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A review by austra_pro
Fabulous Monsters: Dracula, Alice, Superman, and Other Literary Friends by Alberto Manguel
5.0
Superīga, superīga grāmata. Lieliska odziņa uz laba grāmatu gada kūkas. Autors te ir varējis pilnībā izpaust visu, ko zina, un izskatās, ka zina viņš daudz. Viņš dzīvi skata caur grāmatu prizmu, jo grāmatas bija viņa bērnības pirmā uzticamā un nemainīgā vērtība, kas vienlaikus ir skumji un arī skaisti.
“One can build one’s autobiography in many ways: through the places one has lived, through the dreams one has had and still remembers, through remarkable encounters with unfading men and women, through mere chronological accounting. I have always thought of my life as the turning of the pages of many books. My readings, the ones that form my imaginary cartography, define almost every one of my intimate experiences, and I can trace back to a certain paragraph or line most everything I believe I know about the essential things.”
Ne visi viņa aprakstītie literārie varoņi ir briesmoņi, lai ko solītu grāmatas nosaukums. Te ir par viņiem visiem – Alisēm un Robinsoniem, diktatoriem un māksliniekiem. Kā ikviens no viņiem ir mūsos, un mēs esam viņos. Kā literatūra dod iespēju runāt par lietām, par kurām citādi runāt neprotam vai nedrīkstam.
“Today we believe in monsters but we do not want to feel responsible for them. For us, the existence of a monster such as the Chimera is no longer a question of truth but of evading the truth, of refusing to admit that we are capable, each and every one of us, of the most admirable deeds and the most abominable crimes.”
“We forget that fiction is neither accountancy nor dogma and does not deliver messages or catechisms. On the contrary, it thrives on ambiguity, in opinions raw or half-baked, in suggestions, intuitions, and emotions.”
“We never land on a desert island without longing to leave it. Anchored on the mainland, we dream of sailing beyond the horizon and arriving on a savage shore where we can build a world however see fit, where we can become a despotic ruler of a tiny private universe.”
“A book, or even an entire library, can only illuminate the path a reader has chosen; it cannot direct that reader towards an obligatory goal, or even impose a certain direction.”
“One can build one’s autobiography in many ways: through the places one has lived, through the dreams one has had and still remembers, through remarkable encounters with unfading men and women, through mere chronological accounting. I have always thought of my life as the turning of the pages of many books. My readings, the ones that form my imaginary cartography, define almost every one of my intimate experiences, and I can trace back to a certain paragraph or line most everything I believe I know about the essential things.”
Ne visi viņa aprakstītie literārie varoņi ir briesmoņi, lai ko solītu grāmatas nosaukums. Te ir par viņiem visiem – Alisēm un Robinsoniem, diktatoriem un māksliniekiem. Kā ikviens no viņiem ir mūsos, un mēs esam viņos. Kā literatūra dod iespēju runāt par lietām, par kurām citādi runāt neprotam vai nedrīkstam.
“Today we believe in monsters but we do not want to feel responsible for them. For us, the existence of a monster such as the Chimera is no longer a question of truth but of evading the truth, of refusing to admit that we are capable, each and every one of us, of the most admirable deeds and the most abominable crimes.”
“We forget that fiction is neither accountancy nor dogma and does not deliver messages or catechisms. On the contrary, it thrives on ambiguity, in opinions raw or half-baked, in suggestions, intuitions, and emotions.”
“We never land on a desert island without longing to leave it. Anchored on the mainland, we dream of sailing beyond the horizon and arriving on a savage shore where we can build a world however see fit, where we can become a despotic ruler of a tiny private universe.”
“A book, or even an entire library, can only illuminate the path a reader has chosen; it cannot direct that reader towards an obligatory goal, or even impose a certain direction.”