- Hardcover: 864 pages
- Publisher: Flamingo; First British Edition edition (5 April 2004)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0007141475
- ISBN-13: 978-0007141470
- Product Dimensions: 23 x 16.4 x 6.2 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 130,354 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
| |||||||||||||||
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Plus, get an extra £5 Gift Certificate when you trade in books worth £10 or more before June 30, 2012. Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. |
Product details |
More About the Author
Product Description
The Spectator
"... a very unusual book and a remarkable one...it abounds in delightful vignettes...there is some beautiful writing...enthralling and enjoyable."
Independent
"the tone of the writing is all lightness.....Esterhazy's writing is agile and compelling"
Suggested Tags from Similar Products(What's this?)Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
|
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Peter Esterhazy was born in Budapest in 1950 and has a degree in mathematics.This is a highly original book, though the author, as so often with tongue in cheek, lists dozens of writers he has quoted. It is in the line of novels such as 'Tristram Shandy' with its quirks of narrative and often riotous humour (I'm surprised Rabelais is not quoted among the sources) and 'Ulysses' with its stream- of- consciousness style, which results in a fluid and surprisingly compelling narrative.
The basic theme is Esterhazy's search for the true identity of his parents (his father was a direct descendent of the aristocrat who employed Haydn) set against a history of Hungary over the last two centuries (this is only sketched in and never weighs the book down). The novel is full of surprises, quirky changes of plot - not least, the fact that his parents' origins change from one paragraph to the next.
There is a further surprise when, just halfway through the book, the narrative style becomes simpler, more focused and completely chronological. The author's attitude to his parents become unequivocally warm-hearted without his losing any of his wit. If one is at all perplexed on a first acquaintance with this book, one could even start reading Part II first! Esterhazy's love of language is contagious - and a special mention should be made of the translator, who conveys all the inventiveness of the language and the puns so well that one would never guess English wasn't the original language.
Peter Esterhazy would be my favourite for the Nobel Literature Prize - several lesser authors have won it in the last decade alone.
The basic theme is Esterhazy's search for the true identity of his parents (his father was a direct descendent of the aristocrat who employed Haydn) set against a history of Hungary over the last two centuries (this is only sketched in and never weighs the book down). The novel is full of surprises, quirky changes of plot - not least, the fact that his parents' origins change from one paragraph to the next.
There is a further surprise when, just halfway through the book, the narrative style becomes simpler, more focused and completely chronological. The author's attitude to his parents become unequivocally warm-hearted without his losing any of his wit. If one is at all perplexed on a first acquaintance with this book, one could even start reading Part II first! Esterhazy's love of language is contagious - and a special mention should be made of the translator, who conveys all the inventiveness of the language and the puns so well that one would never guess English wasn't the original language.
Peter Esterhazy would be my favourite for the Nobel Literature Prize - several lesser authors have won it in the last decade alone.
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Mr. Eszterhazy's "Celestial Harmonies" is probably the worst book I have ever attempted to read and the only book I have ever thrown away. Ripped to pieces and thrown away. Lacking a central narrative and pointlessly jumping between centuries would perhaps be forgivable if the language or imagery could capture and captive the reader. They do neither. The book drivels moronically on from page to painful page, provoking the unfortunate reader with its stupidity. A big fan of Hungarian literature, I had high hopes for this book and after 70 pages preferred to rip it up rather than making money by selling it because I didn't want to inflict it on another reader. Consider yourself warned.
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
- Books > Biography > Historical > 1901 Onwards
- Books > Biography > Historical > Countries & Regions > Europe
- Books > Fiction > Contemporary Fiction
- Books > Fiction > Historical
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
