Al di sopra delle cose

by Yasmina Reza, Anna Morpurgo (Translator)

Scandito da capitoli brevissimi, il ritratto di una donna sensibile ed esigente, lucida ma inquieta, figlia addolorata e al tempo stesso divertita, madre stupita e nostalgica, amica comprensiva ma contestataria. Una raccolta di pensieri, di storie tratte dal quotidiano, che ci parlano del trascorrere inesorabile del tempo, della vita, dell'amore e della morte, dei momenti di dolcezza, di rimorso, di nostalgia. Una vita che è ricerca dell'assoluto anche nell'istante più banale che può riempirsi di ingiustizia, d'orgoglio, d'amore, di disperazione.

Genres: France, Memoir, Music

94 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 1997

About the author

Yasmina Reza began work as an actress, appearing in several new plays as well as in plays by Molière and Marivaux. In 1987 she wrote Conversations after a Burial, which won the Molière Award for Best Author. Following this, she translated Kafka's Metamorphosis for Roman Polanski and was nominated for a Molière Award for Best Translation. Her second play, Winter Crossing, won the 1990 Molière for Best Fringe Production, and her next play The Unexpected Man, enjoyed successful productions in England, France, Scandinavia, Germany and New York. In 1995, Art premiered in Paris and went on to win the Molière Award for Best Author. Since then it has been produced world-wide and translated into 20 languages. The London production received the 1996-97 Olivier Award and Evening Standard Award. Screenwriting credits include See You Tomorrow, starring Jeanne Moreau and directed by Didier Martiny. In September 1997, her first novel, Hammerklavier, was published.

Reviews

[leynes · Rating 2 out of 5]

It hurts me to give this collection of short stories a low rating but I have to be honest with myself, taking into consideration all of the amazing works that I've read by Reza already, Hammerklavier is definitely below average. In it, Reza shares some bittersweet autobiographical sketches that have love, loss, and the relentless passage of time as their themes.

She contemplates evanescence and death in her young daughter's toothless smile, secretly mourning that it will inevitably change. In the title story, the sometimes adversarial but very loving relationship Reza shared with her father is examined in terms of their love of music.

Overall, Hammerklavier is a very raw piece of work, in which Reza doesn't shy away from making herself vulnerable and showing her not-so-good side. And if she hits, she will hit you like a fucking wrecking ball. (sorry for that silly simile, I couldn't think of a better one :D) Especially the titular story makes my heart weep. The tender way in which she manages to show the love and care she has for her dad in a few simple lines leaves me in awe. There is no modern writer as brilliant as Reza when it comes to showing the human condition.

However, most of the sketches in this collection fell rather flat for me. They weren't all that special; they didn't give me this special "Rezian" flair (I totally made that up!), and so this collection has to situate itself on the lower end of my rating scale. In 2018, Yasmina Reza has become one of my absolute favorite authors; her work (especially her plays) is highly engaging and quotable. I definitely need to read more from her. And so it's natural that my expectations and standard when it comes to her have risen as the year has moved along. I'm expecting brilliancy from her; that might not be fair, but that's how it is... and usually, she delivers, so it's fine. I could very well imagine rereading Hammerklavier when I am older, maybe I'll see the magic in it then.

[نوري · Rating 4 out of 5]

ربما يجب أن ترتاح قليلا من عناء الفهم ونترك نفسنا لشعرية الكلمات المتناثرة، أن نتخيلها وهي تقال بتلك الطريقة المسرحية المفتعلة أحياناً والهادئة أحياناً..

أنا على ثقة من أن أعمال كتلك لا تناسب الجميع
انما هي من تختار قرائها.

[Chiara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Spezzoni di quotidianità macchiati dall'incapacità di vivere serenamente lo scorrere del tempo ma pieni di Vita.

"Il mondo è incalcolabile, pieno di cose, di libri, di libri che parlano di cose, il mondo accumula e i libri accumulano quel che accumula il mondo e vedere sul tavolo libri e ancora libri di fotografie, libri d'arte e libri che parlano di altri libri e noi che a nostra volta ci apprestiamo a contenere il mondo su una pagina, a contenere questa somma esecrabile di parole proferite per aggiungere alla catasta anche il nostro eco personale... Terrore della futura mancanza di significato di quei pezzi di carta, terrore della loro crudele ironia, terrore del rimpianto, terrore del tempo".

Come al solito, Yasmina ti amo.

[M. Sarki · Rating 4 out of 5]

https://msarki.tumblr.com/post/151577...

Hammerklavier offers so many excellent autobiographical sketches, so human, so very touching and real. Yasmina Reza covers an enormous amount of ground in these short pieces. She is a deeply feeling and thoughtful person. Unpretentious, and humble to a fault. Her writing is honest and interesting. She has a great personality that comes bursting out on the page. She is clever and funny and pointedly wicked at times.



What vain displays of beauty, of "masterpieces", could possibly rejuvenate us? We, whom no one will ever want again, ever desire again; we, whose only prospect is a cold bed and oblivion.___Yasmina Reza from Farewell to Catalogues 



It happens that a leisurely stroll through the Huron National Forest on a warm summer day provides, after some coaxing from me, enough impulse for my wife to want to remove her clothes and bask naked in the wonderful canopy of northern pines and white oak. There is something comforting and desirous at play in this complete forest. It not only makes her feel beautiful but also lends its energy to a life that is seen as slipping away ever so gradually. There is a sadness in the forest as well as great zest and vibrancy for new adventures. Neither one of us is equipped with the courage to take many chances. We dream and plan our indulgent escapes that never materialize. But in the mapping out of all our differences and what makes us most interesting to each other, we learn so much about ourselves, our love for each other, and what our animal natures could have become. Our minds have at times been willing; our bodies still refuse to go. Our marriage; a confused adultery of condoned behavior unrealized.



...this mystery was attractive as long as I was still becoming.___Yasmina Reza from Farewell to Catalogues



Of late there have been far too many deaths happening for my wife and her friends, and way too many people in her family. On one hand she feels grateful for having known all of them and on the other she realizes the possibility of hardly anyone left to attend her own funeral on that fateful day. Neither my wife nor I cultivate many new relationships. We never reconnect with acquaintances and rarely keep in touch with old friends and relatives. The people closest to us have, for the most part, already died. And it won't be long in the scheme of things that our own demise will be inevitable. Time is certainly felt passing us by. I write as if my life depended on it. My wife peers into the mirror honestly and is sometimes horrified at her own perceived aging. I prove to her otherwise with new photographs and video that I capture her naked in. I have shared these images with few others we know in this life. But as Reza says above, there will be a time very soon where we will both stop "becoming" and the attraction will be already entirely spent just as was a debt forgiven. The end of life is not pretty, and lately we both have been reading perhaps too much about it, looking for signs for when the good road might desperately devolve into rough riding.



...man is better at dreaming than living.___Yasmina Reza from Farewell to Catalogues



Reza is too smart and unappreciated. She should be already recognized for her cleverness and brilliant gift for writing. Instead we almost daily have presented to us, on our plates as force-fed gruel, the disgusting and pretentious drivel of our so-called new and experimental writers. What has happened to serious literary culture and good taste? Most poetry and fiction of these contemporary days is horrendous, but is justified by the blessings of the new literati. It is rotten and it stinks.

I have not yet read the plays Yasmina Reza is best known for. I have also not yet seen the film that Roman Polanski adapted from one of her earlier works. But I have read her novels and this memoir I am reviewing here, all remarkable for their good humor and honesty in the face of so many hard knocks and sad trouble on the page. She is a woman I would definitely want to know and have a relationship with. I might even meet her for tea.

[عبدالله · Rating 4 out of 5]

هذا الكتاب عريضة رد على الحياة الطبيعية والروتينية، تحمل الكثير من الشعور الغريب والذي يخزك أثناء القراءة، الكثير من البساطة الإنسانية في الشعور بكل الأشياء والتفاصيل وحتى العابر منها في اليوم .
أحببت ياسمينة، إنها الروائية التي تكتب عن كل شيء بدون تكلّف وفي كل المشاعر التي بإمكانها أن تمر الآن أو مرّت سابقا.. إنها جميلة بطريقة غريبة .

[Giulia · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Alla fine della Pazienza, il mondo non è altro che una sola dimora. Voglio ancora andare, voglio ancora perdermi, non posso aspettare quel che desidero così intensamente. Non posso rassegnarmi ad ammansirlo nel tempo. Nulla, mai, succede al tempo giusto."

Primo suo libro che leggo e ora ne voglio leggere altri. Mi sembra molto autobiografico ma potrebbe anche non esserlo; intimo.

[Jalila · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting read, provoking the one or other thought.
Yet, the style of writing was not quite my cup of tea. A narrator full of the feeling of being superior.

Pity. It could have been an excellent book full of wisdom if not all that vanity.

[Masoomah Ali · Rating 3 out of 5]

في كلمة قصيرة يصف المترجم اللغة التي تكتب بها ياسمينا رضا: "لغة خفيفة، يومية، عادية" و هذا ما يمنح الكتاب جو أدبي لطيف، كنت قد قرأت نسختي بواسطة الكيندل و أنا في صالة الانتظار بالمستشفى، لأشغل بالقراءة نفسي عن قصصي التي أفكر بها و أسكت دماغي لبعض الوقت.
منحني الكتاب هدوءًا منصفًا، لتمضية الوقت كما كنت آمل.
اتفق إنها لغة رقيقة، قريبة للقلب، ياسمينا تصف علاقتها بوالدها المهتم بالموسيقى و الفنون، و ابنتها آلتا ذات السبعة سنوات، يوميات مختلفة مع الأصدقاء و روتين الحياة اليومية. الصفحات مغمورة بالمشاعر، بالدفء.
ليست رواية، لكن كما تبدو يوميات، أو قصص قصيرة.
اقتباس بسيط جدًا:
"في أي وقت نحن من حيث قيمة الأشياء والكلمات؟"
---
معلومة على الهامش:
هامر كلافيير: سوناتا بيانو للعازف الشهير بيتهوفن.

[Lochlan · Rating 3 out of 5]

To say this is bitty is an understatement but it is short so won't take up much of your time. Some of the thoughts and observations are interesting but it seems like the main purpose of the book is to feel very French and very intellectual. I read a review that described Reza as 'intellectual theatre lite' which, with the removal of the word theatre, also sums this book up nicely.

[tn · Rating 4 out of 5]

4,5

[Sham Yassine · Rating 5 out of 5]

مونيك لا تقول دائماً ما تريد أن تقوله. حتى أنها لا تدافع عن نفسها. هل تستطيع أن تفعل ذلك؟ هل في وسع المرء أن يخبر العالم من يكون؟

بدلاً من ذلك تروح تهذر بقسوة عن أنها لن ترد على شخص ليس له الحق في أن يصعد إلى الطابق الأعلى، شخص يقطن الطابق الأسفل وليس أكثر من ساكن في البناية، وأكثر من هذا يعيش من دون أن يدفع الإيجار. شخص ليس له الحق في أن يجتاز بهو البناية ويغامر بأن يتسلق الدرج، لأنه لا شيء، لا شيء، لا شيء على الإطلاق.

ثم ألقت بنفسها على الكنبة وأرادت أن تموت.


_________________________________________


كان مهووساً بفكرة أن يكون على حق. ولهذا فقد ضحى، على مذبح هذه القناعة الجديدة، بالقيم التي كانت تميزه ذات يوم كعاشق استثنائي. الشخص الذي كان يثرثر في ذلك اليوم عن ميناء شانبريه كان رجلاً يائساً هجرته الأحاسيس.

بعد أن مضى على ذلك وقت طويل، وبعد أن أخضعا تلك الدراما للبحث والتحليل وحين عاد العناد فغمرهما من جديد، حين اتفقا على ضخ قليل من خفة الدم في نقاشاتهما، حين اعترف هوغو - لنقل ذلك بكل فجاجة - بأنه كان على خطأ مائة بالمائة، كان كل منهما يشعر بأن المسألة لن تنتهي. كانا يعرفان أنه ستكون هناك على الدوام موانئ شانبريه أخرى، وأن الطريق إلى الحب، كل الحب، يمر بعدد لا يُحصى من الأماكن التي ينبغي أن تأخذها بالحسبان وتجعلها تراباً.

_________________________________________

المرآة التي رفضت على الدوام وبشكل قاطع كل محاولاتي في ارتداء عقد لا تستطيع أن تُصدِر حكماً عادلاً. كلانا نعرف بعضنا بعضاً.

[Borum · Rating 4 out of 5]

베토벤이 청력을 잃고 소송과 경제적 어려움 등 인생의 위기에 봉착한 상황에서 1년 이상을 바쳐 완성한 '함머클라비어'는 그의 수작들 중 가장 거대한 스케일에 난이도 높은 이 작품은 베토벤이 '현재의 처지에 맞서고자 작곡을 했다'고 글을 남겼다.

다소 세속적이고 편견에 가득하지만 딸에 대한 사랑과 여린 감수성으로 가득한 너무나도 인간적인 주인공의 아버지는 피아니스트였다. 하지만 암에 걸려서 고통으로 비틀어진 몸으로 그는 그가 가장 사랑하는 곡이지만 난공불락인 이 곡을 지금 아니면 언제 또 치겠냐고 생각한 듯 도전하여 결국 엉망으로 망쳐놓은 후 꿈속에서 베토벤이 자신의 작품을 어떻게 그리 망칠 수 있냐고 호되게 질책한다. 아버지는 변명하듯 '선생님께서 지금쯤은 그런걸 모두 초월하셨을 거라고' 생각했다고 하자 베토벤은 '맙소사! 죽는 것과 지혜로워지는 것이 무슨 상관이오!'하며 대답한다.

심각하고 무거운 주제를 해학과 통찰로 감싸는 gallows humor가 담긴 소설 '함머클라비어'는 베토벤의 동명 작품과 달리 아주 조촐한 스케일 (다 읽는데 1시간도 안걸린다)로 등장인물들의 현재의 처지, 즉 항상 시간의 지배 하에서 인간적 나약함과 필멸과 맞닿아 있는 그들의 실존적 처지에 맞서고자 쓴 작품같다.

주인공은 죽어가는 친구 병문안 갈 시간도 없고 죽은 친구의 장례식에 꽃을 사러 갈 시간도 없었다는 핑계는 대지만 꿈속의 베토벤에게 혼났던 아버지처럼 "우리 관계는... 현재를 초월하는 거잖아"라고 변명했다가 친구의 혼령(?)이 "그 이유는 네가 게을러빠졌고, 죽은 나를 위해 한 푼도 쓸 필요가 없다고 판단해서겠지."라고 꼬집어낸다. 이런 시간조차 없다고 둘러대는 우리의 짧디짧은 인생 속에서 작품에 1년을 바치긴 커녕 책 한 권에 소모할 시간이 어디있겠나!하며 한탄이라도 하듯이 이 짧은 책은 시간에 기는 현대인의 처지에 맞춰 지어진 듯하다.
처음에는 이게 소설이 아니라 수필집이라고 생각했다. 그만큼 자서전적인 일상의 파편들이 짜여져 있는 느낌이다. 뭐 소설로는 부족함이 느껴지기도 하지만 삶과 마찬가지로 책도 연극도 자기 나름의 시선으로 바라보는 것도 나쁘지 않을 듯 싶다.

[Shawn Davies · Rating 4 out of 5]

The best thing about this book is that it made me watch the Hammerklavier performed on YouTube, which was revelatory and recommendation enough for this book!
A sort of In Search of Lost Time if Marcel Proust had been incredibly more succinct and worked in vignettes only concerned with music and his father. I suspect that these vignettes, a joy to read that they are, are actually more profound and serious than I can credit them for. Sometimes the book is greater than the reader. Or does a profound work by its very nature carry with it a sense of the unknowable? Does any work that grapples with memory and time offer anything other than plangency?
We exist and we remember existing and we are aware of things in the world. I know that this book exists, where it is on my shelf and that I will revisit it many times in the future.

[Nic (nicsbooks) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is one of those books that has no plot but the vibes?? Honestly immaculate. This is Reza’s first novel and features a series of 44 autobiographical and fiction vignettes about her memories, life and fantasies of people.

It really is a beautifully written little book, and if you scroll through, you’ll see some of the quotes I couldn’t help but underline. She talks about theatre, grief, her father, hospitals, writing, music, and the minute details of life is such a lovely way, and you can really see her playwriting influences throughout.

Definitely a reflective and relaxing slow-read for anyone who enjoys short stories and insights into other people’s lives and minds.

[Arnoldo Rosas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yazmina Reza domina muy bien las teclas de las emociones, las de sus personajes y las del lector. Lo ha demostrado extraordinariamente bien en "Un dios salvaje". Lo vuelve hacer con aparente sencillez en Hammerklavier. Bajo ese título reune una serie de textos que son relatos, en el sentido de que cuentan una historia, no siempre clarmante expuesta, pero que está allí y uno puede imaginarla o completarla. Microrrelatos que siempre llevan a una reflexión, a una melancolía de lo posible, más que de lo pasado que lo genera, y del oficio de crear o saborear el hecho artístico. Se deisfruta.

[Vanessa Sánchez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Me ha gustado mucho. En cuanto vi el nombre y la portada inmediatamente pensé en música y lo devoré, además de ser súper ligero, te lo lees rápido. Tiene sus fragmentos bellos, algunos de ellos:

"Si no tuviera unos instantes de optimismo irracional, no sobreviviría".

"Sigo murmurando para mis adentros otras cosas que ella no oye. Desde luego, no voy a decirle que la felicidad sólo se conoce cuando se pierde".

[Taha Noman ( طه نعمان ) · Rating 2 out of 5]

لا يمكن بأي حال من الاحوال أعتبار هذا العمل رواية يمكن ان يقال عنه نصوص ادبية تتناول الموسيقى والفن لم اجد روابط بين المقاطع ،انما عبارة عن ثرثرة فنية ، العنوان هامر كلافيير أي مطرقة البيانو بالالمانية وهي المطرقة الخشبية الصغيرة التي تطرق على الوتر عند الضغط على مفاتيح البيانو ، للاسف كان القرأة لهذا الكتاب اهداراً للوقت

[Christina Laflamme · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book which was an impulse buy from the librairie at the Bibliothèque Nationale de France (François Mittérand) in Paris on May 1st, 2017. In this book, Madame Reza takes us through a myriad of events surrounding the death of her father. I found it fascinating to again witness that gift the French have for embracing the sadness of life and making it graceful and beautiful.

[Benjamín Santiago Montiel · Rating 2 out of 5]

Al principio me generó bastantes expectativas: la lectura se me hacía amena y las historias que conforman el libro interesantes. Pero, a medida que avanza, todo se vuelve inconexo (quizá ese es el punto del libro, pero a mí no termina de convencerme) y me costó seguir el hilo y llegar a terminarme el libro.

[Valeria Nicoletti · Rating 5 out of 5]

Splendide istantanee di vita di questa autrice che ho sempre desiderato leggere, ma non ne avevo sinora mai avuto l'occasione. Libro trovato fortuitamente nelle case di Francia che abitiamo in maniera effimera.

[Pablo Molinero · Rating 4 out of 5]

Con historias lindísimas, y alguna que otra que te deja un poco… sin más. Se agradece que esas sean las más cortitas, que no llegan a una página. Todas las historias con el padre son puñetazos al corazoncito.

[Gianluca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anche se non ai livelli dei romanzi successivi, una vera delizia in stile Yasmina Reza.

[Duncan Vicat-Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

Real good! A little magic and emotional involvement away from a classic, but a lot to chew on.

[saad · Rating 4 out of 5]

i love the way the book was written, and i loved so many quotes on it. once again, yasmina reza’s writing touches me more than i thought it would.

[Morag Stevenson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Des moments de vie, écrit superbement, vrai, sans filtre, honnête.

[Marike]

Hammerklavier by Yasmina Reza, translated by Carol Cosman in collaboration with Catherine McMillan.

The book is described as the first novel by this well-known French playwright. However, it reads much more like sketches and these sketches feel very personal. Each bit is about 2-4 pages long and they contain such a feeling of understanding of others, of thinking about life and the way we relate to others, so much wisdom.

Some remember her father: his love for music, how she will remember in a concert how he had signs to gesture to her his experience of a particular piece, and how, after his death, she would imagine how he would listen, what he would sign to her for this experience. Memories of her father are interspersed quite regularly, but there are others – a delightful anecdote about their little daughter at age 5 having a performance for her parents. And I thought, oh dear there will be some gushing some reflection on the brilliance of all children. The father leans over and whispers how he remembers that Nero punished people in Rome by forcing them to watch him perform for hours on end. And she remembers – leaping from windows would be preferable! (Of course they applauded with enthusiams, regularly – But it’s not finished yet!) There are pieces of travel, of talking with friends, of reading – beautiful

Autobiographical and fictional vignettes I see they are called. A-K lent me this book and yes it is marvelous. I’d keep my eyes open for it, that kind of book.

[Alain · Rating 4 out of 5]

Des fulgurances, une écriture juste, acérée , »trente secondes de silence », « dire oui », « la ou tu n’es pas », » interdit… »

« Cesserez vous de vous incliner devant mes dérobades..oubliez votre orgueil, osez m’enfreindre, oser le désordre, faites que je puisse rendre les armes car sachez le j’aimerai plier, j’aimerai céder, j’aimerai dire oui../il leva les yeux , des mouettes criaient en rasant la surface de l’eau, pourquoi avaient-elles fait un si long chemin pour survoler l’eau morte d’un bassin. »

« Savoir que l’on n’écrit pas pour l’autre, savoir que ces choses que je vais écrire ne me feront jamais aimé de qui j’aime. Savoir que l’écriture ne compense rien, qu’elle est précisément là ou tu n’es pas. »

« Il y a des régions qui doivent rester obscures, ni floues ni ignorées, mais simplement privées de la lumière des mots. »

[Hank · Rating 4 out of 5]

More of a collection around a theme than a narrative work, this novella showcases that Roger Blin was correct, when he tells the narrator (presumably Reza) that she is "special." If for nothing else than the melancholic ruminations on time, death, and children, which Reza handles admirably making these existential concerns and longings with grace that undercuts even the most heavy-handed moments.

[Gol · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's cute and relaxing, and as soon as it gets too relaxing - I mean boring - that part of the story ends. It's not really a story, though, more like the musings of the author on life and art and little cute incidents in her family life. If you don't read it, you haven't missed out on anything, but if you read it and it's your type, than you'll probably like it.

[Lizzie]

Hi. Are you a novel? Are you a book of memoir-istic essays? Are you actually the second thing calling yourself the first thing so you don't really have to meet any standards or rules? Yeah maybe.

I remember liking this a lot, but, who knows.