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Herman Melville (1819-91) brought as much genius to the smaller-scale literary forms as he did to the full-blown his poems and the short stories and novellas collected in this volume reveal a deftness and a delicacy of touch that is in some ways even more impressive than the massive, tectonic passions of Moby-Dick . In a story like "Bartleby, the Scrivener" -- one of the very few perfect representatives of the form in the English language -- he displayed an unflinching precision and insight and empathy in his depiction of the drastically alienated inner life of the title character. In "Benito Cereno," he addressed the great racial dilemmas of the nineteenth century with a profound, almost surreal imaginative clarity. And in Billy, Budd, Sailor, the masterpiece of his last years, he fused the knowledge and craft gained from a lifetime's magnificent work into a pure, stark, flawlessly composed tale of innocence betrayed and destroyed. Melville is justly honored for the epic sweep of his mind, but his lyricism, his skill in rendering the minute, the particular, the local, was equally sublime.
479 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1853
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About the author
Herman Melville
2,377 books4,514 followersThere is more than one author with this name
Herman Melville was an American novelist, short story writer, and poet of the American Renaissance period. Among his best-known works are Moby-Dick (1851); Typee (1846), a romanticized account of his experiences in Polynesia; and Billy Budd, Sailor, a posthumously published novella. At the time of his death, Melville was no longer well known to the public, but the 1919 centennial of his birth was the starting point of a Melville revival. Moby-Dick eventually would be considered one of the great American novels.
Melville was born in New York City, the third child of a prosperous merchant whose death in 1832 left the family in dire financial straits. He took to sea in 1839 as a common sailor on a merchant ship and then on the whaler Acushnet, but he jumped ship in the Marquesas Islands. Typee, his first book, and its sequel, Omoo (1847), were travel-adventures based on his encounters with the peoples of the islands. Their success gave him the financial security to marry Elizabeth Shaw, the daughter of the Boston jurist Lemuel Shaw. Mardi (1849), a romance-adventure and his first book not based on his own experience, was not well received. Redburn (1849) and White-Jacket (1850), both tales based on his experience as a well-born young man at sea, were given respectable reviews, but did not sell well enough to support his expanding family.
Melville's growing literary ambition showed in Moby-Dick (1851), which took nearly a year and a half to write, but it did not find an audience, and critics scorned his psychological novel Pierre: or, The Ambiguities (1852). From 1853 to 1856, Melville published short fiction in magazines, including "Benito Cereno" and "Bartleby, the Scrivener". In 1857, he traveled to England, toured the Near East, and published his last work of prose, The Confidence-Man (1857). He moved to New York in 1863, eventually taking a position as a United States customs inspector.
From that point, Melville focused his creative powers on poetry. Battle-Pieces and Aspects of the War (1866) was his poetic reflection on the moral questions of the American Civil War. In 1867, his eldest child Malcolm died at home from a self-inflicted gunshot. Melville's metaphysical epic Clarel: A Poem and Pilgrimage in the Holy Land was published in 1876. In 1886, his other son Stanwix died of apparent tuberculosis, and Melville retired. During his last years, he privately published two volumes of poetry, and left one volume unpublished. The novella Billy Budd was left unfinished at his death, but was published posthumously in 1924. Melville died from cardiovascular disease in 1891.
Herman Melville was an American novelist, short story writer, and poet of the American Renaissance period. Among his best-known works are Moby-Dick (1851); Typee (1846), a romanticized account of his experiences in Polynesia; and Billy Budd, Sailor, a posthumously published novella. At the time of his death, Melville was no longer well known to the public, but the 1919 centennial of his birth was the starting point of a Melville revival. Moby-Dick eventually would be considered one of the great American novels.
Melville was born in New York City, the third child of a prosperous merchant whose death in 1832 left the family in dire financial straits. He took to sea in 1839 as a common sailor on a merchant ship and then on the whaler Acushnet, but he jumped ship in the Marquesas Islands. Typee, his first book, and its sequel, Omoo (1847), were travel-adventures based on his encounters with the peoples of the islands. Their success gave him the financial security to marry Elizabeth Shaw, the daughter of the Boston jurist Lemuel Shaw. Mardi (1849), a romance-adventure and his first book not based on his own experience, was not well received. Redburn (1849) and White-Jacket (1850), both tales based on his experience as a well-born young man at sea, were given respectable reviews, but did not sell well enough to support his expanding family.
Melville's growing literary ambition showed in Moby-Dick (1851), which took nearly a year and a half to write, but it did not find an audience, and critics scorned his psychological novel Pierre: or, The Ambiguities (1852). From 1853 to 1856, Melville published short fiction in magazines, including "Benito Cereno" and "Bartleby, the Scrivener". In 1857, he traveled to England, toured the Near East, and published his last work of prose, The Confidence-Man (1857). He moved to New York in 1863, eventually taking a position as a United States customs inspector.
From that point, Melville focused his creative powers on poetry. Battle-Pieces and Aspects of the War (1866) was his poetic reflection on the moral questions of the American Civil War. In 1867, his eldest child Malcolm died at home from a self-inflicted gunshot. Melville's metaphysical epic Clarel: A Poem and Pilgrimage in the Holy Land was published in 1876. In 1886, his other son Stanwix died of apparent tuberculosis, and Melville retired. During his last years, he privately published two volumes of poetry, and left one volume unpublished. The novella Billy Budd was left unfinished at his death, but was published posthumously in 1924. Melville died from cardiovascular disease in 1891.
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October 31, 2024
“La gloria, muchacho, no se gana sin remar duro a contracorriente como hacemos ahora. La tendencia natural del hombre es dejarse arrastrar por la masa en la corriente universal del olvido.”
Esta hermosa frase que podría pertenecer tranquilamente a Jorge Luis Borges, aparece en uno de los diecinueve relatos que componen este volumen de cuentos completos de Herman Melville, tres de los cuales incluidos en su libro de 1856 titulado “The Piazza tales” y que nos dan una idea cabal de quién fue en realidad Herman Melville, unos de los pioneros de la literatura norteamericana durante el siglo XIX junto con otros grandes de la talla de Edgar Allan Poe, Nathaniel Hawthorne (a quien le dedicara su inmortal “Moby Dick”), Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow y Walt Whitman.
Durante toda su obra literaria buscó la perfección narrativa y sucumbió ante críticas despiadadas y olvido de los lectores tal como explica la frase del epígrafe.
Marino incansable a bordo de barcos balleneros durante tres años alrededor del mundo, toda esa experiencia en los mares la devolvió con creces en sus novelas, desde la más inolvidable, “Moby Dick”, como así también en “Taipí”, Omú”, “Mardi”, “Redburn”, “Chaqueta blanca”, “Las encantadas”, “Benito Cereno” o “Billy Budd, marinero”.
Escribió además, novelas desconcertantes y densas como “Pierre, o las ambigüedades” y “El embaucador”, el bildungsroman "Israel Potter" y terminó sus días trabajando en una pequeña oficina de la Aduana de New York escribiendo poemas.
Además, escribió un cuento, que atravesó todas las décadas y sigue leyéndose con asiduidad por los lectores de hoy: me refiero a esa perfección hecha literatura que se llama “Bartleby, el escribiente”.
En este volumen, Melville se toma su tiempo para mostrar la humanidad en carne viva de las personas en joyas que nos recuerdan a aquellos relatos y novelas escritos por otro grande pero ruso, llamado Fiódor Dostoievski, más puntualmente en el cuento “El violinista”, impregnado de desazón, ternura y tragedia, en “El fracaso feliz” que pareciera ser el título de su propia vida, el desgarrador y probablemente más crudo relato de todo el libro, que se llama “¡Quiquiriquí!, o el canto del noble gallo Beneventano” que le arranca lágrimas al lector mientras que en otro se torna reflexivo a más no poder, tal es el caso de los cuentos “Fragmentos desde un escritorio”, “La mesa de manzano”, “La veranda” o “Yo y mi chimenea”.
También elabora retratos de distintos personajes sean reales como ficticios en “Anécdotas del viejo Zack”, “Jimmy Rose”, John Marr”, “El marqués de Granvin”, “Tres retratos de Jack Gentian”, “Los ‘gueses” (un homenaje a los portugueses) y “Daniel Orme”. Aquí les rinde honores a viejas glorias de la guerra de Secesión, o a marinos que hicieron historia.
Y también se da maña para escribir cuentos un tanto más divertido en el que destaca el hilarante “El vendedor de pararrayos” junto con otros más orientados a lo existencial o religioso, tal es el caso de “El campanario”, “Los dos templos”, “El pudín del pobre y las migajas del rico” y “El Paraíso de los solteros y el Tártaro de las doncellas”.
En resumidas cuentas, estos “Cuentos completos” nos dan un acercamiento definitivo al otro Herman Melville, ese que los lectores tal vez no conozcan tanto pero que resulta tan atractivo para leer y descubrir como aquel que la literatura, a través de las décadas, supo valorar y reconocer.
Esta hermosa frase que podría pertenecer tranquilamente a Jorge Luis Borges, aparece en uno de los diecinueve relatos que componen este volumen de cuentos completos de Herman Melville, tres de los cuales incluidos en su libro de 1856 titulado “The Piazza tales” y que nos dan una idea cabal de quién fue en realidad Herman Melville, unos de los pioneros de la literatura norteamericana durante el siglo XIX junto con otros grandes de la talla de Edgar Allan Poe, Nathaniel Hawthorne (a quien le dedicara su inmortal “Moby Dick”), Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow y Walt Whitman.
Durante toda su obra literaria buscó la perfección narrativa y sucumbió ante críticas despiadadas y olvido de los lectores tal como explica la frase del epígrafe.
Marino incansable a bordo de barcos balleneros durante tres años alrededor del mundo, toda esa experiencia en los mares la devolvió con creces en sus novelas, desde la más inolvidable, “Moby Dick”, como así también en “Taipí”, Omú”, “Mardi”, “Redburn”, “Chaqueta blanca”, “Las encantadas”, “Benito Cereno” o “Billy Budd, marinero”.
Escribió además, novelas desconcertantes y densas como “Pierre, o las ambigüedades” y “El embaucador”, el bildungsroman "Israel Potter" y terminó sus días trabajando en una pequeña oficina de la Aduana de New York escribiendo poemas.
Además, escribió un cuento, que atravesó todas las décadas y sigue leyéndose con asiduidad por los lectores de hoy: me refiero a esa perfección hecha literatura que se llama “Bartleby, el escribiente”.
En este volumen, Melville se toma su tiempo para mostrar la humanidad en carne viva de las personas en joyas que nos recuerdan a aquellos relatos y novelas escritos por otro grande pero ruso, llamado Fiódor Dostoievski, más puntualmente en el cuento “El violinista”, impregnado de desazón, ternura y tragedia, en “El fracaso feliz” que pareciera ser el título de su propia vida, el desgarrador y probablemente más crudo relato de todo el libro, que se llama “¡Quiquiriquí!, o el canto del noble gallo Beneventano” que le arranca lágrimas al lector mientras que en otro se torna reflexivo a más no poder, tal es el caso de los cuentos “Fragmentos desde un escritorio”, “La mesa de manzano”, “La veranda” o “Yo y mi chimenea”.
También elabora retratos de distintos personajes sean reales como ficticios en “Anécdotas del viejo Zack”, “Jimmy Rose”, John Marr”, “El marqués de Granvin”, “Tres retratos de Jack Gentian”, “Los ‘gueses” (un homenaje a los portugueses) y “Daniel Orme”. Aquí les rinde honores a viejas glorias de la guerra de Secesión, o a marinos que hicieron historia.
Y también se da maña para escribir cuentos un tanto más divertido en el que destaca el hilarante “El vendedor de pararrayos” junto con otros más orientados a lo existencial o religioso, tal es el caso de “El campanario”, “Los dos templos”, “El pudín del pobre y las migajas del rico” y “El Paraíso de los solteros y el Tártaro de las doncellas”.
En resumidas cuentas, estos “Cuentos completos” nos dan un acercamiento definitivo al otro Herman Melville, ese que los lectores tal vez no conozcan tanto pero que resulta tan atractivo para leer y descubrir como aquel que la literatura, a través de las décadas, supo valorar y reconocer.
October 7, 2018
Melville can lay it on thick and wordy. Some of the stories are original and there are a few that are tedious and devoid of meaning. The following lists the stories and a brief unscholarly evaluation of each:
The most famous in this collection is “Billy Budd”, both magisterial and also laborious and repetitive – as we are told over and over that Billy is the handsome sailor and a deity of manhood.
Many of these stories are male centric – females play only a distant role in the world of Melville.
“Bartleby” is unique and I have never read anything quite like it!
“Piazza” is also nice.
“Benito Cereno” is possibly Melville at his best. Melville is marvelous at looking at both sides of the coin – of giving two very different perspectives of the same subject (he does this frequently in Moby Dick, and also in the Piazza).
“The Lightening Rod Man” is amusing, “The Bell Tower” less so.
I enjoyed the various tales in “The Encantadas”. For those who say Melville lacks the human touch “Norfolk Isle and the Cholo Widow” is at variance with that.
Often Melville writes like he is observing and analyzing from a distance but with a remarkable capacity to zero in on minute details and pull you into different worlds.
I thought “Cock-A-Doodle-Doo” hilarious and containing a mournful ending. And there is some obvious word-play!
“Fragments from a Writing Desk” is much like the first word from the title, the second sketch is a little better.
“Authentic Anecdotes of “Old Zack”” is antiquated and relevant to Melville’s era, not now.
“Hawthorne and His Mosses” – boring.
“The Happy Failure” is mildly interesting.
“The Fiddler” good.
“Poor Man’s Pudding and Rich Man’s Crumbs” is Dickensian.
“The Two Temples” – excellent.
“The Paradise of Bachelors and the Tartarus of Maids” is two stories. The Bachelors humdrum, and Tartarus of more interest.
“Jimmy Rose” – very good.
“The Gees” – ho-hum
“I and My Chimney” of mild interest with the usual Melville elongated word usage.
“The Apple Tree Table” amusing with good atmosphere.
“John Marr – interesting (and short).
The most famous in this collection is “Billy Budd”, both magisterial and also laborious and repetitive – as we are told over and over that Billy is the handsome sailor and a deity of manhood.
Many of these stories are male centric – females play only a distant role in the world of Melville.
“Bartleby” is unique and I have never read anything quite like it!
“Piazza” is also nice.
“Benito Cereno” is possibly Melville at his best. Melville is marvelous at looking at both sides of the coin – of giving two very different perspectives of the same subject (he does this frequently in Moby Dick, and also in the Piazza).
“The Lightening Rod Man” is amusing, “The Bell Tower” less so.
I enjoyed the various tales in “The Encantadas”. For those who say Melville lacks the human touch “Norfolk Isle and the Cholo Widow” is at variance with that.
Often Melville writes like he is observing and analyzing from a distance but with a remarkable capacity to zero in on minute details and pull you into different worlds.
I thought “Cock-A-Doodle-Doo” hilarious and containing a mournful ending. And there is some obvious word-play!
“Fragments from a Writing Desk” is much like the first word from the title, the second sketch is a little better.
“Authentic Anecdotes of “Old Zack”” is antiquated and relevant to Melville’s era, not now.
“Hawthorne and His Mosses” – boring.
“The Happy Failure” is mildly interesting.
“The Fiddler” good.
“Poor Man’s Pudding and Rich Man’s Crumbs” is Dickensian.
“The Two Temples” – excellent.
“The Paradise of Bachelors and the Tartarus of Maids” is two stories. The Bachelors humdrum, and Tartarus of more interest.
“Jimmy Rose” – very good.
“The Gees” – ho-hum
“I and My Chimney” of mild interest with the usual Melville elongated word usage.
“The Apple Tree Table” amusing with good atmosphere.
“John Marr – interesting (and short).
October 26, 2013
To properly review this book, I must go through each story individually. It should be noted that my 5 star rating does not indicate that every story was a 5 star story. However, the experience of reading these stories, and their grouping as a whole makes this book 5 stars in my mind.
The Piazza: 3 stars
This story contains much of the descriptive qualities for which Melville is known. The essence of it comes down to the phrase "The grass is always greener..." In this case, the description was a bit tedious and the story seemed to fall a bit flat. Not a bad story by any means, but perhaps the weakest of all the short stories.
Bartleby, The Scrivener: 5 stars
This story of the hired scrivener that refuses almost all requests, and refuses to be fired is very enjoyable. There is something almost Kafkaesque about it (despite the fact that it pre-dates Kafka).
Benito Cereno: 5 stars
This was probably my favorite of the stories. There is a lot of suspense, and the reader can sense that something is not right. The revelation of what is truly happening is revealed at the end.
The Lightning-Rod Man: 4 stars
Very short story, but quite enjoyable. The ending is different from what I expected.
The Encantadas: 4 stars
This story is mainly descriptive, and involves the various aspects of the Galapagos Islands. Although I enjoyed it for the most part, I did feel that it got bogged down in the description too much at certain points. As far as the stories go, the story of Hunilla did not seem to evoke the intended sympathy and fell short. However, I did quite enjoy the story of Oberlus.
The Bell-Tower: 5 stars
This was an excellent story, and leaves one wavering between a scientific explanation and a paranormal one.
Fragments From A Writing Desk: 3 stars
A collection of letters written to M. Although a simple, easy read, it is the least memorable out of all the stories.
Authentic Anecdotes of "Old Zack": 5 stars
This is a collection of anecdotes about Zachary Taylor. They were very enjoyable, and with some being only a page long, it is a nice and easy read.
Hawthorne and his Mosses: 4 stars
This story revolves around Hawthorne's work "Mosses From An Old Manse." I enjoyed it, and as a result, I have added the Hawthorne work to my "to read" list.
The Happy Failure: 5 stars
This story of a paranoid uncle's prized invention held my interest throughout. A short, enjoyable read.
The Fiddler: 5 stars
A short tale of Hautboy, an enjoyable companion and fiddler. This was a great short story.
Cock-A-Doodle-Doo! 5 stars
This story of hearing a majestic cock crow and trying to track down the source was very good. Inspirational in ways.
Poor Man's Pudding and Rich Man's Crumbs: 4 stars
A story (or two separate stories) that show the stark difference between the rich and the poor. The description in Rich Man's Crumbs was far superior to that in Poor Man's Pudding.
The Two Temples: 4 stars
This was an enjoyable story about the eviction from a one temple, and the openness of another. More happens, but I don't like to give spoilers.
The Paradise of Bachelors and The Tartarus of Maids: 3 stars
Although I enjoyed the description of The Paradise of Bachelors, I had to reread sentences or paragraphs a number of times in The Tartarus of Maids (a sign that I was bored and zoning out).
Jimmy Rose: 4 stars
Rich guy story turned sour. Good read.
The 'Gees: 4 stars
'Gees is short for the Portuguese. Today, it is probably seen as a bit racist. But the description of the people and their role in the sea faring life is very good. It is also a quick read.
I And My Chimney: 5 stars
This story of the attachment can be seen as an allegory, showing how women try to force men to get rid of everything with sentimental value to them. I empathized with the protagonist in his desire to keep his chimney.
The Apple-Tree Table: 5 stars
This story is an excellent one that in its one tale, aims to debunk all paranormal phenomena. It has suspense and creepiness, yet ends on a note of logic and reason.
John Marr: 3 stars
Extremely short and unmemorable story, but it shows a perspective on what it feels like to be an outsider.
Billy Budd: 5 stars
This was my second time reading this story, and it remains an excellent one. The description of the events of the time are necessary as an explanation. The story of one man's unprovoked animosity toward another, and its tragic ending, remains one of Melville's finest works.
The Piazza: 3 stars
This story contains much of the descriptive qualities for which Melville is known. The essence of it comes down to the phrase "The grass is always greener..." In this case, the description was a bit tedious and the story seemed to fall a bit flat. Not a bad story by any means, but perhaps the weakest of all the short stories.
Bartleby, The Scrivener: 5 stars
This story of the hired scrivener that refuses almost all requests, and refuses to be fired is very enjoyable. There is something almost Kafkaesque about it (despite the fact that it pre-dates Kafka).
Benito Cereno: 5 stars
This was probably my favorite of the stories. There is a lot of suspense, and the reader can sense that something is not right. The revelation of what is truly happening is revealed at the end.
The Lightning-Rod Man: 4 stars
Very short story, but quite enjoyable. The ending is different from what I expected.
The Encantadas: 4 stars
This story is mainly descriptive, and involves the various aspects of the Galapagos Islands. Although I enjoyed it for the most part, I did feel that it got bogged down in the description too much at certain points. As far as the stories go, the story of Hunilla did not seem to evoke the intended sympathy and fell short. However, I did quite enjoy the story of Oberlus.
The Bell-Tower: 5 stars
This was an excellent story, and leaves one wavering between a scientific explanation and a paranormal one.
Fragments From A Writing Desk: 3 stars
A collection of letters written to M. Although a simple, easy read, it is the least memorable out of all the stories.
Authentic Anecdotes of "Old Zack": 5 stars
This is a collection of anecdotes about Zachary Taylor. They were very enjoyable, and with some being only a page long, it is a nice and easy read.
Hawthorne and his Mosses: 4 stars
This story revolves around Hawthorne's work "Mosses From An Old Manse." I enjoyed it, and as a result, I have added the Hawthorne work to my "to read" list.
The Happy Failure: 5 stars
This story of a paranoid uncle's prized invention held my interest throughout. A short, enjoyable read.
The Fiddler: 5 stars
A short tale of Hautboy, an enjoyable companion and fiddler. This was a great short story.
Cock-A-Doodle-Doo! 5 stars
This story of hearing a majestic cock crow and trying to track down the source was very good. Inspirational in ways.
Poor Man's Pudding and Rich Man's Crumbs: 4 stars
A story (or two separate stories) that show the stark difference between the rich and the poor. The description in Rich Man's Crumbs was far superior to that in Poor Man's Pudding.
The Two Temples: 4 stars
This was an enjoyable story about the eviction from a one temple, and the openness of another. More happens, but I don't like to give spoilers.
The Paradise of Bachelors and The Tartarus of Maids: 3 stars
Although I enjoyed the description of The Paradise of Bachelors, I had to reread sentences or paragraphs a number of times in The Tartarus of Maids (a sign that I was bored and zoning out).
Jimmy Rose: 4 stars
Rich guy story turned sour. Good read.
The 'Gees: 4 stars
'Gees is short for the Portuguese. Today, it is probably seen as a bit racist. But the description of the people and their role in the sea faring life is very good. It is also a quick read.
I And My Chimney: 5 stars
This story of the attachment can be seen as an allegory, showing how women try to force men to get rid of everything with sentimental value to them. I empathized with the protagonist in his desire to keep his chimney.
The Apple-Tree Table: 5 stars
This story is an excellent one that in its one tale, aims to debunk all paranormal phenomena. It has suspense and creepiness, yet ends on a note of logic and reason.
John Marr: 3 stars
Extremely short and unmemorable story, but it shows a perspective on what it feels like to be an outsider.
Billy Budd: 5 stars
This was my second time reading this story, and it remains an excellent one. The description of the events of the time are necessary as an explanation. The story of one man's unprovoked animosity toward another, and its tragic ending, remains one of Melville's finest works.
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September 10, 2020Num único volume toda a ficção curta de Herman Melville, um nome incontornável da literatura universal. A ficção curta de Melville aborda aspetos transversais às mais diferentes culturas e fazem dele um dos mais marcantes escritores de língua inglesa. Com esta edição é dada oportunidade ao leitor de ler ou reler contos e novelas incríveis, como como Billy Budd, marinheiro, Bartleby, o escrivão. Há um capítulo dedicado a Histórias e Esboços Dispersos onde o leitor poderá redescobrir o talento do autor do romance Moby Dick.
[Resumo da responsabilidade do Plano Nacional de Leitura 2027]
ISBN:
978-989-8872-02-9
CDU:
821.111(73)-82
Livro recomendado PNL2027 - 2020 1.º Sem. - Literatura - dos 15-18 anos - maiores 18 anos - Fluente
[Resumo da responsabilidade do Plano Nacional de Leitura 2027]
ISBN:
978-989-8872-02-9
CDU:
821.111(73)-82
Livro recomendado PNL2027 - 2020 1.º Sem. - Literatura - dos 15-18 anos - maiores 18 anos - Fluente
May 9, 2025
Cabría suponer que haber escrito Moby Dick bastaría para asegurar a Melville un puesto perpetuo en las librerías y una reedición regular de sus obras, pero no. Estos relatos están descatalogadísimos. En mi intento por adquirir este volumen por internet, la tienda online me redirigió a los cuentos completos de Robert Louis Stevenson (menos mal que me di cuenta a tiempo).
En fin, siempre nos quedará el epub.
Bueno, ¿y qué decir?, si es que me encanta Melville. Me leería hasta su lista de la compra. Lo que no me esperaba era su faceta más humorística. Con su retrato caricaturesco de Zachary Taylor yo lloraba de risa, además de que la presentación y el estilo de ese cuento eran algo originalísimo (quizá porque fue publicado por entregas en una seriada). No dejará de resultarme sorprendente que esto provenga de un hombre de temperamento tan melancólico y proclive a divagar constantemente sobre lo humano y lo divino.
Mención aparte merece «Yo y mi chimenea», donde se retrata la relación obsesiva de un hombre con la monumental chimenea de su casa. A pesar de la presión de su entorno y familia, quienes consideran que la chimenea oculta un gabinete secreto, el protagonista se niega rotundamente a eliminarla: "de hecho, si ese robusto buhonero, Atlas, fue capaz de soportar tan valientemente su peso, fue solo porque yo y mi chimenea no formábamos parte de su antigua carga". El texto parece articular un contraste entre dos visiones del mundo: una conservadora, encarnada en la chimenea, y otra progresista, decidida a erradicar lo que considera vestigios anacrónicos. El relato puede leerse como una crítica a la idolatría patriótica en el contexto de la guerra de Secesión. A esta pieza le sigue «La mesa de manzano», en la que reaparecen el mismo anciano obcecado y las mismas hijas aterrorizadas, así como su irónica esposa: "no creo en los espíritus, sobre todo a la hora del desayuno".
Dentro de la colección hay relatos mejores y peores, aunque en general todos tienen mucha calidad. Dejando de lado los más humorísticos, el conjunto puede dividirse en dos: por un lado, los que tratan sobre personajes con una peculiar relación con su vivienda o con algún elemento que forma parte de ella; por otro, los retratos sobre individuos excéntricos, tendencia evidente hacia el final del volumen. También figuran aquellos de un tono más reivindicativo, como El Tártaro de las doncellas, que retrata las angustias de la mujer obrera, o el sutilmente indigenista y muy delicado cuento de John Marr. Para todo aquel que haya malinterpretado «Benito Cereno», resulta aquí esclarecedora la sensibilidad de Melville hacia las problemáticas de los sectores sociales excluidos. Textos como «El campanario» y «Los dos templos» presentan la atmósfera propia de un sueño febril, relatos con una extraña lógica interna y remarcados tintes góticos; mientras que otros, como «La veranda», nos advierten sobre los peligros de la idealización excesiva.
Más o menos se puede rastrear la evolución estilística de Melville a medida que seguimos estos relatos, dispuestos en orden diacrónico. El tono abiertamente cómico de los primeros va dejando paso a una ironía más contenida, a medida que los cuentos se vuelven introspectivos, filosóficos y autobiográficos. En todo caso, parece claro que Melville demuestra una gran versatilidad estilística, pasando de una prosa barroca y simbólica a otra más depurada y sobria, dependiendo de sus objetivos. Melville dialogó con la tradición norteamericana y se adelantó a las vanguardias, convirtiéndose en un autor radicalmente moderno y, aunque resulte absurdo decirlo, radicalmente humano.
En fin, siempre nos quedará el epub.
Bueno, ¿y qué decir?, si es que me encanta Melville. Me leería hasta su lista de la compra. Lo que no me esperaba era su faceta más humorística. Con su retrato caricaturesco de Zachary Taylor yo lloraba de risa, además de que la presentación y el estilo de ese cuento eran algo originalísimo (quizá porque fue publicado por entregas en una seriada). No dejará de resultarme sorprendente que esto provenga de un hombre de temperamento tan melancólico y proclive a divagar constantemente sobre lo humano y lo divino.
Mención aparte merece «Yo y mi chimenea», donde se retrata la relación obsesiva de un hombre con la monumental chimenea de su casa. A pesar de la presión de su entorno y familia, quienes consideran que la chimenea oculta un gabinete secreto, el protagonista se niega rotundamente a eliminarla: "de hecho, si ese robusto buhonero, Atlas, fue capaz de soportar tan valientemente su peso, fue solo porque yo y mi chimenea no formábamos parte de su antigua carga". El texto parece articular un contraste entre dos visiones del mundo: una conservadora, encarnada en la chimenea, y otra progresista, decidida a erradicar lo que considera vestigios anacrónicos. El relato puede leerse como una crítica a la idolatría patriótica en el contexto de la guerra de Secesión. A esta pieza le sigue «La mesa de manzano», en la que reaparecen el mismo anciano obcecado y las mismas hijas aterrorizadas, así como su irónica esposa: "no creo en los espíritus, sobre todo a la hora del desayuno".
Dentro de la colección hay relatos mejores y peores, aunque en general todos tienen mucha calidad. Dejando de lado los más humorísticos, el conjunto puede dividirse en dos: por un lado, los que tratan sobre personajes con una peculiar relación con su vivienda o con algún elemento que forma parte de ella; por otro, los retratos sobre individuos excéntricos, tendencia evidente hacia el final del volumen. También figuran aquellos de un tono más reivindicativo, como El Tártaro de las doncellas, que retrata las angustias de la mujer obrera, o el sutilmente indigenista y muy delicado cuento de John Marr. Para todo aquel que haya malinterpretado «Benito Cereno», resulta aquí esclarecedora la sensibilidad de Melville hacia las problemáticas de los sectores sociales excluidos. Textos como «El campanario» y «Los dos templos» presentan la atmósfera propia de un sueño febril, relatos con una extraña lógica interna y remarcados tintes góticos; mientras que otros, como «La veranda», nos advierten sobre los peligros de la idealización excesiva.
Más o menos se puede rastrear la evolución estilística de Melville a medida que seguimos estos relatos, dispuestos en orden diacrónico. El tono abiertamente cómico de los primeros va dejando paso a una ironía más contenida, a medida que los cuentos se vuelven introspectivos, filosóficos y autobiográficos. En todo caso, parece claro que Melville demuestra una gran versatilidad estilística, pasando de una prosa barroca y simbólica a otra más depurada y sobria, dependiendo de sus objetivos. Melville dialogó con la tradición norteamericana y se adelantó a las vanguardias, convirtiéndose en un autor radicalmente moderno y, aunque resulte absurdo decirlo, radicalmente humano.
December 31, 2015
Fue una lectura agradable y un buen inicio para leer, en algún momento, Mobydick. Sí, los cuentos son un tanto aburridos por la explicación detallada y extendida, y la vastedad de lo que escribe Melville abruma un poco. Sin embargo, muchos de sus cuentos son maravillosos y muestran el carácter humano, con muchas metáforas y paisajes hermosos. También muestra la crudeza de la vida, y aunque no tiene un tono aleccionador, sí te hace pensar en muchas cosas que están mal con las personas y la sociedad. Es evidente los viajes de Melville y los conocimientos que tiene de todo un poco, como un conocedor de mundos que nos abre otros mundos. Mis cuentos favoritos fueron "¡Quiquiriquí!" y "El pudín del pobre y las migajas del rico".
February 10, 2012
Everyone's favorite Poe-with-a-difference writes for pay, &we win. To be a great writer, you must be a secret comedian, and that is the side of Melville most evident here, as he tips his gold-plated style ever so slightly to ridicule then-President Zachary Taylor, hard-boiled Civil War journalists and especially a grandiose, blabbering projection of himself.
June 5, 2024
«—¿Acaso ha pasado tanto tiempo sentada junto a esta ventana abierta a la montaña, ante la que no pasan más que nubes y vapores, que para usted las sombras son cosas, aunque hable de ellas como si fueran fantasmas, y está tan familiarizada con ellas que, sin mirarlas, sabe decir dónde están, pese a que se arrastran y vienen y van como los ratones, y esas sombras sin vida son como amigos cuyos rostros, pese a no estar aquí, siguen presentes en la imaginación? ¿Es eso?»
—Fragmentos de un escritorio: 2/10
—Anécdotas auténticas del «Viejo Zack»: 9/10
—¡Quiquiriquí!: 10/10
—El fracaso feliz: 8/10
—El violinista: 7'5/10
—El pudín del pobre y las migajas del rico: 6/10
—Los dos templos: 6'5/10
—El paraíso de los solteros y el Tártaro de las doncellas: 2/10
—El vendedor de pararrayos: 6/10
—El campanario: 3/10
—La veranda: 2/10
—Los 'gueses: 1/10
—Yo y mi chimenea: 6'5/10
—La mesa de manzano: 10/10
—Jimmy Rose: 8'5/10
—John Marr: 4/10
—El marques de Grandvin: 3/10
—Tres retratos de Jack Gentian: 4/10
—Daniel Orme: 4/10
Es la primera vez que leo algo de Melville y debo admitir que se me ha hecho una lectura pesada y he disfrutado de pocos relatos. Sin embargo, deduzco que es debido a que no estoy acostumbrada a su escritura. Me gustaría darle otra oportunidad!
—Fragmentos de un escritorio: 2/10
—Anécdotas auténticas del «Viejo Zack»: 9/10
—¡Quiquiriquí!: 10/10
—El fracaso feliz: 8/10
—El violinista: 7'5/10
—El pudín del pobre y las migajas del rico: 6/10
—Los dos templos: 6'5/10
—El paraíso de los solteros y el Tártaro de las doncellas: 2/10
—El vendedor de pararrayos: 6/10
—El campanario: 3/10
—La veranda: 2/10
—Los 'gueses: 1/10
—Yo y mi chimenea: 6'5/10
—La mesa de manzano: 10/10
—Jimmy Rose: 8'5/10
—John Marr: 4/10
—El marques de Grandvin: 3/10
—Tres retratos de Jack Gentian: 4/10
—Daniel Orme: 4/10
Es la primera vez que leo algo de Melville y debo admitir que se me ha hecho una lectura pesada y he disfrutado de pocos relatos. Sin embargo, deduzco que es debido a que no estoy acostumbrada a su escritura. Me gustaría darle otra oportunidad!
March 8, 2019
I was struck by the variety of Melville's stories. He wrote serious and funny stories. Some are 10 pages, some are 70. He wrote about Pacific Islands, Europe, and New England. There are love stories, scary stories, and sad stories.
I tended to like the shorter stories the best. The longer stories tended to take a little too long to develop. The Lightning Rod Man, The Encantadas, and Cock-A-Doodle-Doo were among my favs.
I tended to like the shorter stories the best. The longer stories tended to take a little too long to develop. The Lightning Rod Man, The Encantadas, and Cock-A-Doodle-Doo were among my favs.
August 26, 2020
A great, comprehensive and beautifully illustrated and presented collection of the shorter fiction. This includes a number of masterpieces as well as some idiosyncratic reflections. When he's on form as in Bartleby the Scrivener of Billy Budd, he can't be beaten. An excellent book all round.
Read
April 26, 2022This collection has only confirmed to me Melville’s stature as one of the greatest American writers and ironists - one who spoke effortlessly to all times as much as his own, and what’s more, in a humane and personable way. (How sorely both qualities are needed in Washington today.)
Often magazine pieces exhibit the fashions and interests of a time now remote from us; being unfamiliar with the antebellem era, I was concerned this gap in my knowledge might serve as an impediment to enjoying the articles and stories included here. Not so. Melville stands reverentially before the grand and ahistorical. If his go-to gag is to dignify human behaviour with Old Testament profundity (sometimes unwarrantably, which of course, is part of the joke) it is a good one, and never fails to raise a smile; and if his habit is to enlarge our view of the world to include both the heavens as well as the earth, that never fails to turn our attention to a contemplation of the ages. In the introduction Updike tells us that Meville described himself as a ‘boy in opinion’; surely this negative capability, this subtlety of a dialectician, accounts for something of his appeal.
To the tales themselves. Bartleby, the depressive copyist who gradually relinquishes all of his obligations, stands as an uncanny case study of clinical depression, but no summation can capture its mood adequately. It is the best thing Melville wrote, aside from Moby Dick. Benito Cereno is a masterful exercise in literary subversion, albeit couched in the sometimes dubious language of Civil War-era race relations. 'The Encantadas' contains some of the most delightful writing of the set. A poetic survey of the Galapagos Islands to complement Darwin’s more famous offering, it includes vibrant descriptions of the outlying islands and many fanciful histories pertaining to them. Even smaller pieces like ‘The Piazza’ and ‘the Lightning-Rod Salesman’ bear Melville's writerly mark of hinting at immensities with the smallest brushtrokes.
A few thoughts on Melville as a craftsman. Pleasing incidental details abound in The Piazza Tales; Here, in the eaves of a mountain cottage ‘snail-monks founded mossy priories'; children playing in the shadow of an old longboat on deck are ‘a social circle of bats, sheltering in some friendly cave’; everywhere he vivifies a scene, even if his brand of abstract declamation is his more easily recognisable calling card. A sample of a few words which spring up through the stories will give you an idea of his vocabulary: ‘palanquin’, ‘supererogatory’, ‘ursine’, ‘conglobulate’, ’tatterdemalion’, ‘sward’... He can furrow your brow, but makes you want to use 'conglobulate’ in casual conversation like nobody else.
All the tales bear the gift of inspiring good-natured debate, either between friends, or between one’s own contending beliefs (which, if you’ve heeded the previous advice of incorporating 'conglobulate’ into your repartee, should have served to successfully rid you of all friends anyway). Often you feel a predictable moral coming on - straight out of Matthew or Luke- but the ending of Benito Cereno illustrates a tendency in Melville to resist conventional moral answers: 'So far may even the best man err, in judging the conduct of one with the recesses of whose condition he is not acquainted,’ is the moral Don Benito offers. But given his fate, and that of the mutinous Babo, the story is not proven to be an exuberant retelling of the Good Samaritan; rather, it explores with striking ambiguity the feeling of impotence and thirst for vengeance among West African slaves.
In this edition, the introduction by John Updike is excellent - referencing critical works where they illuminate his writing, but giving us his own Melville quite cogently.
Often magazine pieces exhibit the fashions and interests of a time now remote from us; being unfamiliar with the antebellem era, I was concerned this gap in my knowledge might serve as an impediment to enjoying the articles and stories included here. Not so. Melville stands reverentially before the grand and ahistorical. If his go-to gag is to dignify human behaviour with Old Testament profundity (sometimes unwarrantably, which of course, is part of the joke) it is a good one, and never fails to raise a smile; and if his habit is to enlarge our view of the world to include both the heavens as well as the earth, that never fails to turn our attention to a contemplation of the ages. In the introduction Updike tells us that Meville described himself as a ‘boy in opinion’; surely this negative capability, this subtlety of a dialectician, accounts for something of his appeal.
To the tales themselves. Bartleby, the depressive copyist who gradually relinquishes all of his obligations, stands as an uncanny case study of clinical depression, but no summation can capture its mood adequately. It is the best thing Melville wrote, aside from Moby Dick. Benito Cereno is a masterful exercise in literary subversion, albeit couched in the sometimes dubious language of Civil War-era race relations. 'The Encantadas' contains some of the most delightful writing of the set. A poetic survey of the Galapagos Islands to complement Darwin’s more famous offering, it includes vibrant descriptions of the outlying islands and many fanciful histories pertaining to them. Even smaller pieces like ‘The Piazza’ and ‘the Lightning-Rod Salesman’ bear Melville's writerly mark of hinting at immensities with the smallest brushtrokes.
A few thoughts on Melville as a craftsman. Pleasing incidental details abound in The Piazza Tales; Here, in the eaves of a mountain cottage ‘snail-monks founded mossy priories'; children playing in the shadow of an old longboat on deck are ‘a social circle of bats, sheltering in some friendly cave’; everywhere he vivifies a scene, even if his brand of abstract declamation is his more easily recognisable calling card. A sample of a few words which spring up through the stories will give you an idea of his vocabulary: ‘palanquin’, ‘supererogatory’, ‘ursine’, ‘conglobulate’, ’tatterdemalion’, ‘sward’... He can furrow your brow, but makes you want to use 'conglobulate’ in casual conversation like nobody else.
All the tales bear the gift of inspiring good-natured debate, either between friends, or between one’s own contending beliefs (which, if you’ve heeded the previous advice of incorporating 'conglobulate’ into your repartee, should have served to successfully rid you of all friends anyway). Often you feel a predictable moral coming on - straight out of Matthew or Luke- but the ending of Benito Cereno illustrates a tendency in Melville to resist conventional moral answers: 'So far may even the best man err, in judging the conduct of one with the recesses of whose condition he is not acquainted,’ is the moral Don Benito offers. But given his fate, and that of the mutinous Babo, the story is not proven to be an exuberant retelling of the Good Samaritan; rather, it explores with striking ambiguity the feeling of impotence and thirst for vengeance among West African slaves.
In this edition, the introduction by John Updike is excellent - referencing critical works where they illuminate his writing, but giving us his own Melville quite cogently.
July 20, 2013
Piazza Tales **** (July 2013) – Here are many a tale of false faces and failing eyes; the distant cottage, the storm-wracked boat, the circumspect scrivener, the haughty bell-tower. Here is the cloak of Romantic (big R) innocence ripped on the splinter of fate; the siren of the desolate isle Eden calling; the overturned table. Ah, Melville, there is another world out there, isn’t there? A force behind the thrust, a depth to the chaotic ocean seen by few.
I and My Chimney ***** (July 2013) – A humorous yet inspiring Bartleby-esque tale of an otherwise amiable man who would prefer not to tear down his awkward, inconvenient, ponderous, preposterous chimney despite the badgering of his wife, children and neighbors. Whether you read it as about a chimney, his manhood or his art, it is a tale well told. A tale about that kernel that we fight to preserve in ourselves – that we see as ourselves – despite the difficulty it causes us and the general disfavor of others it brings down on us. It’s that last rough edge others would have us sand down smooth and complete the work to make us amendable.
I and My Chimney ***** (July 2013) – A humorous yet inspiring Bartleby-esque tale of an otherwise amiable man who would prefer not to tear down his awkward, inconvenient, ponderous, preposterous chimney despite the badgering of his wife, children and neighbors. Whether you read it as about a chimney, his manhood or his art, it is a tale well told. A tale about that kernel that we fight to preserve in ourselves – that we see as ourselves – despite the difficulty it causes us and the general disfavor of others it brings down on us. It’s that last rough edge others would have us sand down smooth and complete the work to make us amendable.
August 17, 2007
I love Melville's short stories: especially Bartleby. I'll never forget his slow dignified withdrawal from life.
Want to read
August 24, 2011Finished the Piazza Tales, and setting the old guy aside for a while.
August 28, 2016
A escrita é maravilhosa, mas as histórias são um pouquinho chatas :~
August 12, 2024
Aparentemente, é o mesmo conteúdo de "Os melhores contos de Herman Melville". Embora o livro fale em “Contos”, são apenas 4, sendo que dois deles estão mais para novelas, pelo tamanho. O nome mais apropriado talvez devesse ser “Bartleby e outros contos”, porque “Bartleby” é realmente a melhor história do livro – aliás, é mais do que isso, é um dos grandes momentos da literatura mundial.
O conto “O homem do para-raios” é bom também, além de curto, mas então vem “O terraço”, texto simbolista e impressionista que apenas a custo de muita leitura dinâmica foi possível concluir. Depois, outro conto enorme, “Benito Cereno”, sobre um motim de negros de um navio negreiro. Embora na introdução tenha sido destacada a opinião de que Melville pretendia, com o conto, incitar à revolta os negros do sul (e esse comentário aparentemente é de um branco), fiquei com uma impressão maior de que, na verdade, é endossado o pensamento racista, pois se evidencia uma crueldade que, na história, parte apenas dos negros revoltosos, como se não houvesse crueldade alguma em se achar detentor e proprietário de outro ser humano. Não estou certo de que o racismo que se observa em alguns comentários seja meramente o da história, e não o do próprio autor. Este também é um conto que tem algumas passagens de leitura lenta, excessivamente descritiva para o meu gosto.
Em suma, a boa opinião que posso ter do Melville por esse livro é apenas pelo incrível “Bartleby”.
O conto “O homem do para-raios” é bom também, além de curto, mas então vem “O terraço”, texto simbolista e impressionista que apenas a custo de muita leitura dinâmica foi possível concluir. Depois, outro conto enorme, “Benito Cereno”, sobre um motim de negros de um navio negreiro. Embora na introdução tenha sido destacada a opinião de que Melville pretendia, com o conto, incitar à revolta os negros do sul (e esse comentário aparentemente é de um branco), fiquei com uma impressão maior de que, na verdade, é endossado o pensamento racista, pois se evidencia uma crueldade que, na história, parte apenas dos negros revoltosos, como se não houvesse crueldade alguma em se achar detentor e proprietário de outro ser humano. Não estou certo de que o racismo que se observa em alguns comentários seja meramente o da história, e não o do próprio autor. Este também é um conto que tem algumas passagens de leitura lenta, excessivamente descritiva para o meu gosto.
Em suma, a boa opinião que posso ter do Melville por esse livro é apenas pelo incrível “Bartleby”.
March 12, 2020
Melville es un escritor de otro planeta.
Todos los cuentos me parecen geniales, con un par que me parecen menores, pero sin llegar a ser malos.
Cómo en Moby Dick, Melville trata de simbolizar sentimientos y emociones a elementos que existen in Natura; el símil que leo entre el Gallo de "Quiquirí" y el cachalote par excellence es adecuado porque demuestra que q través de las representaciones de estos animales Melville quiere mostrar, por ejemplo, la inutilidad del deseo y muerte como señora de este mundo.
Lo recomiendo ampliamente, si te gusto Moby Dick aquí hay más Melville; si no te gusto aquí hay un Melville que se aleja (tanto como le da la pluma) de la onda enciclopedica y de la explicación ad nauseaum en pos de una narración más limpia y fluida.
Todos los cuentos me parecen geniales, con un par que me parecen menores, pero sin llegar a ser malos.
Cómo en Moby Dick, Melville trata de simbolizar sentimientos y emociones a elementos que existen in Natura; el símil que leo entre el Gallo de "Quiquirí" y el cachalote par excellence es adecuado porque demuestra que q través de las representaciones de estos animales Melville quiere mostrar, por ejemplo, la inutilidad del deseo y muerte como señora de este mundo.
Lo recomiendo ampliamente, si te gusto Moby Dick aquí hay más Melville; si no te gusto aquí hay un Melville que se aleja (tanto como le da la pluma) de la onda enciclopedica y de la explicación ad nauseaum en pos de una narración más limpia y fluida.
June 1, 2020
«Aunque no era posible que todos los compañeros marinos de John Marr hubieran fallecido, cuando pensaba en ellos eran como los fantasmas de los muertos. A medida que aquella sensación le fue abocando más y más a meditaciones retrospectivas, aquellos fantasmas, junto con los de su mujer y su hijo, se convirtieron en sus compañeros espirituales, perdieron parte de su inicial imprecisión, fueron adoptando un sombrío parecido con una vida silenciosa y se fueron iluminando con esa aureola que circunda cualquier afecto del pasado cuando se une a lo que anhela apasionadamente un corazón imaginativo».
May 22, 2022
Like he admits, Melville clearly did not enjoy writing several of these short stories. Therefore, this collection is a testament to how the literary vain cannot be brushed aside. Even though the stories appear to have been written in a business-like manner, several of them are brimming with lyricism, profound emotional dilemmas and questions on morality. If this is Melville writing something he is not one hundred percent invested in, then his one hundred percent (Moby Dick etc.) is truly awesome to behold.
October 15, 2024
Este libro es una buena introducción a Melville. Encontramos de todo, cuentos buenísmos y algunos no tanto. Particularmente me entretuvieron mucho los cuentos "¡Quiquiriquí!", "El pudín del pobre y las migajas del rico", "El vendedor de pararrayos", "Yo y mi chimenea", "La mesa de manzano" y "Daniel Orme".
Abunda la crítica social, descripción detallada de objetos que terminan siendo los protagonistas, mucha ironía, referencias teologias y bíblicas. Creo que todo lector encontrará mas de un cuento de su agrado.
Abunda la crítica social, descripción detallada de objetos que terminan siendo los protagonistas, mucha ironía, referencias teologias y bíblicas. Creo que todo lector encontrará mas de un cuento de su agrado.
May 6, 2019
Loved it, simple as
August 10, 2019
I’d read the stories I wanted to and then returned to the library.
January 26, 2020
Amusing and Original stories backed up by an enormous vocabulary
Bartleby, The Scrivener (*)
The Encantadas, Or Enchanted Isles (*)
The Happy Failure
The Fiddler
I and My Chimney (*)
Bartleby, The Scrivener (*)
The Encantadas, Or Enchanted Isles (*)
The Happy Failure
The Fiddler
I and My Chimney (*)
July 7, 2021
A really beautiful edition of these well-known stories (with a few surprises in there as well).
December 24, 2023
Some very good fictions. Bartleby is so funny
March 26, 2016
Melville es sin duda un hallazgo afortunado para cualquier lector que disfrute de la narración prolija, la ironía reflexiva, la crítica social y las múltiples referencias a poetas y teólogos decimonónicos. La naturaleza siempre está presente en sus relatos, mágica, solidaria, recia, memoriosa, memorable. Mi cuento favorito: la mesa de Manzano.
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