[C1W]≡ PDF Maze Maker Michael Ayrton 9780380002849 Books

Maze Maker Michael Ayrton 9780380002849 Books

Download As PDF : Maze Maker Michael Ayrton 9780380002849 Books

Maze Maker Michael Ayrton 9780380002849 Books

FOR ME, this was a wonderful book, but that's for special reasons which might not apply to you. If you ever stumbled across one of Michael Ayrton's bronzes in a museum or gallery or, better yet, a park or streetside, you might have been nearly knocked out by the power expressed in his vision of the minotaur or Talos or Daedalus. Daedalus was the maker of the maze that held the minotaur and, according to Ayrton the sculptor who practically based his lifework on the myths surrounding Daedalus, he was also a sculptor, a bronze founder. So in many ways the novel is self-referential and explains a great deal about what went into Ayrton's works, both technically and esthetically. There are specific passages of incredible depth and precision showing a marvelous understanding of what the minotaur might have been, of exactly how he was conceived of a bull and Queen Pasiphae, of the appearance of Talos, a bronze-worker who became bronze and bull. Naturally, there is also a fine description of how wings for Daedalus and Icarus might have actually been made; forget the dumb wax and feathers. For me, all this was more than enough. But if you are put off by lengthy speculation on and belief in the various gods of the Greeks, you might perish of boredom. OR you could do as I did; skim those parts and enjoy a great story that might open wide your mind and eyes.


Tags : Maze Maker [Michael Ayrton] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Ayrton, Michael,Michael Ayrton,Maze Maker,Avon Books,0380002841,VI-0380002841,MASS MARKET,Non-Fiction

Maze Maker Michael Ayrton 9780380002849 Books Reviews

This well-written, intriguing historical novel presents itself as the autobiography of Daedalus, the mythological inventor of ancient Greece who built the labyrinth and flew from it with his son, Icarus. The narration spins the legends in a more believable way, but also weaves in magic to create a kind of balance of embodied myth.

The style is a kind of prose-poetry one sometimes finds in the best British authors, and the style and setting will remind readers of the historical fictions of Ayrton's contemporary, Mary Renault, but with a dash of heiratic occultism.

There's also a lot of madness and obsession in the story, and IMHO it weakens into the unbelievably outre after the fall of Icarus, but it's still worth a read!
I first encountered this superb novel as a young teenager, when it was first published. At the time, I enjoyed it primarily as a vivid & evocative retelling of classic Greek myth ... and indeed, it works wonderfully on that level. It's written in clear but rich prose, with fine details that never clutter, but serve to create a greater whole. It's remarkable for that success alone!

But it was only later that I discovered Michael Ayrton's work as a painter & sculptor, his use of Daedalus & Icarus as personal myth figures, and his use of this novel as a means of grappling with the creative energies of the individual. Like all true myth, this is a timeless struggle, a timeless story. Every aspiring artist must come to terms with the inescapable need to create, striving against the Gods, wresting meaning from chaos, and risking the danger of flying too high & too close to the Sun -- the divine energies of creation, of the Psyche, which in the end are unknowable & all-powerful.

So here is a meditation on creation, on the price it demands, on its dangers & its rewards. As such, it's well worth reading by any creative individual. Urgently in need of reprinting -- most highly recommended!
FOR ME, this was a wonderful book, but that's for special reasons which might not apply to you. If you ever stumbled across one of Michael Ayrton's bronzes in a museum or gallery or, better yet, a park or streetside, you might have been nearly knocked out by the power expressed in his vision of the minotaur or Talos or Daedalus. Daedalus was the maker of the maze that held the minotaur and, according to Ayrton the sculptor who practically based his lifework on the myths surrounding Daedalus, he was also a sculptor, a bronze founder. So in many ways the novel is self-referential and explains a great deal about what went into Ayrton's works, both technically and esthetically. There are specific passages of incredible depth and precision showing a marvelous understanding of what the minotaur might have been, of exactly how he was conceived of a bull and Queen Pasiphae, of the appearance of Talos, a bronze-worker who became bronze and bull. Naturally, there is also a fine description of how wings for Daedalus and Icarus might have actually been made; forget the dumb wax and feathers. For me, all this was more than enough. But if you are put off by lengthy speculation on and belief in the various gods of the Greeks, you might perish of boredom. OR you could do as I did; skim those parts and enjoy a great story that might open wide your mind and eyes.