Reviews

Heliogabalus or, the Crowned Anarchist by Antonin Artaud

carlacarov's review against another edition

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funny informative reflective

3.25

natsilene's review against another edition

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4.0

Gran bel delirio

pjv1013's review against another edition

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4.0

Uma deriva apaixonada, e algo louca, do fervor surrealista de Artaud é o que temos neste "Heliogábalo ou o anarquista coroado".

Artaud escreve este livro em 1933 num registo de violência extrema e excesso sexual e corpóreo nos obriga a repensar e re-equacionar alguns das mais prementes questões do tempo em que o autor viveu, em especial o poder inquisitivo e impositivo das religiões.

Por isso mesmo é algures entre o excesso corpóreo - sangue e esperma como expressões - e o esoterismo religioso que se prende e plasma esta obra biográfica de um imperador romano desalinhado da historiografia oficial.

A beleza da escrita de Artaud, o seu protesto lírico e transgressivo em torno da loucura de outros tempos é quase uma reação visceral à modernidade vigente - mas em rápida e crescente crise - dos anos 30.

Sim. Ler Artaud foi bom, foi bom voltar à crítica surreal, ao desmontar sem pudor dos tempos da modernidade.

y_rui's review against another edition

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challenging dark slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.75

Sometimes the prose is too dense, this coming from a person who loves ornamental, overwrought writing. Also I'm laughing at him calling a spoilt 14 year-old 'a born anarchist'. I don't know, he might have been a born anarchist but he might also be a teenager with a seemingly infinite supply of wealth and bodies and nobody to tell him 'no'. Some interesting assertions were put forward by the author but he was also committed into an asylum a couple of years later so it may be the ramblings of a madman, which I would enjoy, with my various mental illnesses and developmental disorders, but the structure is just so bad. He spends more than half the book waxing over the history and setting and various side-characters; once in a while we meet our protagonist, but it's followed by paragraphs upon paragraphs about his mother or grandmother or aunts, and then about anarchy or phallic symbolism, then oops we must go back to our protagonist who was forgotten about. Absolute terrible pacing.

julienligne4's review against another edition

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5.0

Positively insane
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