Eurovision of books 2013 what to read from the final

Well tonight sees the 2013 Eurovision competition ,I see this as a good chance to do a Europe wide reading guide suggesting a book I’ve read ,A book I want to read (in some cases just this I ve not read books from all 25 countries ).Our entry is from Bonnie Tyler this year ,some I just remember for a huge hit she had in the 1980′s so shall we start I.

France 

Well I ve 25 books under review on the blog from France .I ve chosen is an older review the book is Piano by Jean Echenoz .A very odd book about a man with time running out on his life .

piano jean echenoz

On the radar well there is 2011  Prix Goncourt which I know is being translated into english as we speak .L’art francais de la geurre (the french art of war) contriversal but follows the french in indo china ,I was reminded of the scenes added to apocalypse now with the french in Vietnam .

tonight’s song from france is L’enter et moi sung by Amandine Bourgeis .

Lithuania 

I ve unfortunately not read a book from Lithuania .here is an overview of Lithuania literature I found

So on the radar is this book  The Dedalus Book of Lithuanian Literature  Author/editor : Almantas Samalavicius due out soon to me seems a good place to start .

The song from Lithuania tonight is Something sung by Andrius Pojavis

Moldova 

I have yet to read a book from Moldova .so here is the wiki list of writers from Moldova

So it one for on the radar for Moldova is the piece a year of reading read .I m sure in time we will see a couple of Moldova novel appear in english .there are a short piece in each of the best of European fiction collections as well to try

best european fiction 2010

Moldova song is Omie sung by Alioan Moon

Finland

I have at least read Finnish literature there are 7 Finnish books under review on the blog. The human part by Kari Hotakainen ,seems a good choice a women sells her life story and it is rewritten very much one for this modern world .

On my radar this one isn’t hard it is the next Peirene novel .Mr Darwin’s gardener by Kristina Carlson .Its describe as under Milkwood in Kent and at mr Darwin’s house .

The finnish song for tonight is Marry me by Krista Siegfrids

Spain

Well the most recent review on the blog seems a great choice for Eurovision Night Lost luggage by Jordi Punti covers part of Europe as four half brothers from four countries meet for the first time .

On the radar I think the recent Manuel Rivas novel is one that I will be reading soon .All is silence is about three friends growing up .I have previously read Riva’s carpenter’s pencil it is one of 10 books under review on the blog .

Spains song for tonight is Contigo hasta el final sung by ESDM

Belgium

Well  this is an easy one for me my choice has to be wonder by Hugo Claus one of my all time favourite books a man driven to the edge in post war Belgium by shadowy groups  of neo Nazis .one of three books from Belgium under review

On the radar well an old one but   one I love George Simenon, that Nyrb books are slowly reissuing his books and many available second-hand he wrote so many not even his own estate knows how many as he used many names to write under ,even once writing a book in a bubble over a couple of days .

Belgium’s  song for tonight is Love kills by Robert Bellarosa

 Estonia 

I ve just one book from Estonia under review but it is a very good one Brecht at night by Mati  Unt follows the German writer Brecht as he escapes from Germany to America as he spends time in Estonia and Finland on route .

BRECHT AT NIGHT MATI UNT

On the radar well Dalkey Archive have a couple more books from the late  Mati Unt I so enjoyed Brecht at night I will over time be trying those ,this is the next one that appeals to me is the Diary of a blood donor a retelling of the Dracula story .

Estonia’s song for tonight is Et uus saaks alguse by Brigit

 Belarus 

Belarus is another country I am yet to read a book from .

On the radar is this collection from Dalkey Archive called Voices from Chernobyl by Svetlana Alexievich .This collection follows the aftermath of the Chernobyl disaster

The song from Belarus is Solayoh sung by Alyona Lanaskay

Malta

Malta is another place I ve yet to read a book from.

A year of reading read the book happy weekend by Immanuel Mifsud here is her review 

Malta song for tonight is Tomorrow song by Gianluca

Russia 

Well back to places I’ve read books from ,although I do view russia as a bit of an Achilles heel for me in Europe but of recent books I read from Russia it is this one I remember best .The new Moscow Philosophy by Vyacheslav Pyetsukh set over a weekend end a flat become vacant as an old women dies set in today this book has its routes in classic Russian literature .

On the radar well there is one writer I have on my radar big time I ve read one book so far the Light and the dark by Mikhail Shishkin a love affair told in letters over time and distance .Also have his other book Madienhair on my tbr pile .

Russia’s song for tonigh is What if sung by Dina Garipova

Germany 

I’ve  21 books under review from Germany .The most recent seems apt for tonight ,The Mussel feast sees a Germany family sit down for an evening meal ,but this is also just as the new unified Germany is beginning .just as the title for this yearts Eurovision is” we are one “

On the radar is the comic German novel currently being translated Er ist wieder da ,a satire that imagine what happened if Hitler returned to modern Germany .

Germany’s song for tonight is Glorious sung by Cascada

Armenia 

I ve not read any books from Armenia

so on the radar I found this book  Armenian Golgotha by Grigoris Balakian a book about the Armenian genocide .

The Aremnia song for tonight is Lonely planets sung by Dorians

Netherlands 

Well I have read quite a few Dutch books .My recent favourite has been Amsterdam stories by Nescio ,a collection of short stories in and around Amsterdam a businessman imagines what his life might have been had he chosen different paths .this is one of eleven books under review here .

On the radar is the book mention in an interview as it is one I hope to see in English and this is J. J. Voskuil,’s Het bureau ,the office a  seven novel cycle following thirty years in an office .

The Dutch song for this year is Birds sung by Anouk

Romania 

Well I do have a Romanian writer but Herta muller is more often counted as german ,but her books are set Romania ,of the few books by her I’ve read I suggest starting with Nadirs her short story collection it is short and isn’t maybe as intense as her novels tend to be .

One book that is one my radar by a writer still in Romania is The Fifth Impossibility: Essays on Exile and Language (Margellos World Republic of Letters)  by Norman Manea ,he was expelled from Romania in the sixties ,a collection of essays following his life .

The Romanian song for tonight is Its my life sung by Cezar

United Kingdom

Well to us, as Bonnie Tyler is Welsh I ve decide to choose a Welsh novel that just happens to be a translation .The life of Rebecca Jones By Angharad Price .Follows a family in a valley ,we meet Rebecca and her three blind brothers .

Well I m not doing a on the radar for the UK as there are lots of blogs dealing with English fiction that know a lot better than be what to read from the UK .

Our song is Believe in me by Bonnie Tyler

Sweden

I’ve read four books from Sweden of those I m going suggest a Non-fiction Title Stieg Larsson my friend by Kurdo Baski ,a fellow journalist a good friend of the later thriller writer ,lifts the lid on his crusading Journalism ,he was a fierce anti fascist as well as a great thriller writer .

Next up for me from Sweden I think will be the new Roslund and Hellstrom  called Two soldiers it is about the gang culture in Sweden and stars Ewert Grens that was a character in the earlier book by them I read Three seconds .

The Swedish song for tonight is You sung by Robin Stjernberg

Hungary

Well I ve mention Satantango a lot so I will pick the epic Parallel stories by Peter Nadas , here as my choice it starts with a dead body and takes you through life in Communist Hungary .One of the most extraordinary books in translation of recent years and showing how wonderful  Hungarian fiction is .

On my radar is one I ll be reading this week in fact be reading it on Monday on my train journey down to London ,The book is Skylark by Dezső Kosztolányi a book that follows a young girl in 1900 Hungary .

Hungarys song for tonight is Kedvesem sung by Byealex

Denmark

Not much Choice  on the blog Denmark I have only read one title from there and that is The Murder of Halland ,the longlistee for the Independent foreign fiction Prize this year .Follows a wife as she copes with the her husbands death .A interesting new angle on the crime novel .

On my radar well this is a hard on I must admit I know very little about Danish fiction but have had Peter Hoeg the woman and the ape on my tbr pile for a long time .A story following the connection of a wife of a scientist and a 300lb ape .

The Danish song for tonight is Only teardrops sung by Emmelie de forest

Iceland 

I have one choice for Iceland Sjon and two books I review by him so Ill pick the whispering Muse .The tale of Vladimir a first class bore that runs a magazine about fishing .As he takes a voyage with what may be the reincarnation of one of Jason and the Argonauts crew .

On my radar is a wonderful short story collection from Comma press The stone tree by Gyoir Elfasson a very Icelandic collection of stories .a school boy goes to a chess competition ,sister reading a book .

Iceland’s entry for Eurovision is Ég á Líf  by Eythor Ingi

Azerbaijan

I not read a book from Azerbaiijan

Here is a year of readings post for Azerbaiijan .I hope there is so more books from here soon this one seems very interesting .A love story set against the backdrop of modern Azerbaijan .

There song for Eurovision is Hold me by Farid Mammadov

Greece

I ve read two books from Greece this one seems quite apt set in modern Greece  Ashes by Sergios Gakas .an actress , African family and the landlord all drawn in by a fire .lots of tension and a very noir feel .

Well I’ve just finished a great novel from Greece called What lots wife saw by Ioanna Bourazopoulou it won the Athens prize in Greece .Set in a dystopic future a Crossword setter is trying to find out where a addictive salt called purple salt comes from .

The Greek entry for Eurovision tonight is Alcohol is free sung by Koza Mostra feat. Agathon Iakovdis

Ukraine

I ve review two books from Ukraine both written by Andrey Kurkov .I have to pick the classic Death and the penguin ,a man ends up with a penguin and is writing obituries for men that seem to keep dying ,Very dark satire .

 

I am currently working through another Ukrainian novel The raven by Vasyl Shkliar set in 1921 we follow the Ukraine’s as the try to stop there country being taken over by Russia . Based on Kgb reports of the time Shkliar is one of the most outspoke writers from Ukraine .

The Ukraine entry for tonight is gravity sung by zlata ognevich

Italy 

Well I have reviewed 20 books from Italy ,I could choose Italo Calvino or The leopard ,but I decide on the recent collection I reviewed Ten by Andrej Longo .As one of the stories involves a singer .

One on my radar is my next Italian read Italian  Outsiders stories is a collection of short stories .that was  originally published in Italian newspaper and features the likes of Carlo Lucarelli ,Roberto Saviano and wu ming to name three .

The Italian song for tonight is L’essenziale sung by Marco Mengoni

Norway

Well The book of the moment is the epic My struggle the six part fictionalized autobiography of Karl Ove Kanusgaard  This is both my choice and on my Radar I ve read part one death in the family Karl Ove growing up  and am not awaiting part two  a man in love the story of his early romances from My library .

 

The Norwegian song for tonight is I feed you my  love sung by Magaret Berger

Georgia 

I ve not read anything from Georgia

But Dalkey archive have published a book of contemporary Georgian fiction which feature   work by Mariam Bekauri, Lasha Bugadze, Zaza Burchuladze, Teona Dolenjashvili, Guram Dochanashvili, Rezo Gabriadze, Kote Jandieri, Irakli Javakhadze, Davit Kartvelishvili, Besik Kharanauli, Mamuka Kherkheulidze, Archil Kikodze, Ana Kordzaia, Zurab Lezhava, Maka Mikeladze, Aka Morchiladze, Zaal Samadashvili, Nugzar Shataidze, Nino Tepnadze, and David Dephy.

 

The Georgian song for tonight is Waterfall sung by Nodi Tatishvili and Sophie Gelovani

Ireland 

Well finally we reach the end and Ireland ,which I never read enough from recent years having read a lot in my youth .I choose a William trevor of the two Irish stories I ve review but Cheating at canasta is maybe how Uk has fely about Eurovision cheated but I don’t it is great fun I hope you have enjoyed this trip through the books and songs off Europe and Eurovisiong 2013 .

I won’t suggest any books as lots of great blogs with Irish lit on I suggest Kim of reading matters .My next read will be next year when I plan to read an review all of joyce over next couple of years .

 

 

 

 

 

The Mussel Feast by Birgit Vanderbeke

The Mussel Feast by Birgit Vanderbeke

German fiction

Original title – Das Mushelessen

Translator – Jamie Bulloch

Source – personnel copy brought on Kindle

Birgit Vanderbeke is a German writer ,she lived in Frankfurt growing up and studied German .Before becoming a freelance journalist .She currently lives in southern France .The mussel feast is her best known book and a set text in most German high schools .

This evening of all evenings we’d say we decided to eat mussels.But it really wasn’t like that .Ypu couldn’t call it a coincidence .After the event, of course

The sit to have the mussels what does it mean ?

So the mussel feast is set on one evening a family sit down for the special meal of Mussels to eat .There is a mother son and daughter .The story is being told by the daughter ,all that is missing is the father .As the evening unfolds we see why there having this meal as it is the fathers favourite meal ,the mother really isn’t keen on this meal but happily spends hours scrubbing the mussel’s to the point that her hands start to bleed .This family now in the west had managed to escape the east of German .The family is a strange one the mother is a teacher a nervous women who seeks solace in playing Schubert on the piano .The father has grown up embarrassed of his origins as an illegitimate child this he make the family feel as he tries to mould them in an imagined image of them .The daughter she is the most level head of the family .The son now he gets a lot of dressing down and abuse from the father . So when they sit at 6.00 there is a Erie silence as the father should and always is there ,the bowl of mussel is laying their cooling there to afraid to eat them .The story is virtually poured out as the daughter lets the history of the family and even the bowl the meal is cooked in that came with them from the East to West Germany .The four-hour later a phone rings what’s happened ?

My mother said ,forget the martyrdom ,this is absolute purgatory ,but my father said it helps ,and he laughed at us when we fussed; stop making such a fuss ,he’d say and ,pain is relative that,in fact is true ,because my father had hardly any sensitivity to the sun .

The mother hates the sun but the father seems to think it is a minor point .

Now I love Peirene ,well Meike choices ,this is a classic choice what is amazing is that it has taken 23 years for this book to reach us in English.This still has an impact but at the time would have  been  electrifying  and timely ,yet again showing the importance of people like Meike that champion the smaller books from round Europe ,even thou it is late we still get the glimpse behind the irom curtain  .Now the book its self ,well I know that this is one of those books that has two levels the first is to see it as a family story the story of a family in fear of a father and coping ,surviving come from East to West ,but in some ways regeretting thinks from the east maybe an early example of ostolgia ? .The pther level is what is the father is he more than he seems is he indeed a simple example  for a wider figure in the old east Germany ,the Stasi man (or women ),is the way the family is all in fear of one a wider view of what life was like in East Germany  .Yes the father seems like a repressive regime at times making the whole family bow and bend to his will . Now style wise this is in the classic vein of central european writing that feel of being full on comma after comma ,give an almost breathless feel to the narrative and  add to the feel of the book that makes you feel the tension at the table ,the shadow of this father falls of the page over you as the reader .To the point you worry is he coming back ?

Have you read this book ?

Best of the world under 40 in English translation

Best writers under 40 2013 list

~(not British but from round the world )

Well as one would expect the chance of the best of British under forty list coming out today from Granta in the new magazine has been eagerly awaited and discussed .So I decide I try to do a list of writers from round the world that have been published or shortly due to be published in English.This is actually quite a task ,because usually you have to be a acclaimed or won a prize to catch the eye of a editor commissioning  translations ,this means the writers I consider newish to use in english say Santiago Gamboa ,Christoph Simon or Mickhail Shishkin all fall out side the under forty classification .But in the end I have found some wonderful writers from round the world myself and a few suggested by Tony as well .

Winstonsdad rest of the world best writer under 40

Valeria Luiselli

reviewed he début in English Faces in the crowd and have read a follow-up collection of non fiction pieces sidewalks ,she is my new writer crush for sure she loves wandering round like myself .She is definitely one to watch .An interview with her 

Andres Neuman

well short-listed for both  the IFFP and BTBA this year with this novel .Is one thing but the other he is actually considered a great short story writer as well ,we have a lot to come from Andres here is my review and Gary’s interview with him.

Patrico Pron

I first mention Pron when he was one of the writers and other stories was working with in the first year .but he was taken up by Faber who are publishing his first novel in English later this year -”my fathers ghost is climbing in the rain “a writer returns home as  his father is dying .here is a piece he wrote for paris review .

 

Matias Nespolo

He is a another talented Argentinian writer ,his book Seven ways to kill a cat was translated by the wonderful Frank Wynne .Here is a piece from Granta about him 

Daniel Kehlman

Now this is one that shocked me I have yet to read him but his books been on my radar for a good while and shocked he was eligible ,here is a piece he wrote praising  his translator Carol brown Janeway .

Sasa Stansic

Is one of the new breed of German writer to have come to Germany from Eastern Europe in his case Bosnia and start writing in German .Both Rob and Lisa loved this book ,Here is an interview with him from rumpus

Juli Zeh

Juli is another German writer I had on my radar for a while she is among a group of talented female German writers Judith Herrmann and Jenny erphenbeck being other they both just fell outside the under 40 ,here is a review and interview with her tanslator  from Lizzie

Helene Hegemann

Now this is a controversial choice as by this piece in the new york times shows  ,I did like the book it has a strange arc and is quite unique and she is so young here is my review of Axoltl roadkill.

Tristan Garcia

I think we all admired the style and subject of  hate a romance on last year IFFP prize ,Tristan is not just a writer but also a philosopher as this piece shows and here is a review of hate from my blog .

Laurent Binet

Well he missed our IFFP shortlist but this début from him HHhH has set people talking about what makes a novel and also set many heads turning with its stunning cover .here is my review and interview from the new statesman

Roberto Saviano

Yes he is under 40  ,I know Gomorrah his debut has been round for quite a long time ,the best non fiction writer from Italy at the moment here is my review of beauty and the inferno from last year ,and an interview from huff post .

Joumana Hadda

A lebanese poet and writer I first read about online via arablit via this profile  I think ,but n=known for poems and essays on the arab experience I hope to review her soon rather than later .oh and she is just over 40 but want to add a female arabic writer .

Faiza Guene

Another young writer of French Algerian origin she has had two books translated so far to English ,I hope to read her later this year as she has been on wishlist for a good while .she writes about growing up poor in paris her is a piece from the guardian about her 

Ali Bader

Another writer I had on radar since I read a piece on the wonderful Arab lit again(if you’re not following this blog you are missing the chance to find the Arab lit world opened up ).two of his books have been translated in to English .The last was published in 2011 .

Risa Watya

IS a female Japanese writer ,she has women the Kenzaburo Oe prize with her most recent book isn’t it a pity ,which will be coming to us in English soon .I ll thank Tony for this one I not to sure but a nice piece from the official j lit site her about her 

Hitomi Kanehera

A high school drop out  from Japan published her first book age 21 ,best known for Autofiction which I have had from library but never got to ,this is another from Tony .a profile from a few years ago that isn’t behind paywall of ny times .

FFlur Dafydd

A Welsh language writer and singer ,she is best known for a piece for the Seren collection of tales from Mabinogion series from the famous Welsh myth  her is a profile of her from Seren .Thanks again to Tony for this one .

Well there you go I given you a few alternatives from Wales to Japan ,from Algeria to Argentina also I link to three list .

Granta spanish writers list 

Granta best brazilian link

Beirut 39

Though some of these writers haven’t had a full novel published in English it is worth noting them for the future .

 

Seven Years by Peter Stamm

Seven Years by Peter Stamm

Swiss fiction

Translator – Michael Hofmann

Original title – Sieben Jahre

Source – Library

Well Peter Stamm is one of those writers that has been on the edge of my radar and wish list for a for a few years now and after reading this has jumped to writers I want to complete .So Peter Stamm studied various subjects as diverse as English ,business information (?) ,psychology and Psychopathology ,He had worked in a psychiatric ward as and intern after this  .Before becoming a freelance Journalist and then on into writing in his early thirties .He has won number of prizes in Switzerland ,Seven years is his tenth novel and the seventh to be translated to English .

Meet Ivona ,said Ferdy .She’s from Poland .This is Rudiger ,and this -is Alexander .He was standing behind me ,I had to almost vertically look up at him .Have a seat said Ferdy .The women put her glass down on the table and next to it her tissues and her book ,which was a romance novel showing a man and a women on horseback .

Their first meeting and maybe a subtle hint at what is coming .

So Seven years is a spin on the old seven-year itch story ,a phrase that has been coined by Psychologist as the time a couple that has had a monogamous relationship is likely to stray and to  have an affair .So the couple in this book are Alex and Sonia ,they are described as a sort of trendy  hip middle-aged couple into the hip things  and image they are both Architects ,on the hip edge of this Sonia loves the works of the Franco /Swiss architect and urbanist Le Corbusier .So we she her going her and there to see his buildings .  So it is a shock when the third part of what becomes a love triangle in this book is Ivona she is a rather dull plain women from Poland that had come into Alex’s life a number of years before he started the affair with her then and we are being told how it happened  .What develops is a very strange and almost awful relationship Alex like the fact that Ivona is the total opposite to his wife and when she tries to make her self more appeal he makes her stay the same ,she top him appears as an object a thing he has to use not often as a person .Whilst his wife is going on about a new house and this and that .This happened in the past and is told with a cold tone at times giving an insight into Alex as maybe an emotional devoid man.

I had known her body in all its details .The heavy Pendulous breasts ,the rolls of fat at her neck ,her naval ,the stray black hairs on her back ,and her many moles .I knew how she smelled and tasted .How her body responded to touch ,I knew it repertoire of familiar movements ,but when I saw Ivona sitting there ,I had to acknowledge that I din’t know the least thing about her , that she was a complete stranger to me .

Sonia was a conquered land in Alex’s eye and Ivona was a woman of mystery .

I was looking forward to this on a number of levels I had heard how easy Stamm is to read ,he is the book took me a day and a half to fly through but then kept me thinking about it for the next week or so which was the other thing I had heard was  that Stamm is a writer that lies with you long after you have put the book down ,and yes he does .The other thing I really like is the fact it is a Hofmann translation I have always found his translation to be top drawer clean and unfussy style  ,with real sense that it isn’t a translation .So Alex and Sonia what do I make of them they struck me as very much like a typical English couple in the age group and tastes something of the yes they’ve read the books , like the right films but at the heart of the couple is a real void all the things in the world can’t make up for the fact they are quite shallow and really uninteresting people at the heart of it  I was reminded very much of the women from the film of Nick Hornbys High fidelity Charlie played by Catherine Zeta Jones ,who John Cusacks character describe her and her friends as being some one you like to be with but when you there with them you realise  they are actually quite vacant people   .Where as Ivona the Christian book seller is described as dull woman  but the more the book goes on the more she leaps off  the page .A real tale of love ,lose and marriage told with a subtle and careful tone by Stamm.

Have you read this book ?

Which Stamm would you suggest next for me ?

Every Seventh wave by Daniel Glattauer

Every Seventh Wave by Daniel Glattauer

Austrian fiction

Translators – Jamie Bulloch(Leo) & Katharina Bielenberg (Emmi)

Original title Alle sieben Wellen

Source – Review copy

Now ever so often you read a book , the first in a series of books and you then  can’t wait to read the second part .This for me was the case with this book it is the follow-up to love virtually ,which was one of my favourite books of recent years and struck a chord with the romantic in my heart .Since the last book came out Glattauer has had another two vols of his articles for der standard and a novel.So as I write this having just listen to the Radio four version of this book ,which featured David Tennant as Leo and Emila Fox as Emmi here is a link to the Iplayer where it will be for a week .The earlier version of the first book appears to be available on you tube from links I saw earlier on twitter .

Subject: Query

Good evening ,Mr systems manager .How are you? Quite chilly for March , don’t you think ? Still after such a mild winter I don’t think we should be complaining .Oh yes since I’m here ,I’d be grateful if you’d answer a query .We have an acquaintance in common .His name is Leo Leike .Unfortunately I appear to have mislaid his current e-mail address .Would you be so kind and possibly …? many thanks

With my warmest virtual wishes ,

Emmi Rother

Emmi at the start when Leo still not there talking to herself in e-mail

So we are back to the story of Leo and Emmi .Last time Leo had ,left to go to america and had stopped using his Email account and all Emmi was getting is a systems manager message saying the email account was no longer in use .So the books opens and it is a few weeks later Emmi tries to e-mail then six months still no reply barring the system manager reply .Then lights are observed in Leo’s old flat and guess what she e mails to say so and no System manager reply hopeful she then gets a reply from Leo ,he is back and thus starts this strange e relationship the e-mail start slowly and cautiously .Whats happened in between ? who is Pamela ? what happened between Emmi and Bernhard her husband since Leo left ? All these questions get answered and what the hell does the title mean ? Well I suppose I can give that away whilst e mailing on Holiday Emmi Tells Leo about an old saying on the island where she and Bernhard are having a Holiday that every seventh wave that hits the shore is a bigger and stranger wave than the other ones.

Subject : A stranger 

For an hour I’ve been deleting chunks of e-mail in which I’m trying to describe what I thought of you at our meeting .I can’t seem to collect my impressions .No matter what I write it sounds banal , clichéd

Leo tries to absorb their first real meeting …….

As you can tell I love this book and would hate to give away too much to you as the reader  I think it is a book that every romantic person should read and discover what happens for themselves .Yes there are relationships hurt because of Leo and Emmi but at the heart of the book is the courtship a dance so to speak .We again see Glattauer using e mails to give life again to the epistolary novel .We also see a change in the dynamic the last book saw Leo as the main one pushing the romance this time the tables are switched it is Emmi that is the driving force trying to turn the virtual in to the real world romance  .Yet again the couple behind the translation have worked wonders by giving Emmi and Leo ever so slightly a male and female voice in English  as they translated each character .For me I was so reminded of Amanda  and myself’s romance we meet online and lived apart and used to text a lot so I got the times when Leo said it is hard to tell what mood Emmi was in by Email alone it is .I also thought the way he brought the novel to an end so suited to this story .

Do you have a favourite romantic book ?

Sea of Ink by Richard Weihe

Sea of ink by Richard Weihe

Swiss fiction

Original title – Meer der tusche

Translator – Jamie Bulloch

Source – review copy .

So I come to the last of the year of  small epics by Peirene press .I’ve  over last week or two have  reviewed the other two books  in the series .This the final choice for last year  was written by Richard Weihe .Richard is a Swiss writer .He studied in Zürich and Oxford ,he has written a number of  very poetic biographies of artist ,he also translates poems and plays from American English .He also presented a Swiss TV series on philosophy .So to sea of ink not a non fiction bio but a Novella following the life of Chinese painter Bada Shanren .

Micheal Stipe sang about a perfect circle ,he of course meant a perfect circle of friends ,but Bada Sharen the star of the novella spent six years trying to just draw the perfect circle freehand .This novella is a study and insight into the man as an artist ,that man Bada Sharen is one of the most revered Chinese artist .He was also a poet and showed talent from an early age,We see the young boy move through his life training to be a pain ter a monk and nearing the end of the book a descent into madness .The book is structured in very short snappy chapters little glimpse into his life,his working style and why he painted that way  ,we also are treated to 11 of his pictures ,we see a change in his art through the pictures his early examples seem less assured .Bada was a man who sort perfection in his art and maybe let his life fall to the side at times due to this  .

Bada Shanren had become a master and young painters came from far and wide to show him their work and seek advice .They generally brought small gifts ,ink tablets from their Provence or jars of jam ,and he would thank them politely .These visits were punctuated long periods of silence ,when he would immerse himself completely in his work .

Bada Shanren at the height of his powers as a master artist

I struggled with this I loved Weihe writing style and would read his work again at times I was reminded of Thomas Bernard another writer who used art and artist in his work , in his novels but Weihe is a far more  minimalist compared to him in his careful use of words and just the bones of the story or the description of Shanren working on one painting .  Yet again Jamie showed what a great translator he is ,he work on love virtually one of my favourite books of recent years and has translated other books I’ve read and a couple on my tbr pile ,so to see his name as a translator is always one I know I ll get along with .Back to the book I think what the problem was is Bada Shanren himself I just didn’t click with him as a character I admired his art but  just couldn’t connect with him as a person. I may return to this book at a later date ,if I knew more about chinese art and culture maybe I would be more engaged .But this is a book for anyone that likes art or is artistic .

Have you read this book ?

Have you a favourite novel about art ?

Woodcutters by Thomas Bernhard my 300th review

Woodcutters by Thomas Bernhard

German title Holzfällen: Eine Erregung,

Austrian fiction

Translator – David McLintock

Source – library

Well after reading the corrections earlier this year ,I felt I need another fix of him before the year was out ,so when this had appeared in the library system I ordered it in .So I said a bit about him in my post earlier this month so I ll add this gobbit .In his last will ,he had banned all future productions and editions of his books within Austria for the remaining length of the copyright .This dislike of the system of arts and appreciation of arts within Austria is apt for this book .

While everyone was waiting for the actor ,who had promised to join the dinner party in the Gentzgasse after the premier of “The Wild Duck ” ,I observed the Auersbergers carefully from the same wing chair I had sat in nearly every day during the fifties , reflecting that it had been a grave mistake to accept their invitation .

Our narrator sat at the start of the book .

The arty types of Vienna have just been to the Burgtheater to see the latest production a version of the Henrik Ibsen play “the wild ducks “(Which opens as a dinner party is about to start rather like this book ) .So the arty folk all arrive at the Ausbergers house awaiting dinner and the chance to meet the star of the show .We meet our Narrator he is sat in a wing backed chair .we know this as it is frequently mentioned .The narrator is by his opinion an outsider of the group have recently returned to Vienna .So as the nights go on we see the actor ripped apart by the guests and the whole art scene in Vienna dissected piece by piece ,this is interrupted as the narrator adds his own feelings on this as well .The evening moves on and as the drink flows the arguments and observations grow stronger .

At this point the actor suddenly started recounting anecdotes ,the kind of theatrical anecdotes that always go down well in Vienna and provide life support for many a Viennese party that would otherwise be in danger of dying of paralysis .Most Viennese parties are able to survive for a few hours only because of these anecdotes .

Parties can dive into boredom our narrator tells us

Well this is what I love about Bernhard intense prose that just drag you in you feel as thou you are the narrator ,he is a writer but maybe not the best or maybe not as well thought of as he should be either way you feel this in some part this is Bernhard himself thinly veiled .It is in a lot of ways about how you view art to appreciate it or pull it apart at the seams and seemingly pull talented people apart because of minor flaws .I was reminded as I read this of one particular episode of Frasier where Niles and Frasier were meant to go to the theatre to see a famous actor but due to a mistake end up spending the show outside due to the own pretensions not letting them loose face and end up meeting and talking to the star even thou they missed the show completely .You feel in this book you are in a room of Austrian Nile’s and Frasier’s ,they would slide in so well with the crowd in the book .I think this is my favourite by him and maybe a good place to start with Bernhard as it isn’t overly long .Oh and fitting choice to be the 300th review on Winstonsdad

Have you read this book ?

The Gordian Knot by Bernhard Schlink

The Gordian Knot by Bernhard Schlink

german title -Die Gordische Schleife

German Fiction

Translator – Peter Constantine

Well German lit month is drawing to a close again and I had hope to read this in time for Bernhard Schlink week ,but time went against me so I include it here .This is the third Schlink book I ve covered on the blog and the fifth I have read .I must say this is a change from the others ,Being his first novel is a radical shift in style it is a thriller ,written by him self he had earlier co written a novel .

“And to the nameless professor ,who tried to teach me how to cut through the Gordian knot ” he sat down “I reread the story about Alexander the great and the Gordian knot . it was just as the professor said many had tried to unravel the knot ,but Alexander simply cut through it with his sword .

The title is mention on the last page .

SO The Gordian Knot takes it title from a story of Greek mythology Involving a man who had became king and the gods gave him an impossible Knot to untie ,this was there to Alexander the great ,he cut the knot this giving to a phrase cutting the Gordian knot meaning thinking outside the box .Anyway back to the book it is a thriller we meet a translator Georg Polger ,he is struggling till a job turns up translating plans for a military helicopter .This all happens in the office of mr Bulnakov ,also in the office is Mr Bulnakov secretary Francoise .Well Georg and Francoise fall in love .But then he is shock to discover her one day copying the plans he has translated .Before he has time to confront her she has disappeared ,then a chance mention about a photo she had ,that he shows to friend he says is somewhere in europe he friend says no it is New york so he heads of to New York and find out who the women he fell in love with really is in real life .This is a novel about spies and people getting caught up in that world .

“It’s the cathedral in Warsaw where her parents were married “

A short while later Georg’s friend asked to see the photograph again .

“it isn’t a particularly good one “Georg said .”She didn’t like being photographed ,so often took snapshots of her when she wasn’t looking .Though some pictures did turn out quite ….”

That’s not Warsaw .I know that church can’t think of its name it’s in New York.

First hint that Francoise isn’t quite what she seemed to Georg .

 

 

Well this was a real change from Schlink usual soul of the nation style fiction  .That said it was a page turner thou in the style of an airport thriller  or Holiday read ,well that isn’t quite  fair it is slightly better than them .In fact the two things in reading this I was most remind of was firstly Graham Greene Georg is a hapless guy caught up in a spy story but he doesn’t realise it ,rather like James Wormold in our man in Havana he is not the sharpest tool in the box .The other thing I was reminded of was the world of Alfred Hitchcock I felt Francoise is a classic femme fatale the sort women that frequently crops up in Hitchcock films and could have been played by Kim Novak or Eva Marie  Saint  .So this isn’t the most taxing or deep of Schlink books but it is a cracking read and great to see where it all started for him as a writer .Always nice see a publisher taking chance on an earlier book by a writer .

Have you read this book ?

Do you like to see writers earlier works translated ?

 

The Hunger Angel by Herta Muller

The hunger angel by Herta Muller

German  title Atemschaukel

Translator Philip Boehm

Source – review copy

Well this is the third book from the German /Romanian Nobel winning writer  Herta Muller ,Every time I try her books I found myself more drawn into her style and quirky imagery and wordplay .She is a true one-off, this book is another that is set partly in her homeland of Romanian but this time it is in the mid forties as the war is drawing to an end .We see how the German Romanian suffered at the hands of the Soviets .

What can be said about chronic hunger .Perhaps that there’s a hunger that can make you sick  with hunger .That it comes in addition to the hunger you already fell .Then there is a hunger which is always new ,which grows insatiably ,which pounces on the never-ending old hunger that already took such effort to tame .

Leo on hunger when he has been at the camp a while .

We meet Leo he is in his teens and he is a German Romanian just like Herta Muller is herself .We see his life as he is caught up in the post world war two events ,as Romania side with the Germans the Soviets are now rounding up all the German connected Romanians Like Leo to send to the Labour camps ,WE see how this young man caught up in this copes with the horrors of a labour camp we see how a normal man ,this man has a poet’s eye as you will see from who it based on ,has to struggle and change to cope with the system in the camps and is thus on the other side is a broken man and maybe not as free as he seems  .It seems that Muller largely based Leo on Oskar Pastior a German Romanian like Muller ,she was friends with him and they had planned to write this book together meeting near the end of his life and making a journey to the place he had been sent in the old soviet union (now in Ukraine ) to get a feel for the man here is him reading one of his own poems in German  but Oskar passed  away before they could  finish the project ,so this is her take on his time in a labour camp from what she learned in the time they spent together ..

There are also other partners .

I’ve danced with the teapot .

With the sugar bowl .

With the biscuit tin.

With the telephone .

With the alarm clock .

With the ashtray .

With the house key .

This poem on the last page sounds like Paitor from the two poems I ve read and is Leo when he is free or is he ?

 

Well it is an easy piece to compare this to Aleksandra Solzhenitsyn one day in the life .. and in some ways Darkness at noon by Koestler .Both of which show the horror of the labour camps or soviet prison system (yes I know darkness never says it is russia but it is implied that it is ).It does and it doesn’t ,I feel it is Muller own unique style that maybe sets this above the others and the clever use of the Hunger angel metaphor ,each person has their own Hunger angels in their minds what form it takes is unique to each of them .Another hard look into her own origins and that of her fellow German Romanians .Like in her other books they always seem stuck between two worlds and not of one place or the other not Romanian or German and this is rather like Muller’s writing that always seems misplaced not quite german and not quite east european , it is always uniquely her .Another great read for Lizzy’s and Caroline’s German lit month

Have you read this book ?

Do you have a favourite book set in the labour camps ?

 

Winters in the south by Norbert Gstrein

Winters in the South by Norbert Gstrein

orginal title Die Winter im Süden,

Austrian Fiction

Translators – Anthea Bell and  Julian Evans

Source – review copy

Well Norbert Gstrein name was new to me when this book dropped through my door a few weeks ago ,but a quote from the great W G Sebald on Gstrein last book that was translated into english over ten years ago “an exceptional work of prose fiction” So Norbert Gstrein who is he Well he grew up in a small hidden village in the Tyrol in Austria ,his brother is a famous ski racer ,he was interested in maths early in his life ,he later studied it a university ,but after that took up writing it was his novel english years that first caught the eye that was his third this Winter in the South is his sixth of the seven he has written .

It was in her second month in Zagreb in the autumn the war began ,that the news reached Marija that made her life Foreign to her for ever .She had not set eyes on her father for more than forty – five years ,and had thought he was dead for almost as long, so at first she did not react at all to the advertisement that the neighbours had left outside her door and that couldn’t possibly have been from him.

the book opens as Marija world is thrown doubly into chaos .

 

Winter in the south ,is a book about people and war ,but more about  two wars the second world war and the Balkan conflict .The two main people are Marija a women in her fifties whose marriage on rocky ground ,but is returning to her native Croatia and to Zagreb ,as this happens her father who fled leaving he Marija and her mother as he was a well-known Croatian fascist in the second world war ,he ran to Argentina .But the father is now drawn by the war and splitting of Yugoslavia and the return of Fascism maybe to Croatia ,also to get to know the daughter he hasn’t seen for over fifty years .But will she forgive ,is he to old for war ? Do people change ,where is home and what is important to people is it family or politics that  matters ?

Whenever he felt like breathing some life into the stalemate of his Zagreb existence he talked about Buenos Aires in the same homesick way he talked about Croatia back in Argentina .

The father is maybe a man now with no homeland after he returns

This book is full of threads a classic piece of central European writing a book that dives into the soul of people and what drives them  .The prose follows ,the father flight from Vienna after a killing in 1945 ,his following life in Argentina (having just read Gombrowicz diaries on his time in Argentina it was interesting to see a fictional take on living there ).Then there is his daughter life in the Croatia of the nineties that is beginning to drift towards the madness of war again .Gstrein shows both the personnel cost of war ,the story of a family broken apart after the second world war .But also the echos in the conflict in Yugoslavia that hark back to  as the old wounds of world war two surfaced as the war began ,as the fact that the two major part of Yugoslavia had been on different sides in the war .Then the father why is this man in his seventies at ,east so willing to go to war again ?As many of you that read this blog on a regular basis know I have a soft spot for Balkan conflict stories  and also for fiction set round Argentina ,due to time working in the nineties with many refugees in Germany from this war .Anthea Bell and Julian Evans have managed to make this complex work come alive in English and yet again another great selection from Machlehose one does wonder why it has been ten years between translations for a writer with seven novels and a number of prizes for his books ,He seems a hidden gem of Austrian writing .

Have you read his earlier book The English years ?