Eduardo Galeano was a Uruguayan journalist, writer and novelist. His best known works are Memoria del fuego (Memory of Fire Trilogy, 1986) and Las venas abiertas de Am茅rica Latina (Open Veins of Latin America, 1971) which have been translated into twenty languages and transcend orthodox genres: combining fiction, journalism, political analysis, and history.
The author himself has proclaimed his obsession as a writer saying, "I'm a writer obsessed with remembering, with remembering the past of America above all and above all that of Latin America, intimate land condemned to amnesia."
He has received the International Human Rights Award by Global Exchange (2006) and the Stig Dagerman Prize (2010).
Heykelt谋ra艧, koskocaman bir at枚lyenin i莽inde etraf谋 莽ocuklarla 莽evrili olarak 莽al谋艧谋rm谋艧. G眉n眉n birinde ... 艧ehrin meydanlar谋ndan birine dikilmek i莽in b眉y眉k bir at heykeli sipari艧 edilmi艧. Bir kamyon, devasa bir granit blo臒u onun at枚lyesine getirmi艧. Heykelt谋ra艧 bir merdivene 莽谋k谋p 莽eki莽 ve keskiyle ta艧谋 yontmaya ba艧lam谋艧. 脟ocuklar ... geri d枚nd眉klerinde heykelt谋ra艧 onlara at谋n bitmi艧 halini g枚stermi艧. 脟ocuklardan biri, fal ta艧谋 gibi g枚zleriyle ona sormu艧: 'Peki ama.. O ta艧谋n i莽inde bir at oldu臒unu nereden biliyordun?'
Galeano da, insan谋n i莽ine ta艧 gibi oturan ac谋lardan umudu, co艧kuyu ve m眉cadeleyi 莽谋karmaya devam ediyor..
Sohbet tarz谋nda a臒谋rl谋kl谋 olarak an谋lar谋n payla艧谋ld谋臒谋 bir kitap. Galeano'nun temiz uslubuyla Latin Amerika'da 70'li y谋llarda ya艧an谋lanlar谋 okuyoruz. Fa艧izm her yerde ayn谋, askeriyle- polisiyle ayn谋 veya benzer y枚ntemlerle ilerici veya muhalif herkesi eziyor veya yok ediyor. Biz askeri darbeler 12 Mart ve 12 Eyl眉l'de, ve 90'l谋 y谋llarda 脟iller-A臒ar d枚neminde ya艧am谋艧t谋k kitapta anlat谋lanlar谋. Sinirlerinizi bozaca臒谋n谋 kabullenirseniz okuyun.
[Re-read: Mar 2023] "I search for myself and can't find myself." The only way to find myself again is to find Eduardo's voice within me. It guides me through the path where I stand dazed, waiting for me to rescue myself. ____________________________________________ [Re-read: Nov 2020]
On Words
鈥楶etrichor鈥� - a word that traces its roots back to the Greek mythology that compares rain to the fluid flowing through the veins of God - is just the right word for the earthly (rather heavenly) fragrance after any drizzle or downpour. Or take the word 鈥楩ernweh鈥� - fairly distant from the commoditised word 鈥榃anderlust鈥� - that carries within itself that subdued unexpressed longing for a place that we鈥檝e never been to. There are feelings and emotions, so obscure that you struggle to ascribe a name to it.
This lack of the perfect word was what confounded me throughout, while I was lost in the pages of this book. If I try to describe it, I鈥檇 say that this book is the most uncannily sensorial piece of literature that I鈥檝e ever read. The writing, that moves seamlessly and mysteriously between fiction and non-fiction, is nothing but a vivid dream inked on paper. Just like a dream, you feel a sense of loss of control, for you have not an inkling of the terra incognita that each story is going to land you in. You feel a chill running down your spine as the stories speak of terror and gruesome blood-curdling realities of so many folks - people like us - of the past; and while you are still getting over that gut wrenching feeling, you are suddenly transported to the most sensual of stories that you can鈥檛 help but long for. The feeling is still lingering around when sadness rams into it and trying to recuperate from a racing pulse - without any premonition - you land in the lap of heart warming nostalgia. A word is all that I need to calm my dizzied mind so that it knows the name of its elixir.
G眉ney Amerika ile ilgili bir 艧ey okumayaca臒谋m deyip deyip okumaya devam ediyorum. 陌莽im karar谋yor. Rezaletlerin bu denli kan谋ksanmas谋... Toplumlar谋n bizimki gibi tepkisiz hale gelmesinde i艧kencenin ve toplum bilincinin k谋r谋lmas谋 i莽in yap谋lan sistematik 莽al谋艧malar谋n g眉c眉 yads谋namaz. Bizim birka莽 g枚mlek daha k枚t眉 halimiz oralar sadece. Temelde ise fazla anlay谋艧 fark谋 yok. Kitap da臒谋n谋k pek 莽ok an谋 i莽eriyor ama okumas谋 keyifli.
Galeano鈥檔un 鈥渒endi belle臒imle bir t眉r sohbet鈥� diye nitelendirdi臒i 鈥淎艧k谋n ve Sava艧谋n G眉nd眉z ve Geceleri鈥�, sanki Latin Amerika鈥檔谋n Kesik Damarlar谋鈥檔谋n daha ki艧isel bir devam kitab谋 gibi. Yine k谋ta diktat枚rl眉klerinin deh艧etine ve 莽o臒u pek h眉z眉nl眉, kimi ise umutlu insan hikayelerine tan谋k oluyoruz Galeano鈥檔un g枚z眉nden. 70鈥檒i y谋llarda a臒谋rl谋kl谋 olarak Latin Amerika鈥檇a g枚rd眉臒眉, dinledi臒i, par莽as谋 oldu臒u b眉y眉k olaylar谋 ve s谋radan insan hik芒yelerini harmanlay谋p anlat谋yor yazar. K眉莽眉k okuma par莽alar谋ndan olu艧an kitap bana yine ve maalesef memleketimizi d眉艧眉nd眉rd眉. 鈥淧eki ya g枚r眉nmez kafesler? Korkunun tutsaklar谋ndan hangi resmi raporda ya da muhalefet bildirisinde bahsedilir? 陌艧ini kaybetme korkusu, i艧 bulamama korkusu, konu艧ma korkusu, dinlenme korkusu, okuma korkusu. Sessizlik 眉lkesinde, s谋rf bak谋艧lar谋ndaki 谋艧谋lt谋 y眉z眉nden bir insan kendini toplama kamp谋nda bulabilir. Bir memuru i艧ten 莽谋karmaya gerek yoktur; yarg谋 karar谋 olmaks谋z谋n i艧ten at谋labilece臒ini ve kimsenin ona asla i艧 vermeyece臒ini bilmesi yeterlidir. Her vatanda艧 bizzat kendi davran谋艧 ve s枚zlerini sans眉rleyen bir mekanizmaya d枚n眉艧t眉臒眉 anda sans眉r, ger莽e臒e kar艧谋 zafer kazanm谋艧 demektir.鈥�
驴Cu谩ntas veces he sido un dictador? 驴Cu谩ntas un inquisidor, un censor, un carcelero? 驴Cu谩ntas veces he prohibido, a quienes m谩s quer铆a, la libertad y la palabra? 驴De cuantas personas me he sentido due帽o? 驴A cu谩ntas he condenado por cometer el delito de no ser yo? 驴No es la propiedad privada de las personas m谩s repugnante que la propiedad privada de las cosas? 驴A cuanta gente us茅, yo que me cre铆a tan al margen de la sociedad de consumo? 驴No he deseado o celebrado, secretamente, la derrota de otros, yo que en voz alta me cagaba en el valor del 茅xito? 驴Qui茅n no reproduce, dentro de s铆, al mundo que lo genera? 驴Qui茅n est谩 a salvo de confundir a su hermano con un rival y a la mujer que ama con la propia sombra?
Los libros de Eduardo Galeano se caracterizan porque existe una gran gama de emociones, pero en este libro, lo que m谩s se puede encontrar es tristeza y melancol铆a. Esto se debe al momento en que se viv铆a cuando se public贸 este libro (1978), donde varios pa铆ses latinoamericanos sufr铆an los males de diferentes dictaduras militares. Por lo tanto, Galeano vuelve continuamente a amigos desaparecidos, a frustraciones, al miedo y al sistema que permite todo esos cr铆menes, que hace que lo que llega a existir de alegre en el libro, se transforme en oscuridad y a帽oranza.
Un libro muy bueno que es una muestra de lo que se viv铆a en aquel entonces, donde las dictaduras buscaban matar a las ideas que se negaban a morir.
Galeano tem uma prosa t茫o bonita e usa dela para nos contar o horror dos anos assombrosos que viveu a Am茅rica Latina sob o v茅u da ditadura militar e sua carnificina. Foi o que fez em O Livro dos Abra莽os e 茅 o que faz aqui, e nada melhor do que ele mesmo contar a hist贸ria de seu livro:
鈥� N茫o se esgota na lista de torturados, assassinados e desaparecidos a den煤ncia dos crimes de uma ditadura.鈥� 鈥淓m tempos de crise, n茫o se tornam conservadores os liberais, e fascistas os conservadores?鈥� 鈥淒e nossas terras, os donos do poder fazem contribui莽玫es universais ao progresso dos m茅todos de tortura, assassinato, cultivo do sil锚ncio e a multiplica莽茫o da impot锚ncia e a semeadura do medo.鈥� 鈥淓u n茫o sabia, h谩 quinze anos, que nas pris玫es e quart茅is de meu pais iam acontecer black-outs por causa do uso excessivo de corrente el茅trica.鈥� 鈥淥 torturador 茅 um funcion谩rio. O ditador 茅 um funcion谩rio. N茫o s茫o ministros extraordin谩rios. N茫o vamos dar essa grandeza de presente a eles. 鈥�
A mim, uma leitura essencial, como sempre o 茅 acerca de um mal que est谩 constantemente 脿 espreita.
How is this the most beautiful book I鈥檝e ever laid my hands on. A part of me does not want to attempt to review this, because I鈥檓 almost ashamed of the inadequacy and incompetence of my words. No language will be able to summarise my reading experience. However, I shall try my best because I want everyone to feel how I felt during the course of this novel.
Galeano is no ordinary story-teller. He weaves magic in his words. You鈥檒l gasp at the most horrific tales of atrocities committed in Latin America, you鈥檒l smile at the innocence of certain incidents, your heart will feel heavy when you realise the irreversibility and inevitability of separation and death, you鈥檒l ponder over the importance of art and literature in subverting authority.
My knowledge of the socio-political situation in Latin America is abysmally limited. But, Galeano made sure that he could convey to the remotest of his readers the explosive and turbulent political regimes that took place in Latin America, and the motions that an ordinary man/woman had to go through to survive the insanity.
Galeano is a historian with the flair of a poet. The language he has employed is so beautiful; I wanted to memorise each and every sentence.
鈥淚f what is written is read seriously and to some extent changes or nourishes the consciousness of the reader, a writer had justified his or her role in the process of change: with neither arrogance nor false humility, but with the recognition of being a small part of something vast.鈥�
Thank you, Galeano, for nourishing my consciousness and for being a small part of something vast.
I should like refined literature better. And indeed, Eduardo Galeano is a very good writer....but I hated it. The only reason I read this was for school (AKA not of my own free will)