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The More I Owe You
In this mesmerizing debut novel, Michael Sledge creates an intimate portrait of the beloved poet Elizabeth Bishop — of her life in Brazil and her relationship with her lover, the dazzling, aristocratic Lota de Macedo Soares. Sledge artfully draws from Bishop’s lifelong correspondences and biography to imagine the poet’s intensely private world, revealing the literary geniu...more
Paperback, 320 pages
Published
May 25th 2010
by Counterpoint
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The title of this book comes from a lines by a Portuguese poet--“The more I pay you, the more I owe you.” It’s not addressed to a credit card company; it’s about emotion, attachment, love and lives lived fully, flaws and all. I wouldn’t call this novel a love story, though, because that might suggest a too-familiar pattern
I suppose you might (perhaps unjustly) call it a fictionalized biography of American poet Elizabeth Bishop. Many of the characters go by their names in life, I’m guessing all...more
I suppose you might (perhaps unjustly) call it a fictionalized biography of American poet Elizabeth Bishop. Many of the characters go by their names in life, I’m guessing all...more
Michael Sledge produced a brilliant first half of this book... in particular the feel and essence of Brazil as well as an introduction to Elizabeth Bishop. I'm inspired to find her poetry to read.
I was less enthusiastic about the latter part of the book... not sure if it was me or the book. I thought it lost steam when it got so involved with Brazilian politics, or maybe I've just had my fill of politics recently.
I was less enthusiastic about the latter part of the book... not sure if it was me or the book. I thought it lost steam when it got so involved with Brazilian politics, or maybe I've just had my fill of politics recently.
This carefully researched novelization of the life of the poet Elizabeth Bishop and her time with Lota Soares in Brazil paints an intimate portrait of the two women and their obsessions, passions, and emotional challenges. While their passion for each other was unmistakable, their different interests and perspectives constantly pulled at them. From Elizabeth's health issues and alcoholism, to Lota's strong political leanings, we see a relationship drawn to the brink, but pulled back together, al...more
i loved this. stayed up all night reading even though i was suffering from jet lag in a hotel in amsterdam: i haven't loved a new novel in quite some time. set in brazil 1950's-70's -- beautiful imagery, believable relationship(s) and an exploration of poetry through the eyes of the poet.
Fictionalized version of Elizabeth Bishop's life. Completely convincing. Very readable. Is sending me back to the poems. My only objection was that occasionally the author would stop the forward movement of the narrative and jump way ahead and tell us what happens years later. Those interruptions took me right out of the illusion of fiction. But I'm going to forgive Sledge for that as everything else was so terrific.
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Elizabeth Bishop was an American poet who, in 1951, went to Brazil on holiday and proceeded to stay for 15 years in a tumultuous relationship with Lota de Macedo Soares, an aristocratic and artistic powerhouse. This book is a novel about their relationship and Bishop's life in Brazil. It's very well written and I believe (after reading some biographical material) very true to actual events. It made we want to bo to Brazil in the worst way.
The writing in this novel is as gorgeous and complex as both its setting and main character. Delicious and dreamy, difficult and deadly, the story of Elizabeth Bishop's time with the love of her life in a world far from her own is simple, enticing and inexorable. It is the story of life, the constant battle for self and sanity and the occasional brilliant moment of peace that makes it all seem worth it.
An immensely fun (though tragic) and often moving novel about the life of Elizabeth Bishop and in particular, her years in Brazil with Lota. I was especially drawn to the way Sledge shows Bishop constructing an "ordinary" life (which is all but ordinary!) --with children and animals, the politics of Brazil, friendship, cooking.... There, she is a poet largely outside the American culture of "bustle and sell," writing few poems a year, not given to readings and conferences and the 21st century li...more
Excellent fiction book that beautifully tells the story of real life poet Elizabeth Bishop. Easy to read. Could relate to the character.
Novel, but it feels like an intimate portrait of E. Bishop's story. If you loved Words In Air, you'll love this, and vice versa.
Sledge uses Elizabeth Bishop's 17 or so years in Brazil as the basis of his novel -- effective and moving.
Loved the emotional honesty, not easy to do.... Hated that the future was continuously revealed too early.
I had never heard of Elizabeth Bishop before and have requested another book about her from library. The story was not one of those oh I just can't put this down now, but it was well written and interesting. If you like biographies and historical fiction try this it is kind of a mix of both.
a great book on the complexities of relationships
I love Bishop's poems..
First of all, right off the bat, I gotta say, for two women that obviously made enough impact on the world in the 1950s to go down in history and even have a novel written about their romance, they sure did live very dull lives. (That's if this book is anything to go by.)
For full review and pictures, click the following link:
http://wwwbookbabe.blogspot.com/2010/...
For full review and pictures, click the following link:
http://wwwbookbabe.blogspot.com/2010/...
Dec 03, 2010
Featherbooks
marked it as to-read
·
review of another edition
Recommended to Featherbooks by:
Mark
Elizabeth: "If you watch any Brazilian man for five minutes, you'll see him scratching and adjusting himself. It's as if they're constantly arranging flowers in a vase."
Lota: "Those aren't flowers. Those are the jewells of Brazil! If they didn't keep grabbing their balls, they'd forget they were men. That's the problem with this country: The men have to keep reminding themselves they are men, and the women are even worse. They have no balls, either!"
Lota: "Those aren't flowers. Those are the jewells of Brazil! If they didn't keep grabbing their balls, they'd forget they were men. That's the problem with this country: The men have to keep reminding themselves they are men, and the women are even worse. They have no balls, either!"
Really beautifully written.
I was so excited about this and it's a great concept but unfortunately the writing is not so hot. How do you make Elizabeth Bishop into a leaden, boring character? It's possible, apparently.
I didn't finish this, I read about half, but I'm just going to mark this as read anyway.
I didn't finish this, I read about half, but I'm just going to mark this as read anyway.
A diverting read for fans of Bishop, though I did find myself thinking, "Boy, he certainly is making up a LOT of stuff about someone who was actually a real person."
From Kimberly Burns on FB
Jun 15, 2013
Santina
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May 18, 2013
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May 05, 2013
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May 03, 2013
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Sonia
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