Watch the North Wind Rise [Paperback]

Robert Graves (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1982

WATCH THE NORTH WIND RISE tells of a poet who imagines the world a thousand years from now. Clocks, money and machinery have disappeared. Magicians are important and so are rituals, handicrafts and love.

Everyone worships a Mother Goddess, and as in the Middle Ages, life is local and personal. Villages war against each other in dramatic fashion--but only on Tuesdays, and no one gets hurt. Graves' future world, as explored by a young poet from our time, has history, reality and stunning inner logic.

"WATCH THE NORTH WIND RISE is a book so rich in style and plot, so profoundly mythic and at the same time so lightly comic, that there is simply no way to communicate its full flavor." (The Washington Post)

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

7 1.5-hour cassettes --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Farrar Straus & Giroux (May 1982)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0374516790
• ISBN-13: 978-0374516796
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #247,357 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Ian Myles Slater on One Book under Two Titles, September 13, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Watch the North Wind Rise (Paperback)

This science fiction / utopian novel by the poet Robert Graves also appeared under the more pedestrian title of "Seven Days in New Crete," under which name I have reviewed a more recent edition. In brief, this a very personal utopia for Graves, and closely related to his several historical / mythological novels of Ancient Greece, his theory of poetry and human culture in "The White Goddess," and probably to his personal life. Many readers have found it enchanting, others tedious or objectionable. It is probably a must-read for those who already know and admire Graves' other writings, but not a good introduction to his work.

5.0 out of 5 stars Zardoz, January 25, 2012

By 

Sage "Industrial Shaman" (San Diego) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Watch the North Wind Rise (Paperback)

Watch the North Wind RiseI'm told by a stoned wizard grad student studying cognitive psychology at UCSD in 1980 that this is probably the basis for the John Boorman film, Zardoz. So I read it and maybe it's true. Nevertheless, it is a terrific book from Robert Graves and if you enjoyed the Magi I'm guessing you'll like this too. It's no longer being published so buy it used. Trust me, you won't regret it. Also, if you're a hipster and wanted to keep Zardoz a hipster secret I apologize.

4 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a must-read for any who enjoy future speculation fiction, May 31, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Watch the North Wind Rise (Paperback)

an essential volume to any science fiction library. this is the most original novel, speculating on future sociology, since "brave new world".