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The Olive of Minerva Or the Comedy of a Cuckold
Hard cover
184 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1976
About the author
Edward Dahlberg
41 books24 followersHis first novel, Bottom Dogs, based on his childhood experiences at the orphanage and his travels in the American West, was published in London with an introduction by D. H. Lawrence. With his advance money, Dahlberg returned to New York City and resided in Greenwich Village. He visited Germany in 1933 and in reaction briefly joined the Communist Party, but left the Party by 1936. From the 1940s onwards, Dahlberg made his living as an author and also taught at various colleges and universities. In 1948, he taught briefly at the experimental Black Mountain College. He was replaced on the staff by his friend and fellow author, Charles Olson.
He was an expatriate writer of the 1920s, a proletarian novelist of the 1930s, a spokesman for a fundamental humanism in the 1940s. For a number of years, Dahlberg devoted himself to literary study. His extensive readings of the works of Dante, Shakespeare, Thoreau and many others resulted in a writing style quite different from the social realism that characterized his earlier writing.
He moved to the Danish island of Bornholm in 1955 while working on The Flea of Sodom. The Sorrows of Priapus was published in 1957, becoming his most successful book thus far. He later moved to Mallorca, while working on Because I Was Flesh, an autobiography which was published in 1964. During the 1960s and 1970s, he became quite prolific and further refined his unique style through the publication of poetry, autobiographical works, fiction and criticism.
He was an expatriate writer of the 1920s, a proletarian novelist of the 1930s, a spokesman for a fundamental humanism in the 1940s. For a number of years, Dahlberg devoted himself to literary study. His extensive readings of the works of Dante, Shakespeare, Thoreau and many others resulted in a writing style quite different from the social realism that characterized his earlier writing.
He moved to the Danish island of Bornholm in 1955 while working on The Flea of Sodom. The Sorrows of Priapus was published in 1957, becoming his most successful book thus far. He later moved to Mallorca, while working on Because I Was Flesh, an autobiography which was published in 1964. During the 1960s and 1970s, he became quite prolific and further refined his unique style through the publication of poetry, autobiographical works, fiction and criticism.
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April 16, 2015
Don Pablo Williams has suffered a stroke and is expected to die. The people of No Hay Nada flock to his bedside to grab hold of his immense riches and be mentioned in his testament. A number of shady characters, including a priest, a doctor, our narrator Abel, Doña Siegfrida, his wife, and Lais O'Shae (Lais is, of course, a hetaera from Ancient Greece (see also Theroux's 'Unholy Litany' in Darconville's Cat)), his virgin / amour / nurse / stoopid komik relief, perform a dance of wits and Witz.
They moan and meander, condemn and cackle, observe and absolve.
This is a very quick read: Most will get through the novel in about 90 minutes. But that is just on a superficial level, as Dahlberg spins a tale that could not be more dependent on Roman and Greek mythology, paired with a love for archaic language that borders on reliefing a masturbatory need.
Want to know if this is the right novel for you?
Please define the following; your knowledge will determine if this will be a pleasurable experience for you.
These are the first 8 pages. Later on, we'll encounter even more flowery language:
All of these picked randomly. I always hate reducing a book to its language and intertextuality; but there isn't much else to speak about. The so-called "Comedy" falls flat on both definitions: Neither are there that many comedic passages, nor does it end particularly well. I give it three stars only because that is my usual rating for reference material. Read at your own peril.
(I hope William O'Rourke won't liken me to "some drone of the academy suffering from terminal snit" who reviewed The Olive of Miverva for the NYT Book Review (Signs Of The Literary Times: Essays, Reviews, Profiles, 1970 1992, p. 11).
They moan and meander, condemn and cackle, observe and absolve.
This is a very quick read: Most will get through the novel in about 90 minutes. But that is just on a superficial level, as Dahlberg spins a tale that could not be more dependent on Roman and Greek mythology, paired with a love for archaic language that borders on reliefing a masturbatory need.
Want to know if this is the right novel for you?
Please define the following; your knowledge will determine if this will be a pleasurable experience for you.
Abel, Pleiades, Lethe, Limbo, Apollo, Sidon, Orphic womb, Leah, Hades, Moab, Paracelsian, Gehenna, Falangist, Tyrian.
Ephebe, nimbus, guerdon, vagaries, canorous, bungler, electrum portal, suppliant, bedlam, noddy, malaise, hornblende, feldspar, exsanguious, sirocco, jape, gorbellied, squab, imposthume, propina.
These are the first 8 pages. Later on, we'll encounter even more flowery language:
"I fear I'm being fled; I smell a gangrened quibble." (80)
"The greater part of your misogamy is venal; the other cause of your invective humbug is that you're a muggish homuncle who couldn't raise a flickering ember in a vagabond-laced mutton." (104)
"I forbid the moor, diarrhoeal Leandro, and criada Mercedes with the sardine mouth to attend my corse." (138)
All of these picked randomly. I always hate reducing a book to its language and intertextuality; but there isn't much else to speak about. The so-called "Comedy" falls flat on both definitions: Neither are there that many comedic passages, nor does it end particularly well. I give it three stars only because that is my usual rating for reference material. Read at your own peril.
(I hope William O'Rourke won't liken me to "some drone of the academy suffering from terminal snit" who reviewed The Olive of Miverva for the NYT Book Review (Signs Of The Literary Times: Essays, Reviews, Profiles, 1970 1992, p. 11).
Displaying 1 of 1 review