Available for the first time in English, The Island of Second Sight is a masterpiece of world literature, first published in Germany in 1953 and hailed by Thomas Mann as "one of the greatest books of the twentieth century."
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Available for the first time in English, The Island of Second Sight is a masterpiece of world literature, first published in Germany in 1953 and hailed by Thomas Mann as "one of the greatest books of the twentieth century."
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Add this copy of The Island of Second Sight: From the Applied to cart. $2.36, good condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Atlanta rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Austell, GA, UNITED STATES, published 2012 by Harry N. Abrams.
Add this copy of The Island of Second Sight: From the Applied to cart. $7.72, good condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Atlanta rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Austell, GA, UNITED STATES, published 2012 by Harry N. Abrams.
Add this copy of The Island of Second Sight: From the Applied to cart. $7.72, fair condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Dallas rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Dallas, TX, UNITED STATES, published 2012 by Harry N. Abrams.
Add this copy of The Island of Second Sight: From the Applied to cart. $7.72, good condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Reno rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Reno, NV, UNITED STATES, published 2012 by Harry N. Abrams.
Add this copy of Island of Second Sight: From the Applied Recollections to cart. $25.00, like new condition, Sold by Eureka Books of CA rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Eureka, CA, UNITED STATES, published 2012 by Overlook Press.
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Near Fine jacket. First American edition (first printing). A fine copy in a dust jacket with minor edge wear. Set on Mallorca in the 1930s in the years leading up to World War II, it is the fictionalized account of the time spent there by author--writing as Vigoleis, his alter-ego--and his wife, Beatrice, lured to the island by Beatrice's dying brother, who, as it turns out not dying at all but broke and ensnared by the local prostitute. Pursued by both the Nazis and Spanish Francoists, Vigoleis and Beatrice embark on a series of the most unpredictable and surreal adventures in order to survive. Low on money, the couple seeks shelter in a brothel for the military, serves as tour guides to groups of German tourists, and befriends such literary figures Robert Graves and Harry Kessler, as well as the local community of smugglers, aristocrats, and exiled German Jews. Vigoleis with his inventor hat on even creates a self-inflating brassiere. Then the Spanish Civil War erupts, presenting new challenges to their escape plan. Throughout, Vigoleis is an irresistibly engaging narrator; by turns amusing, erudite, naughty, and always utterly entertaining. Drawing comparisons to Don Quixote and The Man Without Qualities, The Island of Second Sight is a novel of astonishing and singular richness of language and purpose; the story is picaresque, the voice ironic, the detail often hilarious, yet it is a work of profound seriousness, with an anti-war, anti-fascist, humanistic attitude at its core. With a style ranging from the philosophical to the grotesque, the colloquial to the arcane, The Island of Second Sight is a literary tour de force.
Add this copy of The Island of Second Sight: a Novel to cart. $31.10, good condition, Sold by Bonita rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Santa Clarita, CA, UNITED STATES, published 2012 by The Overlook Press.
Add this copy of The Island of Second Sight: a Novel to cart. $34.46, new condition, Sold by Treasure Island rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Waltham, MA, UNITED STATES, published 2012 by The Overlook Press.
Add this copy of The Island of Second Sight: a Novel to cart. $45.44, new condition, Sold by Just one more Chapter rated 3.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Miramar, FL, UNITED STATES, published 2012 by The Overlook Press.
Years ago I stopped reading books translated into English because I felt I was appreciating the author less than the translator, but this tremendous literary stroll may change my attitude. Albert Vigoleis Thelen is an unabashed, even thrilling sesquipedalian who clearly delights in writing his tale, who is perfectly happy to be a very visible author there in the room with you, telling you his story. The yarn itself is funny, but his delight in language is the chief pleasure of this big, nourishing tome. One wonders if it is this sumptuous in its original German -- if so, it's hardly surprising it took somebody thirty years to finally translate it. Strongly recommended to all lovers of beautifully coiffured prose!
