Daniel Grünfeld

Timeo Elena et dona Ferrante

Revisado: 01-10-21

Con profondo rispetto per Marisa Tomei, che offre una lettura raffinata, mi sono ritrovata a desiderare la consegna stagionata di Hillary Huber che ora è impressa nella mia psiche come alter ego in lingua inglese di Elena Ferrante. Questo libro è un altro viaggio straordinario attraverso la palla di fuoco del trauma dell'ingresso di una ragazza nell'adolescenza, questa volta in una famiglia tipicamente borghese napoletana. Intrecciata nella magia narrativa ormai familiare e abilmente discreta di Elena Ferrante, c'è una nuova voce non testata. Un'angoscia sconosciuta e un'alienazione generazionalmente nuova, più enigmatica, hanno condito l'ultimo romanzo di Ferrante. Rivisita le lotte femminili, fisiche, sociali, sessuali, politiche ed emotive, con colpi di scena inaspettati, come il limone in salsa di salmone mediterraneo, di teologia, religione e ... sì, gioielli. Eppure lascia anche il lettore più fedele sia affamato di più sia un po 'di vergogna di quella fame, essendo insoddisfatto della fine delicatamente violenta di questo piccolo libro abilmente, intenzionalmente goffo ma coinvolgente e allettante.

With deep respect for Marisa Tomei, who offers a refined reading, I found myself longing for the seasoned delivery of Hillary Huber who is now etched in my psyche as Elena Ferrante's English language alter ego. This book is another extraordinary journey through the fireball of trauma of a child’s entry into adolescence, this time in a distinctively middle-class Neapolitan family. Woven into Elena Ferrante's now familiar and skilfully discreet narrative magic, there is a new untested voice. An unknown anguish and a generationally new, more enigmatic, alienation have spiced the latest novel by Ferrante. She revisits the female, physical, social, sexual, political and emotional struggles, with unexpected twists, like the lemon in a Mediterranean salmon sauce, of theology, religion and ... yes, jewelery. Yet it leaves even the most faithful reader both hungry for more and a little ashamed of that hunger, being dissatisfied with the delicately violent end of this cleverly, intentionally clunky but engaging and enticing little book.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 2 personas

A Masterpiece of 21st Century History

Revisado: 09-18-19

I first read The Orpheus Clock shortly after reading The Hare With Amber Eyes and recently re-read both. Although both are extraordinary and essential works of art and research in their own right, they are also major literary accomplishments in what has almost become a modern literary genre, the personal documentation of evidence of family trauma, history and discovery. This genre is not for the faint of heart, neither in the reader nor the writer. The volume and meticulousness of the research and the evidentiary standards, the cross referencing, the profundity of the psychological insights, the integrity of the first person narrative, are formidable.

The exquisite prose of Simon Goodman's painstakingly detailed narrative of his personal and historic journey to uncover one of the greatest scandals of the twentieth and twenty-first century is always thorough, dramatic, colourful and rich and never dull. It resonates with the warmth of the characters, the luxury and grandiosity of the wealth and art works of its subjects. As the events unfold, Goodman bears witness to the unparalleled brutality, systemic corruption and criminality that continued not only unpunished but most profitably, for the perpetrators, at the highest levels of the art world, in the justice systems and the halls of government, commerce and high finance, decades after the Holocaust and the end of the second world war. This is a book that should be required reading in every advanced history and art history class in Europe and the Americas.

I very much enjoyed Derek Perkins’s recording of The Orpheus Clock. Obviously, the reading and interpretation were immaculate. But I am also especially grateful for his pronunciation of Dutch, French, German, Italian and other non-English names, words and expressions, which was consistently precise and, as far as I know, correct. This is a refreshing change from the majority of English and American recordings. It is very distracting to hear such recordings routinely screw up anything that is not commonplace in the English language. It would have ruined any recording of The Orpheus Clock, in particular, because so much of the book involves details of international travel and research. So, I commend Derek Perkins’s work, at the highest level.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 2 personas

Un capolavoro di scrittura moderna

Revisado: 03-27-19

Come scrittore e insegnante, avendo curato due romanzi eccezionalmente ben realizzati per la pubblicazione nell'ultimo anno, sono gratificato e incoraggiato a leggere questo straordinario secondo romanzo della serie napoletana di Ferrante. La classica semplicità della narrativa di Ferrante è un elegante veicolo per una incomparabilmente ricca e complessa cronaca psicologica, politica, emotiva dell'Europa nella seconda metà del XX secolo. Non vedo l'ora di leggerlo ancora e ancora - e il prossimo. Ferrante come Elena Greco, il suo alter-ego immaginario, è un tesoro.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña