D.S.'s review
The Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge
by Rainer Maria Rilke
D.S.'s review
The Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge by Rainer Maria Rilke
D.S.'s review
rating:
I read the version with an introduction written by William Gass and translation by Stephen Mitchell. Gass writes, "Rilke is not Malte, but Malte is Rilke." It is important to keep this in mind when wandering around the Paris streets with Malte, a young Danish nobleman who has left his family home in favor of the life of a romantic poet and who suffers from fits of remembrance. He also suffers from an acute anxiety caused in the search for the love that gives of itself. Although written without chapters, this book could be divided into two halves. The first is existential/mystical prose of the highest degree and the second is brilliant storytelling (as a result of meticulous historical research on the part of Rilke). Be sure to read the notes in the back, as they enhance the tale and illuminate the genius behind the work.
