Mare Nostrum

Blasco Ibáñez, Vicente, 1867-1928Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.8

Word count: 874K words
Chapters: 88

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Mare nostrum by Vicente Blasco IbáñezAuthor: Blasco Ibáñez, Vicente, 1867-1928,Language: Spanish, Class: PQ: Language and Literatures: Romance literatures: French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Release Date: Oct 29, 2007

Editor's review

Mare nostrum is a novel by the Spanish writer Vicente Blasco Ibáñez; the title means "our sea," that is, the Mediterranean. Set along the Mediterranean coast, the work intertwines the characters' fates with seafaring, war, and movement across regions, displaying the social observation and dramatic narrative for which the author is known. This public-domain Spanish-language eBook from Project Gutenberg preserves the language of the original and suits readers who wish to engage directly with a Spanish literary classic. Reading it offers a sense of the narrative rhythm of early twentieth-century Spanish fiction and, through the image of the Mediterranean, an understanding of the work's reflections on civilization, conflict, and human nature. The electronic edition makes it easy to search place names and characters and is well suited to close reading in sections; however, the Spanish original makes some linguistic foundation necessary, so reading with a dictionary or bilingual materials is recommended: grasp the main plot first, then return to the descriptions and commentary in key chapters.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers with a foundation in Spanish who wish to read Spanish literary classics in the original
Readers interested in Mediterranean themes and early twentieth-century European narrative
Students of Spanish who need public-domain original texts for extensive reading
Literature enthusiasts who enjoy social novels and the relationship between characters and their era

Not a good fit for

Readers with no Spanish at all who hope for effortless reading
Those who prefer light, short pieces and lack patience for long novels
Beginners who need a Chinese translation or a heavily annotated edition

Reading tips

First read through the chapter titles and openings to build a map of the Mediterranean setting and the characters' relationships.
Prepare a Spanish dictionary or a bilingual companion; mark nautical and military vocabulary first and look it up afterward.
Read in chapter-by-chapter segments, and after each part summarize the plot and character changes in two or three sentences.
After finishing, return to the passages describing the Mediterranean to appreciate how the title's image echoes the themes.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this book the original Spanish edition?

Yes, this is the original Spanish edition, released by Project Gutenberg as a public-domain eBook. It preserves the language and period expressions of the original and suits readers with some Spanish reading ability. If your Spanish is weak, you may first look for a Chinese introduction to understand the story's background, then try the original.

What does the title "Mare nostrum" mean?

"Mare nostrum" is Latin for "our sea," the name the ancient Romans gave the Mediterranean. The novel takes this as its title and places the story in the Mediterranean, unfolding its narrative through seafaring and the characters' fates. Understanding this image helps grasp the work's geographical background and thematic direction.

Is this book suitable for Spanish beginners to practice reading?

It is not very suitable for absolute beginners. The book is long, its language carries period features, and it contains many nautical and military terms. Readers with some Spanish foundation who can read long sentences with a dictionary may use it as extensive reading material, but it is advisable to start with simplified readers or bilingual editions as a bridge.

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About the author

Blasco Ibáñez, Vicente, 1867-1928 Author

Vicente Blasco Ibáñez (1867–1928) was a Spanish novelist. Public information on the details of his life is limited, yet the character of his work is fairly clear. The library holds 46 of his works, including such representative titles as Sangre y arena, Cañas y barro, Los cuatro jinetes del apocalipsis, La Barraca, Flor de mayo and La bodega. His fiction often draws on rural Valencia and the lives of the urban poor, written in a realistic vein and skilled at portraying the natural landscape and its entanglement with human fate, combining regional colour with social criticism. The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, set against war, brought him a wider international readership. Overall, his novels occupy a place in the transition of Spanish literature from realism to modern narrative.