Keeping a Rendezvous: Essays

by John Berger

When he stands before Giorgione's La Tempesta , Booker Prize-winning author John Berger sees not only the painting but our whole notion of time, sweeping us away from a lost Eden. A photograph of a gravely joyful crowd gathered on a Prague street in November 1989 provokes reflection on the meaning of democracy and the reunion of a people with long-banished hopes and dreams.

With the luminous essays in Keeping a Rendezvous , we are given to see the world as Berger sees it -- to explore themes suggested by the work of Jackson Pollock or J. M. W. Turner, to contemplate the wonder of Paris. Rendezvous are between critic and art, artist and subject, subject and the unknown. But most significant are the rendezvous between author and reader, as we discover our perceptions informed by Berger's eloquence and courageous moral imagination.

Genres: Art, Essays, Nonfiction, Criticism

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1991

About the author

John Peter Berger was an English art critic, novelist, painter and author. His novel G. won the 1972 Booker Prize, and his essay on art criticism Ways of Seeing, written as an accompaniment to a BBC series, is often used as a college text.

Later he was self exiled to continental Europe, living between the french Alps in summer and the suburbs of Paris in winter. Since then, his production has increased considerably, including a variety of genres, from novel to social essay, or poetry. One of the most common themes that appears on his books is the dialectics established between modernity and memory and loss,

Another of his most remarkable works has been the trilogy titled Into Their Labours, that includes the books Pig Earth (1979), Once In Europa (1983) Lilac And Flag (1990). With those books, Berger makes a meditation about the way of the peasant, that changes one poverty for another in the city. This theme is also observed in his novel King, but there his focus is more in the rural diaspora and the bitter side of the urban way of life.

Reviews

[Lobstergirl · Rating 3 out of 5]

There was a lot of chaff here that didn't interest me. What did: an essay on Spanish painting ("A Story for Aesop"), one on Lee Krasner and Jackson Pollock; one on Zurburan ("A Household").

[Eric · Rating 3 out of 5]

Contains a wonderful essay called “A Load of Shit.”

[Sam Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this book. I like Bergers voice; he is consistent across topics and content areas, but also allows himself to go on some tangents. I read this during a busy part of my work year, so it was convenient to have all the different "vignette" style sections that didn't require long, continuous reading sessions. Berger exposed me to a lot that I had not heard of before, gave insight on some artists I did now, and provided depth on a few I'd already read quite a bit on. I especially liked the personal narrative sections on his nonverbal encounter with a friend of a friend while traveling, the stories about the bear (dream/metaphor), and the chapter on the Ideal Palace. The book is a bit meandering, but in a way this is the nature of connecting disparate genres of art and moments in time; I learned about art, and myself in what was at times a struggle to find coherence across the pages.

[Breña · Rating 3 out of 5]

Essays, die nur auf den ersten Blick etwas mit den behandelten Künstlern oder Kunstwerken zu tun haben. Tatsächlich geht es um einen sehr persönlichen Blick, um die individuelle Wahrnehmung Bergers. Nicht nur der Kunst, sondern des Lebens.
Das ist unterschiedlich interessant und hat insgesamt leider wenig Eindruck hinterlassen, auch wenn die einzelnen Aufsätze für den Moment gut lesbar waren.

[Dom Cap · Rating 5 out of 5]

La trilogia esplora in modo avvincente la natura umana e la scienza dal particolare punto di vista storico e sociale orientale.
Le possibili evoluzioni della scienza e della specie umana sono a dir poco sensazionali pur rimanendo in ambito scientifico con riferimenti reali di fisica quantistica e sociologia “universale”.
Uno dei migliori libri di fantascienza mai letti.

[Shane Bordoli · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another fantastic collection of essays that read like john speaking directly to you. As ever, we get reflections on life, art criticism and much more. There are all manner of philosophical musings thst give a fresh take on the world. Very inspiring texts.

[naviya · Rating 4 out of 5]

- i like that he cross-references so many different things and time periods and fields
- this one was interspersed with experiences from his own life which was interesting

[John Fredrickson · Rating 2 out of 5]

While Berger is well-respected, these essays did not do much for me.

[Giovanna Cirianni · Rating 5 out of 5]

mi libro favorito y uno de los pocos que he releido. berger es mi ídolo y ojalá algún día pueda escribir un 10% como él.

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

Recently I was looking in the public library for John Berger’s “Ways of Seeing,” and was surprised it wasn’t there, so I checked out this Berger essay collection instead. Here Berger writes on a number of topics, including art criticism, the changes in Eastern Europe in 1989, the arts of writing and photography, the personality of the city of Paris, evolution and the ape/human connection, and the nature of travel, geography, and place.

Though I found a few passages a little hard to follow, most of Berger’s writing is both clear and brilliant. Throughout the book I found myself marveling at Berger’s original insights and wishing I had Berger’s talent for viewing the world from different perspectives.

[Ruth · Rating 3 out of 5]

I bought this book in 1993. When I found it recently, I realized I'd never read it. I think it would have made sense to buy a book with a single theme, rather than a collection of essays on disparate themes. Some of these essays are wonderful, and I'm glad I finally read them. Berger's insights into Renoir blew my mind. His short elegy on the miner's strike was beautiful. It's obvious that I bought this in a period when I actually purchased any book that caught my eye. Self, this is why there are public libraries.

[Milton Brasher-Cunningham · Rating 5 out of 5]

I know a little about art and art history, but not much, so why books by an art critic move me so much is a wonderful surprise every time I read something by John Berger--and I am trying to find every word he put to page.

I think it is that he talks so much about seeing: about what we learn when we pay attention. And he has paid attention all of his ninety years. I hope there are more books of his still to find. If not, I have mine to reread.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This collections contains two astounding essays that reverberate in my memory. The first is about "shovelling shit" in the countryside and the philosophical implications of that profound activity, and the second is about Aesop and a painting of Aesop that unites both in an astounding commentary on voice and art and story.

[Jess · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book of essays that I had mixed feelings about. Some were totally enthralling (ape theatre- apes vs. humans, Darwinism vs. creationism) and some I couldn't even get through. A good writer who has strong ideas and powerful language.

[Blair · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm sure I'll say this again somewhere in my reviews, but read any John Berger you can. He's fantastic. (Seminal work: Ways Of Seeing)

[Eva · Rating 4 out of 5]

bellissimo. Berger intelligentissimo, coltissimo, grande spiritualità. superlativo

[Charlotte · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice writing, and really interesting.