A Mammal's Notebook: Collected Writings of Erik Satie (Atlas Arkhive , No 5)

Rating:
Summary: A most wonderful Book!
Review: This book gives a delightful introduction to the life, letters and drawings of Erik Satie, one of the greatest artistic minds of the century. Although his music is his foremost contribution to the world, his writings and drawings express his gently humourous and damning views of the world and offer tremendous insight to his musical work. The book includes a list of the directions his wrote in his musical scores, which are marvellously absurdist. The drawings include the many somewhat enigmatic "advertisement" drawings he made in later life as well as Memoirs of an amnesiac and A mammmal's Notebook. There is also a libretto for a ballet which Satie presented to the directors of the Paris Opera (it was refused) as well as a play with incidental music. Satie's work has been very well translated and quite a bit of it is in both translation and the origonal french, which is lovely if you speak french and enables you to realize how good the translation is. Also, there are no annoying, silly views on Satie by stodgy editors and biographers. One can draw one's own conclusions.I cannot imagine a better book on Satie.