Tirant Lo Blanc [Paperback]

Joanot Martorell (Author), Marti Joan de Galba (Author), David H. Rosenthal (Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 23, 1996

First published in the Catalan language in Valencia in 1490, Tirant lo Blanc ("The White Tyrant") is a sweeping epic of chivalry and high adventure. With great precision and verve, Martorell narrates land and sea battles, duels, hunts, banquets, political maneuverings, and romantic conquests. Reviewing the first modern Spanish translation in 1969 (Franco had ruthlessly suppressed the Catalan language and literature), Mario Vargas Llosa hailed the epic's author as "the first of that lineage of God-supplanters—Fielding, Balzac, Dickens, Flaubert, Tolstoy, Joyce, Faulkner—who try to create in their novels an all-encompassing reality."

Editorial Reviews

Review

I swear to you, my friend, it's the best book of its kind in the world.

(Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra Don Quixote )

A major find... Anyone who cares to dispute its greatness can argue not with me but with Cervantes.

(Herbert Mitgang New York Times )

Among the most impressive features of the Tirant are the consistency and the inclusiveness of the world it presents, and the way various modes of writing, both fictional and non-fictional, are brought together to achieve this... The splendid English version by David Rosenthal [is] well annotated and superbly produced.

(Times Literary Supplement )

[An] extraordinary book... I am delighted to have [it] as a permanent resident of my bookshelves.

(Wall Street Journal )

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Catalan

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Paperback: 668 pages
• Publisher: The Johns Hopkins University Press; New edition edition (July 23, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0801854210
• ISBN-13: 978-0801854217
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,086,283 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Tirant lo Blanc, January 15, 2001

By 

F. Faber "cesca" (LA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Tirant Lo Blanc (Paperback)

This book is a must read for the historical enthusiast! It was written by a knight about knighthood. The viewpoints and situations are very far removed from our preconceived ideas of the middle ages. It is written very well and reads almost in a 'modern' way. This book was difficult to read in some places, but for the most part was so interesting that I couldn't put it down.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Masterpiece For All Time...., January 22, 2005

By 

J. Font "Big Reader" (Nutley, NJ USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Tirant Lo Blanc (Paperback)

Writen about 100 years prior to Don Quixote de la Mancha, and the appearance of the modern novel, Tirant Lo Blanc is a refreshing and interesting masterpiece on Mideaval society, love and the rules that governed the nobility of the time.

Indirectly, it gives us a look at the lives of Catalan knights, troubadours, merchants, peasants, sailors and the clergy. The book is politically incorrect (thank goodness), and if you are tired of modern "cleansed" interpretations of life during the middle ages, you need to read this book. Be prepared for the unexpected, and also be aware that its structure will at times give you the feeling of a slow read. But, as I said, the material is pure gold!

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A unfairly forgotten masterpiece, December 26, 2005

By 

Rafael M. De Souza (São Paulo, Brazil) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Tirant Lo Blanc (Paperback)

Once I read an essay about anthologies written by Jorge Luis Borges. All anthologies (he said, I don't remember the exact words, but I do remember the idea) are arbitrary conventions, but only time makes real, unforgettable anthologies. Although I agree with the Argentine writer, I must add that time is sometimes an unfair judge. So unfair that it left behind this masterpiece of Catalan literature, one of the greatest book I've ever read, a book that stands alongside such undisputable masterpieces as "El Engenioso Hidalgo Don Quijote de La Mancha" and "War and Peace". Joanot Martorell built the Universe. After reading his rich work, we cannot but regret how poor is the literature of our times, how narrow-minded are the presumptuous writers of nowadays. "Tirant lo Blanc" is not just a chivalry story. It's much more than that. It's a book about love and romance, about honor and war, about sex and chastity, about boldness and bravery. Its settings comprise several countries; it has more than a hundred characters, many of them richly portrayed with subtle psychology. We, readers of the twentieth-first century, use to look despicably at the literature of the middle-ages for we take the "dark age" as a decaying era between the classical times of Greeks and Romans and the Renaissance (Dante is an exception to this tough judgment). If you think thus, read this book and you'll find how wrong and unfair your pre-conceived ideas are. I bet you'll be surprised with Martorell's boldness in sexual affairs, with his mastery of plot, with the unpredictable behavior of his characters, with the unsurpassed richness of scenarios. You will find that the literature of our times is too conventional notwithstanding all the modernist and post-modernist' experimentations.
But, be aware: this book is just for those who really love literature. If you are looking for entertainment, please buy another book. You will not bear its slow pace, the endless dialogues and the sometimes boring letters the characters send one to another.