Aime Cesaire's masterpiece, Notebook of a Return to the Native Land, is a work of immense cultural significance and beauty. The long poem was the b...
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Nov 25, 2011
Craig
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One of the founding texts of the Negritude movement--the Caribbean iteration of the Harlem Renaissance--Cesaire's hybrid book combines essay, memoir and poetry. It's very much of its moment, a time defined by the seemingly intractable Jim Crow segregation in the U.S. and of not-yet-collapsing colonialism in most of the rest of the world. Cesaire was influenced by the French avant-garde which he encountered as a student in France, and it shows in the way he relies on images to carry meaning. B
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Oct 12, 2009
meeners
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I would rediscover the secret of great communications and great combustions. I would say storm. I would say river. I would say tornado. I would say leaf. I would say tree. I would be drenched by all rains, moistened by all dews. I would roll like frenetic blood on the slow current of the eye of words turned into mad horses into fresh children into clots into curfew into vestiges of temples into precious stones remote enough to discourage miners. Whoever would not understand me would not
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Jul 26, 2007
Aberjhani
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aime cesaire s return to my native land, one of the great prose-poetry works of the twentieth century, was parented by not one but three literary movements: the negritude movement, the harlem renaissance, and french surrealism. the book s very rich suffusion of cultural and political nuances may be attributed to the harlem renaissance and the negritude movement while its linguistic dexterity and philosophical daring would have to acknowledge some allegiance to french surrealism. the resu
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Aug 28, 2009
jeff
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Interesting, but not outstanding. I appreciate it as an excellent example of capital-S Surrealism (especially with the breathless piling on of images in the third, and most interesting, part), but, as with a lot of surrealism, the emotional core has a hard time shining through the visuals. It does make me want to read a little more on negritude, tho.
Aug 03, 2011
Jana
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I had a class on Aimé Césaire at university years ago. I remember that reading Cahier d'un retour au pays natal was so difficult, but absolutely worthwhile. I think I spent more time preparing for this class than for any of the other ones that year (well, probaly with the exception of Latin...if I happened to take both classes the same semester...I really don't remember). That must have been the single most interesting class I had in French studies, not for any intersting discussions or analyses
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Apr 30, 2011
John
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An extended poem by Cesaire, who was a founder of the Negritude art movement, on the necessity of reviving a pride in blackness. Interesting at parts, especially his diction, which tends to include obscure biological terms and to regularly coin new phrases.
Feb 05, 2012
From one of the book boxes that Moem sent to me.
This one I will not read. When there's a person requesting it, it'll be travelling on.
This one I will not read. When there's a person requesting it, it'll be travelling on.
Mar 10, 2010
Zachary
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One of the absolute greatest long poems I've ever read. And, of course, one of the weirdest. I will soon re-read it again, and again.
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Mar 28, 2011
Alex
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the words sound beautiful even when they describe horrible things but rather difficult vocabulary
Jul 17, 2010
Eric
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Aug 03, 2011
Julia
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The vocabulary is never easy with Cesaire and "Cahier" is no exception. I bartered for my copy at Marse Sandaga in Dakar, but would have been better to pick up a marked copy from a student. All the same, this oeuvre is lovely and worth scouring with a dictionary. C'est trop beau et surtout trop important a manquer.
Dec 17, 2009
Stephanie
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Maybe I just like to hate on Surrealism, but when you have to wade through heaps of images and phrases to get at the goods of a piece, it feels like a waste of time. I understand Césaire is a major figure in literature and politics, but he makes us go through a lot of crap to get to his revolutionary ideas.
Jul 06, 2010
Chanté
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Cesaire's haunting poetry is raw and gritty, the pain of his work transcends place and time.
May 18, 2009
John
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I found it useful, if not productive, to read Breton's Introduction--if not Cesaire's work (in French, _maybe_)--alongside the first chapter of Fanon's BLACK SKIN, WHITE MASKS titled "The Black Man and Language."
Jun 06, 2010
Jim
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a sacred cow not without its literary merits, a bout de matin, impressive in its sustained momentum considering all the baggage it's carrying, an artifact that brings one back.
Feb 19, 2008
Tara
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This blew me away. It's inspiring because Cesaire basically says Eff-you to genre and writes this brilliant political manifesto... artfully and intelligently.
Jan 29, 2012
Penina
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Ce que Jean Toomer a pu faire avec "Cane", Cesaire a reussi fabuleusementavec "cahier". "Cahier" examine la vie, le present, l'avenir et bien sure le passer.
Aug 03, 2011
Will
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En englais, "Notebook of a Return to My Native Land". An eloquent African-Martinican politician meditates on his identity and his peoples.
Aug 03, 2011
Emily
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It's really cool to see what African Carribbeans think about their identity, as it relates to slavery, France, and Africa
Jun 06, 2008
Megan
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I can't say enough good things about this book...some of the most beautiful prose ever created.
Oct 15, 2008
Robyn
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Cesaire is basically a new favorite of mine...interesting, to say the least.
Feb 12, 2012
Feb 06, 2012
Feb 02, 2012
