What do you think?
Rate this book
L'Amour humain
Du fond de la case où ils sont retenus prisonniers, deux instructeurs russes assistent au viol d'une femme qui cache une poignée de diamants dans sa bouche. Derrière eux, à demi-mort, gît un révolutionnaire angolais. Il scande le nom d'un village sibérien. Et dans cette forêt, à la lisière du Zaïre et de l'Angola, au milieu d'une Afrique exsangue, surgit le souvenir du visage tant aimé d'Anna...
294 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published October 1, 2006
About the author
Andreï Makine
36 books372 followersAndreï Makine was born in Krasnoyarsk, Soviet Union on 10 September 1957 and grew up in city of Penza, a provincial town about 440 miles south-east of Moscow. As a boy, having acquired familiarity with France and its language from his French-born grandmother (it is not certain whether Makine had a French grandmother; in later interviews he claimed to have learnt French from a friend), he wrote poems in both French and his native Russian.
In 1987, he went to France as member of teacher's exchange program and decided to stay. He was granted political asylum and was determined to make a living as a writer in French. However, Makine had to present his first manuscripts as translations from Russian to overcome publishers' skepticism that a newly arrived exile could write so fluently in a second language. After disappointing reactions to his first two novels, it took eight months to find a publisher for his fourth, Le testament français. Finally published in 1995 in France, the novel became the first in history to win both the Prix Goncourt and the Prix Medicis plus the Goncourt des Lycéens.
In 1987, he went to France as member of teacher's exchange program and decided to stay. He was granted political asylum and was determined to make a living as a writer in French. However, Makine had to present his first manuscripts as translations from Russian to overcome publishers' skepticism that a newly arrived exile could write so fluently in a second language. After disappointing reactions to his first two novels, it took eight months to find a publisher for his fourth, Le testament français. Finally published in 1995 in France, the novel became the first in history to win both the Prix Goncourt and the Prix Medicis plus the Goncourt des Lycéens.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews
August 21, 2016
In lesser hands this tale of the triumph of love and the human spirit against a bleak backdrop of wars and other horrors could easily have been trite and cliched, but Makine's writing transcends this, and I found this a very moving and impressive novel.
The book tells the story of Elias Almeida, an Angolan "professional revolutionary" across various African war zones over forty years, and also spells in Cuba and Soviet Russia. As one would expect from a writer brought up in the dying days of Soviet Russia, it is very strong on the moments of minor heroism that transcend the gradual decline of big ideology-driven movements and conflicts. Elias's story is told by a younger friend, a Russian agent working in Angola and other African war zones, and later a writer able to reflect on what has changed in Africa since the "end of history".
In some ways this reminded me most strongly of Doctor Zhivago. Elias is motivated by an impossible and platonic love for Anna, a Siberian who rescues him from racist thugs in Moscow, and their trip to visit her mother in Siberia is pivotal - the Siberia whose landscape itself is built on the wreckage of idealistic dreams. The African backdrop moves gradually from idealistic liberation struggles via cold war power games through to anarchic wars motivated purely by greed and self interest. Petty brutality and injustice are never very far from the surface.
To pack so much history and feeling into such a short story is ambitious, but for me it works and the ending is very moving, and entirely consistent with Makine's wider oeuvre, much of which is more memoir than fiction.
The book tells the story of Elias Almeida, an Angolan "professional revolutionary" across various African war zones over forty years, and also spells in Cuba and Soviet Russia. As one would expect from a writer brought up in the dying days of Soviet Russia, it is very strong on the moments of minor heroism that transcend the gradual decline of big ideology-driven movements and conflicts. Elias's story is told by a younger friend, a Russian agent working in Angola and other African war zones, and later a writer able to reflect on what has changed in Africa since the "end of history".
In some ways this reminded me most strongly of Doctor Zhivago. Elias is motivated by an impossible and platonic love for Anna, a Siberian who rescues him from racist thugs in Moscow, and their trip to visit her mother in Siberia is pivotal - the Siberia whose landscape itself is built on the wreckage of idealistic dreams. The African backdrop moves gradually from idealistic liberation struggles via cold war power games through to anarchic wars motivated purely by greed and self interest. Petty brutality and injustice are never very far from the surface.
To pack so much history and feeling into such a short story is ambitious, but for me it works and the ending is very moving, and entirely consistent with Makine's wider oeuvre, much of which is more memoir than fiction.
December 15, 2019
"Când moartea ne privește calm în ochi, ne dăm seama că au existat în viața noastră câteva ceasuri, de soare sau de întuneric, câteva chipuri la care ne întoarcem neîncetat, și că de fapt ceea ce ne păstra în viața era simpla speranță că le vom regăsi..."
"Plăcerea este ridicolă când nimic altceva nu ne unește"
"Plăcerea este ridicolă când nimic altceva nu ne unește"
May 21, 2016
Andreï
After giving this matter a great deal of thought, I have to say — it’s not me, it’s you.
I’ve been an admirer since 1997 when you seduced me, together with countless other readers and a few prize committees, with the haunting and elegiac prose you displayed in Dreams of My Russian Summers. Since then, I’ve learnt what to expect from our time together: meditations on the transformative power of love; mourning over the loss of the mother-figure; and the pivotal moment when the youthful revolutionary loses his uncritical devotion to the glories of the Soviet regime, that “great workshop of the future society”.
So when I found Human Love on my bookshelf, with a tell-tale tape flag stuck a little past the midway point, I felt bad. I felt I owed it to both of us to give you another chance.
This time round, the familiar themes of loss and betrayal were heightened by graphic depictions of imprisonment, torture, rape, casual cruelty, hallucinogenic drug-taking, drunkenness, and desperate transactional sex. That’s okay; I know you have an important story to tell.
And I stuck with you as your protagonists moved backward and forward across four decades as they criss-crossed the globe, from the East to the West, from Angola to Cuba, to Moscow, to the farthest reaches of Siberia, and to Somalia, squeezing in the odd junket on the international conference circuit. But you didn’t bring me, the reader, along with you. At one point, I became confused: I thought I’d set down Human Love and mistakenly picked up the story from Requiem for a Lost Empire, or perhaps Confessions of a Fallen Standard-Bearer.
Human Love is an ambitious novel, I get that. But perhaps there was just too much story crammed into less than 250 pages.
Anyway, I know this affair won’t spoil our relationship. For I, too, am a time traveller and I know that happier times are ahead with The Life of an Unknown Man.
Kindest regards
Constant Reader
October 7, 2012
Among the characteristics Andrei Makine's novels are renowned for are his exquisite depictions of people. His characters persevere in challenging circumstances, and his beautifully poetic language evokes the wide range of human emotions. Two examples of his great literary talents are, in my mind, Music of a Life: A Novel and The Woman Who Waited. However, Makine's captivating new novel departs from his more familiar scenarios and locales. The story's primary dramatic setting is in a Southern African conflict zone spanning a period of forty years. Human relationships, profound feelings and basic survival skills are tested to breaking point against adverse realities. In contrast, and maybe surprisingly, Siberia, Makine's childhood home, gains prominence as a metaphor for harmony, tolerance and happiness.
The novel's hero is Elias Almeida, a self-declared "professional revolutionary", who dreams of an Africa where independence and political change will also transform people into "better human beings". Son of an Angolan freedom fighter against Portuguese colonial rule, Elias has to watch helplessly as his parents die, brutally murdered by soldiers. His escape and survival bring him in contact with a range of teachers and mentors, nurturing in him an amalgam of Christian ethics and Marxist ideology. His training takes him from Angola to Cuba, the Soviet Union and back to his home country, where, he believes, he will fight for the realization of his vision of a better future. Despite his intentions to do the right thing, Elias is constantly undermined by the adverse circumstances he is caught up in. Makine depicts the ruthless historical context - from colonial rule to the scrambling of East and West for influence zones in Africa's newly independent states. Connecting the actual historical events with Elias's personal experiences Makine illustrates the contradictions between internalized propaganda and political idealism on the one hand and cold-blooded Cold War reality and ensuing destructive civil wars on the other.
What sustains Elias above anything else throughout his struggle is his profound "amour humain", a concept wider-reaching than the English "human love" of the novel's title. It encompasses both the love between individuals and the love for "humanity". His love for Anna, a young Russian woman who he meets in Moscow, encapsulated both aspects for him. "Without the love he felt for that woman, life would not have been more than a night without end...", muses the narrator at the beginning of the novel.
Extensive parts of Elias's story are told in retrospect by a nameless narrator, a former idealistic Soviet spy turned into a disillusioned Russian author. While attending an international conference on "sustainable development" in Africa, he intends to use Elias as an example of "African Life Stories in Literature". Fragments of notes about Elias, collected over a period of twenty five years, trigger his memory: accounts of where he has been either the listener or an active participants in events. This narrative technique brings different features of his hero into focus, portraying his character and personal history from different angles and through different timelines. Direct dialogue alternates with reflections. Contrasting the two main characters, Makine gives the narrator a platform to raise, over time, increasingly thought-provoking and politically and morally challenging questions. The narrator's own growing sarcasm distances him more and more from the idealism of Elias. The importance of his friend's love for Anna, nevertheless, gains in significance for him as well.
Themes are introduced briefly, only to be picked up later and filled out with more detail. The international conference is an important recurring theme, as it allows the narrator not only to look back but also to voice his growing disenchantment and cynicism regarding the "fat-neck" Africans in designer suits who circle such conferences and the white "experts" from the "West", who have their own political reasons for their interests in Africa. Geoffrey's Strachan's sensitive and fluid translation beautifully conveys Makine's superb language and style.
The novel's hero is Elias Almeida, a self-declared "professional revolutionary", who dreams of an Africa where independence and political change will also transform people into "better human beings". Son of an Angolan freedom fighter against Portuguese colonial rule, Elias has to watch helplessly as his parents die, brutally murdered by soldiers. His escape and survival bring him in contact with a range of teachers and mentors, nurturing in him an amalgam of Christian ethics and Marxist ideology. His training takes him from Angola to Cuba, the Soviet Union and back to his home country, where, he believes, he will fight for the realization of his vision of a better future. Despite his intentions to do the right thing, Elias is constantly undermined by the adverse circumstances he is caught up in. Makine depicts the ruthless historical context - from colonial rule to the scrambling of East and West for influence zones in Africa's newly independent states. Connecting the actual historical events with Elias's personal experiences Makine illustrates the contradictions between internalized propaganda and political idealism on the one hand and cold-blooded Cold War reality and ensuing destructive civil wars on the other.
What sustains Elias above anything else throughout his struggle is his profound "amour humain", a concept wider-reaching than the English "human love" of the novel's title. It encompasses both the love between individuals and the love for "humanity". His love for Anna, a young Russian woman who he meets in Moscow, encapsulated both aspects for him. "Without the love he felt for that woman, life would not have been more than a night without end...", muses the narrator at the beginning of the novel.
Extensive parts of Elias's story are told in retrospect by a nameless narrator, a former idealistic Soviet spy turned into a disillusioned Russian author. While attending an international conference on "sustainable development" in Africa, he intends to use Elias as an example of "African Life Stories in Literature". Fragments of notes about Elias, collected over a period of twenty five years, trigger his memory: accounts of where he has been either the listener or an active participants in events. This narrative technique brings different features of his hero into focus, portraying his character and personal history from different angles and through different timelines. Direct dialogue alternates with reflections. Contrasting the two main characters, Makine gives the narrator a platform to raise, over time, increasingly thought-provoking and politically and morally challenging questions. The narrator's own growing sarcasm distances him more and more from the idealism of Elias. The importance of his friend's love for Anna, nevertheless, gains in significance for him as well.
Themes are introduced briefly, only to be picked up later and filled out with more detail. The international conference is an important recurring theme, as it allows the narrator not only to look back but also to voice his growing disenchantment and cynicism regarding the "fat-neck" Africans in designer suits who circle such conferences and the white "experts" from the "West", who have their own political reasons for their interests in Africa. Geoffrey's Strachan's sensitive and fluid translation beautifully conveys Makine's superb language and style.
March 12, 2023
This is a novelization of Africa’s transition from its colonial past, focusing on an Angolan leader trained in Cuba and the USSR. The African action is in Angola, the Congo and Somalia. The reader follows the protagonist’s development from his mid adolescence in the early 1960s until the total collapse of the USSR.
I think it was a Beatles’ song that said love was all we need. That is the lesson that Makine’s character learns early on.
I found a fairly long segment of the story, set in Moscow and Siberia, especially well done.
My copy is a Kindle download from Amazon. It would have benefitted from better proof reading. There are numerous annoying, petty errors. Annoying, but not overwhelming. Without the errors there might be a fifth star.
I expect to read more of Makine’s work this year.
I think it was a Beatles’ song that said love was all we need. That is the lesson that Makine’s character learns early on.
I found a fairly long segment of the story, set in Moscow and Siberia, especially well done.
My copy is a Kindle download from Amazon. It would have benefitted from better proof reading. There are numerous annoying, petty errors. Annoying, but not overwhelming. Without the errors there might be a fifth star.
I expect to read more of Makine’s work this year.
June 10, 2011
Recently, there has been this trend within my little circle of friends to think that I am not human. Instead, they think that I am an alien being spying against the earthlings, and my cover is that I am a quiet little graduate student. And perhaps I do not blame them for thinking this way, even though this is just a long running joke.
The thing is, there are times in which I wanted humans to make sense, and yet I seem to think that they don't. I usually make comments along the lines of Humans are so hard to read..., always prefacing my statements with Humans are... as if I am not one of them.
There are also times in which I do not show the "proper" human emotion and analyze things mechanically instead. A couple of weeks ago, we watched Schindler's List, and some of my friends commented that it was the only movie that made them cry. My comment about the movie instead was that the movie was a good biographical movie. It did its purpose in depicting human nature of evil trying to dominate other people. It also depicted one human's attempt at altruism. In the end, I believe that the movie was successful at tapping at the human aspect of things, and thus it did make plenty of people cry. I however, did not.
Anyway, there are plenty of those moments around my being. Now why am I mentioning this? Because this is relevant for the latest book that I read. This book is entitled Human Love by Andrei Makine. Makine is a Russian author, but he writes in French. However, I do not read French, so I read the English translation. This is about Elias, an Angolan man, whose life story the reader follows from when he was a toddler, until when he dies in the Somali insurgency. He grows up in 1960's Angola, where his father is part of the revolutionary army, and then he goes to Cuba and later on to Russia to train as a Communist operative. In the meantime, he meets Anna, a Russian woman going to the university. They love each other, but they meet each other at the wrong place at the wrong time. They end up living separate lives, with Elias traveling here and there all over Africa and the rest of the world as an operative, while Anna marries a man she doesn't love and becomes part of the Soviet diplomatic corps, living in different African countries.
They see each other here and there, every few years, in different capitals. In the end, the last time they see each other was in Mogadishu, when the government collapsed and chaos reigned in the city. Anna and her husband were being evacuated through the American embassy but they forgot a very important briefcase. Elias went and retrieved it, but he died in the process.
I am floored by this book. It shows how things that cannot be governed by reason, such as love, can endure, and that it can last for decades, even when the two people involved eventually grow old, and walk their separate ways. One can see that even after the years that have passed between them, one can still keep love lingering, and ultimately sacrifice one's life for the person one loves. This is a good book indeed, and it makes me think whether there would come a time in which I would feel the same way towards another person.
The thing is, as much as I want things to make sense, as much as I want things to be predictable, there are still things that I cannot model. Even if the effect size of my model can be pretty large, there are still some human aspects that my model does not account for. Perhaps one of the things it does not account for is this type of human behavior.
The thing is, there are times in which I wanted humans to make sense, and yet I seem to think that they don't. I usually make comments along the lines of Humans are so hard to read..., always prefacing my statements with Humans are... as if I am not one of them.
There are also times in which I do not show the "proper" human emotion and analyze things mechanically instead. A couple of weeks ago, we watched Schindler's List, and some of my friends commented that it was the only movie that made them cry. My comment about the movie instead was that the movie was a good biographical movie. It did its purpose in depicting human nature of evil trying to dominate other people. It also depicted one human's attempt at altruism. In the end, I believe that the movie was successful at tapping at the human aspect of things, and thus it did make plenty of people cry. I however, did not.
Anyway, there are plenty of those moments around my being. Now why am I mentioning this? Because this is relevant for the latest book that I read. This book is entitled Human Love by Andrei Makine. Makine is a Russian author, but he writes in French. However, I do not read French, so I read the English translation. This is about Elias, an Angolan man, whose life story the reader follows from when he was a toddler, until when he dies in the Somali insurgency. He grows up in 1960's Angola, where his father is part of the revolutionary army, and then he goes to Cuba and later on to Russia to train as a Communist operative. In the meantime, he meets Anna, a Russian woman going to the university. They love each other, but they meet each other at the wrong place at the wrong time. They end up living separate lives, with Elias traveling here and there all over Africa and the rest of the world as an operative, while Anna marries a man she doesn't love and becomes part of the Soviet diplomatic corps, living in different African countries.
They see each other here and there, every few years, in different capitals. In the end, the last time they see each other was in Mogadishu, when the government collapsed and chaos reigned in the city. Anna and her husband were being evacuated through the American embassy but they forgot a very important briefcase. Elias went and retrieved it, but he died in the process.
I am floored by this book. It shows how things that cannot be governed by reason, such as love, can endure, and that it can last for decades, even when the two people involved eventually grow old, and walk their separate ways. One can see that even after the years that have passed between them, one can still keep love lingering, and ultimately sacrifice one's life for the person one loves. This is a good book indeed, and it makes me think whether there would come a time in which I would feel the same way towards another person.
The thing is, as much as I want things to make sense, as much as I want things to be predictable, there are still things that I cannot model. Even if the effect size of my model can be pretty large, there are still some human aspects that my model does not account for. Perhaps one of the things it does not account for is this type of human behavior.
February 2, 2017
Elias Almeida stumbles into life as an Angolan revolutionary. He gets trained in Cuba and Russia and spends time across various African war zones over forty years. He is a firm believer in revolution but is scarred with what he sees - the actions of the conquerors and the motives of the US and Russia to outdo each other and local warlords who fight the wars to make profit. He sees the death of Africa, the rape of its women and the pillaging of its resources.
What keeps him going is his love (and memories) of a Russian woman who he mets after he has been bashed by a group of thugs in Moscow. The book tells that while love may be a frail thing, without it, life could be nothing than manipulation and murder.
Elias's narrator is an unknown Russian. They met in a bush prison where they await their fates in the hands of UNITA rebels. They escape but not after witnessing the brutal rape and murder of a Zairean woman. 25 years late the narrator is at an African congress on literature and reflects on the duplicity of those profiteering while the people suffer.
It is a bleak book but in a short novel, every sentence is powerful and says so much about Russia and the USA, human actions and greed, and the fate of Africa.
What keeps him going is his love (and memories) of a Russian woman who he mets after he has been bashed by a group of thugs in Moscow. The book tells that while love may be a frail thing, without it, life could be nothing than manipulation and murder.
Elias's narrator is an unknown Russian. They met in a bush prison where they await their fates in the hands of UNITA rebels. They escape but not after witnessing the brutal rape and murder of a Zairean woman. 25 years late the narrator is at an African congress on literature and reflects on the duplicity of those profiteering while the people suffer.
It is a bleak book but in a short novel, every sentence is powerful and says so much about Russia and the USA, human actions and greed, and the fate of Africa.
July 31, 2018
Trudno mi było zebrać się do napisania tej recenzji, bo niełatwo jest jednoznacznie ocenić „Ludzką miłość” Makine.
Literacko, z powodu zbyt dla mnie sentymentalnego i mało wiarygodnego wątku miłosnego (szczególnie w dalszej części powieści), to książka tylko średnia.
Z tezami czasem przesadnie naiwnymi jak ta, że jedyną wartością nadającą sens życiu jest miłość. Pełna budujących nastrój brutalnych scen morderstw, okaleczeń, gwałtów, do których narrator niepotrzebnie w mojej ocenie wielokrotnie powraca, choć może po to by te, nawet jeśli wymyślone to bliskie prawdzie obrazy, na długo zostały nam pod powiekami.
A jednocześnie to książka, której na pewno długo nie zapomnę, książka, z tych jakie chcę czytać. Dzięki prostemu i obrazowemu językowi, wciągającej historii, ale przede wszystkim, dlatego, że dotyka ona problemów i zmusza do zastanowienia się nad tematami, nad którymi, na co dzień myśleć nie mam okazji. Autor rozprawia się w niej z ideałami stojącymi za większością rewolucji, pokazując jak często ich przywódcy gardzą, czy są rozczarowani ludem (przykład Che Guevara) o lepszy los, którego walczą lub z obrońców najsłabszych stają się ich oprawcami. Dostajemy w niej również mocny i bez wątpienia prawdziwy obraz Afryki kolonialnej i postkolonialnej traktowanej przedmiotowo zarówno przez imperialne mocarstwa, często organizacje humanitarne, jak i Afrykanów dochodzących do władzy i szybko zapominających o planach tworzenia lepszych Państw (niesamowicie piękny i przeraźliwie smutny obrazek z dwunastoma taboretami do pianina w domu środkowo afrykańskiego cesarza Bokassy). To naprawdę wyjątkowo książka i mimo drażniących niedoskonałości polecam ją każdemu, kto w czytaniu nie szuka spokoju i wyłącznie przyjemności, a ja daję 5 gwiazdek, bo inna ocena nie byłaby fair, biorąc pod uwagę emocje które autor mi zafundował.
Literacko, z powodu zbyt dla mnie sentymentalnego i mało wiarygodnego wątku miłosnego (szczególnie w dalszej części powieści), to książka tylko średnia.
Z tezami czasem przesadnie naiwnymi jak ta, że jedyną wartością nadającą sens życiu jest miłość. Pełna budujących nastrój brutalnych scen morderstw, okaleczeń, gwałtów, do których narrator niepotrzebnie w mojej ocenie wielokrotnie powraca, choć może po to by te, nawet jeśli wymyślone to bliskie prawdzie obrazy, na długo zostały nam pod powiekami.
A jednocześnie to książka, której na pewno długo nie zapomnę, książka, z tych jakie chcę czytać. Dzięki prostemu i obrazowemu językowi, wciągającej historii, ale przede wszystkim, dlatego, że dotyka ona problemów i zmusza do zastanowienia się nad tematami, nad którymi, na co dzień myśleć nie mam okazji. Autor rozprawia się w niej z ideałami stojącymi za większością rewolucji, pokazując jak często ich przywódcy gardzą, czy są rozczarowani ludem (przykład Che Guevara) o lepszy los, którego walczą lub z obrońców najsłabszych stają się ich oprawcami. Dostajemy w niej również mocny i bez wątpienia prawdziwy obraz Afryki kolonialnej i postkolonialnej traktowanej przedmiotowo zarówno przez imperialne mocarstwa, często organizacje humanitarne, jak i Afrykanów dochodzących do władzy i szybko zapominających o planach tworzenia lepszych Państw (niesamowicie piękny i przeraźliwie smutny obrazek z dwunastoma taboretami do pianina w domu środkowo afrykańskiego cesarza Bokassy). To naprawdę wyjątkowo książka i mimo drażniących niedoskonałości polecam ją każdemu, kto w czytaniu nie szuka spokoju i wyłącznie przyjemności, a ja daję 5 gwiazdek, bo inna ocena nie byłaby fair, biorąc pod uwagę emocje które autor mi zafundował.
January 11, 2020
O poveste simplă derulată în decoruri
complicate: continentul african sfâșiat de violență, răscoala împotriva portughezilor, conducători corupți, interesele marilor puteri mondiale și suferința umană.
Protagonistul cărții, Elias Almeida, băiatul care obișnuia să-și ascundă fruntea în încheietura caldă a brațului mamei, unde viața se scurgea domol legănată de pulsul sângelui, devenit un revoluționar angolez care, confruntat cu cele mai inumane acțiuni, își păstrează încrederea în puterea dragostei și spiritul omenesc.
Contrastul izbitor dintre luptele sângeroase, dictatură, trădare pe continentul fierbinte și puritatea infinită a întinderilor siberiene, acolo unde oamenii rămași, uitați de toți, își trăiesc liniștit viața, ne permite să vedem omenirea cu alți ochi, să ne revizuim valorile și acțiunile.
"Detestam grămada asta de "birocrați internaționali" așezați în primul rând, după ce au petrecut o săptămână întreagă pălăvrăgind și îndopându-se într-un hotel de lux. Îmi spuneam ceea ce mi se întâmpla să gândesc cu 20 de ani în urmă: câți copii ar putea fi salvați cu prețul unui singur costum pe care îl poartă fiecare dintre negrii ăștia burtoși?"
"Fiecare bărbat care ucide la sau era ucis fusese copilul care își ascundea obrazul în brațele mamei."
"Dacă revoluția nu ne schimbă modul de a iubi, la ce bun toate luptele astea?"
"Poate că întreaga logică a vieții se află, în întregime, în această formulă fără replică: sunt lucruri care se întâmplă!"
complicate: continentul african sfâșiat de violență, răscoala împotriva portughezilor, conducători corupți, interesele marilor puteri mondiale și suferința umană.
Protagonistul cărții, Elias Almeida, băiatul care obișnuia să-și ascundă fruntea în încheietura caldă a brațului mamei, unde viața se scurgea domol legănată de pulsul sângelui, devenit un revoluționar angolez care, confruntat cu cele mai inumane acțiuni, își păstrează încrederea în puterea dragostei și spiritul omenesc.
Contrastul izbitor dintre luptele sângeroase, dictatură, trădare pe continentul fierbinte și puritatea infinită a întinderilor siberiene, acolo unde oamenii rămași, uitați de toți, își trăiesc liniștit viața, ne permite să vedem omenirea cu alți ochi, să ne revizuim valorile și acțiunile.
"Detestam grămada asta de "birocrați internaționali" așezați în primul rând, după ce au petrecut o săptămână întreagă pălăvrăgind și îndopându-se într-un hotel de lux. Îmi spuneam ceea ce mi se întâmpla să gândesc cu 20 de ani în urmă: câți copii ar putea fi salvați cu prețul unui singur costum pe care îl poartă fiecare dintre negrii ăștia burtoși?"
"Fiecare bărbat care ucide la sau era ucis fusese copilul care își ascundea obrazul în brațele mamei."
"Dacă revoluția nu ne schimbă modul de a iubi, la ce bun toate luptele astea?"
"Poate că întreaga logică a vieții se află, în întregime, în această formulă fără replică: sunt lucruri care se întâmplă!"
June 3, 2012
Among the characteristics Andrei Makine's novels are renowned for are his exquisite depiction of people. His characters persevere in challenging circumstances, and his beautifully poetic language evokes the wide range of human emotions. Two examples of his great literary talents are, in my mind, Music of a Life: A Novel and The Woman Who Waited: A Novel. However, Makine's captivating new novel, while at one level a heart-rending love story, departs from his more familiar scenarios and locales. The story's primary dramatic setting is in a Southern African conflict zone spanning a period of forty years. Human relationships, profound feelings and basic survival skills are tested to breaking point against adverse realities. In contrast, and maybe surprisingly, Siberia, Makine's childhood home, gains prominence as a metaphor for harmony, tolerance and happiness.
The novel's hero is Elias Almeida, a self-declared "professional revolutionary", who dreams of an Africa where independence and political change will also transform people into "better human beings". Son of an Angolan freedom fighter against Portuguese colonial rule, Elias has to watch helplessly as his parents die, brutally murdered by soldiers. His escape and survival bring him in contact with a range of teachers and mentors, nurturing in him an amalgam of Christian ethics and Marxist ideology. His training takes him from Angola to Cuba, the Soviet Union and back to his home country, where, he believes, he will fight for the realization of his vision of a better future. Despite his intentions to do the right thing, Elias is constantly undermined by the adverse circumstances he is caught up in. Makine depicts the ruthless historical context -from colonial rule to the East and West scrambling for influence zones in Africa's newly independent states. Connecting the actual historical events with the Elias's personal experiences Makine illustrates the contradictions between internalized propaganda and political idealism on the one hand and cold-blooded Cold War reality and ensuing destructive civil wars on the other.
What sustains Elias above anything else throughout his struggle is his profound "amour humain", a concept wider-reaching than the English "human love" of the novel's title. It encompasses both the love between individuals and the love for "humanity". His love for Anna, a young Russian woman who he meets in Moscow, encapsulated both aspects for him. "Without the love he felt for that woman, life would not have been more than a night without end...", muses the narrator at the beginning of the novel.
Extensive parts of Elias's story are told in retrospect by a nameless narrator, a former idealistic Soviet spy turned into a disillusioned Russian author. While attending an international conference on "sustainable development" in Africa, he intends to use Elias as an example of "African Life Stories in Literature". Fragments of notes about Elias, collected over a period of twenty five years, trigger his memory: accounts where he has been either the listener or an active participants in events. This narrative technique brings different features of his hero into focus, portraying his character and personal history from different angles and through different timelines. Direct dialogue alternates with reflections. Contrasting the two main characters, Makine gives the narrator a platform to raise, over time, increasingly thought-provoking and politically and morally challenging questions. While his admiration for Elias does not diminish, the narrator's own growing sarcasm distances him more and more from the idealism of his friend. The importance of Elias's love for Anna, nevertheless, gains in significance for him as well.
Themes are introduced briefly, only to be picked up later and filled out with more detail. The international conference is an important recurring theme, as it allows the narrator not only to look back but also to voice his growing disenchantment and cynicism regarding the "fat-neck" Africans in designer suits who circle such conferences and the white "experts" from the "West", who have their own political reasons for their interests in Africa. Geoffrey's Strachan's sensitive and fluid translation beautifully conveys Makine's superb language and style.
The novel's hero is Elias Almeida, a self-declared "professional revolutionary", who dreams of an Africa where independence and political change will also transform people into "better human beings". Son of an Angolan freedom fighter against Portuguese colonial rule, Elias has to watch helplessly as his parents die, brutally murdered by soldiers. His escape and survival bring him in contact with a range of teachers and mentors, nurturing in him an amalgam of Christian ethics and Marxist ideology. His training takes him from Angola to Cuba, the Soviet Union and back to his home country, where, he believes, he will fight for the realization of his vision of a better future. Despite his intentions to do the right thing, Elias is constantly undermined by the adverse circumstances he is caught up in. Makine depicts the ruthless historical context -from colonial rule to the East and West scrambling for influence zones in Africa's newly independent states. Connecting the actual historical events with the Elias's personal experiences Makine illustrates the contradictions between internalized propaganda and political idealism on the one hand and cold-blooded Cold War reality and ensuing destructive civil wars on the other.
What sustains Elias above anything else throughout his struggle is his profound "amour humain", a concept wider-reaching than the English "human love" of the novel's title. It encompasses both the love between individuals and the love for "humanity". His love for Anna, a young Russian woman who he meets in Moscow, encapsulated both aspects for him. "Without the love he felt for that woman, life would not have been more than a night without end...", muses the narrator at the beginning of the novel.
Extensive parts of Elias's story are told in retrospect by a nameless narrator, a former idealistic Soviet spy turned into a disillusioned Russian author. While attending an international conference on "sustainable development" in Africa, he intends to use Elias as an example of "African Life Stories in Literature". Fragments of notes about Elias, collected over a period of twenty five years, trigger his memory: accounts where he has been either the listener or an active participants in events. This narrative technique brings different features of his hero into focus, portraying his character and personal history from different angles and through different timelines. Direct dialogue alternates with reflections. Contrasting the two main characters, Makine gives the narrator a platform to raise, over time, increasingly thought-provoking and politically and morally challenging questions. While his admiration for Elias does not diminish, the narrator's own growing sarcasm distances him more and more from the idealism of his friend. The importance of Elias's love for Anna, nevertheless, gains in significance for him as well.
Themes are introduced briefly, only to be picked up later and filled out with more detail. The international conference is an important recurring theme, as it allows the narrator not only to look back but also to voice his growing disenchantment and cynicism regarding the "fat-neck" Africans in designer suits who circle such conferences and the white "experts" from the "West", who have their own political reasons for their interests in Africa. Geoffrey's Strachan's sensitive and fluid translation beautifully conveys Makine's superb language and style.
January 8, 2015
What is interesting about this book is that it gives a picture of an Africa torn apart by violence and corrupt dictators who are being manipulated by the superpowers of the Soviet Union and the US who are seeking to establish a new colonialism in place of the traditional powers such as Portugal and contrasts it movingly with an intelligent and humane lead character, an African revolutionary whose life is affected by the love of a woman he meets in Russia. The story is told by a Russian spy who has met Elias Almeida, our hero, as they are held captive by Angolan rebels on the Congo border, the scenes are graphic in their violence and we then learn Elias's story. Elias is the son of an Angolan revolutionary in the 1960's as Angola fights for independence from Portugal, and we see the horrors of life at that time as Elias flees to Congo to find his father. He then moves to Cuba and then to Russia to train as a spy/ revolutionary to further Russia colonial aims in Africa. In Russia ,as an African who becomes victim of Racism meets the beautiful Anna and finds acceptance by her and her family/acquaintances in a Siberia still reeling from life of the labour camps. The novel then sweeps forward over time throughout the 70's 80's and 90's in Africa as we see Elias's role in countries ruled by corrupt dictators. A short novel which is really worth reading to learn about the exploitation of Africa and perhaps more importantly a picture of how love impacts on a man and the choices he makes when in that continent inhumanity could have been an easy choice yet he chooses a different path . Not a book to read for a plot driven story but one i would recommend as a picture of humanity and the corruption of a continent, some scenes are harrowing in their violence, comically gross in portrayal of use of sex (the European woman head of an arts delegation and the African artist), but beautiful in the scenes of snow bound Siberia creating vivid contrasts.Many of the scenes are clear metaphors for the exploitation of Africa, such as the soldiers grabbing diamond dust out of a dying womans mouth , the breaking of a womans collar bone, they are metaphors used efeectively. A very interesting book and I willl look for more by the author.
December 23, 2013
Книгата на Макин е поезия за любовта между две човешки същества, чийто живот е свързан във време на сложни политически обстоятелства. Неслучайно любовта е платонична и чиста. Този похват е нужен, за да бъде противопоставено това най-светло чувство на всичко останало, което характеризира света в този интервал от време. Макин показва истинското лице на политическите и икономически игри и на всички участници в тях. Но романът му не е за това, не е за безмислието, бюрократичността, липсата на морални ценности, превръщането на хората в алчни за пари и власт обездушени биологични единици, водени от пошлото си либидо... Не. Романът му е за другото, различното, много по-рядко срещаното, човешкото у хората, дори и тогава, когато са загубили илюзиите и наивността на младостта си. Онова, което или имаме, или нямаме у себе си. А много искаме да го имаме. Защото то е нещото, което ни помага да се съхраним.
May 29, 2021
Des années 60 à plus ou moins les années 90, l'histoire et les réflexions d'un homme né en Angola, plongé dans les tourmantes révolutionnaires dès sa tendre enfance. C'est l'époque où l'URSS parcours le monde (Cuba, Guatemala, Angola, Congo portugais, ....) pour instaurer le régime marxiste, l'Homme nouveau. On y rencontre le Che, Castro, Mobutu et plus. Élias devient un révolutionnaire professionnel parce qu'à 6 ans une botte portugaise a brisé la clavicule de sa mère après qu'elle se soit vendue pour un repas pour son fils. Historique et dur, très remuant. Une phrase répétée par Élias résume pour moi le fondamental de cette histoire et de l'Histoire: "si la révolution ne change pas notre mode d'aimer, à quoi bon tous ces combats?" À LIRE!
April 10, 2011
Втора книга на Андрей Макин, която чета. Този автор заслужава внимание!
"Човешката любов" е книга за ��ова, че идеалите оцеляват, когато любовта е избрана за универсално мерило - всяко действие, продиктувано от идеализма, е оправдано, единствено ако и любовта го допуска.
Хубави мисли за смисъла на човешкия живот, поднесени с премерен език, без помпозност. Макин, макар да живее във Франция от 20 години и да пише на френски, е по-близо до руския начин на писане - няма много действие, има вглеждане в душата, дълбоко и аналитично.
"Човешката любов" е книга за ��ова, че идеалите оцеляват, когато любовта е избрана за универсално мерило - всяко действие, продиктувано от идеализма, е оправдано, единствено ако и любовта го допуска.
Хубави мисли за смисъла на човешкия живот, поднесени с премерен език, без помпозност. Макин, макар да живее във Франция от 20 години и да пише на френски, е по-близо до руския начин на писане - няма много действие, има вглеждане в душата, дълбоко и аналитично.
May 9, 2017
Odotin tältä jotenkin paljon enemmän. Kirjahan kertoi maailman sodista ja vääryyksistä, raiskauksista, vankileireistä ja lapsisotilaista. Samalla se yritti liputtaa rakkauden puolesta. Kirja alkoi hyvin pian toistaa itseään. Humanismi ja pasifismi oli viety väsyttävän pitkälle, loputtomaksi paaasaukseksi ja korulauseiksi. Henkilöihin ei päässyt sisään, pelkkiä allegorioita kun olivat, eikä väkivaltakaan lopulta jaksanut järkyttää, kun siitäkin tuli jotain rasittavaa symbolismia.
December 31, 2011
Very different from the other Makine books I've read. This takes one through the African continent -- and African politics -- to Moscow -- when it was still the USSR -- and the Taiga -- all in one man's search for love, for humanness.
There are references to real-life historical figures (sometimes literally masked) and historical incidents.
Painful as it was, Makine remains a good storyteller for me.
There are references to real-life historical figures (sometimes literally masked) and historical incidents.
Painful as it was, Makine remains a good storyteller for me.
May 1, 2020
This is a very fine book - Makine is a incredible writer. I do wish I had not chosen this to read during this distracted time during the Covid19 quarantine.
Nonetheless, Makine has a gift for showing great humanity in his characters. This complex book took place in Africa, Cuba, and the USSR. The themes were difficult and dark, yet his look at the people always shows the human element. I hope to one day read all of his books, but 2021 might be a better year for it.
Nonetheless, Makine has a gift for showing great humanity in his characters. This complex book took place in Africa, Cuba, and the USSR. The themes were difficult and dark, yet his look at the people always shows the human element. I hope to one day read all of his books, but 2021 might be a better year for it.
November 20, 2015
A really sad story about people who forget about the most fundamental and powerful of human emotions: love. The narrative follows Elias, a revolutionary who throughout his life of revolts and uprisings, witnesses not a glorious change for the better, but what people are capable of doing when they forget what love means.
April 28, 2013
Cela faisait 3 ans que je n'avais pas lu Andreï Makine et voilà que je me replonge dans l'un des ses ouvrages et voilà que je retrouve toutes mes émotions du Testament Francais.
Incontestablement l'un de mes auteurs préfrés, l'un de ceux que je peux lire et relire, l'un de ceux qui m'aide à donner sens à ma vie, à ma vie parmi les autres être humains. Qui sème la poésie autour de lui.
Merci.
Incontestablement l'un de mes auteurs préfrés, l'un de ceux que je peux lire et relire, l'un de ceux qui m'aide à donner sens à ma vie, à ma vie parmi les autres être humains. Qui sème la poésie autour de lui.
Merci.
September 15, 2019
Van egy hátránya annak, ha egy írótól egymás után olvasom el a könyveit. Egyrészt meg van a kockázata, hogy ugyanazt a csontot rágjuk majd, másrészt ugyanazokkal a szavakkal, kifejezésekkel találkozhatom. Itt ez lett volna a kisebb baj, mert a téma, a jól megszokott diktatúrák és háborúk világa, viszont az izba, vagy a jeges orosz folyó, amibe mindig beleszakad valami vagy valaki, egy idő után enyhített a Makine rajongásomon. Hiába jártam három kontinensen és hiába ígért a cím, forrónak és elmúlhatatlannak vélt szerelmet, nem azt kaptam amit vártam. Makine szerelmes története közönséges, erőszakos és brutális. De mint mindig, most is megpróbáltam megérteni, hogy mit is akar mondani, üzenni. Amit sikerült tisztán látnom, az az érzelmek szélsősége, a háborúk okozta kiábrándultság, úgy a katonák, mint a nők kiszolgáltatottsága a testi bántalmazások során elszenvedett sebek és az értelmetlen pusztítás.
„ … a legyőzöttek ellenállása jobban kifejezi a háború lényegét, mint a sikeres támadások és dicső győzelmek.”
A szerelemszövés útjai, a diktatúrák fényes jövőígérete, az angolai vagy a kubai eszményi társadalom felépítése és egy „szerecsen fiú” életének szánalmas kudarca felé vezetett. Mint mindig, most is járunk majd orosz földön is, és a marxista – antimarxista elvek világmegváltó kínálatát hallhatjuk majd Che Guevaratól meg Castrotól.
„A kubai okos, logikus, gondosan felépített boldogságot ígért ezeknek az embereknek. Eszményi társadalmat, a kommunizmus álmát.”
Kettősség van bennem, mert írhatnék róla egy nagyon jó értékelést is, amire felfigyelhet az, aki még Makine könyveit nem ismeri. Írhatnám, hogy értem és érzem azt, ahogy rá akar mutatni a háborúk hiábavalóságára, céltalanságára, az ember elállatiasodására, arra, hogy egy jobb élet reményében a primitív eszközök nem vezetnek megoldáshoz. Az tökéletes, ahogy a fejlett, civilizált világ bölcselkedő nagyjait s azok látszat-segítését ábrázolja, mégis azt kell mondjam, úgy a könyv felénél elveszett az érdeklődésem és semmilyen izzadságban és egyéb nedvekben gőzőlgő embertestek leírása nem tudott meggyőzni a könyv egyébként tényleg fontos üzenetéről. Nálam van még és el is kezdem az Amour-parti szerelmeseket és a híres A francia hagyaték –ot sem fogom kihagyni. Ha jól tudom, tíz könyve jelent meg magyarul és annak ellenére, hogy ezt most apró csalódással csuktam be, kíváncsi vagyok a többire is. Makine nagyon jól ír. A gondolkodása, a látásmódja, az, ahogy feszültséget tud teremteni, az orosz – francia identitás közti bizonytalansága, hovatartozása engem meggyőzött arról, hogy érdemes őt olvasni.
„ … a legyőzöttek ellenállása jobban kifejezi a háború lényegét, mint a sikeres támadások és dicső győzelmek.”
A szerelemszövés útjai, a diktatúrák fényes jövőígérete, az angolai vagy a kubai eszményi társadalom felépítése és egy „szerecsen fiú” életének szánalmas kudarca felé vezetett. Mint mindig, most is járunk majd orosz földön is, és a marxista – antimarxista elvek világmegváltó kínálatát hallhatjuk majd Che Guevaratól meg Castrotól.
„A kubai okos, logikus, gondosan felépített boldogságot ígért ezeknek az embereknek. Eszményi társadalmat, a kommunizmus álmát.”
Kettősség van bennem, mert írhatnék róla egy nagyon jó értékelést is, amire felfigyelhet az, aki még Makine könyveit nem ismeri. Írhatnám, hogy értem és érzem azt, ahogy rá akar mutatni a háborúk hiábavalóságára, céltalanságára, az ember elállatiasodására, arra, hogy egy jobb élet reményében a primitív eszközök nem vezetnek megoldáshoz. Az tökéletes, ahogy a fejlett, civilizált világ bölcselkedő nagyjait s azok látszat-segítését ábrázolja, mégis azt kell mondjam, úgy a könyv felénél elveszett az érdeklődésem és semmilyen izzadságban és egyéb nedvekben gőzőlgő embertestek leírása nem tudott meggyőzni a könyv egyébként tényleg fontos üzenetéről. Nálam van még és el is kezdem az Amour-parti szerelmeseket és a híres A francia hagyaték –ot sem fogom kihagyni. Ha jól tudom, tíz könyve jelent meg magyarul és annak ellenére, hogy ezt most apró csalódással csuktam be, kíváncsi vagyok a többire is. Makine nagyon jól ír. A gondolkodása, a látásmódja, az, ahogy feszültséget tud teremteni, az orosz – francia identitás közti bizonytalansága, hovatartozása engem meggyőzött arról, hogy érdemes őt olvasni.
July 12, 2022
Човешката любов е по-силна от всяка идеология: http://knigolandia.info/book-review/c...
В центъра на романа е анголецът Елиас Алмейда, чието детство преминава под знака на противоборствата на местните народи срещу колониалните сили и неминуемо е повлечен към живота на професионалния революционер. С много болка Макин описва какъв врящ котел е Африка в този (и далеч не само) период, разкъсана между глобалното противопоставяне между САЩ и СССР, както и интересите на европейските държави, които се опитват да задържат своите колонии, за които са ламтяли толкова години. Неговата мечта да се издига, да бъде забелязан, се сбъдва малко по малко, той иска да стане метис, макар това да означава “да живее в постоянен страх да не загуби общественото си положение, да не се принизи до негъра, да остане по-бял и от белите”. Тук се появява и Че Гевара, който се опитва да запали континента, но се сблъсква с различна, жестока и дива култура, която пречупва дори неговата желязна воля и идеологическа закалка.
Издателство "Леге Артис"
http://knigolandia.info/book-review/c...
В центъра на романа е анголецът Елиас Алмейда, чието детство преминава под знака на противоборствата на местните народи срещу колониалните сили и неминуемо е повлечен към живота на професионалния революционер. С много болка Макин описва какъв врящ котел е Африка в този (и далеч не само) период, разкъсана между глобалното противопоставяне между САЩ и СССР, както и интересите на европейските държави, които се опитват да задържат своите колонии, за които са ламтяли толкова години. Неговата мечта да се издига, да бъде забелязан, се сбъдва малко по малко, той иска да стане метис, макар това да означава “да живее в постоянен страх да не загуби общественото си положение, да не се принизи до негъра, да остане по-бял и от белите”. Тук се появява и Че Гевара, който се опитва да запали континента, но се сблъсква с различна, жестока и дива култура, която пречупва дори неговата желязна воля и идеологическа закалка.
Издателство "Леге Артис"
http://knigolandia.info/book-review/c...
July 18, 2020
This is a strangely luminous and poetic novel in which scenes resurface again and again and memory builds a tragic picture of human greed and conflict in Angola. My one disappointment was that whilst the dreamlike quality lent itself to building layers of colours, creating a wholly consistent painting, the characters were not closely enough drawn to really get inside them.
May 13, 2024
Nagyon nem volt kedvem elolvasni ezt a konyvet a ceges konyklubhoz, de vegul raszantam magam, es osszessegeben nem volt rossz elmeny - mondjuk annyira nagyon extra sem, a vegere elegge ellaposodott nekem, es tobb kijelentesnel is felhuztam a szemoldokom. Volt valami eery vibe-ja viszont, amit az elejen kifejezetten elveztem, ugyhogy osszessegeben nem banom az olvasast. Na puszi.
February 17, 2022
Awesome boom with an awesome journey
April 10, 2023
Sper ca Elias nu e doar un personaj ficțional ci o persoana real.
July 23, 2023
Много интересна като тематика и майсторски написана книга!
August 7, 2013
Un temps, les empreintes des pas de sa mère resteraient visibles sur la terre poudreuse autour de la maison. il marcherait précautionneusement pour ne pas les effacer. Puis une averse balayerait toutes les traces.
«On peut donc tuer un être humain sans lui enlever la vie», pensait Elias en observant cette masse de corps à peine couverts de lambeaux. Pas besoin de les vider de leur sang, de les démemebrer. Il suffisait de les affamer, demélanger femmes et hommes, vieux et jeunes, de les obliger à faire leurs besoinsdevant les autres, de les empêcher de se laver,de leur interdire la parole. En fait, d'effacer tout signe d'appartenanace au genre humain. un cadavre était plus vivant qu'eux car, dans la mort, on reconnaît toujours un homme.
Il apprenait avec acharnement, avec obstination d'un drogué qui ne peut qu'augmenter ses doses pour obtenir l'oubli. À son âge, il avait déjà tout un monde de sang et de mort à oublier.
Croyez-vous qu'après la révolution les gens vont s'aimer autrement ?
L'Occident tout entier y était, pensa Elias. Cette volonté orgueilleuse de transformer la vie d'autrui en expérience, en terrain d'essai de ses idées. Et si cette matière humain résiste, l'abandonner, aller en chercher une plus malléable.
Quand la mort nous regarder calmement dans les yeux, nous nous rendons compte qu'il y eu dans notre vie quelques visages auxquels nous revenons sans cesse, et qu'en fait ce qui nous rendait vivants c'est le simple espoir de les retrouver.
«On peut donc tuer un être humain sans lui enlever la vie», pensait Elias en observant cette masse de corps à peine couverts de lambeaux. Pas besoin de les vider de leur sang, de les démemebrer. Il suffisait de les affamer, demélanger femmes et hommes, vieux et jeunes, de les obliger à faire leurs besoinsdevant les autres, de les empêcher de se laver,de leur interdire la parole. En fait, d'effacer tout signe d'appartenanace au genre humain. un cadavre était plus vivant qu'eux car, dans la mort, on reconnaît toujours un homme.
Il apprenait avec acharnement, avec obstination d'un drogué qui ne peut qu'augmenter ses doses pour obtenir l'oubli. À son âge, il avait déjà tout un monde de sang et de mort à oublier.
Croyez-vous qu'après la révolution les gens vont s'aimer autrement ?
L'Occident tout entier y était, pensa Elias. Cette volonté orgueilleuse de transformer la vie d'autrui en expérience, en terrain d'essai de ses idées. Et si cette matière humain résiste, l'abandonner, aller en chercher une plus malléable.
Quand la mort nous regarder calmement dans les yeux, nous nous rendons compte qu'il y eu dans notre vie quelques visages auxquels nous revenons sans cesse, et qu'en fait ce qui nous rendait vivants c'est le simple espoir de les retrouver.
Read
January 6, 2017Ripping sadness - go ahead and read Camus - as some decisions are necessary.
An Angolan child travels through the world with the Revolution. He believes first, only to find out that real human beings get mercilessly destroyed in this effort to transform this world. He looks for love and whatever makes us human, finds it, loses it. He makes a friend who takes over the story and reveals the denouement.
The background is the Marxist revolution and some of its least known battles (for me at least). Impressive how we manage not to think of that part of the history.
An Angolan child travels through the world with the Revolution. He believes first, only to find out that real human beings get mercilessly destroyed in this effort to transform this world. He looks for love and whatever makes us human, finds it, loses it. He makes a friend who takes over the story and reveals the denouement.
The background is the Marxist revolution and some of its least known battles (for me at least). Impressive how we manage not to think of that part of the history.
June 4, 2016
L'amour humain is yet another well crafted novel by elegiac Andrei. Anyone who enjoys lamenting man's tragic destiny will love this book where the reader gets to share the reflections on war, death and love of a Russian-trained Angolan revolutionary. I certainly found the basic concept to be interesting. Makine arrives at his usual conclusion that wars make many victims and its victors are illusory.
August 15, 2011
One of the worst I have ever read...so full of rustration and hatred and lack of understanding, such poor writing...I wonder how in the world the critics think so high of it....
Out of almost 300 pages, I think maybe one or two were worth reading.... An in the end, so full of corny and obvious sentences; whereas I think he meant to be out of the ordinary, and write exceptional things.
Out of almost 300 pages, I think maybe one or two were worth reading.... An in the end, so full of corny and obvious sentences; whereas I think he meant to be out of the ordinary, and write exceptional things.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews