Picture of author.

Hugo Hamilton (2) (1953–)

Autor(a) de The Speckled People

Para outros autores com o nome Hugo Hamilton, ver a página de desambiguação.

15+ Works 903 Membros 14 Críticas 1 Favorited

Obras por Hugo Hamilton

The Speckled People (2003) 420 exemplares
The Pages (2021) 115 exemplares
Disguise (2008) 92 exemplares
The Sailor in the Wardrobe (1632) 78 exemplares
Hand in the Fire (2010) 37 exemplares
The Last Shot (1992) 34 exemplares
Headbanger (1996) 33 exemplares
Every Single Minute (2014) 24 exemplares
Sad Bastard (1998) 18 exemplares
Dublin Palms (1996) 18 exemplares
The Love Test (1995) 11 exemplares
Surrogate City (1990) 10 exemplares

Associated Works

Yeats Is Dead! (2001) — Contribuidor — 411 exemplares
Finbar's Hotel (1997) — Contribuidor — 319 exemplares
Mortification: Writers' Stories of Their Public Shame (2003) — Contribuidor — 280 exemplares
The Penguin Book of Irish Fiction (1999) — Contribuidor — 150 exemplares

Etiquetado

Conhecimento Comum

Data de nascimento
1953-01-28
Nacionalidade
Ireland
Local de nascimento
Dublin, Ireland
Locais de residência
Dublin, Ireland
Ocupações
journalist
Prémios e menções honrosas
Rooney Prize for Irish Literature (1992)

Membros

Críticas

I was intrigued by the premise that a book, especially one with the history of Rebellion, can be the narrator of the story. Unfortunately, other superfluous points of view entered into the story, which for me detracted from my enjoyment of The Pages. It’s been a long time since I’ve read a novel that began with such promise and ended up being a disappointment.
 
Assinalado
luke66 | 2 outras críticas | Oct 22, 2022 |
Hamilton, Hugo. The Pages. digital. 2022. Penguin Random House Audio.

A tattered old copy of Joseph Roth's, Rebellion, narrates its own history - from 1930's Germany, to the story itself about a barrel organ player, all the way to modern day New York. The novel's story weaves between readers of this particular first edition to a mystery included in it by one of the book's very first owners. The current owner of Rebellion, Lena Knecht, knows from her father that this edition was saved from a book burning in Nazi Germany and it is one of her prized possessions. She is determined to discover where the hand drawn map at the back of the book leads. When Lena misplaces the book it finds her way back to her via an unlikely ally and thus the book crosses another path. Rebellion delights in jumping timelines and telling the stories of those who have held this book in their hands. Some feature prominently and others are fleeting characters, just barely passing by - but all have been impacted by the book or have impacted the book itself. Brilliantly narrated by Nicholas Guy Smith, who delights in bringing a myriad of accents to life. At times, the narrative appears to get in its own way - but overall, a unique book about a book that bibliophiles will delight in. - Erin Cataldi, Johnson Co. Public Library, Franklin, IN… (mais)
 
Assinalado
ecataldi | 2 outras críticas | Feb 4, 2022 |
The narrator of this book is another book—one saved from the Nazi fires. It recalls Heinrich Heine’s prescient observation: “That was only a prelude; where they burn books, they will in the end also burn people.” This first edition is Joseph Roth’s “Rebellion (1924).” That novel depicts a WWI amputee who, as compensation for his service, is given a medal and permission to work in the streets as an organ grinder. This leads to intense disillusionment and rebellion. Hamilton takes advantage of the timeless nature of literature to focus on nationalistic fervor then and now. “The past is no longer safe.” the book observes, “My time is coming back.” Indeed, today’s political expediencies seem to reflect what the book calls the Nazi’s “appetite for dishonesty…” blurring “the boundaries between fact and fiction.”

The plot involves an intriguing mystery surrounding the book. It originally belonged to Professor David Gluckstein who taught German literature in Berlin in 1933. He entrusted it to one of his students, Dieter Knecht, for safekeeping during the Nazi book burning frenzy. You see, Roth and Gluckstein were suspect to the book burners because both were Jews. Knecht bequeathed the book to his son, who later passed it on to his granddaughter, Lena, an artist living today in NYC. She discovers an enigmatic hand drawn map on one of the book’s end papers and takes it along with her on a business trip to Berlin with the vague aim of discovering the map’s location and thus (maybe?) revealing its meaning. Along the way, a purse snatcher steals and abandons the book in a dumpster. A Chechen refugee, named Armin Schneider, discovers it there and returns it to Lena.

Hamilton has a great story here, but he risks losing focus by including too many subplots. Clearly, this material is not extraneous because it highlights most of Hamilton’s agendas: the potential for inhumanity in state politics; the dangers of extreme nationalism; how hatreds can fester throughout history; the interconnectedness of events through time; and ideas about homeland. He follows Joseph Roth’s true-life marriage to Frieda through her mental breakdown and murder by the Nazis. He also documents Roth’s own descent into despair and early death at 44 from alcoholism. Lena has an affair with Armin, a man whose family was killed in a Chechnyan bombing which left him with shrapnel wounds and his sister, Madina, an amputee. The latter, along with her role as a musician, is a not-so subtle reminder of Roth’s protagonist in “Rebellion.” Bogdanov is a hate filled right-wing extremist who is obsessed with Madina and terrorizes her brother in retribution for her spurning him. Mike, Lena’s significant other, works as a security consultant in the U.S. and relates his mother’s land dispute to Lena from a distance. Clearly, this is meant to represent the historical European conflicts that gave rise to the wars and their aftermath.

The multiple interlocking narratives distract from Hamilton’s main story and risk confusion. Although revealing, the subplots and characters seem more allegorical than real. They render a mythic quality to the narrative. Clearly, the ending is intended to be thrilling, yet it seems hurried and contrived. Notwithstanding such shortcomings, Hamilton succeeds in presenting Berlin as a community haunted by its past but embracing multiculturalism and freedom.
… (mais)
½
 
Assinalado
ozzer | 2 outras críticas | Jan 14, 2022 |
> Babelio : https://www.babelio.com/livres/Hamilton-Un-voyage-a-Berlin/682244

> UN VOYAGE À BERLIN, par Hugo Hamilton (Phebus, 2015, Broché, 272 pages). — Au gré de leurs pérégrinations dans Berlin, Liam et Úna se retrouvent. Úna est atteinte d’un cancer. Ce sera son dernier voyage.
Chacun fait don à l’autre de sa propre histoire et de ses secrets avec pudeur, franchise, humour et tendresse. Úna rêve d’assister à une représentation du Don Carlos de Verdi, dont le personnage principal lui rappelle son frère aujourd’hui disparu. Liam, quant à lui, est obnubilé par le mariage de sa fille auquel, par égoïsme, il s’oppose.
On ne peut, en lisant ce texte, ne pas penser à l’infinie tendresse qui liait Hugo Hamilton à la grande romancière irlandaise Nuala O’Faolain, qui s’est éteinte en 2008. Un voyage qui résonne comme un hommage, comme le témoignage d’une vibrante amitié  : une vérité qui fait de ce livre l’un des plus émouvants d’Hugo Hamilton, l’un des plus intimes aussi.
Johnny Gimenez (Culturebox)
… (mais)
 
Assinalado
Joop-le-philosophe | Dec 30, 2018 |

Listas

Prémios

You May Also Like

Associated Authors

Estatísticas

Obras
15
Also by
4
Membros
903
Popularidade
#28,407
Avaliação
½ 3.4
Críticas
14
ISBN
119
Línguas
10
Marcado como favorito
1

Tabelas & Gráficos