Don Juan
Lord Byron
23 €
Coup de coeur
(Poetry), by Lochy
Reading this is like drifting along a lazy river: its as effortless as it is unpredictable. Endlessly entertaining, soaked in sun, a sprawl of misadventure not even Byron knows where it will end up
Don Juan, that epic hero of insatiable sexual appetite, is in a directionless world here, tossed around like a plaything by a series of older women. Better still, the narrator drifts along with no regard to the story, teasing us at every turn. His couplets sting he bites Romantic legends like a mosquito as he floats away, satisfied. Languid, mischievous, care-free: this is the ultimate summer indulgence.
Byron's exuberant masterpiece tells of the adventures of Don Juan, beginning with his illicit love affair at the age of sixteen in his native Spain and his subsequent exile to Italy. Following a dramatic shipwreck, his exploits take him to Greece, where he is sold as a slave, and to Russia, where he becomes a favourite of the Empress Catherine who sends him on to England. Written entirely in ottava rima stanza form, Byron's Don Juan blends high drama with earthy humour, outrageous satire of his contemporaries (in particular Wordsworth and Southey) and sharp mockery of Western societies, with England coming under particular attack.
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
Binding: Paperback
Publication date: 26 Aug 2004
Dimensions: 201 x 153 x 33 mm
ISBN: 9780140424522
