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supereva's review against another edition
4.0
Molto belli questi ritratti, ostentatamente dissacratori ma anche estremamente poetici. Il Fuga da Bisanzio e guida a una città che ha cambiato nome sono meravigliosi
emilyhan0906's review against another edition
5.0
This collection of memoir-essays by Joseph Brodsky was an enlightening read, to say the least! Brodsky was a Russian poet of Jewish descent, who had to leave the USSR facing persecution. In this book, he wrote extensively about his hometown, the Russian language, his family and childhood, his views on political systems and made heaps of comments on literature.
To me, someone who grew up in Beijing, the timing of me encountering this book was rather interesting. As this year marks the 50 years of the Cultural Revolution, which to many in China was a time where, to quote Brodsky, 'Just like a river, I was deflected by my stalwart era'.
I could spot countless details or 'strange' moments in his childhood which had an exact counterpart in my parent's. His sentiment on culture catastrophe, on inhumanity, on separation, on powerless, on not giving in to the state machine and on so many other things not only resonated on so many levels with my own feelings, but also brought me to think a lot deeper about my culture and history. As Brodsky said, 'only an inside job' can provide a truly meaningful and relatable account of what happened. He was commenting on middle-class writers, but I also find it particularly true when it comes to discussing authoritarian regimes.
I enjoyed how he approached heavy themes (such as death, or tyranny) with calm, reflective and often incredibly witty (and wise!) comments, when he had every reason to, say, accuse or explode in emotions. His use of English language was both so imaginative and so concise, I find it hard to believe it was indeed his second language. I love his account of his hometown 'Peter' especially, and wish I could get to visit there one day!
To me, someone who grew up in Beijing, the timing of me encountering this book was rather interesting. As this year marks the 50 years of the Cultural Revolution, which to many in China was a time where, to quote Brodsky, 'Just like a river, I was deflected by my stalwart era'.
I could spot countless details or 'strange' moments in his childhood which had an exact counterpart in my parent's. His sentiment on culture catastrophe, on inhumanity, on separation, on powerless, on not giving in to the state machine and on so many other things not only resonated on so many levels with my own feelings, but also brought me to think a lot deeper about my culture and history. As Brodsky said, 'only an inside job' can provide a truly meaningful and relatable account of what happened. He was commenting on middle-class writers, but I also find it particularly true when it comes to discussing authoritarian regimes.
I enjoyed how he approached heavy themes (such as death, or tyranny) with calm, reflective and often incredibly witty (and wise!) comments, when he had every reason to, say, accuse or explode in emotions. His use of English language was both so imaginative and so concise, I find it hard to believe it was indeed his second language. I love his account of his hometown 'Peter' especially, and wish I could get to visit there one day!
aliofcydonia's review against another edition
5.0
"Gli piaceva stare vicino all'acqua, adorava il mare. In quel Paese, è il massimo di approssimazione alla libertà. A volte può addirittura bastare un'occhiata, e lui guardò il mare, e lo fotografò, per la maggior parte della sua vita."
atosha's review
5.0
It's fair to say this completely blew me away. Every page is full of quotable sentences. And the final essay In a Room and a Half is amazingly beautiful, touching and understated. His description of his lifelong relationship with his parents is worth the book in itself. And his essay on Nadezhda Mandelstam, is just wow. Each generation gives us masters of the essay and some of these amazingly double as poets. In this age of bloggers we may end up with some worthy essayists or a whole lot of what would have been letter to the editor writers who no amount of practice can hide the need of professional editing. I hope and suspect it will be the former.
pivic's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.5
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