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Jump to navigationJump to searchBarbarian in the Garden by Zbigniew Herbert (view source)
Revision as of 12:03, 13 August 2020
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The garden of this book is Italy and France; those places dear to the heart of every poet, writer and cultural snob from the parochial fringes of Europe. The barbarian of the title is a young Polish poet, Zbigniew Herbert. Be careful, though. The garden is not exactly a Paradise and the barbarian comes across as more erudite and understanding than a lot of the Garden's natives. Herbert is known for his subtle and not so subtle irony and this book also shows it.
''Barbarian in the Garden'' is a journey, journey through places but also through books that relate to them, from fat 19th -century scholarly tomes to philosophy, poetry and fiction. It doesn't assume the reader will know the references, but it doesn't provide much direct explanation either.
Somehow; however, a supreme clarity is maintained. Despite constant references to names and authors I have hardly heard of or have never known existed, the flow of the prose is smooth and a reader doesn't get lost in it.
It is incredibly dense prose, and the combination of its sheer information load, its beauty and the depth of reflection that it manages to achieve on a few pages (the whole book is 180 pages long) leaves me speechless. This density is what allows the ''Barbarian'' to be read and re-read, dipped into and savoured as there is no way the totality of it can be absorbed at in one reading, unless the reader is as erudite as the author and knows all the locations and works he writes about.
The journey is essentially a historical one, the present and the recent history serve only as a backdrop, sharp contrast or a launching pad for Herbert's exploration of the old. That is one of the reasons why a book written almost 50 years ago can be still easily enjoyed today.
It is not, like the title suggests, a book about an invasion nor one about a visitation of a provincial cousin. It is more a story of homecoming, but one of an exile who have has experienced a lot and thus whose eyes are open to hidden realities behind the most sublime art - even in awe at the most holy holiest of the holies of Greek temples Herbert remembers ''the blood and tears shed over the materials of Greek art''.
The essays can be all read separately though there is a pleasure in reading them in their original sequence which is chronological in terms of histories referred to rather than following the route of the journey(s) the author was making.
and Romans, but of almost the whole infinity''.
The book was faithfully as well as beautifully translated by Michael March and Jaroslaw Anders. The cadence and structure of the original prose is are maintained very well, perhaps even to the minimal detriment of the English version which might seem a bit artificial in places - but it shouldn't detract from the enjoyment of it .
John Ray's [[Rosetta Stone]] links the most famous artefact of ancient Egypt with the modern culture of the last 200 years and might appeal to those interested in cultural analysis. For another barbarian, try [[Barbarians by Tim Glencross]].
{{toptentext|list=Top Ten Books Not Originally Written In English}}
