Product Description

More than thirty years after Pablo Neruda's death, his poetry continues to be read all over the world. His range is vast: from the lyricism of Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair and the melancholy of Residence on Earth to the direct simplicity of the Elemental Odes and the epic grandeur of the Canto General. Few Nobel laureates have enjoyed such enduring popularity. Pablo Neruda was a complicated man, both politically and emotionally. In this first authoritative biography, Adam Feinstein draws on revealing interviews with his closest friends, acquaintances and surviving relatives, as well as newly discovered documents. He follows Neruda's life from a sickly childhood in Chile to political engagement and literary fame, until his death in 1973, within days of the death of Salvador Allende in the coup that brought Pinochet to power. This biography is the first full and lively portrait of the man whose dramatic times, dynamic poetry, commitment to social justice and joie de vivre make his an iconic life of the twentieth century.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #135734 in Books
• Published on: 2005-11-21
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 512 pages

Review
'A magnificently researched work ... compelling ... Feinstein brilliantly elucidates the main driving forces behind Neruda's life and work' Independent 'Feinstein's biography is fuelled by an infectious enthusiasm for the poems: this is its greatest strength ... it is crammed with adventure stories, narrow scrapes, passionate encounters' Andrew Motion, Guardian 'Feinstein has written an excellent book on Neruda's life, personality, poetry and politics. He uses an immense range of written sources, as well as interviews with those who knew Neruda' Irish Independent 'Feinstein's impressive life, the first such major undertaking in English, is meticulously researched and features a great deal of newly translated material' Sunday Tribune

Andrew Motion, Guardian
‘It is crammed with adventure stories, narrow scrapes, passionate encounters’

Irish Independent
‘An excellent book on Neruda’s life, personality, poetry and politics’

Customer Reviews

A Passion For Life...
I'd never read a biography before this one, I'm a bit cynical about the genre because of the sheer number of mediocre, supercilious subjects, so I'd decided if I was going to venture into the category it would have to be for someone special. This book was so addictive! I'd never read any of Neruda's poetry (I will do now). He was so much more than a poet, his story (and the story of Chile in the last century is both heartbreaking and uplifting, profoundly inspirational.
I really liked the way Feinstein approached his subject- with extracts from Neruda's poems and letters, and many quotes from numerous friends of the great man including Pablo Picasso, Salvador Allende, Federico Garcia Lorca, as well as details of his encounters with highly influential men from the last century- Fidel Castro, Che Guevarra, Stalin, Jawaharlal Nehru, Paul Robeson...
I recommend this book to anyone who wants to read a REAL biography of a truly fascinating life.