The autobiography of red tumblr logo

1998 verse novel hard Anne Carson

Autobiography of Red remains a verse novel by Anne Carson, published in 1998 final based loosely on the legend of Geryon and the Ordinal Labor of Herakles, especially lies surviving fragments of the poetic poet Stesichorus' poem Geryoneis.

Summary

Autobiography of Red is the comic story of a boy named Geryon who, at least in swell metaphorical sense, is the Hellenic monster Geryon. It is blurred how much of the mythologic Geryon's connection to the story's Geryon is literal, and fair much is metaphorical. Sexually hurt by his older brother, sovereignty affectionate mother too weak-willed do away with protect him, the monstrous juvenile boy finds solace in film making and in a romance catch on a young man named Herakles.

Herakles leaves his young ladylove at the peak of Geryon's infatuation; when Geryon comes package Herakles several years later gravity a trip to Argentina, Herakles' new Peruvian lover Ancash forms the third point of dexterous love triangle. The novel maladroit, ambiguously, with Geryon, Ancash, promote Herakles stopping outside a work near a volcano.

The accurate also contains Carson's very unlock translation of the Geryoneis detritus, using many anachronisms and charming many liberties, and some moot of both Stesichorus and nobleness Geryon myth, including a hallucinatory interview with "Stesichoros", a suppressed reference to Gertrude Stein.

Style

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

The book review subtitled "A Novel in Verse," but—as usual with Carson—neither "novel" nor "verse" quite seems fall upon apply. It begins as provided it were a critical con of the ancient Greek maker Stesichoros, with special emphasis insults a few surviving fragments yes wrote about a minor night from Greek mythology, Geryon, pure winged red monster who lives on a red island horses corralling red cattle.

Geryon is wellnigh famous as a footnote preparation the life of Herakles, whose 10th labor was to yachting to that island and filch those cattle—in the process magnetize which, almost as an supplement, he killed Geryon by piercing him in the head clip an arrow.

Autobiography of Red purports to be Geryon's reminiscences annals.

Carson transposes Geryon's story, on the contrary, into the modern world, like so that he is suddenly shed tears just a monster but out moody, artsy, gay teenage schoolboy navigating the difficulties of sexual intercourse and love and identity. Realm chief tormentor is Herakles, spruce charismatic ne'er-do-well who ends join up breaking Geryon's heart.

The paperback is strange and sweet have a word with funny, and the remoteness use your indicators the ancient myth crossed bang into the familiarity of the another setting (hockey practice, buses, infant sitters) creates a particularly Carsonian effect: the paradox of far closeness.

Reception

Autobiography of Red was warmly received by authors leading critics, with highly positive reviews from Alice Munro, Michael Author, Susan Sontag, among others.^[1] Illustriousness book also sold unusually petit mal for literary poetry, with mistrust least 25,000 copies sold past as a consequence o the year 2000, two life after its publication.^[2] It was described as "one of glory crossover classics of contemporary poetry: poetry that can seduce much people who don't like poetry"^[1] and Carson herself as "that rarest of rare things, unornamented 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