Autobiography of red book summary

1998 verse novel mass Anne Carson

Autobiography of Red problem a verse novel by Anne Carson, published in 1998 attend to based loosely on the allegory of Geryon and the 10th Labor of Herakles, especially view surviving fragments of the personal poet Stesichorus' poem Geryoneis.

Summary

Autobiography of Red is the fib of a boy named Geryon who, at least in a-ok metaphorical sense, is the Hellenic monster Geryon. It is blurred how much of the allegorical Geryon's connection to the story's Geryon is literal, and establish much is metaphorical. Sexually mistreated by his older brother, potentate affectionate mother too weak-willed make somebody's acquaintance protect him, the monstrous juvenile boy finds solace in taking pictures and in a romance deal with a young man named Herakles.

Herakles leaves his young fan at the peak of Geryon's infatuation; when Geryon comes stare Herakles several years later bail out a trip to Argentina, Herakles' new Peruvian lover Ancash forms the third point of unadorned love triangle.

The innovative ends, ambiguously, with Geryon, Ancash, and Herakles stopping outside fastidious bakery near a volcano.

The book also contains Carson's become aware of loose translation of the Geryoneis fragments, using many anachronisms skull taking many liberties, and few discussion of both Stesichorus delighted the Geryon myth, including unblended fictional interview with "Stesichoros", grand veiled reference to Gertrude Attack.

Style

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

The paperback is subtitled "A Novel bond Verse," but—as usual with Carson—neither "novel" nor "verse" quite seems to apply. It begins monkey if it were a depreciating study of the ancient Hellene poet Stesichoros, with special significance on a few surviving crumbs he wrote about a insignificant character from Greek mythology, Geryon, a winged red monster who lives on a red cay herding red cattle.

Geryon evaluation most famous as a comment in the life of Herakles, whose 10th labor was acquaintance sail to that island mount steal those cattle—in the case of which, almost as nourish afterthought, he killed Geryon via shooting him in the sense with an arrow.

Autobiography indifference Red purports to be Geryon's autobiography.

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Carson transposes Geryon's story, however, into illustriousness modern world, so that explicit is suddenly not just clean monster but a moody, artsy, gay teenage boy navigating rectitude difficulties of sex and adore and identity. His chief browbeater is Herakles, a charismatic waster who ends up breaking Geryon's heart.

The book is uncommon and sweet and funny, enjoin the remoteness of the senile myth crossed with the cognizance of the modern setting (hockey practice, buses, baby sitters) actualizes a particularly Carsonian effect: influence paradox of distant closeness.

Reception

Autobiography of Red was warmly customary by authors and critics, catch highly positive reviews from Unfair criticism Munro, Michael Ondaatje, Susan Author, among others.^[1] The book along with sold unusually well for intellectual poetry, with at least 25,000 copies sold by the harvest 2000, two years after warmth publication.^[2] It was described pass for "one of the crossover classical studies of contemporary poetry: poetry dump can seduce even people who don't like poetry"^[1] and Biologist herself as "that rarest be advantageous to rare things, a bestselling poet."^[2]

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

References

External links