Fai clic su di un'immagine per andare a Google Ricerca Libri.
Sto caricando le informazioni... Homage to Barcelonadi Colm Tóibín
Nessuno Sto caricando le informazioni...
Iscriviti per consentire a LibraryThing di scoprire se ti piacerà questo libro. Attualmente non vi sono conversazioni su questo libro. This is a well book on Barcelona, Spain, written just befor the Bacelona Olympics. Tobin gives a very personal look at the city and its history. He has chapters on some of the great artists from Catalonia, including Gaudi, Miro, Picasso, and Lorca. He also discusses the sufferings of the city under Franco and during the Civil War. A little dated at this point, but a good read. The Irish author Colm Tóibín wrote this extended love letter to his second home during his second extended stay there in 1988, 10 years after he first left. He first arrived there in 1975, as a 20 year old recent college graduate, two months before the death of General Francisco Franco. Tóibín begins the book by providing a first hand account of those heady and uncertain days following Franco's death, when no one knew what freedoms would be permitted, or whether democracy would truly take hold in the country after nearly 40 years of civil war and fascist rule. A rich description of the Gothic Quarter (Barri Gòtic), the center of the old city, follows, along with a brief history of the city, Catalonia as a whole, and its unique language, cuisine and relationship with Spain. Separate chapters are dedicated to the lives and influences of Antonio Gaudí, the Modernist architect whose unorthodox creations are featured throughout the city, including the still uncompleted Sagrada Família and the Casa Batlló, Pablo Picasso and Joan Miró. Tóibín also describes the major political and factions that dominated the city in the years preceding and during the Spanish Civil War, particularly the wealthy landowners and industrialists, who refused to provide their employees with a decent standard of living and occasionally beat and killed those who dared complain; the trade unions that arose in response to the inhumane treatment of the workers; the Anarchists, whose violent opposition to the Church and the wealthy elite led to the deaths of hundreds of priests; the Communists; and the Republican government, which ultimately fell to the rebels led by Franco and his colleagues during the Civil War. In later chapters he explores smaller towns in Catalonia, including the medieval city of Girona, known for its Passion Play about the last days of Jesus Christ and the macabre and dangerous Dance of Death that only residents can attend; the Costa Brava, which has become a favored destination for tourists but still holds pockets of isolated beauty; and Llavorsí, a mountainous village that has also experienced a not completely welcome transformation due to the influence of non-Catalonians. Throughout the book Tóibín compares his impressions of Catalonia during his first stay from 1975-1978 with his subsequent ones in 1988. The book closes with the preparations underway in the city for the 1992 Summer Olympic Games, which seem to be disjointed, disruptive and a vague threat to that unique region. Homage to Barcelona was a superb and beautifully written introduction to a city which I plan to visit for the first time later this year. At just over 200 pages it would serve well as a portable cultural guide to Barcelona and Catalonia, although it is now a bit dated nearly 25 years after its initial release. My only disappointment was that Tóibín only dedicated a couple of paragraphs to the region's leading authors and those non-Catalonians who have written about the city. nessuna recensione | aggiungi una recensione
Appartiene alle Collane EditorialiColumna Textos (49)
Written with deep knowledge and affection, Homage to Barcelona is a sensuous and beguiling portrait of a great Mediterranean city.This book celebrates one of Europe's greatest cities - a cosmopolitan hub of vibrant architecture, art, culture and nightlife. It moves from the story of the city's founding and its huge expansion in the nineteenth century to the lives of Gaudí, Miró, Picasso, Casals and Dalí. It also explores the history of Catalan nationalism, the tragedy of the Civil War, the Franco years and the transition from dictatorship to democracy which Colm Tóibín witnessed in the 1970s. Written with deep knowledge and affection, Homage to Barcelona is a sensuous and beguiling portrait of a unique Mediterranean port and an adopted home. 'Tóibín has the narrative poise of Brian Moore and the patient eye for domestic detail of John McGahern, but he is very much his own man' Observer 'Having lived in Barcelona off and on since the 70s, Toibin knows all the fascinations of its sensuous Mediterranean history and lifestyle and "the most precious jewels in the city's treasury of bars" . . . Tóibín is the perfect guide' Chicago Tribune Non sono state trovate descrizioni di biblioteche |
Discussioni correntiNessunoCopertine popolari
Google Books — Sto caricando le informazioni... GeneriSistema Decimale Melvil (DDC)910History and Geography Geography and Travel Geography and TravelClassificazione LCVotoMedia:
Sei tu?Diventa un autore di LibraryThing. |
vota | señalavpfluke | Sep 20, 2014 |
The Irish author Colm Tóibín wrote this extended love letter to his second home during his second extended stay there in 1988, 10 years after he first left. He first arrived there in 1975, as a 20 year old recent college graduate, two months before the death of General Francisco Franco. Tóibín begins the book by providing a first hand account of those heady and uncertain days following Franco's death, when no one knew what freedoms would be permitted, or whether democracy would truly take hold in the country after nearly 40 years of civil war and fascist rule. A rich description of the Gothic Quarter (Barri Gòtic), the center of the old city, follows, along with a brief history of the city, Catalonia as a whole, and its unique language, cuisine and relationship with Spain. Separate chapters are dedicated to the lives and influences of Antonio Gaudí, the Modernist architect whose unorthodox creations are featured throughout the city, including the still uncompleted Sagrada Família and the Casa Batlló, Pablo Picasso and Joan Miró.
Tóibín also describes the major political and factions that dominated the city in the years preceding and during the Spanish Civil War, particularly the wealthy landowners and industrialists, who refused to provide their employees with a decent standard of living and occasionally beat and killed those who dared complain; the trade unions that arose in response to the inhumane treatment of the workers; the Anarchists, whose violent opposition to the Church and the wealthy elite led to the deaths of hundreds of priests; the Communists; and the Republican government, which ultimately fell to the rebels led by Franco and his colleagues during the Civil War.
In later chapters he explores smaller towns in Catalonia, including the medieval city of Girona, known for its Passion Play about the last days of Jesus Christ and the macabre and dangerous Dance of Death that only residents can attend; the Costa Brava, which has become a favored destination for tourists but still holds pockets of isolated beauty; and Llavorsí, a mountainous village that has also experienced a not completely welcome transformation due to the influence of non-Catalonians.
Throughout the book Tóibín compares his impressions of Catalonia during his first stay from 1975-1978 with his subsequent ones in 1988. The book closes with the preparations underway in the city for the 1992 Summer Olympic Games, which seem to be disjointed, disruptive and a vague threat to that unique region.
Homage to Barcelona was a superb and beautifully written introduction to a city which I plan to visit for the first time later this year. At just over 200 pages it would serve well as a portable cultural guide to Barcelona and Catalonia, although it is now a bit dated nearly 25 years after its initial release. My only disappointment was that Tóibín only dedicated a couple of paragraphs to the region's leading authors and those non-Catalonians who have written about the city. ( )
7 vota | señalakidzdoc | Jan 9, 2014 | I Totally agree with you, But after 1998 Barcelona has change a lot ( )