More than thirty years after Pablo Neruda's death, his poetry continues to be read all over the world. His range is vast: from the lyricism of Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair and the melancholy of Residence on Earth to the direct simplicity of the Elemental Odes and the epic grandeur of the Canto General. Few Nobel laureates have enjoyed such enduring popularity. Pablo Neruda was a complicated man, both politically and emotionally. In this first authoritative biography, Adam Feinstein draws on revealing interviews with his closest friends, acquaintances and surviving relatives, as well as newly discovered documents. He follows Neruda's life from a sickly childhood in Chile to political engagement and literary fame, until his death in 1973, within days of the death of Salvador Allende in the coup that brought Pinochet to power. This biography is the first full and lively portrait of the man whose dramatic times, dynamic poetry, commitment to social justice and joie de vivre make his an iconic life of the twentieth century.

About the Author

Adam Feinstein has published articles on Spanish and Latin American literature in many newspapers and magazines, and has translated the work of Federico Garcia Lorca and Mario Benedetti for Modern Poetry in Translation. He has worked for the Latin American Service of the BBC and has been a London correspondent for one of Spain's leading national daily newspapers, El Mundo. During his work on this book, he received awards from the Wingate Foundation and the Leverhulme Trust. He lives in London with his wife and three children.

Prizes

Neruda won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1971 and his work is constantly being reinvented for a modern audience, most recently in the film Il Postino Hardback received great critical acclaim

Reviews

These three publications add to the voluminous literature on Nobel laureate Pablo Neruda. Chilean photographer Poirot's work is essentially a reprint of an older edition of the same name. Poirot photographed Neruda's house on Isla Negra (the poet's last residence) and his townhouse in Valparaiso, which was sacked in 1973 when Chile fell prey to dictatorship. This new edition superimposes excerpts from Neruda's poetry on Poirot's very moving photos and features photos and testimonies of Neruda's closest friends and admiring writers. Urrutia, Neruda's third wife, provides a fresh new biography from her particular vantage. Her purpose is twofold: to present her Pablo as the exuberant, warm, and loving individual he was and to inform readers of the menace imposed by Chilean dictator Pinochet, who was responsible for the assassination of elected president Allende, Neruda's close friend. Urrutia's account is highly selective but well worth reading for another perspective on this great man. Feinstein, a writer and translator who has served as London correspondent for El Mundo, Spain's leading daily, recounts Neruda's efforts during the Spanish Civil War and resistance to two Chilean dictators, but he also attempts to clarify Neruda's controversial views of Stalinist communism. Numerous accounts of important people in the poet's life are presented staccato style, with one account often interrupting another, so that getting a sense of the chronology may be a challenge. Excerpts from Neruda's journals and poetry further add to the intensity of this biography. All three books are recommended for public libraries; Poirot's would serve academic libraries as well.-Nedra Crowe-Evers, Sonoma Cty. Lib., CA Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

'A magnificently researched work ... compelling ... Feinstein brilliantly elucidates the main driving forces behind Neruda's life and work' Independent 'Feinstein's biography is fuelled by an infectious enthusiasm for the poems: this is its greatest strength ... it is crammed with adventure stories, narrow scrapes, passionate encounters' Andrew Motion, Guardian 'Feinstein has written an excellent book on Neruda's life, personality, poetry and politics. He uses an immense range of written sources, as well as interviews with those who knew Neruda' Irish Independent 'Feinstein's impressive life, the first such major undertaking in English, is meticulously researched and features a great deal of newly translated material' Sunday Tribune

This year marks the centennial of Nobel laureate Neruda's birth. Neruda, who died in 1973, was considered among the greatest poets of the past century and a man full of passions and contradictions who, despite his efforts to sing his political views, is also remembered as a poet of love. This biography follows Neruda from his precocious poetic beginnings to his wanderings as a diplomat in Asia, Argentina, France, Spain and Mexico. Journalist and translator Feinstein recounts how Neruda saved the lives of many republicans during the Spanish Civil War and how his activism in Chile's Communist Party forced him into exile in 1948. Neruda crossed the Andes to travel yet more through Europe and America, where he befriended such famous men as Lorca and Picasso. Back in Chile in 1952, after writing many great books, Neruda ran for the presidency and his commitment to social justice strengthened. But Feinstein also examines the other constant in the poet's life, love,detailing his three marriages and innumerable love affairs, including plenty of bittersweet stories in an attempt to clarify the often fantastic versions of Neruda's own memories. Feinstein undoubtedly researched every existent source and found new ones, and the result is a detailed and accurate biography. His dry writing fails to bring the poet alive on the page, but this is a necessary book, with many beautiful photos. Agent, Victoria Hobbs. (Aug.) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.