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The Death of Virgil by Hermann Broch
The Death of Virgil is a dense poetic work of art that I’ve heard described as a masterpiece, as well as a failure. I’m not entirely sure either one is wrong.
The novel is broken into four sections and the story unfolds in two different ways. We get Virgil’s landing at Brundisium and his conversation with Octavian Augustus, which are descriptive and conversational scenes respectively. As we leave each of those relatively tranquil pieces of writing behind, we delve into some monstrously wonderful density with Proustian length sentences that truly challenge the reader’s ability to hold it all together. It will certainly take another read for me to determine if I think Broch’s philosophy is “broken” as I’ve seen another reviewer remark.
What I can say for myself is that I absolutely loved the vibe of this novel. I found myself reading those highly challenging sections for feel more than ultimate understanding, perhaps that will come with time. I don’t quite rate it among my very top tier of novels, but it is a work that I enjoyed almost as much as I respect and admire it. Loads of respect and admiration also has to go to the translator, Jean Starr Untermeyer. It has to go down as one of the most interesting and difficult books to translate.
“One of the most extraordinary and profound experiments ever to have been undertaken with the flexible medium of the novel.” ~ Thomas Mann
#entertainment
source
The Death of Virgil is a dense poetic work of art that I’ve heard described as a masterpiece, as well as a failure. I’m not entirely sure either one is wrong.
The novel is broken into four sections and the story unfolds in two different ways. We get Virgil’s landing at Brundisium and his conversation with Octavian Augustus, which are descriptive and conversational scenes respectively. As we leave each of those relatively tranquil pieces of writing behind, we delve into some monstrously wonderful density with Proustian length sentences that truly challenge the reader’s ability to hold it all together. It will certainly take another read for me to determine if I think Broch’s philosophy is “broken” as I’ve seen another reviewer remark.
What I can say for myself is that I absolutely loved the vibe of this novel. I found myself reading those highly challenging sections for feel more than ultimate understanding, perhaps that will come with time. I don’t quite rate it among my very top tier of novels, but it is a work that I enjoyed almost as much as I respect and admire it. Loads of respect and admiration also has to go to the translator, Jean Starr Untermeyer. It has to go down as one of the most interesting and difficult books to translate.
“One of the most extraordinary and profound experiments ever to have been undertaken with the flexible medium of the novel.” ~ Thomas Mann
#entertainment
source
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