The Accidental Indies

by Robert Finley

It is a journey through wondrous words that begins with Columbus's earliest explorations when he first "tests the heft and roundness of this earth against his infant head" by stepping from the edge of his rocking cradle to come up short on the boards of the nursery floor. Finley charts a course for us through the days at sea, through the voyage itself, its records and commentaries, into the fraught territory of Columbus' imaginary "Indies" and the representation of this New World on his return to Spain. This incisive and luminescent story, scrupulously grounded in sixteenth-century sources, illuminates the power that "naming" has to create a world - in this case a world still haunted by being the accidental Indies. It is a book about how we perceive and represent the world around us, about the creative and destructive power of language. Through its elaboration of the rich and lively ironies of the Columbus story, The Accidental Indies looks at the nature of storytelling itself.

Genres: Fiction

128 pages, Hardcover

First published May 31, 2000

Reviews

[Alina Stepan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cautam o carte mica, sa incapa in geanta, sa pot citi in metrou. Criterii putine si excesiv de pragmatice. Nu stiu nici acum cine mi-a pus aceasta carte in biblioteca, pe un raft de sus, nevazuta, nestiuta.
Micuta pe toate dimensiunile, cu o coperta lucioasa, cu un titlu minunat, relateaza prima calatorie a lui Columb in America (India accidentala), insa nu oricum: e un poem in proza, cu o putere de sugestie fabuloasa, cu imagini zugravite atat de aievea incat le poti atinge.

[Elena Traduzioni Oceano Mare · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brilliant!

[Heep · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a short and poetic retelling of Columbus' first voyage. The writing is absolutely first rate. I expect that it will permanently recast my appreciation of Columbus, although it is essentially imaginary.

[Felipe Álvarez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excelente lectura para los amantes de la navegación. Finley emplea el léxico y la gramática de un modo sublime, sumado a lo melvilliano de algunas entradas de diario como elección narrativa. Es corto pero denso, como lo profundo del oceanom

[Ashleigh · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have mixed feelings on this book. This book has beautiful writing but and this feels somewhat like I'm being a hypocrite but sometimes it felt like it took too long to get to the point. For only being a little over 100 pages at times it dragged for me.

[Katie]

I can’t believe this 128-page book is going on the Unfinishable shelf. But there we are.

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful