Rating: 
Summary: Unparalleled Beauty
Review: "100 Love Sonnets" was my introduction to Pablo Neruda, and I have to say these are some of the most beautiful poems that I have ever read. I'm not a huge poetry fan, and so I was amazed that I read all the poems all the way through in one sitting. Anyone who has ever loved someone will feel these poems flow though their soul. Anyone who has ever tried to write a love poem, this is the standard by which they are judged.The sonnets are presented in the original Spanish, and translated to English by Stephen Tapscott. Tapscott should be commended for translating the poems without them losing any power or beauty. Reading these poems isn't enough, they need to be read aloud. The Spanish (even with a mangled accent like mine) is very lyrical and beautiful. I've found that reading the English, so I understand the poem better, helps me to read the Spanish with the proper passion they deserve. If you're even the slightest bit romantic, this book should be in your home. I don't own any other poetry books, but I will never lose my copy of "100 Love Sonnets"
Rating:
Summary: Unparalleled Beauty
Review: "100 Love Sonnets" was my introduction to Pablo Neruda, and I have to say these are some of the most beautiful poems that I have ever read. I'm not a huge poetry fan, and so I was amazed that I read all the poems all the way through in one sitting. Anyone who has ever loved someone will feel these poems flow though their soul. Anyone who has ever tried to write a love poem, this is the standard by which they are judged. The sonnets are presented in the original Spanish, and translated to English by Stephen Tapscott. Tapscott should be commended for translating the poems without them losing any power or beauty. Reading these poems isn't enough, they need to be read aloud. The Spanish (even with a mangled accent like mine) is very lyrical and beautiful. I've found that reading the English, so I understand the poem better, helps me to read the Spanish with the proper passion they deserve. If you're even the slightest bit romantic, this book should be in your home. I don't own any other poetry books, but I will never lose my copy of "100 Love Sonnets"
Rating:
Summary: An ethereal journey into a heart of "earth and wood".
Review: "Sonnets of earth and wood" is a humble description for this reflection into the heart of the Chillean poet. His words will echo through the mind and touch the soul.
Rating:
Summary: True Love
Review: A book of passionate poetry from a husband to his wife. Even if you are not fluent in Spanish, having both translations facing each other on opposing pages, adds dimension to the poem. The absolute desire displayed in the words of Neruda for his wife makes the reader yearn for a love that deep and intense. While stirring forbidden passions, Neruda perpetuates monogamous love within these descriptions. Pablo Neruda proves it is possible to be madly in love with your spouse.
Rating:
Summary: STUNNING
Review: a stunning anthology, of course, but not quite as magical or as breathtaking (or as "simple" perhaps) as "twenty love poems and a song of despair." still, essential for lovers of poetry and lovers in general.
Rating: 
Summary: Awful translations
Review: And this isn't even Neruda's best some. Yes--there's some 5 amazing poems in the book, but check out The Essential Neruda instead.
Rating:
Summary: Love is a many spelndor thing
Review: Beautiful there is something here for everyone!
Rating: 
Summary: Incredible poems - MISERABLE TRANSLATION.
Review: Do NOT buy this book under the pretense that it is a decent translation of Neruda's poetry. Few Neruda translators I have come across are good, but Tapscott is absolutely appallingly bad. He mistranslates words ("masquerade" for "mashed" is one notable example), destroys the ordering of words, ignores important grammatical constructions. You're better off buying a Spanish-English dictionary (something I don't think Tapscott ever got around to) and translating yourself. Buy this book only for the Spanish, and to mock the English. If you aren't bilingual, don't buy this book! In possibly one of the most beautiful and erotic poems I know of (that's another thing - Neruda is definitely PG-13), namely Sonnet XII, he uses the non-word "flimmer." Yes, to translate of "a ray of light in the shadow," he says "in shadow, and a flimmer of light." Tapscott, I believe, thinks he's a better poet than Neruda, which is sad and makes for a terrible translation. If you want a hundred love sonnets by Steven Tapscott, go right ahead. But Neruda can and should be translated at least somewhat literally.
Rating:
Summary: Neruda: Lost in Translation
Review: I am very sad to report that this volume, the only volume I know of the 100 Love Sonnets, is poorly translated. I've owned it for a while, and always wondered why it never seemed powerful like Neruda's other works. So, I started translating them myself, and realized that Tapscott made some remarkable errors, and seems always to have chosen the least likely translation of words and idioms, and the least poetic phrasing. In many poems the sense is so far removed from the original, that I am reminded of those one-page instruction manuals that used to come with Chinese-manufactured products many years ago. For example: A trail crossing a meteor shower becomes "a streak of a meteor through rain." "Through that name run wooden vessels" (think of a play on veins, and ships, which later pour into his heart) becomes "Wooden ships sail through that name." "but leave me there in your name to sail and to sleep," becomes "only let me steer like a ship through your name; let me rest there." "the lonely trains follow rolling down with the rain" becomes "rolling with the rain we follow the tracks alone." These are not isolated occurances; this is a pattern that seems to prevail throughout every poem I've checked so far. Poetry is complex. Words are often used to mean many things at once. Tapscott, presumably a poet himself, should know this, but he makes choices that block most of the view, or which simply substitute another image altogether. That is often necessary in translations, but this goes way beyond artistic license. This is the product of simply not "getting it." In addition, his subjects often do not agree with verbs, or worse, he pairs the verb with the wrong subject. I wish I could support this book. It should be a very important one, but it sadly misrepresents Neruda's poetry. It makes me wonder about so many of the translations I read, and it makes me wonder if publishers accept any responsibility for the accuracy of a translated work. I commend Tapscott for having the fortitude to attempt this work and carry it out, but I don't believe he was really up to the task. Sorry, but only one star for this. Shooshie
Rating: 
Summary: Looks great at first, but turns out to just good.
Review: I bought this collection and at first, I could not wait to read it. I was so excited that I almost pulled over to read it. As I read the translations, I began to notice errors and it completely ruined my high. Spanish in my first language so I noticed the errors right away. Some of the sonnets are done well, but the few that are not completely ruined my excitement. If you can read Spanish, you are lucky because you can read the original versions and get the complete emotional response. Over all, it's a good collection of love sonnets. Sure there not his best, but great other wise.
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