What do you think?
Rate this book
Αυτόματο
Στη νήσο Ντεσολασιόν, τελευταίο νησί στον πορθμό του Μαγγελάνου, η Γκρασιέλα Πάβικ ανακάλυψε ένα παράξενο μεταλλικό αντικείμενο με τη μορφή τρομερού πολεμιστή, μοναδικό κομμάτι ενός ψεύτικου στρατού αυτομάτων, που ο Σορμιέντο ντε Γκαμπόα είχε μεταφέρει εκεί κατόπιν εντολής του Φιλίππου Β’ της Ισπανίας για να απωθεί τις πειρατικές επιθέσεις. Το ίδιο αυτόματο εικονίζεται σε μια φωτογραφία της δεκαετίας του ’20 μαζί με τους παππούδες του Όλιβερ Γκρίφιν, σε ένα ταξίδι τους στο Πούντα Αρένας. Αυτό το αντικείμενο θα παρακινήσει τον Γκρίφιν, άνθρωπο παθιασμένο με την έννοια της αφάνειας, να ταξιδέψει στα τέλη του 20ου αιώνα μέχρι το στενό του Μαγγελάνου, για να ανασυνθέσει μια ιστορία που συνδέει μυστηριωδώς τη ζωή του με την εμφάνιση του αυτόματου και τους μάγους Μελβίκιο και Λεβ που έζησαν στην Πράγα τον 16ο αιώνα. (. . .) (ΑΠΟ ΤΗΝ ΠΑΡΟΥΣΙΑΣΗ ΣΤΟ ΟΠΙΣΘΟΦΥΛΛΟ ΤΟΥ ΒΙΒΛΙΟΥ)
- GenresFiction
448 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2006
3 people are currently reading
56 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
January 20, 2019
Ένα αλληγορικό (κ κάποιες φορές φλύαρο) ταξίδι στο χρόνο, μια ιστορία στις εσχατιές της γης, στον πορθμό του Μαγγελάνου, για τη ουσία των πραγμάτων που υπήρχαν, υπάρχουν και θα υπάρξουν.
Τίποτα δεν είναι μονοσήμαντο, κ τίποτα τετελεσμένο
Τίποτα δεν είναι μονοσήμαντο, κ τίποτα τετελεσμένο
February 4, 2025
Really interesting book about obsession, loneliness and wandering the world. Containing some of my favorite subjects, automatons, the age of sail and one of many islands named Desolation. The island represents the main character who is indeed, desolate, impenetrable and unapologetic about it. Presentation was, the main character telling a long, rambling story to our narrator that did require some effort to follow. Tangents were frequent and fun, history, pseudo-history(?), literary references abound (that I am currently reading) and a fiction full of cross-references, intersections. Rather an odd read, but it hit me just right and glad I took a chance on it.
https://www.historyofinformation.com/...
https://www.historyofinformation.com/...
May 13, 2012
I completed reading the English translation of Desolation Island rapidly. I consumed it with great savor.
It is a deeply intelligent and sensitive book that glides between cultural matrices with admirable finesse. It is a book that is almost too rich to absorb on first reading; I am sure I will refer to it again.
Garcia Ortega's knowledge is vast. While the philosophical message is not yet fully clear to me, the author plumbs human nature to great depths.
It is a deeply intelligent and sensitive book that glides between cultural matrices with admirable finesse. It is a book that is almost too rich to absorb on first reading; I am sure I will refer to it again.
Garcia Ortega's knowledge is vast. While the philosophical message is not yet fully clear to me, the author plumbs human nature to great depths.
January 14, 2017
This is a story within a story where our narrator is relating meetings with a friend, Griffin, who gradually told him a rambling story - but the text makes it difficult at times to distinguish between whether we are listening to Griffin or the narrator because there are virtually no speech marks to show when Griffin is speaking! That is the one nit-pick I have about this book. It could have done with more speech marks around Griffin's narration of his story.
The story itself is one of obsessions; the obsession of the man who built the automaton, the obsession of 16th century kings and explorers to conquer new lands and found new cities so they can be remembered for eternity, the woman who finds the automaton 400 years later while obsessively searching in vain for her drowned family, the obsession of a man who spends every spare moment drawing islands he's never been to... The novel explores all of these and how those obsessions can come to identify and define us.
The idea of an Elizabethan-era robot might seem odd at first, until you remember that Leonardo da Vinci first drew a design for a helicopter 500 years before they were actually made. People thought up all sorts of things in those days, even if they didn't have the means at that time to build them. The historical strands of the novel all tie in together, the 16th, early 20th and early 21st centuries all form part of an engrossing tale.
Also, on a side note, while I've seen U2 name-checked in quite a few books, this is the first I've read that name-checks another favourite artist of mine, Carlos Vives. Seeing that reference made me feel almost like I was meant to pick up this book.
The story itself is one of obsessions; the obsession of the man who built the automaton, the obsession of 16th century kings and explorers to conquer new lands and found new cities so they can be remembered for eternity, the woman who finds the automaton 400 years later while obsessively searching in vain for her drowned family, the obsession of a man who spends every spare moment drawing islands he's never been to... The novel explores all of these and how those obsessions can come to identify and define us.
The idea of an Elizabethan-era robot might seem odd at first, until you remember that Leonardo da Vinci first drew a design for a helicopter 500 years before they were actually made. People thought up all sorts of things in those days, even if they didn't have the means at that time to build them. The historical strands of the novel all tie in together, the 16th, early 20th and early 21st centuries all form part of an engrossing tale.
Also, on a side note, while I've seen U2 name-checked in quite a few books, this is the first I've read that name-checks another favourite artist of mine, Carlos Vives. Seeing that reference made me feel almost like I was meant to pick up this book.
January 28, 2017
Novels based on sea-faring journeys do not usually spark my interest but the blurb on the back of this book intrigued me. A man, Griffin, following the story of a mysterious automaton sounded promising.
The theme of obsession loom larges - that of Griffin who is obsessed with both the automaton and the island of the title, and the narrator, who recounts the story as told by Griffin.
Sadly, I struggled to find the flow of this book. Like a boat on the high seas, I felt tossed around by each chapter as Griffin flipped between different characters and time periods.
The theme of obsession loom larges - that of Griffin who is obsessed with both the automaton and the island of the title, and the narrator, who recounts the story as told by Griffin.
Sadly, I struggled to find the flow of this book. Like a boat on the high seas, I felt tossed around by each chapter as Griffin flipped between different characters and time periods.
July 26, 2015
Actual rating: 3.5.
Quote: “It was my past, and the past never returns or changes: it only exists in our memory as a fragile image, a prey to fantasy and oblivion, a mere reminiscence that comes back in illusory fashion to shape our nostalgia.”
Quote: “It was my past, and the past never returns or changes: it only exists in our memory as a fragile image, a prey to fantasy and oblivion, a mere reminiscence that comes back in illusory fashion to shape our nostalgia.”
December 23, 2014
Hacía tiempo que no leía un libro que mereciera 5 estrellas :)
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews