En okänd man

by Marguerite Yourcenar, Kajsa Andersson (Översättare)

”Nyheten om Nathanaels död på en liten frisisk ö väckte föga uppmärksamhet i ­Amsterdam” – så lyder den första meningen i En okänd man – en roman som i Margue­rite Yourcenars litterära universum spelar en nyckelroll. Boken kan placeras på samma nivå som de två stora historiska romanerna Hadrianus minne och Vishetens natt.

I En okänd man får vi följa den unge vaga­bonden Nathanaels korta men händelserika liv i 1600-talets Europa och Amerika. Yourcenar, som alltmer kom att engagera sig i vår tids ödesfrågor, visar i berättelsen att haven, skogen, djuren, naturen måste ­skyddas från människans rovdrift. ”Att leva och dö med öppna ögon” kunde vara motto för hela Marguerite Yourcenars författarskap och inte minst för Nathanael.

Genres: France, Fiction, Classics, Historical Fiction, French Literature

142 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1985

About the author

Marguerite Yourcenar, original name Marguerite de Crayencour, was a french novelist, essayist, poet and short-story writer who became the first woman to be elected to the Académie Française (French Academy), an exclusive literary institution with a membership limited to 40.
She became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1947. The name “Yourcenar” is an imperfect anagram of her original name, “Crayencour.”

Yourcenar’s literary works are notable for their rigorously classical style, their erudition, and their psychological subtlety. In her most important books she re-creates past eras and personages, meditating thereby on human destiny, morality, and power. Her masterpiece is Mémoires d'Hadrien, a historical novel constituting the fictionalized memoirs of that 2nd-century Roman emperor. Her works were translated by the American Grace Frick, Yourcenar’s secretary and life companion.
Yourcenar was also a literary critic and translator.

Reviews

[Sarah Alami · Rating 3 out of 5]

Comme c'est écrit par Marguerite Yourcenar, c'est forcément très bien écrit, avec un peu de latin de temps à autre, ce qui est toujours un plaisir! Mais l'histoire est vraiment trop sinistre. La deuxième nouvelle, "Une belle matinée", est une jolie réflexion sur le métier de comédien(ne!).

[Lucrezia Baldo · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the Netherlands of Rembrandt, of the discovery of the New World and of the printing press, the life of Nathanaël, which could be a life as ordinary as any, acquires tinges and depths that touch the essence of existence. In the clear and introspective style of Yourcenar, we are carried from one segment of the life of this character to another: his birth within the Dutch community of Greenwich, his entreprises on a transoceanic ship, his life in a remote colony of North America after a shipwreck, his return back to Europe working as an editor and a servant to a nobleman and, finally, his death, announced from the very beginning of the novel. Relentlessly, the thoughts of our obscure narrator form into a canvas of subdued colours that reflects on the meaning of existence, on love and on our place alongside the other creatures of the world. It is a real journey for the reader, in the most encompassing sense of the term.
If you wish to check out a more in-depth review, I wrote a blog post about it on https://lulushouseofbooks.com/2017/03...

[Emma · Rating 3 out of 5]

I actually didn't read this book myself, but was listening to it via a radio program called "Radioföljetongen" on the Swedish Brodcasting Network and it was narrated by My Holmsten, who did a fantastic job with the story and its characters, I thought and I quite liked the book, even though I probably wouldn't have read it myself, oh well...

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

This introspective work of historical fiction involves a man who is caught between two worlds. Part of the largely illiterate working class, his knowledge of Latin allows him to function professionally within the upper sectors of society. Beginning in Medieval Europe and ending on a desert island, the story travels with him across the globe as he struggles to find where he belongs. I was unexpectedly moved by this story and completely engrossed by Yourcenar's storytelling. Weighty and a bit academic, it's not for everyone, but I loved it.

[lola.svts · Rating 4 out of 5]

j’avais acheté le livre pour une belle matinée mais au final j’ai préféré l’homme obscur c’était vraiment bien
la deuxième partie est juste trop courte pour développer mais j’aimais bien le setting donc dommage
bref pas déçue

[Erik Landström · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kort och koncist och bra. Slutet extremt vackert skrivet.

[Danielle Aleixo · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Depois, punha-se a sonhar que cada criatura humana se insinua sem o saber nos sonhos amorosos dos que com ela cruzam ou a rodeiam, e que a despeito, por um lado, da obscuridade ou da penúria, da idade ou da feiúra daquele que deseja, e, por outro, da timidez ou do pudor do objeto cobiçado, ou de seus próprios apetites que se dirigem talvez a outrem, cada um de nós assim se oferece e se dá aos outros .“

Ela, Yourcenar, minha amada escritora deste ano de 2018, sempre me faz suspirar com suas palavras.

[Circemme · Rating 4 out of 5]

Par manque d'organisation, je n'ai eu le temps que de lire Un homme obscur et pas Une belle matinée avant de rendre le livre.
En tout cas, j'ai beaucoup aimé la prose de M. Yourcenar. J'ai lu le livre dans la perspective d'une étude sur le lien entre l'écologie et l'autrice, mais il m'a plu dans son ensemble.
Cependant, je ne sais pas si c'est une lecture qui me marquera dans le temps.

[joan magrané · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dos relats meravellosos (molt menys pretensiosos que L'œuvre au noir, que es fa una mica pesada), poques vegades he gaudit tant d'una lectura.