Autobiography of Red
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Description
Geryon, a young boy who is also a winged red monster, reveals the volcanic terrain of his fragile, tormented soul in an autobiography he begins at the age of five. As he grows older, Geryon escapes his abusive brother and affectionate but ineffectual mother, finding solace behind the lens of his camera and in the arms of a young man named Herakles, a cavalier drifter who leaves him at the peak of infatuation. When Herakles reappears years later, Geryon confronts again the pain of his desire and embarks on a journey that will unleash his creative imagination to its fullest extent. By turns whimsical and haunting, erudite and accessible, richly layered and deceptively simple, Autobiography of Red is a profoundly moving portrait of an artist coming to terms with the fantastic accident of who he is.
A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK OF THE YEAR
National Book Critics Circle Award Finalist
"Anne Carson is, for me, the most exciting poet writing in English today." --Michael Ondaatje
"A profound love story . . . sensuous and funny, poignant, musical and tender." --The New York Times Book Review
"A deeply odd and immensely engaging book. . . . [Carson] exposes with passionate force the mythic underlying the explosive everyday." --The Village Voice
Book Information
Posts
I went into this book with zero expectations for a book club, and I'm still a bit speechless now that I'm done. Form-wise, the verse format was extremely interesting, making the story flow in an unusual way but didn't hinder the reading flow. There's also lots of poetical devices, metaphors, similes, but it's especially the usage of colours and synesthesia that stood out for me. Content-wise, this book is the love child of The Song of Achilles and On Earth, We're Briefly Gorgeous (yes I'm aware those books were published much later, but this is my review, so I don't care 🤠), a queer coming-of-age with mythological influences (but very different than what you might think now) This novel is tender, brutal, beautiful, but also puzzling (which is why I didn't give 5 stars as I feel like I didn't fully get it, but I'm not sure if that's because of me, the book or if that's intentional anywaya) I'm so glad I got to read this - that's one of the beauties of bookclubs, finding new gems you would never have picked up otherwise.
Description
Geryon, a young boy who is also a winged red monster, reveals the volcanic terrain of his fragile, tormented soul in an autobiography he begins at the age of five. As he grows older, Geryon escapes his abusive brother and affectionate but ineffectual mother, finding solace behind the lens of his camera and in the arms of a young man named Herakles, a cavalier drifter who leaves him at the peak of infatuation. When Herakles reappears years later, Geryon confronts again the pain of his desire and embarks on a journey that will unleash his creative imagination to its fullest extent. By turns whimsical and haunting, erudite and accessible, richly layered and deceptively simple, Autobiography of Red is a profoundly moving portrait of an artist coming to terms with the fantastic accident of who he is.
A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK OF THE YEAR
National Book Critics Circle Award Finalist
"Anne Carson is, for me, the most exciting poet writing in English today." --Michael Ondaatje
"A profound love story . . . sensuous and funny, poignant, musical and tender." --The New York Times Book Review
"A deeply odd and immensely engaging book. . . . [Carson] exposes with passionate force the mythic underlying the explosive everyday." --The Village Voice
Book Information
Posts
I went into this book with zero expectations for a book club, and I'm still a bit speechless now that I'm done. Form-wise, the verse format was extremely interesting, making the story flow in an unusual way but didn't hinder the reading flow. There's also lots of poetical devices, metaphors, similes, but it's especially the usage of colours and synesthesia that stood out for me. Content-wise, this book is the love child of The Song of Achilles and On Earth, We're Briefly Gorgeous (yes I'm aware those books were published much later, but this is my review, so I don't care 🤠), a queer coming-of-age with mythological influences (but very different than what you might think now) This novel is tender, brutal, beautiful, but also puzzling (which is why I didn't give 5 stars as I feel like I didn't fully get it, but I'm not sure if that's because of me, the book or if that's intentional anywaya) I'm so glad I got to read this - that's one of the beauties of bookclubs, finding new gems you would never have picked up otherwise.