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Buried Alive
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172 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1908
21 people are currently reading
953 people want to read
About the author
Arnold Bennett
964 books312 followersEnoch Arnold Bennett was an English author, best known as a novelist, who wrote prolifically. Between the 1890s and the 1930s he completed 34 novels, seven volumes of short stories, 13 plays (some in collaboration with other writers), and a daily journal totalling more than a million words. He wrote articles and stories for more than 100 newspapers and periodicals, worked in and briefly ran the Ministry of Information during the First World War, and wrote for the cinema in the 1920s. Sales of his books were substantial, and he was the most financially successful British author of his day.
Born into a modest but upwardly mobile family in Hanley, in the Staffordshire Potteries, Bennett was intended by his father, a solicitor, to follow him into the legal profession. Bennett worked for his father before moving to another law firm in London as a clerk at the age of 21. He became assistant editor and then editor of a women's magazine before becoming a full-time author in 1900. Always a devotee of French culture in general and French literature in particular, he moved to Paris in 1903; there the relaxed milieu helped him overcome his intense shyness, particularly with women. He spent ten years in France, marrying a Frenchwoman in 1907. In 1912 he moved back to England. He and his wife separated in 1921, and he spent the last years of his life with a new partner, an English actress. He died in 1931 of typhoid fever, having unwisely drunk tap-water in France.
Many of Bennett's novels and short stories are set in a fictionalised version of the Staffordshire Potteries, which he called The Five Towns. He strongly believed that literature should be accessible to ordinary people and he deplored literary cliques and élites. His books appealed to a wide public and sold in large numbers. For this reason, and for his adherence to realism, writers and supporters of the modernist school, notably Virginia Woolf, belittled him, and his fiction became neglected after his death. During his lifetime his journalistic "self-help" books sold in substantial numbers, and he was also a playwright; he did less well in the theatre than with novels but achieved two considerable successes with Milestones (1912) and The Great Adventure (1913).
Studies by Margaret Drabble (1974), John Carey (1992), and others have led to a re-evaluation of Bennett's work. The finest of his novels, including Anna of the Five Towns (1902), The Old Wives' Tale (1908), Clayhanger (1910) and Riceyman Steps (1923), are now widely recognised as major works.
Born into a modest but upwardly mobile family in Hanley, in the Staffordshire Potteries, Bennett was intended by his father, a solicitor, to follow him into the legal profession. Bennett worked for his father before moving to another law firm in London as a clerk at the age of 21. He became assistant editor and then editor of a women's magazine before becoming a full-time author in 1900. Always a devotee of French culture in general and French literature in particular, he moved to Paris in 1903; there the relaxed milieu helped him overcome his intense shyness, particularly with women. He spent ten years in France, marrying a Frenchwoman in 1907. In 1912 he moved back to England. He and his wife separated in 1921, and he spent the last years of his life with a new partner, an English actress. He died in 1931 of typhoid fever, having unwisely drunk tap-water in France.
Many of Bennett's novels and short stories are set in a fictionalised version of the Staffordshire Potteries, which he called The Five Towns. He strongly believed that literature should be accessible to ordinary people and he deplored literary cliques and élites. His books appealed to a wide public and sold in large numbers. For this reason, and for his adherence to realism, writers and supporters of the modernist school, notably Virginia Woolf, belittled him, and his fiction became neglected after his death. During his lifetime his journalistic "self-help" books sold in substantial numbers, and he was also a playwright; he did less well in the theatre than with novels but achieved two considerable successes with Milestones (1912) and The Great Adventure (1913).
Studies by Margaret Drabble (1974), John Carey (1992), and others have led to a re-evaluation of Bennett's work. The finest of his novels, including Anna of the Five Towns (1902), The Old Wives' Tale (1908), Clayhanger (1910) and Riceyman Steps (1923), are now widely recognised as major works.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 108 reviews
May 26, 2022
La novela me ha parecido poco más que un divertimento, una comedia amable, en ocasiones inverosímil, pero nadie dice que las comedias no puedan serlo, con la que pasar un rato agradable. Eso sí, en mi caso, que venía de leer a Guimarães Rosa, ha sido como, tras haber escuchado a Wayne Shorter, oír una canción de Alaska: sí, que muevo la pierna, que muevo el pie, pero nada de mil campanas sonando en mi corazón
September 13, 2020
This delightful book is far too short, though according to the Preface of The Old Wives' Tale (see my review HERE), it "was received with majestic indifference by the British public"!
* No spoilers below: Comments that may look like spoilers actually tell you less than the blurb on the back of the book.
* The title is entirely metaphorical: This is not a book for lovers of the macabre. It is a tragi-comic satire about identity, inhibition, love, the meaning and value of art, and the institutions of state, church, media and courts. It is whimsical, but not merely that; there is a decent plot as well. It's superficially absurd, and certainly funny, but there's much truth smuggled beneath that guise.
The setup
Priam Farll is a wealthy, successful Edwardian artist (shortly before WW1) who is cripplingly shy. He lives the life of a recluse, mainly in Europe, with his valet, Henry Leek. He is not, initially, a sympathetic character, but he rapidly became one.
The story opens quixotically:
"The peculiar angle of the earth's axis to the plan of the ecliptic - that angle which is chiefly responsible for our geography and therefore our history - had caused the phenomenon known in London as summer."
The power of destiny is reinforced by other astronomical analogies, including:
"Up in the corners of the ceiling, obscure in the eclipse of the cardboard shade, was a complicated system of cobwebs."
Switching identity
Priam accidentally takes on the identity of Leek, and finds that although he gains some liberation, there are problems too (some unpleasant, and others comic).
Image: Kitten seeing lion in mirror (Source.)
"He had wanted to be free, and free he was... But it appeared to him very remarkable that so much could happen, in so short a time, as the result of a momentary impulsive prevarication."
Shyness is painful, "There were moments with him when he could not speak lest his should should come out of his mouth and flit irrevocably away", but not simple: "Like all shy people he had fits of amazing audacity", but not necessarily when he most needs them, and his audacious side can create situations that his shy side then struggles to overcome.
Nevertheless, love, anonymity and ordinary middle class common sense come to his rescue. When things get tricky, he catches "a disconcerting glimpse of the depths of utter unscrupulousness that sometimes disclose themselves in the mind of a good and loving woman".
The meaning, value, and purpose of art
Priam's art is distinctive, but what is the value of the art itself, or is it the name of the artist that creates the value?
Does it even matter, and if so, to whom?
And can a great artist cease to create or else change their style to an unrecognisable degree?
"An imitation that no one can distinguish from the original is naturally as good as the original" - or is it?
Revelation
One assumes Priam's true identity will be revealed, and there are several ways it could happen. Even when it becomes a cause celebre in court, it is not clear what will be believed. Bennett has fun with this stage of the story, combining grand theatricality with raw economics. Cases drag on because "actors engaged at a hundred a day for the run of the piece do not crack whips behind experts engaged at ten or twenty a day". Only one person is immune to intimidation of the occasion (and it's not Priam).
"All that he [Priam] demanded from the world was peace and quietness, and the world would not grant him these inexpensive commodities".
But there is always art.
"He could neither talk well nor read well... He could only express himself at the end of a brush... In minor ways he may have been, upon occasion, a fool. But he was never a fool on canvass... Why expect more of him? One does not expect a wire-walker to play fine billiards."
I would love to take him under my wing, nourish his genius, and protect him from the world - except that I wouldn't manage to overthrow the indomitable Alice.
Quotes
Lines that captured my imagination:
* A house of "perfect inconvenience" with lights that "were silently proving that man's ingenuity can outwit Nature" (i.e. night).
* The down of a dressing gown was "warm as the smile of a kind heart".
* The role of a doctor is "curing imaginary ailments by means of medicine and suggestion, and leaving real ailments to nature aided by coloured water".
* "A magnificent woman whose youth was slipping off her polished shoulders like a cloak." "She was a woman who, as it were, ran out to meet you when you started to cross the dangerous roadway which separated the two sexes."
* There are wonderful descriptions of Priam's first encounter with the Underground (metro) and its lifts (elevators): "another cage rose into the tunnel... vomited its captives, and descended quickly... and threw him [Priam] and the rest out into a white mine consisting of numberless galleries. He ran about these interminable galleries... at the bidding of painted hands... and occasionally magic trains without engines swept across his vision."
* "Waiters who were trying to force them to depart by means of thought transference and uneasy hovering around their table."
* "The room was ugly in a pleasant Putneyish way... a too realistic wallpaper... a carpet with the characteristics of a retired governess who has taken to drink."
* Smart trousers had a crease "which seemed more than mortal".
* "He said this with a very agreeable mingling of sincerity, deference, and mercantile directness."
* Shades of Wilde: "To cultivate and nourish a grievance when you have five hundred pounds in your pocket, in cash, is the most difficult thing in the world."
* "It nettled him [lawyer], too, merely to see a witness standing in the box just as if she were standing in her kitchen talking to a tradesman at the door."
* No spoilers below: Comments that may look like spoilers actually tell you less than the blurb on the back of the book.
* The title is entirely metaphorical: This is not a book for lovers of the macabre. It is a tragi-comic satire about identity, inhibition, love, the meaning and value of art, and the institutions of state, church, media and courts. It is whimsical, but not merely that; there is a decent plot as well. It's superficially absurd, and certainly funny, but there's much truth smuggled beneath that guise.
The setup
Priam Farll is a wealthy, successful Edwardian artist (shortly before WW1) who is cripplingly shy. He lives the life of a recluse, mainly in Europe, with his valet, Henry Leek. He is not, initially, a sympathetic character, but he rapidly became one.
The story opens quixotically:
"The peculiar angle of the earth's axis to the plan of the ecliptic - that angle which is chiefly responsible for our geography and therefore our history - had caused the phenomenon known in London as summer."
The power of destiny is reinforced by other astronomical analogies, including:
"Up in the corners of the ceiling, obscure in the eclipse of the cardboard shade, was a complicated system of cobwebs."
Switching identity
Priam accidentally takes on the identity of Leek, and finds that although he gains some liberation, there are problems too (some unpleasant, and others comic).
Image: Kitten seeing lion in mirror (Source.)
"He had wanted to be free, and free he was... But it appeared to him very remarkable that so much could happen, in so short a time, as the result of a momentary impulsive prevarication."
Shyness is painful, "There were moments with him when he could not speak lest his should should come out of his mouth and flit irrevocably away", but not simple: "Like all shy people he had fits of amazing audacity", but not necessarily when he most needs them, and his audacious side can create situations that his shy side then struggles to overcome.
Nevertheless, love, anonymity and ordinary middle class common sense come to his rescue. When things get tricky, he catches "a disconcerting glimpse of the depths of utter unscrupulousness that sometimes disclose themselves in the mind of a good and loving woman".
The meaning, value, and purpose of art
Priam's art is distinctive, but what is the value of the art itself, or is it the name of the artist that creates the value?
Does it even matter, and if so, to whom?
And can a great artist cease to create or else change their style to an unrecognisable degree?
"An imitation that no one can distinguish from the original is naturally as good as the original" - or is it?
Revelation
One assumes Priam's true identity will be revealed, and there are several ways it could happen. Even when it becomes a cause celebre in court, it is not clear what will be believed. Bennett has fun with this stage of the story, combining grand theatricality with raw economics. Cases drag on because "actors engaged at a hundred a day for the run of the piece do not crack whips behind experts engaged at ten or twenty a day". Only one person is immune to intimidation of the occasion (and it's not Priam).
"All that he [Priam] demanded from the world was peace and quietness, and the world would not grant him these inexpensive commodities".
But there is always art.
"He could neither talk well nor read well... He could only express himself at the end of a brush... In minor ways he may have been, upon occasion, a fool. But he was never a fool on canvass... Why expect more of him? One does not expect a wire-walker to play fine billiards."
I would love to take him under my wing, nourish his genius, and protect him from the world - except that I wouldn't manage to overthrow the indomitable Alice.
Quotes
Lines that captured my imagination:
* A house of "perfect inconvenience" with lights that "were silently proving that man's ingenuity can outwit Nature" (i.e. night).
* The down of a dressing gown was "warm as the smile of a kind heart".
* The role of a doctor is "curing imaginary ailments by means of medicine and suggestion, and leaving real ailments to nature aided by coloured water".
* "A magnificent woman whose youth was slipping off her polished shoulders like a cloak." "She was a woman who, as it were, ran out to meet you when you started to cross the dangerous roadway which separated the two sexes."
* There are wonderful descriptions of Priam's first encounter with the Underground (metro) and its lifts (elevators): "another cage rose into the tunnel... vomited its captives, and descended quickly... and threw him [Priam] and the rest out into a white mine consisting of numberless galleries. He ran about these interminable galleries... at the bidding of painted hands... and occasionally magic trains without engines swept across his vision."
* "Waiters who were trying to force them to depart by means of thought transference and uneasy hovering around their table."
* "The room was ugly in a pleasant Putneyish way... a too realistic wallpaper... a carpet with the characteristics of a retired governess who has taken to drink."
* Smart trousers had a crease "which seemed more than mortal".
* "He said this with a very agreeable mingling of sincerity, deference, and mercantile directness."
* Shades of Wilde: "To cultivate and nourish a grievance when you have five hundred pounds in your pocket, in cash, is the most difficult thing in the world."
* "It nettled him [lawyer], too, merely to see a witness standing in the box just as if she were standing in her kitchen talking to a tradesman at the door."
September 1, 2020
It has been a while since a book swept me off my feet and whirled its way to full five stardom. Buried Alive, by English author Arnold Bennett (1867 -1931), is a hilarious and suspenseful comic satire that had me raring to get back to it when work took me away.
Its protagonist, Priam Farll, is a 50-year old bachelor and supremely eminent British artist who is widely travelled and has lived many years in Europe. His is relentlessly courted by journalists and art connoisseurs. However, Priam is pathologically shy. The DSM-5 will call his extraordinary shyness social anxiety. We were told, ‘To call the world’s attention visually to the fact of his own existence was anguish to him. But in a letter he could be absolutely brazen. Give him a pen and he was fearless.’ On a day-to-day basis, Priam is dependent on his valet (Henry Fleet) who travels the world with him and acts as his social conduit. In awkward situations, Priam has only one response, which is to flee. On one of those ‘flights’ to safety, Priam landed in London where his valet, unfortunately, died suddenly. The attending doctor mistook Henry for Priam. Brilliant! ‘And all the sensitive timidity in Priam Farll’s character seized swiftly at the mad chance of escape from any kind of public appearance as Priam Farll. Why should he not let it be supposed that he, and not Henry Leek, had expired suddenly in Selwood Terrace at 5 a.m. He would be free, utterly free!’
How liberating for Priam! He is now free for he was dead. Or so he thought. Given his fame and standing in the world of art, what are the implications?
All of Europe mourned the loss of Priam Farll. It was hilarious watching Priam receive the tributes that poured in. For a few years, life is great! He meets Mrs. Alice Challice, a simple, kind, down-to-earth widow (Henry’s matched partner from a matrimonial agency) who knows nothing about art. He realizes for the first time that he is no longer missing out on the best things in life. I celebrated Priam’s new beginnings because he deserves to be happy. And Alice herself is pure delight. You have to meet her.
Yet, how long can a famous and talented artist ignore his gift or hope to live in isolation and oblivion? This is the story of Priam’s conundrum in which neither his artistic talent nor the art world will leave him alone. .
Buried Alive made me consider the value of art. What confers on a work of art its value? Is it the reputation of the artist? Or is it something intrinsic to the work of art itself? If a great work of art lacks access to discerning artists, art connoisseurs or art critics, will its true value ever come to light? Buried Alive also satirizes the justice system in England in the early part of the twentieth century.
Read Buried Alive. It deserves a wider readership. It is grandly enjoyable. You cannot read it and not laugh.
Its protagonist, Priam Farll, is a 50-year old bachelor and supremely eminent British artist who is widely travelled and has lived many years in Europe. His is relentlessly courted by journalists and art connoisseurs. However, Priam is pathologically shy. The DSM-5 will call his extraordinary shyness social anxiety. We were told, ‘To call the world’s attention visually to the fact of his own existence was anguish to him. But in a letter he could be absolutely brazen. Give him a pen and he was fearless.’ On a day-to-day basis, Priam is dependent on his valet (Henry Fleet) who travels the world with him and acts as his social conduit. In awkward situations, Priam has only one response, which is to flee. On one of those ‘flights’ to safety, Priam landed in London where his valet, unfortunately, died suddenly. The attending doctor mistook Henry for Priam. Brilliant! ‘And all the sensitive timidity in Priam Farll’s character seized swiftly at the mad chance of escape from any kind of public appearance as Priam Farll. Why should he not let it be supposed that he, and not Henry Leek, had expired suddenly in Selwood Terrace at 5 a.m. He would be free, utterly free!’
How liberating for Priam! He is now free for he was dead. Or so he thought. Given his fame and standing in the world of art, what are the implications?
All of Europe mourned the loss of Priam Farll. It was hilarious watching Priam receive the tributes that poured in. For a few years, life is great! He meets Mrs. Alice Challice, a simple, kind, down-to-earth widow (Henry’s matched partner from a matrimonial agency) who knows nothing about art. He realizes for the first time that he is no longer missing out on the best things in life. I celebrated Priam’s new beginnings because he deserves to be happy. And Alice herself is pure delight. You have to meet her.
Yet, how long can a famous and talented artist ignore his gift or hope to live in isolation and oblivion? This is the story of Priam’s conundrum in which neither his artistic talent nor the art world will leave him alone. .
Buried Alive made me consider the value of art. What confers on a work of art its value? Is it the reputation of the artist? Or is it something intrinsic to the work of art itself? If a great work of art lacks access to discerning artists, art connoisseurs or art critics, will its true value ever come to light? Buried Alive also satirizes the justice system in England in the early part of the twentieth century.
Read Buried Alive. It deserves a wider readership. It is grandly enjoyable. You cannot read it and not laugh.
September 14, 2020
This book
IS
fun! It stretches credibility, but it doesn’t matter. I enjoyed every minute spent with this book.
Arnold Bennett paints with words. The prose is what makes the book good. The lines are packed with humor, my kind of humor, humor that brings a smile to your face after you pause a second to think!
It is not the plot that is the book’s attraction. On this I will spend just a few words. The central character, Priam Farll, is a renown English painter. He has achieved both money and fame, but he is shy, excessively shy! So he employs a valet--Henry Leek. Henry is Priam’s face to the outside world. Both are fifty. Both are bachelors, but Henry has a past of which he does not speak.
All is fine until calamity strikes; Priam’s world is tossed upside down! His valet gets sick and dies, in Priam’s own bed. When the doctor comes, he mistakenly thinks that it is Priam who has died rather than his valet. Priam fails to disabuse him of his error. Why? Because Priam is so shy; here’s a perfect way to disappear from the world! Or so he thinks……What ensues is the story.
So how do I convince you the story is so good, when it is not the plot that attracts? You will simply have to take my word for it. There is subtle humor in almost every line. And Priam, he is a real artist, an artist in his soul. I fell for him, as does somebody else. In her words, “Henry was a dreamer……but Henry was Henry. He was adorable, but he was Henry.” You’re confused? She’s convinced Priam is the valet. This woman is so down to earth, what she says has you smiling too!
What is delivered is a fun story with fun characters and lots of humor. The humor is sometimes satirical, sometimes ironical, sometimes simply laugh out loud funny. It is good natured. It pokes fun at art, doctors, social class, the judiciary system, introversion versus extroversion and yes, love!
There are hints of antisemitism, which I must admit, made me somewhat uncomfortable. I have yet to find conclusive information on this.
This story is available free at Librivox, here: https://librivox.org/buried-alive-by-... Simon Evers narrates. Librivox recordings are not professionally produced. You hear other sounds in the background and there are long pauses between chapters, but these recordings are free and the book is not available at Audible! Evers reads the entire book and he reads well. At times I wish he spoke a little slower. Others will probably think the speed is just fine. In the future, I will not hesitate to choose other books read by him. He reads quite a few by Arnold Bennett. I have given his narration three stars.
************************
*Anna of the Five Towns 4 stars
*Riceyman Steps 4 stars
*Helen with the High Hand - An Idyllic Diversion 4 stars
*The Old Wives' Tale 4 stars
*The Card: A Story of Adventure in the Five Towns 4 stars
*Buried Alive 4 stars
Arnold Bennett paints with words. The prose is what makes the book good. The lines are packed with humor, my kind of humor, humor that brings a smile to your face after you pause a second to think!
It is not the plot that is the book’s attraction. On this I will spend just a few words. The central character, Priam Farll, is a renown English painter. He has achieved both money and fame, but he is shy, excessively shy! So he employs a valet--Henry Leek. Henry is Priam’s face to the outside world. Both are fifty. Both are bachelors, but Henry has a past of which he does not speak.
All is fine until calamity strikes; Priam’s world is tossed upside down! His valet gets sick and dies, in Priam’s own bed. When the doctor comes, he mistakenly thinks that it is Priam who has died rather than his valet. Priam fails to disabuse him of his error. Why? Because Priam is so shy; here’s a perfect way to disappear from the world! Or so he thinks……What ensues is the story.
So how do I convince you the story is so good, when it is not the plot that attracts? You will simply have to take my word for it. There is subtle humor in almost every line. And Priam, he is a real artist, an artist in his soul. I fell for him, as does somebody else. In her words, “Henry was a dreamer……but Henry was Henry. He was adorable, but he was Henry.” You’re confused? She’s convinced Priam is the valet. This woman is so down to earth, what she says has you smiling too!
What is delivered is a fun story with fun characters and lots of humor. The humor is sometimes satirical, sometimes ironical, sometimes simply laugh out loud funny. It is good natured. It pokes fun at art, doctors, social class, the judiciary system, introversion versus extroversion and yes, love!
There are hints of antisemitism, which I must admit, made me somewhat uncomfortable. I have yet to find conclusive information on this.
This story is available free at Librivox, here: https://librivox.org/buried-alive-by-... Simon Evers narrates. Librivox recordings are not professionally produced. You hear other sounds in the background and there are long pauses between chapters, but these recordings are free and the book is not available at Audible! Evers reads the entire book and he reads well. At times I wish he spoke a little slower. Others will probably think the speed is just fine. In the future, I will not hesitate to choose other books read by him. He reads quite a few by Arnold Bennett. I have given his narration three stars.
************************
*Anna of the Five Towns 4 stars
*Riceyman Steps 4 stars
*Helen with the High Hand - An Idyllic Diversion 4 stars
*The Old Wives' Tale 4 stars
*The Card: A Story of Adventure in the Five Towns 4 stars
*Buried Alive 4 stars
October 11, 2020
Funniest satirical book I have read in ages. It tells the story of Priam Farll the greatest painter England ever produced. He also is painfully shy and relies on his dodgy valet for everything so when he dies and Priam takes his identity there begins a series of comic escapades. Priam watches his valet buried at Westminster Abbey, marries Alice and ends up living an idyllic life in Putney. Until he is discovered by Mr Oxford.
I found this book very funny and the descriptions of the underground, Putney and the courtroom drama well written and hilarious.
I found this book very funny and the descriptions of the underground, Putney and the courtroom drama well written and hilarious.
December 7, 2016
La curiosa historia de cómo una mentirijilla de nada que no hace daño a nadie se hace una bola muy grande hasta que explota en toda la cara del protagonista. ¡Pa' habernos matao Priam!
October 11, 2020
I’ve read one other book by Arnold Bennett, Riceyman Steps, and gave that 5 stars. I would give this novel 3 stars. It was not on the same plane as Riceyman Steps but still was worth the read.
I initially thought it wasn’t. For the first 70 pages or so I found it to be boring, but then things started to pick up, and I wrote three times in my notes “too funny” or words to that effect.
Brief synopsis: Prima Farll is a famous painter who is notoriously shy — nobody has seen him in years — and one night his personal valet, Henry Leek, dies of acute double pneumonia. Rather than tell the doctor who tends to Leek that he is the famous Priam Farll he panics and says that he is Henry Leek and the man who died of pneumonia is Priam Farll. Just a minor white lie. 😊 And thus the real but dead Henry Leek is mourned as a national treasure by England (they think he is Priam Farll) and is by buried in Valhalla (I don’t know what Valhalla is…originally in the novel he was going to be buried at Westminster Abbey). So — Priam Farll is alive only to him…to everybody else Priam Farll is dead and buried and Henry Leek is still alive. And the very much alive Priam Farll then has to face the consequences of his action on taking on the life of Henry Leek, which includes getting married among other things.
Notes:
Arnold Bennett wrote 30 novels and “His finest novels, including Anna of the Five Towns (1902), The Old Wives' Tale (1908), Clayhanger (1910) and Riceyman Steps (1923), are now widely recognised as major works.” [from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arnold_... ] So this novel and 25 others did not make the cut. Oh well, what do reviewers know… 😏
My issue of the book (published in 1908) was from “The library of the Sheepscot Good Neighbor Club” of Sheepscot, Maine. I googled the city/town and apparently it no longer exists. So I guess I can’t return my library book. 😐
It was made into a movie…twice: The Great Adventure is a 1921 American silent romantic comedy film produced by Whitman Bennett and distributed by First National Pictures, then called Associated First National. The film was directed by Kenneth Webb and starred Lionel Barrymore. Fredric March made his screen debut in this film. The film is based upon the 1908 novel Buried Alive by Arnold Bennett. It was remade in 1933 as His Double Life starring Lillian Gish. The Great Adventure is a surviving feature film held by the Library of Congress.
Review:
https://www.stuckinabook.com/buried-a...
I initially thought it wasn’t. For the first 70 pages or so I found it to be boring, but then things started to pick up, and I wrote three times in my notes “too funny” or words to that effect.
Brief synopsis: Prima Farll is a famous painter who is notoriously shy — nobody has seen him in years — and one night his personal valet, Henry Leek, dies of acute double pneumonia. Rather than tell the doctor who tends to Leek that he is the famous Priam Farll he panics and says that he is Henry Leek and the man who died of pneumonia is Priam Farll. Just a minor white lie. 😊 And thus the real but dead Henry Leek is mourned as a national treasure by England (they think he is Priam Farll) and is by buried in Valhalla (I don’t know what Valhalla is…originally in the novel he was going to be buried at Westminster Abbey). So — Priam Farll is alive only to him…to everybody else Priam Farll is dead and buried and Henry Leek is still alive. And the very much alive Priam Farll then has to face the consequences of his action on taking on the life of Henry Leek, which includes getting married among other things.
Notes:
Arnold Bennett wrote 30 novels and “His finest novels, including Anna of the Five Towns (1902), The Old Wives' Tale (1908), Clayhanger (1910) and Riceyman Steps (1923), are now widely recognised as major works.” [from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arnold_... ] So this novel and 25 others did not make the cut. Oh well, what do reviewers know… 😏
My issue of the book (published in 1908) was from “The library of the Sheepscot Good Neighbor Club” of Sheepscot, Maine. I googled the city/town and apparently it no longer exists. So I guess I can’t return my library book. 😐
It was made into a movie…twice: The Great Adventure is a 1921 American silent romantic comedy film produced by Whitman Bennett and distributed by First National Pictures, then called Associated First National. The film was directed by Kenneth Webb and starred Lionel Barrymore. Fredric March made his screen debut in this film. The film is based upon the 1908 novel Buried Alive by Arnold Bennett. It was remade in 1933 as His Double Life starring Lillian Gish. The Great Adventure is a surviving feature film held by the Library of Congress.
Review:
https://www.stuckinabook.com/buried-a...
November 30, 2021
“Como ser humano el pintor era un tímido. Era un hombre bien distinto de ti o de mí. Priam Farll era distinto. Llamar la atención del mundo, visualmente, hacia su propia existencia constituía una verdadera angustia para él. Pero en una carta era absolutamente osado. Y si tomaba un pincel, los temores desaparecían.”
Priam Farll es un exitoso y talentosísimo pintor que envía sus cuadros a la New Gallery de Londres. Sus cuadros se venden en altas cantidades de libras esterlinas pero posee un detalle particular: prácticamente nadie conoce su rostros ya que es extremadamente tímido.
Quieren las circunstancias de la vida de que su criado de toda la vida, Henry Leek muera repentinamente y Priam, con tal de salir a recorrer el mundo sin que nadie sepa quién, toma la identidad de su criado haciéndole creer a su médico de que el verdadero Priam Farll, él, ha muerto.
Obviamente la noticia recorre todo Inglaterra y se organiza su funeral para ser enterrado en la ostentosa Abadía de Westminster, pero claro, el secretismo dura poco y sin quererlo Priam se enamora rápidamente de Alice y al estar cómodo en su vida de casado vuelve a pintar hasta que sus trazos y pinceladas son descubiertos por el suspicaz marchand Mr. Oxford.
Es a partir de aquí que toda su coartada cae a punto tal de que hasta es enjuiciado. El final lo dejo para quien quiera leer esta excelente novela del desconocido Enoch A. Bennett, escritor inglés que escribió “Enterrado en vida” en 1908 y fue descubierto (cuando no) por Jorge Luis Borges, amante de la literatura inglesa incluyendo la novela en su colección “Biblioteca Personal” editada en 1985.
“Enterrado en vida” es una novela es fresca y dinámica, que posee una fina ironía en muchas de sus líneas, con una narrativa fluida y diálogos precisos.
En cierta manera encuentro cierta conexión entre esta novela y el cuento “Wakefield” de Nathaniel Hawthorne con la diferencia de que Wakefield se esconde en la oscuridad y el ostracismo para no dejarse ver ni por su esposa ni por nadie durante veinte años cuando decide regresar. De todas maneras, la similitud entre la decisión inicial de Priam Farll y de Wakefield se asemejan.
He disfrutado mucho de “Enterrado en vida”. Si le gustó al Maestro, era raro que no me gustara a mí.
Priam Farll es un exitoso y talentosísimo pintor que envía sus cuadros a la New Gallery de Londres. Sus cuadros se venden en altas cantidades de libras esterlinas pero posee un detalle particular: prácticamente nadie conoce su rostros ya que es extremadamente tímido.
Quieren las circunstancias de la vida de que su criado de toda la vida, Henry Leek muera repentinamente y Priam, con tal de salir a recorrer el mundo sin que nadie sepa quién, toma la identidad de su criado haciéndole creer a su médico de que el verdadero Priam Farll, él, ha muerto.
Obviamente la noticia recorre todo Inglaterra y se organiza su funeral para ser enterrado en la ostentosa Abadía de Westminster, pero claro, el secretismo dura poco y sin quererlo Priam se enamora rápidamente de Alice y al estar cómodo en su vida de casado vuelve a pintar hasta que sus trazos y pinceladas son descubiertos por el suspicaz marchand Mr. Oxford.
Es a partir de aquí que toda su coartada cae a punto tal de que hasta es enjuiciado. El final lo dejo para quien quiera leer esta excelente novela del desconocido Enoch A. Bennett, escritor inglés que escribió “Enterrado en vida” en 1908 y fue descubierto (cuando no) por Jorge Luis Borges, amante de la literatura inglesa incluyendo la novela en su colección “Biblioteca Personal” editada en 1985.
“Enterrado en vida” es una novela es fresca y dinámica, que posee una fina ironía en muchas de sus líneas, con una narrativa fluida y diálogos precisos.
En cierta manera encuentro cierta conexión entre esta novela y el cuento “Wakefield” de Nathaniel Hawthorne con la diferencia de que Wakefield se esconde en la oscuridad y el ostracismo para no dejarse ver ni por su esposa ni por nadie durante veinte años cuando decide regresar. De todas maneras, la similitud entre la decisión inicial de Priam Farll y de Wakefield se asemejan.
He disfrutado mucho de “Enterrado en vida”. Si le gustó al Maestro, era raro que no me gustara a mí.
November 5, 2023
Buried Alive (1908) is only the third book I have read by Arnold Bennett and, like the other two, it is very interesting and enjoyable.
It's a satire about celebrity, identity, shyness, love, art, the state, the church, the media and the justice system.
The plot is great too and Alice, the main female character, is superb. Very amusing and quietly profound and subersive too.
What more could a reader wish for?
4/5
An ingenious satire, Buried Alive (1908) is Bennett at his most charming and wittiest. It is the story of a renowned but exceedingly shy painter, Priam Farll, who assumes the identity of his dead valet, Henry Leek, as a means of avoiding press attention
It's a satire about celebrity, identity, shyness, love, art, the state, the church, the media and the justice system.
The plot is great too and Alice, the main female character, is superb. Very amusing and quietly profound and subersive too.
What more could a reader wish for?
4/5
An ingenious satire, Buried Alive (1908) is Bennett at his most charming and wittiest. It is the story of a renowned but exceedingly shy painter, Priam Farll, who assumes the identity of his dead valet, Henry Leek, as a means of avoiding press attention
September 20, 2020
Novela de corte humorístico en la que un pintor finge su muerte con divertidas consecuencias.
July 8, 2019
Υπέροχο βιβλίο, ρεαλιστικό μυθιστόρημα. Περιγραφή της μεταβικτωριανής εποχής, με επεισόδια που αποδεικνύουν την εμπορευματοποίηση της τέχνης, με έναν υπέροχο ήρωα και τη σύζυγό του που μπορεί να μην ξέρει από τέχνη, ξέρει όμως από αγάπη.Και αυτό το βιβλίο και ο Αμερικανός Κόμης που διάβασα στην ίδια σειρά είναι κοσμήματα των εκδόσεων Πατάκη.
January 19, 2021
Muy divertido y al mismo muy crítico del mundo del arte y de la sociedad londinense de aquel tiempo. Lo disfruté muchísimo.
December 11, 2010
A comic gem. A perfectly contained story. It's a crime Arnold Bennett is not better known. Also read "The Old Wives' Tale'
March 8, 2016
Una novela corta, con ese humor inglés irónico y ligeramente absurdo que caracteriza a Bennett. Una delicia.
September 13, 2020
“Y al llegar a tal estado las cosas, la ingente cantidad de público que lee periódicos despertó repentinamente y preguntó como una sola voz: «¿Quién es Priam Farll?».”
A esta pregunta, la respuesta, no es más que el principal personaje de la novela de Arnold Bennet, Enterrado en vida. Un pintor ingles que estableció fama con sus pinturas, y en especial con dos de ellas: Un policía retratado o Policeman y Los pingüinos. Pero, algo lo caracterizaba, su timidez, su excentricismo, el ser un individuo solitario, un personaje que lo que estaba mas allá de la puerta de entrada de su habitáculo le irritaba. Para las acciones de enfrentar a la humanidad tenía un criado Henry Leek, quien a raíz de una pulmonía muere, y es aquí donde los temores a Priam se les cruzan, ante el qué voy hacer, pero quien enciendo la bombilla de su respuesta es el doctor quien confunde al criando con el pintor, y este es el motivo para salir de la casa, esta confusión, da motivo a otro tipo de vida, que se desarrolla en la novela, donde el engaño, la crisis, el amor, las relaciones sociales, el enfrentamiento con la justicia, la demostración de algunas evidencias, hacen de la novela amena.
Una novela elegida por Jorge Luis Borges como parte de su biblioteca. Una novela que podría leerse como un cuento, de un lectura media, sin exigencias
A esta pregunta, la respuesta, no es más que el principal personaje de la novela de Arnold Bennet, Enterrado en vida. Un pintor ingles que estableció fama con sus pinturas, y en especial con dos de ellas: Un policía retratado o Policeman y Los pingüinos. Pero, algo lo caracterizaba, su timidez, su excentricismo, el ser un individuo solitario, un personaje que lo que estaba mas allá de la puerta de entrada de su habitáculo le irritaba. Para las acciones de enfrentar a la humanidad tenía un criado Henry Leek, quien a raíz de una pulmonía muere, y es aquí donde los temores a Priam se les cruzan, ante el qué voy hacer, pero quien enciendo la bombilla de su respuesta es el doctor quien confunde al criando con el pintor, y este es el motivo para salir de la casa, esta confusión, da motivo a otro tipo de vida, que se desarrolla en la novela, donde el engaño, la crisis, el amor, las relaciones sociales, el enfrentamiento con la justicia, la demostración de algunas evidencias, hacen de la novela amena.
Una novela elegida por Jorge Luis Borges como parte de su biblioteca. Una novela que podría leerse como un cuento, de un lectura media, sin exigencias
November 25, 2021
I love Wodehouse but the clever humor of this novel surpasses anything I have read so far. I absolutely loved it! When his valet suddenly dies, the protagonist, a very successful landscape painter, exchanges identities and passes his famous self off as having died. He believes, due to his debilitating shyness, this will save him from the anxiety of having to deal with people as a normal (but for him frightening) way of life. What makes it so humorous for me is the author's slow buildup of consequences to this action. The artist's wife is quite the interesting character. The reader did an excellent job making the story and subtle humor come to life. Thank you. Amazing. 10 stars!
November 30, 2010
In 1923-24, Arnold Bennett and Virginia Woolf engaged in a literary debate on the modern novel. Poor Bennett fared no better than in his earlier exchange with George Bernard Shaw on the nature of dramaturgy. In her 1924 essay, "Mr, Bennett and Mrs. Brown," Woolf did not recoil at Bennett's criticism of her modernist and experimental challenge to the novel. For her, Bennett's writings presented artificial characters in which the excessive pedantic details of description and place obscured the creation of believable personages. The sometimes stale and exhausted form of the novels of Wells, Galsworthy, and Bennett were successfully challenged and largely undermined by Woolf and others. While the former two have survived to a limited extent among some current readers (and non-Derridean professors), Bennett has been largely neglected. Sadly, even his masterpiece, THE OLD WIVES TALE, with its evocative tale of two very different sisters over a 70-year period set in Stoke-on-Trent and Paris and encompassing a
period of warfare and vast socioeconomic change is not widely known.
The present volume (published in 1908) is one of Bennett's lesser novels, not comparable to THE OLD WIVES TALE or even ANNA OF THE FIVE TOWNS, THE RICEYMAN STEPS, or the CLAYHANGER trilogy. It is, however, one that displays his satirical perspective on the excesses of modern life with great charm and humor. BURIED ALIVE tells the tale of Priam Farll, a noted British artist, so uneasy with his fame that he spends his life hidden from public view until he eventually assumes the role of his valet, Henry Leek, after the latter's demise. Farll with his new identity is free to enjoy the pleasures of a parvenu, including a wife and community activities. All is well with the happy couple in Putney until the discovery of Farll's freshly
minted paintings, the appearance of the late Henry Leeks's abandoned wife, and the combined forces of the press, clergy, and bureaucracy begin to reveal that the internment of "Britain's greatest artist" at Westminister Abbey may not be a memorial to Farll at all. Bennett offers a humorous take on aspects of fame and its curses, a critique on the nature of culture and those who pose as critics, and a snapshot of the Edwardian social system. His depiction of London at the turn of the century, including views of the Underground, are delightful and perceptive. Although this is a work of minor significance (and one that displays some of the defects Woolf noted), it is interesting to note that it has inspired three films, a play, and a 1968 musical, DARLING OF THE DAY, which starred Patricia Routledge and (incongruously) Vincent Price.
The British humorist and poet, Oliver Herford noted of Bennett: "something I once wrote about him in a critical way so prejudiced me against him that I never read a word that he wrote." It would be sad if this ironic comment was now the truth and if Virginia Woolf's sagacious (but incomplete analysis) was the final judgment on this worthy author.
period of warfare and vast socioeconomic change is not widely known.
The present volume (published in 1908) is one of Bennett's lesser novels, not comparable to THE OLD WIVES TALE or even ANNA OF THE FIVE TOWNS, THE RICEYMAN STEPS, or the CLAYHANGER trilogy. It is, however, one that displays his satirical perspective on the excesses of modern life with great charm and humor. BURIED ALIVE tells the tale of Priam Farll, a noted British artist, so uneasy with his fame that he spends his life hidden from public view until he eventually assumes the role of his valet, Henry Leek, after the latter's demise. Farll with his new identity is free to enjoy the pleasures of a parvenu, including a wife and community activities. All is well with the happy couple in Putney until the discovery of Farll's freshly
minted paintings, the appearance of the late Henry Leeks's abandoned wife, and the combined forces of the press, clergy, and bureaucracy begin to reveal that the internment of "Britain's greatest artist" at Westminister Abbey may not be a memorial to Farll at all. Bennett offers a humorous take on aspects of fame and its curses, a critique on the nature of culture and those who pose as critics, and a snapshot of the Edwardian social system. His depiction of London at the turn of the century, including views of the Underground, are delightful and perceptive. Although this is a work of minor significance (and one that displays some of the defects Woolf noted), it is interesting to note that it has inspired three films, a play, and a 1968 musical, DARLING OF THE DAY, which starred Patricia Routledge and (incongruously) Vincent Price.
The British humorist and poet, Oliver Herford noted of Bennett: "something I once wrote about him in a critical way so prejudiced me against him that I never read a word that he wrote." It would be sad if this ironic comment was now the truth and if Virginia Woolf's sagacious (but incomplete analysis) was the final judgment on this worthy author.
June 6, 2022
3 out of 5 stars
Well, this was a peasant read, albeitt a little forgettable. It's a good book to spend a rainy, existential-dread-plagued evening with, lounging around with a cup of tea. Major themes explored in "Burried Alive" include the price of fame/infamy and the value the public places on artistic talent. Bennett's wit is surprisingly relevant to this day.
Happy reading!
Well, this was a peasant read, albeitt a little forgettable. It's a good book to spend a rainy, existential-dread-plagued evening with, lounging around with a cup of tea. Major themes explored in "Burried Alive" include the price of fame/infamy and the value the public places on artistic talent. Bennett's wit is surprisingly relevant to this day.
Happy reading!
March 24, 2022
I thoroughly enjoyed this one. The humor and social satire here is so clever that I had to refrain myself from turning to this book rather than to my other reads. I was unsuccessful, so my planned side read of this light-toned book quickly turned into my primary read.
The book protagonist is a woefully shy and reclusive, yet very successful, painter named Priam Faril. When his valet Henry Leek dies, Priam assumes his identity, not through any calculated subterfuge on his part, but because the attending doctor assumes the corpse is Faril. Priam’s motivation for the deception is to save himself from the anxiety of dealing with others. I will refrain from describing anything further as the fun of the book is experiencing the slow development of the effects and consequences of this subterfuge. The story also contains numerous satirical observations on societal structures, doctors, lawyers, judges, artists and critics that add to the humor.
I have really enjoyed Bennett’s 5 other works I have read. This book may not be of the same literary quality as some of Bennett's other works such as The Old Wives’ Tale, but, in this book, Bennett accomplished everything he sought to do. This story is exceedingly well-planned, well-developed and both funny and insightfully satirical. Bennett has created wonderful characters, especially the main female one, whose observations always made me smile. I won't limit my rating of this book to 4 stars merely because the story is light and humorous. The social satire and plot development in this book are of the highest quality. For me this was a 5-star reading experience.
NOTE: There is some anti-Semitism in the story but it is relatively mild compared to the level I've unfortunately run into in so many other Edwardian or Victorian era novels.
The book protagonist is a woefully shy and reclusive, yet very successful, painter named Priam Faril. When his valet Henry Leek dies, Priam assumes his identity, not through any calculated subterfuge on his part, but because the attending doctor assumes the corpse is Faril. Priam’s motivation for the deception is to save himself from the anxiety of dealing with others. I will refrain from describing anything further as the fun of the book is experiencing the slow development of the effects and consequences of this subterfuge. The story also contains numerous satirical observations on societal structures, doctors, lawyers, judges, artists and critics that add to the humor.
I have really enjoyed Bennett’s 5 other works I have read. This book may not be of the same literary quality as some of Bennett's other works such as The Old Wives’ Tale, but, in this book, Bennett accomplished everything he sought to do. This story is exceedingly well-planned, well-developed and both funny and insightfully satirical. Bennett has created wonderful characters, especially the main female one, whose observations always made me smile. I won't limit my rating of this book to 4 stars merely because the story is light and humorous. The social satire and plot development in this book are of the highest quality. For me this was a 5-star reading experience.
NOTE: There is some anti-Semitism in the story but it is relatively mild compared to the level I've unfortunately run into in so many other Edwardian or Victorian era novels.
September 27, 2021
I like this book. It isn't often that a book feels this good in my brain. It is sort of slow and calm and even when the action happens it is more comfortably interesting than suspenseful. I guess what I am trying to say is that I enjoyed the experience of reading this book at every moment.
April 4, 2019
Historia divertida, amena, con ese típico y tópico humor inglés que uno no termina de saber si es gracioso o puñetera la gracia que tiene... La flema británica, que se suele decir.
Una historia no exenta de crítica social, a la importancia que tiene el dinero, al mundo del arte, al periodismo sensacionalista y amarillo tan habitual por cierto en nuestros días más de 100 años después de escrita la novela... Crítica a todo lo cotidiano y doméstico, a fin de cuentas.
Partiendo de un equívoco se desarrolla toda una trama en la que el protagonista, sin comerlo ni beberlo, pasa a ser un personaje anónimo, aunque al final el pastel se termina descubriendo y nuestro anónimo protagonista verá horrorizado como se convierte en carne de sensacionalismo.
Una historia que no deja títere con cabeza y que pone de manifiesto que cien años después las cosas no han cambiado tanto como parecen.
Una historia no exenta de crítica social, a la importancia que tiene el dinero, al mundo del arte, al periodismo sensacionalista y amarillo tan habitual por cierto en nuestros días más de 100 años después de escrita la novela... Crítica a todo lo cotidiano y doméstico, a fin de cuentas.
Partiendo de un equívoco se desarrolla toda una trama en la que el protagonista, sin comerlo ni beberlo, pasa a ser un personaje anónimo, aunque al final el pastel se termina descubriendo y nuestro anónimo protagonista verá horrorizado como se convierte en carne de sensacionalismo.
Una historia que no deja títere con cabeza y que pone de manifiesto que cien años después las cosas no han cambiado tanto como parecen.
June 14, 2013
No es por nada, pero mi edición de Impedimenta tenía casi 300 páginas... ¡En fin! Al grano: 2 1/2 para esta comedia doméstica a la que le etiqueta de género le viene como anillo al dedo. Una historia divertida, entretenida, amable, con un peculiar personaje principal y su buena dosis de enredo.
August 30, 2013
Publicado en http://lecturaylocura.com/100-titulos...
Es motivo de celebración que una editorial pequeña independiente consiga llegar a la friolera de 100 títulos; entre otras cosas, porque hoy en día cada vez es más difícil publicar (y tener éxito), al menos para las editoriales que abogan por unos catálogos distintos y muy alejados de los best-sellers mainstream que llenan mes a mes las librerías y centros comerciales gracias a Espasa, RHM y similares.
La verdadera baza de estas es, entonces, conseguir ganar una clientela fija mediante la elección de unos títulos muy reconocibles para esos clientes y mantenerse fieles a esta filosofía y, si da la casualidad, pegar un bombazo que te aúpe a un número mayor de potenciales. En el caso de Impedimenta (su web está por aquí y podéis echarle un vistazo), podemos encontrar todas estas características:
-El catálogo es perfectamente reconocible, su base, literatura británica preferiblemente (Bennet, Spark, Gibbons, Woolf, Nobbs… etc…) aunque podemos ver publicados otros títulos de diferentes nacionalidades como polacos (Lem), rumanos (Catarescu), japoneses (Soseki) y un largo etcétera, el único requisito es la calidad de las obras. De hecho también abogan por novelas contemporáneas de autores españoles como Fernando San Basilio o Pilar Adón. El resultado es variado y, desde luego, de un alto nivel cualitativo.
-“La hija de Robert Poste” de Stella Gibbons supuso un bombazo, un espaldarazo a su labor; no en vano, el número de ediciones de esta obra ha crecido gracias a la recomendación casi unánime de sus lectores. Era el éxito que necesitaban para poder llegar a más lectores de lo habitual en estos casos.
-El diseño y la edición, imprescindibles, por dos razones: las portadas son atractivas y por ocasiones bellas, llaman la atención para los neófitos de la editorial; ese tipo de diseño es evidente que se ha convertido en un sello distintivo.
La filosofía de la editorial resume sin dudas su actitud:
“Publicar lo más valioso de la literatura clásica y moderna es nuestra más firme intención, en ediciones que nos satisfagan a nosotros en tanto lectores exigentes. Obras inspiradas por el ideal de calidad que queremos que sea nuestro inconfundible distintivo como editorial.
Impedimenta, fundada en el año 2007 en Madrid por Enrique Redel, aspira a recuperar y redescubrir aquellas obras literarias esenciales para poder disfrutar de nuestro largo camino como lectores: obras que se lean, que se disfruten y que se guarden.”
Voy a aprovechar este post para recomendar tres títulos de la insigne colección y que, desde luego, pueden ser buenas opciones para conocerla:
El primero de ellos se trata, como no podía ser de otra manera del título que ha supuesto el número 100, y no podía ser otra la elegida que su bandera y una de las artífices de su éxito: Stella Gibbons. El libro en cuestión es “La segunda vida de Viola Wither” y reúne una de esas tramas tan características suyas en la que Viola Wither, la protagonista, se casa con alguien a quien no ama y al enviudar va a vivir con su familia política teniendo a partir de ese momento la posibilidad de conocer a un magnate soltero que se parece a Gatsby y que se caracteriza por su superficialidad. Esta trama le sirve como pretexto para montar todo tipo de situaciones cómicas, con una sátira que siempre se mete con el orden y costumbres imperantes y te lleva en volandas con su prosa elegante sin olvidar momentos entrañables. Nada nuevo a lo que ya nos tenía acostumbrados en sus otras novelas, bien hecho, sin deslumbrar, pero siempre de manera interesante. Es una buena recomendación, sobre todo para el verano.
enterradoenvidaLa segunda novela que quería traer era la fantástica “Enterrado en vida” del también británico Arnold Bennett y lo voy a introducir gracias al postfacio a esta edición que realiza José C. Vales
“Decía en una carta privada Virginia Woolf a su amiga Lady Cecil “Me deprime el astuto realismo del señor Bennet”
“A muchas obras de Arnold Bennet, alejado de las exquisiteces intelectuales de Bloomsbury y sus alrededores clasistas y esnobs, no tardó en aplicárseles el distintivo potboilers. La palabra deriva de la expresión boil the pot, literalmente “hacer hervir la olla” y figuradamente “buscarse la vida”. “¿Es que voy a quedarme ahí mirando cómo alumnos se embolsan dos guineas por historias que yo puedo hacer mucho mejor? Por supuesto que no. Si alguien piensa que mi único objetivo es el arte por el arte, siento decirle que está lamentablemente equivocado”. En definitiva, se acusó a Arnold Bennet de escribir para ganarse la vida, de ser un mercenario de la sintaxis, un mercader del párrafo y un fariseo de la literatura.”
Lejos quedan para nosotros en estos instantes las agrias polémicas que surgieron en la época entre dos formas de entender la literatura: la modernista introspectiva de Virginia Woolf y la más pragmática y tradicional, anclado en lo decimonónico, de Arnold Bennet. Desgraciadamente, con el tiempo, la figura de la primera se ha agigantado en detrimento de la segunda y Bennet, está bastante denostado por los lectores en general. Lo bueno de verlo es perspectiva es que nosotros podemos disfrutar de ambas formas de literatura sin tener que tomar partido. Como Woolf va a venir en los próximos años con mi proyecto literario, mi lanza de hoy va en favor del gran Bennet. Este “Enterrado en vida” es una muestra de su buen hacer, con un comienzo plenamente dickensiano no podemos evitar disfrutar de uno de esos personajes que nos recuerdan a la más firme tradición británica: Priam Farrl. Un tímido elemento que no dudará en fingir su muerte para desaparecer de la vida moderna aunque luego no le resulte tan fácil la nueva situación. Todo se convierte en una comedia de enredo con dobles identidades y situaciones que, inevitablemente, nos sacan una sonrisa y, por momentos, carcajadas. Una pequeña maravilla que arrancará el deleite de los que se atrevan con él.
Y para acabar con una de esas sorpresas que a veces te encuentras: “La promesa de Kamil Modracek” del checo Jiri Kratochvil con traducción de Elena Buixaderas, de la que voy a poner los textos que vienen a continuación.
lapromesakamilY es sorpresa porque nos encontramos con una novela donde se mezclan mucho mejor de lo esperado la culpa y el castigo, ficción y realidad, una venganza cargada de humor negro: la venganza del arquitecto Modracek por la muerte de su hermana en un interrogatorio y su alter ego investigador el peculiar Dan Kocí alias Stanley Pinkerton, cuya única arma era el flash: “Para cuando usaba el flash la pareja adúltera ya sabía que la diversión se había acabado.”
Lo que parece inicialmente una novela policíaca checa, trasciende el género para presentar además, elementos metaficcionales, solo tenemos que observar la propia presencia del escritor en la obras, como vemos en el interrogatorio a Modracek:
“Escuche, Modracek. Enfrente de usted viven unos tales Kratochvil, ¿no es cierto? (Y miró otra vez sus papeles.) Anezka Kratochvil y sus hijos Kiri y Josef.”
Las fronteras entre ficción y realidad se vuelven difusas y Kratochvil aprovecha para discutir sobre ello:
“Así que al principio quise entender que lo que le interesaba era averiguar la proporción entre “verdad y poesía” en un texto literario. Pero me equivoqué. Por alguna razón incomprensible para mí, le interesaba saber si lo que está escrito, lo que existe en principio solo como texto literario, en un relato por ejemplo, puede luego ocurrir en la vida real. O como lo diría y: si la realidad puede copiar a la ficción, igual que la literatura suele copiar a la realidad.”
No es casualidad que Nabokov se convierta entonces en un personaje imprescindible para el avance de la trama:
“Bien, el Le Corbusier es suyo si en una semana, es decir, en ciento sesenta y ocho horas, es capaz de resolver usted el único problema en dos movimientos de Nabokov que tengo en casa.”
Juega con el flujo de pensamientos y el monólogo interior, se producen continuos cambios de perspectiva, llegando a confluir en una novela policíaca netamente postmodernista que destaca por su originalidad y que no esconde un microcosmos que se puede extrapolar como alegoría a la realidad que vivimos:
“Es curioso cómo hasta una sociedad tan pequeña (qué son veintiuna personas a fin de cuentas) después de un tiempo acaba tomando la estructura de una mucho más grande. En la gente debe haber algo como un gen social que les lleva a aceptar ciertos roles y, en coordinación con los demás, a modelar una sociedad de estructura estadística similar.”
En definitiva, una novela completísima que nos ofrece mucho más de lo habitual y que se me antoja imprescindible dentro del ya completo catálogo de esta fantástica editorial. Gracias a Impedimenta y a su editor Enrique Redel por traernos estas propuestas distintas y, afortunadamente, retadoras por su calidad.
Es motivo de celebración que una editorial pequeña independiente consiga llegar a la friolera de 100 títulos; entre otras cosas, porque hoy en día cada vez es más difícil publicar (y tener éxito), al menos para las editoriales que abogan por unos catálogos distintos y muy alejados de los best-sellers mainstream que llenan mes a mes las librerías y centros comerciales gracias a Espasa, RHM y similares.
La verdadera baza de estas es, entonces, conseguir ganar una clientela fija mediante la elección de unos títulos muy reconocibles para esos clientes y mantenerse fieles a esta filosofía y, si da la casualidad, pegar un bombazo que te aúpe a un número mayor de potenciales. En el caso de Impedimenta (su web está por aquí y podéis echarle un vistazo), podemos encontrar todas estas características:
-El catálogo es perfectamente reconocible, su base, literatura británica preferiblemente (Bennet, Spark, Gibbons, Woolf, Nobbs… etc…) aunque podemos ver publicados otros títulos de diferentes nacionalidades como polacos (Lem), rumanos (Catarescu), japoneses (Soseki) y un largo etcétera, el único requisito es la calidad de las obras. De hecho también abogan por novelas contemporáneas de autores españoles como Fernando San Basilio o Pilar Adón. El resultado es variado y, desde luego, de un alto nivel cualitativo.
-“La hija de Robert Poste” de Stella Gibbons supuso un bombazo, un espaldarazo a su labor; no en vano, el número de ediciones de esta obra ha crecido gracias a la recomendación casi unánime de sus lectores. Era el éxito que necesitaban para poder llegar a más lectores de lo habitual en estos casos.
-El diseño y la edición, imprescindibles, por dos razones: las portadas son atractivas y por ocasiones bellas, llaman la atención para los neófitos de la editorial; ese tipo de diseño es evidente que se ha convertido en un sello distintivo.
La filosofía de la editorial resume sin dudas su actitud:
“Publicar lo más valioso de la literatura clásica y moderna es nuestra más firme intención, en ediciones que nos satisfagan a nosotros en tanto lectores exigentes. Obras inspiradas por el ideal de calidad que queremos que sea nuestro inconfundible distintivo como editorial.
Impedimenta, fundada en el año 2007 en Madrid por Enrique Redel, aspira a recuperar y redescubrir aquellas obras literarias esenciales para poder disfrutar de nuestro largo camino como lectores: obras que se lean, que se disfruten y que se guarden.”
Voy a aprovechar este post para recomendar tres títulos de la insigne colección y que, desde luego, pueden ser buenas opciones para conocerla:
El primero de ellos se trata, como no podía ser de otra manera del título que ha supuesto el número 100, y no podía ser otra la elegida que su bandera y una de las artífices de su éxito: Stella Gibbons. El libro en cuestión es “La segunda vida de Viola Wither” y reúne una de esas tramas tan características suyas en la que Viola Wither, la protagonista, se casa con alguien a quien no ama y al enviudar va a vivir con su familia política teniendo a partir de ese momento la posibilidad de conocer a un magnate soltero que se parece a Gatsby y que se caracteriza por su superficialidad. Esta trama le sirve como pretexto para montar todo tipo de situaciones cómicas, con una sátira que siempre se mete con el orden y costumbres imperantes y te lleva en volandas con su prosa elegante sin olvidar momentos entrañables. Nada nuevo a lo que ya nos tenía acostumbrados en sus otras novelas, bien hecho, sin deslumbrar, pero siempre de manera interesante. Es una buena recomendación, sobre todo para el verano.
enterradoenvidaLa segunda novela que quería traer era la fantástica “Enterrado en vida” del también británico Arnold Bennett y lo voy a introducir gracias al postfacio a esta edición que realiza José C. Vales
“Decía en una carta privada Virginia Woolf a su amiga Lady Cecil “Me deprime el astuto realismo del señor Bennet”
“A muchas obras de Arnold Bennet, alejado de las exquisiteces intelectuales de Bloomsbury y sus alrededores clasistas y esnobs, no tardó en aplicárseles el distintivo potboilers. La palabra deriva de la expresión boil the pot, literalmente “hacer hervir la olla” y figuradamente “buscarse la vida”. “¿Es que voy a quedarme ahí mirando cómo alumnos se embolsan dos guineas por historias que yo puedo hacer mucho mejor? Por supuesto que no. Si alguien piensa que mi único objetivo es el arte por el arte, siento decirle que está lamentablemente equivocado”. En definitiva, se acusó a Arnold Bennet de escribir para ganarse la vida, de ser un mercenario de la sintaxis, un mercader del párrafo y un fariseo de la literatura.”
Lejos quedan para nosotros en estos instantes las agrias polémicas que surgieron en la época entre dos formas de entender la literatura: la modernista introspectiva de Virginia Woolf y la más pragmática y tradicional, anclado en lo decimonónico, de Arnold Bennet. Desgraciadamente, con el tiempo, la figura de la primera se ha agigantado en detrimento de la segunda y Bennet, está bastante denostado por los lectores en general. Lo bueno de verlo es perspectiva es que nosotros podemos disfrutar de ambas formas de literatura sin tener que tomar partido. Como Woolf va a venir en los próximos años con mi proyecto literario, mi lanza de hoy va en favor del gran Bennet. Este “Enterrado en vida” es una muestra de su buen hacer, con un comienzo plenamente dickensiano no podemos evitar disfrutar de uno de esos personajes que nos recuerdan a la más firme tradición británica: Priam Farrl. Un tímido elemento que no dudará en fingir su muerte para desaparecer de la vida moderna aunque luego no le resulte tan fácil la nueva situación. Todo se convierte en una comedia de enredo con dobles identidades y situaciones que, inevitablemente, nos sacan una sonrisa y, por momentos, carcajadas. Una pequeña maravilla que arrancará el deleite de los que se atrevan con él.
Y para acabar con una de esas sorpresas que a veces te encuentras: “La promesa de Kamil Modracek” del checo Jiri Kratochvil con traducción de Elena Buixaderas, de la que voy a poner los textos que vienen a continuación.
lapromesakamilY es sorpresa porque nos encontramos con una novela donde se mezclan mucho mejor de lo esperado la culpa y el castigo, ficción y realidad, una venganza cargada de humor negro: la venganza del arquitecto Modracek por la muerte de su hermana en un interrogatorio y su alter ego investigador el peculiar Dan Kocí alias Stanley Pinkerton, cuya única arma era el flash: “Para cuando usaba el flash la pareja adúltera ya sabía que la diversión se había acabado.”
Lo que parece inicialmente una novela policíaca checa, trasciende el género para presentar además, elementos metaficcionales, solo tenemos que observar la propia presencia del escritor en la obras, como vemos en el interrogatorio a Modracek:
“Escuche, Modracek. Enfrente de usted viven unos tales Kratochvil, ¿no es cierto? (Y miró otra vez sus papeles.) Anezka Kratochvil y sus hijos Kiri y Josef.”
Las fronteras entre ficción y realidad se vuelven difusas y Kratochvil aprovecha para discutir sobre ello:
“Así que al principio quise entender que lo que le interesaba era averiguar la proporción entre “verdad y poesía” en un texto literario. Pero me equivoqué. Por alguna razón incomprensible para mí, le interesaba saber si lo que está escrito, lo que existe en principio solo como texto literario, en un relato por ejemplo, puede luego ocurrir en la vida real. O como lo diría y: si la realidad puede copiar a la ficción, igual que la literatura suele copiar a la realidad.”
No es casualidad que Nabokov se convierta entonces en un personaje imprescindible para el avance de la trama:
“Bien, el Le Corbusier es suyo si en una semana, es decir, en ciento sesenta y ocho horas, es capaz de resolver usted el único problema en dos movimientos de Nabokov que tengo en casa.”
Juega con el flujo de pensamientos y el monólogo interior, se producen continuos cambios de perspectiva, llegando a confluir en una novela policíaca netamente postmodernista que destaca por su originalidad y que no esconde un microcosmos que se puede extrapolar como alegoría a la realidad que vivimos:
“Es curioso cómo hasta una sociedad tan pequeña (qué son veintiuna personas a fin de cuentas) después de un tiempo acaba tomando la estructura de una mucho más grande. En la gente debe haber algo como un gen social que les lleva a aceptar ciertos roles y, en coordinación con los demás, a modelar una sociedad de estructura estadística similar.”
En definitiva, una novela completísima que nos ofrece mucho más de lo habitual y que se me antoja imprescindible dentro del ya completo catálogo de esta fantástica editorial. Gracias a Impedimenta y a su editor Enrique Redel por traernos estas propuestas distintas y, afortunadamente, retadoras por su calidad.
December 27, 2016
English review below.
Crítica en español
Hay algo en el humor inglés que siempre me llama, y en el caso de este libro, me ha hecho disfrutar sin parar. Enterrado en vida nos cuenta la historia de un señor, que debido a su timidez, se ve obligado a hacer lo que no quiere, y a verse metido en asuntos que no esperaba. Pero también logra conocer, debido a su equívoco, cosas que no había vivido antes.
Ligero y punzante, la escondida vida del Mr Leek, perdón, de Farrl, el gran pintor iniglés, se va desvelando, a través de ácidas descripciones del Londres "moderno" de 1900 y algo. Creo que la descripción del metro, es una de las más divertidas que he leído.
La verdad es que es un humor muy fino, un pelín amargo, y no sé si será para todo el mundo, pero yo no he podido parar de reirme.
Y curioso el posfacio de José C. Vales, donde habla de las luchas de Bennett contra el círculo de Bloomsbury. Su realismo no era "hiperrealismo", y su humor, es un pelín surrealista, pero se enfrentó a este círculo y la consecuencia es que apenas sepamos algo de él, si no estudias Literatura Inglesa (y tampoco mucho, si no te especializas), por lo que agradezco a los que me recomendaron este libro, este descubrimiento.
Gracias por hacerme reir. Hay que tener un serio respeto por eso, para pasárselo bien :).
English review
There is something in the English humor that always calls me, and in the case of this book, it has made me enjoy non-stop. Buried in life tells the story of a man, who because of his shyness, is forced to do what he does not want, and to get caught up in things he did not expect. But he also gets to know, because of his misunderstanding, things he had not lived before.
Light and piercing, the hidden life of Mr Leek, pardon, of Farrl, the great English painter, is unveiled, through acid descriptions of the "modern" London of 1900 and something. I think the description of the subway is one of the funniest I've read.
The truth is that it is a very fine humor, a bit bitter, and I do not know if it will be for everyone, but I have not been able to stop laughing.
And the comments by Jose C. Vales are curious, where he talks about Bennett's struggles against the Bloomsbury circle. His realism was not "hyperrealism", and his humor is a surrealist one sometimes, but he faced this circle and the consequence is that we hardly know anything about him, if you do not study English Literature (and not much, unless you specialize), so I thank those who recommended this book, this discovery.
Thanks for making me laugh. You have to have a serious respect for that, to have fun :).
Crítica en español
Hay algo en el humor inglés que siempre me llama, y en el caso de este libro, me ha hecho disfrutar sin parar. Enterrado en vida nos cuenta la historia de un señor, que debido a su timidez, se ve obligado a hacer lo que no quiere, y a verse metido en asuntos que no esperaba. Pero también logra conocer, debido a su equívoco, cosas que no había vivido antes.
Ligero y punzante, la escondida vida del Mr Leek, perdón, de Farrl, el gran pintor iniglés, se va desvelando, a través de ácidas descripciones del Londres "moderno" de 1900 y algo. Creo que la descripción del metro, es una de las más divertidas que he leído.
La verdad es que es un humor muy fino, un pelín amargo, y no sé si será para todo el mundo, pero yo no he podido parar de reirme.
Y curioso el posfacio de José C. Vales, donde habla de las luchas de Bennett contra el círculo de Bloomsbury. Su realismo no era "hiperrealismo", y su humor, es un pelín surrealista, pero se enfrentó a este círculo y la consecuencia es que apenas sepamos algo de él, si no estudias Literatura Inglesa (y tampoco mucho, si no te especializas), por lo que agradezco a los que me recomendaron este libro, este descubrimiento.
Gracias por hacerme reir. Hay que tener un serio respeto por eso, para pasárselo bien :).
English review
There is something in the English humor that always calls me, and in the case of this book, it has made me enjoy non-stop. Buried in life tells the story of a man, who because of his shyness, is forced to do what he does not want, and to get caught up in things he did not expect. But he also gets to know, because of his misunderstanding, things he had not lived before.
Light and piercing, the hidden life of Mr Leek, pardon, of Farrl, the great English painter, is unveiled, through acid descriptions of the "modern" London of 1900 and something. I think the description of the subway is one of the funniest I've read.
The truth is that it is a very fine humor, a bit bitter, and I do not know if it will be for everyone, but I have not been able to stop laughing.
And the comments by Jose C. Vales are curious, where he talks about Bennett's struggles against the Bloomsbury circle. His realism was not "hyperrealism", and his humor is a surrealist one sometimes, but he faced this circle and the consequence is that we hardly know anything about him, if you do not study English Literature (and not much, unless you specialize), so I thank those who recommended this book, this discovery.
Thanks for making me laugh. You have to have a serious respect for that, to have fun :).
November 6, 2020
En un libro muy simpático, Bennet reflexiona sobre el trabajo del artista, sobre la esfera que ocupa: si está por encima de la sociedad o sólo es un trabajador más, se plantea. Y se decanta por esta última posiblidad.
A la vez, los enrededos surgimos a partir de una suplantqcion de identidad hacen que la novela no deje de ser entretenida en ningún momento.
Mención aparte para Alice, uno de los mejores personajes jamás construidos.
A la vez, los enrededos surgimos a partir de una suplantqcion de identidad hacen que la novela no deje de ser entretenida en ningún momento.
Mención aparte para Alice, uno de los mejores personajes jamás construidos.
March 1, 2016
Listened to this after seeing the Monty Woolley movie based on the book, which is fabulous. I was afraid it was only fabulous because of Monty Woolley, but no, the book is pretty great, too. It helped that the Librivox reader did a passable substitution for Woolley's accent and affectations. Recommend.
September 9, 2014
Thoroughly enjoyed the read. I think the title isn't the best choice. It put me off for a long time, expecting some kind of a horror story. Instead you get quite a good description of the inner workings of an introvert.
June 30, 2013
To know more about Bennett, I strongly recommend this short video (little over 3 minutes): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJdHkJ...
January 15, 2016
Found this book on librivox.org. Clever and quiet humor with a gently rolling story that is a pleasure to experience. An enjoyable read.
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