Autobiography of Red: Winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature 2026 (Cape poetry)

It’s no secret that I have a spiritual affinity with Canadian poet and champion of all my heart-stuffs Anne Carson, and her ‘Autobiography of Red’ follows in the trend of her works that have fundamentally altered how I think. I’ve been digesting this book slowly over the past two days to figure out exactly how I feel about it - in many ways a novel, told through poetry, a mythic retelling in modern mortal terms, full of love and longing and homosexual beauty, told with care. Every part of this long-poem is either a joy or a great weight to read, able to oscillate between redeeming one’s love for the world and crushing it instantly, and to do so constantly over 130ish pages... it’s just immense. “... immortality on their faces, / night at their backs.”

Anne Carson is a part of the very rare numbers or elite poets. This book takes you on a journey, that no other prose poem can. Recommended read for poetry lovers, and those that appreciate fine art, through the medium of words.

A good book is like a dream/ once you read a good book / it is yours/everything in it is you. This book can be about mythological characters / it is about you / it is serious/funny, familiar/strange. It is wonderful.

Ultimately I was hoping for something a little more in tune with the classical world it invokes. Despite the character being called Geryon and Herakles, they really have nothing more in common with their mythical counterparts than the name. I also felt the world of the classics did not seem present. Other authors (such as Mark Merlis in his novel An Arrows Flight) manage to set the myths in the modern world whilst still keeping ancient Greece as an influence. Anne Carson leaves every trace of classicism behind. That isn't necessarily bad, but it raises the question of why she is using these myths at all when her poem has so little to do with them. it just feels like a waste, and is a little frustrating when the matter around the poem itself promotes the myth so heavily. The poetry is solid but unexceptional. There were some nice passages, though nothing really memorable. Ultimately, this is an enjoyable enough poem, but I couldn't recommend it at the price.

Gorgeous book.

This book was genuinely like brand new. Better condition than I expected even for a 'used good condition' book.

Fascinating - very enjoyable and interesting concoction from Anne Carson. Anne Carson is a master of work that is not one thing nor the other - this isn't a novel but it isn't a poem; it also isn't a verse novel. It isn't a modern retelling of the myth of Geryon but it also isn't not. It isn't a classical retelling of the myth of Geryon; it also isn't a biography. It isn't a work composed entirely of fragments, but it is also not in any respect completely whole. I've since read Red Doc > by Carson as well, and found that this description held there too, i.e. that Carson's work is always more easily defined by what it is not than what it is; whatever our expectations of a work of literature are, she is the negative.

One of the best poetry books I have read. I couldn't put it down. A kind of re-telling of a Greek myth for contemporary times - but that is selling it short. It is weird, odd, original, quirky, affecting - I didn't want it to end.

"Autobiography of Red" is the story of Geryon, a young boy with red skin and large wings, who grows into a young man. He is in love with Herakles, a young man who seems to return Geryon's affection, but is actually quite cruel in his fickleness. The two encounter each other on and off over the years, Geryon seeking love, Herakles seeking adventure. Their paths eventually cross in Buenos Aires, of all places, where Herakles is with another young man, Ancash, recording the sounds of various volcanos. The three venture through South America together, the tension between the three of them almost palpable, at least to the more sensitive two of the group, Ancash and Geryon. It is here that the three must decide on the nature of their friendship, and Geryon on the nature of his life. This book is written in poetic free verse, and Ann Carson's style is nothing less than magical. It might seem difficult for readers accustomed to straightforward prose, but if one lets the words wash over them, their meaning will all be clear soon enough, and their beauty alone will convince the reader of their merit. The story is based on Greek myth, but rather than Herakles killing Geryon the monster literally, he "kills" by breaking his heart. Ultimately, the book's message seems to be that Geryon must learn to love himself first. The book is beautifully written, and cannot be recommended highly enough, to any reader who wants to read a delicate story in a challenging format.

The item is as described. Thanks.

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El libro es demasiado pretencioso, y aunque se vende como novela en verso y nada que ver. Decepcionante.

Purtroppo non più disponibile nella traduzione italiana, consiglio allora di immergersi nella lingua originale della Carson, nella leggerezza, nelle profondità e nelle esplosioni dei suoi vulcani.