Nick Walter Walter থেকে 37059 Ca' Dell'ora Alta VR, Italy
This book was a nice and short read. However, there wasn't as much material as I would have liked. Rilke seemed to write about certain ideas he had, such as "Let life happen to you." and the importance of embracing solitude continually throughout the ten letters. He uses different metaphors and approaches but I got the feeling that he was essentially saying the same things over and over again. It's hard to gauge whether or not this could be seen as a flaw or a strength. Initially I thought the letters would be about writing poetry because he was writing to a young poet who asked for some sort of mentor-ship from Rilke, a poet he admired. A few letters in, I realized all the letters would probably not be what I expected. Rilke, however, managed to change my approach to critiquing this book by the the last letter when he said, "Art .. is only a way of living, and, however one lives, one can, unwittingly, prepare oneself for it." The letters are simply about life, as life is art, as art is poetry. There were some small sections that I really like, but I can't say that the whole thing was interesting to read. I encourage anyone who likes to try to look at things differently to read these letters. His forté isn't immediacy but as he says to Franz Kappus, "Whether my letters can really be a help, I often doubt. Do not say: yes, they are. Just accept them and without much thanks, and let us await what comes." That pretty much sums up how I feel about this book.