The Wedding is a Polish classic; continually in production in Poland since Stanislaw Wyspianski wrote it nearly a hundred years ago. A witty but ultimately tragic satire about Polish society; this remarkable play is set around the celebrations of a wedding between a poet from the city of Krakov and a peasant girl from a rural village.
#3758822 in eBooks 2012-12-04 2012-12-04File Name: B00C92TQQ6
Review
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful. The Perfect Holiday Gift for Bibliophiles and DreamersBy Dr. Frank MccLuskeyThere are three writers I can think of whose books I scoop up on the first day. Those three are Umberto Eco; Oliver Sachs and Boria Sax. I once thought that I would add Malcolm Gladwell to my pantheon but eventually I tired of the Gladwellian tying of accidental particulars to universal ideas. What Eco; Sachs and Sax all do is surprise me; make me think and look at things in ways that I could not anticipate. Dr. Saxs latest book is his crowing achievement. It is journey through Greek and Lain fables; Medieval superstitions; Enlightenment magic and the wonders of scientific categorization. The book is wonderfully illustrated. It will take you back to your childhood dreams of unicorns; dragons and mermaids. This is the perfect holiday gift for bibliophiles and those who love to dream by the fire. Marcel Proust once said of all of the thousands of words that written each day there are only a handful of books worth reading. I would add this one to my tropic island list.3 of 4 people found the following review helpful. Art and ImaginationBy Joann KargesThere is a lot to like in this book with its many pictures and references to arts around the world. My difficulty with the book concerns a number of illogical statements regarding human perceptions of other animal and the relationships of human beings with them. Also some textual references are ambiguous. On the whole; it is a good work.Joann Karges1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. The illustrations are exceptional; the writing is quite good but I dont quite get the overall point of the book.By lyndonbrechtThis review is not so easy to do. The writing is quite good and the many illustrations are exceptional; so its worth it on the illustrations alone. However; I really have no sense of what the main point of the book is. My tentative conclusion is that Sax means that in reality; all animals are imaginary in the sense we can never know them. Heres what I take to be the core: "In this book I try to show how civilization and nature blend in the domain of imagination; finally revealing the human claim to dominance to be illusory."He makes come telling points. He writes that a dog may think of itself in terms of smells; and a bat may think of itself in terms of sounds; and we humans in terms of language.The book explores Greek and Roman myth; myths of tribal peoples all over the place; the dragon and phoenix in China and Japan; and some Hindu tales and legends. The illustrations are from all these. Several of the Hindu illustrations are remarkable and so is an early 1900s Rosicrucian image; all these appearing to me to be like icons; full of symbols to be read slowly and with thought. Some of the 19th century images from Japan are stunning; including one by Hokusai. There are several Russian popular prints from the 1700s. Throughout the book there are many examples of the work of Grandville (French); that are simply wonderful--somebody please; please write a book about him!One chapter discusses alchemists use of imagery utilizing imaginary animals as symbols of elements and their states of stable or unstable; a sort of complex graphic code not unlike religious images.This is a thought-provoking read. I think the first 2/3 of the book are better reading than the last third; but the illustrations are esxceltional all the way through.