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3.74 AVERAGE
3.74 AVERAGE
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Esta foi uma leitura entusiasmante!
Primeiro, adorei logo a capa, tão artística e cativante!
Depois, apreciei a humildade do autor, no sentido em que parecia que estava ao meu lado a contar as histórias, fazendo com que as descobríssemos juntos.
Para além disso, em cada capítulo, tive a sensação de que estava a viajar com o autor, à procura das origens da escrita e tentando perceber a sua influência ao longo dos tempos. E que influência! É absolutamente fascinante toda a história riquíssima "provocada" e criada por esta arte.
Aconselho vivamente a qualquer amante da literatura e que queira saber mais sobre o tema.
Primeiro, adorei logo a capa, tão artística e cativante!
Depois, apreciei a humildade do autor, no sentido em que parecia que estava ao meu lado a contar as histórias, fazendo com que as descobríssemos juntos.
Para além disso, em cada capítulo, tive a sensação de que estava a viajar com o autor, à procura das origens da escrita e tentando perceber a sua influência ao longo dos tempos. E que influência! É absolutamente fascinante toda a história riquíssima "provocada" e criada por esta arte.
Aconselho vivamente a qualquer amante da literatura e que queira saber mais sobre o tema.
informative
The last three chapters weren't my favorite. I especially wish there was more meat in the african and postocolonial lit chapters like the earlier chapters rather than the more personal storytelling. Other than that, great stuff
We were cruising into a solid four star rating with this one right up until he got weirdly snide and dismissive about Harry Potter at the end. Literary dismissal of popular fiction being kind of a bugbear of mine, that knocked a full star off. Sorry, Martin Puchner - this book otherwise was a great assessment of the path of literature across the globe and over time. Though I would have loved to see him delve deeper into the world of writing online (not just self-publishing) - fanfiction, Twitter flash fiction, creepypasta, and other forms of digital storytelling.
Ah well.
Ah well.
informative
inspiring
slow-paced
I love world literature, and Martin Puchner, alongside David Damrosch, probably played a significant role in introducing the subject to me. His book is set up to be a fascinating history, but the delivery fails. As other reviews point out, there are some questionable histories and facts, but I'm not knowledgeable enough to discredit or confirm them. But either way, I found the book to be badly edited. I don't know why Puchner's editor encouraged him to write about travels and personal experiences, which seem to hardly exist in the first half, only for the first-person "I" to take over entirely the second half. It felt as if the personal experiences became a method of filling words for a chapter and an easy way to finish the book faster. The last few chapters felt rushed compared to the first few. Especially the part on Harry Potter and his quiz on Pottermore.com. What on earth was that about?
Above all, I felt that his narrative voice was too muted and uninspired. It would have been interesting to read lines from the stories he told, a bit of close reading, rather than a Wikipedia-esque plot summary.
Above all, I felt that his narrative voice was too muted and uninspired. It would have been interesting to read lines from the stories he told, a bit of close reading, rather than a Wikipedia-esque plot summary.
I found this book incredibly entertaining and informative. The author tells the story of several influential works of literature from throughout history, connecting the stories to both their historical context, how they fit into the changing ways humans have seen written narratives in our worldview, and highlights how the works have influenced various individuals that have come across them. I particularly appreciated that the author included works from a variety of backgrounds, including Mayan and African traditions. Despite the fact that I consider myself to be a "well-read" person, i was introduced to several works I'd never heard of before. An excellent read for anyone who loves history, literature, or hopefully both
Whether you are looking at your screen, a paper or an advert in the underground almost all we see around us has words in some form or other. Even the TV news has a ticker tape of other headlines now running underneath the presenter. This technology of the written word has shaped cultures through the ages as much as cultures have shaped language and the written world.
Beginning with Alexander and his pillow book, Puchner takes us from the first marks pressed into clay, the invention of vellum, paper and inks that were first made into codex's or books as we now call them. Most importantly though was the stories, messages and words that were written on them. These words and works of literature from the epic classics to the political tracts and the religious texts, they have shaped the way people think, cause revolutions and inspired people to fight for the causes they believe in.
A lie can run round the world before the truth has got its boots on. ― Terry Pratchett
That power of language is still with us today, as can be seen from modern day politics… This is an interesting book and Puchner has done pretty well to distil the vast magnitude of world literature and the effects that it has had around the world and bring it in between the covers of this book. It has a really helpful timeline at the beginning with locations where each chapter of our literary journey was started and the text is enhanced with images of some of the books he mentions in the text. It is an enjoyable read, the only flaw being that it cannot go into too much depth to make the book manageable, however, there is a large reference section though for those that want to discover more about our shared literary legacy.
Beginning with Alexander and his pillow book, Puchner takes us from the first marks pressed into clay, the invention of vellum, paper and inks that were first made into codex's or books as we now call them. Most importantly though was the stories, messages and words that were written on them. These words and works of literature from the epic classics to the political tracts and the religious texts, they have shaped the way people think, cause revolutions and inspired people to fight for the causes they believe in.
A lie can run round the world before the truth has got its boots on. ― Terry Pratchett
That power of language is still with us today, as can be seen from modern day politics… This is an interesting book and Puchner has done pretty well to distil the vast magnitude of world literature and the effects that it has had around the world and bring it in between the covers of this book. It has a really helpful timeline at the beginning with locations where each chapter of our literary journey was started and the text is enhanced with images of some of the books he mentions in the text. It is an enjoyable read, the only flaw being that it cannot go into too much depth to make the book manageable, however, there is a large reference section though for those that want to discover more about our shared literary legacy.
Ad astra per aspera:
As Professor of Comparative Literature, Martin Puchner has obviously read a lot of stories. His latest offering, however, is a powerful testament to his gift for storytelling.
Ambitious in it's scope vis-à-vis time and space by chronicling the impact of storytelling with regard to shaping people, history and civilizations during the past 5,000 years; from the origins of Cuneiform script in the ancient Mesopotamian town of Uruk which resulted in 'The Epic of Gilgamesh' (the first 'Foundational Text' known to man); the Jewish experience of the return from the Babylonian diaspora and Ezra's invention of the papyrus scroll (Sacred Text); the rebels of the Axial Age who never committed words to paper (Buddha, Confucius, Socrates and Jesus); The Popol Vuh of the Mayas; Goethe's personal voyage of discovery into the heart of 'World Literature', a term he initially coined; The roguish life and experiences of Cervantes and his immortal Don Quixote; The Post-colonial prose of Derek Walcott and his Homeric mythology of Omeros down to Scheherazade and her bawdy Arabian Nights are just a few of the many landmarks along this fascinating odyssey.
Furthermore, if you don't know the difference between parchment and papyrus and the technicalities regarding folios and codices or want to know the how / where paper was invented and how extraordinary the Gutenberg revolution really was, this is the book for you.
As Professor of Comparative Literature, Martin Puchner has obviously read a lot of stories. His latest offering, however, is a powerful testament to his gift for storytelling.
Ambitious in it's scope vis-à-vis time and space by chronicling the impact of storytelling with regard to shaping people, history and civilizations during the past 5,000 years; from the origins of Cuneiform script in the ancient Mesopotamian town of Uruk which resulted in 'The Epic of Gilgamesh' (the first 'Foundational Text' known to man); the Jewish experience of the return from the Babylonian diaspora and Ezra's invention of the papyrus scroll (Sacred Text); the rebels of the Axial Age who never committed words to paper (Buddha, Confucius, Socrates and Jesus); The Popol Vuh of the Mayas; Goethe's personal voyage of discovery into the heart of 'World Literature', a term he initially coined; The roguish life and experiences of Cervantes and his immortal Don Quixote; The Post-colonial prose of Derek Walcott and his Homeric mythology of Omeros down to Scheherazade and her bawdy Arabian Nights are just a few of the many landmarks along this fascinating odyssey.
Furthermore, if you don't know the difference between parchment and papyrus and the technicalities regarding folios and codices or want to know the how / where paper was invented and how extraordinary the Gutenberg revolution really was, this is the book for you.