Picture of author.

Pío Baroja (1872–1956)

Teoksen The Tree of Knowledge tekijä

283+ Works 3,565 Jäsentä 105 arvostelua 7 Favorited

About the Author

Pio Baroja, whose works were admired by Ernest Hemingway, was one of Spain's foremost twentieth-century novelists. A socially conscious writer whose mission was to expose injustices, Baroja chose as central characters those who live outside society-bohemians, vagabonds, anarchists, degenerates, and näytä lisää tormented intellectuals. In The Restlessness of Shanti Andia (1911), Baroja uses Basque sailors as protagonists to dramatize his view of life as a constant struggle for survival and to present a shipboard world that functions outside society's laws. In The Tree of Knowledge (1911), medical student Andres Hurtado sees his intelligence as a disease and an incapacitating disgrace. Baroja's view that the concepts of beginning and end are human inventions to satisfy unattainable desires for meaning influences the form of his novels, often a series of episodes without cause and effect that end with unresolved problems. Baroja studied medicine, a discipline reflected in his works by an interest in the pathological. During the 1920s he was popular in the United States, where many of his novels appeared in translation. In 1936 he was elected to the Spanish Academy. Franco later banned all but one of his nearly 100 books, but Baroja continued to live and write, although less assertively, in Spain until his death. (Bowker Author Biography) näytä vähemmän

Sarjat

Tekijän teokset

The Tree of Knowledge (1911) 817 kappaletta
Zalacain the Adventurer (1908) 362 kappaletta
The Quest (1904) 288 kappaletta
The Restlessness of Shanti Andia (1911) 229 kappaletta
Cuentos (1984) 92 kappaletta
Red Dawn (1905) 78 kappaletta
Mala hierba (1904) 77 kappaletta
La dama de Urtubi (1916) 66 kappaletta
La ciudad de la niebla (1909) 61 kappaletta
Paradox, rey (1656) 60 kappaletta
El mundo es ansí (1912) 58 kappaletta
The City of the Discreet (1905) 44 kappaletta
The Road to Perfection (1960) 41 kappaletta
Las noches del Buen Retiro (1982) 38 kappaletta
La sensualidad pervertida (1920) 35 kappaletta
El laberinto de las sirenas (1958) 35 kappaletta
The Lord of Labraz (1903) 30 kappaletta
Los amores tardíos (1942) 30 kappaletta
La casa de Aizgorri (1901) 29 kappaletta
Caesar or Nothing (1910) 28 kappaletta
La dama errante (1974) 23 kappaletta
Los pilotos de altura (1954) 23 kappaletta
Las ciudades (1971) 20 kappaletta
La nave de los locos (1980) 19 kappaletta
La leyenda de Jaun de Alzate (1947) 19 kappaletta
El gran torbellino del mundo (1964) 17 kappaletta
La estrella del capitan Chimista (1964) 17 kappaletta
Los caprichos de la suerte (2015) 16 kappaletta
El Escuadrón del Brigante (1901) 14 kappaletta
Los últimos románticos (1906) 13 kappaletta
Pais Vasco (1953) 13 kappaletta
Obras completas (1949) 12 kappaletta
Fantasías vascas (1969) 11 kappaletta
Trilogías (1997) 11 kappaletta
Susana (1938) 11 kappaletta
Juventud, egolatría (1920) 11 kappaletta
La Guerra civil en la frontera (1983) 10 kappaletta
Vidas sombrías (1958) 10 kappaletta
Las veleidades de la fortuna (1976) 10 kappaletta
El aprendiz de conspirador (1917) 10 kappaletta
Locuras de Carnaval (1937) 10 kappaletta
Las tragedias grotescas (1907) 10 kappaletta
La lucha por la vida (1968) 9 kappaletta
Los caminos del mundo (1976) 9 kappaletta
Humano enigma (1981) 9 kappaletta
La venta de Mirambel (1900) 9 kappaletta
La Isabelina (1977) 8 kappaletta
El sabor de la venganza (1979) 8 kappaletta
Trilogías I (1998) 8 kappaletta
Los recursos de la astucia (1976) 7 kappaletta
Los caudillos de 1830 (1977) 7 kappaletta
Ayer y hoy (1998) 6 kappaletta
Desde el principio hasta el fin (1981) 6 kappaletta
La veleta de Gastizar (1977) 6 kappaletta
Con la pluma y con el sable (1976) 6 kappaletta
Las horas solitarias (1918) 6 kappaletta
Ensayos (1999) 5 kappaletta
Las furias (1979) 5 kappaletta
Crónica escandalosa (1981) 5 kappaletta
Las figuras de cera (1979) 5 kappaletta
Los Contrastes de la vida (1977) 5 kappaletta
Aquí París (1998) 5 kappaletta
La ruta del aventurero (1976) 4 kappaletta
El cura de monteleon (1975) 4 kappaletta
Mis mejores páginas 4 kappaletta
Desde el exilio (1999) 4 kappaletta
Obras completas III (1948) 4 kappaletta
Vagabund Elizabide : [novellid] (1996) 4 kappaletta
Mari Belcha : y otros cuentos (1988) 4 kappaletta
La vida fantástica (2010) 4 kappaletta
El caballero de Erlaiz (1976) 4 kappaletta
Vitrina Pintoresca (2010) 3 kappaletta
Canciones del suburbio (1944) 3 kappaletta
Personajes con oficio (1989) 3 kappaletta
Tierra vasca (2016) 3 kappaletta
Divagaciones Apasionadas (1985) 3 kappaletta
El puente de las animas (1976) 3 kappaletta
Narraciones, teatro, poesía (1999) 3 kappaletta
El hotel del cisne (1984) 3 kappaletta
Historias de amor y desamor (1998) 3 kappaletta
Rojos y blancos (2013) 2 kappaletta
Obras Completas (II) (1974) 2 kappaletta
Camino de perfección (2015) 2 kappaletta
Los contrabandistas vascos (2012) 2 kappaletta
Cesr o nada (2013) 2 kappaletta
Los panaderos (1991) 2 kappaletta
Libertad, frente a sumisión (1901) 2 kappaletta
Los visionarios (1974) 2 kappaletta
Obra dispersa y epistolario (2000) 2 kappaletta
Obras completas IV (1980) 2 kappaletta
EL MAR(9788490061329) (1900) 2 kappaletta
Nii see maailm on (2014) 2 kappaletta
Sedm záhad 2 kappaletta
La familia de Errotacho (1974) 2 kappaletta
La senda dolorosa (1981) 2 kappaletta
VIDAS SOMBRIAS 2 kappaletta
Cuentos de amor y muerte (1997) 2 kappaletta
Memorias (1955) 2 kappaletta
El Tablado de Arlequin (1982) 2 kappaletta
Las mascaradas sangrientas (1980) 2 kappaletta
Reportajes 1 kappale
Los visionarios 1 kappale
LA BUSCA 1 kappale
La buaca 1 kappale
Semblanzas (2013) 1 kappale
Las Tragedias Grotescas (1983) 1 kappale
Piratenbloed 1 kappale
Piratenbloed 1 kappale
CRITICA ARBITRARIA. (1924) 1 kappale
El Hotel del Cisne (2005) 1 kappale
Cuentos y relatos (1973) 1 kappale
Opiniones y paradojas (2000) 1 kappale
El País Vasco 1 kappale
Las ciudades 1 kappale
Boj o život 1 kappale
Obras completas 1 kappale
Los inéditos de "Hoy" (2003) 1 kappale
Cantor vagabundo, el (1984) 1 kappale
Hojas sueltas (1973) 1 kappale
La Caverna del Humorismo (2009) 1 kappale
Hojas sueltas. 2 (1973) 1 kappale
EL PAIS VASCO 1 kappale
Pío Baroja (1979) 1 kappale
Los amores tardíos (1985) 1 kappale
Intermedios 1 kappale
Mes paradoxes et moi. (1945) 1 kappale
Blasa's Tavern 1 kappale
Ciudades de Italia (2020) 1 kappale

Associated Works

A World of Great Stories (1947) — Avustaja — 254 kappaletta
Los mejores relatos españoles del siglo XX : antología (1998) — Avustaja — 17 kappaletta
Meesters der Spaanse vertelkunst (1952) — Tekijä — 7 kappaletta

Merkitty avainsanalla

Yleistieto

Kanoninen nimi
Baroja, Pío
Virallinen nimi
Baroja y Nessi, Pío
Syntymäaika
1872-12-28
Kuolinaika
1956-10-30
Sukupuoli
male
Kansalaisuus
Spain
Syntymäpaikka
Donostia, Espainia
Kuolinpaikka
Madrid, Spain
Asuinpaikat
Donostia, Espainia
Madrid, Spain
Palkinnot ja kunnianosoitukset
Miembro de la Real Academia Española (1935-1956)

Jäseniä

Kirja-arvosteluja

Román o mořích, mořeplavcích a pirátech je koncipován jako paměti baskického rodáka Shantiho Andíi, jehož životem se proplétá záhada, kdo je zmizelý strýc kapitán Juan de Aguirre. Za svých dobrodružných cest se setkává s jeho stopami, poznenáhlu odhaluje jeho neklidnou, dramatickou existenci a sám se vplétá do jeho osudu.
 
Merkitty asiattomaksi
PDSS | Oct 31, 2023 |
La última novela inédita de Pío BarojaEl mejor Baroja atrapa de nuevo a los lectores con la descripción de los lugares, la caracterización de los compañeros que va encontrando el protagonista y las conversaciones y tertulias donde se tratan los grandes temas de su obra y de la época: la naturaleza humana, la violencia, el exilio,la situación española y la europea. Un paseo melancólico y lírico por la España de la guerra civil; una aguda descripción de Valencia la roja, punto de partida de aquellos que quieren embarcarse fuera del país; un retrato impresionista del París del exilio, de las tertulias y del desencanto de una Europa que ha entrado en guerra. Una obra inolvidable que cierra la gran trilogía de Las saturnales.… (lisätietoja)
 
Merkitty asiattomaksi
libreriarofer | 2 muuta kirja-arvostelua | Aug 21, 2023 |
Despite all of the huge amount of hype this book has attained as one of the great works of Basque adventure literature, it failed to meet such high expectations. I believe one of the problems is simply because since there isn't a lot of books that take place in a Basque's POV during the 2nd Castillian War, schools selected this book because it has a wide enough appeal, quick to read and there isn't much else literary competition. If the book had taken place during the US Civil War or the great Napoleonic battles of early 1800's British fiction, it would have never gotten even a tenth of the amount of attention.

So what is the plot?

This is actually the great highlight of the story in a sort of way. Our antihero of sorts is Martín Zalacaín, a Basque boy from the small city of Urbia which is very close to the French border in northeastern Spain. After his mother became a widow at a young age, a woman from the old Ohando aristrocratic family allowed her to live in a guesthouse pretty much free of charge alongside the Ohando children: Carlos and Catalina.

While Martín's sister Ignacia is well... pretty much absent in the plot, our hero Martín is curious, rebellious, likes to get into fist fights with other boys and has zero interest in going to school. For pretty much zero reason he forms a lifelong disdain for Mrs's Ohando's son Carlos who is described to be a vindictive pretentious boy that believes Martín should bend his knee in gratitude (which considering he lives in his mom's house for free isn't too far from the truth).

The writing of the initial chapters falls into the same writing problems of many Victorian era books. We get a chapter that focuses on one village character that is a tad bit too drunk in the tavern that doesn't necesarily play an important role in the story, and then we get another from a gossipy villager that only appears once. The first third of the novel is quite episodic and slow, but it does offer some glimpses of how Martín's hunger for independence and adventure come from as he is educated by his Grand-uncle Miguel Tellouri. Lest to say, the old man teaches Martín a lot of useful survivor skills living in the mountains which came in handy.

After several spoiler filled events that were a tad bit too much tell and not enough show for my taste, Martín has the freedom to choose what to do with his life as the Carlista war is fast approaching. Should he become an impoverished farmer that works under one of the great families of Urbia like his father? Or perhaps become an overly idealistic foot soldier that fights for one of the two sides of the upcoming war? Martín soon decides to follow his grandfather's suggestion to remain neutral and becomes a weapons smuggler.

Martín always follows a sort of grey line between being a clever law abiding man of commerce and an honest crook, which is something that I actually liked about the writing. The middle section of the book is by far the best part which I believe was where the author had the most fun because it talks about how Martín ends up captured by a faction of Carlista zealots, or the time he gets locked up in a county jail as a sort of POW for no apparent reason and has to use his street smarts to escape. I think if a more modern movie adaptation could be made of the book, the more adventurous portions of the book could be adapted quite well.

Martín has a small group of friends he meets along the way, such as his compadre Bautista (the book never really delves into how the two best friends meet which I think was a real waste), a Carlista soldier named Briones and a peculiar man Martín constantly ends up bumping into colloquially known as "The Foreigner". I think The Foreigner would have been a better narrator of the story; he might have even toned down the excessive telling in the prose. And of course, Carlos Ohando enters and leaves Martín's life giving him nonstop trouble.

While the book excells in the adventurous chapters, it fails in other ways. Particularly when it comes to the female characters in Martín's life. Mrs's Ohando, Martín's mother, Ignacia, Catalina Ohando, a circus girl named Linda, and finally a woman Martín rescues named Rosita all interact with Martín, yet I cannot find much of a way to describe any one of them. The mother appears the least and she is probably the only character with some degree of personality. Frail, beaten under the weather and defeatist, Martín doesn't have much in common with her. And the other female characters... Mmm... the book claims Ignacia is charming and flirts with men but... um... we never have a scene where we see her misbehaving. Ignacia is just there as a sort of prop for Carlos to exploit and then she is well... not really doing much.

Catalina is supposed to be Martín's love interest, yet we don't really know anything about her. The funny irony is that even Martín has a hard time describing her. He can't even say what her eye color is or anything pertaining to her personality. It is like all of the women in the story are just mannequin props that revolve around Martín's great life adventures that can be placed back inside of the wooden chest once he has to set off town to another tavern and listen to endless songs.

And oh yes, we have songs a plenty! At first I kind of liked them because they are in Basque with nice Spanish translations, but then they became so frequent. Every chapter has at least one of them and without a full-fledged guide that talks about the historic events that are referenced in the song, it becomes sort of distracting.

One last thing I felt that was missing is a nice hand-drawn map of the 15 cities that appear over and over again in the book.

In essence, While I give props to the good chapters of the story, the book is quite a letdown when it comes to its female cast. If the book had been published today, it would have been cruelly panned by the critics. The sad irony is that I think Linda and Rosita were pretty interesting characters despite their short screen time. Was Linda sold into slavery to the circus? Rosita knew how to use a hunting rifle and didn't hesitate to use the weapon when we first meet her. Where did she learn how to shoot so well and why? Rosita's brother is a soldier so obviously she got some help. I found her to be an interesting character gone to waste. She surely had other close encounters with the war, yet we get a bunch of tavern singalong chapters instead. :/

Oh, and does anyone believe Martín exudes some Gary Stu vibes sometimes? He never had any interest in learning how to read & write growing up, but later in the book he can now read complicated military letters? Huh?

I will keep my eyes open for other Basque novels that thankfully have Spanish translations and hope I have more luck next time!
… (lisätietoja)
 
Merkitty asiattomaksi
chirikosan | 8 muuta kirja-arvostelua | Jul 24, 2023 |
Azorín, Silverio Lanza, Mannuel Fernández y González, José Ortega y Gasset, Alejandro y Manuel Sawa, Vicente Blasco Ibáñez, Miguel de Unamuno, Ciro Bayo, Ramón del Valle Inclán, Ramiro de Maeztu, José María Salaverría, Beniro Pérez Galdós, Luis Bonafoux, Corpus Barga, Darío de regoyos, Ignacio de Zuloaga, Pablo Picasso, Joaquín Sorolla, Ramón Casas y Santiago Rusiñol, José Gutiérrez Solana
 
Merkitty asiattomaksi
pjacas | May 7, 2023 |

Listat

Palkinnot

You May Also Like

Associated Authors

Tilastot

Teokset
283
Also by
3
Jäseniä
3,565
Suosituimmuussija
#7,114
Arvio (tähdet)
3.8
Kirja-arvosteluja
105
ISBN:t
464
Kielet
6
Kuinka monen suosikki
7

Taulukot ja kaaviot