Daimón

by Abel Posse

Almost totally unknown in North America before the publication of his prizewinning novel, The Dogs of Paradise, in 1990, Abel Posse received the highest praise for his first book to appear in English. The Dogs of Paradise is about Columbus, and in Daimon, Posse continues his trilogy about the early encounters between Europeans and his native continent in a book about Lope de Aguirre, one of the most rapacious conquistadores. Aguirre was one of Pizarro's lieutenants in the conquest of Peru. At a critical moment on an expedition in the Amazon he threw over everything that was valuable to him, slaying his comrades (including his fifteen-year-old daughter), betraying his commander, his king, and even his God to establish "the first free territory of America," the Maranon Empire. From his jungle fastness Aguirre dreamed of seizing Peru, reconquering Spain, and taking over the world. Cruel, amoral, believing "solely in the will to power, the revels of war, the heat of delirium," Aguirre in real life was unable to realize his brutal ambitions. But in this brilliant reimagining of his story, we see an Aguirre who lived on after death, aging and suffering in the Eternal Return, with profound implications for both the Old World and the New. Baroque, erotic, surreal, and profoundly ironic, Daimon is fully the equal of Abel Posse's The Dogs of Paradise, which the San Francisco Chronicle described as "astonishing in its inventiveness, richness of historical detail, and vividness of description."

Genres: Classics, Fiction

Paperback

First published January 1, 1978

About the author

Abel Posse nació en la provincia de Córdoba. Creció y se educó en Buenos Aires. Diplomático de carrera, vivió varios años en Moscú, Lima, Venecia, París, Israel y Praga, donde actualmente se desempeña como embajador argentino en la República Checa. Es autor de nueve novelas, entre ellas Los perros del paraíso, que obtuvo en 1987 el V Premio Internacional Rómulo Gallegos, máximo galardón literario de Hispanoamérica. Su obra ha sido traducida al inglés, francés, italiano, alemán, portugués, holandés, sueco, checo, ruso y estonio. Con su novela El largo atardecer del caminante ganó el concurso Extremadura-América 92, convocado por la Comisión Española del V Centenario y dotado con 150.000 dólares de premio.

http://www.literatura.org/Posse/Posse...

Abel Parentini Posse, born Córdoba, Argentina, on 7 January 1934, is an Argentine diplomat and writer. He was designated at a diplomatic mission in Venice by Alejandro Agustín Lanusse in 1973[1] and hold similar offices during the following Argentine governments, both military and civilian. He was briefly considered as a possible foreign minister of Néstor Kirchner by the beginning of his mandate in 2003,[1] but the role was finally designated to Rafael Bielsa.
Parentini's 1983 work Los perros del paraíso won the Venezuelan Rómulo Gallegos Prize.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abel_Posse

Reviews

[Lucila Armentano · Rating 4 out of 5]

excellent book to read and re-read...

[Merlin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Oi, kuidas läks mul aega selle raamatu lugemisega. Iseenesest pole ju pikk, aga mina rohkem kui 20 lehekülge korraga ei suutnud seda lugeda. Alustasin vist suure hurraaga temaga kuskil 9-11 jaanuar, aga lõpetasin alles nüüd. Ausalt - mul tekkis tahtmine see vahepeal riiulisse ära panna ning mitte kunagi enam kätte võtta. Kuskil 50-70 lehekülge ei saanud ma muhvigi aru, mis siin raamatus toimub - mingid Hispaania vallutajad Lõuna-Ameerikas ringi kondamas, mingeid surnuid mättasse löömas ning seda siis aastast 1492 kuni 1977. Jep, saite õigesti aru - tegemist on ajarännakuga. Kui see raamat poleks nimekirjas olnud, mis siia pandi, siis ise poleks kohe seda ulmeks nimetanud. Ma ikka harjunud, et ulme selline ilus galaktika ja puha.
Peategelane, keda me siis jälgime on Pizarro leitnant Aguirre. Üks parajalt vastik, ülbe, rõve tegelane! Ausalt - seda tüüpi sa armastama ei hakka. Ta on matslik, egotsentrik ja vihahoogudega, nii et isegi tänapäeva psühholoog jookseks ta juurest minema. Ta tappis oma 15-aastase tütre, sest “maailmas pole kedagi, kes teda kaitseks nagu mina”... Võtame õige pausi ja kaalume seda lauset. Tehtu? Nii, kus ma jäingi - appi! Lisaks ta käitus oma sõduritega nagu need oleksid putukad - piinas, vigastas, mõnitas, tappis (uuesti) ja mida kõike veel… Ma saan aru, et hispaania keeles oleks tegemist väga kunstiliku teosega ja seda oli ka tunda, aga nu hispaanlaste suhtumine ellu ja moraal on nii vastukäiv lihtsalt. Kõik need kirjeldused, roppused, rõvedused lihtsalt ei andnud võimalust seda ilu nautida. Või siis on minu jaoks see liiga “peen” teos, et mõista. Kokkuvõttes - kui sa pole just Hispaania autorite fänn või väga kindla ulme nautija, siis väga ei soovita seda teost kätte võtta.

[Steven Felicelli · Rating 2 out of 5]

A subjective two stars. I just don't have the patience for this kind of narrative (Canaima, Salammbo, Blood Meridian, The Ice Shirt, et al.). It actually seems to be pretty well written and thought out for a book of this sort.

[Delia Salazar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anyone interested in Latin American culture should read this book. There's nothing historical in the dream-like sequence of events, and at the same time, it's Latin American history in one bite.