100 Love Sonnets : Cien sonetos de amor

Rating:
Summary: Takes my breath away
Review: I can give nothing less than 5 stars to any book containing these incredible sonatas from Pablo Neruda in their original spanish but I agree with other readers that the translation is maddeningly disappointing.

Rating:
Summary: Speaking from an English point of view...
Review: I cannot get into the validity of the translation from Spanish to English, for my other other language is French. However, I found the English poems to be nothing short of magical; perhaps these translations do not do the original Spanish sonnets justice; it is a very realistic possibility. But for the many readers that cannot read Spanish (like myself), you shall be more than pleased with Stephen Tapscott's translations. Neruda's sonnets are arranged in the typical fourteen line pattern, and as previous reviewers have noted, they work best when read aloud. They are rhymatically arranged into four different "times of day," and the themes range from serious to silly. In all, I would certainly recommend this collection to fans of Neruda specifically, and fans of poetry more generally.

Rating:
Summary: Beautiful and Brilliant
Review: I do not read Spanish, and so, I cannot tell the quality of Stephen Tapscott's translation. I cannot tell how much was lost from Neruda's original poems in their power. I cannot tell what was lost in their linguistics. I can say that each poem in this collection is absolutely beautiful. I have not been a great poetry reader for very long (I'm eighteen), but in the last year, I have read thousands of poems. Pablo Neruda's poems in translation are absolutely my favorites. These one hundred sonnets rank as highly with the other gorgeous translations that I have read. The poems in this book are all very freely written sonnets. Almost all that survives from the sonnets original form is the number of lines. Each poem is powerful, and Neruda is marvelous at pouring himself and his feelings for his wife into each. My favorite poem is certainly the seventeenth. Fans of Neruda's other poetry should enjoy this edition (as should fans of any great poetry), and I do hope that translations continue to be printed in the hope that Neruda will be done justice. I also hope that I can one day learn Spanish well enough to understand these sonnets in their original language.

Rating:
Summary: tragically misleading
Review: I hate to rain on everyone's parade but Stephen Tapscott's translation of Pablo Neruda's evocative and beautiful poetry is crass, misleading and patronizing. It is an insult to the memory of a great poet and a disgrace to translation in general. I have read the collection several times and it angers me each time to see what this man has done to poetry that is subtle as it is open ended. Every single poem in this collection is manipulated my Mr. Tapscott. He constantly replaces words when perfect English equivalents are available. He changes the tenses in which the poems are written and inserts his own concepts when he deems necessary. Worst of all he "explains" the poems in his translation. Time and again Tapscott fails to see the beauty of an ambiguity intended by Neruda and procedes to write phrases that are one dimensional and often fail to convey even the basic core of the work. As to the sound and rythm of the collection, Tapscott goes out of his way to destroy the structure of the poems and their gentle flow. It is a shame that English speakers interested in Pablo Neruda's poetry have only this translation by which to judge his genius. Please save your money and wait for a translation that better represents these great poems.

Rating:
Summary: Magnificent Neruda......
Review: I have been an avid lover of Neruda's work for ten years now. The first book of collected works I read by the glorious exhiled poet from Chile was "5 Decades," which I polished off in 48 hours. I was a twelve year old Neruda fiend from then on.

"100 Love Sonnets" does not fail to disappoint. What you have to keep in mind when you read this bilingual collection is not the strength or weakness of the English interpretation, but your own interpretation of the original Spanish. It is probably best that you read this with Spanish/English dictionary in hand. Not only will you be able to get a sense of the literal translation, but if you aren't a native speaker, will also learn considerable Spanish vocabulary. I would agree with some of the reviewers that the interpretation does fall short. There really is no beating the original Spanish text. There are even simple mistakes made on basis verb tense. Example: "Vendras conmigo" dije--sin que nadie supiera donde y como latia mi estado doloroso.....
Stephen Tapscott says, "Come with me," I sai, and no one knew where, or how my pain throbbed.....
Actually, literal translation would be, "You will come with me," I said--without anyone knowing when and how painful and throbbing was my state....
Quite different, no? Well, at any rate, these poems are worth knowing on intimate level for any lover of literature--Latin American or otherwise. I only hope Neruda can forgive Mr. Tapscott his ignorance of one of the most beautiful romance languages and the significance of the powerful and seductive words the masterful poet chose to describe the affairs of the heart that are at once universal, affirmative and, at times, desperate.....Though the metaphors are watered down in this interpretation, with a good bilingual dictionary and some patience, you can get a sense for yourself of the grand power of his words.

Rating:
Summary: Lyrical Love Abounds
Review: I have read a lot of Neruda before I reached this volume, and was well-acquainted with his wonderful, earthy style of poetry. Then I hit this volume, and it blew me away even further. The love that he holds throughout his life comes pouring through the pages of this book.

The bilingual edition makes it a perfect bok as well. Translations offer suffer from the vocabulary or the limited vision of the translator. Tapscott's translation is fair, but to do justice to the wonders of Neruda's poetry, you must read it in Spanish. You feel it better, even if you are (like me) a mediocre spanish speaker.

For those hopeless romantics, or poetry fanatics, this collection of poetry is a wonderful, lyrical journey through the passions of Isla Negra and its most famous inhabitant. Words cannot amply describe it... you must read it for yourself!

Rating:
Summary: Perfect for every occasion
Review: I read one poem to my girlfriend each time we get together. There is a poem in this book for every thought or felling. These word just make her melt. A what a better way to tell someone your feeling than by using the words of a professional.

Rating:
Summary: It is best output to show our love to our beloved
Review: i remember a word that reads, i don't know how i love you, where or when. i love you without complexity and with sincerity, i feel you close to me when you put your hand on my chest.

Rating:
Summary: Profound meaning
Review: I too like many readers became infatuated with the lone poem from the movie "Patch Adams". It gives a new meaning to love and it encompasses what love should really be. I suggest to readers to enjoy the poem in spanish. It captures even more than the english version a profound meaning. Other poems in the book are also excellent.

Rating:
Summary: Amazing
Review: I was introduced to Neruda almost 20 years ago. Being spanish speaking I've read most of Neruda's works but this has to be one of the best translations I've seen.