内容简介
AnNYRBClassicsOriginalThefirstgreattwentieth-centurynovelofdictatorship,andtheavowedinspirationforGarcíaMárquez’sTheAutumnofthePatriarchandRoaBastos’sI,theSupreme,TyrantBanderasisadarkanddazzlingportrayalofamythicalLatinAmericanrepublicinthegripofamonster.RamóndelValle-Inclán,oneofthemastersofSpanishmodernism,combinesthesplinteredpointsofviewofacubistpaintingwiththecampyexcessesof19th-centuryserialfictiontopaintanastonishingpictureofaruthlesstyrantfacingarmedrevolt.ItistheDayoftheDead,andrevolutionhasbrokenout,creatingmayhemfromBabyRoach’sCathousetotheHarrisCircustothedeepjungleofTicoMaipú.TyrantBanderasstepsforth,assuringallthatheisinfavoroffreedomofassemblyanddemocraticopposition.Mean/x7fwhile,hissecretpolicelockup,torture,andexecutestudentsandIndianpeasantsinasinistercastlebytheseawhereeventhesharkshavetiredofadietofrevolutionaryflesh.Thentheoppositionstrikesback.Theybesiegethedictator’scitadel,hopingtobringjusticetoadowntrodden,starvingpopulace.PeterBush’snewtranslationofValle-Inclán’sseminalnovel,thefirstintoEnglishsince1929,revealsawriterwhosetragicsenseofhumorisasmemorablygrotesqueanddisturbingasGoya’sinhisTheDisastersofWar.
作者简介
RamóndelValle-Inclán(1866–1936)wasbornintoanimpoverishedaristocraticfamilyinaruralvillageinGalicia,Spain.Obedienttohisfather’swishes,hestudiedlawinCompostela,butafterhisfather’sdeathin1889hemovedtoMadridtoworkasajournalistandcritic.In1892Valle-InclántraveledtoMexico,whereheremainedformorethanayear.HisfirstbookofstoriescameoutinSpainin1895.Awell-knownfigureinthecafésofMadrid,famousforhisspindlyframe,cuttingwit,longhair,longerbeard,blackcape,andsinglearm(theotherhavingbeenlostafterafightwithacritic),Valle-InclánwascelebratedastheauthorofSonatas:TheMemoirsoftheMarquisofBradomín,whichwaspublishedin1904andisconsideredthefinestnovelofSpanishmodernismo,aswellasforhisextensiveandimportantcareerinthetheater,notonlyasamajortwentieth-centuryplaywrightbutalsoasadirectorandactor.HereportedfromthewesternfrontduringWorldWarI,andafterthewarhedevelopedanunsettlingnewstylethathedubbedesperpento—aSpanishwordthatmeansbothagrotesque,frighteningpersonandapieceofnonsense—anddescribedasasearchfor“thecomicsideofthetragedyoflife.”PartlyinspiredbyhissecondvisittoMexicoin1920,whenthecountrywasinthethroesofrevolution,TyrantBanderasisValle-Inclán’sgreatestnovelandtheessenceofesperpento.PeterBushisanaward-winningtranslatorwholivesinBarcelona.AmonghisrecenttranslationsareJuanGoytisolo’sNíjarCountryandTeresaSolana’sAShortcuttoParadise.HeiscurrentlytranslatingQuimMonzó’sAThousandMoronsandJosepPla’sTheGrayNotebook(forthcomingfromNYRBClassics).AlbertoManguelisanArgentinian-bornCanadianessayistandnovelist.Hehaswrittentwentyworksofcriticism,includingTheDictionaryofImaginaryPlaces(withGianniGuadalupi),AHistoryofReading,andTheLibraryatNight;editedmorethantwentyliteraryanthologies;andistheauthoroffivenovels,includingNewsfromaForeignCountryCame,whichwontheMcKitterickPrizein1992.AnOfficierdel’OrdredesArtsetdesLettres(France),hehasalsobeenawardedaGuggenheimFellowship.
