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Las listas del pasado
Un retrato despiadado del Nueva York de los setenta, de la soledad y el aislamiento en la gran ciudad, pero también de Connecticut y la vida en el campo, entre plantas y animales según pasan las estaciones. La muerte omnipresente suscita una reflexión sobre la vida y sobre lo que representaba ser una mujer en esos años, con sus expectativas y contradicciones. Una poderosa observación de lo humano que dialoga con nuestro presente.
El redescubrimiento de una escritora caída en el olvido que vuelve al primer plano gracias a Lorrie Moore y la lectura de uno de sus relatos en un pódcast del New Yorker
El redescubrimiento de una escritora caída en el olvido que vuelve al primer plano gracias a Lorrie Moore y la lectura de uno de sus relatos en un pódcast del New Yorker
- GenresShort StoriesFiction
240 pages, Paperback
First published June 29, 1976
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
October 30, 2022
9/10
Una lectura llena de detalles, elipsis; con una corriente subterránea y evocadora... donde, en la prosa cuidadosa de Hayden, las pérdidas imborrables y la belleza natural de la vida están íntimamente entretejidas.
"Le da vueltas y vueltas al hecho de la muerte como a una pequeña piedra en el bolsillo de su bata, pulida de tanto tocarla, familiarizándose con la superficie, el peso, lisa, compacta, dura."
Una lectura llena de detalles, elipsis; con una corriente subterránea y evocadora... donde, en la prosa cuidadosa de Hayden, las pérdidas imborrables y la belleza natural de la vida están íntimamente entretejidas.
"Le da vueltas y vueltas al hecho de la muerte como a una pequeña piedra en el bolsillo de su bata, pulida de tanto tocarla, familiarizándose con la superficie, el peso, lisa, compacta, dura."
March 18, 2016
I've been intrigued by Hayden ever since I first heard Lorrie Moore read Hayden's "Day Old Baby Rats" on the New Yorker Fiction Podcast. I've since listened to that recording about 20 times. Hayden died far too young and tragically (alcoholism, cancer). She worked at the New Yorker from 1965 until her untimely death. Death does cast a prophetic shadow over these stories, and it's safe to assume there are strong autobiographical elements. I like Hayden's oblique style, never stating the obvious--but at times I felt there was a lack of depth and overworking of the central theme of mortality. Her past seems to have a stranglehold on Hayden and these stories. Still, I enjoyed them and I'm grateful this edition allowed me to finally read all her published work.
Along those lines, a couple of minor quibbles: The introduction by Cheryl Strayed is quite good--but her name on the cover automatically makes the book seem, to the casual observer, as if it were written by her. Also, there are some horrendous typos and formatting errors in the book--it needs better proofreading.
Finally, the forward by S. Kirk Walsh is spine-tingling and makes up for all of that. I won't give anything away, but don't skip over it if you read this collection! Thank you Walsh, Strayed and Lorrie Moore for saving Julie Hayden's work from obscurity.
Along those lines, a couple of minor quibbles: The introduction by Cheryl Strayed is quite good--but her name on the cover automatically makes the book seem, to the casual observer, as if it were written by her. Also, there are some horrendous typos and formatting errors in the book--it needs better proofreading.
Finally, the forward by S. Kirk Walsh is spine-tingling and makes up for all of that. I won't give anything away, but don't skip over it if you read this collection! Thank you Walsh, Strayed and Lorrie Moore for saving Julie Hayden's work from obscurity.
August 20, 2010
After hearing Lorrie Moore read "Day-Old Baby Rats" on the New Yorker fiction podcast, I immediately went online to order this 1976 short story collection, which is now out of print. I loved the first section, "Brief Lives." The stories examine relationships between men and women living in New York City, and one deals with a group of children and their fascination with dead animals. Each story is beautifully written and incorporates gorgeous imagery and emotional depth. However, the second section, "The Lists of the Past," comprises stories about a single subject: the illness and death of the patriarch of a rich suburban family. I was so bored I could barely get through it. The interior and exterior of the house are described ad nauseam, the interactions between the mother and adult children are tedious, and the stories seem to be of no consequence. All I kept thinking was, "Who cares?" The only vaguely interesting part occurs in the last story, "Under the Weather," when the gardener tries to get to the memorial service in Connecticut, which creates a bit of suspense as the reader wonders whether or not he will make it. Overall, I'd say don't bother -- just go read "Day-Old Baby Rats" online at Newyorker.com (subscription required).
February 11, 2013
I haven't been able to find this out of print collection anywhere (exceptnamazon for over 100$) but I did hear Day Old Baby Rats on the New Yorker podcast and if the rest of her collection is as good it certainly merits 5+ stars. That story is as haunting as "Hills like white elephants. " I have listened to this story at least a dozen times now. I am so enchanted by the beautiful and tragic sadness Julie creates. The imagery of live and dead objects though out the story is so captivating. If I get my hands on the whole collection I hope it is up to par with Day Old Baby Rats.
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February 7, 2022Lo he disfrutado mucho. No es lo que estoy habituada a leer, pero me ha parecido una delicia. El libro tiene dos partes diferenciadas en cuanto al estilo de los relatos pero están unidos de alguna manera por ciertos personajes, así que el conjunto se puede leer casi como una novela experimental. Con el primer relato quedé prendada, del segundo me dije que era un auténtico relato de terror -de lo que a mí me aterra. El tercero, una conquista de mi estómago: Ratas bebé de un día de vida, qué título y qué brutal forma de relatar NY sin despeinarse siquiera. Ni un relato con el que no tengas que desabrocharte el pantalón, aflojarte el moño o la corbata. Mantiene la tensión a través de miedos universales: miedo al abandono, miedo a no volver a saber de alguien, miedo al rechazo.
Me costó acabar el último de todos, porque son solo doce relatos y, al parecer, Hayden no dejó nada más escrito antes de morir. Pero vaya one-hit wonder. Tiene una forma de narrar que parece que está contando algo trivial y sin embargo es duro como la posguerra en la que planean sus cuentos. Un libro importante para leer y releer. Donde más brilla, en mi opinión, es en la forma en la que cierra cada historia. ♥️
Me costó acabar el último de todos, porque son solo doce relatos y, al parecer, Hayden no dejó nada más escrito antes de morir. Pero vaya one-hit wonder. Tiene una forma de narrar que parece que está contando algo trivial y sin embargo es duro como la posguerra en la que planean sus cuentos. Un libro importante para leer y releer. Donde más brilla, en mi opinión, es en la forma en la que cierra cada historia. ♥️
June 25, 2010
Probablly should have given this book four stars because I really did enjoy it and Julie Hayden was one hell of a writer, but my expectations were so unbelevablly high sfter coming across "Day-Old Baby Rats" that I was severly disappointed with the collection.
July 15, 2010
I am learning a lot about writing by reading this book. Some of her mechanics are visible to me
November 13, 2023
I am rating this book for Julie Hayden's short story "Day-Old Baby Rats" which I listened to via the New Yorker Fiction podcast. This is the first piece of writing I have read by Julie Hayden. Prior to the New Yorker Fiction podcast, I was unaware of Hayden as an author. This story was honestly just okay for me. Most of the story describes a New York upper class woman's daily life in New York city. The short story was narrated by Lorrie Moore who did an excellent job narrating this story and Moore's narration honestly is what earned this story three stars instead of only two stars. The female protagonist is honestly pretty insufferable, vapid and shallow. This story is largely written in a stream of consciousness style which I have always struggled a bit to connect with when it is used in a story. We are mostly stuck inside a wealthy woman's head as she goes about her day in New York City which wouldn't be so bad if her day and her inner thoughts about her day were interesting or intellectually stimulating Unfortunately for this piece, neither of these aspects of the female protagonist's daily life are intriguing in the slightest. She goes shopping, goes on the subway, goes to parties etc. and spends her days doing unimportant task because she is very wealthy and doesn't need to do anything of substance so she doesn't. I guess if you are the kind of person that enjoys shows like "Friends" about shallow, boring, mean, petty people in various romantic relationships living in New York City you would love this story. Unfortunately, as someone who didn't enjoy the show Friends I discovered that I didn't enjoy reading similarly plotted stories in book format any more than I liked viewing them on TV and "Friends" in book form is essentially what reading Hayden's story "Day-Old Baby Rats" felt like. As this is the first and only story I have read by Julie Hayden, I am willing to try reading more of her work eventually to see if my opinion of her as an author improves, but reading other works by Hayden won't be a priority on my TBR list. The story was was well written, and Hayden was clearly a skilled writer, but the subject matter of the story and the characteristics and personality of the female protagonist of "Day -Old Baby Rats" just didn't resonate with me in a positive way. The only interesting part of this story is her ethical dilemma and guilt that she struggles with after her decision to get an abortion to terminate a pregnancy and thinking about how this decision of hers changed her life and made it so that she didn’t pursue motherhood.
Want to read
April 29, 2020#1
William is swinging an orange papier-mâché basket with a face painted on it.; Charlie still has the blue tin shovel. They look at each other. We three custodians allow them to swap. "That's a pumpkin, baby," I explain to my nephew; he echoes, "Pump'n." The grandchild bangs the borrowed shovel against a wooden fence.
#2
There were three toads on the bark, sometimes no bigger than the warts they resembled. And, everywhere, mushrooms—orange, red, amethyst, white, shapes like shells or coral or sponges or umbrellas ("Do you realize that's poison, an amanita?" said their father, throwing out a bunch that dissolved into black mush in a corner of their bedroom).
#3
Tottering onto the lit car, she supports herself against a post, breathes easier until the doors have closed and the train starts down the dark passage. With a felt-tip pen, someone has lettered on the L&M ad, "God is a sadist."
#4
Their daughter discovered a neat pile of willow and maple discards raked together and somehow overlooked by the caretakers. Arthur rummaged through it for branches that seemed long and alive. "If we put these in water, I'll bet they root, and we can plant them outside." He started to gather them into the empty sack.
#5
"We'll see." Henrietta held up to the lamp one of her small, firm hands. "Do you believe in palmistry? A gypsy told me my lifeline was crossed, that something would happen to me in the middle of my life to immobilize me forever. Let me see your hands," taking theirs with cold fingers.
#7
He is, of course, working in the garden. In one of the gardens. The mirror garden, divided crescents, reversed images. (Myron's dark shoulders disappear around the side of the house, steering the power mower, diminishing whir.)
#8
Regarding the roses: their looks haven't improved any since she last saw them—beauties who've let themselves go, mass of snarls. Several tenths of an inch of rain have fallen on the garden and its hydrometer, an inverted plastic wedge. From out in the garden the ring of the telephone can be heard.
William is swinging an orange papier-mâché basket with a face painted on it.; Charlie still has the blue tin shovel. They look at each other. We three custodians allow them to swap. "That's a pumpkin, baby," I explain to my nephew; he echoes, "Pump'n." The grandchild bangs the borrowed shovel against a wooden fence.
#2
There were three toads on the bark, sometimes no bigger than the warts they resembled. And, everywhere, mushrooms—orange, red, amethyst, white, shapes like shells or coral or sponges or umbrellas ("Do you realize that's poison, an amanita?" said their father, throwing out a bunch that dissolved into black mush in a corner of their bedroom).
#3
Tottering onto the lit car, she supports herself against a post, breathes easier until the doors have closed and the train starts down the dark passage. With a felt-tip pen, someone has lettered on the L&M ad, "God is a sadist."
#4
Their daughter discovered a neat pile of willow and maple discards raked together and somehow overlooked by the caretakers. Arthur rummaged through it for branches that seemed long and alive. "If we put these in water, I'll bet they root, and we can plant them outside." He started to gather them into the empty sack.
#5
"We'll see." Henrietta held up to the lamp one of her small, firm hands. "Do you believe in palmistry? A gypsy told me my lifeline was crossed, that something would happen to me in the middle of my life to immobilize me forever. Let me see your hands," taking theirs with cold fingers.
#7
He is, of course, working in the garden. In one of the gardens. The mirror garden, divided crescents, reversed images. (Myron's dark shoulders disappear around the side of the house, steering the power mower, diminishing whir.)
#8
Regarding the roses: their looks haven't improved any since she last saw them—beauties who've let themselves go, mass of snarls. Several tenths of an inch of rain have fallen on the garden and its hydrometer, an inverted plastic wedge. From out in the garden the ring of the telephone can be heard.
December 16, 2021
Las listas del pasado está dividido en dos partes la primera "Vidas breves" incluye cuentos en los que los protagonistas son niños con sus recuerdos infantiles y mujeres fuertes, solitarias u sensibles que tratan de los temas cotidianos que les afectan y sobre todo que supone ser mujer en ese tiempo y en ese lugar.
La segunda parte se titula "Las listas del pasado" y nos muestra una serie de relatos sobre la enfermedad y la muerte del padre de una familia y cómo esto afecta a las personas que están a su alrededor.
Con una prosa cuidadosa y gran precisión en el detalle me han parecido unos relatos que demuestran la exquisita sensibilidad de las escritora que trata temas difíciles como la soledad y el aislamiento en una ciudad gigantesca como Nueva York en la que estás rodeado de gente pero te sientes solo y aislado. O la enfermedad, la muerte y el duelo. Temas duros pero contados con un estilo maravilloso.
Leedlo, poco a poco o todo seguido. Pero leedlo
La segunda parte se titula "Las listas del pasado" y nos muestra una serie de relatos sobre la enfermedad y la muerte del padre de una familia y cómo esto afecta a las personas que están a su alrededor.
Con una prosa cuidadosa y gran precisión en el detalle me han parecido unos relatos que demuestran la exquisita sensibilidad de las escritora que trata temas difíciles como la soledad y el aislamiento en una ciudad gigantesca como Nueva York en la que estás rodeado de gente pero te sientes solo y aislado. O la enfermedad, la muerte y el duelo. Temas duros pero contados con un estilo maravilloso.
Leedlo, poco a poco o todo seguido. Pero leedlo
November 11, 2016
I read and reread certain sentences to get the full impact of the quality writing. This is why I read.
December 21, 2022
En general me han gustado más los de la primera parte, en especial Las visitas, con un final de bofetada.
https://liblit.com/julie-hayden-las-l...
https://liblit.com/julie-hayden-las-l...
July 2, 2023
no entiendo qué me perdí de este hype.
November 2, 2024
Day old baby rats… The New York fiction podcast… Just didn't like her style of writing.
February 11, 2022
Lo bueno de acumular libretas con listas de libros o películas "para buscar" es que, pasados los años, puedes reiniciar la búsqueda y, con suerte, encontrar publicaciones que, de otra forma, hubieran pasado desapercibidas. Como algunos se habrán dado cuenta, tengo tendencia a leer narradores estadounidenses. Incluso, tengo un crush tóxico literario con Lorrie Moore. Hace unos años, Moore leyó el cuento de otra autora en un podcast del New Yorker. Mi inglés era bastante aceptable en esa época (circa 2010), aunque ahora solo me defienda leyendo. La impresión que tuve al escuchar esta lectura debió ser muy buena (subrayados y signos de admiración en la nota así lo atestiguan). O quizás fuera lo gráfico del título "Day-old baby rats" (Ratas bebé de un día de vida) de la súper desconocida Julie Hayden. Hace poco me topé con la traducción de su único libro de cuentos, traducción hecha además por Inés Garland que como cuentista es una genia, y luego de leer sobre su vida en el prólogo y leer el cuento, doce años después y en español, sentí culminar un largo camino hacia la obra de esta autora para terminar recibiendo un premio inesperadamente deslumbrante. Quizás me paso de nerd, y me importa un pepino si así es, pero son estos milagros mínimos los que me llenan de alegría. El libro se llama Las listas del pasado, de la editorial Muñeca infinita. No tendrán que dejar pasar doce años, como hice yo, para que la lean. No deberían dejar pasar un día.
January 26, 2015
When the dead man's ashes arrive, the widow thinks hollowly how the "ornamental urn" is just a tin can with a number stamped on it. Later, at the interment, the urn is dropped and lies at the bottom of the grave on a slant. The mourners try to reach down to right it but only succeed in getting their best clothes dirty and disturbing a bunch of mosquitoes. The priest who gives the graveside service does not know the name of the deceased. Later one of the dead man's daughters attempts conversation with him and says something inadvertently dismissive of his calling; in return he gives her vacuous platitudes. Another daughter remembers some line of childhood conversation with her father to twist the knife of grief.
The world of this book is one of cruelty and suffering among the upper middle classes. It's very well written--Hayden was a truly gifted writer and obviously a person who suffered greatly. As someone with anxiety problems of my own I recognize pieces of shared nightmares. But I couldn't enjoy this--as it went on its ironies seemed to me crueller and crueller. It seemed like Hayden was almost taking pleasure in the bleakness of the world she created. That was her right: it seems like the book reflects a lot of the way she saw the world, an her existence was one of true suffering-- mental illness, addiction, and early death. I respect her talents as a writer but I can't say I enjoyed reading her.
The world of this book is one of cruelty and suffering among the upper middle classes. It's very well written--Hayden was a truly gifted writer and obviously a person who suffered greatly. As someone with anxiety problems of my own I recognize pieces of shared nightmares. But I couldn't enjoy this--as it went on its ironies seemed to me crueller and crueller. It seemed like Hayden was almost taking pleasure in the bleakness of the world she created. That was her right: it seems like the book reflects a lot of the way she saw the world, an her existence was one of true suffering-- mental illness, addiction, and early death. I respect her talents as a writer but I can't say I enjoyed reading her.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 30, 2010
Superb NYC creative writer; An excellent read(viaPODCAST) is avaiable from the NEWYORER....(by l. Moore):"Day OLD baby Rats"
December 16, 2015
Was expecting a bit more with the other stories besides "Day-old Baby Rats" which was excellent. Bit of a let down overall.
December 6, 2016
Absolutely gorgeous.
January 17, 2022
Cuentos sutiles para lectores de relato exquisitis y capaces de ver debajo de la piel del texto.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews