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Tormesli Lazarillo
XVI. yüzyıldaki ekonomik kriz sebebiyle İspanya'nın her köşesinde açlık ve sefalet kol gezmekteydi, bu durumun bir ahlaki çöküntüyü de beraberinde getirmesi kaçınılmazdı. İspanyol toplumundaki bu maddi ve manevi çöküntünün ortasında, 1554 senesinde, sonradan pikaresk roman adı verilecek olan yeni bir anlatı türünün ilk örneği olan Tormesli Lazarillo ortaya çıktı. Din adamlarının ahlaksızlıklarına bolca yer veren bu eser, engizisyonun hışmına uğramamak için imzasız olarak basıldı.
Sefiller, dilenciler, dolandırıcılar ve kimsesiz çocuklarla dolu bir dünyayı tüm çıplaklığıyla sergileyen Tormesli Lazarillo, dönemin İspanyol toplumuna ayna tutan bir klasik.
Sefiller, dilenciler, dolandırıcılar ve kimsesiz çocuklarla dolu bir dünyayı tüm çıplaklığıyla sergileyen Tormesli Lazarillo, dönemin İspanyol toplumuna ayna tutan bir klasik.
81 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1554
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About the author
Anonymous
791k books3,372 followersBooks can be attributed to "Anonymous" for several reasons:
* They are officially published under that name
* They are traditional stories not attributed to a specific author
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Books whose authorship is merely uncertain should be attributed to Unknown.
See also: Anonymous
* They are officially published under that name
* They are traditional stories not attributed to a specific author
* They are religious texts not generally attributed to a specific author
Books whose authorship is merely uncertain should be attributed to Unknown.
See also: Anonymous
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 2,068 reviews
December 7, 2019
This first picaresque "novel"--more of a novella really--is an excellent introduction to the genre and a good book on its own merits. It is also funny (I laughed out loud more than a few times, and I don't do that for anybody but Wodehouse), the atmosphere is realistic and gritty, filled with memorable character portraits (the down-at-heels gentleman who would rather starve than reveal his shameful poverty is a particularly notable--and characteristically Spanish--example), and the overall tone of the novel is delightfully ironic.
Lazarillo begins life as a desperately poor urchin who survives through his intelligent estimation and manipulation of others, but, by the end of the book, when he has attained a modicum of comfort and stability, he allows even this small bit of status to fill him with illusions, convincing him that his dubious office of town crier is actually respectable, and leading him to believe that his wife is faithful, even though she is obviously the mistress of the the local priest. In spite of this, though, we don't despise him, because through all he is resourceful and compassionate and filled with great good humor.
May 7, 2017
Rubens' painting of "Democritus and Heraclitus" was before my inner eye, and Juvenal's following words rang in my head while reading this hilarious, picaresque road trip through 16th century Spain:
"The first of prayers, best known at all the temples, is mostly for riches... Seeing this then do you not commend the one sage Democritus for laughing... and the master of the other school Heraclitus for his tears?"
What can a philosopher do, but laugh - and cry - at the state of the world shown in this panorama of greed, hunger, violence, laziness, lust, and dishonesty? What can one do but shake one's head at the prejudice and false sense of honour that guides the men and women in this tale of changing masters, where the hero is going from bad to worse, while rejecting anything looking like a decent life if it includes effort, work, stability and honesty?
On the road, Lazaro learns the hard way how to cheat to get himself a meal when he is faint with hunger. He sees the moral decline of the clergy he encounters, and passes his days looking for short-term solutions to better his own life conditions, yet is not willing to face real responsibility. He sees through the fake attitudes of the honour-bound aristocracy and of the fraudulent priests enriching themselves by selling false indulgences (- as if there were any "real" ones, adds the laughing philosopher), but he is not interested in real change, only looking for a niche in the system where he can fit in and live his life in intellectual laziness and relative material comfort. In the end, he finds an adequate solution: marrying the mistress of a priest, and living off his generosity, silently accepting the nightly absences of his wife.
I read this against the foil of the 16th century crisis in the Catholic Church, facing corruption and schism on a level unheard of before. And the picaresque novel clearly outlines the matters that make the weeping philosopher sigh, while applying the method of the laughing philosopher - to turn it into a sarcastic sense of humour.
However,coming to the end of the novella, I lean back and think that not much has changed since then, despite our perceived development and liberal society. Corruption, prejudice, inequality, fake facades, honour codes, quick fixes without serious positive impact - all of that is scarily present still. And while I am laughing at Lazaro's strange road trip, I am weeping for our young idle generation, for those who don't find a proper place for themselves, and flee into a world of irresponsible instant gratification without plans for a sustainable and fair future, whose carelessness and laziness is a product of hopelessness and disillusionment with an appallingly corrupt political, social and religious elite.
We are not beyond the picaresque yet, I think, weeping a bit!
August 12, 2023
Lazarillo de Tormes, publicado en 1554, no es sólo una obra maestra de la literatura española; es un testimonio desgarrador de su época. Como los modelos latinos, el Satiricón y el Asno de oro, que reflejan la sociedad Romana de los primeros siglos, el Lazarillo es una sátira burlesca del siglo XVI español, poniendo en evidencia la desigualdad, la hipocresía y la violencia social que, sorprendentemente, resuena medio milenio más tarde.
La novelita se presenta como una extensa epístola que narra las "fortunas y adversidades" de Lázaro, un joven nacido, cual Moises, en las aguas del río Tormes. A diferencia de las figuras idealizadas de caballeros y santos, Lázaro es un superviviente en un mundo donde el honor es un lujo y donde la batalla diaria es por un pedazo de pan, un trago de vino o un resto de longaniza.
Las desventuras de Lázaro con sus diversos amos, más que simples anécdotas, se convierten en críticas a los vicios y corrupciones de la sociedad: el ciego, representación de la astucia y el abuso; el clérigo, el fraile y el buldero, símbolos de una Iglesia corrupta; el escudero, un hombre obsesionado con aparentar una nobleza que no posee. A pesar de sus astucias y de su eventual ascenso como pregonero, Lázaro nunca se libera de las sombras del escándalo y la crítica, culminando en una compleja relación con un arcipreste y su criada.
En Lazarillo de Tormes, el deseo de ascenso social choca constantemente con valores morales, mostrando las falacias de una sociedad que valora más las apariencias que la integridad. El carácter subversivo del Lazarillo arroja luz sobre por qué el autor eligió permanecer en el anonimato. Su audaz crítica a instituciones consolidadas como la Iglesia y la nobleza podría haber sido irrecusable. También el humor es una herramienta vital en la obra, posicionándola entre las payasadas de Arlequín y la comedia física de Chaplin.
Sin esta obra precursora, quizás personajes icónicos como Sancho Panza o el mismo Quijote no habrían surgido, y, en consecuencia, tampoco habríamos visto la evolución de la literatura satírica y paródica desde Sade y Flaubert hasta Joyce, Kafka y Beckett.
La novelita se presenta como una extensa epístola que narra las "fortunas y adversidades" de Lázaro, un joven nacido, cual Moises, en las aguas del río Tormes. A diferencia de las figuras idealizadas de caballeros y santos, Lázaro es un superviviente en un mundo donde el honor es un lujo y donde la batalla diaria es por un pedazo de pan, un trago de vino o un resto de longaniza.
Las desventuras de Lázaro con sus diversos amos, más que simples anécdotas, se convierten en críticas a los vicios y corrupciones de la sociedad: el ciego, representación de la astucia y el abuso; el clérigo, el fraile y el buldero, símbolos de una Iglesia corrupta; el escudero, un hombre obsesionado con aparentar una nobleza que no posee. A pesar de sus astucias y de su eventual ascenso como pregonero, Lázaro nunca se libera de las sombras del escándalo y la crítica, culminando en una compleja relación con un arcipreste y su criada.
En Lazarillo de Tormes, el deseo de ascenso social choca constantemente con valores morales, mostrando las falacias de una sociedad que valora más las apariencias que la integridad. El carácter subversivo del Lazarillo arroja luz sobre por qué el autor eligió permanecer en el anonimato. Su audaz crítica a instituciones consolidadas como la Iglesia y la nobleza podría haber sido irrecusable. También el humor es una herramienta vital en la obra, posicionándola entre las payasadas de Arlequín y la comedia física de Chaplin.
Sin esta obra precursora, quizás personajes icónicos como Sancho Panza o el mismo Quijote no habrían surgido, y, en consecuencia, tampoco habríamos visto la evolución de la literatura satírica y paródica desde Sade y Flaubert hasta Joyce, Kafka y Beckett.
September 12, 2011
Where reading is concerned, I'm more LOTI than LOL. That's right. I'm admittedly frugal with my outwardly expressed laughter—unlike the normative social behavior these days wherein giggling becomes a nervous tic to punctuate every banal and unfunny comment. Maybe we want life to be funny so we laugh at it whether it is or not. We inflict an impoverished semblance of humor upon the world. And if we don't happen to mirror the laughter of our neighbors when they read one of those dumb jokey chain emails or recount a gag they found positively uproarious in Wild Hogs, then we're convicted of sourpussery rather than credited with possessing a refined or discriminating sense of humor. TomAYto, tomAHto, I guess. What I'm claiming, somewhat facetiously, is that mindless and incessant giggling is the preoccupation (most commonly) of morons and manchildren who devalue the currency of laughter with their spendthrift ways. When everything is funny, then nothing is. Or maybe more accurately, when everything is funny, you're probably a total nutjob and should be stashed away in a cozy booby hatch somewhere. But you know what? The Life of Lazarillo de Tormes by the clever and mischievous Spanish author Anonymous is actually really funny! So sayeth I. Not funny in an unfunny Geico commercial, Modern Family, or Jimmy Fallon kind of way, but funny in an honest-to-goshness 'Oh, my fucking god, did I just chortle?' kind of way. I literally laughed aloud several times—not that I would ever use that pernicious LOL as a matter of course because of how every dingbat on the planet is LOLing at everything nowadays: cirrhosis of the liver (LOL!), thermonuclear war (lmao!!), talking baby videos (rotflmao!!!)... This slim book (only 118 pages in the NYRB edition) was written in 1553. Did you digest that? 1553! Before William Shakespeare was even born! Now that's fuckin' old school. It's the story of a put-upon boy, mothered by a whore, who is sent off into the world to find a master to work for and earn his keep from. The first master is an extremely mean-spirited blind man. But don't worry—Lazaro finds ways (equally cruel and ingenious) of getting back at the old bastard. (And since everyone around Goodreads knows that I apparently hate blind people's guts, this was a particularly amusing segment for me. At the end, we're not quite sure whether Lazaro's trickery might not have actually inflicted a mortal injury on the sighltess creep. In the modern era, Lazaro could just refrain from alt-tagging his pictures. I hear it really honks those blindies off.) Anyway, Lazaro goes through a series of different masters, almost all of them either cruel or stupid (or both). The funniest segment involves a miserly priest who only feeds Lazaro onions, keeping the bread and the good food locked away in chest (for himself). This portrait of religious hypocrisy will give you an idea why this novella had to be published by 'Anonymous.' (And by the way, in case you were wondering, LOTI is laughing on the inside.)
July 23, 2017
One of my 5 top rated books ever! Read several times, and never got tired of doing it again!
Simply wonderful and funny!. Pity we will never know who wrote it!
Simply wonderful and funny!. Pity we will never know who wrote it!
March 29, 2017
When I rate my books, I take into account several factors, and unsurprisingly one of these is my enjoyment. Lazarillo de Tormes is easy and quick to read, and while not being the most original story out there (the synopsis being: Lazaro finds some funny ways to steal food from his masters. The end), it certainly has a great literary importance.
In spite of this importance, however, I don't think this is a book that can be read "for pleasure" today; it had a meaning in the time it was written, but the casual readers won't find in it anything worth of their attention. Italo Calvino once said that a classic is, among other things, a book that “has never exhausted all it has to say” and “a work which persists as a background noise even when a present that is totally incompatible with it holds sway.” I happen to agree very much with these definitions, and I also happen to think Lazarillo doesn't abide by them, and this is one of the reasons that influenced my rating. Qué lástima.
In spite of this importance, however, I don't think this is a book that can be read "for pleasure" today; it had a meaning in the time it was written, but the casual readers won't find in it anything worth of their attention. Italo Calvino once said that a classic is, among other things, a book that “has never exhausted all it has to say” and “a work which persists as a background noise even when a present that is totally incompatible with it holds sway.” I happen to agree very much with these definitions, and I also happen to think Lazarillo doesn't abide by them, and this is one of the reasons that influenced my rating. Qué lástima.
July 5, 2022
[2.5/5]
Definitivamente esta historia no ha sido para mí. El lazarillo de Tormes, si bien no es una obra difícil de leer ni mucho menos extensa, debe ser una de esas lecturas que te tiene que atrapar, ya sea por su narrativa o por el contenido mismo; si no funcionan para ti ninguno de estos dos elementos, sencillamente dudo mucho que se llegue a disfrutar.
En mi caso, tenía esta obra pendiente por años, literalmente, al tratarse del único libro que recuerdo me mandaron a leer durante la escuela en mi vida —no sé si eso es bueno o malo—, pero que por supuesto no leí. Solo recuerdo haber leído unas cuantas partes del primer tratado en alguna de mis clases, y haberlo disfrutado por ese sentido del humor del que se caracteriza la historia, así como el hecho de que, a pesar de las desgracias por las que pasa nuestro protagonista, siempre se le veía un lado positivo a todo.
Ahora, habiendo leído los siete tratados, me di cuenta de dos cosas: la primera es que la historia se me hizo repetitiva, constantemente está hablando de lo mismo, una situación adversa o problemática con cada amo, pero cuando lo único que cambia es la función/labor de este, volviéndose aburrido y tedioso de leer. No creo que esto sea algo negativo al final del día, pero yo no pude conectar con lo que se me estaba narrando. Ahora, la segunda cosa es acerca de la narrativa misma; sentí que los primeros dos tratados, incluso el tercero, estuvieron muy bien escritos, con esos toques de la novela picaresca que representa y Lazarillo siendo completamente Lazarillo, si esto hace sentido alguno. En cambio, a partir del tratado cuarto todo se vuelve muy pobre en términos de la prosa, hasta pareciera que los hubiera escrito otra persona (que pudo ser al tratarse de una obra anónima), y además todo pierde el encanto que caracterizaba a los primeros dos tratados. Sin duda, me quedo con las vivencias compartidas con el ciego y con el clérigo, y por supuesto con los orígenes de Lázaro, historias que sin duda serán difíciles de olvidar.
En conclusión, si la novela picaresca es para ti, sin duda amarás esta historia, ya que es muy fiel a dicho género; de lo contrario, mi recomendación es no ir con altas expectativas como me sucedió a mí y mejor esperar cualquier sorpresa mientras se lee.
Mas también quiero que sepa Vuestra Merced que, con todo lo que adquiría y tenía, jamás tan avariento ni mezquino hombre no vi; tanto, que me mataba a mí de hambre, y así no me demediaba de lo necesario. Digo verdad: si con mi sutileza y buenas mañas no me supiera remediar, muchas veces me finara de hambre; mas, con todo su saber y aviso, le contaminaba de tal suerte que siempre, o las más veces, me cabía lo más y mejor. Para esto le hacía burlas endiabladas, de las cuales contaré algunas, aunque no todas a mi salvo.
Definitivamente esta historia no ha sido para mí. El lazarillo de Tormes, si bien no es una obra difícil de leer ni mucho menos extensa, debe ser una de esas lecturas que te tiene que atrapar, ya sea por su narrativa o por el contenido mismo; si no funcionan para ti ninguno de estos dos elementos, sencillamente dudo mucho que se llegue a disfrutar.
En mi caso, tenía esta obra pendiente por años, literalmente, al tratarse del único libro que recuerdo me mandaron a leer durante la escuela en mi vida —no sé si eso es bueno o malo—, pero que por supuesto no leí. Solo recuerdo haber leído unas cuantas partes del primer tratado en alguna de mis clases, y haberlo disfrutado por ese sentido del humor del que se caracteriza la historia, así como el hecho de que, a pesar de las desgracias por las que pasa nuestro protagonista, siempre se le veía un lado positivo a todo.
Ahora, habiendo leído los siete tratados, me di cuenta de dos cosas: la primera es que la historia se me hizo repetitiva, constantemente está hablando de lo mismo, una situación adversa o problemática con cada amo, pero cuando lo único que cambia es la función/labor de este, volviéndose aburrido y tedioso de leer. No creo que esto sea algo negativo al final del día, pero yo no pude conectar con lo que se me estaba narrando. Ahora, la segunda cosa es acerca de la narrativa misma; sentí que los primeros dos tratados, incluso el tercero, estuvieron muy bien escritos, con esos toques de la novela picaresca que representa y Lazarillo siendo completamente Lazarillo, si esto hace sentido alguno. En cambio, a partir del tratado cuarto todo se vuelve muy pobre en términos de la prosa, hasta pareciera que los hubiera escrito otra persona (que pudo ser al tratarse de una obra anónima), y además todo pierde el encanto que caracterizaba a los primeros dos tratados. Sin duda, me quedo con las vivencias compartidas con el ciego y con el clérigo, y por supuesto con los orígenes de Lázaro, historias que sin duda serán difíciles de olvidar.
En conclusión, si la novela picaresca es para ti, sin duda amarás esta historia, ya que es muy fiel a dicho género; de lo contrario, mi recomendación es no ir con altas expectativas como me sucedió a mí y mejor esperar cualquier sorpresa mientras se lee.
Mas también quiero que sepa Vuestra Merced que, con todo lo que adquiría y tenía, jamás tan avariento ni mezquino hombre no vi; tanto, que me mataba a mí de hambre, y así no me demediaba de lo necesario. Digo verdad: si con mi sutileza y buenas mañas no me supiera remediar, muchas veces me finara de hambre; mas, con todo su saber y aviso, le contaminaba de tal suerte que siempre, o las más veces, me cabía lo más y mejor. Para esto le hacía burlas endiabladas, de las cuales contaré algunas, aunque no todas a mi salvo.
May 9, 2018
Uhh... not what I expected. That this book was found in the Spanish Queen's bureau as well as in any peasants' dingy quarters means little. Perhaps I am angry that the Spanish was verrrry difficult to read? It was old school Spanish, & although I try to get back into the groove, it seemed archaic and mundane. I noticed a profusion of hunger & a constant mention of food. I felt the same way: hungry for more (at least something akin to the royal feast that is the Quixote).
Hey, guess what. I think I may have read an ABRIDGED version. Many books in Sp. are like this. Hm!
Hey, guess what. I think I may have read an ABRIDGED version. Many books in Sp. are like this. Hm!
September 11, 2022
YouTube kitap kanalımda bu kitabın da içinde bulunduğu kitaplık turu videomu izleyebilirsiniz: https://youtu.be/yf0me602lnY
16. yy'a kadar yazılan ponçik ponçik, hayatın güzel olduğu şövalye romanlarının İspanya'daki açlık ve ekonomik krizi görmemelerinden ötürü yazılmış bir kitap olduğu için adı pikaresk roman olan Tormesli Lazarillo, Don Quijote gibi bir efso kitabın yazılmasına da esin kaynağı olduğu için benim açımdan yeri her zaman ayrı bir kitaptır. Hem de sadece 90 sayfadır. Daha ne olsundur?
16. yy'a kadar yazılan ponçik ponçik, hayatın güzel olduğu şövalye romanlarının İspanya'daki açlık ve ekonomik krizi görmemelerinden ötürü yazılmış bir kitap olduğu için adı pikaresk roman olan Tormesli Lazarillo, Don Quijote gibi bir efso kitabın yazılmasına da esin kaynağı olduğu için benim açımdan yeri her zaman ayrı bir kitaptır. Hem de sadece 90 sayfadır. Daha ne olsundur?
December 4, 2013
Truly remarkable that this work was first published in 1554. Remarkable also that it became an immediate international success. What that should tell us is that human foibles have not changed since, well, we started recording human foibles.
A small boy, a prostitute's bastard son, makes the best of a brutal existence, mooring to one master after another, doing what it takes to survive. He faces greed and naïveté, pretentiousness and self-loathing, cruelty, and always hunger. He learns well enough; he will not starve. He (the boy) is not trying to be funny - he just sees the hyprocrisy - but the author is very funny indeed. He's anonymous too, and for good reason, heresy being a serious offense and broadly and flexibly defined back in the day.
It's funny now, because things haven't changed much at the core. Especially when Anonymous says this: How many there must be in the world who run away from others because they do not see themselves!
This is a very quick read, something you could polish off in a morning at work, if you would ever do such a thing.
The NYRB Classics are such a treasure trove. And, oh, if there are awards for translations, give them all to W.S. Merwin.
A small boy, a prostitute's bastard son, makes the best of a brutal existence, mooring to one master after another, doing what it takes to survive. He faces greed and naïveté, pretentiousness and self-loathing, cruelty, and always hunger. He learns well enough; he will not starve. He (the boy) is not trying to be funny - he just sees the hyprocrisy - but the author is very funny indeed. He's anonymous too, and for good reason, heresy being a serious offense and broadly and flexibly defined back in the day.
It's funny now, because things haven't changed much at the core. Especially when Anonymous says this: How many there must be in the world who run away from others because they do not see themselves!
This is a very quick read, something you could polish off in a morning at work, if you would ever do such a thing.
The NYRB Classics are such a treasure trove. And, oh, if there are awards for translations, give them all to W.S. Merwin.
February 12, 2018
3.5
Un historia muy corta y que llega a disfrutarse y sufrirse en muchas partes. Con personajes egoístas y pobres que reflejan la realidad de la época en la que se escribió.
El libro inicio bastante bien, los primeros tres "tractados" eran muy divertidos y bastante cómicos, sin embargo el libro fue decayendo conforme avanzamos en la historia.
Lazarillo es un personaje inolvidable, su amor por la comida y el vino son características que se quedan grabadas en los lectores, sus conductas tan graciosas de las que luego se arrepentía son deliciosas de leer.
Un historia muy corta y que llega a disfrutarse y sufrirse en muchas partes. Con personajes egoístas y pobres que reflejan la realidad de la época en la que se escribió.
El libro inicio bastante bien, los primeros tres "tractados" eran muy divertidos y bastante cómicos, sin embargo el libro fue decayendo conforme avanzamos en la historia.
Lazarillo es un personaje inolvidable, su amor por la comida y el vino son características que se quedan grabadas en los lectores, sus conductas tan graciosas de las que luego se arrepentía son deliciosas de leer.
December 7, 2013
I loved this book. Written in the 1550s in Spain before Don Quixote it is a classic picaresque novel and satire. It is anonymous and there is no doubt much scholarly debate about who wrote it.
It is about a boy, Lazaro who is abandoned and has to find work with a series of masters. He is abused and ill-treated and learns to adapt, beg and steal to survive. It is a very clever satire on those in authority, especially the church. The book reminded me of Erasmus and his attack on simony and indulgences in "Praise of Folly". Only it is a lot funnier, bawdy and much more entertaining.
Initially I felt the later part of the book was weaker, but on reflection I thin this is maybe meant to reflect Lazaro growing up and becoming what he satirised. Having learnt to live by his wits, to steal and cheat when he has to and to trust no one, he decides his best career is in government. As he says "nobody really thrives except those who have positions of that nature". He learns to be a rogue and so goes into his natural home, politics. No lessons to be learned there then!!!!
This is a classic and deserves to be better known than it is.
It is about a boy, Lazaro who is abandoned and has to find work with a series of masters. He is abused and ill-treated and learns to adapt, beg and steal to survive. It is a very clever satire on those in authority, especially the church. The book reminded me of Erasmus and his attack on simony and indulgences in "Praise of Folly". Only it is a lot funnier, bawdy and much more entertaining.
Initially I felt the later part of the book was weaker, but on reflection I thin this is maybe meant to reflect Lazaro growing up and becoming what he satirised. Having learnt to live by his wits, to steal and cheat when he has to and to trust no one, he decides his best career is in government. As he says "nobody really thrives except those who have positions of that nature". He learns to be a rogue and so goes into his natural home, politics. No lessons to be learned there then!!!!
This is a classic and deserves to be better known than it is.
June 5, 2024
This 16th-century Spanish novella is a surprisingly fresh read, with its narrator, son of a poor prostitute of Salamanca, reporting on his rise from an apprenticeship with a blind beggar, through a series of other masters, mostly clergy, until he achieves some self-sufficiency as town crier. In the process, he skewers the hypocrisy and other shortcomings of the Catholic Church and Spanish aristocracy, probably why the author chose to remain anonymous. The book is considered the first picaresque novel and has been very influential in literary history.
September 2, 2018
“Quanti ce ne devono essere a questo mondo che fuggono gli altri, solo perché non vedono se stessi”
Messo all’indice dall’Inquisizione, Il Lazarillo è un’opera a cui comunemente si attribuisce l’avvio del romanzo picaresco. Tuttavia, come Manuel Vázquez Montalbán spiega nell’interessante introduzione, questo conferimento si è modificato nel tempo riconoscendo nel testo un pregio letterario più realista che cavalleresco.
Non si conosce l’esatta data della composizione né l’autore ma di sicuro la sua prima pubblicazione si colloca nel 1554 con ben quattro edizioni che sono circolate con differenti cesure e rimaneggiamenti.
Un libricino che ha portato alla diffusione nella letteratura spagnola di molteplici seguiti ed imitazioni.
Sette brevi capitoli in cui Lazaro, ormai uomo maturo, racconta la sua vita dall’umile nascita all’età adulta.
Figlio di un mugnaio -poi arrestato per furto- e di una madre accusata di concubinaggio, a nove/dieci anni fu costretto a servire uomini diversi ma accomunati da cupidigia e avarizia.
La strada è dunque una severa scuola di vita:
” Dissi tra me:
“Costui dice la verità: bisognerà tenere gli occhi aperti e stare in guardia, perché sono solo, e devo badare a me stesso”.
La forma del testo è una sorta di lettera da cui si fa intendere che il destinatario sia una persona altolocata:
"Rivolgo suppliche alla Signoria Vostra affinché voglia accettare questo povero omaggio dalle mani di chi lo avrebbe fatto più bello se in lui potere e desiderio andassero di pari passo. Visto che Vostra Signoria mi scrive che le si scriva4 e le si racconti la storia molto per esteso, mi è sembrato meglio non cominciare dal mezzo ma dal principio, così si avrà intera notizia della mia persona."
Un cieco, un prete, uno scudiero, un frate, un venditore d’indulgenze, un cappellano, un alguacil: questi sono i padroni che Lazarillo serve.
Uno splendido ed ironico affresco della vita nella corrotta Spagna del ‘500.
Messo all’indice dall’Inquisizione, Il Lazarillo è un’opera a cui comunemente si attribuisce l’avvio del romanzo picaresco. Tuttavia, come Manuel Vázquez Montalbán spiega nell’interessante introduzione, questo conferimento si è modificato nel tempo riconoscendo nel testo un pregio letterario più realista che cavalleresco.
Non si conosce l’esatta data della composizione né l’autore ma di sicuro la sua prima pubblicazione si colloca nel 1554 con ben quattro edizioni che sono circolate con differenti cesure e rimaneggiamenti.
Un libricino che ha portato alla diffusione nella letteratura spagnola di molteplici seguiti ed imitazioni.
Sette brevi capitoli in cui Lazaro, ormai uomo maturo, racconta la sua vita dall’umile nascita all’età adulta.
Figlio di un mugnaio -poi arrestato per furto- e di una madre accusata di concubinaggio, a nove/dieci anni fu costretto a servire uomini diversi ma accomunati da cupidigia e avarizia.
La strada è dunque una severa scuola di vita:
” Dissi tra me:
“Costui dice la verità: bisognerà tenere gli occhi aperti e stare in guardia, perché sono solo, e devo badare a me stesso”.
La forma del testo è una sorta di lettera da cui si fa intendere che il destinatario sia una persona altolocata:
"Rivolgo suppliche alla Signoria Vostra affinché voglia accettare questo povero omaggio dalle mani di chi lo avrebbe fatto più bello se in lui potere e desiderio andassero di pari passo. Visto che Vostra Signoria mi scrive che le si scriva4 e le si racconti la storia molto per esteso, mi è sembrato meglio non cominciare dal mezzo ma dal principio, così si avrà intera notizia della mia persona."
Un cieco, un prete, uno scudiero, un frate, un venditore d’indulgenze, un cappellano, un alguacil: questi sono i padroni che Lazarillo serve.
Uno splendido ed ironico affresco della vita nella corrotta Spagna del ‘500.
October 24, 2018
Origem do exemplar: Coleção pessoal.
Língua da edição lida: Português.
Tradução: Boa.
Género: Ficção; literatura; novela pícara.
Avaliação: Muito bom.
Um ótimo livro. Divertido e crítico, lê-se muito bem, embora tenha quase 500 anos. Só é pena que o autor (anónimo até hoje) se tenha precipitado após os três primeiros capítulos e claramente «despachado» o final.
Esta edição contém também a «Segunda Parte de Lazarilho de Tormes», escrita por H. de Luna (Juan de Luna).
Língua da edição lida: Português.
Tradução: Boa.
Género: Ficção; literatura; novela pícara.
Avaliação: Muito bom.
Um ótimo livro. Divertido e crítico, lê-se muito bem, embora tenha quase 500 anos. Só é pena que o autor (anónimo até hoje) se tenha precipitado após os três primeiros capítulos e claramente «despachado» o final.
Esta edição contém também a «Segunda Parte de Lazarilho de Tormes», escrita por H. de Luna (Juan de Luna).
February 27, 2018
One can imagine the anonymous author of Lazarillo de Tormes sitting down to write in a mood similar to that of Erasmus when he penned In Praise of Folly, or of Voltaire when he composed Candide: full of the wry amusement of one engaged in a learned, witty, and irreverent literary exercise. And yet this book, like those other two, quickly became something far more than an elegant diversion. For with Lazarillo the author spawned an entire literary genre, the picaresque, creating a character and a story that have retained their charms long after the targets of the author’s satire have passed out of this world.
The most conspicuous target of the author’s derision is the church—which is likely why the author wished to remain unknown. Pardoners, priests, friars, and chaplains are exposed as hypocritical sinners—as gluttons, profligates, and fornicators, with a pious word for everybody. But the writer also takes aim at the inflated sense of honor that infected society in his day, which most famously compels a starving knight to go about town, pretending to be well off, preferring to suffer and even to die rather than have his poverty revealed.
We see all this through the eyes of Lázaro, a man of humble origins whose highest ambition is to have a full belly. This proves extremely difficult, however, as he goes from one master to another, each of them proving unable or unwilling to satisfactorily feed the ravenous rogue. Like all picaresque heroes, Lázaro is, at bottom, simple and good, with a robust and hearty humor, but who is nevertheless forced into cunning and trickery by hard circumstances. This formula—so successful in the age of television—was used to its full potential in its first historical appearance. Even through the difficult lens of old Castilian, Lázaro's schemes to steal some crumbs of bread or some swigs of wine are still wonderfully funny.
But the novella is more than a slapstick comedy. The necessities of his belly and the earthiness of his mind allow Lázaro to penetrate all the hypocrisies of those around him—since, after all, hypocritical words cannot be eaten. Lázaro thus proves the ideal vessel for exposing the gulf between being and seeming. The reality he faces is bleak: full of sin, suffering, and poverty. And yet his society is in a state of constant denial, covering up this bleak reality with noble phrases and unheeded pieties. That this is more or less always the case in human life is why this book remains one of the jewels of Spanish literature.
The most conspicuous target of the author’s derision is the church—which is likely why the author wished to remain unknown. Pardoners, priests, friars, and chaplains are exposed as hypocritical sinners—as gluttons, profligates, and fornicators, with a pious word for everybody. But the writer also takes aim at the inflated sense of honor that infected society in his day, which most famously compels a starving knight to go about town, pretending to be well off, preferring to suffer and even to die rather than have his poverty revealed.
We see all this through the eyes of Lázaro, a man of humble origins whose highest ambition is to have a full belly. This proves extremely difficult, however, as he goes from one master to another, each of them proving unable or unwilling to satisfactorily feed the ravenous rogue. Like all picaresque heroes, Lázaro is, at bottom, simple and good, with a robust and hearty humor, but who is nevertheless forced into cunning and trickery by hard circumstances. This formula—so successful in the age of television—was used to its full potential in its first historical appearance. Even through the difficult lens of old Castilian, Lázaro's schemes to steal some crumbs of bread or some swigs of wine are still wonderfully funny.
But the novella is more than a slapstick comedy. The necessities of his belly and the earthiness of his mind allow Lázaro to penetrate all the hypocrisies of those around him—since, after all, hypocritical words cannot be eaten. Lázaro thus proves the ideal vessel for exposing the gulf between being and seeming. The reality he faces is bleak: full of sin, suffering, and poverty. And yet his society is in a state of constant denial, covering up this bleak reality with noble phrases and unheeded pieties. That this is more or less always the case in human life is why this book remains one of the jewels of Spanish literature.
November 19, 2017
If Horace Walpole’s 1764 novel, The Castle of Otranto started the gothic genre, in 1554 Lazarillo de Tormes’ started the
picaresque
genre. This is the genre where the likes of Don Quixote by Cervantes, Tom Jones by Henry Fielding and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain belong. Oh I have not read any of them yet (shame on me) but aha I have already read The Adventures of Augie March by Saul Bellow!
In picaresque novels, there is a picaro or a rascal exposing the injustices in his society via the use of satire or humor. In this novel, Lazarillo (probably from biblical character Lazarus) is the picaro. At the age of 8, he was given away by his mother to a blind man (his first master) after his father died. Then this was followed by seven other masters: a priest, a squire, a friar, a pardoner, a chaplain, a bailiff and finally, an archbishop. Notice a good number of his masters were men of cloth and this was published at the time of Spanish inquisition (1480-1834), so, when this novel came out, the name of the author was withheld and was never released even up to now.
The setting of the novel was in the city of Salamanca, a beautiful city in Western Spain. It is now famous for its good schools attracting lots of local and foreign students. Lazarillo’s surname, i.e., De Tormes came from the river Tormes that runs the city. Even up to now, there is a statue of Lazarillo and the blind man next to the Roman Bridge of the city. Because of Lazarillo’s first adventure, the Spanish word lazarillo has taken the meaning of “guide” as to a blind person. (Source: Wiki).
I was surprised that it was an easy read. I thought that the novel that’s this old would be archaic and hard to understand. My Penguin Classic edition was reprinted in 1969. My favorite part is when Lazarillo runs scared back to the house of the poor squire with no food inside the house. He rushes back inside and closes the door. He says to the squire that a dead man will be brought to the house because the grieving widow has said that her dead spouse will be going to the place with no food and drinks. I loved this part and I could not stop myself laughing last night. But mostly, the poor boy Lazarillo goes hungry in his first 5 masters and experiences nothing but hardships until he becomes independent working as a town crier.
In picaresque novels, there is a picaro or a rascal exposing the injustices in his society via the use of satire or humor. In this novel, Lazarillo (probably from biblical character Lazarus) is the picaro. At the age of 8, he was given away by his mother to a blind man (his first master) after his father died. Then this was followed by seven other masters: a priest, a squire, a friar, a pardoner, a chaplain, a bailiff and finally, an archbishop. Notice a good number of his masters were men of cloth and this was published at the time of Spanish inquisition (1480-1834), so, when this novel came out, the name of the author was withheld and was never released even up to now.
The setting of the novel was in the city of Salamanca, a beautiful city in Western Spain. It is now famous for its good schools attracting lots of local and foreign students. Lazarillo’s surname, i.e., De Tormes came from the river Tormes that runs the city. Even up to now, there is a statue of Lazarillo and the blind man next to the Roman Bridge of the city. Because of Lazarillo’s first adventure, the Spanish word lazarillo has taken the meaning of “guide” as to a blind person. (Source: Wiki).
I was surprised that it was an easy read. I thought that the novel that’s this old would be archaic and hard to understand. My Penguin Classic edition was reprinted in 1969. My favorite part is when Lazarillo runs scared back to the house of the poor squire with no food inside the house. He rushes back inside and closes the door. He says to the squire that a dead man will be brought to the house because the grieving widow has said that her dead spouse will be going to the place with no food and drinks. I loved this part and I could not stop myself laughing last night. But mostly, the poor boy Lazarillo goes hungry in his first 5 masters and experiences nothing but hardships until he becomes independent working as a town crier.
Read
May 11, 2024Picaresque novel dating from the middle of the 16th century. The humor is boisterous and funny; Lazarillo is a real anti-hero. The episodic structure of the story is strongly reminiscent of the Roman author Apuleius and his classic The Golden Ass. Especially women and ecclesiastical figures play a naïve role.
January 12, 2019
Mas cuando la desdicha ha de venir, por demás es diligencia.
February 29, 2024
Me pasé febrero leyendo literatura española del siglo de oro para rendir un final en el profesorado (spoiler: aprobé), y decidí registrar únicamente el Lazarillo por acá ya fue de lo que más me gustó. Seguramente más adelante le pegue una relectura, hay varias situaciones que son dignas de análisis. Pobre, pobre Lázaro, no puedo sentir otra cosa que no sea una tristeza general por la vida atormentada que tuvo que atravesar, y por la gente desalmada y repulsiva con la que se tuvo que topar.
March 27, 2025
No me gustó. Lo intenté e intenté y nada.
El lenguaje, las situaciones, lo corto que llega a ser... no le quita favor a lo crudo y honesto que representa. Pero aún así, no siento ingenio, no hay elocuencia. Todo es aburrido. No me ha gustado ni un pelín.
El lenguaje, las situaciones, lo corto que llega a ser... no le quita favor a lo crudo y honesto que representa. Pero aún así, no siento ingenio, no hay elocuencia. Todo es aburrido. No me ha gustado ni un pelín.
January 14, 2016
Read this at about the same time as Don Quixote, but the latter overshadowed this one by a mile in my estimation.
October 15, 2016
Ay, la vida de Lázaro es tan trágica. :(
April 24, 2012
In the prologue, the author makes mention of fortune and those that are born into it -- rightly stating that little credit is due since luck of the gene pool was partial to them from the start. But what of those Fortune was against?
"Who had nothing to thank but their own labor and skill at the oars for bringing them into a safe harbor?"
What about the Lazaros of life? Born in (yes, in) the Tormes River; son to a morally unrestrained mother and swindler for a father, poor Lazaro was furiously treading to keep his head above water from day one. Sold at a young age to act as guide for a blind man, he soon finds himself in a situation much akin to Dicken's Oliver -- homeless, beaten, begging and scamming just for the sake of a little gruel. We watch as he shuffles from one dishonest master to the next, relying only on his quick wits and trickery learned along the way in order to survive. And that he does...masterfully. Row Lazarillo Row!
Though it may not sound like it, The Life of Lazarillo De Tormes is far from a depressing book and is in fact, one of the most engaging, humorous novellas that I've ever come across. Told through first person narrative, this little gem is smart, tightly written and bold in its blatant jabs at the hypocrisy of Spain's elite society and religious leaders. It is no wonder why the author remained anonymous.
I have seen some English translations available online, but after skimming through a few, I assure you that the work is inadequate as compared to the W.S. Merwin version. Stick with this translation and you will not be disappointed--there will be much giggling to yourself and possibly an impromptu reading aloud to whomever is passing. They will thank you.
"Who had nothing to thank but their own labor and skill at the oars for bringing them into a safe harbor?"
What about the Lazaros of life? Born in (yes, in) the Tormes River; son to a morally unrestrained mother and swindler for a father, poor Lazaro was furiously treading to keep his head above water from day one. Sold at a young age to act as guide for a blind man, he soon finds himself in a situation much akin to Dicken's Oliver -- homeless, beaten, begging and scamming just for the sake of a little gruel. We watch as he shuffles from one dishonest master to the next, relying only on his quick wits and trickery learned along the way in order to survive. And that he does...masterfully. Row Lazarillo Row!
Though it may not sound like it, The Life of Lazarillo De Tormes is far from a depressing book and is in fact, one of the most engaging, humorous novellas that I've ever come across. Told through first person narrative, this little gem is smart, tightly written and bold in its blatant jabs at the hypocrisy of Spain's elite society and religious leaders. It is no wonder why the author remained anonymous.
I have seen some English translations available online, but after skimming through a few, I assure you that the work is inadequate as compared to the W.S. Merwin version. Stick with this translation and you will not be disappointed--there will be much giggling to yourself and possibly an impromptu reading aloud to whomever is passing. They will thank you.
January 30, 2020
Lazarillo de Tormes, adını sevdiğim karakterlerin yanına eklemeye şu kadar kalmıştı. 👌🏽
May 6, 2021
que libro pesadoooO, no pienso hacer reseña de este libro porque lo odié, encima que lo tuve que leer para la escuela 🧍🏻♀️
August 13, 2020
El inicio de un nuevo paradigma narrativo. Aporta frescura a la literatura de su siglo.
May 5, 2022
pero qué te pasó al final, hombre
si íbamos bien
si íbamos bien
April 1, 2019
Racconto che rientra perfettamente nella tradizione picaresca, narra le vicende del piccolo Lazaro, vagabondo per necessità a servizio di volta in volta da un padrone diverso e della sfortuna che lo perseguita rendendolo sempre più misero di quanto non sia. Ironico, divertente, a tratti mi ha ricordato la pasta del don Chisciotte, il suo essere spavaldo e non arrendersi mai. Una lettura breve ma piacevole.
November 29, 2014
Lázaro deja atrás a su familia y entorno para pasar por las manos de diversos amos, a cada cual más extravagante. El servicio prestado a cada uno de ellos dará a Lázaro curiosas enseñanzas que poco a poco le instruirán sobre las adversidades a las que tiene que hacer frente en el día a día, y cómo uno debe mostrarse astuto antes de que lo hagan con uno mismo. Todo ello está relatado en primera persona, a modo de carta, que al final del escrito tendrá un sentido para resolver el caso planteado por Lázaro.
Ahora estoy leyendo el Buscón, cuya comparación es inevitable, pero refiriéndome al Lazarillo es gratificante ver cómo con la edad uno puede leer con insignificante dificultad una obra que en el colegio no hacía más que atragantársele, hasta el punto que ahora retoma lo que nunca casi empezó. El libro recoge un viaje, tanto por dueños como en los esbozos de maduración de un personaje, y el escenario es un mundo mísero, en el cual cada uno gobierna su escasa riqueza para su propio bien. Sin embargo, Lázaro tira para adelante, y lo cierto es que en la obra hay astucia, pero también humor frente a las penurias. Las críticas que se lanzan desde el libro, especialmente a una clerecía que no era muy cercana al concepto de la generosidad, pudo llevar a que este libro estuviera mejor en el anonimato. Pero la trascendencia es, en todo caso, enorme en la historia, y muy rica en la literatura que aporta al Siglo de Oro español.
Ahora estoy leyendo el Buscón, cuya comparación es inevitable, pero refiriéndome al Lazarillo es gratificante ver cómo con la edad uno puede leer con insignificante dificultad una obra que en el colegio no hacía más que atragantársele, hasta el punto que ahora retoma lo que nunca casi empezó. El libro recoge un viaje, tanto por dueños como en los esbozos de maduración de un personaje, y el escenario es un mundo mísero, en el cual cada uno gobierna su escasa riqueza para su propio bien. Sin embargo, Lázaro tira para adelante, y lo cierto es que en la obra hay astucia, pero también humor frente a las penurias. Las críticas que se lanzan desde el libro, especialmente a una clerecía que no era muy cercana al concepto de la generosidad, pudo llevar a que este libro estuviera mejor en el anonimato. Pero la trascendencia es, en todo caso, enorme en la historia, y muy rica en la literatura que aporta al Siglo de Oro español.
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