Product Description
A major new translation of one of the greatest dramatic-poetic works in all of German literature

A magnificent drama shaped by themes of redemption and salvation, Faust is the magnum opus of Goethe, "the last true polymath to walk the earth" (George Eliot). As his journey continues, Faust follows Mephistopheles through ancient Greek mythology. Deeply smitten by the incomparably beautiful Helen of Troy, Faust marries Helen, embodying for Goethe his "imaginative longing to join poetically the Romantic medievalism of the Germanic West to the classical genius of the Greeks." Faust, Part II even includes eerie premonitions of such modern phenomena as inflation and the creation of life by scientific synthesis. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

It does not translate
This work is considered one of the greatest masterpieces of Western Literature. Goethe initially conceived in 1797 but finished only a few months before his death in 1832. It contains his essential message to the world. The work is considered more philosophical and poetic than dramatic, and is rarely staged. Among the problems I have with it are the line- by - line poetry. Wayne's translation may be one of the finest( I am in no position to judge) but it does not read to me as if great poetry. Goethe is said to be for German be as Dante for Italian, and Pushkin for Russian the one who most completely defines the literary language. Supposedly the nuances and tones of Faust are an encyclopedia of human mood and disposition. As a reader of this work I did not get this. I also did not find in the work sympathetic characters or a story that could be made much sense of . I founda strange mythology, a Walpurgisnacht, a panoply of mythical beings who do not arouse human sympathy.
And this brings me to Faust himself, who without Gretchen( dead in part one) comes in the end to a certain form of redemption. This redemption through working for the common good ( as opposed to selfishly seeking his own pleasures and power as Faust has all along) is the great wisdom of the end. The Faust who errs and continues to try , who persists is rewarded for his persistence and salvation will be his. 'For he whose strivings never cease / Is ours for his redeeming.'In the words of Goethe as quoted in the introduction to this volume " In these lines the key to Faust's salvation is contained. in Faust himself there is an activity mounting ever higher and purer to the end,and from above eternal love which helps him in his need. All this is completely in harmony with our religious conceptions,according to which we enter bliss, not by our own strength alone, but by the divine grace vouchsafed to us.' p.11
Goethe is that rare exception the so- called ' happy genius' and he grants to his much tormented hero and in some sense alter ego, ' Faust' the happy ending of salvation.
Perhaps the reader of this work who has persisted in reading it from beginning to end should also be given a bit of 'salvation' for his effort. For in my case anyway the pleasure in the reading all along , was not that great.

The most elegant of the translations I've read
Looking at some reviews by other reviewers, I realized that not everybody has heard of Faust or of Goethe, and I was pretty shocked.

The first part of what I'm saying is about this translation. As Luke so graphically showed in his "Translator's introduction", there are many things that pull at the translator's central agenda: rhyme, metre, primary meaning, nuance, and so on, and the translator has to achieve a balance. Among the translations I've read and from snippets of what I've seen of other translations, Wayne's translation has the most smooth-flowing, elegant rhyme I've seen.

As positives for this translation: The elegance is unparallelled; the wit is sparkling; the metre is almost flawless; the deviation from Goethe is usually acceptable; and there is never, repeat, never, an obvious rhyme-holder word.

As negatives for this translation: There is in a few cases too much of deviation from the original; Wayne at times infuses his own interpretation and character into the work; and the English, though just perfect for, say, a 1950's speaker in England (and those of us used to that kind of word-flow), may be distracting for Americans in 2000.

An example of the latter: "What depth of chanting, whence the blissful tone / That lames my lifting of the fatal glass?" This is pretty representative: if "lames my lifting" does not sound pretentious or obscure, and if the elegance of it strikes you, Wayne's translation is the one for you. If on the other hand, "lames my lifting" sounds straight out of a mediaeval scroll (as I believe is the case with many Americans), then look elsewhere for a translation you will enjoy (read: Luke).

Another, more involved example is in the final lines of Faust II: Wayne translates "Das unbeschreibliche / Hier ists getan" as "Here the ineffable / Wins life through love". Now that, of course is hardly a translation; but it fits in with Wayne's scheme of things - and that IS the point; Wayne has his "scheme of things", which you may or may not like.

The second part of what I'm writing is about Faust itself, the Masterwork: as any German will tell you, Faust is one of the centrepieces of literature, and it is worthwhile learning German JUST to read Faust. Each person comes away from "Faust" having found that that he/she was looking for. Every person is reflected in Faust; "Faust" is the ultimate story of Man. What tempts us, what keeps us, what draws us on, what tears us, what defines us, what lies in store for us - it is all there. "Faust" is a journey everyone should undertake. There is nothing controversial here - no "God", no "Hellfire", nothing but Goethe's straightforward but not blunt, sensitive but not compromised, philosophical but not dreamy, analysis of the human situation. "Faust" is the Master thinker Goethe's sincere attempt at looking at it all; and it does not fall visibly short of the task.

Part I should be read by everyone; Part II is not strictly a sequel, but in many ways is, as Wayne shows in his Introduction. Part II requires some knowledge of Greek Mythology; and does in many ways "complete the story". Only, it goes way beyond that. ... Read more

Product Description
A lay community of thoroughly mixed-up people is encamped outside Imber Abbey, home of an order of sequestered nuns. A new bell is being installed when suddenly the old bell, a legendary symbol of religion and magic, is rediscovered. And then things begin to change. Meanwhile the wise old Abbess watches and prays and exercises discreet authority. And everyone, or almost everyone, hopes to be saved, whatever that may mean. Originally published in 1958, this funny, sad, and moving novel is about religion, sex, and the fight between good and evil.

With an introduction by A. S. Byatt. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (17)

Imperfection Is The Best A Character Can Do.
There's nothing much to say about this novel, since its characterization and story are already presented in these sixteen reviews, many of them being written by Murdoch's devotees. An additional point however might be that Murdoch does not make-up fictions. Characters' and place names, historical happenings, religious texts, etc imbue fictional facts with two or three allusions. To recognize these parallels is an exercise of memory and astute reading because the reader gets entangled in the emotional excitements of Toby, Dora, Michael, and others as a swimmer in the lake's slimy weeds or a walker on the unexpected forest path. One replay occurs between the monastery's legend of the trespasser and nun and the penetrating actions of Toby and Catherine, who respectively go deeper beyond the cloister's outer wall and into the wood and lake. The reader knows the mental workings of main characters and perceives how their companions assess them. Murdoch however does not reveal everyone's interior, keeping opaque the minds of Nick, Catherine, the Straffords, etc, who nevertheless are assessed by the lay community members. All is contained in the whole -- the still lake through which the mechanical noise cuts, the judgments of fitting in or being out, restrictive rules and wild freedom, the mixed-up attraction of males and females, the invisible life within the cloister and the open-air visibility of the laymen, and the retreat into innocence and the running with experience. This novel packs in everything as if the author is creating the world, consecrating A to Z with love rather than assessment. Each evolving, imperfect character is acceptable and valid without extraneous impositions. S/he naturally heads in the direction of the good.

Did Not Love
This story opens with Dora Greenfield, a creative spirit who has trapped herself in a marriage where the husband spends more time degrading her than nurturing her. She's ran away and shacked up with another free spirit but this doesn't last for long and she ends up following her husband Paul, an art historian, to a small community of God-fearing people who have set up a settlement out side a nunnery called Imber Abbey. This group is lead by Micheal Meade, a man with his own secrets and internal turmoil. Micheal owns the land outside the Abbey which the members affectionately call Imber Court. These two seem like the most unlikely duo to establish a relationship with one another but without knowing it they do.

There are a host of other characters that affect their lives in both positive and negative ways. There's Noel the journalist, Toby the student, Nick the renegade, Catherine the future nun, Murphy the dog, and Gabriel... the bell. A reference to an old church bell buried in the sludge of the lake between the Abbey and the Court is made throughout the book giving it a position of an important character. Dora even suggests as much when the bell is finally unearthed. "She came near to the bell which seemed more and more like a living presence."

There are a number of strong issues throughout the Bell but the most dominant is religion. This is followed by a healthy dose of homosexuality, marriage and adultery. Some sources site a strong theme of good and evil (probably associated with religious beliefs) but I think evil is really too harsh a term. There are no real evil people or situations in this story. It's about a group of people trying to make it through this life as best they know how while dealing with the foreseen, unforeseen and exaggerated bumps they encounter along the way. Murdoch does use her philosophical background to insert interesting questions along the way like: "Could one recognize refinements of good if one did not recognize refinements of evil?"

Iris Murdoch's The Bell is her fourth of twenty-six published novels. It was released in 1958 but takes place in England in the late forties. This is my second Murdoch novel and I found it flows and is much more vivid in detail than her first book, Under the Net. While I felt this book was certainly better than my first taste of Murdoch, as a whole it bored the heck out of me. Seriously, after the first chapter until they brought up the bell I was bored silly. I realized that is quite a subjective statement but if I had not committed myself to reading all her books I probably would have stopped here. Language differences often slow story down: "After breakfast he repaired as usual to the estate office to cast an eye over the day's correspondence (page 88)." Or just unusual, "From within the dog's barking was redoubled (page 53)." And while cliche is perfectly understandable to most I think it's the easy way for someone who was considered such an established writer. Perhaps it is still too early in her works for me to recognize her greatness. Reviewed by M. E. Wood.

Better than the Sea the Sea
I have to say of the two novels I read by Dame Iris Murdoch. I liked this one better than the other one which one the Booker Prize in 1978. Murdoch was an extraordinary person who appeared ordinary to us but had an amazing mind. I think that's part of the problem. She expects others to be similar as well, cerebral or trying to get somewhere higher than lower. Her characters in both novels never really appear content with their lives. While I love the novel cover on both texts, I found Iris' writing to be superb in bringing to life about mundane characters. I think Iris was a great observer in humanity and what she saw as their failings. In life, she was happily married for almost 50 years to John Bayley and led a very active career in the colleges and publishing. Her novels are not set to be easy but an labyrinth of wonder, questions, expectations, and disappointments. Iris' wrote longhand and she wasn't viewed as typically attractive but seen as fun and intelligent beyond belief. She was one of a kind. I don't think it ever occurred to her to leave John ever. THeir relationship was a union based on mutual trust, respect, understanding, and intelligence. They talked about the radio soap, THe ARchers, and lived without a television but in a pigsty. Of course, it was their home. IRis wrote this novel which showed her enormous capacity to love humanity when it doesn't love itself. It's sad but I think Iris was hoping that we evolved higher and sought comforts in the cerebral world. Sorry but I don't most of us have it in us and we resort to settling for spouses, lovers, friends, and jobs much like her characters. Even in this book, Dora seeks happiness elsewhere than London and her marriage. You wonder how many Doras are out there. It's interesting but Iris in both this and The Sea The Sea never really explored children as characters. Both novels seem utterly barren without the presence of children or babies. Maybe because Iris had no use for them herself in her own life, she does not include them in her novels. Maybe the adult characters are the children finding themselves and what makes them happy, content, or satisfied. We know what makes people unhappy, discontent, and unsatisfied.

A Real Page Turner
This early ('50's) Murdoch novel is quite a surprise.I wasn't expecting such an entertaining read.One would not expect it from the plot (misfits gathered at a religious retreat), or the dated themes of religious piety and homosexuality.But I found it an absorbing and fast read.

Murdoch seems to have a talent for getting into the minds of her characters such that their thoughts are our thoughts; one knows exactly where they are coming from because one would have the same set of thoughts.Never a false note tracking the internal dialogue of Toby and Michael.

An Exploration of Darkness and Light

The Bell is an exceptional book.

It resonates with spirituality. It reverberates with sensuality. It probes our identity and reveals a broad spectrum of darkness and light.

In The Bell things are not as they seem. Murdoch creates a world in which nothing is mundane. See for instance how she describes the transforming magic of the evening sun: "They came quite suddenly out of the wood onto the wide expanse of grass near the drive. The great scene, the familiar scene, was there again before them, lit by a very yellow and almost vanished sun, the sky fading to a greenish blue. From here they looked a little down upon the lake and could see, intensely tinted and very still, the reflection in it of the farther slope and the house, clear and pearly grey in the revealing light, its detail sharply defined, starting into nearness. Beyond it on the pastureland, against a pallid line at the horizon, the trees took the declining sun, and one oak tree, its leaves already turning yellow, seemed to be on fire".

Imber Court is the site of a lay community of spiritual seekers. They are struggling on a path of sanctification - living lives of hopeful but naive becoming. Across the brooding waters of a mysterious lake is Imber Abbey; a cloistered community presumably of those who already have become. The Abbey is imbued with supernatural power and light, even as a dark magic lurks beneath the surface of the lake. None in the community of seekers will escape this power encounter unscathed - though in the end for some there is a kind of freedom.

This is a classic in every sense of the word and one that can be read over and over again. ... Read more

Product Description
Forty of the most famous and celebrated stories from the Brothers Grimm translated and edited by a leading professor of folklore.Even after two hundred years, the tales collected by the Brothers Grimm remain among our most powerful stories. Their scenes of unsparing savagery and jaw-dropping beauty remind us that fairy tales, in all their simplicity, have the power to change us. With some of the most famous stories in world literature, including “Cinderella,” “Little Red Riding Hood,” “Hansel and Gretel,” “Snow White,” as well as some less well known stories like “The Seven Ravens,” this definitive collection promises to entrance readers with the strange and wonderful world of the Brothers Grimm.

Maria Tatar’s engaging preface provides readers with the historical and cultural context to understand what these stories meant and their contemporary resonance. Fans of all ages will be drawn to this elegant and accessible collection of stories that have cast their magical spell over children and adults alike for generations. ... Read more

Product Description
This digital document is an article from International Fiction Review, published by International Fiction Association on January 1, 2004. The length of the article is 843 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: A.S. Byatt: a Whistling Woman.(Book Review)
Author: Jane Campbell
Publication: International Fiction Review (Refereed)
Date: January 1, 2004
Publisher: International Fiction Association
Volume: 31Issue: 1-2Page: 120(2)

Article Type: Book Review

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This digital document is an article from World Literature Today, published by University of Oklahoma on January 1, 2002. The length of the article is 589 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: A. S. Byatt: On Histories and Stories: Selected Essays.
Author: Mary Kaiser
Publication: World Literature Today (Refereed)
Date: January 1, 2002
Publisher: University of Oklahoma
Volume: 76Issue: 1Page: 156(2)

Article Type: Book Review

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Word count: 5111. ... Read more

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This digital document is an article from The Review of Contemporary Fiction, published by Review of Contemporary Fiction on June 22, 2002. The length of the article is 324 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: A. S. Byatt. On Histories and Stories: Selected Essays.(Brief Article)
Author: Luc Herman
Publication: The Review of Contemporary Fiction (Refereed)
Date: June 22, 2002
Publisher: Review of Contemporary Fiction
Volume: 22Issue: 2Page: 249(2)

Article Type: Book Review, Brief Article

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This digital document is an article from International Fiction Review, published by International Fiction Association on January 1, 2002. The length of the article is 1011 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: A.S. Byatt The Biographer's Tale. (book review)
Author: Jane Campbell
Publication: International Fiction Review (Refereed)
Date: January 1, 2002
Publisher: International Fiction Association
Page: 119(2)

Article Type: Book Review

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Chapters: Margaret Thatcher, Kiri Te Kanawa, A. S. Byatt, Shirley Williams, Baroness Williams of Crosby, Margaret Jay, Baroness Jay of Paddington, Onora O'neill, Baroness O'neill of Bengarve, Shriti Vadera, Baroness Vadera, Ann Oakley, Emma Kirkby, Kathleen Ollerenshaw, Daphne Park, Baroness Park of Monmouth, Kay Davies, Nancy Rothwell, Averil Cameron, Julia Higgins, Rosalind Marsden, Tamsyn Imison, Louise Johnson. Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 126. Not illustrated. Free updates online. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, LG, OM, PC, FRS (born 13 October 1925) served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. She is the only woman to have held either post. Born in Grantham in Lincolnshire, United Kingdom, she went to school at Kesteven and Grantham Girls' School in Grantham, where she was head girl in 194243. She read chemistry at Somerville College, Oxford and later trained as a barrister. She won a seat in the 1959 general election, becoming the MP for Finchley as a Conservative. When Edward Heath formed a government in 1970, he appointed Thatcher Secretary of State for Education and Science. Four years later, she backed Keith Joseph in his bid to become Conservative Party leader but he was forced to drop out of the election. In 1975 Thatcher entered the contest herself and became leader of the Conservative Party. At the 1979 general election she became Britain's first female Prime Minister. In her foreword to the 1979 Conservative manifesto, Thatcher had written of "a feeling of helplessness, that a once great nation has somehow fallen behind." She entered 10 Downing Street determined to reverse what she perceived as a precipitate national decline. Her political philosophy and economic policies emphasise...More: http://booksllc.net/?id=19831 ... Read more

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This digital document is an article from International Fiction Review, published by Thomson Gale on January 1, 2007. The length of the article is 731 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

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Title: Jane Campbell: A. S. Byatt and the Heliotropic Imagination.(Book review)
Author: Arnd Bohm
Publication: International Fiction Review (Magazine/Journal)
Date: January 1, 2007
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 34Issue: 1-2Page: 187(3)

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This digital document is an article from International Fiction Review, published by International Fiction Association on January 1, 2003. The length of the article is 1043 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: A. S. Byatt On Histories and Stories: Selected Essays.(Book Review)
Author: Jane Campbell
Publication: International Fiction Review (Refereed)
Date: January 1, 2003
Publisher: International Fiction Association
Volume: 30Issue: 1-2Page: 91(3)

Article Type: Book Review

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This guide examines the key critical responses to Byatt's fiction (both her novels and short stories) tracing the wider debates about realism, post modernism and feminism with which they engage. The Guide also explores the themes which are central to Byatt's work, such as her depiction of writer-figures and her conception of artistic vision. ... Read more

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This digital document is an article from World Literature Today, published by University of Oklahoma on October 1, 2003. The length of the article is 559 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: A. S. Byatt. A Whistling Woman.(Book Review)
Author: Mary Kaiser
Publication: World Literature Today (Refereed)
Date: October 1, 2003
Publisher: University of Oklahoma
Volume: 77Issue: 3-4Page: 93(1)

Article Type: Book Review

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This digital document is an article from The Modern Language Review, published by Modern Humanities Research Association on January 1, 2004. The length of the article is 7976 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

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Title: Encounters with Matisse: space, art, and intertextuality in A. S. Byatt's The Matisse Stories and Marie Redonnet's Villa Rosa.
Author: Sarah Fishwick
Publication: The Modern Language Review (Refereed)
Date: January 1, 2004
Publisher: Modern Humanities Research Association
Volume: 99Issue: 1Page: 52(14)

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This digital document is an article from International Fiction Review, published by International Fiction Association on January 1, 2004. The length of the article is 666 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

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Title: Alexa Alfer and Michael J. Noble, eds.: Essays on the Fiction of A. S. Byatt: Imagining the Real.(Book Review)
Author: Lisa M. Fiander
Publication: International Fiction Review (Refereed)
Date: January 1, 2004
Publisher: International Fiction Association
Volume: 31Issue: 1-2Page: 119(2)

Article Type: Book Review

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This digital document is an article from World Literature Today, published by University of Oklahoma on January 1, 2002. The length of the article is 677 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: A. S. Byatt: The Biographer's Tale.
Author: Mary Kaiser
Publication: World Literature Today (Refereed)
Date: January 1, 2002
Publisher: University of Oklahoma
Volume: 76Issue: 1Page: 145(1)

Article Type: Book Review

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This is nonfiction commentary. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Chapters: The Children's Book, Possession, Morpho Eugenia, the Biographer's Tale. Source: Wikipedia. Free updates online. Not illustrated. Excerpt: The Children's Book is a 2009 novel by British writer A.S. Byatt. It follows the adventures of several inter-related families, adults and children, from 1895 through World War I. Loosely based upon the life of children's writer E. Nesbit there are secrets slowly revealed that show that the families are much more creatively formed than first guessed. It was shortlisted for the 2009 Man Booker Prize. The Wellwood family (Olive, Humphrey, Olive's sister Violet, and many children) are Fabians, living in a world of artists, writers, craftsman, all moving into new ways to express art, and living an artful life, before the horrors and loss of the Great War. While the central character of Olive is a writer of children's literature, supporting her large family with her writing, the title of the book refers to the children in the book: Tom, Julian, Philip, Elsie, Dorothy, Hedda, Griselda, Florence, Charles/Karl, Phyllis and others, following each as they approach adulthood and the terrors of war. In an interview with The Guardian Byatt says: "I started with the idea that writing children's books isn't good for the writers' own children. There are some dreadful stories. Christopher Robin at least lived. Kenneth Grahame's son put himself across a railway line and waited for the train. Then there's JM Barrie. One of the boys that Barrie adopted almost certainly drowned himself. This struck me as something that needed investigating. And the second thing was, I was interested in the structure of E Nesbit's family how they all seemed to be Fabians and fairy-story writers." The book has so many fictional and historical character...More: http://booksllc.net/?id=24918090 ... Read more

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Possession - A Romance novel by A.S. Byatt, published in 1990 by Random House Publishing. This hard Softcover book is in Excellent Condition. ... Read more