Watermark: An essay on Venice - Joseph Brodsky
I understand that writing a book review is a bit pointless now, given the fact that summer is vastly nearing its end. However, as a fellow bookworm and all-around lazy person, who wanderlusts in the free time and has the attention span of a squirrel, I'd like to cordially introduce you to a gem of a book, written by the Nobel Prize for Literature winner Joseph Brodsky, called Watermark: An Essay on Venice. As I mentioned, time for dedicated reading is, or, in some cases, has already run out. Nevertheless, if there are any of you out there, who wish to squeeze in one last book without having to sacrifice your soul, this one is for you. A collection of short essays based upon the author's annual visits to Venice in winter is a compelling and relaxing read that takes you along his footsteps and philosophical musings about the city of water. Not only does this book show you a different, more enigmatic look on Venice, it also gives the reader some serious wanderlust and an itch to see when the next train for Venice departs.
“A tear can be shed in this place on several occasions. Assuming that beauty is the distribution of light in the fashion most congenial to one's retina, a tear is an acknowledgment of the retina's, as well as the tear's, failure to retain beauty. On the whole, love comes with the speed of light; separation, with that of sound. It is the deterioration of the greater speed to the lesser that moistens one's eye. Because one is finite, a departure from this place always feel final; leaving it behind is leaving it forever. For leaving is banishment of the eye to the provinces of the other senses; at best, to the crevices and crevasses of the brain. For the eye identifies itself not with the body it belongs to but with the object of its attention. And to the eye, for purely optical reasons, departure is not the body leaving the city but the city abandoning the pupil. Likewise, disappearance of the beloved, especially a gradual one, causes grief no matter who, and for what peripatetic reason, is actually in motion. As the world goes, this city is the eye's beloved. After it, everything is a letdown. A tear is the anticipation of the eye's future.”
(official book description)
Watermark is Joseph Brodsky's witty, intelligent, moving and elegant portrait of Venice. Looking at every aspect of the city, from its waterways, streets and architecture to its food, politics and people, Brodsky captures its magnificence and beauty, and recalls his own memories of the place he called home for many winters, as he remembers friends, lovers and enemies he has encountered. Above all, he reflects with great poetic force on how the rising tide of time affects city and inhabitants alike.
Watermark is an unforgettable piece of writing, and a wonderful evocation of a remarkable, unique city.
0 comments: