Il testo in italiano tradotto da Ettore Romagnoli e la versione originale in greco della tragedia di Euripide che narra il tentativo di Afrodite; dea dellamore; di punire Ippograve;lito figlio di Teseo per la venerazione di Artemide; facendo innamorare di lui Fedra; matrigna di Ippollito. Vedendosi respinta; questa si suicida accusando Ippograve;lito di averla violentata. Ippograve;lito; vincolato da un giuramento a non menzionare lamore di Fedra per lui; nobilmente si rifiuta di difendersi nonostante la conseguenza sia una terribile maledizione.
#2782592 in eBooks 2013-08-13 2013-08-13File Name: B00GAVJLXA
Review
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful. Rodinskys RoomBy A CustomerThis is an amazing book. Rachel Lichtenstein is a young artist; living in London; England; and Iain Sinclair; who also lives in London;is the celebrated author of Lights Out for the Territory; which was given a fantastic review in the New York Times not long ago. Lichtenstein; whose Jewish paternal grandparents found themselves in the Spitalfields area of London after immigrating from Poland in the early 1930s; became fascinated with the story of David Rodinsky; a Jewish man who lived above a synagogue in Spitalfields and mysteriously disappeared from his attic room in the 1960s. No more was heard of him until the room was re-opened more than a decade later; and was found exactly as he had left it - indentation in the bed where he had lain; half-finished tea on the table and the room strewn not only with books but extraordinary artefacts which only hinted at the kind of man he might have been. Rodinksy became an urban myth; nobody really knew him; or what had happened to him; but many claimed his memory. Lichtenstein tells a straightforward tale of her quest to find out what really happened to David Rodinsky; a tale which is something of a mystery story; while Sinclair reflects on Lichtensteins quest and places it in the context of the London he knows so well. Rodinskys Room is part mystery; part biography; part travel guide to an extraordinary part of London. Essential reading for anyone interested in Jewish history; identity; immigration; London; Iain Sinclairs writings. This is somehow more than just a book.11 of 11 people found the following review helpful. A misunderstood (and misread) classicBy Matthew MerlinoI just finished teaching *Rodinskys Room* and was amazed to see the variety of misreadings posted here as reviews. Among the many contemporary works of historical recovery or revision; *Rodinsky* stands out because of its alternating -- and often warring -- authors; each of whom has a different purpose in recovering Rodinskys history; as well as a different form and style through which to accomplish this recovery.Sinclair; the experimental London novelist and essayist; draws on a pastiche of languages and approaches: the short; grotesque sentences of crime novels; classic gothic imagery of the uncanny; filmic montage and surrealist juxtaposition; gossip and rumor and arcane whispers. As he follows Lichtensteins quest for Rodinskys history; Sinclair questions traditional ways of fixing history that overexpose; erase; or create a fictional simulacrum of the past. While he is quite aware that his early writings on Rodinsky were the stuff of romantic urban legend; he is also insistant that heritage trusts and yuppie preservationists are no better than the City developers who want to erase the multiple layers of time sedimented in Spitalfields. The latter erase history; while the former use urban myths to increase property values.Lichtensteins style; while more straight-forward than Sinclairs; is comparable to Paul Auster: a clean; seemingly transparent surface; with a plot built on unexplainable coicidences. If Sinclair is obsessed with the Room as a set for his own fictional musings; Lichtenstein wants to demystify the room; unfix energy from a fetishistic attachment to Rodinskys objects and redirect it onto the human story of David Rodinsky.And to those reviewers who see Rodinsky as ultimately an ordinary man or a mentally disturbed recluse; I can only ask: did we read the same book? Rodinsky apparently taught himself several ancient languages; was at work on a treatise on the origins of language itself; definitely studied Kabbalah; and maintained himself in near obscurity in the closely-knit Jewish community of Spitalfields. Lichtenstein also debunks the mental illness theory: the behaviors that seemed "crazy" in London would have been totally normal in the Polish community of his grandparents. The very complexity of Rodinskys identity is used to evoke the heterogeneity and brilliance of a Jewish immigrant community the history of which is currently elided in the pursuit of parking garages; office blocks; and silk weaver garrets.Ultimately; *Rodinskys Room* is thematically similar to works like Sebalds *The Emigrants* or Amitav Ghoshs *In an Antique Land*; works that explore the porous boundaries between fiction; history; and myth; works that seek to protect history without romanticizing it or cutting it off; museum-like; from the plurality of possible fictions.2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. A Little Too Much Authorial IntrusionBy A CustomerDavid Rodinsky disappeared from his room at 19 Princelet Street; an old synagogue in Londons Spitalfields in 1969 and was not thought about again until his room was reopened in 1980. Inside were papers and personal effects; notes and books in many languages; cabalistic diagrams and dictionaries. David Rodinsky; who had failed to attract much attention during the years of his disappearance; was now attracting the imagination of a number of people.One of those attracted was Iain Sinclair; who wrote an article about Rodinsky called; "The Man Who Became a Room." Rodinsky; easily categorized as a recluse and a scholar; was; of necessity; reduced to all that was left of him; i.e.; all that was found in his room. A young Jewish art student; Rachel Lichtenstein; who was researching the thesis she intended to write concerning the immigration of Jews to the East End; became entranced with Rodinskys room; which by the 1990s had assumed near-mythic proportions. Lichtenstein; who became fascinated by what she found as well as by what she didnt find; spent many of the next years researching and piecing together the life of David Rodinsky.In alternating chapters; Lichtenstein and Sinclair write their own stories and the story of David Rodinsky. Lichtenstein takes the more archaeological approach; Sinclairs chapters are more analytic. There is some overlap and the two approaches usually serve to compliment each other well.Lichtensteins story is the more personal one. She seems to be in search of her own identity as much as she seems to be in search of Rodinskys. Born Rachel Laurence; she changed her name to that of her grandparents. An Englishwoman who is reclaiming her Jewish heritage; she looks upon Rodinsky as somewhat of a companion in her own quest.Lichtensteins efforts are impressive. She clearly sees Rodinsky; forgotten and ignored; as the symbol of Londons forgotten Jewish history. An early scene in the book tells of Lichtensteins efforts to rescue some of the more historically valuable books from Rodinskys room.Traveling to both Israel and Poland; Lichtenstein moves away from the mystery of Rodinsky and then draws closer to it again as she comes close to the shetl from which Rodinskys family no doubt came.A thorough researcher; Lichtenstein examines the mystery of David Rodinsky from every side. His books tell her that he was a scholar bordering on obsession; while his papers point to a sad; lonely and unexceptional existence. To her enormous credit; Lichtenstein avoids mythologizing Rodinsky and instead; presents all sides quite clearly; leaving the reader room to form his own interpretations.At times; however; Lichtenstein is guilty of author intrusion as her own quest intrudes into the story she has set out to write. There are far too many sad and weepy scenes set in Poland; and; while we do not; for one second; doubt Lichtensteins sincerity; her presentation seems a bit shallow and empty.Sinclairs contributions are interesting and not at all intrusive. He follows Lichtensteins progress while he comments and elaborates on it; but he also offers his own interpretation of Rodinsky and his room. His writing lacks the quality of personal quest so evident in Lichtensteins; and; as such; it offers a perfect counterpoint to her more emotional narrative.Lichetensteins closure seems a little contrived and somewhat forced. Nevertheless; this is an interesting and engrossing book and David Rodinsky; wherever he is; will certainly be remembered as a fascinating piece of history. It is just too bad he could not be remembered as fascinating human being as well.