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gabicita's review against another edition
3.0
3.5*
Ya sé porque Pizarnik se mató después de leer esto.
Ya sé porque Pizarnik se mató después de leer esto.
blackbird27's review against another edition
5.0
To be reading this alongside Zuleika Dobson was a fascinating experience; I wonder whether anyone has ever thought to compare them before. They share many themes (romantic attraction, unpredictable women, suicide, metanarrative) and even a tone, saying baroquely funny things in a faux-ponderous manner. But Beerbohm has no serious point beneath his gossamer humor; and Unamuno, the philosopher of Spanish identity, does.
This novel -- or nivola, Unamuno's invented term for a nebulous narrative, more philosophy than plot, and deconstructing the elements of fiction decades before deconstruction occurred to any French academic -- is probably the most celebrated Spanish novel of the 1910s; the only English translation dates from 1928, and is not entirely worthy of it. Although it can be read as an early metafictional novel in the sense popularized by Flann O'Brien, the nouveau roman, and the 1960s prankster postmodernists, Unamuno is really only following the lead of his teachers Cervantes and, to a lesser extent, Kierkegaard.
As a philosopher he's no lightweight; but he's a really engaging storyteller as well, cutting description down to zero and letting his characters spin into baroquely philosophical and cod-philosophical dialogue. (Entirely typically, he inserts his reasons for doing so into the conversation; but what he doesn't mention is that he was also a successful playwright, and his conversations, when he gets around to dispensing with abstrusities or absurdities, have the narrative logic, the emotional force, and the sense of hinging as much on things unsaid as things said, as great dramatic dialogue.)
This isn't the place for a close reading of my reasons for disagreeing with the back-cover copy and the academic introduction which calls the most prominent female character "deceitful, scheming," but although Unamuno was no feminist he wasn't the misogynist his political and ethnological conservatism might suggest. The central male character, the one who has all the philosophical discussions and experiences all the novel's Weltschmerz, is never not a figure of fun; the women are (for the most part) sensible, dispassionate, and self-respecting. But this is just a Goodreads blurb.
Yeah, five stars. It's great.
This novel -- or nivola, Unamuno's invented term for a nebulous narrative, more philosophy than plot, and deconstructing the elements of fiction decades before deconstruction occurred to any French academic -- is probably the most celebrated Spanish novel of the 1910s; the only English translation dates from 1928, and is not entirely worthy of it. Although it can be read as an early metafictional novel in the sense popularized by Flann O'Brien, the nouveau roman, and the 1960s prankster postmodernists, Unamuno is really only following the lead of his teachers Cervantes and, to a lesser extent, Kierkegaard.
As a philosopher he's no lightweight; but he's a really engaging storyteller as well, cutting description down to zero and letting his characters spin into baroquely philosophical and cod-philosophical dialogue. (Entirely typically, he inserts his reasons for doing so into the conversation; but what he doesn't mention is that he was also a successful playwright, and his conversations, when he gets around to dispensing with abstrusities or absurdities, have the narrative logic, the emotional force, and the sense of hinging as much on things unsaid as things said, as great dramatic dialogue.)
This isn't the place for a close reading of my reasons for disagreeing with the back-cover copy and the academic introduction which calls the most prominent female character "deceitful, scheming," but although Unamuno was no feminist he wasn't the misogynist his political and ethnological conservatism might suggest. The central male character, the one who has all the philosophical discussions and experiences all the novel's Weltschmerz, is never not a figure of fun; the women are (for the most part) sensible, dispassionate, and self-respecting. But this is just a Goodreads blurb.
Yeah, five stars. It's great.
secemozmen's review against another edition
dark
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
olichoreno's review against another edition
5.0
Uno de mis libros favoritos ¿Hasta dónde somos dueños de nuestros inventos? Una novela que entra a la categoría de Zweig
florencia_rodriguez's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
monicasan's review against another edition
4.0
No le pongo 5 estrellas porque en ocasiones se me ha hecho algo tedioso, pero en justicia, es un libro que solo en el prólogo (y en el posprólogo) tiene más arte que la mayoría en sus mejores sueños.
clockworkp's review against another edition
4.0
Me gustó, sobretodo el final que elevó la novela en mi opinión. El prólogo también fue muy divertido e irónico. La trama en sí es un sinsentido con personajes que hacen lo que les place y se pasean por la historia filosofeando y siendo unos gamberros.
josef_k's review against another edition
5.0
Creo que a día 7 de Enero ya tengo mi lectura del año. Esta novela nivola cargada de diálogo rebosa filosofía. En palabras de Unamuno...
Si consideramos Así habló Zaratustra filosofía, bien podríamos considera Niebla tal cosa...
Cabe destacar el sentido del humor del autor. Como bien dice él, la broma que no es corrosiva y confundente no sirve para nada. El niño ríe en la tragedia y el anciano llora en la comedia...
Por último, dejo una reflexión del libro que más de una vez me se me había pasado por la cabeza
Yo necesito discutir, sin discusión no vivo y sin contradicción, y cuando no hay fuera de mí quien me discuta y contradiga, invento dentro de mí quien lo haga. Mis monólogos son diálogos.
Si consideramos Así habló Zaratustra filosofía, bien podríamos considera Niebla tal cosa...
Cabe destacar el sentido del humor del autor. Como bien dice él, la broma que no es corrosiva y confundente no sirve para nada. El niño ríe en la tragedia y el anciano llora en la comedia...
Por último, dejo una reflexión del libro que más de una vez me se me había pasado por la cabeza
Uno mismo es quien menos sabe de su existencia... No existe sino para los demás...
lhreader's review against another edition
5.0
Si queréis tener una crísis existencial, leed esta nivola. Pobre Augusto Pérez.