Customer Reviews

Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair: Dual-Language Edition (Penguin Classics) (Spanish Edition)

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3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I am a newcomer to the poetry of Pablo Neruda. "Twenty Poems and a Song of Despair" is simply one of the best volumes of poetry I have ever read. What a vast horizon opened up to me when I picked up this book! Rarely have I encountered a poet that so palpably evokes longing. Few other poets have Neruda's ability to weave images. These poems burrow into the heart.

My Spanish is not what it should be, but I was able to read most of the poetry here in the original. For those who know no Spanish, do not be deterred. This volume is the work of not just one but two masterful poets. Merwin's translations are amazing and wholly recommendable. Striking images and a yearning spirit fill the English translations as well as Neruda's originals.

I was also caught off guard by poem XVI. I was reading along, thinking how I had not read poetry this full of longing and desire since I last read Tagore's "Gitanjali" ..., when lo and behold, Poem XVI is a Spanish paraphrase of a Tagore poem...small world.

Neruda's poems are of filled with a powerful Eros. Yet, to me, they fall a little short in comparison to those of Tagore (whose love is a spiritual longing). However, the comparison is clearly between two giants of the art.

I give "Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair" a strong recommendation.

take the one-minute neruda test: "i want to do with you what spring does with the cherry trees." there, how'd that feel? good, great, fantastic? plenty more where that came from.

I have always been thankful that English is my first language, for I would hate to read a translated version of a Shakespeare play. Neruda (and perhaps Gabriel Garcia Marquez) is one writer that makes me wish I could read Spanish, for as amazing as his poems are in the translated English (and the are amazing), they must be pure and unabashed magic in their original language. Neruda is able to write on emotions that we occassionaly feel, and often long about, but can seldom work into spoken (yet alone written) words. By far, my favorite in this book of poems is Number 20, which has come to be known as "Tonight I Can Write..." Only after losing the love that I thought would last forever did the words "Love is so short, forgetting so long" sincerely ring true. Neruda's poems in general are amazing, and his ability to capture human emotions is remarkable.

...one of the most beautiful sets of poems in the history of poetry. Exquisite is the only word to describe Neruda's images and language. I have read the poems both in English and Spanish and even though the Spanish version is, of course, far superior, the poems don't really lose much in these translations. Neruda is the ultimate, TRUE romantic and not the schlocky caricature that we've come to accept as the essence of romance. Neruda understood the human condition with regards to love and its consequences like few other poets and it shows in the magical beauty of his work.

A beautiful gift for a lover. Perfect Valentine's Day gift or some other romantic moment. Draw a bath for them, light a candle, pour some wine, and sit and read them some of these often torrid poems. You will thank me later! MUCH later!

Neruda's work evokes a passionate lament of love lost and love found. Remorseful as it is hopeful, Neruda fills the soul with dainty words and vivid imagery that will haunt you. This collection is perfect for the passionate. It features my favorite poem, I like for you to be still.

His first book may well be his very best. I believe he was only 19 when he wrote these poems. Each one is more moving than the last. Body of a Woman is amazing. Anyone who deems their self a true romantic must own this book...read it aloud to someone you love...or to someone you want to love.

Of course, these poems are best when read in their original language, as with all poetry. But I think Neruda is translatable, as much as a poet can be. It is easy to see why these poems appeal to all, or almost all, people who read them. They go directly to our feelings, as we all have some very special people in our past to relate them to (and people who don't have anyone to remember have certainly lived miserable lives).

The language of Neruda is sophisticated, memories are convoluted, but so are all memories of love: sophisticated and distorted by memory, regret, nostalgia and longing for those loves to come back. They do when we read Neruda. He is not one of my favorite poets. I especially dislike his political (procommunist) poetry of later days. But I certainly enjoy reading his words and seeing the images he paints, the sounds he evocates, the smells that remain in the back of my head from earlier loves. Highly recommended for reading and re-reading.

Never read anything as beautiful as these words!! So poignant, so honest, so real! Speaks of love in terms that we all understand. It speaks of love in all its glories, pains, frustrations and ecstasies. It captures love in all its moments, from that first adrenaline rush to the last bitter moments of a relationship, as in "Tonight I write the saddest lines". So much passion and sensitivity wrapped up in one book! This book has become my travelling companion. I take it everywhere with me!! I LOVE YOU NERUDA, MI CORAZON!!!!!!!!

Other Neruda fans and poetry critics claim that his later works are his best, but I disagree. Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair was Neruda's first published book, done so when he was in his twenties. I think that's what makes this such a great book -- when you couple Neruda's incredible talent with the passion of youth, you get an incredible piece of literature. This is great romantic poetry, full of erotic passion and longing. Neruda knew how to use words to their maximum effect, and his wonderful, innovative use of imagery does what I feel poetry should do: it makes the reader think.