Luminous Debris: Reflecting on Vestige in Provence and Languedoc
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Book Overview
Interpreting vestige with the eloquence of a poet and the knowledge of a field archaeologist, Gustaf Sobin explores his elected terrain: the landscapes of Provence and Languedoc. Drawing on prehistory, protohistory, and Gallo-Roman antiquity, the twenty-six essays in this book focus on a particular place or artifact for the relevance inherent in each. A Bronze Age earring or the rippling wave pattern in Massiolite ceramic are more than archival curiosities for Sobin. Instead they invite inquiry and speculation on existence itself: Artifacts are read as realia, and history as an uninterrupted sequence of object lessons. As much travel writing as meditative discourse, Luminous Debris is enhanced by a prose that tracks, questions, and reflects on the materials invoked. Sobin engages the reader with precise descriptions of those very materials and the messages to be gleaned from their examination, be they existential, ethical, or political. An American expatriate living in Provence for the past thirty-five years, Gustaf Sobin shares his enthusiasm for his adopted landscape and for a vertical interpretation of its strata. In Luminous Debris he creates meaning out of matter and celebrates instances of reality, past and present.
Format:Paperback
Language:English
ISBN:0520222458
ISBN13:9780520222458
Release Date:January 2000
Publisher:University of California Press
Length:256 Pages
Weight:0.85 lbs.
Dimensions:0.7" x 6.0" x 8.0"
Customer Reviews
1 rating
A brilliant book: History that reads like poetry...
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 20 years ago
Gustav Sobin's book is a fascinating archaeological and anthropological exploration of the tantalizing remnants of human history in Southern France... This book reads like poetry, and yet it is guaranteed to fill its readers with the wonders of human life, history, and the passing of time... The author's deep understanding of past events lends authority and credibility to the magnificence of his vision and the clear style of his writing... I thoroughly enjoyed this book and recommend it highly.
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