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gaynidoking's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
quinndm's review against another edition
4.0
A book about a poet told like a poem. The lyric romanticism adds a majesty to this story about a creative and lustful journey... both can lead most to ruin, but it is that possible destruction that sparks the birth of creativity and ignites unimaginable passion.
... and the symbolic baguette satiates that hunger to create and to love in a truly unforgettable way.
... and the symbolic baguette satiates that hunger to create and to love in a truly unforgettable way.
stierwood's review against another edition
I have been dnr’ing like crazy lately but i swear i tried so hard with this one 😭 i just couldn’t do it with the paragraphs that were 2 pages long and the lack of action and all of that would be okay if i actually felt at all connected with what was going on 😭
spacestationtrustfund's review against another edition
2.0
Ce roman m'intéresse, mais je ne peux pas trouver un but. Quel était le but d'écrire ce roman ? Qu'est-ce que c'était un but quand même ?
srm's review
challenging
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Beautiful, meandering walk through the mind of a poet trying to create and manage his passions.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Child abuse
erotic content involving urinemm81's review
challenging
lighthearted
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
jonathanlynch's review against another edition
3.0
The first half was great! The second half felt mundane and I skimmed a good portion of it.
catdad77a45's review
3.0
3.5, rounded down.
"It all meant something but he was too confused to figure out what." p. 246.
I first encountered the poet Cavafy, as I suspect many people have, through the inclusion of several of his poems in Durrell's magnum opus [b:The Alexandria Quartet|13033|The Alexandria Quartet (The Alexandria Quartet #1-4)|Lawrence Durrell|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1388292278s/13033.jpg|4003808], and have since read much of his poetry - but didn't know a lot about his personal life. Unfortunately, I STILL don't, as this book only covers three days in which Constantine visits Paris with his brother John. A lot of it is interesting and well-written, but it sure could have used a judicious edit and lost a good 50 pages or more... there is a LOT of extraneous filler that just slows the story down to no apparent purpose.
"It all meant something but he was too confused to figure out what." p. 246.
I first encountered the poet Cavafy, as I suspect many people have, through the inclusion of several of his poems in Durrell's magnum opus [b:The Alexandria Quartet|13033|The Alexandria Quartet (The Alexandria Quartet #1-4)|Lawrence Durrell|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1388292278s/13033.jpg|4003808], and have since read much of his poetry - but didn't know a lot about his personal life. Unfortunately, I STILL don't, as this book only covers three days in which Constantine visits Paris with his brother John. A lot of it is interesting and well-written, but it sure could have used a judicious edit and lost a good 50 pages or more... there is a LOT of extraneous filler that just slows the story down to no apparent purpose.
gerhard's review
5.0
The weekend I finished reading this, there was an article in the Sunday Times about 19-year-old South African Adam Seef taking his own life because he feared he could be gay. That this kind of tragedy can still occur in our supposedly enlightened times beggars the imagination.
While I don’t know anything about Cavafy other than what I’ve read on Wikipedia, I was pleased this did not prove a hindrance to me enjoying Ersi Sotiropoulos’s sensational reimagining of his three-day sojourn in Paris. This seemed to have been both an artistic and personal catharsis for the young Cavafy, placing him firmly on the path of future literary immortality.
Though given his naivete and callousness as evinced here, it is a wonder that the poor young unconfident poet was barely able to scratch together a single line. There is a lot about the meaning of art and life in the course of the book, sandwiched between wonderfully homoerotic passages, but nothing dry or preachy.
Karen Emmerich’s translation is truly sensational. The writing is both deep and erotic at the same time, astute, and acutely descriptive. Paris lives and breathes from these pages. Oh, and then there is that ending, which I am sure Samuel R. Delany would give a nod and a grin to.
One thing is for sure, I am never going to look at a baguette in the same way again. Sotiropoulos does for the baguette what Andre Aciman did for oranges in Call Me By Your Name.
Though bear in mind that this version involves the decidedly unromantic locale of a pissotière: “As obscene as it was, he thought, there was also something sacred about that feast …”
While I don’t know anything about Cavafy other than what I’ve read on Wikipedia, I was pleased this did not prove a hindrance to me enjoying Ersi Sotiropoulos’s sensational reimagining of his three-day sojourn in Paris. This seemed to have been both an artistic and personal catharsis for the young Cavafy, placing him firmly on the path of future literary immortality.
Though given his naivete and callousness as evinced here, it is a wonder that the poor young unconfident poet was barely able to scratch together a single line. There is a lot about the meaning of art and life in the course of the book, sandwiched between wonderfully homoerotic passages, but nothing dry or preachy.
Karen Emmerich’s translation is truly sensational. The writing is both deep and erotic at the same time, astute, and acutely descriptive. Paris lives and breathes from these pages. Oh, and then there is that ending, which I am sure Samuel R. Delany would give a nod and a grin to.
One thing is for sure, I am never going to look at a baguette in the same way again. Sotiropoulos does for the baguette what Andre Aciman did for oranges in Call Me By Your Name.
Though bear in mind that this version involves the decidedly unromantic locale of a pissotière: “As obscene as it was, he thought, there was also something sacred about that feast …”