Mist: A Tragicomic Novel [Paperback]

Miguel de Unamuno (Author), Warner Fite (Translator), Theodore Ziolkowski (Foreword)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0252068947 | ISBN-13: 978-0252068942 | Publication Date: March 27, 2000 | Edition: 1st

A towering figure of political, philosophical, and literary controversy, Miguel de Unamuno was the undisputed intellectual leader of the brilliant Generation of 1898 that ushered in a second golden age of Spanish culture. In the vast and varied body of his work, none conveys his intellectual legacy more effectively than "Mist", a monument of the philosophical novel and a masterpiece of modern experimental fiction. Dispensing with the conventions of action, time and place, and analysis of character, "Mist" proceeds entirely on the strength of dialogue that reveals the struggles of what Unamuno called his "agonists". These include Augusto Perez, the pampered son of a recently deceased mother; the deceitful, scheming Eugenia, whom Augusto obsessively idealizes; and, Augusto's dog Orfeo, who gives a funeral oration upon his master's death. "Mist" even includes a chapter that explains Unamuno's theory of the antinovel. Anticipating later writers such as Albert Camus and Jean-Paul Sartre, Unamuno exploited fiction as a vehicle for the exploration of philosophical themes. First published in 1914, "Mist" exemplified a new kind of novel with which Unamuno aimed to shatter fiction's conventional illusions of reality. It is an antinovel that treats its fictionality ironically. This historic reissue includes a foreword by Theodore Ziolkowski.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"It is excellent news that Unamuno's Niebla is once again available in English, in this readable version by Warner Fite. The generally pedantic and even stilted tone of much of Augusto's monologues and dialogues has been preserved, and even if that seems strange to the unprepared English-reader... Reading this translation has confirmed me in the belief that Niebla deserves not to be forgotten." Roger Wright, Bulletin of Hispanic Studies

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Spanish

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: University of Illinois Press; 1st edition (March 27, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0252068947
• ISBN-13: 978-0252068942
• Product Dimensions: 7.3 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #299,263 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Spanish Classic, DO NOT MISS IT!!!, August 20, 2002

By 

santiago (Madrid, Spain) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mist: A Tragicomic Novel (Paperback)

This is the typical novel that when in schooldays, the Teacher order the pupils to read it. And obviously, you do (or you pretend that you do) without paying very much attention on what you read. Sometimes this novel do not appear in the Compulsory Lecture Program, and you escape from it. This is what happened to me...
Later, a friend of yours (in my case it was my partner) recommends you to go over it again, and you discover a Gem.
There are very little things than can be said about the plot, the characters, the language... because I risk to spoil the whole experience of reading it. But I would not avoid saying that Unamuno was one of the most clever writers that ever existed in my country (everyone has heard of him here), and that in "Mist", mostly all things that worries the Human being, such as love, relationships between men and women, marriage, the Meaning of life, the aim of Literature itself... is within its pages, and that is exposed in a very surprising and entertaining way.
As every Masterpiece, it admits many different lectures and points of view, and it might be a very good piece of literature to be discussed in one of those Book Clubs that are so popular in the States.
Trust me: Read it and you won't be disappointed.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Superb essay on autonomy and independence of ideas, September 21, 2000

By 

Marcelo (Patagonia Argentina) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mist: A Tragicomic Novel (Paperback)

Unamuno starts with a mundane situation to bring the reader into the unique world of abstract ideation and creation. The author uses an utmost and ingeniously sophisticated method to analyze what happens with our creations. Ideas, characters, concepts, art, (even offspring) they are generated and released into the world. They acquire an independent status, become autonomous; they are fully detached from us and our will. In the novel, the author creates a character, Augusto, who falls deeply in love with a woman. His love is not corresponded, therefore the author writes that Augusto will commit suicide. But... Augusto, the character, disagrees with the author since the former wants to live and to love; the idea of suicide never crossed his mind. A heated argument starts between the two of them. Even more, you as reader will be invited to accompany the character to visit the author's house and clear up the issue in person. You will be forced to adopt a position on the matter and decide, at least for yourself, who is right. This is the best existentialist novel I have ever read.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars how much fun!, August 16, 2004

By 

Justin Pack "asiacatcher" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mist: A Tragicomic Novel (Paperback)

With the exception of Nietzsche, never has been philosophy been so much fun! Mist comes across to me as a romping Borges - by this I mean it is full of ideas and creative, as is Borges, but Miguel De Unamuno seems to have the almost girlish exuberance of the Spanish while the Argentinan stays more alof and academic.
Contemporary philosophy normally involves a trained vocabulary and historical understanding, but De Unamuno manages to make this an interesting story and throwing in bones for us to ponder. I often found myself pausing and chewing on my lip, lost in thought. Oh, and how I laughed! At one point the absent minded main character has fallen is asleep and is called to dinner by his servant. Wondering whether the voice was in his head or not he exclaims: "Psychological mysteries!"
It is a shame De Unamuno is not better known.