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captainfez's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.0
anaispmvr's review against another edition
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
mariog17's review against another edition
2.0
Este es un libro cuya sinopsis no me atrajo, sino que directamente me enamoró. Más que su sinopsis, creo que me enamoró alguna reseña que debí leer sobre este libro que, al final, ha resultado decepcionante.
Esta es una novela inacabada porque su autor murió de tuberculosis con apenas 36 años, pluma en mano, escribiendo el capítulo quinto de este libro, que en realidad debería haber tenido siete. La novela cuenta la historia de un hombre, nuestro protagonista y narrador, que se embarca con otros en busca de un monte que creen imaginario, pero al que ya sienten como material: el monte Análogo.
La planificación del viaje y, en general, la novela, es toda una clase de ciencias, marcada además por un profundo conocimiento científico del autor y de su gran capacidad imaginativa. Es curioso ver detalles como que el barco en el que navegan en busca del monte Análogo se llama Imposible, o que la mujer del protagonista y narrador se llama Renée, y el autor del libro, René.
Al final, los viajeros llegan a su ansiado destino gracias a varias coincidencias de condiciones atmosféricas y climáticas que les permiten entrar en esa especie de universo paralelo en el que el monte Análogo existe sin ser visto por el resto del mundo. Y llegados a este punto me fue inevitable acordarme del famoso Triángulo de las Bermudas y de las tantas teorías que hay a su alrededor.
La historia apenas interesa como fondo. Su forma es lo más interesante, pero tampoco es para tirar cohetes. Este es un compendio de críticas hacia la vida urbana, además de una oda bucólica al campo y a la vida en la naturaleza.
Impregnado por un aura mitológica y mística, al final parece más interesante la biografía del autor que la historia de esta novela. Entre simbología y filosofía, donde caben pregunta sobre la vida y la muerte, llegamos al final abrupto de la novela, que termina con una coma, justo en lo más interesante de un breve cuento insertado en la historia. al final, una serie de poemas futuristas y un epílogo de lo más explicativo consiguen que la historia que los precede salga a flote.
Muchas veces, como en esta ocasión, intento mirar atrás y comprender qué he hecho mal para que este libro me haya decepcionado de forma tan extraordinaria. Y más aún viendo cómo la gente valora tan positivamente este libro en algunas plataformas literarias. Una pena, porque me esperaba mucho. Nunca aprenderé a no esperar nada ni de las personas ni de los libros.
Esta es una novela inacabada porque su autor murió de tuberculosis con apenas 36 años, pluma en mano, escribiendo el capítulo quinto de este libro, que en realidad debería haber tenido siete. La novela cuenta la historia de un hombre, nuestro protagonista y narrador, que se embarca con otros en busca de un monte que creen imaginario, pero al que ya sienten como material: el monte Análogo.
La planificación del viaje y, en general, la novela, es toda una clase de ciencias, marcada además por un profundo conocimiento científico del autor y de su gran capacidad imaginativa. Es curioso ver detalles como que el barco en el que navegan en busca del monte Análogo se llama Imposible, o que la mujer del protagonista y narrador se llama Renée, y el autor del libro, René.
Al final, los viajeros llegan a su ansiado destino gracias a varias coincidencias de condiciones atmosféricas y climáticas que les permiten entrar en esa especie de universo paralelo en el que el monte Análogo existe sin ser visto por el resto del mundo. Y llegados a este punto me fue inevitable acordarme del famoso Triángulo de las Bermudas y de las tantas teorías que hay a su alrededor.
La historia apenas interesa como fondo. Su forma es lo más interesante, pero tampoco es para tirar cohetes. Este es un compendio de críticas hacia la vida urbana, además de una oda bucólica al campo y a la vida en la naturaleza.
Impregnado por un aura mitológica y mística, al final parece más interesante la biografía del autor que la historia de esta novela. Entre simbología y filosofía, donde caben pregunta sobre la vida y la muerte, llegamos al final abrupto de la novela, que termina con una coma, justo en lo más interesante de un breve cuento insertado en la historia. al final, una serie de poemas futuristas y un epílogo de lo más explicativo consiguen que la historia que los precede salga a flote.
Muchas veces, como en esta ocasión, intento mirar atrás y comprender qué he hecho mal para que este libro me haya decepcionado de forma tan extraordinaria. Y más aún viendo cómo la gente valora tan positivamente este libro en algunas plataformas literarias. Una pena, porque me esperaba mucho. Nunca aprenderé a no esperar nada ni de las personas ni de los libros.
ev4zinh4's review against another edition
première partie lue en cercle de lecture
robforteath's review
2.0
The setup of the characters and their goal is handled almost as farce. Even so, we are expected to treat it fairly seriously. Mercifully, this part and the journey to the foot of the mountain is dealt with quickly, so we can get on to the important business.
And then it just ends. We get a few pieces of the characters' initial experiences, and run into the place where the author could no longer continue. There is some explanation about what the author was attempting to create, which is nice.
And then it just ends. We get a few pieces of the characters' initial experiences, and run into the place where the author could no longer continue. There is some explanation about what the author was attempting to create, which is nice.
ben_mullenger's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
3.5
kallis_ema's review
4.0
"The Bitter-Rose is found only at the summit of the highest peaks. Whoever eats of it finds that, whenever he is about to tell a lie, aloud or to himself, his tongue begins to burn. He can still tell falsehoods, but he bas been warned. (...)To describe an impossible action or an absurd undertaking, they say: 'It's like looking for night in broad daylight,' or 'It's like trying to catch the Bitter-Rose.'"
"You cannot stay on the summit for ever; you have to come down again... So why bother in the first place? Just this: what is above knows what is below, but what is below does not know what is above. In climbing, always take note of difficulties along the way; for as you go up, you can observe them. Coming down, you will no longer see them, but you will know they are there if you have observed them well. One climbs, one sees. One descends, one sees no longer but one has seen. There is an art of conducting oneself in the lower regions by the memory of what one saw higher up. When one can no longer see, one can at least still know."
"Shoes, unlike feet, are not something you're born with. So you can choose what you want. At first be guided in your choice by people with experience, later by your own experience. Before long you will become so accustomed to your shoes that every nail, every wing nail will be like a finger to feel out the rock and long to it. They will become a sensitive dependable instrument, like a part of yourself. And yet, you're not born with them; when they're worn out, you'll throw them away and still remain what you are. Your life depends to some extent on your shoes; care for the, properly. But a quarter of an hour each day is enough, for your life depends on many other things as well."
"When you strike off on your own, leave some trace of your passage which will guide you coming back: one stone set on another, some grass weighted by a stick. But if you come to an impasse or dangerous spot, remember that the trail you have left could lead people coming after you into trouble. So go back along your trail and obliterate any traces you have left. This applies to anyone who wishes to leave some mark of his own passage in the world. Even without wanting to, you always leave a few traces. Be ready to answer to your fellow men for the trail you leave behind you."
"Keep your eye fixed on the path to the top, but don't forget to look right in front of you. The last step depends on the first. Don't think you're there just because you see the summit. Watch your footing, be sure of the next step, but don't let that distract you from the highest goal. The first step depends on the last."
"You cannot stay on the summit for ever; you have to come down again... So why bother in the first place? Just this: what is above knows what is below, but what is below does not know what is above. In climbing, always take note of difficulties along the way; for as you go up, you can observe them. Coming down, you will no longer see them, but you will know they are there if you have observed them well. One climbs, one sees. One descends, one sees no longer but one has seen. There is an art of conducting oneself in the lower regions by the memory of what one saw higher up. When one can no longer see, one can at least still know."
"Shoes, unlike feet, are not something you're born with. So you can choose what you want. At first be guided in your choice by people with experience, later by your own experience. Before long you will become so accustomed to your shoes that every nail, every wing nail will be like a finger to feel out the rock and long to it. They will become a sensitive dependable instrument, like a part of yourself. And yet, you're not born with them; when they're worn out, you'll throw them away and still remain what you are. Your life depends to some extent on your shoes; care for the, properly. But a quarter of an hour each day is enough, for your life depends on many other things as well."
"When you strike off on your own, leave some trace of your passage which will guide you coming back: one stone set on another, some grass weighted by a stick. But if you come to an impasse or dangerous spot, remember that the trail you have left could lead people coming after you into trouble. So go back along your trail and obliterate any traces you have left. This applies to anyone who wishes to leave some mark of his own passage in the world. Even without wanting to, you always leave a few traces. Be ready to answer to your fellow men for the trail you leave behind you."
"Keep your eye fixed on the path to the top, but don't forget to look right in front of you. The last step depends on the first. Don't think you're there just because you see the summit. Watch your footing, be sure of the next step, but don't let that distract you from the highest goal. The first step depends on the last."
jimmylorunning's review against another edition
5.0
It's a miracle that this book even exists. A book we were never meant to have, existing only in myth. A fever of a dream, but with all the details intact, specific, and so real. Like ending up in a dream without leaving the real world behind, both in terms of the trivialities of living as well as the logic that never approaches dream logic. An amalgamation of science, philosophy, myth, humor, and clear thinking, yes with the translucent, almost invisible, clarity of a 'paradam' that suddenly bends your thinking around its curvature. A 'paradam' shift. This book was already written from another world, no wonder Daumal died mid-sentence. No wonder! He was a dead man when he began, only gracing us with a few words from the other side. And how fitting! This story of a journey to the other side, a journey that never reaches its destination because its author, having reached it, cannot come back to tell us but a few details that might lead us there. An impossible journey. (Mount Analogue is analogous of itself, without ever being self-reflexive, without even knowing its antecedent). The unknown, like a dagger in the known, is deceptively accessible. Nevertheless, Daumal prepares the way, like the campers before him. In Daumal's world, the mystery of the unknown is more real than the reality of the world, so that our reality is but a dream within it. It's a transcendence into specificity. When we look back from the other world, we'll see but a vagueness reminiscent of lives half-lived in the fog that hovers in the foothills.
PS - reading some of the other reviews, I was a little annoyed that a few people had mentioned that this was surrealism. No it's not! People like to repeat what other people say without really evaluating it. Why would Daumal delve into surrealism when he can end up in the ideal territory of surrealism without ever leaving the real? That is what Daumal does, and that is why it is brilliant beyond anything I've ever imagined could be written. One logical step at a time, is how Daumal leads us up the mountain.
PS - reading some of the other reviews, I was a little annoyed that a few people had mentioned that this was surrealism. No it's not! People like to repeat what other people say without really evaluating it. Why would Daumal delve into surrealism when he can end up in the ideal territory of surrealism without ever leaving the real? That is what Daumal does, and that is why it is brilliant beyond anything I've ever imagined could be written. One logical step at a time, is how Daumal leads us up the mountain.