Customer Reviews

Ocean Sea

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Alessandro Baricco's Ocean Sea is a lyrically beautiful, but cruel, allegory of the secret hopes, dreams, fears, quests and horrors that drive us all and often, against our wishes, consume our lives. And, no matter how hard we deny it, there comes a time in every person's life when he or she must confront his deepest, darkest secrets, a time when they can no longer be suppressed. For it is only when we confront our fears and our obsessions, our hopes and our dreams, and yes, even our horrors, that they lose their power over us and we are finally restored to wholeness. Alessandro Baricco has assembled a cast of broken, disparate characters, each seeking the restorative powers of the ocean sea, that elusive place where fantasy meets reality, where love and horror become inexorably woven into the fabric of life. Baricco's prose is certainly not the flowery, overwrought "purple prose" of Anne Rice or Michael Ondaatje. Instead, it evokes the lyrical skeletalness of Debussy--beautiful and difficult, yet barely there, like the edge of the sea, itself. Savigny's narrative, in Book II, is one of the finest examples of the power and beauty of language I have ever encountered. If I have any criticism of Ocean Sea, it is the fact that the ultimate fate of Professor Bartleboom did not seem in character with the savage beauty evoked in the rest of the book. I almost felt as though I had been dropped inside another story altogether. But allegory is difficult to write and even more difficult to read, and Ocean Sea is no exception. I doubt that anyone alive can absorb this exquisite book's impact in only one reading. Like Silk, another of Baricco's works, Ocean Sea is a masterpiece. A small, but flawless, gem that will astound you and haunt you, but will never, ever let you alone.

Baricco has written a tremendous story of the truth of our human condition - individuals with a variety of obsessions - revenge, art, science, sensual experience - who are seemingly unrelated come together for the healing of the sea. They come together in a small ocean inn run by fay children. At the center of the book stands a horrofic story of humanity at its worst. . . .

The structure of the book is a difficult one but one Baricco has fashioned into the absolutely correct form for his story. The prose ranges from very lush, descriptive prose to very taciturn conversation, from art catalogue entries to poetic prayers. Occasionally a sentence or two will misfire, but Baricco has exquisite control over his medium.

This book belongs on any must read list.

I think this is probably the best book I have ever read. Actually, I have read everything by Baricco more than once (in Italian, since this is my mother language), but Ocean sea is by far his most impressive work. I mean, it is poetry turned into prose. That's not easy to explain. At the very beginning, the reader seems to be wandering in the middle of nowhere, but then he starts understanding that he's following a hidden path. It's like a puzzle, you never see anything clear until you get to the end, but when you do, it is just as if you had found a treasure. While reading, you are under the spell of something quite strange, something that puts you in touch with yourself, with your life somehow. The feeling is the one of being in the middle of a painting by Dalì or Magritte: something seeming supernatural, superreal, but that is in fact incredibly true and near. It touches you so deep within that it takes you to a higher level, where everything gets meaningful and where one's rediscovers his sensitivity. Baricco's style is perfect, too. The fact is that he's really good at telling stories, and I am sorry for those who couldn't listen to him live on TV or in theatres. As for the book anyway, it would be a pity to miss it. Most people think it has been written after Silk (a masterpiece, too, but completely different). I just wanted to point out this is untrue, since he wrote it later. But worth reading as well.

-Sometimes I wonder what are we waiting for. -For it to be too late, madame.

I have read OCEANO MARE in its original language, but the grammatic is so clear that the translation can easily keep the beauty of Baricco's writing. It recalls the style fo the naturalists fo the XIX century. It is an original story. There are differents settings that runs parallel and then blend together. Several characters with different stories find a personal meaning in the ocean that can be either terrible or beautiful, gentle of furios, can carry joy oy death. A group of men abandoned on a boat; two men that look for the end or the beginning of the sea; storytellers that comes from the waves; lovers walking on the beach; children that know more than adults about everything; they are all connected to the ocean sea somehow. The book is strong and delicate. It goes beyond the love and hate human feel for the sea, it is a story that goes deep in the human soul, it is a rappresentation of the most secret desires, that goes beyond rational thinking. Enigmatic and pure. OCean blue. I loved it.

Some never see it. The sea in their heart. But never mind, those who see it still have books. But they also have troubles sometimes. And as I, you have never seen Ocean Sea of this fabulous Italian author of whom you've never heard, until a handsome woman, your teacher Drama at the local Academy, tells you they are going to bring on stage some novel called Ocean Sea, written by a certain Baricco (who ? never heard of ? very difficult, shakespeare-like I presume, everyone yells). And then you read it, and you really see the sea. Experiencing it on scene makes it even worse : escaping this yearning feeling to tell everyone you meet they absolutely must read this book becomes impossible. And in every letter you write to your many pals, you can't stop mentioning Plasson, the painter who wants to leave his canvas white but not blanco, or others. This story is all about puzzles : pieces coming together and breaking up. It's about leaving things undefined. It's about the sea : you can dive in it, you get a little bit wet, but you can't breath under the sea, unless you wear an O2-mask, and even then. Some books take you up in the air and leave you there. Some put you down to the ground and under it. This one makes you feel alive and you keep reading it. This one you want to share with your best friends. And you would even want to e-mail on it. But you will never give it away. I promise !

Reading this book reminded me of other poetic and philosophic fairytales such as by St. Exupéry (le Petit Prince) or Coelho (The Alchemist). Rich, almost too much so at times, evocative, romantic, cinematographic in its imagery, and sometimes very funny, this book was a delight to read. I could appreciate it even more once I had given up the need to rationally understand or analyze the characters or events (do fairytales make sense?), and could go with the elegant flow of images and connections.

The diverse characters coming together at the dream-like hotel by the sea all go there to re-create or save themselves and thereby create life anew. The little children who run the hotel and the hotel itself are the stuff of ethereal dreams that leave you wondering after you wake up, finishing the book, with a sadness that the dream is over.

If you enjoy the poetry of Pablo Neruda, I highly recommend this book. This book was a recommendation from a very literary, lyrical friend, and a wonderful surprise to boot. There is a passage not too far into the book of a man who is writing to a woman he is waiting for, writing his whole life out for her so he can share it with her when they finally meet. It is one of the sweetest pieces of writing I have ever read. On th other hand, it is not a traditionally, romantic book, either. The sensuousness is not related to a person, but an idea and thing; the sea. It will draw you in, surround and envelope you, wash over you, and recede leaving only a salty residue on your skin for you to remember it ever passed.

Absolutely incredible. It is rare that I'll give a book 5 stars. Baricco can write! And not only can he write, but he has an amazing gift with human insight and rendering the most delicate of human reality with pure poetry. I'm actually stunned by this book. My only regret is not being able to read it in Italian. I say again, WOW!

I bought this book because I liked "Silk". Yet I was afraid that "Silk" might be one of those single hits that cannot be sustained and are unlikely to develop into a style. My doubts were unfounded. "Ocean Sea" is as intense and moving as was "Silk", it is powerful and at the same time lyrical. Even in translation, the language shines, the images are memorable, the story captivating. And don't be put off by comparisons with Calvino; Baricco has much more substance than that darling of the literati.

You have to read it and when you start to think about it you will see how many thoughts you will have and how little words to say about how you feel! It is my number one book, it is always pleasure to talk about it and I forced everybody around me to read it. Do not waste your time!