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Rating: 
Summary: Full of magic, humor, and passion
Review: "The Book of Embraces" is a marvelous text by Uruguayan author Eduardo Galeano. The book has been translated into English by Cedric Belfrage, with Mark Schafer. This book is one of those texts that transcends genre. It consists of more than 150 short texts (most less than a page long) interspersed with Galeano's quirky, collage-like illustrations.These short texts seem at times like essays, short stories, prose poems, or autobiographical fragments. By blending them together with his frequently whimsical graphics, Galeano creates his own unique form of literature. Galeano writes about many topics. His short pieces take us all over Latin America--to Uruguay, Argentina, Venezuela, Cuba, Ecuador, and other countries--as well as to other parts of the world. He frequently reflects on life under dictatorships and mindless bureaucracies. And other Latin American writers frequently pop up: Claribel Alegria, Julio Cortazar, Mario Benedetti, and others. Some of these short pieces are playfully humorous, others scathingly satirical, others gently compassionate, others hauntingly metaphysical. But throughout Galeano seems to maintain his faith in the human spirit: "When it is genuine, when it is born of the need to speak, no one can stop the human voice" (from "Celebration of the Human Voice 2"). "The Book of Embraces" is a book that you may want to embrace.
Rating:
Summary: Full of magic, humor, and passion
Review: "The Book of Embraces" is a marvelous text by Uruguayan author Eduardo Galeano. The book has been translated into English by Cedric Belfrage, with Mark Schafer. This book is one of those texts that transcends genre. It consists of more than 150 short texts (most less than a page long) interspersed with Galeano's quirky, collage-like illustrations. These short texts seem at times like essays, short stories, prose poems, or autobiographical fragments. By blending them together with his frequently whimsical graphics, Galeano creates his own unique form of literature. Galeano writes about many topics. His short pieces take us all over Latin America--to Uruguay, Argentina, Venezuela, Cuba, Ecuador, and other countries--as well as to other parts of the world. He frequently reflects on life under dictatorships and mindless bureaucracies. And other Latin American writers frequently pop up: Claribel Alegria, Julio Cortazar, Mario Benedetti, and others. Some of these short pieces are playfully humorous, others scathingly satirical, others gently compassionate, others hauntingly metaphysical. But throughout Galeano seems to maintain his faith in the human spirit: "When it is genuine, when it is born of the need to speak, no one can stop the human voice" (from "Celebration of the Human Voice 2"). "The Book of Embraces" is a book that you may want to embrace.
Rating:
Summary: One Word: Outstanding
Review: I may be the only Galeano 'groupie' in existance. That fact is a result of my being introduced to this extraordinary writer in "The Book of Embraces". Since then I've bought used and 'remaidered' copies from Portland to Cambridge to NYC, saved them for awhile and then gave them away as presents to my best friends. I regularly quote his fables and words in a weekly newsletter I publish for the school I direct. Several years ago (definitely before Amazon.com time), I heard him at an author's reading at the (ill-fated) Endicott Bookstore in Manahttan where he signed my tattered copy of "The Book of Embraces". Boy was that an experience! I gave him an envelope full of my newsletters and invited him to visit our school but, alas, he's never written or called. I guess he stays away from groupies. No matter - a real groupie holds no grudges. It's clear that I am biased; there's no reason not to be. Galleano's work gives you a greater appreciation of the human condition, especially as it affects the Latino world in the Americas. The history, wisdom, politics and rich culture of the peoples indigenous to the Americas as well as the suffering of their decendants hits you in your gut, your head and your heart again and again as your read The Book of Embraces. This book uses understated, simple stories to enlarge your political perspective. That can make a difference.
Rating:
Summary: Abrazos,Si!
Review: No one on this planet can write like Eduardo. And other writers have had the good sense not to try. Oh yeah the way he puts a book together is all his own- but please don't be put off by it because you never saw anything like it before. What Eduardo has to say is always something very special- here is a guy who writes with his whole heart and soul, with all his passion too. One of the greatest joys of this book is sharing it with your friends- there are so many little stories you know somebody will love. And what a nice surprise it is when they discover this incomparable writer, and can then go and start reading his other books. Of which there are plenty, and all great.
Rating: 
Summary: Book of Embraces
Review: This book was required for my daughter's high school English class. It made little sense to us. The thoughts may be beautiful, as described by others, but they were disconnected and incoherent. I wondered if the writer had some form of mental illness or something was lost in translation.
Rating:
Summary: Book of Embraces
Review: This book was required for my daughter's high school English class. It made little sense to us. The thoughts may be beautiful, as described by others, but they were disconnected and incoherent. I wondered if the writer had some form of mental illness or something was lost in translation.
Rating:
Summary: You can't afford not to read this book
Review: This masterpiece by Uruguayan writer Eduardo Galeano is written in the shape of very short, anecdote-like stories, some comprising less than a page. Through his powerful language and masterful technique, he conveys the desolation of living under a dictatorship, the difficulties of an artist's task, and, above all, the dignity and courage of unknown and yet exceptional people throughout Latin America. This book, strong, raw and moving, is a must. Go ahead and buy it.
Rating:
Summary: What the heck?
Review: WHile Galeano had some great ideas, he did nothing to link these which made it seem too random to truly enjoy.
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