Ariadne in the Grotesque Labyrinth

Ariadne in the Grotesque Labyrinth

Translated by Rowan Ricardo Phillips

Collection Catalan Literature Series

One of the defining texts of twentieth-century Catalan fiction, written by one of its most innovative and cherished writers, Salvador Espriu's Ariadne in the Grotesque Labyrinth is a collection of thirty-four short stories in which the twists and turns of action, character, and place are as winding and sumptuous as the legendary maze of its title. Originally published in 1935 in the midst of great countrywide political and social upheaval, these stories are a mirror, a grotesque mirror, held up to Catalan and Spanish society. Infused with a deep sense of mythic power, blending social realism with lush modernist experiment, Ariadne in the Grotesque Labyrinth is a triumph of style. Perhaps best known for his poetry, Espriu's rich lyricism and highly evocative use of the Catalan language are here brought to life in the poet Rowan Ricardo Phillips's remarkable English-language translation of a classic of world literature.

Details

Title Ariadne in the Grotesque Labyrinth
Translated by Rowan Ricardo Phillips
Title First Published 15 July 2012
 
Format Hardcover
Nb of pages 176 p.
ISBN-10 156478732X
ISBN-13 9781564787323
Nb of pages 176
Dimensions 5.5 x 8 in.
List Price $19.95
 
Format Paperback
Nb of pages 176 p.
ISBN-10 1564787729
ISBN-13 9781564787729
Nb of pages 176
Dimensions 5.5 x 8 in.
List Price $13.95
 

Reviews

Press Reviews

Die Zeit
"Espriu's incredible erudition [includes] allusions ranging from classical mythology to the Bible, from Arab mystics and Meister Eckhart to Goethe, from Edgar Allan Poe to contemporary poetry."
- Peter Hamm

World Literature Today
"Espriu consistently fuses the local and metaphysical . . . [working] the elements of everyday Catalan life (goat paths, fennel) into a profoundly tragic vision of history which remains both individual and communal . . ."

Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
"No other Iberian poet of the past century, with the possible exception of the Portuguese Fernando Pessoa, has written such culturally rooted poetry with such soberness in his style. Espriu . . . is a living symbol of Catalan poetry in dark times."



Quotations

"An extraordinary poet by any international standard."
-Harold Bloom

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