- Paperback: 264 pages
- Publisher: University of Chicago Press (5 July 2011)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0982046480
- ISBN-13: 978-0982046487
- Product Dimensions: 21.3 x 13.7 x 1.5 cm
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 631,644 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
The Songs Of Maldoror
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Product Description
Review
"His predecessor was Jonathan Swift and his chief executor was the Marquis de Sade.... Lautreamont was a black messenger heralding the death of illusion and the nightmare of impotence to follow." (Henry Miller) "The gate-master of tomorrow's literature" (Andre Gide)"
Product Description
Le Comte de Lautreamont was the nom de plume of Isidore Ducasse (1846-70), a Uruguayan-born French writer and poet whose only surviving major work of fiction, Les Chants de Maldoror, was discovered by the Surrealists, who hailed the work as a dark progenitor of their movement. It was in Les Chants de Maldoror that Andre Breton discovered the phrase that would come to represent the Surrealist doctrine of objective chance: 'as beautiful as the random encounter between an umbrella and a sewing-machine upon a dissecting-table.' Artists inspired by Lautreamont include Man Ray, Rene Magritte, Max Ernst, Andre Masson, Joan Miro, Yves Tanguy, and, in particular, Salvador Dali, who in 1933 produced an entire series of illustrations for Les Chants de Maldoror. Twenty of those illustrations are included, for the first time, in this new, definitive edition of Lautreamont's influential masterpiece. Vividly translated by R. J. Dent - the first new translation for over thirty years - this edition also includes a foreword by French Surrealist poet Paul Eluard and a concise biography of the author by poet Jeremy Reed. In addition, an introduction by series editor Candice Black details the links between Maldoror and the Surrealist movement.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I can't say I really agree with Infernal Books' review. I too have read the four different versions of Maldoror and R.J. Dent's translation is definitely the best of them. It's clear and to the point. Infernal has not bothered to mention that Paul Knight's version has huge extracts (over twenty paragraphs) of Lautreamont's original text missing. These missing extracts are in the Dent version, which is far superior to Alexis Lykiard's interpretation. The reason I say this is because English is clearly not Lykiard's first language. There are quite a few grammatical howlers in Lykiard's version; I counted over 35 mistakes. They jar. Guy Wernham's version is very sweet, but too old-fashioned to bother with. My other reason for buying the Dent version (apart from curiosity) was because it includes 22 Salvador Dali illustrations - which Dali was commissioned to create for the original French version of Maldoror. None of the other versions of Maldoror has these illustrations. The R.J. Dent version also includes an introduction on Maldoror and Surrealism; a preface by Paul Eluard, and a postscript by Jeremy Reed. It's definitely worth the price of admission... and it is very readable, as Amazon's `Look inside' facility readily allows the reader to see.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
1 review
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful
The Songs of Maldoror by Solar Books - Solar Nocturnal
2 July 2011
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
The Songs of Maldoror (Solar Books - Solar Nocturnal)
This is the absolute WORST translation of this book that I have ever read, and I have read many different verions of Maldoror. Contrary to poplular belief, I think that Paul Knight's version is far superior to Alexis Lykiard's interpretation. The only reason to buy the Lykiard version is because it includes extraneous material, but otherwise, Knight's version reads better. As for the R.J. Dent version - it is unpickupable, much less readable. Save your money and do not let your curiosity get the better of you. The translator, in order to avoid being sued by the other translators, really had no choice but to choose the least likely and worst-sounding words for his translated version. I compared all three, and Knight's always sounds the best, then Lykiard's and then R.J. Dent's, respectively. This was just an attempt at pushing out garbage to make money, but the discerning reader would not waste his time or money on it, especially after having been warned!
This is the absolute WORST translation of this book that I have ever read, and I have read many different verions of Maldoror. Contrary to poplular belief, I think that Paul Knight's version is far superior to Alexis Lykiard's interpretation. The only reason to buy the Lykiard version is because it includes extraneous material, but otherwise, Knight's version reads better. As for the R.J. Dent version - it is unpickupable, much less readable. Save your money and do not let your curiosity get the better of you. The translator, in order to avoid being sued by the other translators, really had no choice but to choose the least likely and worst-sounding words for his translated version. I compared all three, and Knight's always sounds the best, then Lykiard's and then R.J. Dent's, respectively. This was just an attempt at pushing out garbage to make money, but the discerning reader would not waste his time or money on it, especially after having been warned!
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