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For Isabel
''For Isabel: A Mandala'' () is a novella by the Italian writer Antonio Tabucchi, published posthumously by Feltrinelli in 2013. Plot The Polish writer Tadeus Slowacki searches Lisbon after traces of Isabel, a young and enigmatic communist he once knew and who disappeared during the '' Estado Novo'' period. He meets and interviews various people who tell stories that give clues about who Isabel was and what may have happened to her. As the story goes on, the perspectives become increasingly metaphysical. The structure of the novel, with its layers of storytelling around a central character, is inspired by the ''mandala'', a tool used in several religions to aid meditation. Reception ''The Times Literary Supplement'' described the book as a "postmodern saturnalia of doubt and fractured self" and "not just a satisfactory rounding-off of Tabucchi's career, but a fantastic coda to it". ''Publishers Weekly'' wrote that the structure is similar to Dante Alighieri's '' Inferno'' and Aki ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Antonio Tabucchi
Antonio Tabucchi (; 24 September 1943 – 25 March 2012) was an Italian writer and academic who taught Portuguese language and literature at the University of Siena, Italy. Deeply in love with Portugal, he was an expert, critic and translator of the works of Fernando Pessoa from whom he drew the conceptions of '' saudade'', of ''fiction'' and of the '' heteronyms''. Tabucchi was first introduced to Pessoa's works in the 1960s when attending the Sorbonne. He was so charmed that when he returned to Italy, he took an introductory course in Portuguese for a better comprehension of the poet. His books and essays have been translated in 18 countries. Together with his wife, Maria José de Lancastre, he translated many works by Pessoa into Italian and has written a book of essays and a comedy about the writer. Tabucchi was awarded the French prize "Médicis étranger" for '' Indian Nocturne'' (''Notturno indiano'') and the premio Campiello, and the Aristeion Prize for '' Sostiene ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rashomon
is a 1950 Japanese ''jidaigeki'' film directed by Akira Kurosawa from a screenplay he co-wrote with Shinobu Hashimoto. Starring Toshiro Mifune, Machiko Kyō, Masayuki Mori, and Takashi Shimura, it follows various people who describe how a samurai was murdered in a forest. The plot and characters are based upon Ryūnosuke Akutagawa's short story " In a Grove", with the title and framing story taken from Akutagawa's " Rashōmon". Every element is largely identical, from the murdered samurai speaking through a Shinto psychic to the bandit in the forest, the monk, the assault of the wife, and the dishonest retelling of the events in which everyone shows their ideal self by lying. Production began in 1948 at Kurosawa's regular production firm Toho but was canceled as it was viewed as a financial risk. Two years later, Sōjirō Motoki pitched ''Rashomon'' to Daiei Film upon the completion of Kurosawa's ''Scandal''. Daiei initially turned it down but eventually agreed to produc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |