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Seven Dreams of Elmira
Cultural Writing. Folklore. Carribbean Studies. Translated from the French by Mark Polizzotti. Intoxicating in its language, lush in its evocation of Creole island culture, SEVEN DREAMS OF A TALE OF MARTINIQUE is a vivid and hallucinatory fable, written by widely acclaimed author Patrick Chamoiseau and illustrated with stunning photographic portraits by Jean Luc-Laguardigue. Based on interviews, observation, and invention, this story takes as its canvas the everyday lives of the workers at the old St. Etienne rum distillery in the hills of Martinique, and the strange vision of the beautiful Elmira who appears to a select few.
61 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1998
About the author
Patrick Chamoiseau
94 books200 followersPatrick Chamoiseau is a French author from Martinique known for his work in the créolité movement.
Chamoiseau was born on December 3, 1953 in Fort-de-France, Martinique, where he currently resides. After he studied law in Paris he returned to Martinique inspired by Édouard Glissant to take a close interest in Creole culture. Chamoiseau is the author of a historical work on the Antilles under the reign of Napoléon Bonaparte and several non-fiction books which include Éloge de la créolité (In Praise of Creoleness), co-authored with Jean Bernabé and Raphaël Confiant. Awarded the Prix Carbet (1990) for Antan d’enfance. His novel Texaco was awarded the Prix Goncourt in 1992, and was chosen as a New York Times Notable Book of the Year. It has been described as "a masterpiece, the work of a genius, a novel that deserves to be known as much as Fanon’s The Wretched of the Earth and Cesaire’s Return to My Native Land".
Chamoiseau may also safely be considered as one of the most innovative writers to hit the French literary scene since Louis-Ferdinand Céline. His freeform use of French language — a highly complex yet fluid mixture of constant invention and "creolism" — fuels a poignant and sensuous depiction of Martinique people in particular and humanity at large.
(from Wikipedia)
Chamoiseau was born on December 3, 1953 in Fort-de-France, Martinique, where he currently resides. After he studied law in Paris he returned to Martinique inspired by Édouard Glissant to take a close interest in Creole culture. Chamoiseau is the author of a historical work on the Antilles under the reign of Napoléon Bonaparte and several non-fiction books which include Éloge de la créolité (In Praise of Creoleness), co-authored with Jean Bernabé and Raphaël Confiant. Awarded the Prix Carbet (1990) for Antan d’enfance. His novel Texaco was awarded the Prix Goncourt in 1992, and was chosen as a New York Times Notable Book of the Year. It has been described as "a masterpiece, the work of a genius, a novel that deserves to be known as much as Fanon’s The Wretched of the Earth and Cesaire’s Return to My Native Land".
Chamoiseau may also safely be considered as one of the most innovative writers to hit the French literary scene since Louis-Ferdinand Céline. His freeform use of French language — a highly complex yet fluid mixture of constant invention and "creolism" — fuels a poignant and sensuous depiction of Martinique people in particular and humanity at large.
(from Wikipedia)
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
June 8, 2021
Dejo mi reseña aquí:
ME VOY A MARTINICA!! Reseña de Seven Dreams of Elmira, de Patrick Chamoiseau https://youtu.be/ULSJNhShtck
ME VOY A MARTINICA!! Reseña de Seven Dreams of Elmira, de Patrick Chamoiseau https://youtu.be/ULSJNhShtck
July 6, 2022
Too slight to make a 4-star reading impact, but the portraits and photographs included bump it up.
Quotes
"He tried to recapture his ecstasy with rum stolen from the warehouse, which he swallowed without periods or commas." (19)
"The human being is incomplete. I know this: I'm more than one hundred years old and still I'm not fulfilled. You make due as best you can with a few tricks and two or three false passions, but you remain incomplete, unfinished like those barren plum trees yellowing in distress." (20)
"In that exasperating wait, in the embers of hope and despair that guide our will, we strive, in moderation, to live as best we can; and as Elmira suggests, we try--with difficult desires, at the highest degree of impossibility--to find our quiet happiness." (30)
Quotes
"He tried to recapture his ecstasy with rum stolen from the warehouse, which he swallowed without periods or commas." (19)
"The human being is incomplete. I know this: I'm more than one hundred years old and still I'm not fulfilled. You make due as best you can with a few tricks and two or three false passions, but you remain incomplete, unfinished like those barren plum trees yellowing in distress." (20)
"In that exasperating wait, in the embers of hope and despair that guide our will, we strive, in moderation, to live as best we can; and as Elmira suggests, we try--with difficult desires, at the highest degree of impossibility--to find our quiet happiness." (30)
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews