Status
Available
Call number
Genres
Collection
Publication
Paris, Gallimard, 1988.
Description
Perhaps Cort#65533;zar's most unconventional work, From the Observatory moves from descriptions of the life cycle of the Atlantic eel to glimpses of the unearthly structures of an observatory built in Jaipur by an 18th-century Indian prince. This architectural wonder is not merely a place dedicated to astronomical observation but also a space that bears witness to the dreams of those who entered it. Cortazar's haunting photos of this enigmatic place flow into other images - streets, oceans, night skies - which then flow into his verbal dance with a dream logic all its own. Like fish unaware of why they are migrating, readers will be pulled into this fantastic current.
User reviews
LibraryThing member cameling
From the Observatory by Julio Cortazar is the first book I received from Archipelago Books that I'm completely puzzled by. I'm not sure what the point to the book is. There are pages of black and white photographs of observatories interspersed between the text, while the author writes about the
What I do like, however, is the way it's written. The flow is very poetic even though they're not written in standard poetry formats, and the words just flit and float as if they were on a rippling brook.
I don't even know how to rate this. I can't say I liked it, and I can't say I disliked it. i just found it odd.
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life cycle of eels, the imaginary observatory of a local sultan.What I do like, however, is the way it's written. The flow is very poetic even though they're not written in standard poetry formats, and the words just flit and float as if they were on a rippling brook.
I don't even know how to rate this. I can't say I liked it, and I can't say I disliked it. i just found it odd.
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LibraryThing member kidzdoc
This prose poem was written by Cortázar in 1973, after his 1968 visit to the Jantar Mantar, a collection of 14 geometrical instruments built in the 18th century by Maharaja Jaipur Singh in Jaipur, the capital of the Indian state of Rajasthan. During his visit, Cortázar took approximately 300
Cortázar employs imagery from these instruments in a poem about the cosmos, man's place in it, and the brutal and unforgiving lives of eels.
This poem went completely over my head, as I didn't understand what Cortázar was getting at, and I felt as confused as if I was reading it in a completely foreign language. Even worse, I read a recent review of the book, and I didn't understand it, either! I didn't like or dislike From the Observatory, so I'll give it 3 stars because I have no idea how to rate the book.
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photos of these instruments, some of which are included in the book.Cortázar employs imagery from these instruments in a poem about the cosmos, man's place in it, and the brutal and unforgiving lives of eels.
This poem went completely over my head, as I didn't understand what Cortázar was getting at, and I felt as confused as if I was reading it in a completely foreign language. Even worse, I read a recent review of the book, and I didn't understand it, either! I didn't like or dislike From the Observatory, so I'll give it 3 stars because I have no idea how to rate the book.
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Language
Original language
Spanish
Physical description
115 p.; 22 cm
ISBN
2070711706 / 9782070711703