Danube (Panther S.)
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Amazon.co.uk Review
There is something about the art of travel writing that seems to bring out the very best in the most skilful practitioners. The late Bruce Chatwin produced some of his most incandescent prose in his travel books (some would say even more so than in his novels), and the legacy of this kind of non-pareil work may be found in Claudio Magris' Danube, a book which seamlessly combines sharp descriptive information with prose of the greatest transparency. Magris (whose amazing breadth of knowledge is evident on every page) takes the reader on a colourful journey from the source of the Danube in the Bavarian hills through Austro-Hungary and the Balkans to the Black Sea. At every stage of this voyage from the past to the present, Magris conjures up all the atmospheric associations of the houses, monuments and great personalities (from Marcus Aurelius to Kafka) and, in the process, produces a richly drawn picture of central Europe and a culture rich in the influences of the East and West. As in his celebrated Bohemia, Magris effortlessly incorporates his encyclopaedic knowledge into the kind of book that both recreates a whole continent and deeply inspires the reader to investigate this territory. In fact, to call this a travel book is an inadequate attempt to categorise something that can really only be judged as fine writing.
I take a few steps from my bench downhill to the source of the Berg, then, sousing my shoes and socks, climb up through the meadow towards the house. The water glitters in the grass, the spring flows quietly out, the green of the trees is good, and so is the smell. The traveller feels rather clumsy and small, aware of the superior objectivity in which he is framed. Is it possible that all those little trickles in a field are the Danube...which pours out into the Black Sea every year?--Barry Forshaw
Amazon.co.uk Review
This is a very Italian book, reminiscent of Italo Calvino or Roberto Calasso. Part history, part philosophy, part travelogue and literature in the richest, most amply rewarding sense. Writing with tremendous exuberance, Claudio Magris has produced a paean to what Hölderlin called "the river of melody"--the Danube, Europe's main artery, and the heart of that elusive but fascinating zone known as Mitteleuropa. Magris is certainly erudite, and not afraid of displaying his erudition, but he also has a fine sense of humour and an eye for the absurd. According to one eminent sedimentologist, he tells us, the source of the Danube is a leaky tap in a remote mountain farmhouse. And of course, the one colour it isn't, ever, is blue. The Hungarians call it blond, apparently. "Muddy yellow" might be more accurate, says the author. His greatest passion, however, is people: poets, singers, murderers, emperors, Dracula, Kafka, Wittgenstein, Josef Mengele--all human life is here. And it makes doubly fascinating reading for having been written back in 1986, when brutes like Ceaucescu were still in power and the iron curtain was still in place, though beginning to tremble slightly now in the wind of history. -- Christopher Hart
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Intellectually challenging and ultimately rewarding,
By A Customer
This review is from: Danube (Panther) (Paperback)
The reader whose idea of intellectual travel writing has hitherto been restricted to Bill Bryson books will find reading this book a frustrating and dissappointing experience.Whilst on the surface a travelogue on the subject of the Danube, this is really an exploration of the history and culture of Mitteleurope as seen through the eyes of it's literature. This is not a book which can be read in a single sitting, many of chapters and ideas will take time to digest. Certain chapters are worthy of several readings. Ultimately, this is a book about discovery of a continent which can be mysterious to dweller of these Isles. In doing so it will change the reader, if they are so inclined.
11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Landscape and Memory,
By A Customer
This review is from: Danube (Panther) (Paperback)
I first read this book over 10 years ago and really enjoyed it. I've been re-reading it prior to visiting Eastern Europe and am struck again by how well Magris weaves together ideas, history and a sense of place. So much has happened since the book was published that it is fast becoming an interesting work of history itself. Although the book was well reviewed when it appeared, I wonder if it has been slightly forgotten about now, which would be a shame because the many readers who have enjoyed W G Sebald would, I think, find this equally satisfying.
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Overrated 'sacred' travelogue,
This review is from: Danube (Panther) (Paperback)
I'm afraid I agree with the less favourable reviewer below - I've now had three tries at this book, and each time find it unfinishable. Part of it is that name-dropping - you feel very much that this is a book by a rather self-important, competitive intellectual for other readers of the same stripe. As such it reads more like earnest literary criticism than anything else, and if there is humour in it, it's the kind to produce intellectual sniffs among those who understand the references rather than actual laughter. It's more an intellectual history of the region rather than something which really evokes the river and its character - if the latter is what you're after, then you'll be disappointed. For a more accessible and enjoyable book about Central Europe, Stephen Brook's 'The Double Eagle' fits the bill well, and is full of atmospheres, characters and information.Maybe, though, I'll simply have another try at Danube in 20 years' time, see what the fuss is about, and feel I just wasn't ready for it. Or maybe not.
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