Strained in effect, this latest by Uruguayan writer Galeano (the
three-volume Memory of Fire) is a fragmentary pastiche of anecdote,
commentary, legend and autobiography collectively stating the
author's world view. Anti-American, and with leftist biases that
now seem merely quaint rather than seminal, Galeano's recollections
- liberally illustrated, and interspersed with Indian legends,
fragments of dreams, and incidents assumed rich in paradox - cover
his life in Uruguay, then exile in Spain and Argentina. Divided
into such headings as the "Origin of the World," "Prophecies,"
"Forgetting," and "The Celebration of Contradictions," the most
affecting parts of the book are the more personal pieces where
ideology gives way to real emotions rather than what was
politically correct. Galeano recalls, for instance, his return from
exile and his crossing over into Uruguay as the power of the
Uruguayan generals declines: "I felt I was returning without having
left: Montevideo, sleeping its eternal siesta on the sloping hills
of the coast, indifferent to the wind that beats on it and calls to
it. . .And I knew that I had been longing for home and that the
hour for ending my exile had struck." In other notable personal
pieces, Galeano recalls his heart attack and the miscarriage of his
child. For all the variety of material assembled, Galeano's
fragments remain just that. And with his political concept of the
world largely overtaken by events, this is ultimately only a
memoir, not a message. The result is a thin and pretentious read.
(Kirkus Reviews)
Parable, paradox, anecdote, dream, and autobiography blend into an exuberant world view and affirmation of human possibility. "The factual skeleton of the author's life is given flash and blood in his strangely beautiful book, in which poetry, fiction, autobiography, history, fantasy and political commentary mingle and reinforce each other in unexpected ways." —Jay Parini,
New York Times Book Review "[Galeano] is a dangerous radical storyteller, like Gabriel Garcia Marquez, like Isabel Allende, and like Pablo Neruda before them. . . . The Book of Embraces is a mosaic, or Deigo Rivera mural in words." —John Leonard, New York Newsday
"In The Book of Embraces, Galeano goes out on the tightrope and then levitates in the air above it. . . . [His] subject is nothing less that the variety of human life and love." —Alan Ryan, Washington Post Book World
"In an enchanting book of wonders, Uruguayan writer Galeano applies the collage-like technique of Memory of Fire . . . to his own life and the contemporary scene . . . Galeano's surreal drawings complement the text, blending wild imagination, pointed satire and old-fashioned charm." —Publishers Weekly
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