The Flame
C**S
Exceeded expectations
Delivered on time and in excellent condition. Completely satisfied
R**
print too small
work of art
J**D
Order as Advertised
The book arrived earlier than expected and was as advertised.
K**A
Love.
Love.
A**R
Sitting on bookshelf
Beyond my comprehention
M**N
Five Stars
Great read
A**0
Unglaublich bewegendes Spätwerk
In einer Buchhandlung bin ich über die zweisprachige Ausgabe dieses Werkes gestolpert. Sofort war ich begeistert von den tiefgründigen und bewegenden Gedichten. Ebenfalls sofort rollten sich meine Fußnägel hoch, von den teilweise grottenschlechten deutschen Übersetzungen. Ich brauche dieses Buch, war aber nicht bereit auch nur einen Cent mehr für diese Übersetzungen auszugeben. Deswegen also die Originalausgabe. Ich empfehle jedem, der der englischen Sprache mächtig ist, es mir gleich zu tun.Wer nicht der englischen Sprache mächtig ist, sollte sie schon deshalb lernen, um diese Texte lesen zu können. Cohens Sprache ist ein einziger Genuss. Teilweise ernst und melancholisch, teils mit sarkastischem oder selbstironischem Humor werden die großen Themen des Seins beleuchtet. Tod und Vergänglichkeit nehmen einen größeren Teil des Buches ein, was ja nach "You Want It Darker" zu erwarten war. Aber auch andere, positivere Kernthemen Cohens, wie Lebensfreude, Genuss, Liebe und Sexualität kommen trotz hohem Alter und zunehmender körperlicher Gebrechlichkeit des Autors nicht zu kurz.Ein Werk, das in einigen Jahren hoffentlich als Weltliteratur gewürdigt sein wird. Wenn es möglich wäre, ich würde auch 6 oder hundert Sterne geben.
A**N
What's to be said?
I have followed the work of Leonard Cohen since I was 15 that's amost 50 years now and have taken great pleasure from it over and over during that time. I have no words of my own that would be able to in any way adequately express the joy and the sadness that his words and music have seen me through those decades and I shall be ever grateful to him for touching my heart and even my soul. I shall miss him even though he will still be within me, "month by month, day by day, thought by thought" til my own demise.
D**N
A Mixed Bag
As an admirer of Leonard Cohen's songs but not a diehard fan, I enjoyed a large part of this book. The first 90 or so pages contain poems written towards the end of Cohen's life. I was struck first of all by rather conventional verses talking of 'heart' and 'soul', but then I grew aware of a great variety of themes and accomplished styles, rhymed, unrhymed, lyrical, prose-like. He can address beloved women, American politics or a fellow singer like the Spanish flamenco artist Enrique Morente. The following 70 pages of the later song lyrics show Cohen to be a talented and erudite songwriter. A religious yearning runs through this section, e.g. 'Born in Chains'. However. the editors have also included 100 pages selected from his notebooks, including also a lot of facsimile handwriting. I found this section mostly consisted of rough work and often fragmentary. For the general reader (rather than scholars), most should have been omitted.
R**E
Have a magnifying glass handy
The content of this book--the lovely poems, self-caricature sketches and others, thought-provoking journal entries--are heart warming and engrossing. BUT the Optima font and small point size make what should be a thoroughly enjoyable experience . . . problematic. You'll need your magnifying glass handy if you want to actually read Leonard Cohen's captions on many of his sketches. The two pictures I added to this review show the problem. Lots of space on the beige pages, but tiny reproductions of his artwork and words! WHY???? I'm forced to give a '1' review for the actual physical book and a resounding '5' for the content, which averages out to a '3' . . .
