Pablo Neruda was nineteen when he published this book of poems in Chile in 1924. It is arranged as twenty short love poems followed by one longer song of despair. They draw on two relationships from his youth, one in Santiago and one by the sea in southern Chile, and the imagery moves between women's bodies and the landscape, between waves, rivers, and stars. Poem 20 is the most famous, a meditation on love that has ended but still hurts.
A good starting point for readers new to Neruda, since the poems are short and direct. If you like sensual, melancholy verse about desire and absence, this is where much of that tradition begins in modern Spanish.
Deep, inward-looking and contemplative; a moderate read.
Best for readers like The Mindful Reader. Which reader are you?
- Published
- 2005
- Publisher
- Passigli
- ISBN
- 9788836805969
- Language
- IT
