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Patagónia Express
Homenagem a um comboio que já não existe, mas que continua a viajar na memória dos homens e das mulheres da Patagónia, estes "apontamentos de viagem" — como lhes chama Luis Sepúlveda — vêm uma vez mais comprovar a qualidade literária já evidenciada em livros como O Velho que Lia Romances de Amor, Nome de Toureiro ou Mundo do Fim do Mundo.
Desde os seus primeiros passos na militância política, que o levaram à prisão e depois ao exílio em diferentes países da América do Sul, até ao reencontro feliz, anos depois, com a Patagónia e a Terra do Fogo, é uma longa viagem (e uma longa memória) aquela que Luis Sepúlveda nos propõe neste seu novo livro.
Ao longo dele, confrontamo-nos com uma extensa galeria de personagens inesquecíveis e com um conjunto de histórias magníficas, daquelas que só um grande escritor é capaz de arrancar dos labirintos da vida.
Desde os seus primeiros passos na militância política, que o levaram à prisão e depois ao exílio em diferentes países da América do Sul, até ao reencontro feliz, anos depois, com a Patagónia e a Terra do Fogo, é uma longa viagem (e uma longa memória) aquela que Luis Sepúlveda nos propõe neste seu novo livro.
Ao longo dele, confrontamo-nos com uma extensa galeria de personagens inesquecíveis e com um conjunto de histórias magníficas, daquelas que só um grande escritor é capaz de arrancar dos labirintos da vida.
160 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 1995
118 people are currently reading
2511 people want to read
About the author
Luis Sepúlveda
160 books1,273 followers(Ovalle, Chile, 1949 – Oviedo, España, 2020) Luis Sepúlveda was a Chilean writer, film director, journalist and political activist. Exiled during the Pinochet regime, most of his work was written in Germany and Spain, where he lived until his death.
Author of more than thirty books, translated into more than fifty languages, highlighting An Old Man Who Read Love Stories (Tusquets Ed., 2019) and The Story of a Seagull and the Cat Who Taught Him to Fly (Tusquets Ed., 1996). Among his numerous awards are the Gabriela Mistral Poetry Award (Chile), the Primavera Novel Award (Spain) and the Chiara Award for Literary Career (Italy). Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters of France, and doctor honoris causa by the universities of Toulon (France) and Urbino (Italy).
In a direct, quick-to-read language, full of anecdotes, his books denounce the ecological disaster affecting the world and criticize selfish human behavior, but they also show and exalt the most wonderful manifestations of nature.
Author of more than thirty books, translated into more than fifty languages, highlighting An Old Man Who Read Love Stories (Tusquets Ed., 2019) and The Story of a Seagull and the Cat Who Taught Him to Fly (Tusquets Ed., 1996). Among his numerous awards are the Gabriela Mistral Poetry Award (Chile), the Primavera Novel Award (Spain) and the Chiara Award for Literary Career (Italy). Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters of France, and doctor honoris causa by the universities of Toulon (France) and Urbino (Italy).
In a direct, quick-to-read language, full of anecdotes, his books denounce the ecological disaster affecting the world and criticize selfish human behavior, but they also show and exalt the most wonderful manifestations of nature.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 391 reviews
March 19, 2023
Tasty travels and encounters. Especially for the reader of the Chilean writer. Start with his anarchist grandfather, who makes him pee on the doors of churches and to whom he will keep a promise. During his adventures, he risks arranged marriage, a flight in a small plane, and meetings over a drink with colorful characters who will give him their friendships but, above all, to tell each other.
September 25, 2018
Ξέρεις ότι είσαι σε καλό δρόμο γενικά, όταν σου προτείνουν βιβλία τα οποία, όταν τα διαβάζεις, ξέρεις ότι νιώθεις (και για τους ίδιους λόγους μάλιστα) όπως ένιωσαν αυτοί που στα πρότειναν. Ο Sepúlveda με κέρασε ταξίδια, την εύλογη απορία αν τελειώνουν ποτέ οι ιστορίες στη Λατινική Αμερική, και ένα από τα πιο όμορφα αποσπάσματα που είχα ποτέ την τύχη να διαβάσω:
Κι εκείνη τη στιγμή, το βλέμμα του γέροντα διαπέρασε το δέρμα μου, τρύπησε όλα μου τα κόκαλα, βγήκε απ' το πορτάκι έξω, στο δρόμο, ανηφόρισε και κατηφόρισε, προσκύνησε κάθε δέντρο, κάθε σταγόνα λάδι, κάθε γουλιά κρασί, κάθε σβησμένο χνάρι, κάθε τραγουδισμένη καντάδα, κάθε ταύρο θυσιασμενο την κακιά ώρα, κάθε ηλιοβασίλεμα, κάθε τρίκωχο καπέλο που "σήκωσε κεφάλι" στους νοικοκυραίους, κάθε μαντάτο που ήρθε από μακριά, κάθε γράμμα που σταμάτησε να έρχεται γιατί έτσι είναι η ζωή η πουτάνα, κάθε σιωπή που παρατάθηκε ώσπου να παγιωθεί η απόλυτη αποξένωση.Αξίζει ένα ταξίδι (με το Google maps φυσικά, πού χρόνος τώρα για κανονικά ταξίδια;) στην μικρή πόλη Μάρτος της Ανδαλουσίας όπου καταλήγει (αρχίζει;) το ταξίδι του συγγραφέα. Εγώ πάντως θα είμαι εκεί για λίγο καιρό.
November 16, 2020
Le rose di Atacama
Luis Sepúlveda è morto il 16 aprile di quest’anno. Se l’è portato via il coronavirus 2 da sindrome respiratoria acuta grave.
Cileno, sostenitore di Salvador Allende, fu arrestato e torturato dagli aguzzini del generale Pinochet. Si fece due anni e mezzo di carcere e solo grazie ad Amnesty International fu scarcerato ed esiliato. Si spostò poi in Equador, combatté in Nicaragua; si trasferì in Germania e poi in Francia. Dal 1996 è vissuto a Gijón, in Spagna.
In un imprecisato giorno di febbraio in un imprecisato anno degli anni ’80, Sepúlveda incontra Chatwin a Barcellona e con lui progetta un viaggio in Patagonia. In Patagonia, dove Chatwin, anni prima...
Bruce gli fa lo scherzo di morire a 49 anni di aids. Luis partirà da solo, sulle orme di Butch e Sundance...
Luis racconta di incontri, leggende, eroiche ferrovie, paesini sperduti, vascelli fantasma; racconta di una terra dove si mente per essere felici, ma dove “nessuno di noi confonde la bugia con l’inganno”.
Di nascosto (ufficialmente sono... ehm... dentro una cornice nel corridoio dell’ultimo piano), dai sotterranei di Hogwarts ho portato su una bottiglia di Urmeneta della Valle del Maipo , uno dei migliori al mondo. Sono seduto nel mio vecchio studio e brindo alla salute di Luis, uomo e scrittore straordinario. Fanny, tornata apposta, annuisce...
«Quel suono interminabile di pietre che si sgretolano a causa del violento sbalzo di temperatura è la migliore dimostrazione che anche il silenzio si può ascoltare»
Luis Sepúlveda è morto il 16 aprile di quest’anno. Se l’è portato via il coronavirus 2 da sindrome respiratoria acuta grave.
Cileno, sostenitore di Salvador Allende, fu arrestato e torturato dagli aguzzini del generale Pinochet. Si fece due anni e mezzo di carcere e solo grazie ad Amnesty International fu scarcerato ed esiliato. Si spostò poi in Equador, combatté in Nicaragua; si trasferì in Germania e poi in Francia. Dal 1996 è vissuto a Gijón, in Spagna.
In un imprecisato giorno di febbraio in un imprecisato anno degli anni ’80, Sepúlveda incontra Chatwin a Barcellona e con lui progetta un viaggio in Patagonia. In Patagonia, dove Chatwin, anni prima...
Bruce gli fa lo scherzo di morire a 49 anni di aids. Luis partirà da solo, sulle orme di Butch e Sundance...
Luis racconta di incontri, leggende, eroiche ferrovie, paesini sperduti, vascelli fantasma; racconta di una terra dove si mente per essere felici, ma dove “nessuno di noi confonde la bugia con l’inganno”.
Di nascosto (ufficialmente sono... ehm... dentro una cornice nel corridoio dell’ultimo piano), dai sotterranei di Hogwarts ho portato su una bottiglia di Urmeneta della Valle del Maipo , uno dei migliori al mondo. Sono seduto nel mio vecchio studio e brindo alla salute di Luis, uomo e scrittore straordinario. Fanny, tornata apposta, annuisce...
«Quel suono interminabile di pietre che si sgretolano a causa del violento sbalzo di temperatura è la migliore dimostrazione che anche il silenzio si può ascoltare»
May 12, 2020
Il Google Maps del mio cellulare ringrazia. Crede io sia una avventurosa viaggiatrice e che in tempo di quarantena, sfidando impunemente restrizioni e divieti di spostamento abbia trovato un cargo, uno dei pochi velivoli che ancora solcano i cieli ,e nascosta nella stiv,a mi sia imbarcata verso il Sudamerica, direzione Patagonia.
Per la verità, ma non diciamolo a quel grullo del mio Google Maps, il viaggio lo ha fatto Luis Sepulveda dopo il lungo esilio quando finalmente poté rientrare in Cile, la sua terra.
È un diario di bordo sullo sfondo di una natura indimenticabile: la Patagonia scenario del Sud del mondo, descrizioni paesaggistiche, un po' di storia, leggende aneddoti, miti australi, sensazioni, incontri e disincontri.
Impressioni che Sepulveda trascrive numerando le pagine di una piccola Moleskine, quelle mitiche agendine già apprezzate da Hemingway, e come lo scrittore Bruce Chatwin gli consiglia in quel giorno in cui si incontrano al caffè Zurich di Barcellona per parlare di un itinerario che Chatwin aveva già fatto e scritto per primo e che sarebbe poi divenuto uno dei migliori libri del genere letteratura da viaggio intitolato In Patagonia.
Omaggio a Sepulveda, libricino breve, molto molto piacevole che mi ha fatto sognare per qualche ora.
Va be' ciao ora s'è fatta una certa...riprendiamo la quarantena direzione cucina, apro il frigo mi stappo una Ichnusa al gelo, immaginando invece di assaggiare un bicchiere di Hurmeneta della Valle del Maipo che si estende ampia e verde a sud di Santiago del Cile, Luis Sepulveda dice che è uno dei migliori vini del mondo
una bevanda densa, forte, secca e scura come la notte. Un buon vino da consacrare, ma ancora meglio da beree
E metterò in moto memoria gustativa e olfattiva e comincerò a camminare anche solo con l'immaginazione perché
Caminante, no hay camino,
se hace camino al andar
Viandante non c'è cammino
il cammino si fa andando.
o sognando aggiungerei alle parole del poeta spagnolo Antonio Machado
Per la verità, ma non diciamolo a quel grullo del mio Google Maps, il viaggio lo ha fatto Luis Sepulveda dopo il lungo esilio quando finalmente poté rientrare in Cile, la sua terra.
È un diario di bordo sullo sfondo di una natura indimenticabile: la Patagonia scenario del Sud del mondo, descrizioni paesaggistiche, un po' di storia, leggende aneddoti, miti australi, sensazioni, incontri e disincontri.
Impressioni che Sepulveda trascrive numerando le pagine di una piccola Moleskine, quelle mitiche agendine già apprezzate da Hemingway, e come lo scrittore Bruce Chatwin gli consiglia in quel giorno in cui si incontrano al caffè Zurich di Barcellona per parlare di un itinerario che Chatwin aveva già fatto e scritto per primo e che sarebbe poi divenuto uno dei migliori libri del genere letteratura da viaggio intitolato In Patagonia.
Omaggio a Sepulveda, libricino breve, molto molto piacevole che mi ha fatto sognare per qualche ora.
Va be' ciao ora s'è fatta una certa...riprendiamo la quarantena direzione cucina, apro il frigo mi stappo una Ichnusa al gelo, immaginando invece di assaggiare un bicchiere di Hurmeneta della Valle del Maipo che si estende ampia e verde a sud di Santiago del Cile, Luis Sepulveda dice che è uno dei migliori vini del mondo
una bevanda densa, forte, secca e scura come la notte. Un buon vino da consacrare, ma ancora meglio da beree
E metterò in moto memoria gustativa e olfattiva e comincerò a camminare anche solo con l'immaginazione perché
Caminante, no hay camino,
se hace camino al andar
Viandante non c'è cammino
il cammino si fa andando.
o sognando aggiungerei alle parole del poeta spagnolo Antonio Machado
July 13, 2016
Gosto tanto de ler Sepúlveda! As historias que conta - e que segundo o próprio - só são possíveis de acontecer no sul do mundo, são cheias do folclore tão típico da América Latina, de superstição, dor e sofrimento, mas também de alegria e lealdade. Histórias de gente simples - não confundir com simplória - nascidos, criados e moldados pela natureza rude, ou refugiados que procuraram a solidão dos grandes descampados no seu caminho de busca pela liberdade. São histórias de vida de gente verdadeira, que o autor tira do anonimato e a quem presta a merecida homenagem.
E depois há as outras: as dos perseguidos políticos; presos e torturados, como o próprio autor que testemunha os anos que passou na cadeia, a difícil fuga para o exílio e, finalmente, a tão aguardada viagem de volta e o feliz regresso às raízes.
Testemunhos reais que superam - para o bem e para o mal - a melhor ficção, contados com uma emoção contagiante.
E depois há as outras: as dos perseguidos políticos; presos e torturados, como o próprio autor que testemunha os anos que passou na cadeia, a difícil fuga para o exílio e, finalmente, a tão aguardada viagem de volta e o feliz regresso às raízes.
Testemunhos reais que superam - para o bem e para o mal - a melhor ficção, contados com uma emoção contagiante.
October 12, 2018
أدب أمريكا الجنوبية مرة أخرى..
يا للروعة
يا للروعة
April 27, 2020
Non si tratta di un libro di viaggio vero e proprio, con una meta e un percorso preciso. Sono bozzetti, ricordi dei numerosi viaggi di Sepúlveda in Patagonia. Nonostante la brevità, ci sono molti episodi che mi resteranno in mente.
Mi è piaciuto anche il modo scanzonato ma appassionato in cui è scritto il libro.
Credo sia riuscito a rendere bene l'anima dei patagoni.
Non è che la Patagonia fosse una regione che mi attirasse in modo particolare, anzi mi era abbastanza indifferente, eppure Sepúlveda è riuscito non solo a tenere la mio interesse sempre alto ma anche a farmi venire voglia di leggere In Patagonia del suo amico Bruce Chatwin e i racconti di Francisco Coloane (questi ultimi li avrei voluti leggere in ogni caso ma così scalano la mia lista).
Di Sepúlveda in passato avevo già letto un paio dei suoi raccontini con gli animali, non è che non mi fossero piaciuti però, ecco, Patagonia Express è più nelle mie corde.
Mi è piaciuto anche il modo scanzonato ma appassionato in cui è scritto il libro.
Credo sia riuscito a rendere bene l'anima dei patagoni.
Non è che la Patagonia fosse una regione che mi attirasse in modo particolare, anzi mi era abbastanza indifferente, eppure Sepúlveda è riuscito non solo a tenere la mio interesse sempre alto ma anche a farmi venire voglia di leggere In Patagonia del suo amico Bruce Chatwin e i racconti di Francisco Coloane (questi ultimi li avrei voluti leggere in ogni caso ma così scalano la mia lista).
Di Sepúlveda in passato avevo già letto un paio dei suoi raccontini con gli animali, non è che non mi fossero piaciuti però, ecco, Patagonia Express è più nelle mie corde.
February 15, 2022
Sepulveda, noto al grande pubblico grazie alla sua gabbianella e al gatto che le insegnò a volare, racconta qui il suo viaggio attraverso le terre remote della Patagonia Cilena. Cileno di nascita ma catalano d'adozione, ripercorre in questo racconto le tappe essenziali del viaggio ai confini del mondo, inanellando una serie di racconti che hanno per protagonisti personaggi tanto bizzarri da sempre personaggi. Eppure, a sentir Luis, reali quanto ciascuno di noi.
Molto più di una guida National Geographic, il libro è un affresco della variegata umanità che solo uscendo dalla propria confort zone si può incontrare.
(Ci manchi Luis)
Molto più di una guida National Geographic, il libro è un affresco della variegata umanità che solo uscendo dalla propria confort zone si può incontrare.
(Ci manchi Luis)
September 26, 2020
"O bilhete para lado nenhum foi uma oferta do meu avô."
"Junto da estação havia um hotel sem graça, como todos os hotéis de povoações sem importância. Já no quarto - uma cama de bronze, uma mesinha coxa, uma palmatória com dois dedos de vela, um espelho, um lavatório de lata, um jarro de água e um pano teso que juraria que era uma toalha -, abri a mochila e vesti o pullover grosso. No quarto estava tanto frio como lá fora e a cama era boa para uma noite. Os lençóis, engomados até ao exagero, tinham a mesma rigidez arbórea da toalha, mas os cobertores eram grossos e de lã. Recordei alguém - quem diabo seria? - que afirmava que o frio era o melhor aliado da higiene hoteleira."
"Recordo tudo isto enquanto espero sentado num barril de vinho, de frente para o mar, no sul do mundo, e tomo notas num caderno de folhas quadriculadas que Bruce me ofereceu justamente para esta viagem. E não se trata de um caderno qualquer. É uma peça de museu, um autêntico Moleskin, tão apreciado por escritores como Céline ou Hemingway, que já não se encontra nas papelarias. Bruce sugeriu que antes de o usar eu fizesse como ele: primeiro numerar as folhas, depois anotar na contracapa pelo menos duas direcções no mundo, e, finalmente, prometer uma recompensa a quem devolvesse o caderno em caso de perda. Quando lhe disse que tudo aquilo me parecia demasiado inglês, Bruce respondeu que era justamente graças a esse tipo de medidas de precaução que os Ingleses conservavam a ilusão de ser um império; em cada colónia gravaram a sangue e fogo a ideia de pertença a Inglaterra e, quando as perderam, em troca de uma pequena recompensa económica, recuperaram-nas com o eufemismo de Comunidade Britânica das Nações."
"A conversa com os amigos confirmou-me mais uma vez que uma pessoa é de onde melhor se sente."
"Junto da estação havia um hotel sem graça, como todos os hotéis de povoações sem importância. Já no quarto - uma cama de bronze, uma mesinha coxa, uma palmatória com dois dedos de vela, um espelho, um lavatório de lata, um jarro de água e um pano teso que juraria que era uma toalha -, abri a mochila e vesti o pullover grosso. No quarto estava tanto frio como lá fora e a cama era boa para uma noite. Os lençóis, engomados até ao exagero, tinham a mesma rigidez arbórea da toalha, mas os cobertores eram grossos e de lã. Recordei alguém - quem diabo seria? - que afirmava que o frio era o melhor aliado da higiene hoteleira."
"Recordo tudo isto enquanto espero sentado num barril de vinho, de frente para o mar, no sul do mundo, e tomo notas num caderno de folhas quadriculadas que Bruce me ofereceu justamente para esta viagem. E não se trata de um caderno qualquer. É uma peça de museu, um autêntico Moleskin, tão apreciado por escritores como Céline ou Hemingway, que já não se encontra nas papelarias. Bruce sugeriu que antes de o usar eu fizesse como ele: primeiro numerar as folhas, depois anotar na contracapa pelo menos duas direcções no mundo, e, finalmente, prometer uma recompensa a quem devolvesse o caderno em caso de perda. Quando lhe disse que tudo aquilo me parecia demasiado inglês, Bruce respondeu que era justamente graças a esse tipo de medidas de precaução que os Ingleses conservavam a ilusão de ser um império; em cada colónia gravaram a sangue e fogo a ideia de pertença a Inglaterra e, quando as perderam, em troca de uma pequena recompensa económica, recuperaram-nas com o eufemismo de Comunidade Britânica das Nações."
"A conversa com os amigos confirmou-me mais uma vez que uma pessoa é de onde melhor se sente."
May 8, 2022
"قبل أن نغادر، جلبت لنا خبزًا، لا يزال دافئًا من الفرن، وبيضًا مسلوقًا جيدًا للرحلة. إن العناية اللطيفة في توضيبها داخل قطعة القماش تناقض خشونة كلماتها وقسوة إلماحاتها".
December 20, 2025
Hell, lemme tell you: I’m the macho-y-est hombre on all fourteen continents. All the dark, mysterious dudes I buy rum for tell me I am – so I know it’s true. Read this book and watch as I meet the roughest, toughest guys in places you’d never survive.
You’ll see me daringly get drunk and rip the flesh off animals. Then I'll say pithy things about the sublime yet simple shit we spew at each other through our caña thickened tongues. Oh man – life is cheap where I go, just you wait.
After this author’s mediocre novel I picked up this, primarily because last year we spent time in Patagonia. Don’t bother. His writing is insipid and I have a guess why. He hates women and children – which may be why you’ll find no magic, no lyricism in his words.
His writing, even when on the rare occasion the actual story is engaging, is dry and dull as nails. He shuts out a huge proportion of the world’s music, and that, my friend, is a mistake.
LS adored his anarchist grandfather as a child and the book starts off with a scene where abuelo is taking Luisito out to pee on Catholic church doors. In middle school LS joins the Young Communists – it appears to please his left wing parents more than any intrinsic force of ideas, or hope for a more equitable future. In 1968 at 19 years of age, and two years before Salvador Allende’s election, he was “expelled from the Communist Party” for unclear reasons. This isn't in the book - just fact. Nowhere in his writing do I sense any real, essential progressiveness emanating from him. It seems he ended up in prison under Pinochet because he was labeled a Commie as a result of familial connections more than anything else.
Eventually he was allowed to go into exile and ends up in Europe. We hear about a meeting (always over alcohol, proudly in excess) with Bruce Chatwin. Chatwin wrote In Patagonia. Luis says they discuss Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid who spent a couple years in Argentina before their final destination, Bolivia, where they were murdered in 1908. I don’t know Chatwin’s views of this meeting but Luis decides they’re soulmates and compares himself and Bruce to the 1890s outlaws – a ridiculous uber juvenile, teenage ninja turtle moment. Luis dreams, er writes, that they have promised to join up to retrace the famous bank robbers’ trail through Patagonia as soon as Luis can return to South America again and this, apparently, becomes his sole reason for living.
He visits the Chilean embassy in Germany “every Monday morning” for years only to be told he cannot return home. Until one day he suddenly can. Within 2 weeks he’s on his way to South America.
Luis conveniently neglects to tell us in this chronology he has had 3 children while in Germany, with his (ex and future) wife.
Wonder how those tykes feel about a dad so frigging happy to escape?
Bruce Chatwin cannot meet Luis for this journey because, being largely gay, he died of AIDS in 1989. This, Luis does not mention. Perhaps because he does not want to know. He freely used gay slurs in the chapters about prison. It doesn’t jive with Bruce’s macho image, does it? Still Luis is taking his imaginary friend along with us on this testosterone fueled pipe dream. He talks to his dead companion along the path.
I am reminded of the Jews killed in the Holocaust who were “Baptized into the Celestial Kingdom” by Mormons, who weirdly baptize the dead, until the Jews’ relatives found out about it and promptly put a stop to it.
Should we be doing these things to those already composting without their explicit permission?
Asking for a friend.
But the Big Boy journey is about to happen! And this is the rest of the book. All about the men he meets. The only women are those in the innumerable stories about brothels or rarely wives mentioned as they carry in food and wine. One madam of a brothel in Ecuador, who he skewered, is referred to as “the fat lady”. I find this a wee bit ironic from someone who, from his photos, must be nearing 400 lbs (182 kg) himself. Maybe I’ll just refer to him as “the fat author” for the rest of the review as any woman he does need to mention also has her body described.
There is not one conversation with a woman in the entire book. Aside from a few, very brief dismissive comments made with the clear intent of diminishing them and ingratiating him.
Apparently every Interesting Person he meets along the way is a man – incredible from the point of view of statistics – with whom he drinks himself into oblivion and eats huge quantities of an animal, preferably just described while still alive, and then killed. Because, men! There is a scene where the fine skill of biting the testicles off of live, young sheep and spitting them into buckets (to then be fried and eaten by men) is described in detail. Yeah. Straight up Michelin star stuff.
Another anecdote includes the unimpeachable Luis barely surviving a gig in Ecuador where he is hired to write the memoir of a “notable person”. We are to believe this family intends to marry him off to their daughter, Aparicia. The family are to be loathed because they are of Spanish, not indigenous, descent (as is the fat author, I note) and they are practicing Catholics. The estate is tellingly named La Conquistada.
In this generously proportioned author’s description of the daughter – from whom we are told he must disappear in the dark of night to escape (so manly!) he notes that she:
”...moved awkwardly, as if apologizing to the furniture for being nearly six feet tall and burdened with a body which, although well formed, was voluminous….a great big full-bodied woman…”
Who, he goes on to explain, a baroque artist would need to remove from a painting: if he “slipped up and painted” her. He would have to “take her out of the picture”.
He further describes her, or rather, insults all women, here:
“Aparicia spent her days embroidering, and although I have always shrunk from zoological comparisons, when close to her I couldn’t help noticing the characteristic sour-milk odour given off by females on heat.”
Or maybe, dear voluminous author, that’s just an embedded memory of yours from too many adolescent (and probably adult) nights, alone with unfortunate, non-consenting ewes? You may “shrink from” zoological comparisons but I’d bet there’s lots of livestock analogies in that limited repertoire of yours.
But, back to our story – which is BS on the face of it: Luis Sepúlveda was married, with children at this time. That’s all he had to do. Tell the family in La Conquistada a tiny bit of truth. They were strict Catholics, drama ended. But no – where’s the machismo in that? Flee! Our hero must flee into the night!
There are moments when I think, that’s the best you can do?
He’s riding on a train in Patagonia. The car he’s in has two simple wooden benches running length-wise down each side filled with sleeping workers, Luis and a minister. Luis has disdain for The Church, he has made this clear since his door-urinating youth – it’s constitutional. He has further expressed distaste for this priest who says “You have to be merciless with subversives.” To make sure we know how evil church dude is.
At one point the Bible on the lap of the minister falls to the floor. Time for metaphor!
No luck, our generously proportioned author gives us:
“ The Bible falls from his hands and closes. It looks like a black brick.”
Geez. Gimme something? Anything. A black brick?
So I try to think of better ways to have used that moment…I’d love to read yours.
“The Bible falls to the floor; just another tired book of old stories.”
or
“The Bible falls to the floor, in a race to hell with its owner.”
But I’m not an Author.
Our self-aggrandizing Chilean died in 2020 of COVID in Spain. He was in a High Risk Group.
LS was able to see sacrament, beauty in the simple speech of men in bars when they wished each other well.
Too bad he was unable to see the quiet grace in any woman.
You’ll see me daringly get drunk and rip the flesh off animals. Then I'll say pithy things about the sublime yet simple shit we spew at each other through our caña thickened tongues. Oh man – life is cheap where I go, just you wait.
After this author’s mediocre novel I picked up this, primarily because last year we spent time in Patagonia. Don’t bother. His writing is insipid and I have a guess why. He hates women and children – which may be why you’ll find no magic, no lyricism in his words.
His writing, even when on the rare occasion the actual story is engaging, is dry and dull as nails. He shuts out a huge proportion of the world’s music, and that, my friend, is a mistake.
LS adored his anarchist grandfather as a child and the book starts off with a scene where abuelo is taking Luisito out to pee on Catholic church doors. In middle school LS joins the Young Communists – it appears to please his left wing parents more than any intrinsic force of ideas, or hope for a more equitable future. In 1968 at 19 years of age, and two years before Salvador Allende’s election, he was “expelled from the Communist Party” for unclear reasons. This isn't in the book - just fact. Nowhere in his writing do I sense any real, essential progressiveness emanating from him. It seems he ended up in prison under Pinochet because he was labeled a Commie as a result of familial connections more than anything else.
Eventually he was allowed to go into exile and ends up in Europe. We hear about a meeting (always over alcohol, proudly in excess) with Bruce Chatwin. Chatwin wrote In Patagonia. Luis says they discuss Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid who spent a couple years in Argentina before their final destination, Bolivia, where they were murdered in 1908. I don’t know Chatwin’s views of this meeting but Luis decides they’re soulmates and compares himself and Bruce to the 1890s outlaws – a ridiculous uber juvenile, teenage ninja turtle moment. Luis dreams, er writes, that they have promised to join up to retrace the famous bank robbers’ trail through Patagonia as soon as Luis can return to South America again and this, apparently, becomes his sole reason for living.
He visits the Chilean embassy in Germany “every Monday morning” for years only to be told he cannot return home. Until one day he suddenly can. Within 2 weeks he’s on his way to South America.
Luis conveniently neglects to tell us in this chronology he has had 3 children while in Germany, with his (ex and future) wife.
Wonder how those tykes feel about a dad so frigging happy to escape?
Bruce Chatwin cannot meet Luis for this journey because, being largely gay, he died of AIDS in 1989. This, Luis does not mention. Perhaps because he does not want to know. He freely used gay slurs in the chapters about prison. It doesn’t jive with Bruce’s macho image, does it? Still Luis is taking his imaginary friend along with us on this testosterone fueled pipe dream. He talks to his dead companion along the path.
I am reminded of the Jews killed in the Holocaust who were “Baptized into the Celestial Kingdom” by Mormons, who weirdly baptize the dead, until the Jews’ relatives found out about it and promptly put a stop to it.
Should we be doing these things to those already composting without their explicit permission?
Asking for a friend.
But the Big Boy journey is about to happen! And this is the rest of the book. All about the men he meets. The only women are those in the innumerable stories about brothels or rarely wives mentioned as they carry in food and wine. One madam of a brothel in Ecuador, who he skewered, is referred to as “the fat lady”. I find this a wee bit ironic from someone who, from his photos, must be nearing 400 lbs (182 kg) himself. Maybe I’ll just refer to him as “the fat author” for the rest of the review as any woman he does need to mention also has her body described.
There is not one conversation with a woman in the entire book. Aside from a few, very brief dismissive comments made with the clear intent of diminishing them and ingratiating him.
Apparently every Interesting Person he meets along the way is a man – incredible from the point of view of statistics – with whom he drinks himself into oblivion and eats huge quantities of an animal, preferably just described while still alive, and then killed. Because, men! There is a scene where the fine skill of biting the testicles off of live, young sheep and spitting them into buckets (to then be fried and eaten by men) is described in detail. Yeah. Straight up Michelin star stuff.
Another anecdote includes the unimpeachable Luis barely surviving a gig in Ecuador where he is hired to write the memoir of a “notable person”. We are to believe this family intends to marry him off to their daughter, Aparicia. The family are to be loathed because they are of Spanish, not indigenous, descent (as is the fat author, I note) and they are practicing Catholics. The estate is tellingly named La Conquistada.
In this generously proportioned author’s description of the daughter – from whom we are told he must disappear in the dark of night to escape (so manly!) he notes that she:
”...moved awkwardly, as if apologizing to the furniture for being nearly six feet tall and burdened with a body which, although well formed, was voluminous….a great big full-bodied woman…”
Who, he goes on to explain, a baroque artist would need to remove from a painting: if he “slipped up and painted” her. He would have to “take her out of the picture”.
He further describes her, or rather, insults all women, here:
“Aparicia spent her days embroidering, and although I have always shrunk from zoological comparisons, when close to her I couldn’t help noticing the characteristic sour-milk odour given off by females on heat.”
Or maybe, dear voluminous author, that’s just an embedded memory of yours from too many adolescent (and probably adult) nights, alone with unfortunate, non-consenting ewes? You may “shrink from” zoological comparisons but I’d bet there’s lots of livestock analogies in that limited repertoire of yours.
But, back to our story – which is BS on the face of it: Luis Sepúlveda was married, with children at this time. That’s all he had to do. Tell the family in La Conquistada a tiny bit of truth. They were strict Catholics, drama ended. But no – where’s the machismo in that? Flee! Our hero must flee into the night!
There are moments when I think, that’s the best you can do?
He’s riding on a train in Patagonia. The car he’s in has two simple wooden benches running length-wise down each side filled with sleeping workers, Luis and a minister. Luis has disdain for The Church, he has made this clear since his door-urinating youth – it’s constitutional. He has further expressed distaste for this priest who says “You have to be merciless with subversives.” To make sure we know how evil church dude is.
At one point the Bible on the lap of the minister falls to the floor. Time for metaphor!
No luck, our generously proportioned author gives us:
“ The Bible falls from his hands and closes. It looks like a black brick.”
Geez. Gimme something? Anything. A black brick?
So I try to think of better ways to have used that moment…I’d love to read yours.
“The Bible falls to the floor; just another tired book of old stories.”
or
“The Bible falls to the floor, in a race to hell with its owner.”
But I’m not an Author.
Our self-aggrandizing Chilean died in 2020 of COVID in Spain. He was in a High Risk Group.
LS was able to see sacrament, beauty in the simple speech of men in bars when they wished each other well.
Too bad he was unable to see the quiet grace in any woman.
September 6, 2018
"Τόπος σου είναι εκεί που νιώθεις καλύτερα"
Διαβάζοντας το Patagonia Express ένιωσα υπέροχα.. Με κάθε σελίδα, κάθε παράγραφο!
Τι και αν μιλάει για τόπους που κυριολεκτικά δεν έχω βρεθεί ποτέ?
"Τόπος σου είναι εκεί που νιώθεις καλύτερα"
Διαβάζοντας το Patagonia Express ένιωσα υπέροχα.. Με κάθε σελίδα, κάθε παράγραφο!
Τι και αν μιλάει για τόπους που κυριολεκτικά δεν έχω βρεθεί ποτέ?
"Τόπος σου είναι εκεί που νιώθεις καλύτερα"
March 2, 2016
Este libro es de viajes: de un viaje interior en busca de la propia felicidad y de las raíces, y de tierras de Hispanoamérica y de España. Y es un libro de encuentros con la gente de los lugares recorridos.
Elaborado a partir de apuntes tomados por el autor en diferentes momentos de su vida, no se trata de un viaje lineal, sino de un conjunto de retales. Pero el efecto es armonioso.
En algunos momentos, el viajero hace gala de un divertido sentido del humor. Así, cuando se sube a la parte trasera de un camión de cerdos, “que le reciben como a un camarada más”.
También me ha gustado la brevedad de la lectura, que yo acabé en dos días pero que se podría despachar de una sentada.
Elaborado a partir de apuntes tomados por el autor en diferentes momentos de su vida, no se trata de un viaje lineal, sino de un conjunto de retales. Pero el efecto es armonioso.
En algunos momentos, el viajero hace gala de un divertido sentido del humor. Así, cuando se sube a la parte trasera de un camión de cerdos, “que le reciben como a un camarada más”.
También me ha gustado la brevedad de la lectura, que yo acabé en dos días pero que se podría despachar de una sentada.
January 9, 2024
¡Un viaje al fin del mundo!
– Boa tarde – cumprimentei.
– Isso é indiscutível. O que deseja, mister?
– Preciso de voar para Coca. Pode dizer-me o que tenho de fazer?
– Com certeza. Para voar basta agitar os braços, correr para ganhar balanço e encolher as patas. Mais alguma coisa?
O livro começa com um encontro com Bruce Chatwin
Recordo tudo isto enquanto espero sentado num barril de vinho, de frente para o mar, no Sul do mundo, e tomo notas num caderno de folhas quadriculadas que Bruce me ofereceu justamente para esta viagem. E não se trata de um caderno qualquer. É uma peça de museu, um autêntico Moleskine, tão apreciado por escritores como Céline ou Hemingway, e que já não se encontra nas papelarias. Bruce sugeriu que antes de o usar eu fizesse como ele: primeiro numerar as folhas, depois anotar na contracapa pelo menos duas direcções no mundo, e, finalmente, prometer uma recompensa a quem devolvesse o caderno em caso de perda.
e termina com um encontro com Francisco Coloane, um escritor chileno que alimentou a imaginação do autor.
Patagonia Express combina elementos de ficção, aventura e ensaio de viagem, e é uma narrativa envolvente que mistura observações pessoais, histórias locais e reflexões sobre a natureza e a cultura da região.
O Patagonia Express é o comboio dos ovelheiros. Todos os fins de Inverno, centenas de chilotes vão até Puerto Natales, atravessam a fronteira e dirigem-se no comboio para as fazendas de criação de gado. São homens fortes que, enfastiados com a pobreza chilota e com a proverbial dureza de carácter das mulheres insulares, saem à procura da sorte no continente. São homens fortes, mas de vida curta. Em Chiloé alimentam-se de mariscos e batatas. Na Patagónia, de borrego e batatas. Muito poucos provaram alguma vez fruta – a não ser maçãs – ou algum legume. O cancro de estômago é uma doença endémica entre os chilotes.
March 2, 2025
Luis Sepulveda, Hamburglu bir fırıncıdan miras kalan, üzerinde elli yıl boyunca hamur yoğrulmuş; maya, susam, zencefil ve mesleklerin en soylusu kokan hamur tahtasında yazmış yazılarını. Bundan dolayı mıdır bilmiyorum, kitabı bitirdiğimde tadı gerçekten damağımda kaldı.
Yolculuğun yorucu ama bir o kadar da hafifletici günlerinin akışı kaldı üzerimde.
Toprakta, nehirde ve gökyüzünde yolcu Luis Sepulveda’nın anlattığı hikayelere belki bir sonraki durakta ben de dahil olabilirdim. Yani öyle kaptırdım kendimi.
Kitapta adı geçen bir Patagonya radyosunu dinliyorum şimdi, hem de “Burası Patagonya radyosu!” demesini bekleyerek.
Radyo Ventisqueros.
Ventisqueros, “rüzgârla oluşan kar yığını” demekmiş. Sözlük öyle diyor.
Harika değil mi🌟
Yolculuğun yorucu ama bir o kadar da hafifletici günlerinin akışı kaldı üzerimde.
Toprakta, nehirde ve gökyüzünde yolcu Luis Sepulveda’nın anlattığı hikayelere belki bir sonraki durakta ben de dahil olabilirdim. Yani öyle kaptırdım kendimi.
Kitapta adı geçen bir Patagonya radyosunu dinliyorum şimdi, hem de “Burası Patagonya radyosu!” demesini bekleyerek.
Radyo Ventisqueros.
Ventisqueros, “rüzgârla oluşan kar yığını” demekmiş. Sözlük öyle diyor.
Harika değil mi🌟
September 16, 2019
يقف احدهم على مقبرة الشريف " مارتن شيفيلدز" متحسراً إنه لن يستطيع مهاجمته، متمنياً ان يبقى مكانه ...
انتظر .. هل حقاً كان برتبة الشريف ام سرق النجمة الفضية من احدهم ؟
أم كان يمضي في وقت ما فترة محكومية بتهمة التشرد الدائم ؟!!!
لم يكن طيباً ، ولكنه كان رجلاً حقيقياً ومات كرجل حقيقي ..!
لن تعلم حقيقته ، سوى أنه كان يمتطي حصاناً ابيضاً ، رامياً بارعاً بالمسدس، ، يملك حس الفكاهة على الدوام ..
بالرغم أنني لم اتعرف على حقيقة الرجل ولكنني استمتعت برفقة الحكايات التي قيلت عنه....
انتظر .. هل حقاً كان برتبة الشريف ام سرق النجمة الفضية من احدهم ؟
أم كان يمضي في وقت ما فترة محكومية بتهمة التشرد الدائم ؟!!!
لم يكن طيباً ، ولكنه كان رجلاً حقيقياً ومات كرجل حقيقي ..!
لن تعلم حقيقته ، سوى أنه كان يمتطي حصاناً ابيضاً ، رامياً بارعاً بالمسدس، ، يملك حس الفكاهة على الدوام ..
بالرغم أنني لم اتعرف على حقيقة الرجل ولكنني استمتعت برفقة الحكايات التي قيلت عنه....
February 4, 2021
Letteratura sudamericana significa caleidoscopio di personaggi, sensazioni, luoghi. Se poi ci aggiungiamo il tema del viaggio, il piatto è servito.
Sepulveda conduce il lettore all'estremo Sud del mondo, in una Terra che è del Fuoco, ma in realtà vento e ghiaccio la fanno da padroni. Patagonia come terra di storie - bugie, a volte, paradossi, ma mai inganni...solo storie accanto a un fuoco - di personaggi leggendari (Butch Cassidy e Sundance Kid, grandi scrittori e anche uno scienziato che predisse il buco dell'ozono), ma anche di donne e uomini con le loro storie di ordinaria follia, come i due "turchi" esiliati gestori di un hotel, il bambino che guardava i delfini, il capitano Palacios, che attraversa e difende l'Amazzonia e gli inquietanti castratori di agnelli che bevono mate nella notte australe.
E poi c'è lui, il nostro Lucho che proprio lo scorso anno ci ha lasciati. Emblema del migrante per spirito e curiosità prima che per necessità. Animato da una sete di conoscenza di culture, uomini, vite, che ci riconduce a certi lati di Erodoto e Kapuscinski, con meno storia ma più letteratura.
Davvero ricco, questo diario, questo insieme di appunti scritti su una Moleskine nera, ricco, dicevo, di vita, di uno speciale fluido che fa spalancare gli occhi a chi legge, e lo porta, con Sepulveda "a vedere che diavolo si nasconde dietro l'orizzonte".
Sepulveda conduce il lettore all'estremo Sud del mondo, in una Terra che è del Fuoco, ma in realtà vento e ghiaccio la fanno da padroni. Patagonia come terra di storie - bugie, a volte, paradossi, ma mai inganni...solo storie accanto a un fuoco - di personaggi leggendari (Butch Cassidy e Sundance Kid, grandi scrittori e anche uno scienziato che predisse il buco dell'ozono), ma anche di donne e uomini con le loro storie di ordinaria follia, come i due "turchi" esiliati gestori di un hotel, il bambino che guardava i delfini, il capitano Palacios, che attraversa e difende l'Amazzonia e gli inquietanti castratori di agnelli che bevono mate nella notte australe.
E poi c'è lui, il nostro Lucho che proprio lo scorso anno ci ha lasciati. Emblema del migrante per spirito e curiosità prima che per necessità. Animato da una sete di conoscenza di culture, uomini, vite, che ci riconduce a certi lati di Erodoto e Kapuscinski, con meno storia ma più letteratura.
Davvero ricco, questo diario, questo insieme di appunti scritti su una Moleskine nera, ricco, dicevo, di vita, di uno speciale fluido che fa spalancare gli occhi a chi legge, e lo porta, con Sepulveda "a vedere che diavolo si nasconde dietro l'orizzonte".
October 28, 2021
Uma viagem pela vida do autor por terras da Patagónia com as suas personagens e as suas histórias.
February 14, 2016
Bu tip kitapları okuduğumda dönüp kendi hayatıma bakıyorum ve beş para etmez olduğunu düşünüyorum hep. Luis Sepúlveda bu anı-romanında sürgün yıllarıyla başlayan yolculuklarını ve yaşadıklarını şahane bir biçimde aktarmış. Anılar genellikle Patagonya ve Ateş Toprakları'nda
(Tierra del Fuego)
geçiyor.
Sepúlveda şöyle diyor bölge için: "Dünyanın bu bölgesinde yaşam ve unutuş büyük bir hızla birbirini izliyor." Suni ihtiyaçları olmayan, dinamik bir yaşam bu insanlarınki. İmrenmemek elde mi?
... Yaşlı adamın yanında bir masa vardı, masanın üzerinde de bir su bardağı ve birkaç tane kesme şeker. Karolarda çocukluğumdan bir iz aradım, ezilmiş ve güneşte kurumuş iki-üç sinek vardı.
Dedem de aynı biçimde eğlenirdi: Ağzına bir parça şeker atar, bir yudum suyla ıslatır ve hemen sonra karışımı yere tükürürdü. Bir ayağını şeker tuzağın üstünde hafifçe kaldırır ve sineklerin gelmelerini beklerdi. Sonra, pat!
— Ah, Gerardo! Nasıl bu denli kötü bir insan olabilirsin, derdi ona ninem.
— İnsanlığa hizmet ediyorum. Bu hayvanlar evrim geçirirlerse ya rahip olurlar ya da asker, diye yanıt verirdi dedem.
(s. 149)
Sepúlveda şöyle diyor bölge için: "Dünyanın bu bölgesinde yaşam ve unutuş büyük bir hızla birbirini izliyor." Suni ihtiyaçları olmayan, dinamik bir yaşam bu insanlarınki. İmrenmemek elde mi?
... Yaşlı adamın yanında bir masa vardı, masanın üzerinde de bir su bardağı ve birkaç tane kesme şeker. Karolarda çocukluğumdan bir iz aradım, ezilmiş ve güneşte kurumuş iki-üç sinek vardı.
Dedem de aynı biçimde eğlenirdi: Ağzına bir parça şeker atar, bir yudum suyla ıslatır ve hemen sonra karışımı yere tükürürdü. Bir ayağını şeker tuzağın üstünde hafifçe kaldırır ve sineklerin gelmelerini beklerdi. Sonra, pat!
— Ah, Gerardo! Nasıl bu denli kötü bir insan olabilirsin, derdi ona ninem.
— İnsanlığa hizmet ediyorum. Bu hayvanlar evrim geçirirlerse ya rahip olurlar ya da asker, diye yanıt verirdi dedem.
(s. 149)
September 14, 2025
Şilili yazar Sepulveda dünyanın sonu olarak da bilinen ve bir kısmı Şili bir kısmı ise Arjantin sınırları içinde kalan Patagonya yolculuklarını, bölgenin farklı doğası ve insan karşılaşmalarıyla bir arada aktarıyor. Bu gezi noktaları Latin Amerika tarihi ya da kültüründen, Latin Amerika edebiyatında bildiğimiz temalardan farklı olarak dünyanın sonunda yaşamanın nasıl bir şey olduğuna, bu özgün coğrafyada insan doğa ilişkisinin dolayımsız ve aracısız nasıl kurulduğuna dair şaşırtıcı anekdotlar aktarıyor. Güzel kurulmuş, basit ama sığ olmayan, son derece insani kaygılarla aktarılan bir yolculuk metni.
![Profile Image for Anna [Floanne].](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fi.gr-assets.com%2Fimages%2FS%2Fcompressed.photo.goodreads.com%2Fusers%2F1566911038i%2F4459724._UX200_CR0%2C0%2C200%2C200_.jpg&w=128&q=75)
January 1, 2016
Sepúlveda torna nella sua terra natia per mantenere una promessa fatta ad un celebre amico e collega, Bruce Chatwin. Quel viaggio, sognato e programmato tra i tavolini di un caffè di Barcellona, avrebbero dovuto farlo insieme ma il permesso di rimpatriare per il cileno in esilio arrivò quando ormai l'Aids si era già portata via l'amico inglese. Nei piani dei due scrittori c'era il desiderio di seguire le tracce e scovare i luoghi in cui si erano nascoste due leggende della Terra del Fuoco: Butch Cassidy e Sundance Kid.
Avevo letto questo reportage di viaggio per la prima volta nel 1999, su consiglio di un amico. Sapevo che mi era piaciuto ma nell'inserirlo tra i miei libri letti, al momento dell'iscrizione su Goodreads, gli avevo dato un neutrale 3*** per non sbilanciarmi troppo. Dopo questa seconda lettura (se pur veloce) credo, però, ne meriti 4. Non ricordavo i dettagli dell'avventura vissuta dell'autore, non ricordavo i personaggi unici che lo avevano accompagnato e guidato o la cui storia aveva incrociato la sua via (struggente il breve racconto della morte di Panchito Barría), né le descrizioni di quella natura selvaggia tanto quanto la gente che la abita. Ogni tanto rispolverare un libro da tempo dimenticato ne mette in luce aspetti nuovi e regala nuove emozioni.
Nb. Ora, leggere al più presto In Patagonia è d'obbligo!
First read - June 1999 - Rating ★★★
Second read - November 2015 - Rating ★★★★
Avevo letto questo reportage di viaggio per la prima volta nel 1999, su consiglio di un amico. Sapevo che mi era piaciuto ma nell'inserirlo tra i miei libri letti, al momento dell'iscrizione su Goodreads, gli avevo dato un neutrale 3*** per non sbilanciarmi troppo. Dopo questa seconda lettura (se pur veloce) credo, però, ne meriti 4. Non ricordavo i dettagli dell'avventura vissuta dell'autore, non ricordavo i personaggi unici che lo avevano accompagnato e guidato o la cui storia aveva incrociato la sua via (struggente il breve racconto della morte di Panchito Barría), né le descrizioni di quella natura selvaggia tanto quanto la gente che la abita. Ogni tanto rispolverare un libro da tempo dimenticato ne mette in luce aspetti nuovi e regala nuove emozioni.
Nb. Ora, leggere al più presto In Patagonia è d'obbligo!
First read - June 1999 - Rating ★★★
Second read - November 2015 - Rating ★★★★
January 20, 2017
A somewhat rambling book by Sepulveda that starts in Spain, follows stories to Patagonian and back to Spain. Full of wild characters and wild stories. Some charming, some scary. A short book but it packs a lot, and he has lived a pretty amazing life. A life filled with bravery, danger and audacity and still giving off a feeling of soft curiosity (I am not sure what that means, but somehow it seems right, at least to me).
We get to see the unconventional charm of the unconventional people he meets. Like after the 18th Patagonian lying Championship...
“I lifted my head to look at the sky studded stars, thousands of starts.
'Nice Lie, that one about the louse,; says Baldo
'And the sky? All the stars, Blado?Are they another Patagonian lie?'
'What does it matter? Down here we lie to be happy. But we all know the difference between lying and deception.'” pg 111
I remember his novel about the old man who read romance , and after all the craziness in this book, his ending had me fighting back the tears that must somehow compare to the sweet emotions the old man in the other book was yearning for. Maybe it is just a simple display of a happy, pure expression of human connectedness(now that I think of it maybe that is a stretch; maybe we are just both sentimental suckers).
The story ends in a small village in Spain, where upon meeting his grandfather's younger brother for the first time the old man realizes the connection Sepúlveda writes..
“A serious look came into the old man's countenance...
Then Don Angel cleared his throat and pronounced the most beautiful poem life has rewarded me with, and I knew I had come full circle: I was at the starting point of the journey my grandfather began. Don Angel said:
'Maria, bring some wine, a relative has come from America.' ”pg 183
Thumbs up!
Good stuff.
We get to see the unconventional charm of the unconventional people he meets. Like after the 18th Patagonian lying Championship...
“I lifted my head to look at the sky studded stars, thousands of starts.
'Nice Lie, that one about the louse,; says Baldo
'And the sky? All the stars, Blado?Are they another Patagonian lie?'
'What does it matter? Down here we lie to be happy. But we all know the difference between lying and deception.'” pg 111
I remember his novel about the old man who read romance , and after all the craziness in this book, his ending had me fighting back the tears that must somehow compare to the sweet emotions the old man in the other book was yearning for. Maybe it is just a simple display of a happy, pure expression of human connectedness(now that I think of it maybe that is a stretch; maybe we are just both sentimental suckers).
The story ends in a small village in Spain, where upon meeting his grandfather's younger brother for the first time the old man realizes the connection Sepúlveda writes..
“A serious look came into the old man's countenance...
Then Don Angel cleared his throat and pronounced the most beautiful poem life has rewarded me with, and I knew I had come full circle: I was at the starting point of the journey my grandfather began. Don Angel said:
'Maria, bring some wine, a relative has come from America.' ”pg 183
Thumbs up!
Good stuff.
May 15, 2016
«Σ' αυτόν τον τόπο, λέμε ψέματα για να 'μαστέ ευτυχισμένοι. Κανείς μας όμως δεν μπερδεύει το ψέμα με την απάτη.» Εκπληκτική πρόταση, απόφθεγμα.
Σίγουρα θα διαβάσω οποιοδήποτε μυθιστόρημά του γιατί από αυτές τις μικρές ιστορίες η διήγησή του είναι μαγική. Όσο για την Παταγωνία, δεν είχα συνειδητοποίησει πόσο αντιφατικό μέρος είναι και με αφορμή αυτό το βιβλίο ενημερώθηκα.
Σίγουρα θα διαβάσω οποιοδήποτε μυθιστόρημά του γιατί από αυτές τις μικρές ιστορίες η διήγησή του είναι μαγική. Όσο για την Παταγωνία, δεν είχα συνειδητοποίησει πόσο αντιφατικό μέρος είναι και με αφορμή αυτό το βιβλίο ενημερώθηκα.
October 17, 2020
Ho amato moltissimo l'atmosfera di questo piccolo volume,che al suo interno contiene un grande mondo di avventure e ricordi speciali di Sepulveda nei suoi viaggi in Patagonia. Avventure rocambolesche e compagni improbabili mi hanno fatto divertire e viaggiare in luoghi incantevoli
January 20, 2019
"ο θάνατος αρχίζει από τη στιγμή που κάποιος παραδέχεται ότι έχει πεθάνει"
Ακόμη ένα υπέροχο βιβλίο του Luis Sepulveda.
Ακόμη ένα υπέροχο βιβλίο του Luis Sepulveda.
September 21, 2023
PATAGONIA EXPRESS (first published in 1995), by Chilean writer Luis Sepúlveda, is a very engaging read, a mix of political memoir and travelogue. It is a slim, truly entertaining book, filled with colorful stories and characters.
He begins with one of his childhood memories and adventures with his rather wild anarchist grandfather. Then we learn how he became a political activist, how he ended up in prison following Augusto Pinochet's military coup in 1973 and how he experienced his two years imprisonment.
Sepúlveda was freed from prison thanks to the efforts of Amnesty International. Exiled from Chile, he begins a period of travel around South America until he eventually settled in Europe. When he was no longer a "persona non grata", he returned to Chile, and spent some time in the beautiful, wild and inmense Patagonia region, in Southern Chile and Argentina.
PATAGONIA EXPRESS is a work of non-fiction and yet, in a way, the author seems to infuse his stories with a touch of magical realism. The characters in his stories seem overblown, almost fantastic persons. Even his grandfather is a truly extravagant character. Some of his stories are far-fetched, almost implausible. Some stories are told to him by people he meets and he recounts them never questioning their veracity, no matter how fanciful they are. I need to stress that Sepúlveda's remarkable stories and vignettes are non-fictional texts and yet, the reader feels like he/she is treading the domain of magical realism, as if Latin America is an outlandish, surreal, absurd geographical space.
PATAGONIA EXPRESS is not a neat, methodical travelogue filled with brilliant observations of Patagonia. Actually, despite its title, there is not much about my beloved Patagonia. This is a book that pushes the boundaries of what a travelogue or a memoir can do, however, it is a very entertaining read which might disappoint readers looking for a traditional, straightforward memoir.
3.5 ⭐
He begins with one of his childhood memories and adventures with his rather wild anarchist grandfather. Then we learn how he became a political activist, how he ended up in prison following Augusto Pinochet's military coup in 1973 and how he experienced his two years imprisonment.
Sepúlveda was freed from prison thanks to the efforts of Amnesty International. Exiled from Chile, he begins a period of travel around South America until he eventually settled in Europe. When he was no longer a "persona non grata", he returned to Chile, and spent some time in the beautiful, wild and inmense Patagonia region, in Southern Chile and Argentina.
PATAGONIA EXPRESS is a work of non-fiction and yet, in a way, the author seems to infuse his stories with a touch of magical realism. The characters in his stories seem overblown, almost fantastic persons. Even his grandfather is a truly extravagant character. Some of his stories are far-fetched, almost implausible. Some stories are told to him by people he meets and he recounts them never questioning their veracity, no matter how fanciful they are. I need to stress that Sepúlveda's remarkable stories and vignettes are non-fictional texts and yet, the reader feels like he/she is treading the domain of magical realism, as if Latin America is an outlandish, surreal, absurd geographical space.
PATAGONIA EXPRESS is not a neat, methodical travelogue filled with brilliant observations of Patagonia. Actually, despite its title, there is not much about my beloved Patagonia. This is a book that pushes the boundaries of what a travelogue or a memoir can do, however, it is a very entertaining read which might disappoint readers looking for a traditional, straightforward memoir.
3.5 ⭐
November 23, 2018
ربما أحياناً لا تحتاج إلى نص طويل أو لغة مكثفة لتكتب حكاية، يكفي أن تكتب مشاهد بسيطة وسريعة تلخص الكثير من الحكايات وتنبأ بمشاهد خفية لا يصعب على القاريء تفسيرها وتخيلها، تفرز عالماً من بين الركام، مكاناً لم تزره من قبل، تركب قطار باتاغونيا السريع، تشاهد الطبيعة في الأرجنتين، قبر منسي يحكي عن حكاية قديمة ، عن رجل مات في وسط الطبيعة، لا أحد يعرف السبب، مات فوق سرج حصانه أو مات بسبب سكتة قلبية، تبقى الحكاية مخبئة تزاول إحتمالات كثيرة، رجل متوحد عاش مغامرة كبيرة، مات من دون ان يعرف احد السبب، تبقى حكايته على الألسن فقط، بحقائقها وأكاذيبها ..
رواية قصيرة من أمريكا اللاتينية، تحمل الكثير من سمات تلك البلاد، بسحرها، واقعيتها، سردها البسيط، ليست رواية مدهشة إنما بسيطة، وجميلة في بساطتها ..
رواية قصيرة من أمريكا اللاتينية، تحمل الكثير من سمات تلك البلاد، بسحرها، واقعيتها، سردها البسيط، ليست رواية مدهشة إنما بسيطة، وجميلة في بساطتها ..
August 17, 2021
دا تاني عمل أقرأه لسيبولفيدا بعد قصة النورس والقط الذي علمه الطيران. المهم، إيه اللي لفت نظري في إسلوب الكاتب؟ فيه حوار عمله بيرنارد ماجنييه سنة ١٩٨٨ لصالح اليونيسكو كان مسلط فيه الضوء على قِصر الكتب. دا أرجعه سيبولفيدا إلي إن الإسهاب بيقضي على الإ��دفاع الذي أراده للقصة، وبيتحكم في الطريقة اللي هيحكيها بيها؛ فلذلك بيبتر صفحات كتيرة لحد ما يوصل للشكل القصصي البسيط اللي بيسعى ليه في النهاية.
افتكرت كلام ستيفنسن، ودا واحد من اللي أثروا في سيبولفيدا في بداياته: "الفن يكمُن في الحذف. يبقى الكاتب هاويًا إن قال في جُملتين ما يُمكن قوله في جملة واحدة" دا بالظبط النمط اللي كان بيتبعه. جميل خالص والله!
افتكرت كلام ستيفنسن، ودا واحد من اللي أثروا في سيبولفيدا في بداياته: "الفن يكمُن في الحذف. يبقى الكاتب هاويًا إن قال في جُملتين ما يُمكن قوله في جملة واحدة" دا بالظبط النمط اللي كان بيتبعه. جميل خالص والله!
April 23, 2020
I loved this book so much, so I kissed it when I finished it.
English: https://elifthereader.com/books/full-...
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English: https://elifthereader.com/books/full-...
Türkçe: https://kitaplikkedisi.com/kitaplar/l...
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