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  • 标题:Mar al fondo.
  • 作者:Gerling, David Ross
  • 期刊名称:World Literature Today
  • 印刷版ISSN:0196-3570
  • 出版年度:1994
  • 期号:March
  • 语种:English
  • 出版社:University of Oklahoma
  • 摘要:Freudian psychology and Hindu philosophy inform "Indico," an exotic parable about an ascetic who battles the five senses on the way to Nirvana. A lighthouse on the southern coast of England is the setting for "Land's End," an erotically charged melodrama wherein religious fundamentalism, wife abuse, and madness are the norm rather than the exception. "Caribe" captures splendidly the sultriness of a West Indian seaport, where rum and fornication assuage the pain of a mulatto sponge fisherman who sees his ancient skill falling victim to technology.
  • 关键词:Book reviews;Books

Mar al fondo.


Gerling, David Ross


Jose Luis Sampedro's slim volume takes us on ten fantasy adventures, each with a particular ocean or sea as its backdrop (mar al fondo). "Artico" is a tale of adultery and suicide involving the owner of a Baffin Bay whaler, his wife, and the ship's captain. A science-fiction piece, "Mediterraneo" is ironically the weakest of the collection but nevertheless evokes the rugged beauty of the French Riviera. "Baltico," with overtones of the ballad "El conde Arnaldos," tells the story of Hans, a German amnesiac, who becomes Hendrik, a Dutch sailor.

Freudian psychology and Hindu philosophy inform "Indico," an exotic parable about an ascetic who battles the five senses on the way to Nirvana. A lighthouse on the southern coast of England is the setting for "Land's End," an erotically charged melodrama wherein religious fundamentalism, wife abuse, and madness are the norm rather than the exception. "Caribe" captures splendidly the sultriness of a West Indian seaport, where rum and fornication assuage the pain of a mulatto sponge fisherman who sees his ancient skill falling victim to technology.

In "Egeo" the sparkling Aegean Islands are the setting for a truly unique version of boy-meets-girl. Tarn, a French archeologist, wrecks his bike near a small village and meets Nyra, a veritable Dama de Elche incarnate. From that point on, all is one big sensuous crescendo that climaxes in a love scene, appropriately, under a fig tree near one of Tarn's digs.

"Mar del sur" coalesces the excitement of thrillers like Richard Edward Connell's "Most Dangerous Game" and Henri Charriere's Papillon. A convict escapes an Australian penal colony and is literally blown by a typhoon onto a tropical paradise, where a gorgeous island girl nurtures him physically and emotionally. The ending will excite even the most jaded of readers.

"Mar amarillo" is an exquisitely cruel tale of white slavery. The captain of a junk must deliver in perfect condition a young, kidnapped Englishwoman and a machine gun to the Chinese warlord Tung, who has purchased them as toys for his adolescent son. The action reaches its apex when Tung boards the ship to inspect the human cargo; but when the captain turns the gold key that opens the teak door to the girl's cabin, horror dashes erotic expectation.

"Antartico" closes the collection. Written in an impressionistic prose, it records the last moments of a South African coast-guard cutter engulfed in a polar blizzard.

These ten meticulously written stories, all exuding the ambiences of their settings, will both nourish the imagination and indulge the senses.

David Ross Gerling Sam Houston State University
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