Tell Them of Battles, Kings, and Elephants

Tell Them of Battles, Kings, and Elephants (originally Parle-leur de batailles, de rois et d'éléphants) is a 2010 novel by French writer Mathias Énard, translated into English by Charlotte Mandell. It was awarded the Prix Goncourt des Lycéens that same year. The translation of the novel into English was published in 2018 by New Directions.

Tell Them of Battles, Kings, and Elephants
AuthorMathias Énard
TranslatorCharlotte Mandell

Synopsis

The novel details the trip that Michelangelo could have made in May 1506 in Constantinople at the request of Sultan Bajazet who invited him to abandon the work of the tomb of Pope Julius II in order to instead design a bridge on the Golden Horn, an arm of the sea that separates the Istanbul from the district of Pera, on the Bosphorus.

Reception

Julie Étienne, for Le Monde, wrote that the novel is "solemn and graceful at the same time [...] even if it happens to graze preciousness, and doesn't always avoid somewhat stiff lyricism and symbolism."[1] Writing for The New Yorker, Julian Lucas praised the quality of the translation by Mandell.[2]

According to literary review aggregator Book Marks, the English translation of the novel received mostly positive reviews.[3]

References
  1. Étienne, Julie (21 October 2010). ""Parle-leur de batailles, de rois et d'éléphants", de Mathias Enard : un Orient épique et lyrique à la fois". Le Monde.
  2. Lucas, Julian (19 November 2018). "When Michelangelo Went to Constantinople". The New Yorker. Retrieved 15 August 2019.
  3. "Tell Them of Battles, Kings, and Elephants". Book Marks. Literary Hub. Retrieved 31 May 2019.
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