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No Island Is an Island
In No Island Is an Island an internationally renowned historian approaches four works of English literature from unexpected angles. Following in the footsteps of a sixteenth-century Spanish bishop we gain a fresh view of Thomas More's Utopia. Comparing Bayle's Dictionary with Tristram Shandy we suddenly enter into Laurence Sterne's mind. A seemingly narrow dispute among Elizabethan critics for and against rhyme turns into an early debate on English national identity. Robert Louis Stevenson's story "The Bottle Imp" throws a new light on Bronislaw Malinowsky's attempts to discover meaning in the "kula" trading system among the Trobriand Islanders. Throughout, Ginzburg's inquiry is informed by his unique microhistorical sensibility, his attention to minute detail, and his extraordinary synthesizing imagination.
- GenresLiteratureEssaysHistory
128 pages, Hardcover
First published November 24, 2000
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94 people want to read
About the author
Carlo Ginzburg
49 books247 followersBorn in 1939, he is the son of of Italian-Ukranian translator Leone Ginzburg and Italian writer Natalia Ginzburg. Historian whose fields of interest range from the Italian Renaissance to early modern European History, with contributions in art history, literary studies, popular cultural beliefs, and the theory of historiography.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
June 13, 2019
OMG, OMG, OMG this is good!
But most of you won't get it.
But most of you won't get it.
February 17, 2011
I saw a copy of No Island Is an Island at HPB, and was curious, so I snagged one at the library. It's a book of essays on four time periods and/or pieces from English literature.
The first is on More's Utopia and how it was influenced by the classical author Lucian. Yes, we're back to my ignorance of classical literature again. For that matter, I've never read all of Utopia, though I've started it and not been able to keep going. So this was interesting but not something I could fully relate to.
The second was much more interesting; it was about Elizabethan views of poetry, and it quoted Roger Ascham and Philip Sidney. It also included references to Florio's work, which made me smile. It discusses the tension between the English and the Italians during this time. Interestingly, sometimes this tension took the form of a debate over which was superior: poetry that rhymed, or poetry that didn't rhyme. Yep, that's apparently an old argument. ;) Naturally, there were appeals to classical times, and claims that the best and oldest poetry didn't rhyme, and that rhyming poetry was only introduced into classical culture when German tribes invaded Italy. (This may or may not be true. I don't know enough to say for sure.)
The third, well, I've never even tried to read Tristram Shandy, so it didn't mean very much to me.
The fourth was about Robert Louis Stevenson. I haven't read the particular short story that it focussed on ("The Bottle Imp"), but the nature of the essay made it unnecessary. (Also, Kage Baker's work has given me a bit of a soft spot for RLS.)
The first is on More's Utopia and how it was influenced by the classical author Lucian. Yes, we're back to my ignorance of classical literature again. For that matter, I've never read all of Utopia, though I've started it and not been able to keep going. So this was interesting but not something I could fully relate to.
The second was much more interesting; it was about Elizabethan views of poetry, and it quoted Roger Ascham and Philip Sidney. It also included references to Florio's work, which made me smile. It discusses the tension between the English and the Italians during this time. Interestingly, sometimes this tension took the form of a debate over which was superior: poetry that rhymed, or poetry that didn't rhyme. Yep, that's apparently an old argument. ;) Naturally, there were appeals to classical times, and claims that the best and oldest poetry didn't rhyme, and that rhyming poetry was only introduced into classical culture when German tribes invaded Italy. (This may or may not be true. I don't know enough to say for sure.)
The third, well, I've never even tried to read Tristram Shandy, so it didn't mean very much to me.
The fourth was about Robert Louis Stevenson. I haven't read the particular short story that it focussed on ("The Bottle Imp"), but the nature of the essay made it unnecessary. (Also, Kage Baker's work has given me a bit of a soft spot for RLS.)
August 23, 2009
Part exploration and part exercise, the interrelated mapping of 'mindscapes' by Ginzburg reminiscent of the Cheese and the Worms continues in these four essays strung together in nonlinear entirely readable fashion. Being no scholar and only vaguely familiar with most of thinkers/works he trots through (Erasmus, Tristram Shandy, Bronislav Malinowski), and therefor despite a host of subtleties that probably flew over my head, Carlo remains accessible and rewarding to anyone willing to put in the work. A background knowledge of current medieval scholarship or of latin would probably have increased my appreciation of the first two essays; however as I sallied forth in the second half Sr. Carlo really starts spinning well-conceived webs for himself to disentangle, and by the finish I was left with the kind of complex and nuanced intellectual enjoyment analagous to reflecting on the totality of a journey's experiences opposed to its singular parts.
January 18, 2022
A wonderful and fascinating dive into the depths of Tristram Shandy, Utopia, The Bottle Imp and more, in a way that is challenging for all close readers of masterpieces of literature. The joy of reading this small but very deep book is learning about the possibilities of connections between art, history, literature and more. A treasure trove for those interested in the life of the mind.
July 25, 2023
Eriti hea lugemine Suur-Britannia koosseisu kuuluval saarel, mille ümber mäsleb meri.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews