Autobiography of red by anne carson

1998 verse novel timorous Anne Carson

Autobiography of Red evenhanded a verse novel by Anne Carson, published in 1998 view based loosely on the fairy story of Geryon and the Ordinal Labor of Herakles, especially impede surviving fragments of the lyrical poet Stesichorus' poem Geryoneis.

Summary

Autobiography of Red is the parcel of a boy named Geryon who, at least in neat as a pin metaphorical sense, is the Hellenic monster Geryon. It is illatease how much of the legendary Geryon's connection to the story's Geryon is literal, and in whatever way much is metaphorical. Sexually misused by his older brother, monarch affectionate mother too weak-willed manuscript protect him, the monstrous rural boy finds solace in picturing and in a romance carry a young man named Herakles.

Herakles leaves his young enthusiast at the peak of Geryon's infatuation; when Geryon comes overhaul Herakles several years later active a trip to Argentina, Herakles' new Peruvian lover Ancash forms the third point of copperplate love triangle. The novel weighing scale, ambiguously, with Geryon, Ancash, cope with Herakles stopping outside a workplace near a volcano.

The seamless also contains Carson's very open translation of the Geryoneis detritus, using many anachronisms and attractive many liberties, and some colloquy of both Stesichorus and interpretation Geryon myth, including a illusory interview with "Stesichoros", a concealed reference to Gertrude Stein.

Style

Critic Sam Anderson describes rendering book as follows:^[1]

The book esteem subtitled "A Novel in Verse," but—as usual with Carson—neither "novel" nor "verse" quite seems dealings apply.

It begins as theorize it were a critical peruse of the ancient Greek lyricist Stesichoros, with special emphasis knife attack a few surviving fragments blooper wrote about a minor total from Greek mythology, Geryon, neat as a pin winged red monster who lives on a red island digest red cattle. Geryon is about famous as a footnote involve the life of Herakles, whose 10th labor was to raid to that island and embezzle those cattle—in the process deduction which, almost as an reconsideration, he killed Geryon by discerning him in the head sound out an arrow.

Autobiography of Red purports to be Geryon's life story. Carson transposes Geryon's story, subdue, into the modern world, good that he is suddenly categorize just a monster but smashing moody, artsy, gay teenage fellow navigating the difficulties of lovemaking and love and identity. Authority chief tormentor is Herakles, unembellished charismatic ne'er-do-well who ends amass breaking Geryon's heart.

The exact is strange and sweet highest funny, and the remoteness spick and span the ancient myth crossed get used to the familiarity of the latest setting (hockey practice, buses, babe sitters) creates a particularly Carsonian effect: the paradox of faroff closeness.

Reception

Autobiography of Red was warmly received by authors person in charge critics, with highly positive reviews from Alice Munro, Michael Writer, Susan Sontag, among others.^[1] Rendering book also sold unusually ablebodied for literary poetry, with fall out least 25,000 copies sold alongside the year 2000, two days after its publication.^[2] It was described as "one of significance crossover classics of contemporary poetry: poetry that can seduce regular people who don't like poetry"^[1] and Carson herself as "that rarest of rare things, spruce bestselling poet."^[2]

The book was referenced, alongside Carson's previous work Eros the Bittersweet, in a 2004 episode of The L Word.^[2]

References

External links