Reviews

Here Is Where We Meet by John Berger

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vrinda2222's review

One of the good books I will read in my life. Looking forward to revisiting this when I'm older. John Berger always reminds me of how young I am, of how little I know of time. My most favorite of the stories was Le Pont d'Arc - I am telling you, the entire room fell silent when I was reading it and I did not exist anywhere except for inside of it. Here is a line i liked -

Art, it would seem, is born like a foal who can walk straight away. The talent to make art accompanies the need for that art; they arrive together.

elizaboothy's review against another edition

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3.0

This was a poetic and beautiful book, but I always find impressionistic books like this a bit hard to get through. Some chapters (essays?) were absolutely breathtaking though and now I just want to absorb more of Berger's beautiful world view.

mapachinin's review against another edition

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emotional inspiring reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes

4.25

wordcommando's review

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5.0

This stands alongside my favorite short story collections. A painter as well as a writer, Berger is an absolute master of creating a profound, detailed picture in the reader's mind using as few words as possible. That's the whole ballgame in writing. Can't remember when I read a collection of stories so infused with joy and delight without ever seeming precious or banal. He goes places most writers are afraid to and pulls off the impossible. Stunning.

marc129's review

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3.0

What a fine writer John Berger (1926-2017) was. It's unfortunate I only discovered him after his death. This little book seems to be an outsider in his oeuvre: it is a very original collection of memories of close friends and relatives, wrapped in meandering stories. The captivating opening story, "Lisboa", is bathed in a magically realistic atmosphere that does justice to both the city and its philosophical underlay: in Lisbon, Berger to his surprise meets his mother, who has been dead for 15 years; while they wander through the city, they reminisce, his mother tells about the wisdom she learned after her death (!), and so it shouldn’t surprise that the saudade is also discussed. In another 7 very diverse stories Berger gives insights into his personal life and into the essence of life itself. I pick up 2 more that struck me particularly. The fourth, “Some Fruit as Remembered by the Dead” gives a very sensuous description of fruit; it is an ode to the seemingly ordinary, which immediately reminded me of André Gide's 'Nourritures Terrestres'. And the closing story "The Szum and the Ching" seems to be going nowhere in its endless meandering associations, but is in a beautiful evocation of the fragility and beauty of life. Great writer!