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119th out of 393 books
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Death in Spring
Considered by many to be the grand achievement of her later period, Death in Spring is one of Merce Rodoreda's most complex and beautifully constructed works. The novel tells the story of the bizarre and destructive customs of a nameless town--burying the dead in trees after filling their mouths with cement to prevent their soul from escaping, or sending a man to swim in t...more
Hardcover, 150 pages
Published
May 30th 2009
by Open Letter Books; Univ of Nebraska Press
(first published May 30th 1986)
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This is a hard book for me to review. I enjoyed reading it, but it is all a little strange. I guess it could be considered an alternate reality -- one that is close to our reality. I have no doubt that Rodoreda was saying something larger than the story, but, unfortunately, without clues, I have been unable to grasp what that is. The back cover says it could be a metaphor to Franco's Spain. I suspect that someone with more knowledge of Spanish history, particularly in the last century, would be ...more
If this book was as good as the cover it would be a five star book. The cover is great, the little image here doesn't do it justice, but like most of the Open Letter books this book looks awesome.
What's inside the book is just fine. I thought maybe as a short story it would have better than as a 150 page novel, but I think a lot of the 'meaning' behind the book was missed on me. Why? Because I'm a dumb American who knows painfully little about other places in the world aside fr...more
What's inside the book is just fine. I thought maybe as a short story it would have better than as a 150 page novel, but I think a lot of the 'meaning' behind the book was missed on me. Why? Because I'm a dumb American who knows painfully little about other places in the world aside fr...more
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this book fascinated me; at the same time, i took little joy in reading it. i don't know a great deal about spanish literature beyond cervantes, i am ashamed to admit. i'd like to learn more about rodoreda's context. anyone want to help me out?
the back cover info compares the premise to that of shirley jackson's "the lottery," a persuasive comparison, though this book extends that sort of scenario to novel length in interesting and horrifying ways.
the prose has a way of l...more
the back cover info compares the premise to that of shirley jackson's "the lottery," a persuasive comparison, though this book extends that sort of scenario to novel length in interesting and horrifying ways.
the prose has a way of l...more
A fascinating book, poetic, resistant, insinuating — I think it'll be haunting me for quite a while. The narrative is dreamy, slow though given to violent articulation points. The reader has to do a little probing to dig out any "story" in the conventional sense, but it's there. The visual imagery is colorful and rich, the characters vague in outline but vivid in impact. I suppose Rodoreda stands somewhere between Virginia Woolf and Italo Calvino; if you like either of them, you might ...more
I think, that this story, is supposed to be an allegory for Fascist Spain. Regardless, it's about a young man, growing up somewhere beautiful and totally fucked, where people eat horse fat and stuff people full of cement so their soul can't escape. What. Seriously, though, it's as beautiful as it is really creepy and strange. Sort of if Guillermo del Toro were a writer instead of a filmmaker, and used more magical realism, and less wonderland.
A philosophical novel that explores a unique perspective on life and death as a boy passes through the rituals of becoming an adult. The novel is both disturbing and enlightening, making the reader reflect on the role of living while you are alive. There is also discussion about deformity and prejudice, imprisonment and humanity, community and conformity. A great book, highly recommended!
This has been one of the strangest and most terrifyingly gruesome reading experiences I've ever had. It's a dystopian tale of a 14-year old boy having an affair with his childlike and young stepmother who witness many brutalities and rituals of sacrifice and senseless death that takes place in an unnamed town. Rodoreda's writing is merciless and spare, yet hauntingly gorgeous that will linger.
Pensaba que seria dificil trobar una novela de Rodoreda que m'agradés més que "La Plaça del Diamant" però vaig topar amb aquesta maravella, aquesta joia literària. Encara en recordo parts de la novela i el maravellòs estil de Rodoreda.
I thought that this was better than it was when I picked this up at the library. I judge the book by the cover and what I've read on the book. It was kind of weird even for me. I didn't understand why the village people did what they do in this story. If this was a movie at a movie theater, I would have left it.
A strange, dark little book about a sort of fantasy town by a river, ruled by cult-like rituals and dark traditions. Reminded me a bit of "Wicker Man" or "The Lottery". Rodoreda's writing is complex and circular, but great, and she paints an interesting, albeit bleak and dark, picture of a society ruled by arbitrary tradition and violence.
great book in the tradition of rikki ducornet or zoran zivkovic, a perfectly believable world of such sick and ghastly traditions and "rules" that we are horrified and cannot stop looking. some readers wonder if this book is a commentary on franco dictatorship and spain's and Catalunya's arcane and twisted traditions. yes, i think it is.
Sessily
added it
Death in Spring starts out strong. In the first part, we are introduced to the narrator as he wanders around his village and witnesses a surreal and violent ritual--one of the many such rituals that form the customs of the village. The violence of the event is strong contrasted with the beautiful descriptions of a summer afternoon--bees buzzing around in the heat, the trees rising overhead. Unfortunately, as the rest of the novel delves further into surrealism and makes some attempts at a plot, ...more
An amazing fever dream of a novel
Grimmer than the grimmest Grimm.
Absolutely beautiful, while still incredibly haunting & creepy. Reminded me of Marquez's use of magical realism and language, which is good, since I read the book pretty entirely based on his blurb.
So dark and so grotesque, but also strangely beautiful?
I really couldn't get into this book at all. Way too allegorical and no interesting story. If you want to read a great book by a Catalan woman, I thought "Nada" was really good.
I will never view Wisteria in the same way. This book balances an bizare almost unreadable story with beautifully descriptive language and floral observation. Its imaginative qualities makes it prime for allegories of many different sorts.
I really really really hated this book. Beyond bizarre, unhappy, dark, unclear and depressing. Someone please explain it to me.
Maybe the correct word is haunting. Rodoreda has a way of making bizarre social rituals seem inevitable, alien and familiar all at once. She describes a world armed against natural human inclinations that is severe and frightening, and yet somehow manages to keep it accessible.
Anyways. I highly recommend.
Anyways. I highly recommend.
An interesting book. I'm pretty fascinated by the culture the author comes from. Some of the ideas and imagery in this story were completely fascinating. Overall I got a little bored towards the end.
I can't see teaching this.
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Mercè Rodoreda i Gurguí was a Spanish / Catalan novelist.
She is considered by many to be the most important Catalan novelist of the postwar period. Her novel "La plaça del diamant" ('The diamond square', translated as 'The Time of the Doves', 1962) has become the most acclaimed Catalan novel of all time and since the year it was published for the first time, it has been trans...more
More about Mercè Rodoreda...
She is considered by many to be the most important Catalan novelist of the postwar period. Her novel "La plaça del diamant" ('The diamond square', translated as 'The Time of the Doves', 1962) has become the most acclaimed Catalan novel of all time and since the year it was published for the first time, it has been trans...more
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