{"product_id":"luminous-debris-reflecting-on-vestige-in-provence-and-languedoc-paperback","title":"Luminous Debris: Reflecting on Vestige in Provence and Languedoc - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eGustaf Sobin\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eInterpreting 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.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAs much travel writing as meditative discourse, \u003ci\u003eLuminous Debris\u003c\/i\u003e 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.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAn 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 \u003ci\u003eLuminous Debris\u003c\/i\u003e he creates meaning out of matter and celebrates instances of reality, past and present.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eFront Jacket\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eA wonderful, addictive book. Gustaf Sobin's prose combines descriptive precision with evocative power, calling to mind the poetic-scholarly writing of Barthes or Bachelard. As he records and links the scattered fragments, some infinitesimal, of a regional past, Sobin offers wonder, regret, and often a sharp critique of contemporary society.--James Clifford, author of \u003ci\u003eRoutes: Travel and Translation in the Late 20th Century\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eGustaf Sobin's\u003c\/b\u003e books include \u003ci\u003eVoyaging Portraits\u003c\/i\u003e (1988), \u003ci\u003eVenus Blue: A Novel\u003c\/i\u003e (1991), \u003ci\u003eBreaths' Burials\u003c\/i\u003e (1995), \u003ci\u003eBy the Bias of Sound\u003c\/i\u003e (1996), and \u003ci\u003eTowards the Blanched Alphabets \u003c\/i\u003e(1998). A novel, \u003ci\u003eThe Fly-Truffler\u003c\/i\u003e, set in Provence, is forthcoming this year.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 256\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.73 x 8.02 x 6 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e January 11, 2000\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Books by splitShops","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51780673110304,"sku":"9780520222458","price":57.51,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0974\/9764\/5344\/files\/40a9d8703a446271c505897fc099b097.webp?v=1780534135","url":"https:\/\/ebocreations.com\/products\/luminous-debris-reflecting-on-vestige-in-provence-and-languedoc-paperback","provider":"The E-Book Oasis LLC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}