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Memorias de una osa polar
Esta es la historia de tres generaciones, las de la abuela, la madre y el hijo. Es una historia que recorre buena parte del siglo XX y los acontecimientos históricos que lo marcaron y que se desarrolla en varios países. Pero tiene una peculiaridad: sus tres protagonistas son osos polares, osos con raciocinio y sentimientos propios de los humanos, que actúan en circos o viven en zoos, pero que también escriben sus memorias. Y es que lo que Yoko Tawada ha hecho en este libro delicioso, bellísimo y fascinante es poner al día las fábulas de Esopo o Lafontaine.
La novela arranca con la abuela, nacida en la Unión Soviética, que trabaja en un circo, escribe unas memorias que se convierten en best seller y se exilia en Canadá. Su hija Tosca, bailarina, se instala en la Alemania del Este en la época del muro de Berlín, se dedica también al circo y mantiene una estrecha relación con su entrenadora Barbara, emocionalmente frágil. El hijo de Tosca, Knut, nace en el zoo de Berlín, está muy unido a su cuidador, Matthias, y se convierte en una estrella, aunque no todo es tan maravilloso como parece... Y un dato interesante: tanto el personaje de Knut como el de su madre están basados en osos reales; el cachorro Knut se convirtió en la sensación del zoo de Berlín e incluso fue fotografiado por Annie Leibovitz para una portada de Vanity Fair.
El lector tiene en sus manos un libro singular, sorprendente y rebosante de gran literatura. Un libro protagonizado por osos que nos habla de cómo somos los seres humanos y de los avatares de nuestra historia reciente, de cómo nos comunicamos, cómo sentimos, cómo nos relacionamos con nuestro entorno, y también de nuestros anhelos y pesares.
263 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2011
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11140 people want to read
About the author
Yōko Tawada
125 books1,070 followersYōko Tawada (多和田葉子 Tawada Yōko, born March 23, 1960) is a Japanese writer currently living in Berlin, Germany. She writes in both Japanese and German.
Tawada was born in Tokyo, received her undergraduate education at Waseda University in 1982 with a major in Russian literature, then studied at Hamburg University where she received a master's degree in contemporary German literature. She received her doctorate in German literature at the University of Zurich. In 1987 she published Nur da wo du bist da ist nichts—Anata no iru tokoro dake nani mo nai (A Void Only Where You Are), a collection of poems in a German and Japanese bilingual edition.
Tawada's Missing Heels received the Gunzo Prize for New Writers in 1991, and The Bridegroom Was a Dog received the Akutagawa Prize in 1993. In 1999 she became writer-in-residence at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for four months. Her Suspect on the Night Train won the Tanizaki Prize and Ito Sei Literary Prize in 2003.
Tawada received the Adelbert von Chamisso Prize in 1996, a German award to foreign writers in recognition of their contribution to German culture, and the Goethe Medal in 2005.
(from Wikipedia)
Tawada was born in Tokyo, received her undergraduate education at Waseda University in 1982 with a major in Russian literature, then studied at Hamburg University where she received a master's degree in contemporary German literature. She received her doctorate in German literature at the University of Zurich. In 1987 she published Nur da wo du bist da ist nichts—Anata no iru tokoro dake nani mo nai (A Void Only Where You Are), a collection of poems in a German and Japanese bilingual edition.
Tawada's Missing Heels received the Gunzo Prize for New Writers in 1991, and The Bridegroom Was a Dog received the Akutagawa Prize in 1993. In 1999 she became writer-in-residence at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for four months. Her Suspect on the Night Train won the Tanizaki Prize and Ito Sei Literary Prize in 2003.
Tawada received the Adelbert von Chamisso Prize in 1996, a German award to foreign writers in recognition of their contribution to German culture, and the Goethe Medal in 2005.
(from Wikipedia)
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March 18, 2021
Yoko Tawada's novel's inspired by the real-life Knut, a polar bear displayed in a Berlin Zoo, who became a brief sensation when he was introduced to the public as a cub in 2006. Yoko Tawada imagines a history and a lineage leading up to Knut’s birth. Her novel’s in three sections: the first deals with Knut’s nameless grandmother, the second his mother Tosca and finally Knut. I found the idea of Knut having a family history very appealing, usually animal’s ancestors are only considered relevant when they relate to their worth as a commodity – pedigree pets for instance – just another way of asserting their value as objects, whereas Tawada uses Knut’s lineage to do precisely the opposite, to demonstrate his selfhood, his reality as an animal with consciousness, emotions, and individual needs, part of Tawada’s overall rejection of, and critique of, the speciesism that’s regrettably still rife in our human-dominated societies.
The novel opens from the perspective of Knut’s unnamed grandmother, set around the end of WW2, it has a fairy-tale quality that draws on Tawada’s interest in writers like Kafka and E.T.A. Hoffman. This polar bear can speak and write, and seems to live on the outskirts of the human world. After a brief career as a circus performer in the Soviet Union, she branches out into writing her memoir providing a space for Tawada to play with elements of political satire and cultural commentary. But, although Tawada raises pertinent points on issues I’m more than invested in, there’s just too much being thrown into the mix, undermining the coherence of any underlying arguments: ethnic divides; arbitrary human and non-human animal divides; ‘othering’ in general; language and communication; the role of the writer; climate change; animal rights; human rights; the Cold War and East versus West – both ultimately shown to be oppressive regimes that merely express repression in different forms; the literal and metaphoric caging of animal and human. The list’s ridiculously long weighing down this as well as succeeding sections. Although it’s a testament to Tawada’s prose - and Susan Bernofsky's translation - that the novel’s opening portions were still compelling reading. Unfortunately, I didn’t find this carried through to the next section, which at first seems to be from the perspective of Barbara a circus animal-trainer/performer in the GDR. The polar bear Barbara works with is Tosca who, perhaps because of her continued, close proximity to humans or her acceptance of human dominance, can no longer communicate in human terms like her mother, but somehow establishes a psychic link enabling her to converse with Barbara. Again, it’s a dense piece but this time it’s the minutiae of circus life that drags things down, I really struggled to sustain my interest in exhaustive accounts of circus management techniques and workplace politics – which partly echo East German society during the Cold War period. Although there are potentially interesting ideas being expressed about the potential for cross-species relations, maternal bonds, and human life from an animal’s point of view.
Tawada then shifts to a moving portrayal of the increasingly tragic experiences of Tosca’s son Knut. She’s especially effective here at conveying the horrific isolation of an animal raised in solitary captivity - the caged cub who forms a strong attachment to his original keeper Mattias yet dreams of the snow-covered landscape of his long-lost, original home. Knut’s even further separated from the human world than Tosca, unable to communicate in their language; with the possible exception of Mattias, he’s reduced to the condition of object or spectacle. Tawada uses Knut to reiterate and elaborate earlier themes of alienation and loss as well as reinforce concerns about climate change, and the (im)possibility of meaningful trans-species communication or understanding. I found this the most effective part of the book but that might be because the way that Tawada represents Knut’s emotional world coincides with my own feelings about the inherent cruelty of traditional zoo environments – or for that matter keeping any living creature in a cage for the convenience or entertainment of human animals. I've read reviews that hint at the suggestion of hope for the future in Tawada's vision but I found this hard to discern, Knut for me conjured up images of the likely fate of polar bears - already the fate of so many other animals before them - novelties in zoos, the remnants of a species whose habitat has been destroyed by the people who line up to view them.
The novel opens from the perspective of Knut’s unnamed grandmother, set around the end of WW2, it has a fairy-tale quality that draws on Tawada’s interest in writers like Kafka and E.T.A. Hoffman. This polar bear can speak and write, and seems to live on the outskirts of the human world. After a brief career as a circus performer in the Soviet Union, she branches out into writing her memoir providing a space for Tawada to play with elements of political satire and cultural commentary. But, although Tawada raises pertinent points on issues I’m more than invested in, there’s just too much being thrown into the mix, undermining the coherence of any underlying arguments: ethnic divides; arbitrary human and non-human animal divides; ‘othering’ in general; language and communication; the role of the writer; climate change; animal rights; human rights; the Cold War and East versus West – both ultimately shown to be oppressive regimes that merely express repression in different forms; the literal and metaphoric caging of animal and human. The list’s ridiculously long weighing down this as well as succeeding sections. Although it’s a testament to Tawada’s prose - and Susan Bernofsky's translation - that the novel’s opening portions were still compelling reading. Unfortunately, I didn’t find this carried through to the next section, which at first seems to be from the perspective of Barbara a circus animal-trainer/performer in the GDR. The polar bear Barbara works with is Tosca who, perhaps because of her continued, close proximity to humans or her acceptance of human dominance, can no longer communicate in human terms like her mother, but somehow establishes a psychic link enabling her to converse with Barbara. Again, it’s a dense piece but this time it’s the minutiae of circus life that drags things down, I really struggled to sustain my interest in exhaustive accounts of circus management techniques and workplace politics – which partly echo East German society during the Cold War period. Although there are potentially interesting ideas being expressed about the potential for cross-species relations, maternal bonds, and human life from an animal’s point of view.
Tawada then shifts to a moving portrayal of the increasingly tragic experiences of Tosca’s son Knut. She’s especially effective here at conveying the horrific isolation of an animal raised in solitary captivity - the caged cub who forms a strong attachment to his original keeper Mattias yet dreams of the snow-covered landscape of his long-lost, original home. Knut’s even further separated from the human world than Tosca, unable to communicate in their language; with the possible exception of Mattias, he’s reduced to the condition of object or spectacle. Tawada uses Knut to reiterate and elaborate earlier themes of alienation and loss as well as reinforce concerns about climate change, and the (im)possibility of meaningful trans-species communication or understanding. I found this the most effective part of the book but that might be because the way that Tawada represents Knut’s emotional world coincides with my own feelings about the inherent cruelty of traditional zoo environments – or for that matter keeping any living creature in a cage for the convenience or entertainment of human animals. I've read reviews that hint at the suggestion of hope for the future in Tawada's vision but I found this hard to discern, Knut for me conjured up images of the likely fate of polar bears - already the fate of so many other animals before them - novelties in zoos, the remnants of a species whose habitat has been destroyed by the people who line up to view them.
August 24, 2020
Birbirine geçmiş üç öyküden oluşan kitap kutup ayılarının bakış açısıyla insanlar ve hayvanlar arasındaki ilişkiyi anlatan, politik mesajları olan ilginç bir kitap. Üçüncü hikaye Berlin hayvanat bahçesinin yıldızı olan yetim kutup ayısı Knut’a ait olmak üzere üç kuşak kutup ayısının hikayesini birbirine bağlı olarak okuyoruz.
Kitabın kurmacası ilk iki bölümde çok ilginç, düş ile gerçek, bilgi ile yorum, kurgu ile yaşanmışlık iç içe geçmiş durumda. Belki bu nedenle insan mı konuşuyor hayvan mı konuşuyor veya anlatıyor bazen anlamakta zorluk çekiliyor. Knut’un bölümü ise düz-sade yazılmış sanki günlük konuşma dilinde.
Yazar başta sosyalizm olmak üzere insan yönetim biçimlerini kıyasıya eleştiriyor. Rusya en başta payını alanlardan, bu nedenle rejim karşıtı Bulgakov ile benzerlikleri çok fazla. Sadece sosyalizmi değil Avrupa, Japonya ve ABD göndermeleriyle insanın yönetme anlayışını hayvan hakları üzerinden ciddi şekilde ironik bir dille sorguluyor. Ayrıca çevre sorunları, vegeteryanlık gibi konulara da değinilmiş.
Hayvanlar hakkında ilginç bilgilerin yer alması kitaba renk katıyor. Bu arada yazarın kutup ayılarını çok iyi araştırmış olduğunu da belirtmekte yarar var. Dili çok iyi, Zehra Kurttekin’in mükemmel çevirisinin de bu kolay okumada payı çok bence.
Tawada’yı tanımak iyi oldu.
Kitabın kurmacası ilk iki bölümde çok ilginç, düş ile gerçek, bilgi ile yorum, kurgu ile yaşanmışlık iç içe geçmiş durumda. Belki bu nedenle insan mı konuşuyor hayvan mı konuşuyor veya anlatıyor bazen anlamakta zorluk çekiliyor. Knut’un bölümü ise düz-sade yazılmış sanki günlük konuşma dilinde.
Yazar başta sosyalizm olmak üzere insan yönetim biçimlerini kıyasıya eleştiriyor. Rusya en başta payını alanlardan, bu nedenle rejim karşıtı Bulgakov ile benzerlikleri çok fazla. Sadece sosyalizmi değil Avrupa, Japonya ve ABD göndermeleriyle insanın yönetme anlayışını hayvan hakları üzerinden ciddi şekilde ironik bir dille sorguluyor. Ayrıca çevre sorunları, vegeteryanlık gibi konulara da değinilmiş.
Hayvanlar hakkında ilginç bilgilerin yer alması kitaba renk katıyor. Bu arada yazarın kutup ayılarını çok iyi araştırmış olduğunu da belirtmekte yarar var. Dili çok iyi, Zehra Kurttekin’in mükemmel çevirisinin de bu kolay okumada payı çok bence.
Tawada’yı tanımak iyi oldu.
January 30, 2023
A whimsical, uncanny account of the human condition from the eyes of philosophically enlightened Polar Bears. Filled with wonder and curiosity, each generation of bear contemplates trauma, companionship, ambition, and self perception amongst a world of humans, who are guided so often by selfishness and miscommunication. Filled with longing for simpler times, for understanding, and for feeling complete, memoirs of a Polar Bear is an eccentric but surprisingly touching summary of humanity.
November 15, 2020
A saga of three generations of a famiy, with a fair bit of magical realism thrown in; and when I say three generations, I should clarify - three generations of polar bears! Each generation gets a first person (bear or human) narrated chapter; the grandmother, who is famous for writing her biography but has to defect from the Eastern Bloc; her daughter Tosca, a circus performer; and her son Knut raised and located at the Berlin Zoo!
With the first chapter, and possibly also the second, having unreliable narrators, and where bears can talk to some humans, this is a pretty entertaining. Yōko Tawada gives this a playful feel, whilst also highlighting the issues, in and around, animal rights vs human rights. It took me awhile to get into, and to be honest, it was the second chapter / generation that I struggled with, the one with a human narrator! All-in-all an OK read, that really got me thinking about how we humans, deliver (or not) animal rights. 6 out of 12.
With the first chapter, and possibly also the second, having unreliable narrators, and where bears can talk to some humans, this is a pretty entertaining. Yōko Tawada gives this a playful feel, whilst also highlighting the issues, in and around, animal rights vs human rights. It took me awhile to get into, and to be honest, it was the second chapter / generation that I struggled with, the one with a human narrator! All-in-all an OK read, that really got me thinking about how we humans, deliver (or not) animal rights. 6 out of 12.
May 28, 2020
Review at The Literary Sisters.
Yoko Tawada is a Japanese author who, in her early twenties, moved to Germany in order to study and has been living there since. A rather prolific author, Tawada writes in both German and Japanese and her works are steadily becoming more and more known worldwide. As a Japanese woman living in Europe, the perspective she offers through her writing is truly unique and very fascinating, as it perfectly captures the feelings of expats without becoming overly dramatic.
Memoirs of a Polar Bear is her most recent novel that’s translated from German to English by Susan Bernofsky, and thanks to the wonderful Lizzy I got the chance to read it as part of the German Literature Month, something I’m really grateful for. Coincidentally, the novel was awarded the very first Warwick prize for Women in Translation earlier this month, a prize which in my opinion was very well deserved.
Employing the technique of magical realism, the novel is divided into three parts, each one recounting the story of a polar bear, starting with the grandmother (whose name is unknown), moving on with the daughter (Tosca) and finishing up with the grandson (Knut). The first part, “The Grandmother: An Evolutionary Theory”, is narrated in first person by the polar bear herself as she relates her journey from Russia to Germany to Canada and back to Germany. While working at the circus, like all the polar bears of the novel do, she decides to start writing her autobiography, an attempt which renders her quite popular. Language and writing are two major themes which Tawada uses throughout this novel, as the first bear is constantly faced with linguistic barriers, something which might reflect Tawada’s own initial experience abroad. This dialogue of the polar bear with her editor conveys brilliantly this struggle with language:
In the second part, “The Kiss of Death”, we are following Tosca, the daughter’s story. Instead of hearing the bear’s own voice like in the first part, however, here the narrator is Tosca’s human female partner in the circus. Thus, Tosca’s story is initially given through human eyes, but as the relationship between the two deepens further and further, their voices start intermingling and converging and in a way which only magical realism can justify, the woman hears Tosca’s voice in her mind and the words she eventually utters are not her own but the bear’s. Interestingly enough, this intermingling of voices (and identities, to an extent) happens after the woman decides to start writing Tosca’s biography, since, unlike her mother, Tosca is unable to write and communicate with the other humans. I found it particularly intriguing how the woman, who plays such a central role to this part and to Tosca’s life, remains unnamed throughout, just like Tosca’s bear mother in the previous part.
The woman’s obsession with communicating with Tosca ends up becoming a setback to her marriage, as her husband feels like the woman has rather lost touch with reality. This reminds me of Han Kang’s The Vegetarian, where the protagonist’s obsession with not consuming meat or anything related to it also becomes detrimental to her marriage. Much like in the first part, language and communication become major issues, along with those of identity, femininity and maternality.
“Memories of the North Pole”, the third part, introduces us to Knut, Tosca’s son. Once again, Tawada beautifully plays with the narrative voices, as the narration here focuses on Knut and his perspective but is in third person. Later on it is revealed that it was Knut narrating his story all along, but he preferred using the third person even when referring to himself.
Like his mother and grandmother before him, Knut is working at the circus. Having never met his mother, he is being raised and taken care of by Matthias and Christian, who also work at the circus. Again, the issue of language and communication is raised but I felt like the most prevailing theme here was that of family, relationships and familial bonds. Homosexuality is also brought up, since Matthias and Christian become Knut’s “parents” and the parallels to a homosexual couple bringing up a child are easily drawn.
Memoirs of a Polar Bear is a short but very rich book. Throughout the novel, there are many hints/metaphors for race (the whiteness of a polar bear’s fur contrasted with the brownness of a normal bear’s fur, which is much more commonly seen), immigration and different cultural backgrounds (the bears live among humans and they are of different species, so perhaps that insinuates different ethnicities?) and all those themes and issues raised could not be more relevant to today’s society.
I absolutely adored Tawada’s writing. It was beautiful and I wanted to savour each and every word. Despite its short length, this isn’t a novel to be devoured in a few hours, not only because of all the different themes it’s packed with but also because all the nuances of Tawada’s prose will be unfortunately missed. I definitely feel like I can never praise this book highly enough and my own words fail in conveying the magnificence of this novel. I will end this review with one of my favourite quotes:
Yoko Tawada is a Japanese author who, in her early twenties, moved to Germany in order to study and has been living there since. A rather prolific author, Tawada writes in both German and Japanese and her works are steadily becoming more and more known worldwide. As a Japanese woman living in Europe, the perspective she offers through her writing is truly unique and very fascinating, as it perfectly captures the feelings of expats without becoming overly dramatic.
Memoirs of a Polar Bear is her most recent novel that’s translated from German to English by Susan Bernofsky, and thanks to the wonderful Lizzy I got the chance to read it as part of the German Literature Month, something I’m really grateful for. Coincidentally, the novel was awarded the very first Warwick prize for Women in Translation earlier this month, a prize which in my opinion was very well deserved.
Employing the technique of magical realism, the novel is divided into three parts, each one recounting the story of a polar bear, starting with the grandmother (whose name is unknown), moving on with the daughter (Tosca) and finishing up with the grandson (Knut). The first part, “The Grandmother: An Evolutionary Theory”, is narrated in first person by the polar bear herself as she relates her journey from Russia to Germany to Canada and back to Germany. While working at the circus, like all the polar bears of the novel do, she decides to start writing her autobiography, an attempt which renders her quite popular. Language and writing are two major themes which Tawada uses throughout this novel, as the first bear is constantly faced with linguistic barriers, something which might reflect Tawada’s own initial experience abroad. This dialogue of the polar bear with her editor conveys brilliantly this struggle with language:
“The language gets in my way.”
“The language?”
“Well, to be specific: German.”
[….] “I thought we had communicated quite clearly that you are to write in your own language, since we have a fantastic translator.”
“My own language? I don’t know which language that is. Probably one of the North Pole languages.”
“I see, a joke. Russian is the most magnificent literary language in the world.”
“Somehow I don’t seem to know Russian anymore.”
In the second part, “The Kiss of Death”, we are following Tosca, the daughter’s story. Instead of hearing the bear’s own voice like in the first part, however, here the narrator is Tosca’s human female partner in the circus. Thus, Tosca’s story is initially given through human eyes, but as the relationship between the two deepens further and further, their voices start intermingling and converging and in a way which only magical realism can justify, the woman hears Tosca’s voice in her mind and the words she eventually utters are not her own but the bear’s. Interestingly enough, this intermingling of voices (and identities, to an extent) happens after the woman decides to start writing Tosca’s biography, since, unlike her mother, Tosca is unable to write and communicate with the other humans. I found it particularly intriguing how the woman, who plays such a central role to this part and to Tosca’s life, remains unnamed throughout, just like Tosca’s bear mother in the previous part.
The woman’s obsession with communicating with Tosca ends up becoming a setback to her marriage, as her husband feels like the woman has rather lost touch with reality. This reminds me of Han Kang’s The Vegetarian, where the protagonist’s obsession with not consuming meat or anything related to it also becomes detrimental to her marriage. Much like in the first part, language and communication become major issues, along with those of identity, femininity and maternality.
“Memories of the North Pole”, the third part, introduces us to Knut, Tosca’s son. Once again, Tawada beautifully plays with the narrative voices, as the narration here focuses on Knut and his perspective but is in third person. Later on it is revealed that it was Knut narrating his story all along, but he preferred using the third person even when referring to himself.
Like his mother and grandmother before him, Knut is working at the circus. Having never met his mother, he is being raised and taken care of by Matthias and Christian, who also work at the circus. Again, the issue of language and communication is raised but I felt like the most prevailing theme here was that of family, relationships and familial bonds. Homosexuality is also brought up, since Matthias and Christian become Knut’s “parents” and the parallels to a homosexual couple bringing up a child are easily drawn.
Memoirs of a Polar Bear is a short but very rich book. Throughout the novel, there are many hints/metaphors for race (the whiteness of a polar bear’s fur contrasted with the brownness of a normal bear’s fur, which is much more commonly seen), immigration and different cultural backgrounds (the bears live among humans and they are of different species, so perhaps that insinuates different ethnicities?) and all those themes and issues raised could not be more relevant to today’s society.
I absolutely adored Tawada’s writing. It was beautiful and I wanted to savour each and every word. Despite its short length, this isn’t a novel to be devoured in a few hours, not only because of all the different themes it’s packed with but also because all the nuances of Tawada’s prose will be unfortunately missed. I definitely feel like I can never praise this book highly enough and my own words fail in conveying the magnificence of this novel. I will end this review with one of my favourite quotes:
“And there, in darkness, the grammars of many languages lost their color, they melted and combined, then froze solid again, they drifted in the ocean and joined the drifting floes of ice.”
November 20, 2016
Such a strange and peculiar book. I loved Part 1 best of all, it read like an extended metaphor and political commentary on humanity. Part 2 was like some strange fever dream, with some wonderfully striking passages, but Part 3 was just sad. Overall though, I enjoyed this book. Polar bear narrators for the win!
March 22, 2024
Poesía, sensibilidad, creatividad y muchos niveles de significado. Es lo que encontramos en esta obra tan original de Yoko Tawada, que nos habla de muchas cosas, entre otras de su propia experiencia en Berlín, del desarraigo y la dificultad que supone vivir y escribir en una lengua muy distinta de la suya. De hecho, ella escribe sus obras simultáneamente en alemán y en japonés, a veces con ligeras diferencias entre las versiones. Es una literatura de frontera en el sentido del siglo XXI, cuando las barreras entre las diferentes identidades devienen borrosas - aquí incluso la distinción humano/animal vemos que se tambalea.
Son tres historias de tres osos polares. En primer lugar la abuela cuyo nombre no conocemos y que trabaja en un circo ruso en la época soviética post-Stalin. Nada más comenzar ya vemos que no es un texto realista, ya que la osa asiste a congresos y escribe sus memorias. Como en las fábulas de La Fontaine, los animales interactúan con los humanos sin causar extrañeza. La segunda historia es sobre Tosca, que fue una osa real que vivió en el zoo de Berlín y se hizo famosa por abandonar a su cachorro Knut. Nos cuenta su relación con su adiestradora, Bárbara, en el circo donde trabajó. Finalmente, la tercera parte cuenta la historia de Knut, el osezno que fue criado por su cuidador del zoo y que alcanzó fama mundial a principio del siglo XXI.
Todo este artificio complejo, que va alternando voces narradoras y géneros textuales, le sirve a la autora para hacer una crítica de las sociedades que se sirven del circo y del zoo para sacar rendimiento a los animales como espectáculo. Para hablar del extrañamiento, del no pertenecer, de ser distinto, del calentamiento global y de un montón de cosas.
El estilo es muy personal, con muchos momentos poéticos, que buscan perspectivas distintas a la humana:
Los sauces, aburridos, sumergían una y otra vez sus finos dedos en el agua, elegantes y astutos, tal vez quisieran jugar con ella.
Conocemos el punto de vista y las sensaciones de los osos:
Mientras dormía, ellos hablaban en voz baja o se movían con sigilo y de puntillas para no despertarme. Aquello me divertía, pues aunque estuviese dormida, bastaba que un solo ratón diminuto se sonase la nariz con guantes de terciopelo en la otra punta de la habitación para que yo me enterara.
Como telón de fondo hallamos siempre el cambio climático y sus efectos en los osos polares, pero está introducido con pinceladas finas:
En las grandes ciudades el invierno fue menguando y, con él, las dimensiones de la vida.
El humor también está presente, como cuando la osa escritora produce una frase que entusiasma a los editores por su parecido con Tolstoi:
Los matrimonios entre pingüinos son todos iguales, mientras que cada matrimonio entre osos polares es distinto.
No es una obra fácil, ya que hay que entrar en el juego que propone la autora, pero creo que el esfuerzo tiene recompensa.
Gracias a José Carlos Rodríguez Breto, de @literatura_instantanea por el interesante taller online en que nos aportó muchas claves para la lectura.
Son tres historias de tres osos polares. En primer lugar la abuela cuyo nombre no conocemos y que trabaja en un circo ruso en la época soviética post-Stalin. Nada más comenzar ya vemos que no es un texto realista, ya que la osa asiste a congresos y escribe sus memorias. Como en las fábulas de La Fontaine, los animales interactúan con los humanos sin causar extrañeza. La segunda historia es sobre Tosca, que fue una osa real que vivió en el zoo de Berlín y se hizo famosa por abandonar a su cachorro Knut. Nos cuenta su relación con su adiestradora, Bárbara, en el circo donde trabajó. Finalmente, la tercera parte cuenta la historia de Knut, el osezno que fue criado por su cuidador del zoo y que alcanzó fama mundial a principio del siglo XXI.
Todo este artificio complejo, que va alternando voces narradoras y géneros textuales, le sirve a la autora para hacer una crítica de las sociedades que se sirven del circo y del zoo para sacar rendimiento a los animales como espectáculo. Para hablar del extrañamiento, del no pertenecer, de ser distinto, del calentamiento global y de un montón de cosas.
El estilo es muy personal, con muchos momentos poéticos, que buscan perspectivas distintas a la humana:
Los sauces, aburridos, sumergían una y otra vez sus finos dedos en el agua, elegantes y astutos, tal vez quisieran jugar con ella.
Conocemos el punto de vista y las sensaciones de los osos:
Mientras dormía, ellos hablaban en voz baja o se movían con sigilo y de puntillas para no despertarme. Aquello me divertía, pues aunque estuviese dormida, bastaba que un solo ratón diminuto se sonase la nariz con guantes de terciopelo en la otra punta de la habitación para que yo me enterara.
Como telón de fondo hallamos siempre el cambio climático y sus efectos en los osos polares, pero está introducido con pinceladas finas:
En las grandes ciudades el invierno fue menguando y, con él, las dimensiones de la vida.
El humor también está presente, como cuando la osa escritora produce una frase que entusiasma a los editores por su parecido con Tolstoi:
Los matrimonios entre pingüinos son todos iguales, mientras que cada matrimonio entre osos polares es distinto.
No es una obra fácil, ya que hay que entrar en el juego que propone la autora, pero creo que el esfuerzo tiene recompensa.
Gracias a José Carlos Rodríguez Breto, de @literatura_instantanea por el interesante taller online en que nos aportó muchas claves para la lectura.
January 13, 2024
тобі дуже подобаєцця книга (от прям нравицця), і ти намагаєшся розтягнути процес читання, тому вирішуєш читати її лише коли п'єш.
здавалося б, що могло піти не так? а от: тепер ти бухаєш ще більше, ніж до.
вочевидь (для мене), саме тому й безіменна ведмедиця втілює образ національних меншин у СРСР — інша культура, світогляд і навіть зовнішність. але всі роблять вигляд, ніби так і треба, ніби все нормально, зжилися буцімто. дуже показово, що вона працює в цирку (читай: належить цирку), — меншина на потіху більшости. (я абсолютно впевнилася з ким асоціює себе авторка на моменті вивчення німецької, і це мене дуже втішило))) Тоска вже гірше розуміє стан речей, тож втрачає спроможність говорити, але поки натомість здатна підтримувати ментальний зв'язок. Кнут не має нічого з цього. комунікативні проблеми сягають апогею. тому й найсумніше тому було читати Кнута — він із генерації тих, хто вже й не усвідомлює, а може лише журитися й уявляти собі Північний полюс. саме з частини про нього я перестала читати книгу, як політичну сатиру, соціальну іронію тощо, і почала — як письмо про кліматичні проблеми, права тварин, ізольованість. приблизно тут я і закрилася, як читачка — це написано максимально відверто і навіть не маніпулятивно, але нічого не можу з собою зробити. тому, мабуть, ніколи й не могла додивитися фільмів про ракових дітей до кінця (не тому що надто боляче, не тому що не маю співчуття, а бо просто не можу, окей?)
деякі висновки мене занепокоїли, і з авторкою я не скрізь згодна. тому просто для себе сподіваюся, що деякі речі просто неправильно інтерпрувала (непроста форма, як-не-як). наприклад, те, що капіталістичний устрій так само репресивний, як і комуністичний, хоч і в інший спосіб. мені здається, таке могла написати лише людина, що ніколи не жила в срср (або хоча б у країнах, що від нього звільнилися), але жила в Німеччині. йой, а так же й є.
імовірно, я таки не помилилася. бо Тавада використовує цирк, як модель тогочасного ГДРівського суспільства, а отже, схема працює. тож насправді моя 5 з твердим мінусом, чесно.
частина з Кнутом не просто найболючиша, а ще й замішує у собі так багато питань, що млосно стає — ну серйозно: від самотності, цинічності, потепління й аж до гомосексуальності й проблем самоідентифікації.
і та, постійно хотіла похвалити перекладачок, а потім наткнулася на Міхаеля, і аж вибісилася, бо ж то, ясна річ, Джексон! тоді чому не Майкл? бо то сценічне ім'я. справжнє — якраз Міхаель. але чому в назві ведмеді саме білі, а не полярні, так і не зрозуміла, та то таке.
так красиво-медитативно. й одразу кілька думок, які я дуже довго не могла для себе сформулювати — ось це справді моцно й цінно мені. і та, ця витончена іронія — така природна й зворушлива, айм ін лав, як то кажуть. саме тому вона вся така помальована в мене тепер.
п.с. коротка розмова з авторкою (перед презентацією книги), після якої я зрозуміла, чому презентація відбулася саме в Маріуполі (ну не найочевидніше місто, правда ж?) і чому вона вибрала ведмедів. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IvcvO...
здавалося б, що могло піти не так? а от: тепер ти бухаєш ще більше, ніж до.
вочевидь (для мене), саме тому й безіменна ведмедиця втілює образ національних меншин у СРСР — інша культура, світогляд і навіть зовнішність. але всі роблять вигляд, ніби так і треба, ніби все нормально, зжилися буцімто. дуже показово, що вона працює в цирку (читай: належить цирку), — меншина на потіху більшости. (я абсолютно впевнилася з ким асоціює себе авторка на моменті вивчення німецької, і це мене дуже втішило))) Тоска вже гірше розуміє стан речей, тож втрачає спроможність говорити, але поки натомість здатна підтримувати ментальний зв'язок. Кнут не має нічого з цього. комунікативні проблеми сягають апогею. тому й найсумніше тому було читати Кнута — він із генерації тих, хто вже й не усвідомлює, а може лише журитися й уявляти собі Північний полюс. саме з частини про нього я перестала читати книгу, як політичну сатиру, соціальну іронію тощо, і почала — як письмо про кліматичні проблеми, права тварин, ізольованість. приблизно тут я і закрилася, як читачка — це написано максимально відверто і навіть не маніпулятивно, але нічого не можу з собою зробити. тому, мабуть, ніколи й не могла додивитися фільмів про ракових дітей до кінця (не тому що надто боляче, не тому що не маю співчуття, а бо просто не можу, окей?)
деякі висновки мене занепокоїли, і з авторкою я не скрізь згодна. тому просто для себе сподіваюся, що деякі речі просто неправильно інтерпрувала (непроста форма, як-не-як). наприклад, те, що капіталістичний устрій так само репресивний, як і комуністичний, хоч і в інший спосіб. мені здається, таке могла написати лише людина, що ніколи не жила в срср (або хоча б у країнах, що від нього звільнилися), але жила в Німеччині. йой, а так же й є.
імовірно, я таки не помилилася. бо Тавада використовує цирк, як модель тогочасного ГДРівського суспільства, а отже, схема працює. тож насправді моя 5 з твердим мінусом, чесно.
частина з Кнутом не просто найболючиша, а ще й замішує у собі так багато питань, що млосно стає — ну серйозно: від самотності, цинічності, потепління й аж до гомосексуальності й проблем самоідентифікації.
і та, постійно хотіла похвалити перекладачок, а потім наткнулася на Міхаеля, і аж вибісилася, бо ж то, ясна річ, Джексон! тоді чому не Майкл? бо то сценічне ім'я. справжнє — якраз Міхаель. але чому в назві ведмеді саме білі, а не полярні, так і не зрозуміла, та то таке.
так красиво-медитативно. й одразу кілька думок, які я дуже довго не могла для себе сформулювати — ось це справді моцно й цінно мені. і та, ця витончена іронія — така природна й зворушлива, айм ін лав, як то кажуть. саме тому вона вся така помальована в мене тепер.
п.с. коротка розмова з авторкою (перед презентацією книги), після якої я зрозуміла, чому презентація відбулася саме в Маріуполі (ну не найочевидніше місто, правда ж?) і чому вона вибрала ведмедів. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IvcvO...
May 31, 2020
Três gerações de ursos fazem diferentes trajetos ao longo do século XX, da Rússia à Alemanha antes e depois da queda do muro, com passagem pelo Canadá. Uma trabalha no circo e escreve uma autobiografia de que não resta qualquer cópia, outra é bailarina de peso e o mais novo vive num zoo, depois de precocemente abandonado pela mãe. O que é que as histórias têm de comum? Nada. Cada história podia ter funcionado bem, mas assim parece apenas uma amálgama bem-intencionada. Tive pena porque me identifico muito com a luta pelos direitos dos animais.
March 20, 2017
Trying to categorize, or even fully understand, MEMOIRS OF A POLAR BEAR is an exercise in frustration and futility. On the surface (and on the back cover) it is advertised as the fictional memoirs of three generations in a family of polar bears. However, what is really going on is far stranger, more complex, and more muddled than I ever anticipated.
Despite the straightforwardness of the premise - fictional memoirs of polar bears - I found the actual story very difficult to make sense of. It is organized in three sections, one for each bear generation, and each section is radically different from each other. The first, "The Grandmother: An Evolutionary Theory", focuses on the earliest of the three generations of polar bears. Although the bear herself is unnamed, the world in which she exists is portrayed in detail...and this is where things begin to get weird.
The "grandmother bear" is born and grows up in the USSR, raised by a bear trainer and works in a circus. The world itself is presented in a realist way, but with one crucial difference - animals and humans live amongst each other and can hold conversations. The way that animals and humans interact with each other is so seamless and natural, without a hint of fear or awkwardness. In fact, the polar bear lives in an apartment complex with lots of other people, and visits the landlady for vodka. The bear eventually leaves the circus, attends conferences around the Soviet Bloc countries, and finally decides to write her memoir. A memoir that is published by a man named Sea Lion and his independent press. A memoir that, when it becomes popular, allows the polar bear to live in exile in West Germany and then move to Canada. In Canada, the bear meets her "husband", with whom they have a cub named Tosca and move back to Germany.
Part two, titled "The Kiss of Death" is about Tosca and her life in a circus. Unlike the previous section, this is primarily narrated by Barbara, a human who works in the circus and, later, in an act with Tosca. This story is really more about Barbara's life, and only mentions Tosca tangentially. Although Barbara and Tosca do have some form of communication, it is not as outright and prevalent as was the case with the "grandmother polar bear". It is clear that Tosca is a bear - no ambiguity about the species here. The title refers to a circus trick where Barbara puts a sugar cube on her tongue, and Tosca would come and take it from her, thereby appearing as though they're kissing. At the end of the section, Tosca talks about meeting a bear named Lars, with whom she has two cubs - one of which is named Knut.
Part three is called "Memories of the North Pole", and explores the relationship between the polar bear Knut and his handler at the Berlin Zoo, Matthias. There is no conversation between these two at all, but sometimes when Matthias is asleep, he dreams about talking with Knut. He devotes his life to caring for Knut, who was born prematurely and needs regular feeding and medical care. Tosca abandoned her cub at birth, and she explains that it was done to allow her to work on her own writing. Matthias creates a bond with Knut that is very much like a mother and her son. Knut is at his calmest and happiest when Matthias is there, and he suffers greatly when Matthias dies suddenly of a heart attack.
My experience of reading MEMOIRS OF A POLAR BEAR, especially the first section, was incredible frustration. The presented landscape is realistic and rooted in the world as it really was, yet the characters are a mixture of humans and animals who can communicate with each other. I kept going back and forth about whether the characters were metaphors or not. Was the polar bear writing what I was reading? Was any of this really happening? From one page to the next, the reader is left unsure of exactly what is going on. I actually wrote lots of notes (on sticky-tabs, because I read a library copy) to myself about what I thought was happening at the time, to try and figure it out. I still haven't figured it out.
Were the characters all animals? Were they representative of people? Did the characters (especially in the first section) see themselves as animals, but were viewed by everyone else as humans? Was it all of the above? Through this inconclusiveness and intermingling, was the author proposing that animals and humans are really one in the same - not so different from each other? Was it a treatise on animal rights? The "grandmother bear" makes constant references to her "paw-hand" and her "snout", which would seem to indicate animal-hood, but perhaps she is a woman who sees herself in a more animalistic light. Or perhaps the author is invoking bear imagery that is associated with the USSR. There is no clarity or consistency with these references, so the reader is left to make his/her own conclusions. There are so many questions, yet the author doesn't even suggest that one may be possible over another.
Where the book truly succeeds is in giving a rich, interior life to a species that are often feared and hunted. The polar bears are shown as having desires, disappointments, needs, hopes, and love. Through this, the reader is encouraged to feel empathy for the three main characters. Where the book fails is in its inconsistent use of the bizarre and ambiguous. There was a lack of internal connection and consistency that hindered the overall story and its impact. I will freely state that I have no problem reading books where I have no idea what's going on. What I do find problematic is where that technique is used as a trope, and doesn't serve (or even muddles) the overall story. If the bizarre is used for its own sake, I don't care for it. That was, unfortunately, my experience in MEMOIRS OF A POLAR BEAR.
Despite the straightforwardness of the premise - fictional memoirs of polar bears - I found the actual story very difficult to make sense of. It is organized in three sections, one for each bear generation, and each section is radically different from each other. The first, "The Grandmother: An Evolutionary Theory", focuses on the earliest of the three generations of polar bears. Although the bear herself is unnamed, the world in which she exists is portrayed in detail...and this is where things begin to get weird.
The "grandmother bear" is born and grows up in the USSR, raised by a bear trainer and works in a circus. The world itself is presented in a realist way, but with one crucial difference - animals and humans live amongst each other and can hold conversations. The way that animals and humans interact with each other is so seamless and natural, without a hint of fear or awkwardness. In fact, the polar bear lives in an apartment complex with lots of other people, and visits the landlady for vodka. The bear eventually leaves the circus, attends conferences around the Soviet Bloc countries, and finally decides to write her memoir. A memoir that is published by a man named Sea Lion and his independent press. A memoir that, when it becomes popular, allows the polar bear to live in exile in West Germany and then move to Canada. In Canada, the bear meets her "husband", with whom they have a cub named Tosca and move back to Germany.
Part two, titled "The Kiss of Death" is about Tosca and her life in a circus. Unlike the previous section, this is primarily narrated by Barbara, a human who works in the circus and, later, in an act with Tosca. This story is really more about Barbara's life, and only mentions Tosca tangentially. Although Barbara and Tosca do have some form of communication, it is not as outright and prevalent as was the case with the "grandmother polar bear". It is clear that Tosca is a bear - no ambiguity about the species here. The title refers to a circus trick where Barbara puts a sugar cube on her tongue, and Tosca would come and take it from her, thereby appearing as though they're kissing. At the end of the section, Tosca talks about meeting a bear named Lars, with whom she has two cubs - one of which is named Knut.
Part three is called "Memories of the North Pole", and explores the relationship between the polar bear Knut and his handler at the Berlin Zoo, Matthias. There is no conversation between these two at all, but sometimes when Matthias is asleep, he dreams about talking with Knut. He devotes his life to caring for Knut, who was born prematurely and needs regular feeding and medical care. Tosca abandoned her cub at birth, and she explains that it was done to allow her to work on her own writing. Matthias creates a bond with Knut that is very much like a mother and her son. Knut is at his calmest and happiest when Matthias is there, and he suffers greatly when Matthias dies suddenly of a heart attack.
My experience of reading MEMOIRS OF A POLAR BEAR, especially the first section, was incredible frustration. The presented landscape is realistic and rooted in the world as it really was, yet the characters are a mixture of humans and animals who can communicate with each other. I kept going back and forth about whether the characters were metaphors or not. Was the polar bear writing what I was reading? Was any of this really happening? From one page to the next, the reader is left unsure of exactly what is going on. I actually wrote lots of notes (on sticky-tabs, because I read a library copy) to myself about what I thought was happening at the time, to try and figure it out. I still haven't figured it out.
Were the characters all animals? Were they representative of people? Did the characters (especially in the first section) see themselves as animals, but were viewed by everyone else as humans? Was it all of the above? Through this inconclusiveness and intermingling, was the author proposing that animals and humans are really one in the same - not so different from each other? Was it a treatise on animal rights? The "grandmother bear" makes constant references to her "paw-hand" and her "snout", which would seem to indicate animal-hood, but perhaps she is a woman who sees herself in a more animalistic light. Or perhaps the author is invoking bear imagery that is associated with the USSR. There is no clarity or consistency with these references, so the reader is left to make his/her own conclusions. There are so many questions, yet the author doesn't even suggest that one may be possible over another.
Where the book truly succeeds is in giving a rich, interior life to a species that are often feared and hunted. The polar bears are shown as having desires, disappointments, needs, hopes, and love. Through this, the reader is encouraged to feel empathy for the three main characters. Where the book fails is in its inconsistent use of the bizarre and ambiguous. There was a lack of internal connection and consistency that hindered the overall story and its impact. I will freely state that I have no problem reading books where I have no idea what's going on. What I do find problematic is where that technique is used as a trope, and doesn't serve (or even muddles) the overall story. If the bizarre is used for its own sake, I don't care for it. That was, unfortunately, my experience in MEMOIRS OF A POLAR BEAR.
June 6, 2022
Knut in Memoriam
While the first, surviving, polar bear cub for 33 years in the Berlin ZOO was loved beyond any now-living god, the same attention was not given to his parents and grand parents.
You may remember the almost worldwide grief among polar bear lovers when one morning Knut left the animal world never to return, caused by what later turned out to be encephalitis, a disease never before registered with animals - even in death Knut became famous.
But the story is not as much about Knut as about his lineage.
We get a fine insight into the hierarchy of circus animals and their trainers - and here I would like to stress that even this is a job situation with one or more trainers and one polar bear, there were bonds of love and affection between the two species.
It actually looks very much like the two species shares much more than to be expected, and the prominent University of Life has taught the polar bears quite a bit that may have escaped humans.
The story shifts elegantly between social realism, Marxist analysis and roman de clef.
Of course this gives the narrator a chance to touch upon topics that are typically considered more of the human spheres - but look how intertwined our histories are, even in day to day situations.
My best recommendations.
While the first, surviving, polar bear cub for 33 years in the Berlin ZOO was loved beyond any now-living god, the same attention was not given to his parents and grand parents.
You may remember the almost worldwide grief among polar bear lovers when one morning Knut left the animal world never to return, caused by what later turned out to be encephalitis, a disease never before registered with animals - even in death Knut became famous.
But the story is not as much about Knut as about his lineage.
We get a fine insight into the hierarchy of circus animals and their trainers - and here I would like to stress that even this is a job situation with one or more trainers and one polar bear, there were bonds of love and affection between the two species.
It actually looks very much like the two species shares much more than to be expected, and the prominent University of Life has taught the polar bears quite a bit that may have escaped humans.
The story shifts elegantly between social realism, Marxist analysis and roman de clef.
Of course this gives the narrator a chance to touch upon topics that are typically considered more of the human spheres - but look how intertwined our histories are, even in day to day situations.
My best recommendations.
Read
September 4, 2019о, цю книжку я ілюструвала для "Видавництва"!=) чекаю - не дочекаюся, коли її побачу надрукованою!=) Читала її, відповідно, в рукописі, і перші кілька сторінок була збентежена, що взагалі відбувається. А потім зрозуміла, що це така мова авторки, і дозволила собі по цій мові попливти, по всіх цих асоціаціях і переливах)) Багато натяків, спогадів, відчуттів! Прокидань, зміни точки збірки, переходу в інший вимір)) В рецензії читала, що цей текст як сон - є таке відчуття! Намагалася це враження передати і в ілюстраціях, і собі додавши алюзій в зображеннях.
June 21, 2017
I try to be fair in my reviews but sometimes I can't find a single nice thing to say about a book. The story was so unclear that all I could focus on was how confused I am.
At first I thought it was just hard to understand because you're suddenly immersed in the world of a polar bear. The further I got into the book, I realized that no, the story contradicts itself over and over.
The grandmother's (I don't even remember her name) story was centered around her experiences as a polar bear writing her autobiography. I was willing to suspend my belief for this, but there was no consistency at all. Was she a polar bear with human understanding? Could people communicate with animals now? At times it was like she was a human with a polar bear's description, other times it was like she was an animal people talked to and pretended to understand but there were some things that couldn't be faked. It just made no sense and seemed like it constantly switched.
Later on when one of the performers at the circus tried to train Tosca, she couldn't get her to do as she wanted and said,
"I couldn't think of any trick that might get her to do what I wanted, and she couldn't be talked into it either, since we lacked a common language."
Like can she talk or not???
I also had a problem with the relationships between species. There were hints at bestiality that didn't sit right with me. In the grandmother's section she is hit on by a seal or whatever and their mating is suggested and it was just uncomfortable and gross to read. Then later on in Tosca's chapter, there is a performance in the circus called the Kiss of Death where she takes a sugar cube from her performer's mouth and it was banned in one country. Immediately Tosca's reaction is to be furious.
"Why should I allow some bureaucrat to determine my roundworm quotient? All animals should decide for themselves how many worms to keep in their bellies for optimal health."
Like what? Why was she so insistent on that "kiss," especially if it was deemed she would harm the performer she supposedly care about.
At one point in the novel the characters stop by a zoo and just that they still exist in this world is completely offputting. How could zoos exist in a world where there are polar bear writers and seals that run a publishing company?
Even that was confusing. The grandmother wrote an autobiography, but later in her daughter's time that seems to be completely unthinkable.
"If Tosca were human, of course, she could write an autobiography and have it printed at her own expense. But as an animal, she is doomed to have the pain-filled, female life journey she has embarked on as a bear forgotten after her death."
BUT YOUR MOM WROTE HER AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
The writing wasn't terrible, but it wasn't good either. The transitions were terrible. I was confused between flashback and present time. The description was so poor I couldn't visualize anything that was happening. There was no distinction between voices except the bear references. The circus itself seemed really boring honestly.
I just had too many problems with this book to even finish. I can't. I tried.
At first I thought it was just hard to understand because you're suddenly immersed in the world of a polar bear. The further I got into the book, I realized that no, the story contradicts itself over and over.
The grandmother's (I don't even remember her name) story was centered around her experiences as a polar bear writing her autobiography. I was willing to suspend my belief for this, but there was no consistency at all. Was she a polar bear with human understanding? Could people communicate with animals now? At times it was like she was a human with a polar bear's description, other times it was like she was an animal people talked to and pretended to understand but there were some things that couldn't be faked. It just made no sense and seemed like it constantly switched.
Later on when one of the performers at the circus tried to train Tosca, she couldn't get her to do as she wanted and said,
"I couldn't think of any trick that might get her to do what I wanted, and she couldn't be talked into it either, since we lacked a common language."
Like can she talk or not???
I also had a problem with the relationships between species. There were hints at bestiality that didn't sit right with me. In the grandmother's section she is hit on by a seal or whatever and their mating is suggested and it was just uncomfortable and gross to read. Then later on in Tosca's chapter, there is a performance in the circus called the Kiss of Death where she takes a sugar cube from her performer's mouth and it was banned in one country. Immediately Tosca's reaction is to be furious.
"Why should I allow some bureaucrat to determine my roundworm quotient? All animals should decide for themselves how many worms to keep in their bellies for optimal health."
Like what? Why was she so insistent on that "kiss," especially if it was deemed she would harm the performer she supposedly care about.
At one point in the novel the characters stop by a zoo and just that they still exist in this world is completely offputting. How could zoos exist in a world where there are polar bear writers and seals that run a publishing company?
Even that was confusing. The grandmother wrote an autobiography, but later in her daughter's time that seems to be completely unthinkable.
"If Tosca were human, of course, she could write an autobiography and have it printed at her own expense. But as an animal, she is doomed to have the pain-filled, female life journey she has embarked on as a bear forgotten after her death."
BUT YOUR MOM WROTE HER AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
The writing wasn't terrible, but it wasn't good either. The transitions were terrible. I was confused between flashback and present time. The description was so poor I couldn't visualize anything that was happening. There was no distinction between voices except the bear references. The circus itself seemed really boring honestly.
I just had too many problems with this book to even finish. I can't. I tried.
November 12, 2018
Yoko Tawada büyülü gerçekçiliğe çekiyor okurunu.Hem de üç kuşak kutup ayısının kendi anlattıkları hikayeleriyle.
.
Üç kutup ayısı da konuşabiliyor,düşünüyor ve en önemlisi çevrelerindeki tehlikenin farkına varıyor.
.
Sovyetlerden,Doğu Berlin’e oradan Kanada’ya uzanıyor yolculuk.Ve bu yolculukta sansüre,şiddete,ayrımcılığa değiniyor.Kutup ayıları algılamakta zorluk çekiyor neden sirkte yaşadıklarını,neden iki ayak üzerinde durabilmek için ateşle tehdit edildiklerini,kutupta yaşaması gerekirken dört duvara hangi gerekçe ile sıkıştırıldıklarını.
.
Çoğu yerinde duraksadım kitabın..Uzun yıllardır düşündüklerimi daha etraflıca değerlendirmeye çalıştım.Duygulandım,bazı noktalarda güldüm..bir kutup ayısının otobiyografi yazmasının imgesi dahi yakın geldi bana..
.
Ancak bu kitap okunması kolay olanlardan değil.Hazmedilmesi ağır şeylerden bahsediliyor çünkü.Sirklerin,hayvanat bahçelerinin hatta sivil toplum örgütlerinin dahi arka planında dönen oyunları gösteriyor çünkü.Sovyet dönemi uygulanan baskının ama bir yandan bu baskıdan kaçış yollarının kirliliğinden söz ediyor örneğin.Doğu ile Batı Berlin’in nerede ayrıştığını,gülen yüzlerin aslında ne kadar samimi olduğunu anlıyorsunuz.
.
Üç kutup ayısı da konuşabiliyor,düşünüyor ve en önemlisi çevrelerindeki tehlikenin farkına varıyor.
.
Sovyetlerden,Doğu Berlin’e oradan Kanada’ya uzanıyor yolculuk.Ve bu yolculukta sansüre,şiddete,ayrımcılığa değiniyor.Kutup ayıları algılamakta zorluk çekiyor neden sirkte yaşadıklarını,neden iki ayak üzerinde durabilmek için ateşle tehdit edildiklerini,kutupta yaşaması gerekirken dört duvara hangi gerekçe ile sıkıştırıldıklarını.
.
Çoğu yerinde duraksadım kitabın..Uzun yıllardır düşündüklerimi daha etraflıca değerlendirmeye çalıştım.Duygulandım,bazı noktalarda güldüm..bir kutup ayısının otobiyografi yazmasının imgesi dahi yakın geldi bana..
.
Ancak bu kitap okunması kolay olanlardan değil.Hazmedilmesi ağır şeylerden bahsediliyor çünkü.Sirklerin,hayvanat bahçelerinin hatta sivil toplum örgütlerinin dahi arka planında dönen oyunları gösteriyor çünkü.Sovyet dönemi uygulanan baskının ama bir yandan bu baskıdan kaçış yollarının kirliliğinden söz ediyor örneğin.Doğu ile Batı Berlin’in nerede ayrıştığını,gülen yüzlerin aslında ne kadar samimi olduğunu anlıyorsunuz.
September 23, 2017
I suppose this contains a lot of veiled commentary. Take real people and make them polar bears or take polar bears and give them inconsistent human abilities for... some reason. This was very illogical and very contradictory. I try to rationalize everything I read, so magical realism does not work so well for me.
Really it's how contradictory the story could be that left me scratching my head. What's the use of establishing a fact like "This polar bear can talk" then wiping it to say "it can't communicate at all" and THEN switching to "it can speak to people in dreams"???
It was quick to read. A few lines were great, made me chuckle, or struck home. But taken as a whole, I just didn't get it.
Really it's how contradictory the story could be that left me scratching my head. What's the use of establishing a fact like "This polar bear can talk" then wiping it to say "it can't communicate at all" and THEN switching to "it can speak to people in dreams"???
It was quick to read. A few lines were great, made me chuckle, or struck home. But taken as a whole, I just didn't get it.
July 8, 2019
I won this as a prize for the winter readathon at my library, and it does look interesting enough to read, so ok.
Read at the most superficial level, the blurb reminds me of the picturebook stories about Larry, Irving, and Muktuk by Daniel Pinkwater. The cover reminds me very superficially of The Night Circus. But of course I'll try to read it for its own merits, whenever I get around to it.
---------------
Ok done.
Ambitious... almost succeeds.
Seems original, no doubt, to some readers, but I was reminded of I Am a Cat, The Bear Went Over the Mountain, and even Life of Pi. And of course there's obviously a lot of 'write what you know' going on, given the author's background.
Lots of cleverness. Some beautiful poetic stylings in the beginning that some readers might roll their eyes at, but that I missed when the prose become more, erm, prosaic. Lots of metaphorical themes & commentaries, what with allusions to climate change, East & West Berlin, racism, art, celebrities (), etc. A *L*iterary scholar would have fun dissecting it.
But I think there's a larger message, something to unite the three stories, the generations, and I could not find it. It's definitely not a genre saga, nor is it really about polar bears (though I did learn a lot about them from a scientific pov). What it is, I just couldn't figure out. And it just plain ends, no resolution, no looking towards the future.
I can guess that it might be a sort of 'magical realism' - which I don't normally read and so am not qualified to say anything about - since the group Play Book Tag is doing m.r. this month I will report it there, maybe somebody will have a clue.
From the enchanting beginning:
"The willow trees, elegant, cunning, and overcome with ennui, kept poking their thin fingers into the water, perhaps hoping it would play with them. Pale green shoots punctuated their branches."
(Which reminds me, kudos to the translator, and kudos to the publisher for giving her more credit than is usually given.)
Later, random bits of philosophy and politics show up. A minor character spouts:
"I find it lamentable that we have to keep eating all the time so as not to just die on the spot. I detest 'gourmets.' The act as if food were an ornament that increases the aesthetic value of their lives. Which only works if they suppress all thought of how miserable it is that they have to eat at all."
Read at the most superficial level, the blurb reminds me of the picturebook stories about Larry, Irving, and Muktuk by Daniel Pinkwater. The cover reminds me very superficially of The Night Circus. But of course I'll try to read it for its own merits, whenever I get around to it.
---------------
Ok done.
Ambitious... almost succeeds.
Seems original, no doubt, to some readers, but I was reminded of I Am a Cat, The Bear Went Over the Mountain, and even Life of Pi. And of course there's obviously a lot of 'write what you know' going on, given the author's background.
Lots of cleverness. Some beautiful poetic stylings in the beginning that some readers might roll their eyes at, but that I missed when the prose become more, erm, prosaic. Lots of metaphorical themes & commentaries, what with allusions to climate change, East & West Berlin, racism, art, celebrities (), etc. A *L*iterary scholar would have fun dissecting it.
But I think there's a larger message, something to unite the three stories, the generations, and I could not find it. It's definitely not a genre saga, nor is it really about polar bears (though I did learn a lot about them from a scientific pov). What it is, I just couldn't figure out. And it just plain ends, no resolution, no looking towards the future.
I can guess that it might be a sort of 'magical realism' - which I don't normally read and so am not qualified to say anything about - since the group Play Book Tag is doing m.r. this month I will report it there, maybe somebody will have a clue.
From the enchanting beginning:
"The willow trees, elegant, cunning, and overcome with ennui, kept poking their thin fingers into the water, perhaps hoping it would play with them. Pale green shoots punctuated their branches."
(Which reminds me, kudos to the translator, and kudos to the publisher for giving her more credit than is usually given.)
Later, random bits of philosophy and politics show up. A minor character spouts:
"I find it lamentable that we have to keep eating all the time so as not to just die on the spot. I detest 'gourmets.' The act as if food were an ornament that increases the aesthetic value of their lives. Which only works if they suppress all thought of how miserable it is that they have to eat at all."
January 24, 2022
¿Me gustó? Si.
¿Creo haber entendido y comprendido cada una de sus partes? No.
Memorias de una osa polar es una historia que narra la vida de tres generaciones de osos polares que tienen en común los vínculos de sangre, son abuela, madre y nieto. El libro se divide en tres partes, de manera que cada una de ellas narra la historia de cada integrante y cómo es su personalidad y su integración a ambientes como el circo o el zoológico, sin embargo, lo curioso de este libro es que la narración no la realizan únicamente sus protagonistas osunos, hay un juego de narradores que va brincando en cada una de las partes, a veces te habla la entrenadora de Tosca, después es Tosca y así sucesivamente va alternando.
Es cierto que el libro tiene como protagonistas a unos animales, pero está escrito de una forma que parecen humanos, haciendo y teniendo pensamientos y acciones humanas, de pronto los protagonistas se encuentran en situaciones donde se ven a otros osos creando sindicatos, a los protagonistas dándose cuenta de la muerte, la popularidad, la soledad, el racismo, la esclavitud, el maltrato, etc. Todo esto se presta mucho para que se cree una oportunidad de reflexión sobre nuestra realidad.
(si alguien ha visto el anime Beastars, bueno… por ahí va un poco este estilo, sólo que aquí sí hay humanos conviviendo conjuntamente)
Sinceramente, considero que es un buen libro por todos los temas que trae a la mesa, aunque también es un poco enredoso. La narrativa es sencilla, fluida, amena, pero la dirección y reflexiones de los personajes de pronto te pierden un poco por algunos saltos en el tiempo o por esta cuestión de realidad VS imaginación que a veces ocurre en sus mentes, en ratos me pregunté si realmente había entendido lo que sucedía en esas partes, era alucinación, imaginación o la realidad. Fuera de este asunto, es un libro interesante.
¿Creo haber entendido y comprendido cada una de sus partes? No.
Memorias de una osa polar es una historia que narra la vida de tres generaciones de osos polares que tienen en común los vínculos de sangre, son abuela, madre y nieto. El libro se divide en tres partes, de manera que cada una de ellas narra la historia de cada integrante y cómo es su personalidad y su integración a ambientes como el circo o el zoológico, sin embargo, lo curioso de este libro es que la narración no la realizan únicamente sus protagonistas osunos, hay un juego de narradores que va brincando en cada una de las partes, a veces te habla la entrenadora de Tosca, después es Tosca y así sucesivamente va alternando.
Es cierto que el libro tiene como protagonistas a unos animales, pero está escrito de una forma que parecen humanos, haciendo y teniendo pensamientos y acciones humanas, de pronto los protagonistas se encuentran en situaciones donde se ven a otros osos creando sindicatos, a los protagonistas dándose cuenta de la muerte, la popularidad, la soledad, el racismo, la esclavitud, el maltrato, etc. Todo esto se presta mucho para que se cree una oportunidad de reflexión sobre nuestra realidad.
(si alguien ha visto el anime Beastars, bueno… por ahí va un poco este estilo, sólo que aquí sí hay humanos conviviendo conjuntamente)
Sinceramente, considero que es un buen libro por todos los temas que trae a la mesa, aunque también es un poco enredoso. La narrativa es sencilla, fluida, amena, pero la dirección y reflexiones de los personajes de pronto te pierden un poco por algunos saltos en el tiempo o por esta cuestión de realidad VS imaginación que a veces ocurre en sus mentes, en ratos me pregunté si realmente había entendido lo que sucedía en esas partes, era alucinación, imaginación o la realidad. Fuera de este asunto, es un libro interesante.
February 12, 2017
Gabriel García Márquez once wrote about the publication of his first story. He left it with the receptionist at El Espectador, too abashed to meet directly with the editor Eduardo Zalamea. Two weeks later he chanced to discover his story featured prominently in the publication. Elated, he desperately searched in vain for five centavos in order to purchase a copy. His dejection was alleviated only by the last minute acquisition of a cast-off copy of El Espectador begged from a stranger who was done with the paper. The author also admits to mixed feelings. On the one hand he was now a published author basking in the admiration of his friends. On the other hand, he was able to cast a critical eye on his story and he was realizing that many of his admirers had either misunderstood his intentions or had only given the piece a cursory reading. As was customary, he received no payment for the story. (The New Yorker, Oct. 6, 2003, p.101-105)
I wondered if Tawada had this anecdote in mind as she wrote MEMOIRS OF A POLAR BEAR. The conceit of this slim three-part novel is that a Russian polar bear has the sudden compulsion to write her autobiography. After she begins, she realizes her need for an audience (she was an ex-circus performer, after all). She approaches a former admirer turned seedy publisher, named Sea Lion. Sea Lion surreptitiously adds a title to the work and publishes it as the first in a series. Of course, no payment is forthcoming to the author. The polar bear is outraged; but succumbs to pressure, and continues to submit new chapters. The memoir is translated into German, again, without her permission, and suddenly becomes popular and controversial. She receives an invitation to participate in a project to plant orange trees — in Siberia.
This book is gently satirical, and, I suspect, filled with insider jokes I failed to recognize. The bear's charm lies in her mix of bearish proclivities and human-like behaviors. Sea Lion easily diverts her outrage by offerings of chocolate (undoubtedly obtained on the Russian black market). She writes impassively about her circus training, including the cruel footwear her trainer Ivan used to force her to walk on two legs. An overachiever, she injures herself during dance practice, and is given an administrative assignment. Her duties include attending conferences. At first she revels in this public showcase. As in the circus, she has a captive audience. Her outspoken views are no more outrageous or substantive than the themes of the conferences. Later, she becomes disillusioned, even taking the risk of refusing a panel discussion: “Panel discussions are like rabbits — usually what happens during such a session is that further sessions are declared necessary — and if nothing is done to prevent this, they multiply so quickly and become so numerous that it is no longer possible to provide a sufficient number of participants, even if we all devote most of each day to these sessions.” (p.15) It's a very human observation, followed up by a rueful observation that as a polar bear, she cannot fall back on the usual excuses, a bad cold or the deaths of fictional relatives.
Political satire and authorial angst are interwoven with preternatural events. I found these dream-like episodes the most affecting parts of the book. In part one the polar bear imagines her long dead trainer Ivan standing next to her. The smell of him, the sound of him, feel real in that moment. She writes: “Ivan, dead within me for so many years, came back to life because I was writing about him.” (p.12) Part two begins narrated by a gifted animal trainer named Barbara. Barbara develops an intimate bond with the bear's daughter, Tosca. Barbara's sleep morphs into a communion with Tosca, as if they are dreaming the same dream simultaneously. The narrative becomes liquid, gradually flowing into Tosca's voice, until memories become the final reality. The ending of part two is haunting. Part three is narrated by Tosca's son Knut, born in a Berlin zoo. It is perhaps the most poignant of the three stories, tracking Knut's birth and nurturing by Matthias his keeper, constant companion, and mentor. Knut becomes deeply attached to Matthias, and when he becomes too big to have a human companion, becomes deeply depressed until he meets a ghostly presence named Michael to whom he confides his secret yearning for freedom. It is the flowering of dreams he's had since infancy when his grandmother would appear to him: “I'm not only your grandmother, I'm also your great-grandmother and your great-great-grandmother. I am the superimposition of numerous ancestors. From the front you see only a single figure, but behind me is an infinitely long line of ancestors. I am not one, I am many.” (p.214)
This is a strange book. The three parts are very different in style and voice. It is almost a collection of three separate novellas. Without doubt, readers will have a favorite among the three. Knut's story, the last, is certainly the most accessible. I was drawn to the book by a review in The Economist. Having read it, however, I had mixed feelings. Was the conceit of the sentient polar bear sufficient to carry the reader through three stories? I felt I was missing nuances the author had in mind.
NOTES:
Interview with the translator, Susan Bernofsky
https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/s...
The cover art by Alyssa Cartwright is charming and captures the imaginative spirit of the book. This website gives other examples of her art.
http://www.alyssacartwright.com/the-j...
I wondered if Tawada had this anecdote in mind as she wrote MEMOIRS OF A POLAR BEAR. The conceit of this slim three-part novel is that a Russian polar bear has the sudden compulsion to write her autobiography. After she begins, she realizes her need for an audience (she was an ex-circus performer, after all). She approaches a former admirer turned seedy publisher, named Sea Lion. Sea Lion surreptitiously adds a title to the work and publishes it as the first in a series. Of course, no payment is forthcoming to the author. The polar bear is outraged; but succumbs to pressure, and continues to submit new chapters. The memoir is translated into German, again, without her permission, and suddenly becomes popular and controversial. She receives an invitation to participate in a project to plant orange trees — in Siberia.
This book is gently satirical, and, I suspect, filled with insider jokes I failed to recognize. The bear's charm lies in her mix of bearish proclivities and human-like behaviors. Sea Lion easily diverts her outrage by offerings of chocolate (undoubtedly obtained on the Russian black market). She writes impassively about her circus training, including the cruel footwear her trainer Ivan used to force her to walk on two legs. An overachiever, she injures herself during dance practice, and is given an administrative assignment. Her duties include attending conferences. At first she revels in this public showcase. As in the circus, she has a captive audience. Her outspoken views are no more outrageous or substantive than the themes of the conferences. Later, she becomes disillusioned, even taking the risk of refusing a panel discussion: “Panel discussions are like rabbits — usually what happens during such a session is that further sessions are declared necessary — and if nothing is done to prevent this, they multiply so quickly and become so numerous that it is no longer possible to provide a sufficient number of participants, even if we all devote most of each day to these sessions.” (p.15) It's a very human observation, followed up by a rueful observation that as a polar bear, she cannot fall back on the usual excuses, a bad cold or the deaths of fictional relatives.
Political satire and authorial angst are interwoven with preternatural events. I found these dream-like episodes the most affecting parts of the book. In part one the polar bear imagines her long dead trainer Ivan standing next to her. The smell of him, the sound of him, feel real in that moment. She writes: “Ivan, dead within me for so many years, came back to life because I was writing about him.” (p.12) Part two begins narrated by a gifted animal trainer named Barbara. Barbara develops an intimate bond with the bear's daughter, Tosca. Barbara's sleep morphs into a communion with Tosca, as if they are dreaming the same dream simultaneously. The narrative becomes liquid, gradually flowing into Tosca's voice, until memories become the final reality. The ending of part two is haunting. Part three is narrated by Tosca's son Knut, born in a Berlin zoo. It is perhaps the most poignant of the three stories, tracking Knut's birth and nurturing by Matthias his keeper, constant companion, and mentor. Knut becomes deeply attached to Matthias, and when he becomes too big to have a human companion, becomes deeply depressed until he meets a ghostly presence named Michael to whom he confides his secret yearning for freedom. It is the flowering of dreams he's had since infancy when his grandmother would appear to him: “I'm not only your grandmother, I'm also your great-grandmother and your great-great-grandmother. I am the superimposition of numerous ancestors. From the front you see only a single figure, but behind me is an infinitely long line of ancestors. I am not one, I am many.” (p.214)
This is a strange book. The three parts are very different in style and voice. It is almost a collection of three separate novellas. Without doubt, readers will have a favorite among the three. Knut's story, the last, is certainly the most accessible. I was drawn to the book by a review in The Economist. Having read it, however, I had mixed feelings. Was the conceit of the sentient polar bear sufficient to carry the reader through three stories? I felt I was missing nuances the author had in mind.
NOTES:
Interview with the translator, Susan Bernofsky
https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/s...
The cover art by Alyssa Cartwright is charming and captures the imaginative spirit of the book. This website gives other examples of her art.
http://www.alyssacartwright.com/the-j...
November 23, 2020
Şöyle bir yazı yazdım: https://www.bozkirkitapligi.com/post/...
Did not finish
October 23, 2021100 sayfa okudum, devam etmeyeceğim.
Anlatım dili kötü değil, akıcı diyebiliriz ama hikaye çok dolu. Yazar pek çok konuyu aynı anda ele almaya çalışmış. Gerçek ile hayal başarılı bir şekilde iç içe geçmiyor. Hayvanların ve insanların nerede başlayıp bittiği belirsiz. Gerçi yazar romanın başında amacının da zaten bu olduğunu belirtmiş yazdıklarında. Fakat kimi yerlerde ayrıntılar saçma geliyor, üzerinde durulmak istenen konuyla anlatılan uyuşmuyor. Kısacası büyülü gerçekçilik (magical realism) kısmı zayıf kalmış. Yazarın yeteneği bize göz kırpıyor aslında, hikayelerini daha sade tutsa daha okunası olabilir belki kitapları.
Bu yıl insan ve diğer türler arası oldukça etkileyici bir dönüşüm/geçiş hikayesi içeren bir kitap okudum. Aklımda o hikaye kalacak. Bu kitapta ise dönüşümlere ait sebepler, sorgulamalar güzel kotarılamamış.
Anlatım dili kötü değil, akıcı diyebiliriz ama hikaye çok dolu. Yazar pek çok konuyu aynı anda ele almaya çalışmış. Gerçek ile hayal başarılı bir şekilde iç içe geçmiyor. Hayvanların ve insanların nerede başlayıp bittiği belirsiz. Gerçi yazar romanın başında amacının da zaten bu olduğunu belirtmiş yazdıklarında. Fakat kimi yerlerde ayrıntılar saçma geliyor, üzerinde durulmak istenen konuyla anlatılan uyuşmuyor. Kısacası büyülü gerçekçilik (magical realism) kısmı zayıf kalmış. Yazarın yeteneği bize göz kırpıyor aslında, hikayelerini daha sade tutsa daha okunası olabilir belki kitapları.
Bu yıl insan ve diğer türler arası oldukça etkileyici bir dönüşüm/geçiş hikayesi içeren bir kitap okudum. Aklımda o hikaye kalacak. Bu kitapta ise dönüşümlere ait sebepler, sorgulamalar güzel kotarılamamış.
October 18, 2021
altta berlin duvari, sosyalizm, hayvan haklari, sirkler, hayvanat bahceleri, insan haklari irdelenirken, ustte oyuncu bir dil, anlaticinin degismesi, kendini saklamasi veya arada sezdirmesi, olaylarin hizli gecisi gibi farkli bilesenlerle sizi hirpalayan ve o karar hirpalanmanin sonucu dikkatinizi bir an kaybettiginizde de ayaginizin altindaki zemin kaymis gibi hissettirip hep birkac cumle geriye donerek okuma gerekliligi hissettiren ilginc bir kitap oldu bir kutup ayisinin anilari. iste boyle anlamsiz derecede uzuuun bir cumleyle acikladigim sebeplerden dolayi da hem cok sevdigim hem de sevemedigim bir kitap oldu.
kisaca okudugum icin mutlu ve yorgunum diyebilirim:)
“atalarim butun kis korunakli magaralarinda uyurlarmis. ben de yilda bir kez olsun geri cekilebilsem ne hos olurdu; bahar gelip beni cagirana dek. gercek bir kis ne isik bilir, ne gurultu ne de mesai. buyuk sehirlerde kis gitgide kisaliyordu, onunla beraber yasamin uzunlugu da.”
kisaca okudugum icin mutlu ve yorgunum diyebilirim:)
“atalarim butun kis korunakli magaralarinda uyurlarmis. ben de yilda bir kez olsun geri cekilebilsem ne hos olurdu; bahar gelip beni cagirana dek. gercek bir kis ne isik bilir, ne gurultu ne de mesai. buyuk sehirlerde kis gitgide kisaliyordu, onunla beraber yasamin uzunlugu da.”
February 29, 2024
ilk bölüm muhteşemdi, ikincisi de hiç fena değildi ama üçüncü bölüm ikincinin sündürülmesi gibi hissettirdi okurken. sanki yazar ilk bölümdeki daldan dala atlayan, bir sürü konuda bir sürü şey anlatmaya yönelik esnekliğini ve iştahını zamanla yitirmiş, bu da romana ivme kaybettirmişti. yine de genel olarak harika bir hayal gücünün ürünü olan çok keyifli bir kurgu okuduğumu söyleyebilirim.
November 4, 2020
I reread this in preparation for another book by Yoko Tawada being available in my Libby app. This story with the polar was somewhat absurd but absolutely beautiful and lyrical. It was such an interesting story following the bears and it had a special feeling about the story I never felt before
November 10, 2023
Memorias de una oso polar de la japonesa afincada en Alemania Yoko Tawada, convoca a tres peculiares historias de osos, enlazadas por un lado por los lazos familiares evidentes, como así también por la condición de extrañeza que cada uno posee en relación al contexto en el que están inmersos. La abuela, su hija Tosca y el nieto Knut, cada uno enfrentado a contextos histórico-políticos que recorren al siglo XX y parte del XXI, forasteros y extraños, reflexionan acerca de sus propias vivencias y las relaciones que entablan con quienes les rodean. Son diversos los temas que cada uno visita, los que están estrechamente relacionados con los tiempos que a cada uno le toca vivir: La censura, la persecución política, la manipulación de los medios, el lenguaje, las fronteras, son temas que, al ser osos en un medio antinatural, son observados desde una posición distanciada, diferente y desajustada a la lógica usual que les rodea, permitiendo a los lectores atender una historia marcada por lo extraño,
Un libro que trastoca la fábula tradicional. Una fábula en negativo. Los osos, convertidos en metáfora, proponen indagar acerca de la condición humana de aquellos que viven a la distancia de aquellos que les rodean y les rodea. Sueños, autobiografías, correos, diarios, gestos, números de circo, visiones, son algunos de los puentes que construyen los osos para hacerse entender, esfuerzos que cruzan a toda la novela.
Tawada recrea una historia con una extraña belleza alojada en la mirada del oso, desbordando inteligencia para convertir al libro en una historia acerca del desarraigo, la comunicación y las distancias tristemente insalvables.
Interesante, entretenida y que, curiosamente, me hizo transitar entre la tristeza y la apreciación del encanto de los tres osos que protagonizan esta historia.
Un libro que trastoca la fábula tradicional. Una fábula en negativo. Los osos, convertidos en metáfora, proponen indagar acerca de la condición humana de aquellos que viven a la distancia de aquellos que les rodean y les rodea. Sueños, autobiografías, correos, diarios, gestos, números de circo, visiones, son algunos de los puentes que construyen los osos para hacerse entender, esfuerzos que cruzan a toda la novela.
Tawada recrea una historia con una extraña belleza alojada en la mirada del oso, desbordando inteligencia para convertir al libro en una historia acerca del desarraigo, la comunicación y las distancias tristemente insalvables.
Interesante, entretenida y que, curiosamente, me hizo transitar entre la tristeza y la apreciación del encanto de los tres osos que protagonizan esta historia.
December 24, 2020
Okuması çok hoş bir kitapti. Çevirinin güzelliği için Zehra Kurttekine teşekkürler. Yazarın kutup ayıları hakkinda belgesel tadında derin bilgiye sahip olması güzel bir detaydi. Üç kusak kutup ayısının hayat hikayesini okurken bazı sosyal olayları da onların gözünden görmek ilginçti.
August 28, 2019
I read Yoko Tawada’s Memoirs of a Polar Bear for 'Women in Translation' month and the with only 10 pages in I realised the import of reading works that have been written in languages other than the ones I understand. My notion of a straightforward reality keeled over as I went deeper into the dreamlike space carefully contrived by Tawada to engender a blurring of boundaries between the world we inhabit and the world inhabited by other species.
Memoirs of a Polar Bear is about what happens when you enter the minds of animals and see them as you would see a human being. Divided into three parts, the book portrays three generations of polar bears, each of them with different life trajectories that unfold for us to witness. The first section starts with the matriarch who retires from the circus and becomes a writer, publishing an autobiography that becomes an instant hit.
The second section talks about Tosca, the matriarch’s daughter who is a famous circus performer. This section is the most bizarre as Tosca’s trainer Barbar’s and Tosca’s voices merge together to beget a slightly incoherent narration. Barbara and Tosca visit each other in their dreams relaying stories about their childhood. Personally, this section seemed the most eerie to me with little authenticity whatsoever.
The third and last section of the book is perhaps the most touching and humane of them all. We enter the mind of Knut, the child Tosca abandoned. Knut is an adorable cub who is raised by Matthias, a human being working in a Berlin zoo. Since baby polar bears are prone to mortality in the months following their birth, he is the centre of attention for everyone in the zoo. Christian is the appointed doctor who keeps a check on Knut’s weight, diet and growth while Matthias easily slips into the role of Knut’s foster mother. Winning everyone over with his cuteness, Knut ascends to international celebrity. This section was my favourite as I felt that Tawada was emphasising the importance of coexistence. But even more than that, I believe she was making a point about how human beings can live in harmony with other species, there is a way and we must reach for it.
With the Amazon rainforest burning to ashes and climate change looming tall over us, this book is highly relevant. Tawada's Knut and Tosca are based on actual polar bears of the same name. Tosca, like in the story, was actually a circus performer while Knut, raised in a zoo in Berlin, was actually abandoned by Tosca. By rendering polar bears with human-like qualities, Tawada makes them visible to us. The inevitable question, then, is - Are we really that arrogant? Do we remain ignorant to other species that exist on this planet solely because they do not reveal themselves to us in recognisable forms? Oh, the audacity of humans! The vile arrogance! The misplaced self-importance!
Memoirs of a Polar Bear is about what happens when you enter the minds of animals and see them as you would see a human being. Divided into three parts, the book portrays three generations of polar bears, each of them with different life trajectories that unfold for us to witness. The first section starts with the matriarch who retires from the circus and becomes a writer, publishing an autobiography that becomes an instant hit.
The second section talks about Tosca, the matriarch’s daughter who is a famous circus performer. This section is the most bizarre as Tosca’s trainer Barbar’s and Tosca’s voices merge together to beget a slightly incoherent narration. Barbara and Tosca visit each other in their dreams relaying stories about their childhood. Personally, this section seemed the most eerie to me with little authenticity whatsoever.
The third and last section of the book is perhaps the most touching and humane of them all. We enter the mind of Knut, the child Tosca abandoned. Knut is an adorable cub who is raised by Matthias, a human being working in a Berlin zoo. Since baby polar bears are prone to mortality in the months following their birth, he is the centre of attention for everyone in the zoo. Christian is the appointed doctor who keeps a check on Knut’s weight, diet and growth while Matthias easily slips into the role of Knut’s foster mother. Winning everyone over with his cuteness, Knut ascends to international celebrity. This section was my favourite as I felt that Tawada was emphasising the importance of coexistence. But even more than that, I believe she was making a point about how human beings can live in harmony with other species, there is a way and we must reach for it.
With the Amazon rainforest burning to ashes and climate change looming tall over us, this book is highly relevant. Tawada's Knut and Tosca are based on actual polar bears of the same name. Tosca, like in the story, was actually a circus performer while Knut, raised in a zoo in Berlin, was actually abandoned by Tosca. By rendering polar bears with human-like qualities, Tawada makes them visible to us. The inevitable question, then, is - Are we really that arrogant? Do we remain ignorant to other species that exist on this planet solely because they do not reveal themselves to us in recognisable forms? Oh, the audacity of humans! The vile arrogance! The misplaced self-importance!
December 6, 2019
This is exactly as advertised: memoirs of a polar bear (or bears.) The fact that they are polar bears is almost coincidental. They don't understand all humans, but they each seem to find at least one with whom they can communicate and love. Through these polar bears, though, Tawada is able to explore all kinds of things: from the bonds of children & mothers to politics & the cost/benefits of socialism/capitalism to writing, to "intermarriage and mating," to the reunification of Germany to basic old relationships, and some of the many misunderstandings and trip-wires found in all of these things.
I was interested in part one and gobbled it up - a bit unsure that I was reading what I was obviously reading. Then I got super comfortable with part two about Tosca (the daughter of the "grandmother" who writes part one.) I enjoyed the story of Tosca and her trainer and partner. I was deeply into that bit, so I was a touch put off when Tosca's part ended and I was unceremoniously dumped into the story of Knut. (Even though I knew he was coming because there is foreshadowing and suchlike.)
However, Knut won me over (you could say he played me in the same way the circus played on its patrons.) I fell in love with Knut, begrudgingly at first then with complete abandon. There is so much here, in such a simple story (that isn't simple at all once you think about it for two seconds.) But the language itself is simple and not "HEY! I AM A POLAR BEAR WRITING AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY" so when the characters (bears) use the internet or have philosophical talks or worry about climate, it seems perfectly natural that they would do such things. So much so that when Knut is finally treated like an animal, it shook my faith in humanity.
This is a clever book that is so good it doesn't want me to say how clever it is. It's actually clever, not just performing clever.
I could take a load of guesses about what might have brought Tawada to write these particular memoirs, but I don't know her, and that would be obnoxious. Let's just say that I got a lot from reading it, not just about performing polar bears.
I'm so glad for things like the WIT project, the Warwick prize, etc for helping me find books I would not have found on my own. This is certainly one of those books. I meant to read it ages ago, and I finally treated myself to a copy. I'm glad I did.
I was interested in part one and gobbled it up - a bit unsure that I was reading what I was obviously reading. Then I got super comfortable with part two about Tosca (the daughter of the "grandmother" who writes part one.) I enjoyed the story of Tosca and her trainer and partner. I was deeply into that bit, so I was a touch put off when Tosca's part ended and I was unceremoniously dumped into the story of Knut. (Even though I knew he was coming because there is foreshadowing and suchlike.)
However, Knut won me over (you could say he played me in the same way the circus played on its patrons.) I fell in love with Knut, begrudgingly at first then with complete abandon. There is so much here, in such a simple story (that isn't simple at all once you think about it for two seconds.) But the language itself is simple and not "HEY! I AM A POLAR BEAR WRITING AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY" so when the characters (bears) use the internet or have philosophical talks or worry about climate, it seems perfectly natural that they would do such things. So much so that when Knut is finally treated like an animal, it shook my faith in humanity.
This is a clever book that is so good it doesn't want me to say how clever it is. It's actually clever, not just performing clever.
I could take a load of guesses about what might have brought Tawada to write these particular memoirs, but I don't know her, and that would be obnoxious. Let's just say that I got a lot from reading it, not just about performing polar bears.
I'm so glad for things like the WIT project, the Warwick prize, etc for helping me find books I would not have found on my own. This is certainly one of those books. I meant to read it ages ago, and I finally treated myself to a copy. I'm glad I did.
August 31, 2021
“I think hunting used to be important for human survival. That’s no longer the case, but they can’t stop. A human being, perhaps, is made up of many nonsensical movements. But they’ve forgotten the movements necessary for life. These humans are manipulated by what remains of their memories.”
“When I sat in my room licking the tip of my pencil, I wanted to go on licking it all winter long, not seeing anyone, just working on my autobiography. Writing isn’t particularly different from hibernation. Perhaps I made a drowsy impression, but in the bear’s den of my brain, I was giving birth to my own childhood and secretly attending to its upbringing.”
Although not especially long, a dense read. Translated from the German by Susan Bernofsky, it is indeed the fictional memoirs of not one, but three generations of polar bears. The first is raised to do circus tricks in the Soviet Union, then begins attending conferences with great enthusiasm before embarking on her autobiography. The middle section is that of her daughter, who becomes a circus bear in the GDR. The third is the memoir of Knut, Tosca’s son, who is a young bear in the Berlin Zoo. The outline of the structure really doesn’t convey the complexity and the slipperiness between and within the sections. I especially enjoyed the first and third parts, while the middle one dragged somewhat (Tosca’s story is told through a very confusing kind of shared dream with her human trainer). The final tale of Knut is very poignant, all the more so as it was based on a real bear. Themes of isolation, language and communication, and migration, stories within stories, shifting voices - dense and sometimes puzzling, but also sometimes quite rewarding.
“When I sat in my room licking the tip of my pencil, I wanted to go on licking it all winter long, not seeing anyone, just working on my autobiography. Writing isn’t particularly different from hibernation. Perhaps I made a drowsy impression, but in the bear’s den of my brain, I was giving birth to my own childhood and secretly attending to its upbringing.”
Although not especially long, a dense read. Translated from the German by Susan Bernofsky, it is indeed the fictional memoirs of not one, but three generations of polar bears. The first is raised to do circus tricks in the Soviet Union, then begins attending conferences with great enthusiasm before embarking on her autobiography. The middle section is that of her daughter, who becomes a circus bear in the GDR. The third is the memoir of Knut, Tosca’s son, who is a young bear in the Berlin Zoo. The outline of the structure really doesn’t convey the complexity and the slipperiness between and within the sections. I especially enjoyed the first and third parts, while the middle one dragged somewhat (Tosca’s story is told through a very confusing kind of shared dream with her human trainer). The final tale of Knut is very poignant, all the more so as it was based on a real bear. Themes of isolation, language and communication, and migration, stories within stories, shifting voices - dense and sometimes puzzling, but also sometimes quite rewarding.
October 21, 2016
Fantastic, particularly Chapters One and Three. Brilliant translation, as always, by Susan Bernofsky. Adored this book.
November 4, 2021
Puan ve yorum kitap kulübümle masaya yatırdıktan sonra gelecek 💪🏻
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