him that gives him new perspective. At this point, the writing becomes surrealist and the scenes become eerily intense as the sheer willpower of the artist allows him to continue painting.
"It was as if he had taken another step into the world of his paintings."
What I most enjoyed about this book were the descriptions of the landscape as Rugendas travels to Argentina through Chile. A must-read if you are into Latin American lit.
bllplank's review against another edition
adventurous
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
booksnbops's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
iammmartina_'s review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
evancdent's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
ezzie2666's review against another edition
4.0
Cesar Aira would be the greatest writer in the world if he was a better stylist.
jmiae's review against another edition
4.0
This novella deserves to be read with more care and precision than I was prepared to this go around. I preferred to be swept along by the story first, and to enjoy the curious blend of historical narrative and fiction that it encompasses. From what I can make out from Johann Rugendas' Wikipedia page, his travels in Chile and Argentina were not quite as dramatic as Aira's depiction suggests, but it is just Wikipedia and I did not attempt to delve any further into his letters or other historical sources.
The takeaway for me here is primarily the gorgeous translation of what I can only imagine was an even more beautiful original text. The descriptions of everything - the people, the places - in Chile and Argentina in the 1800s are astounding and rendered so distinctly and uniquely without losing their sense of historicity. Honestly, it's a triumph. And only 88 pages. It demands a closer second reading, and hopefully, given its inviting length, I can pay my due again before too long and while the memory of this first read is still relatively fresh.
The takeaway for me here is primarily the gorgeous translation of what I can only imagine was an even more beautiful original text. The descriptions of everything - the people, the places - in Chile and Argentina in the 1800s are astounding and rendered so distinctly and uniquely without losing their sense of historicity. Honestly, it's a triumph. And only 88 pages. It demands a closer second reading, and hopefully, given its inviting length, I can pay my due again before too long and while the memory of this first read is still relatively fresh.
cinzia's review against another edition
2.0
Gosh, I don’t know if it’s me, the book or the translator, but I found the last two novellas of his to be vapid and dry. Perhaps his tone of writing is just not my taste.
toroyaguila's review
adventurous
challenging
funny
informative
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75