Lorca: A Dream of Life

by Leslie Stainton

This biography draws on recently discovered letters that throw revealing light on Lorca's life, work, sexuality and his emergence as the most important Spanish poet and playwright of the 20th century. This is a detailed portrait of a man whose life was deeply entangled with that of his country.

Genres: Biography, Poetry, Nonfiction, Spain, Spanish Literature, History

Paperback

First published November 26, 1998

Reviews

[Ειρήνη Βαρδάκη · Rating 5 out of 5]

Μια απο τις πιο διεισδυτικες βιογραφίες. Δεν αρκέστηκε στην απλή καταγραφή της ζωής και του έργου του αλλά εμβαθυνε υπεροχα στον ιδιαίτερο χαρακτήρα του μυστηριώδους Λόρκα.

[Janet Sola · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've always thought Lorca was a thrilling poet with lines like "The dark archers approach Seville. . .". I thought of him as solemn and serious and kind of old. So traveling in Spain this summer, I downloaded his bio onto my Kindle, and was amazed to discover that he was a cutup, a hedonist, a pampered boy, a creative genius, and openly gay (among his loves was Salvador Dali). He was also a victim of one of the very dark periods in Spain's history--the rise of Franco (the other being the Inquisition). His life ended tragically, but his words will live on forever, this well-researched bio examines both his life and his poems with refreshing honesty. A worthwhile read.

[Daniel Kukwa · Rating 5 out of 5]

In spite of my allergy to poetry, this is as epic & definitive a biography of one of the greatest literary voices of the early 20th century you will ever hope to read. The full genius, naivete, and tragedy of Lorca is on full display here...as are the forces that conspired to take his life, which remain alive and well in the early 21st century. This book is wisdom and warning.

[Michael Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

A definitive biography of one of the 20th century's leading Spanish poet/playwrights who knew or was at least acquainted with many of the other shining stars of the 1920s and 1930s in Europe, New York, Havana and Buenos Aires. He didn't show much interest in politics, but had a few uncomplimentary things to say about Franco's government at the beginning of the Spanish Civil War, and it cost him his life. The author has done extensive research and uncovered rarely seen documents, which combined with minutely detailed seasons of the poet's life and work provide a fully featured anecdotal style, an almost novelistic approach to understanding Federico Garcia Lorca's brief but productive time on earth.

[Doria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful, very complete and in-depth biography of the great and tragically murdered poet and dramatist, Federico Garcia Lorca. Stitched together in large part out of quotes from FGL and his friends and family and colleagues, there is very little authorial embroidery. Stainton respects the fact that the poet explicated his own life and state of mind with elaborate clarity, and adds factual details and connective tissue only where necessary. She makes no assumptions and is respectful of her sources.

Although the book is long, it reads well and moves along at a rapid clip, reaching its end almost before we are ready, much as did its subject. The enormity of loss sustained through this brutal and callous murder committed by Franco’s fascist henchmen is brought home with deliberate simplicity. There are no punches pulled, and his death was like a poem: inscrutable and sudden, raw and impactful.

The story of FGL’s life and murder is vital and needs to be known far and wide. There is much of beauty intertwined with the sadness and looming menace of death.

[Jennifer Sarha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting, and informative about Lorca's life. I was initially bothered by the author's speculations about Lorca's responses and feelings (what did he feel when he saw Granada for the first time?), but these were presumably based on her research about what, say, Granada looked like at the time, and it became less noticeable with time. I would have liked to have had more information about the events surrounding Lorca's death, but I appreciate that at the time of writing less was available. That said, some more space given to the event, to its context within the civil war, would have been nice. I also would have liked to read more about Lorca's posthumous reputation - the book ended somewhat abruptly. Still, this is currently the best biography available in English, and worth reading for that.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

My sole complaint in regards to this work is one that echoes many other readers here, the speculations made by the author about a wide array of things Lorca felt or experienced privately. There are many observations that can be backed up by letters and other writings by Lorca, but some, most notably the final moments of his life, are so certainly unknowable that the author's speculations felt domineering and showy. I value the perspective of the author nonetheless as they had access to such a wealth of information about his life.

The quality of writing is excellent throughout the book and the spirit of Lorca haunts nearly every page.

[Zane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Orion bought me this book for my birthday four years ago. It is in a box in Marshall, but by coincidence, I picked it up at the library the other day. I was mostly interested in this for a few specific years of his work, but it is a well-written of this Spanish playwright and poet. To be crass, he was queer, a Spanish Republican through the war, and executed by fascists. He lived a really interesting life beyond those things, though maybe they are enough. If you are looking for a good biography to read, pick this up.

[Steven · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating

Required reading for anyone interested in Spanish culture. Lorca was a giant, Stanton gives you a sense of his greatness, his uniqueness.

[Romain · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a journey going through the poet's life, chapter by chapter in this enormous book. His abrupt assassination in the final chapter, though I knew it was coming, had me in tears.

[Bernie4444 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dream a little dream of me - lyrics by Gus Kahn

To understand a play one needs to know something about the playwright and Leslie Stainton does that so well in this book.

This biography is anything but a collection of dry statistics. However, dry statistics are “fascinating.” I find myself taking the book off the shelf periodically just to peruse it again and again.

Not that you need them but there are a couple of picture sections with stills of Lorca and family and memorabilia.

I learned about Lorca backward by attending a play version of his lyric poem “The Butterfly’s Evil Spell”. I was hooked. However, beware that also floating around out there is some sort of distorted Kabuki version.

Since then I have read a few other of his plays.

I will not rehash his fascinating life or the detail of his demise as that is why you are going to purchase this book.

Thank you for taking the time to read this review.

[Ben · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got turned on to Lorca through the work of Jack Spicer, and had this bio sitting on my shelf for a long time before cracking it open. The size of the tome was definitely a little bit intimidating, but once I got into it, it was pretty breezy reading. As the back cover touts, Stainton does do a good job of weaving together Lorca's life with his oevre, and her exploration of his relationship to other artists, especially Dali and Neruda, is spectacular. That having been said, the writing itself can be a little telegraphed, and a number of times she'll introduce someone late in Lorca's life as an important old friend who had had an enormous impact on him since his childhood without ever having mentioned them before. Oh well. Definitely still worth a read.

[Lizzie Eldridge · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a very detailed and thoroughly researched piece of work with many insights into Lorca's life, friends and, in particular, his unpublished and even his unwritten manuscripts. However, the main weakness as I see it is a tendency to lapse into over-sentimentality and, more infuriatingly, to write as if with insider knowledge of Lorca's own thoughts and those of other people referred to in the book. This interrupts the factual credibility of what is otherwise a very full account of Lorca's life and reminds me of biblical renditions of Christ during moments of solitude - accounts written by men who weren't actually there!

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I may need to come back to this review later. It's hard to think of the work as a whole when it ends with a pretty brutal murder and a stark portrayal of an amazing life cut short. Nevertheless, the book is extremely well written and researched. I recommend it if you are interested in poetry, Spain in the 20's and 30's, or the lives of artists in general.

[Anj · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an amazing and exceptionally well written book about the life of the Spanish poet, Federico Garcia Lorca. If you are a Lorca fan, this is a must read for you. Also an excellent resource for teachers of poetry.

[Joshua · Rating 3 out of 5]

Useful and detailed, but Stainton's Anglo-Saxon skepticism toward Lorca's romanticism and class privilege sometimes veers into derision and condescension, which left a bad taste in this reader's mouth.

[Tara Daly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lorca's life is fascinating. I particulary loved his New York Years. This is a very comprehensive yet engaging biography.

[Frater · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent biography of a very inspiring poet!

[John Healey · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is not what I would call a definitive biography but it is an improvement over Ian Gibson’s.