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48th out of 398 books
—
772 voters
Trickster Makes This World: Mischief, Myth, and Art
by
Lewis Hyde (Goodreads Author)
Trickster Makes This World solidifies Lewis Hyde's reputation as, in Robert Bly's words, "the most subtle, thorough, and brilliant mythologist we now have." In it, Hyde now brings to life the playful and disruptive side of human imagination as it is embodied in trickster mythology. He first revisits the old stories--Hermes in Greece, Eshu in West Africa, Krishna in India,...more
Paperback, 432 pages
Published
February 16th 1999
by North Point Press
(first published 1997)
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Hyde is a freewheeling scholar and thinker. He collects trickster myths from various cultures—Native American, African, Greek, Norse, Chinese—and compares them to the work and art of Carl Jung, John Cage, Marcel Duchamp, Frederick Douglas, Allen Ginsberg, Maxine Kingston, to name a few. He can be very personable, relating his dream or a hitchhiking story, and very erudite, geeking out on the paradoxes of lies and truth, the sacred and the profane, appetite and immortality, cunning and chance, to...more
This is the sorta book you always wish you were able to write. It's thick, learned, full of digressions and personal asides, and the dude even translates the Homeric Hymn to Hermes (say it fast, I dare ya) out of Greek himself. I doubt it's for everyone. The pace can be a tad pokey; I recommend reading a chapter at a time and then setting the tome aside for a bit. Also, I suspect some of the personal stories can come off as self-indulgent. And let's face it, Hyde is an academic, though this book...more
5 likes · like · see review
If Neil Gaiman and Michael Chabon haven't read this book and borrowed concepts liberally, then they are operating in a parallel universe, mining the same sources. It's a rich and deep vein.
Hyde rambles through the many ways Trickster figures influence human thought and action. The idea of the disruptive as necessary, even sacred, to life, has wide distribution. "...the origins, liveliness, and durability of cultures require that there be space for figures whose function is to uncover and disrupt...more
Hyde rambles through the many ways Trickster figures influence human thought and action. The idea of the disruptive as necessary, even sacred, to life, has wide distribution. "...the origins, liveliness, and durability of cultures require that there be space for figures whose function is to uncover and disrupt...more
It's taken me about a year to read this, in part because it got packed up in a box while I was living elsewhere, and partly because Hyde doesn't have the most fluid writing style, at least not consistently.
This is an interesting book, and the analysis he provides on the multiple Trickster mythologies of the world are well thought out and well presented, although I'm not entirely sure how much is his work and how much is him re-presenting the work of others; there are an awful lot of pieces where...more
This is an interesting book, and the analysis he provides on the multiple Trickster mythologies of the world are well thought out and well presented, although I'm not entirely sure how much is his work and how much is him re-presenting the work of others; there are an awful lot of pieces where...more
An ecclectic and highly erudite mixture of anthropology, mythology and literary theory creates a vision of the world in which those of liminal status living at the edges of acceptable society are recognised as, in fact, essential to the creation of culture and art in all societies: travellers, those who speak several languages, people who belong to many societies and none at the same time. It is an ode to the borders, frontiers, edges of social life, doorways in which humans are free to go a lit...more
By far my favorite non-fiction book. The power of the book lies in its ability to explain the enduring presence of trickster myths across a number of different cultures by connecting tricksters with the impulse of artistic creation. By relating tricksters to real-life artists, Hyde demonstrates the relevance of ancient myths to the modern world. The book is elegantly written, compelling, and a pleasure to read. I was awestruck the first time I read it.
There are some absolute gems in the course of the book, some passages and ideas I read several times over because they were so compelling and offered so much creative potential. But there were also long sections that felt repetitive and disconnected —sometimes because I wasn't familiar with a story being taken for granted as common knowledge among readers, but other times because new directions were suddenly taken without clear transitions or context. The book often felt more like a notebook tha...more
Trickster Makes This World starts great, spinning out some of the implications of various Trickster myths, and linking the Trickster archetype to a whole range of folk stories: Coyote, Hermes, Loki, Prometheus, and eventually, Alan Ginsberg, Frederick Douglass, Krishna, and many others. Hyde draws out the subtleties of Trickster's methods and effects, and it makes for entertaining and thought-provoking reading. Unfortunately, the basic messages of transgression, boundary-crossing, marginalizatio...more
This Book is very close to providing a grand unifying theory for story, mythos, and perhaps all of literature for Western culture.
Back in high school we were taught about the theory of story inatl boiling down to some form of conflict: man versus man, man versus the world, man versus himself. But after this book I wasn't convinced of that anymore
After this book, it makes more sense to me, that all story is really about Trickster andTtrickster bringing two worlds together in order to serve hims...more
Back in high school we were taught about the theory of story inatl boiling down to some form of conflict: man versus man, man versus the world, man versus himself. But after this book I wasn't convinced of that anymore
After this book, it makes more sense to me, that all story is really about Trickster andTtrickster bringing two worlds together in order to serve hims...more
This book is really in a a category by itself. The author explores the connections among "mischief, myth and art" and... us. Lots to think about as you read it and then you would want to read it again. It is somewhat dry but the ideas presented: how sweeping changes take place in culture, among the gods and how human beings (or trickster: coyote, raven, Hermes, The Monkey King, etc.) create story and thus meaning which then becomes the basis for roles and rules in society enforced by mechanisms...more
I've been interested in the trickster figure for years, as a figure that repeatedly seems to appear in the books I read, but always on the margins. This book should be the go to source for anyone interested in the trickster, or even mythology in general. The explorations of appetite and luck, in particular, were very well done.
It does seem more dated than a book written in the late nineties should, for some reason I can't quite pin down. And I wanted a more literary focus- when Hyde started in...more
It does seem more dated than a book written in the late nineties should, for some reason I can't quite pin down. And I wanted a more literary focus- when Hyde started in...more
A must for any early childhood educator - especially if you've ever struggled to convey the importance of certain aspects of play to a disbelieving parent who sees everything through the lens of "ought". Erudite, well-written, easy to read, very detailed. I'm going to have to say I agree with this review though, in that it does at times seem "repetitive and disconnected" - as though it needed one more edit, or perhaps one less... it read as though more colour in the material were present, withou...more
This is a great book on the history of the trickster figure in different mythologies and the cultural role that this particular figures identity plays in our culture both historically and in modernity. Hyde tells a few stories, and in doing so explains societies need for a figure that operates in the crease to trick us out of what we think we know and therefore further expand knowing oursleves. This is a pretty quick read, very well written and topically keeps you heading into the next chapter w...more
This book took me a rather long time to read - partially because I started driving to work and lost my train reading time, and partially because it was particularly chewy!
Hyde brings together quite a collection of thoughts, stories and other information about Trickster Gods, their stories and their role in society and the shaping of our world. I particularly enjoyed his discussion of modern people and how they at times took on the Trickster archetype to change their world. The most notable examp...more
Hyde brings together quite a collection of thoughts, stories and other information about Trickster Gods, their stories and their role in society and the shaping of our world. I particularly enjoyed his discussion of modern people and how they at times took on the Trickster archetype to change their world. The most notable examp...more
I started this book almost a year ago and kept returning to it in-between other reads, as it is sometimes dense and academic, so I'd read a section and then let myself reflect on it a while before picking it up again. Hyde is a wonderful writer, mixing spot-on interpretations of mythology, personal anecdote and analysis of contemporary artists, such as Marcel Duchamp, Allen Ginsberg and Maxine Hong Kingston, to posit how these transgressive figures work the same way that "trickster" figures work...more
Oct 24, 2009
Jeff Van Campen
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
anyone who loves a good story and the story behind the story.
Shelves:
religion,
anthropology
I've always had a bit of a thing for tricksters. My favorite Greek myths always seem to involve Hermes, and I love a good coyote tale.
Trickster Makes This World is an excellent study that tries to get to the bottom of what makes trickster figures so fascinating.
It is excellently researched and well constructed. Lewis Hyde takes us through the various aspects of trickster and explores each of these aspects in depth. In each case it is a fascinating, wide-ranging discussion. Hyde has put together...more
Trickster Makes This World is an excellent study that tries to get to the bottom of what makes trickster figures so fascinating.
It is excellently researched and well constructed. Lewis Hyde takes us through the various aspects of trickster and explores each of these aspects in depth. In each case it is a fascinating, wide-ranging discussion. Hyde has put together...more
I know academic books are meant to be a bit dry, perhaps overworded, and come to conclusions that are once obvious but they take to be some profound conclusion. But also that said, academic writers will come up with some interesting concepts that get you thinking about the shape of reality. The real problem with this book for me was that for the concept of it: tricksters and comparing them to modern artists/orators, it didn't meet it in style or content. Hyde repeats a lot of ideas that remain b...more
I reread this book in Spring 2010. This is a very good book as a description of the trickster tales, how tricksters work in ancient myths and legends, and how their particular characteristics can be read in modern and contemporary authors. I was less enthralled by the contemporary discussions, though he does score some points with his discussions of Frederick Douglass. However, Hyde is at his best when discussing the ancient stories and myths, particulary Hermes and Coyote.
I had to read this book for my Communication Ethics class. You need to be really concentrated on the reading because talks about philosophy, with a lot of metaphors. However, it taught me to see the world with my third eye that is my mind. Society often blocks what you really want to see in the world and also set to us tricksters. Tricksters are "tricks" that does not let us see how things really are or we imagine how they are supposed to be.
Super thoughtfulness reading.
Super thoughtfulness reading.
I'm tempted to bring up Isaiah Berlin's old chestnut about hedgehogs and foxes: Hyde is definitely a fox (or perhaps, given the subject matter, a coyote). He approaches the trickster figure common to many cultures (the Greek Hermes, the Norse Loki, the Yoruba Eshu, the American Indian Coyote and Raven, among others) from so many angles - historical, mythological, poetic, scientific - that that it can become a bit much at times, and his occasionally free-form approach to his material can make it...more
This was a bother to me, the book- the main focus of the book. I wanted to learn about all the major tricksters. What I got was how they are all like Hermes. Hermes. Hermes. Hermes. And how Frederick Douglass was a lot like who? Don't hold your breath- Hermes.
The author did have some really interesting points about Trickster, but they were tiny morsels for a person who wanted to glut.
The author did have some really interesting points about Trickster, but they were tiny morsels for a person who wanted to glut.
An exhaustive look at the trickster figure in mythology and how it manifests itself in some of the most impressive contemporary artists throughout the world. long winded at times (think grad school thesis verbose) but definately worth the time. He passionately endorses the trickster's mischievous dichotomy in daily life as necessary for our survival.
I'm still chewing over this one. A very worthwhile read, though I found myself far less interested in Hyde's discussion of art and artists than his examination of myth and myth-making itself. (The effort wasn't flawed, and I see the argument he's making, but I think it's not particularly an angle that moves me like the storytelling does.)
I picked up this book expecting some fairly academic cross-cultural analysis of the trickster archetype and its role in disrupting/enlivening/confounding culture. What I was not expecting was a very passionate paen to the mercurial trickster mind that is alive and available to all of us in daily life. I think everyone should read this book -- it's fundamentally about the joy of intelligence, chance, art, and their collisions.
Hyde is an occasional poet and there is the drumbeat of a manifesto un...more
Hyde is an occasional poet and there is the drumbeat of a manifesto un...more
I read this before I started joe Campbell's hero with a thousand faces so it blew my mind. Hyde cites multiple examples of trickster characters in different cultures, discusses the social function of tricksters (keep societies flexible and able to adapt), and shows how artists serve a trickster role in society.
Like " Lipstick Traces", epic, grand its purpose is too big for mere form: it operates as If Loki were writing then Raven interrupts him to tell a story, ad absurdum . And , it works as a calm magic . Hyde makes me look at my place in the world with fresh eyes.
artists and writers inevitably find themselves to various degrees described in this amazing piece of work by hyde - aren't we all tricksters on some scale or another. a very instructive book into the development of human creativity and social change..
This book is amazing. Totally changed my view on classical/modern/multi-cultural mythology and the theory of archetypes. Actually, this book pretty much changed my outlook on everything. Long live the trickster, who really does make this world :)
If you like the work of Campbell and Cousineau you will enjoy Hyde's as well. His comparison of ancient myths from many cultures to the modern world is intriguing and eye-opening. His book is a good mind-stretcher, and I highly recommend it!
So, I really want to like this book, but I have abandoned it midway through and read two other books in the interim. The pace is really slow. Trickster shouldn't feel bad though - I abandoned the gardening book I am in the middle of too (winter isn't very inspirational for this). I'll get back to both of them.
If you like Joseph Campbell's writing on mythology, you will like this book too. It has the same sense of expansiveness.
Lewis, I confess, I left you, Eshe, Raven, and Kokopelli too, returne...more
If you like Joseph Campbell's writing on mythology, you will like this book too. It has the same sense of expansiveness.
Lewis, I confess, I left you, Eshe, Raven, and Kokopelli too, returne...more
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“Better to operate with detachment, then; better to have a way but infuse it with a little humor; best, to have no way at all but to have instead the wit constantly to make one's way anew from the materials at hand.”
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Jan 12, 2011 06:19pm