Death of a Lady's Man [Hardcover]

Leonard Cohen (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 7, 1978

A collection of poetry and prose interspersed with lyrics, discursive passages, and diary extracts from the legendary Canadian songwriter-poet

 

First published in 1978, the theme of this insightful and moving poetry collection is love with all its dilemmas. It is largely autobiographical in tone, offering the reader insights into Cohen's private world. From the 1950s and 1960s onward, Cohen's mournful, thought-provoking lyrics and poems have formed the backdrop to the musings of generations; this reissue, following on the huge success of his 2009 concerts, extends the experience to yet more new readers.

--This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Leonard Cohen was born in Montreal in 1934. He received his B.A. from McGill University and pursued graduate studies in English at Columbia University. Soon thereafter, he returned to Montreal and worked in his family’s clothing business while he continued to write poetry.

His artistic career began in 1956 with the publication of Let Us Compare Mythologies. He has published nine collections of poetry, most recently, Stranger Music: Selected Poems and Songs (1993), and two novels, The Favourite Game (1963) and Beautiful Losers (1966). During the sixties he achieved national and international acclaim as a composer-singer. He has made seventeen albums, the latest being Dear Heather (2004). Numerous tribute albums, in many languages, have celebrated his songs.

Cohen was made an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1991, and promoted to the rank of Companion in 2003. He received the Governor General’s Performing Arts Award in 1993, and has won numerous Juno Awards.


From the Trade Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 216 pages
• Publisher: McClelland & Stewart; First Edition edition (October 7, 1978)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0771021771
• ISBN-13: 978-0771021770
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,779,194 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Complicated. This is not an intellectual review,, April 1, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Death of a Lady's Man (Hardcover)

but until a proper review is posted this will have to do...

Mr Cohen is using an old notebook, reworking compositions, poems, notes etc. and commenting on them to describe (I hope!) the loss of his persona to a relationship and what it has done to him and his art. I have assumed that each piece is related, although I haven't read it all as I got half way through and felt like I was illiterate.

However, it is thought provoking with some excellent rants, raves and disgruntled observations.

As a book to dip into occasionally to jar the mind and start thinking on a new level it is very good One very good poem is scathing about the facile use of histrionics to emphasise what one is saying, because words themselves are constructed to describe the object and meaning. It probably has a deeper meaning which I haven't fathomed but it kept me absorbed for a few days.

Sorry I can't be of more help but from this review you will know whether it's your cup of tea. I can recommend this book if you are not afraid of dying and are looking for something that will test your patience. It is a challenge. You will appreciate the quality of Cohen's art even if you don't understand the cultural references. The effort does pay off.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting, difficult to penetrate, February 7, 2002

By 

Bill R. Moore (New York, USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Death of a Lady's Man (Hardcover)

While Cohen has never been a very abstract poet, Death Of A Lady's Man (a sly re-titling of his album of the previous year) was perhaps his first foray into more unique poetics. The vast majority of the book, indeed, is not poetry at all (really), but a sort of very loose type of prose. Rather than being the straight up poetry that his earlier volumes mostly were, this is a collection of rants and raves, almost all of them followed by a commentary on the poem, or a type of analyzation. Highly sarcastic. Cohen seems to be analyzing the deconstruction of his former persona (the "Lady's Man") through a failed relationship with his "wife." Pretty heavy stuff. It can be difficult to penetrate at times; and, indeed, you will probably be asking yourself at times if there is any meaning to it at all. Overall, I'd have to say it's not Cohen's best book of poetry (try The Energy of Slaves for that), it is an interesting one. If you're not a fan of him already, this book certainly won't convince you. However, a fan will want it.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars great, July 15, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Death of a Lady's Man (Hardcover)

this is one of the best books ever written. there is no one who is as honest as cohen when it comes to marriage combined hate and love all in one person.