Rostros ocultos: Novela (Autores españoles e hispanoamericanos)

by Salvador Dalí

Spanish

Genres: Fiction, Art, Novels, Classics, Literature, Spanish Literature, Spain

415 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1944

About the author

Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí i Domènech, 1st Marquis of Púbol, was a Spanish surrealist painter born in Figueres, Catalonia.

Dalí was a skilled draftsman, best known for the striking and bizarre images in his surrealist work. His painterly skills are often attributed to the influence of Renaissance masters. His best known work, The Persistence of Memory, was completed in 1931.

Salvador Dalí's artistic repertoire also included film, sculpture, and photography. He collaborated with Walt Disney on the Academy Award-nominated short cartoon Destino, which was released posthumously in 2003. He also collaborated with Alfred Hitchcock on Hitchcock's film Spellbound.

Dalí insisted on his "Arab lineage", claiming that his ancestors were descended from the Moors who occupied Southern Spain for nearly 800 years (711-1492), and attributed to these origins, "my love of everything that is gilded and excessive, my passion for luxury and my love of oriental clothes."

Widely considered to be greatly imaginative, Dalí had an affinity for doing unusual things to draw attention to himself. This sometimes irked those who loved his art as much as it annoyed his critics, since his eccentric manner sometimes drew more public attention than his artwork. The purposefully-sought notoriety led to broad public recognition and many purchases of his works by people from all walks of life.

Reviews

[Kyriakos Sorokkou]

DNF! DNF!! DNF!!!

I Did Not Finish this book. .. ... .... ..... ...... ....... ........ .........

I am since high-school a great fan of Salvador Dalí. I have many books about him, about his art, a dossier with prints of his famous paintings, I visited an exhibition in London about him, full with his paintings and bizarre objects and sculptures, I did a project in Art at school, I saw his movie with Luis Buñuel Un chien Andalou, documentaries, interviews, videos. So you get the gist. I am a Dalí fan.

So in 2014 in a book market I saw his only novel Hidden Faces (or should I say Hidden Feces) and I decided to buy it and read it.

I went up to page 88.

This time, I decided to try again for a second time. As a more experienced reader I thought it might be easier this time around.

NOPE

It was much worse. I didn't get past page 43.

So this book is gonna get donated and simply get the fuck off my shelves!
(Sorry for cussing but I can't help it)

This book's language is SO saturated in descriptions of furniture, clothing, jewelry, facial characteristics, personality characteristics, and on and on; and when finally we reach the top of this Golgotha of descriptions the dialogues are even worse. They are about politics in France in the 1930's, a part of history that is important especially for our times, but personally I don't really give a fuck.
(cussing again! sorry)

So there was nothing to interest me in this book other than the fact that it was written by my favourite painter. Tiring descriptions, extremely tough vocabulary (I think he done this in purpose) and of course uninteresting dialogues. Now the story is not developed enough to know what's going to happen, but the best that can happen to these people is an atomic bomb to exterminate the shit out of them.
(yeah I know, did it again, cussing.)

I don't agree in awarding a book you did not finish with low rating. But this is the second time I do this with this book and I think it deserves one twinkling little star.

Before I go, read this passage from the book to take a taste how tough it was for me, a person who previously this year has read Ulysses and The Canterbury Tales in Middle English!

Our parties prefer the well-paid ignonimity of bourgeoisification of a miner to the noble and well-to-do austerity of our peasants, for they are the ones who systematically vote against armament plans!

[Cameron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Imagine Hemingway was gay and always feeding you acid before he began reading to you on one of the hottest days of the summer.

[Max Nemtsov · Rating 5 out of 5]

очень традиционный, куртуазно-мовистский, буквально по канону написанный "истинный роман" середины прошлого века - уже тогда стилистический устаревший, ибо слишком уж живописен и курчав от кружев. но если к нему подойти беспристрастно и присмотреться, обнаружится второе дно (и не одно) - вполне согласно названию. чтобы избежать спойлеров, скажу только, что в нем есть и евгеника, и алхимия, и конспирология, и криптоистория, и паранойя. то, что от нас скрыл Хемингуэй, происходит в закулисье Пинчона; с другой стороны, можно сказать, что это Джуна Барнз в декорациях под Чехова. так что это вполне честная попытка создания "энциклопедического романа", отталкиваясь от традиции романописания 18-19 веков - а насколько она удалась, вопрос отдельный. роман же настолько архетипичен, что хоть в средней школе изучай

[Jim Ivy · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was an epic task to complete this book and I must say that it truly damns everyone in it. Dali writes as he paints; pulling rich and saturated details from every situation, character and location. So much so, that the first half of the book was like a marathon uphill bike ride, to be endued one more page, one more chapter. And then, you get to the apex and the story takes over. That's when it became apparent that the romanticized and drawn out descriptions were a false pretext, a deceptive tactic for coasting downhill, out of control to fatal tragedy. I've heard it took Dali less than a month to write this novel. It took me far longer to read it. There were several times I wanted to abandon and bail. There are many passages that went on and on in scenic or situational descriptions that seemed a bit pointless, other than to show off a very heavy duty vocabulary. If you can rise above the plethora of adjectives crowding the streets of the story, you may be well rewarded for your efforts.

[Tessa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Death by prose.... too much prose, too many characters I couldn't care to remember, too many lines about that damn lost forest.If you have the patience to finish this I applaud you. It's a very complex book, I'm sure it gets to the point eventually, but sadly I have no time to find out. Plenty other books are waiting for me~~~

[Justė · Rating 2 out of 5]

balzakas hilterio laikais

Man visad knieti perskaityti knygą, jeigu žinau, kad ji vienintelė to autoriaus parašyta knyga, o jeigu ji dar vienintelė garsaus siurrealizmo dailininko knyga, tai išvis galiu nušokt nuo proto. Didelių iliuzijų susikūrusi nebuvau, bet tikėjausi kažko kitokio ir įdomaus. Tačiau net ir tuos menkučius lūkesčius šis romanas sugebėjo nuvilti.

Su šituo romanu vos nepapuoliau į neskaitadienius. Skaitėsi labai sunkiai, labai lėtai, bene užmigdavau su knyga rankose. Buvo neįdomu. Daug veikėjų, kurių pusė nereikalinga, o kita pusė tau nerūpi. Daug siužetinių linijų, kai kurios jų turėjo daug potencialo tapti geromis melodramomis, bet nebuvo nei kulminacijos, nei atomazgos, o ir šiaip aš nė krislelio prasmės visoje toje istorijoje neradau. Jeigu reikėtų net papasakoti apie ką, nesugebėčiau. Istorija apie kelis žmones antro pasaulinio karo fone. O ir istorijos ten ne kažin kiek. O geriausios tai pasipriešinimo naciams machinacijos, kurių arba išvis neatskleidė, arba šnekėjo ir aš nieko nesupratau – lyg kalbėtų kokia pusiau tau suprantama kalba. Na nežinau gal kalta aš, bet knyga tai šiaip pasirodė klaikoka.

O kas dėl to originalumo, tai nebuvo jo nei gerąja, nei blogąją prasme. Buvo Balzakas, ne geriausiomis savo dienomis, arba Stendalis laiko mašina pakeliavę iki Hitlerio laikų.

„Taip, mes pralaimėjome dar vieną karą! Aš laimėsiu kitą! Juk esu nesunaikinamas ir nesužeidžiamas. Jie gali atplėšti mane nuo mano tautos, nuo mano krašto, bet tikrai negali manęs sunaikinti, nes aš lyg vėžys gyvenu vokiečių tauto kraujyje, o vokiečių tautos kraujas yra nesunaikinamas ir amžinas, aš lyg vėžys, ankščiau ar vėliau vėl nepermaldaujamai atgimsiu vokiečių tauto sąmonėje.“

Vienintelis toje knygoje man patikęs dalykas buvo ši citata – tai Hitlerio mintys baigiantis karui. Mano akyse tai taip taikliai apibūdina tą nesuvokiamą vokiečių galvose kirbantį destrukcijos ištroškusį velnią, kuris ir pagimdė Hitlerį ir kurio jie šitaip paniškai šiandien bijo labiau už visą pasaulį kuo giliau grūsdami bet kokias užuominas į nacizmą. Jie patys bijo savo vėžio recidyvo. Beveik pranašiška mintis.

[Tait · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not the novel one imagines Dali could have written. Is mainly about the dissolution of the bourgeoisie way of life through WWII and the unquenchability of people's obsessive desires. Actually pretty tragic. Dali's language is often dense and abstract, while at the same time being absorbingly visual. Perhaps the most interesting is his technique of telescoping between objects and metaphors, so that the words in a description in one sentence become an emotional state in the next, a real fluidity of meaning that harks more from the interplay of dreams than the figurativeness of poetry.

[Inga Grencberga · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dalī loģikas princips: [..] ģeniālas idejas vislabāk ilustrējamas ar ikdienišķiem tēliem [..]

Dalí ir mākslinieks - vizuālists … un tāds ir arī viņa romāns: vārdiski - vizuāli baudāms.
Man lasot bija tā īpašā Prusta sajūta … un tā ir ļoti laba sajūta!

par ko ir šī grāmata?
par [..] nāvi nesošu mīlestību [..]

Franču aristokrātijas dienas un nedienas, patiesības un intrigas, mīlestības un nemīlestības II pasaules kara ēnā. Romānā ik lappusē jūtams Dalī mākslinieka “rokrasts” - nianses, detaļas, sireālisms, reālisms, metaforas un visam pāri unikālais Dalī šarms.

[Ieva · Rating 3 out of 5]

Esu pati nustebusi, kad pavyko perskaityti iki pabaigos. Knyga apie tai, kaip karo fone įmanoma gyventi beprasmiškai. Vietom atrodo, kad jau tuoj kažkas įvyks (veiksmo ar psichologiniame lygmenyje), bet ne - beveik nieko. Tokia ir veikėjų buvimo esmė - kad tik neįvyktų tikras gyvenimas.

[Dr. House · Rating 2 out of 5]

بعد ص 170 يبدأ الهراء ، حاولت ان سلفادور دالي فرصة لدرجة أني تحاشيت فتح الرواية إلا و أنا في مزاج جيد لكن لا فائدة 😩😩
قد يكون دالي رساما عظيما لكنه روائي فاشل

[Sladjana Kovacevic · Rating 5 out of 5]

SKRIVENA LICA-SALVADOR DALI
✒️"To je čovek.
Leđa od olova,polni organi od vatre,strahovi mrvica,hemijska srca od krvavih televizora,skrivena lica i krila-uvek krila,jug i sever našeg bića."
🎭Jedini roman Salvadora Dalija.
🎭Obzirom na to da je Dali prvenstveno slikar,logično da je prepun opisa,i divno poetskih i jezivih,opisa ljudi,mesta i pojava.
✒️"na horizontu njegovih prvih uspomena-horizontu stabilnosti njegovog detinjstva-išaranom u tri sloja koje je svetlost tako divno stapala: mračna šuma u prvom planu, osvetljena dolina i nebo!"
✒️"Ispod je ležao iskasapljeni grad, dok su se debeli vrtlozi dima, kao komadići mozgova u smeđem puteru,pomaljali iz raspolućenih lobanja velikih građevina,kuće kojima su oči iskopale nevidljive kašike bombi.'
🎭Dali je bio i gurman,pa su tu opisi raznih đakonija. Ako vam prethodni opis nije ubio apetit na slikama 2 i 3 su recept za Salate au coup de poing("Pesničenje" salatu) i neki njami slatkiši
🎭Kao svi genijalci,Dali je imao ne baš konvencionalna shvatanja erotskog(pogledati njegove slike za jasniji prikaz). Po sopstvenoj tvrdnji u ovom romanu je nastavio De Sadovu "nedovršenu trilogiju", tako da posle mazohizma i sadizma imamo Dalijev termin "kledalizam", koji je naziv dobio po imenu glavne junakinje Solanž De Kleda. Ovde je reč o isključivo mentalnom zlostavljanju i erotskim fantazijama usled osujećenosti,nerazumevanja, okolnosti...
🎭Pored svega navedenog-Dali jeste pisac i ovo jeste roman. Ima uvod u kome francuska buržoazija piruje uoči drugog svetskog rata,nesvesna opasnosti,ili upravo svesna-u pokušaju da ugrabi što više može od života. Ima zaplet u kome su glavni likovi bačeni u rat i razbacani na razne strane sveta. A likovi su izvanredno produbljeni,i kroz njihove pojedinačne sudbine pratimo istorijske,političke i društvene nemire prve polovine dvadesetog veka jasno kao na platnu.
🎭Tu se prikazuju neka skrivena lica. Bukvalno. Nije naslov tek tako izabran. Rat je bal pod maskama,s nezvanim gostom,kao kod Edgara Alana Poa u priči Maska Crvene Smrti(asocijacija je moja,jer sam taj osećaj imala dok sam čitala).
🎭Naravno da ima i preterivanja,Dali je u životu i delu bio preteran u svemu, nisam ni očekivala ništa manje.
🎭I kao svaki roman-ima kraj. I ima poentu. Prikazuje pustoš koju rat za sobom ostavlja. A kad se slegne prašina,šta ostaje?
✒️"Svi su ponovo postajali vidljivi, koji su pre bili stvorenja bez lica,stvorenja pretvaranja,kamuflaže i izdaje.
A šta je mir ako ne ponovno otkrivanje dostojanstva na ljudskom licu?"
🎭Koji od likova su uspeli da otkriju to dostojanstvo a koji su ga izgubili ili ga nikada nisu ni imali, moraćete sami da otkrijete kad roman pročitate. Ja samo mogu da kažem-Bravo, señor Dali!👏👏👏

[Dalius · Rating 4 out of 5]

Romanas mus nukelia į XX a. vidurį. Čia aptinkame tuštumą, plepalūs ir salvadorišką pasaulio matymą. Koks tiksliai jis yra, apibūdinti keliais sakiniais yra sunku, tačiau skaitant knygą, tam tikrą vaizdinį susidaryti, tikrai įmanoma.
Mano akimis ši knyga yra orumo ir laisvumo samplaika, kuomet nenuspėjamus yra įprasta, bendrą atmosferą, sudaranti visuma. Prie to pridėjus rafinuotumui būdingus elgesio ir bendravimo rėmimus, gauname dar kiek patikslintą vaizdinį. Galiausiai, reikia nepamiršti, kad viskas yra įvyniota į meilės intrigas, praturtintą kvaišalais, vakarėliais, ir deja, bet kara nuojauta. Gauname gan sklandžiai, ir tuo pačiu gan banaliai (spėju, kad tyčia) supintą salvadorišką romaną.

[Val · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was expecting this to be a strange novel, but it not actually as strange as several I have read by other authors. WWII collaboration and resistance make an appearance, as do trees.

[£lectra · Rating 5 out of 5]

خَمسُ نجومٍ تُغنيها عن كتابه أي شيء آخر ..
وجوه خبيئه ،
الموتُ في الحب ٱلذي لم تستَطع سولانج دي كليدا أن تُعانده و هي تقتربُ من أجَلِها خُطوه مع كُلّ قرارٍ حَسبَتْهُ لِصالح روحها المُعَذَبّه

كَشَجَرة بلّوطٍ تمتَدُّ من أولّ الروايه لآخرها دونما تَعلم بأنّ إعتقادات تافِهه لمحبوبِها الكونت غراندساي إرفه ستقتصُّها بِبطء،بِبطء،"بِبطء"
و بِضميرٍ ملّ غيابَه فَحَظُرَ بعدَ فواتِ الأوان إلتفّت أغصانُها المِشنَقه حولـَه ..

النجمه السادسه للرِهان ٱلذي كان بيني و بين نفسي و ٱلذي خَسِرتُه ، لم أكُن متوقِّعه أن تَكُن بجمال و مراوغه لوحاتِه و تضادّ أفكارِه السيرياليه فيها .. إستطاع أن يستغني عن كُلّ الألوان لِـيرسُم بِلون الكلمه و بِلوحه مُكتَمِله ،
سيلفادور حينما كتبها كان يقرأُها مع كلّ قارئ و يقرأُ أفكارَه معها !
لقد أوصد باب الوصول الى فَكِّ تعقيد عقليه الرسّام لمن اعتقد بأنّ كلمتُه أقَلُّ صعوبه من لوحتِه

هي الروايه الثانيه في حياتي ٱلتي كَسَبَتْ و سَكَبَتْ دموعي بعد رائعه هيجو البؤساء ..
أتمنّى أن لا تُفَوَّت .

[Shashi Martynova · Rating 4 out of 5]

oh my god. that was painful. but sort of kinda... to some extent... rewarding.
я ее перевела. тяжелее текста на перевод в моей жизни прежде не случалось. но написана эта книга не попусту.

[Yazeed AlMogren · Rating 2 out of 5]

ممل، توقعت أن موهبة سيلفادور دالي في الكتابة متميزة كما في الرسم لكن لم يكن كذلك

[Fearless · Rating 5 out of 5]

Salvador Dali'nin kitabını ilk gördüğümde şoka girmistim; yanlismi görüyorum diye... sonrasında ise birressam nasıl yazar diye düşünüp merakla okuduğum bir kitapti ama kesinlikle Sezarinnhakki Sezara...

Iyi bir ressamın gerçektende kelimeleri de aynı ustalıkla renk patlamaları olustururcasina kullandığı ve harika olabileceğini gördüm.

Grandsailles gibi bir adamı Solange gibi bir kadınla düşünmek cok ilgincti. Biri masum ve askla yaşamış biri diğeriyse herkesten kendini üstün girerek soyutlayan tek derdi ve sevgisinin objesi toprakları olan bir adam.. yaşadıkları birbirleriyle kesistikleri yerlerle hikayedeki kahramanları çok sevdim. Favorim Baba

[Simona Cosma · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nu aş fi crezut niciodată că Dali stăpâneşte atât de bine tehnica scrisului. Iniţial crezusem că scrie din vanitate, doar pentru a "bifa" încă un segment artistic printre performanţele personale, dar lectura avea să îmi dovedească contrariul.
Ocultism, tehnici sexuale exotice, psihanaliză - toate fac deliciul acestui roman, în care marca daliniană e usor de recunoscut pentru admiratori, atât prin estetismul meticulos cât şi prin extravaganţa conceptului abordat sub pretextul unui roman de dragoste.
O experienţă interesantă.

[M. I · Rating 3 out of 5]

الرواية تتعلق بشكل أساسي بتفكيك طريقة الحياة البرجوازية خلال الحرب العالمية الثانية وعدم قابلية رغبات الناس المهووسة. في الواقع مأساوي جدا. غالبًا ما كانت اللغة كثيفة ومجردة ، بينما في نفس الوقت تكون مرئية بشكل ممتع. ولعل الأكثر إثارة للاهتمام هو أسلوب في بين الأشياء والاستعارات ، بحيث تصبح الكلمات في وصف ما في جملة ما حالة عاطفية في الجملة التالية ، وسيولة حقيقية للمعنى تتأثر أكثر من تفاعل الأحلام أكثر من مجازية الشعر.

[Marta · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book quite a while ago but it stayed with me - so sensual and delving deep into people's desires - yet so decadent and pointless. I felt relating to it - just like I relate to Dali's paintings - with understanding and recognition yet shuddering at the distortion and exaggeration.

[Khulod A Razak · Rating 2 out of 5]

سلفادور دالي حضرتك رسام شجابك ع الرواية

[Nicki Markus · Rating 1 out of 5]

It's extremely rare for me to DNF a book, so much so I can count on one hand the number of times I have done so. I tend to persevere to the end as that's the way my mindset works, and I like to give every book a fair chance to improve and grow on me. However, I confess I had to give up on this one around 80 pages in. A book by Dalí sounded intriguing, but there is a clear reason he is famous as a painter and not an author. The prose was dense throughout with verbose, unnecessary descriptions. The characters were so numerous and unmemorable I struggled to keep track of them, and their dialogue was cringe-worthy and mundane. Even 80 pages in, I was also already sick of hearing about the "lost forest". I have a lot on my plate, both at work and at home, at present and am super tired by the time I read at night. That coupled with the way I was struggling through the text led me to make the extreme decision to just give up on it. If you are a huge fan of Dalí's paintings, perhaps you'd take a look at this book out of interest, but it wasn't for me, so I have to give it one star.

I received this book as a free eBook ARC via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.

[Socrate · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oricine trebuie, mai devreme sau mai tîrziu, să ajungă inevitabil la mine! Unii, insensibili la pictura mea, admit că desenez ca Leonardo. Alţii, care au ceva de reproşat esteticii mele, acceptă să recunoască în autobiografia mea unul din „documentele umane" ale epocii noastre. Alţii, de asemenea, care pun la îndoială„autenticitatea" Vieţii mele secrete, au descoperit în mine înzestrări literare superioare talentului de care dau dovadă în tablourile mele şi caracterului de farsă, după cum zic ei, al confesiunilor mele. Dar, încă din 1922, marele poet Garda Lorca prezisese că eram menit unei cariere literare şi lăsase a se înţelege că viitorul meu era tocmai în „romanul pur". Şi apoi, cei ce îmi detestă pictura, desenele, literatura, bijuteriile, obiectele mele suprarealiste etc. proclamă că am geniul teatrului şi că ultima mea punere în scenă a fost una dintre cele mai senzaţionale ce s-au văzut vreodată pe scena Metropolitanului... Astfel încît este greu să nu ajungă cineva, într-unfel sau altul, sub autoritatea mea.

[Inga Varnelė · Rating 2 out of 5]

S.Dali sugeba neišpasakytai detaliai aprašyti vaizdą ar tai būtų apdaras, ar interjeras, ar medžių giraitė. Smulkmeniškai pabrėždamas medžiagiškumą ir asociacijas jis išpiešia sceną tiek, kad rodos nebelieka vietos vaizduotei. Knygos siužetas slogus, kupinas perdėto dramatiškumo, o pagrindiniai veikėjai persismelkę narcicizmu. Knyga pasirodė nuobodi ir įveikiau ją sunkiai. 600 psl. narcicistinės dramos įveikimą palengvino kitų kūrinių įterpimas. Man ji buvo tikras iššūkis. Nežinau ar rekomenduočiau ją kam perskaityti. Nebent tik dėl scenų ir veikėjų aprašymo.

[Velizara K · Rating 3 out of 5]

В началото и средата книгата беше много интересна. Извратена, объркана, пропита с опиумни илюзии - точно като картините на Дали, което страшно много ми допадна. Последните 50 страници обаче бяха истинска мъка - протакане, нищо не се случва, а това, което се случва е абсолютно нелогично. Например герои, които вече са се виждали не веднъж, се запознават отново(?). Сякаш краят е написан 20 години след като е написал средата, въпреки че в предговора става ясно, че цялата книга е писана наведнъж. Дори няма да започвам да обяснявам колко ясно беше какво ще се случи още щом започна войната... Но за тези години толкоз, предполагам.

[Saulėtoji Vapsva · Rating 1 out of 5]

Tapyti ir rašyti autobiografijas sekėsi tikrai geriau.

[Sicienss · Rating 3 out of 5]

The verbal Dali is different than the visual Dali. He doesn't write straight-forwardly surrealistically; rather, he couches the (plausible) events that occur in his fictional world in strange metaphors, in the associations that exist within the minds of his characters. I recall a particularly thrilling passage in the opening pages where he equates a woman's bare knees with the skulls of children.

If you decide to get this book, don't expect it to read like a description of one of Dali's paintings. Expect something more along the lines of Nabokov: striking visuals, peculiar metaphors, robust and textured diction.

[Sergio Mira Jordán · Rating 4 out of 5]

Esta fue la única incursión en la narrativa de ficción del genio de Cadaqués. "Rostros ocultos" rebosa imaginación, personajes llevados al extremo y metáforas sorprendentes que se aparecen ante los ojos como los cuadros intrincados de su autor. La novela cuenta la decadencia de una aristocracia europea que, tras la Segunda Guerra Mundial, se ve condenada a reinventarse. El personaje principal, el conde Hervé de Grandsailles, es inolvidable, próximo al Marqués de Sade (Dalí reconoce su herencia en el prólogo), así como su contrapunto, la hermosa Solange de Cléda. ¿Lo mejor? Algunas escenas memorables, descripciones míticas y un abanico inmenso de personajes.

[Pippa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This surprised me (undoing a prejudice that a visual artist wouldn't be able to write a good novel!) It had real depth and intrigued me all the way through. Occasionally it was very bad, but it had a raw power throughout.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books I have ever read. I was reading it slowly, because after a few pages I had to stop and let my soul be filled with what I had read, and was unable to continue, overwhelmed by emotion.