Customer Reviews

The Book of Embraces (Norton Paperback)

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"The Book of Embraces" is a marvelous text by Uruguayan author Eduardo Galeano. The book has been translated into English by Cedric Belfrage, with Mark Schafer. This book is one of those texts that transcends genre. It consists of more than 150 short texts (most less than a page long) interspersed with Galeano's quirky, collage-like illustrations.

These short texts seem at times like essays, short stories, prose poems, or autobiographical fragments. By blending them together with his frequently whimsical graphics, Galeano creates his own unique form of literature.

Galeano writes about many topics. His short pieces take us all over Latin America--to Uruguay, Argentina, Venezuela, Cuba, Ecuador, and other countries--as well as to other parts of the world. He frequently reflects on life under dictatorships and mindless bureaucracies. And other Latin American writers frequently pop up: Claribel Alegria, Julio Cortazar, Mario Benedetti, and others.

Some of these short pieces are playfully humorous, others scathingly satirical, others gently compassionate, others hauntingly metaphysical. But throughout Galeano seems to maintain his faith in the human spirit: "When it is genuine, when it is born of the need to speak, no one can stop the human voice" (from "Celebration of the Human Voice 2"). "The Book of Embraces" is a book that you may want to embrace.

I may be the only Galeano 'groupie' in existance. That fact is a result of my being introduced to this extraordinary writer in "The Book of Embraces". Since then I've bought used and 'remaidered' copies from Portland to Cambridge to NYC, saved them for awhile and then gave them away as presents to my best friends. I regularly quote his fables and words in a weekly newsletter I publish for the school I direct. Several years ago (definitely before Amazon.com time), I heard him at an author's reading at the (ill-fated) Endicott Bookstore in Manahttan where he signed my tattered copy of "The Book of Embraces". Boy was that an experience! I gave him an envelope full of my newsletters and invited him to visit our school but, alas, he's never written or called. I guess he stays away from groupies. No matter - a real groupie holds no grudges. It's clear that I am biased; there's no reason not to be. Galleano's work gives you a greater appreciation of the human condition, especially as it affects the Latino world in the Americas. The history, wisdom, politics and rich culture of the peoples indigenous to the Americas as well as the suffering of their decendants hits you in your gut, your head and your heart again and again as your read The Book of Embraces. This book uses understated, simple stories to enlarge your political perspective. That can make a difference.

This masterpiece by Uruguayan writer Eduardo Galeano is written in the shape of very short, anecdote-like stories, some comprising less than a page. Through his powerful language and masterful technique, he conveys the desolation of living under a dictatorship, the difficulties of an artist's task, and, above all, the dignity and courage of unknown and yet exceptional people throughout Latin America. This book, strong, raw and moving, is a must. Go ahead and buy it.

No one on this planet can write like Eduardo. And other writers have had the good sense not to try. Oh yeah the way he puts a book together is all his own- but please don't be put off by it because you never saw anything like it before. What Eduardo has to say is always something very special- here is a guy who writes with his whole heart and soul, with all his passion too. One of the greatest joys of this book is sharing it with your friends- there are so many little stories you know somebody will love. And what a nice surprise it is when they discover this incomparable writer, and can then go and start reading his other books. Of which there are plenty, and all great.

The fact that Eduardo Galeano's The Book of Embraces defies conventional categorization is indicative of its sometimes fragmented and always unpredictable content. Its combination of short texts with seemingly unrelated and shocking illustrations was a welcome break from traditional forms. My sister, who read Galeano in high school, recommended this book one night when I asked her to suggest something different for my new book club. Unfortunately, I immediately disregarded her suggestion and did not pick up this book until a year after our initial conversation.

Galeano has been criticized for his lack of organization and rambling style, yet the "random" musings is literature in its purest form. The author demonstrates his ability to passionately write in several styles and on varied topics while still maintaining a common uniting thread. A majority of the short texts come back to military dictatorship throughout Latin America and particularly within the author's homeland, Uruguay. All of the stories reflect the disconnected reality of people away from their country of birth. Galeano's exile forced him to confront a lifestyle completely different from what he had previously experienced. Galeano's writings are therefore permeated by a sort of nostalgia for Latin America before political forces altered it beyond recognition. Another uniting feature of the book is the inclusion of sections entitled "The Walls Speak." The fleeting nature of graffiti mirrors the book's impulsive origins. Galeano writes what he feels on whatever is on his mind, much like the authors whose mysterious scrawls he has accumulated. Some poignant phrases include: "'Everybody makes promises and nobody keeps them. Vote for nobody.'" And "Here we sit, watching them kill our dream.'"

Other topics throughout the book include consumerism, extreme poverty, faith in God, and immigrant life. Galeano frequently uses social commentary to espouse his views on everything from homogenization in "Television/3" to morality in "The System/2." "Television/3" explores the effects of Americanization on Hispanic culture: "We eat imported emotions as if they were canned sausages while the young children of television, trained to watch life instead of making it, shrug their shoulders." "The System/2" discusses duality as a cultural practice: "Double language, double accounting, double morality: one morality for speech, another morality for action. The morality for action is called realism. The law of reality is the law of power."

Unfortunately, my school curriculum does not offer any works by Latin American authors; even 100 Years of Solitude is left out. In addition, there are few history classes that give any South American history. Knowledge of the extreme conditions during different military dictatorships is necessary at a school with a large population of South American immigrants. Therefore, reading The Book of Embraces gave me an opportunity to experience literature that is a testament to my own Hispanic roots. The story of my family is part of the brief history included in Galeano's meditations. I highly recommend this book to my peers in particular, because its intensity will awaken American teens from their rut of comfort and overabundance.

The epicenter of small tornados. Sad, funny, intriguing, depressing and completely unique way of writing reality. Galeano has an special eye to see what most people cant. How can he catch on an eye of a blink so many characters? simple characters from the country towns, from the cities, simple BUT rich people. Off course... in every shining story you will also find the dark side. This book is life itself. Dark and Bright to live sometimes in yellow, sometimes in black and sometimes in grey. Nothing is perfect, this kind of embraces also have thorns. But if you want to feel through your heat, undoubtedly... this is the book for you.

After regretfully returning this book to the library more than ten years ago, and forgetting all about it in the course of life, I happened upon the title of this book while haunting the internet, and the beauty of this book all came rushing back to me. Rarely do I encounter a book that makes such an impression on me. I am filled with longing to read its pages once again. The writing style is wonderful and adds to the haunting beauty of its content. Not a typical four-course meal -- to compare it with food -- but more like a sushi dinner, or dimsum; skip around and eat whatever catches your eye!

A riveting account of the simple things which make the human race what it is. A must have.

WHile Galeano had some great ideas, he did nothing to link these which made it seem too random to truly enjoy.

This book was required for my daughter's high school English class. It made little sense to us. The thoughts may be beautiful, as described by others, but they were disconnected and incoherent. I wondered if the writer had some form of mental illness or something was lost in translation.