Reviews

Trije konji by Erri De Luca

celinep's review against another edition

Go to review page

sad slow-paced

3.5

tinydumptruck's review against another edition

Go to review page

reflective relaxing sad fast-paced

3.0

Felt like I was being caressed with the story. Wove unconventional love and the Argentinian war together nicely. The translation felt a little clunky, so the book was hard to follow at times, but overall very sweet. 

ibebrie's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

Beautiful character novel. The plot comes second to the characters. Extreme consideration was given and it is apparent.

homs_dream's review against another edition

Go to review page

3.0

رواية شاعرية تقوم على مبدأ التداعي الحرّ للأفكار، صبّها الكاتب في قالب يشبه إلى حد ما أسلوب الاعترافات، لكن بدل أن يكون أمام كاهن، جعلها أمام فتاة تعرّف عليها البطل عَرَضاً في مقهى.
بعد أن فرغتُ منها قلت لنفسي: ما دخل العنوان بالمحتوى؟ ولمَ لم أرقب ولا تمليح إلى "الجياد"؟ لكني بعد أن تأملتها شعرت أن العنوان ذكيّ جداً، فالجياد الثلاثة _ برأيي_ دلالة على الأزمنة الثلاثة التي يعيش فيها البطل، فيبدأ قصته "بالحاضر" ثم يثنيها ب"الماضي" ويستذكر تفاصيل قتل حبيبته وهربه من بلده، ثم يختم بتأملاته في "المستقبل".
فالجياد الثلاثة هم: الماضي والحاضر والمستقبل.

بعد الصفحة 86 إلى الصفحة 110 مملة، وفي أولها رائعة جداً.
الجميل فيها أنّها غير مقسمة لفصول ولا مقاطع، بل أشبه بهذيان واعٍ.
من الاقتباسات الجميلة التي وقعتُ عليها:
«أنا أقرأ الكتب المستعملة.
أسندها إلى سلّة الخبز وأقلّب الصفحات بأحد الأصابع. تبقى الصفحة ثابتة لا تتحرك فأمضي أقرأ وأنا أمضغ الطعام.
الكتب الجديدة وقحة ولا تكفّ صفحاتها عن الحركة. إنها تقاوم الثبات ويتطلب الأمر التحكم بها بغية إخضاعها. أما الكتب المستعملة فإنّ عظامها هشّة فتطوى الصفحات بسهولة من دون أن تحاول النهوض ثانية».

bill_flanagan's review against another edition

Go to review page

5.0

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel, translated from Italian by Michael F. Moore. I think what grabbed me was the writing style, which seems poetic and dreamy yet direct and concise. I savored the language, reading slowly to absorb nuances of meaning. The translator wrote a very nice afterword discussing the writing style, mentioning that this is Erri De Luca's most poetic and experimental book, and further explains some of the writing devices that made it so unique. I'm glad I wasn't aware of the devices while I was reading, since my sense while reading was simply that there was something "different and mysterious" about this writing. I now understand a bit more of the approaches the author used to create that sense, but rather I enjoyed the "not knowing."

ahqha's review against another edition

Go to review page

5.0

للمرة الاولى اقرا للايطالي دي لوكا ووقعت تحت يدي روايته " ثلاثة جياد" تتحدث عن بستاني في عمر الخمسين احب فتاة هوى ارجنتينة في وقت الحرب .. كتبت بطريقة غريبة ورائعة ومن المستحيل ان لا توقف في جمل كثيرة للتمعن منها "أحرر نفسي من نفسي حين أتعلم أن أعيش الحياة بطريقة جديدة"وكل الشكر للمترجم الرائع "نزار آغري " على ترجمته المحترفة للرواية

persaefone's review against another edition

Go to review page

5.0

Ultimamente sento un forte legame con l'Argentina dovuto anche ad un gdl a cui sto partecipando.

Questo libro l'ho preso a scatola chiusa, senza nemmeno leggere la sinossi e in due mattinate l'ho finito di leggere.

Se volete leggere qualcosa di leggero ma al tempo stesso forte vi consiglio questo libro.

emma_ireland's review against another edition

Go to review page

5.0

"I take the book stopped at a fold, deliver myself to its pace, to the breathing of the other storyteller. If I am someone else, it's also because books move men more than journeys and years."

This book is so beautifully written that I stopped every other page to note down lines and passages that I couldn't bear to never read again. It's a short book, but one that feels as though it carries the weight of the world between its pages.

The story is of a gardener who falls in love, bringing back memories of his past in Argentina's Dirty War and his first love who was murdered there. However, the joy of this book truly is the writing itself. At one point, De Luca writes: "This is what books should do: Carry a person and not be carried by him; take the day off his back, not add its own ounces of paper to his vertebrae." Three Horses definitely added its own ounces of paper to my vertebrae, and more besides, but it's a burden worth carrying.

The only thing I didn't love about Three Horses was the way the elegance of the prose in general slipped into the dialogue between the characters. As enjoyable as it is to read, it's not believable that people would speak to each other that way, and certainly not every person the main character came into contact with. But it's a small complaint for such a wonderful book.

neptune86's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging emotional reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes

3.5

ecco's review against another edition

Go to review page

slow-paced

1.5