The Old Slave and the Mastiff

by Patrick Chamoiseau

Hardcover, 2018

Status

Available

Call number

843.914

Genres

Collection

Fiction

Publication

Dialogue Books (2018), 192 pages

Description

"The reader is invited to blaze a trail through this forest of symbols. The last chapter will shed light on the profound meaning of the fable. But the point is less to capture than to be captivated by the energy, the luxuriance, and the playful solemnity of writing that masterfully melds French, Creole, and yet other voices as well."--L'Express.

User reviews

LibraryThing member juju2cat

Absolutely brilliant. Breathtaking narrative about Slave Old Man who is ancient; he does not dance or sing nor is he a storyteller but there is within him a hidden depth that no one suspects. I was mesmerized with the sing song wording and utterly fascinated by the storyline dealing with slavery

and the fantastical journey through a woods so beautiful and so violent and so magical.

Thank you to New Press for a copy for my review.

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LibraryThing member ansate

it made me think a lot about the art of translation

LibraryThing member Stbalbach

Slave Old Man is as much lyric poem as prose novel. The translation is not great. But the power it holds. I listened as audiobook, an interpretive performance of a translation. Not great. But.. Lots of lush descriptions of nature, the sense of a closed but limitless world. The climatic scene with

the beast is legend. The end-note annotations are a big part feels like a scholarly history and high-art combine.

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LibraryThing member LyndaInOregon

I could spend a month and 20,000 words trying to write some deep and penetrating review of this highly-touted and prize-winning book. But I won't, because I found it essentially impenetrable.

There's some interesting language here, in this story or poem or fever-dream about a runaway slave on the

island of Martinique, pursued by his master and a fearsome dog. I'm sure it's all very symbolic and deep, but frankly it was just annoying, and if it hadn't been a group read for my F2F club, I would have never picked it up and certainly wouldn't have finished it.

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LibraryThing member LibroLindsay

This was just gorgeous and harrowing from beginning to end. The complexity and interplay of the autobiographical, cultural, and historical; the fever dream of the protagonist's flight; the clash of nature vs. man; and overall the commentary on slavery. It should also be noted that readers of the

English translation should read every word of translator Linda Coverdale's preface, afterword, and notes for as complete of an understanding as can be had (the word-nerd in me had a blast).

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