Ladder of Shadows: Reflecting on Medieval Vestige in Provence and Languedoc (Ahmanson Foundation Book in the Humanities) [Paperback]

Gustaf Sobin (Author), Michael Ignatieff (Foreword)

Book Description

Series: Ahmanson Foundation Book in the Humanities | Publication Date: January 5, 2009

Bits of late Roman coinage, the mutilated torso of a marble Venus, blue debris from an early medieval glassworks, and the powder rasped from the reputed tomb of Mary Magdalene--these tantalizing mementos of human history found scattered throughout the landscape of southeastern France are the points of departure for Gustaf Sobin's lyrical narrative. A companion volume to his acclaimed Luminous Debris, Ladder of Shadows picks up where the former left off: with late antiquity, covering a period from roughly the third to the thirteenth century. Here Sobin offers brilliant readings of late Roman and early Christian ruins in his adopted region of Provence, sifting through iconographic, architectural, and sacramental vestiges to shed light on nothing less than the existential itself.

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

"In Ladder of Shadows, Gustaf Sobin is 'always in search of the kind of phenomena that might, potentially, confer sense upon one's own existence.' In the course of this search, Sobin's essays enact a lovely and compelling labor of making the past present, while also making the present unfold and open itself to history."--Joshua Clover, author of The Totality for Kids

"Gustaf Sobin's Ladder of Shadows is to Provençal consciousness what his perfect sensorium of poetry is to a rose and the sound of a river. Sobin's writing is a gift that we never learn to expect; it always surprises."--Michael McClure, poet and playwright

"I feel as though I just walked across southern France from 27 B.C. to A.D. 1200 accompanied by a really smart, articulate, and avid local insider. Along the way he introduced me to monks, potters, stonemasons, architects, glassblowers, farmers still using late Neolithic methods, woodcutters, and salt dryers. Perhaps the reader should be warned not to open the book unless there are several days of free time available. It is almost impossible to put it down."--Dean MacCannell, author of The Tourist: A New Theory of the Leisure Class

About the Author

Gustaf Sobin (1935-2005) was a poet, novelist, and essayist. His books include the novel The Fly-Truffler and Luminous Debris: Reflecting on Vestige in Provence and Languedoc (UC Press).

Product Details

• Paperback: 264 pages
• Publisher: University of California Press; 1 edition (January 5, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0520253353
• ISBN-13: 978-0520253353
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,849,470 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Looking for the past in Provence, May 20, 2010

By 

S. Smith-Peter (Staten Island, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Ladder of Shadows: Reflecting on Medieval Vestige in Provence and Languedoc (Ahmanson Foundation Book in the Humanities) (Paperback)

This is a beautifully written series of meditations on the present of the past in the landscape of southern France. The author, Gustaf Sobin, was also a poet, which shows in the precision and force of his language. The book explores the shift from late antiquity to the Dark Ages and then to the Romanesque period and discusses the transition from paganism to Christianity. One of the most interesting things about the book is the way it takes physical objects (the medieval vestige of the title) and places them in their larger cultural and geographical context. Particularly excellent was a short chapter on glass beads made during the Dark Ages.

Sobin was transfixed by the melancholy of change and saw progress as a sort of all-devouring idol. He was even able to mourn the passing of the Dark Ages by discussing how the forests rebounded then.

I'm not an expert on French history, so I can't speak to how it connects to that historiography, but as a general reader I can say that this is a wonderful guide to the presence of the past in the present. If you have any interest in the remains of the past or in France, you would do well to read this book.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars wandering through provence, February 24, 2009

By 

Barbara Kuposky "solutrean" (Half Moon Bay, California) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Ladder of Shadows: Reflecting on Medieval Vestige in Provence and Languedoc (Ahmanson Foundation Book in the Humanities) (Paperback)

This is a posthumously published continuation of Gus Sobin's incredibly lovely "Luminous Debris", which is my favorite of all his writings. This is short, but beautifully written, with vestiges of his poetry hidden behind the eloquence.