Bartleby, The Scrivener

by Herman Melville, Ahmed Al-Qarmalawi (Translator)

Overview

In this mysterious, moving story, Herman Melville depicts the quiet rebellion of an ordinary man against the machinery of modern life. The story begins when a new copyist, named Bartleby, is hired by a lawyer with an office on the famous Wall Street in Manhattan, New York. Bartleby does well at first, but soon his "passive resistance" appears, which is evident in the phrase he repeats whenever he is asked to perform a task: "I would rather not," which creates chaos throughout the office. As Bartleby's silent resistance continues, the lawyer finds himself sympathetic to him, immersed in a deep contemplation of the meaning of sympathy, alienation, and the limits of human connection. Borges described Melville's masterpiece, Bartleby the Scribe, as demarcating a genre that Franz Kafka would reinvent and explore to a greater extent, which meant fantasies related to behavior and feelings, or as they are called today...psychological stories.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9789778800753
Publisher:	Diwan
Publication date:	01/14/2025
Sold by:	Bookwire
Format:	eBook
Pages:	112
File size:	8 MB
Age Range:	18 Years
Language:	Arabic

About the Author

هيرمان ملڤل(1819-1891)، روائي وشاعر أمريكي، اشتُهِر بروايته «موبي ديك»، التي تُعَدُّ تحفة أدبية في الأدب العالمي. تميَّزت أعماله باستكشاف الطبيعة البشرية، والصراع مع القدَر، والاغتراب في العالم الحديث. أحمد القرملاوي، روائي وقاص ومترجم ومعماري مصري، من مواليد القاهرة 1978، صدرت له ست روايات ومجموعتان قصصيتان، وفازت أعماله الروائية بعدد من الجوائز الأدبية الهامة، كما ترجمت إلى العديد من اللغات. له إسهامات عدة في مجال الترجمة، منها كتاب "كافيهات.. إلخ"، رواية "يبدأ بنا"، وحادث كلب منتصف الليل".

Date of Birth:

August 1, 1819

Date of Death:

September 28, 1891

Place of Birth:

New York, New York

Place of Death:

New York, New York

Education:

Attended the Albany Academy in Albany, New York, until age 15

Editorial Reviews

In the days before typewriters and copy machines, there were scriveners--people who meticulously copied documents for lawyers and businessmen. Golden Voice narrator Edoardo Ballerini captures the intelligent, genteel, and, finally, compassionate voice of the narrator of this classic story, who hires a quiet scrivener named Bartleby for his law firm. At first, all is well as Bartleby produces excellent work, but one day when he is assigned a task, Bartleby replies simply: "I would prefer not to." The listener is then led into Herman Mellville's fascinating examination of loneliness, abandonment, and depression in nineteenth-century society. With assurance and a fine ear for detail Ballerini delivers this sensitive, unsparing 1853 classic, which was first published in multiple parts--similar to today's podcasts. B.P. © AudioFile 2025, Portland, Maine

APRIL 2025 - AudioFile