The Testament of Yves Gundron
by Emily Barton
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Description
Here is the chronicle of the strange events that befall Mandragora, a primitive farming village in the Outer Hebrides. A tale of conflict where there had been none, of lives irrevocably transformed, this is the written testimony of farmer and inventor Yves Gundron, edited and annotated by Harvard academic Ruth Blum. Yet this historical manuscript is not quite what it seems...and neither is the town of Mandragora. When Yves recalls lyrics that are recognizably from a blues song, it begins to show more seem that Blum is not merely an anthropologist preparing a historical document, but an active participant in Mandragora's battle with the double-edged sword of progress. The Testament Of Yves Gundron is a brilliantly imagined exploration of the pursuit of modernity -- and of the detritus left along the way. show lessTags
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Member Reviews
I'm not sure how to describe this book. I ended up loving it and almost gave it 5 stars. It's an exploration of (among other things) The Simple Life and our modern lives, and the pros and cons. What would you give up, and what would you keep? Is one inherently more "real" than the other? Those kinds of questions, but not one sided at all. There are no answers contained here, but a lot to think about.
It's all presented in a semi-fantasy-magical kind of way that's pretty entertaining.
That's the best I can describe it, but I'm not doing it justice, sorry.
It's all presented in a semi-fantasy-magical kind of way that's pretty entertaining.
That's the best I can describe it, but I'm not doing it justice, sorry.
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Author Information
7+ Works 550 Members
Emily Barton graduated from Harvard & the Iowa Writers' Workshop. She's a yoga instructor & book reviewer for "The New York Times". She lives in Brooklyn. (Bowker Author Biography)
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- The Testament of Yves Gundron
- People/Characters
- Ruth Blum; Yves Gundron; Adelaïda Gundron; Mandrik le Chouchou; Ydlbert von Iggislau
- Important places
- Mandragora
- First words
- Imagine the time of my grandfather's grandfather, when the darkness was newly separated from the light.
- Blurbers
- Pynchon, Thomas
Classifications
Statistics
- Members
- 120
- Popularity
- 270,653
- Reviews
- 1
- Rating
- (3.74)
- Languages
- Dutch, English, Greek
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 7
- ASINs
- 3
