Eclipse [Paperback]

Hugues De Montalembert (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 14, 2006

Eclipse is the autobiographical work by a young artist living in New York. It describes, from the evening he was attacked and lost his sight, the two years it took to him to go back to Life and swim freely in the sea of Java. 'I had to give birth to myself. The beautiful, unpredictable and eccentric ballerina, Valouchka, leads him into the reconquest of the dance with life. Hospital, Rehabilitation Centre, joy, despair, love. and one morning, he closes the door behind and flies alone to Indonesia. 'Fear is the true Blindness'. You experiment in those pages a deep meditation on life, love, perception, visual world and inner vision. Poignant, poetic and sometimes hilarious, this book is a Song to Life, which questions all of us.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Vision was his livelihoodhe was an international painter until five years ago. Then one May night in Greenwich Village, two drugged thieves senselessly attacked him and destroyed his sight with acid. Hugues de Montalembert's confrontation with evil here takes him into a labyrinth of despair, anger, unending painphysical and emotional. A rebellious man, he finds innovative outlets in this new life. He mocks his therapists, condescending friends, patronizing strangers, even tender, caring women. A passionate love affair with a Russian ballerina helps him heal within and without. He paints with bold words his new fears of silence, of perennial darkness, of crowded Manhattan streets, but he conquers. He re-learns to read, to hear, to walk, to swim. And he rejoices. He learns to live perhaps more intensely than before. This is a poetic, sensual, compelling storyall the more irresistible because it is true. Eclipse is ultimately an evocative definition of sight. November
Copyright 1985 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

This self-portrait of a recently blinded man combines medical-psychological suspense, travelogue, and deep medita tion, and carries the reader through a harrowing but enlightening process of identity-formation in mid-life. The au thor, a French writer and painter living in New York, was blinded when two muggers threw acid in his face. He finds himself ``between death and birth. I am dead to my past life and not yet reborn to this new one.'' His self-creation is described with fidelity to despair, hope, humor, and an array of insights which could only be achieved without eyes. De Montalembert's interest in voodoo exotica may confuse some readers, in trigue others. A major best-seller in France, this profound and witty book both entertains and teaches. E. James Lieberman, Psychiatry Dept., George Washington Univ. Sch. of Medicine, Washington, D.C.
Copyright 1985 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: BookSurge Publishing; First Thus edition (December 14, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1419654179
• ISBN-13: 978-1419654176
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,360,894 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Born in France, Hugues de Montalembert is a painter and photographer who was blinded during a violent assault while living in New York in 1978. He is the author of one previous book in English, ECLIPSE (1985). His story was also the basis of the acclaimed documentary film BLACK SUN (2007). He currently lives in Paris.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A touching story, honest and open, April 6, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Eclipse (Hardcover)

I had to pick a book to do a report on and I chose this book. I was captivated. The novel was a tad cnfusing to read since it was translated from french and written in first person present. But overall it was good.