Home of Translated fiction and #translationthurs
sorry about lasy post i maybe had some self doubts ,and maybe should have mulled over in my mind before doing a post ,i m not going anywhere maybe due a few fewer posts ,I enjoy writing my feature post so there may be more of them in future winstonsdad is here to stay promoting world lit the best i can ,stu
I am considering stopping winstonsdad ,i m having a think over next few days ,i love it but am finding it time comsuming ,i ve meet some great people and love it but don’t think my reviews are that good and maybe i should leave it to better bloggers than me ,stu
I was in Sheffield a couple of months ago when they where setting up this exhibition which takes its title from the book so i m going to review the book and connect it to what i saw in the exhibition .the book follows a painter as he takes a tour of a french apartment through the rooms every item is detailed the people who live there are described ,the idea came from the knight’s tour of a chessboard where it is possible to move a knight and touch every square on the board Perec was known for his clever word play and one of the leading lights of modernist writings .along the tour we meet a mirade of characters of all ages and classes ,Bartlebooth and Moreau having two of the biggest apartments in the building ,Bartlebooth is aged and has a team of servants .We even see the inner workings of the building the lifts and stairs .Perec gives wonderful descriptions of the object in the apartments such as book paintings and postcards we also learn a little bit of history about some of these objects and this is one of the first connections i can make to the exhibition –
This is a collection of 305 postcards from unknown artist brought together by Susan Hiller ,the postcards all deal with high tides and waves crashing into seaside towns round the uk .one of the themes in the objects in the book is detectives plays books about them and suppose the book itself is like a giant investigation . The book also interconnects the characters past and present it ends up like being a fragile spiders web of connections and it is not til the end of it you see the full picture .there was also a series of paintings connected like the book –
This work is called spirit of Uhyst by Katerina Seda it follows a piece of paper as it was passed round a small german village ,copied each time after you see the finished work develop a bit like the book you don’t see the full picture until the end .I enjoyed this book so much it is very different to anything else and could be the springboard to so many other spin of stories .it reminded me of a 3D chess game i once played engrossing and challenging but in the end deeply rewarding .
Madame Moreau hated Paris
In 1940 after her husband’s death ,she took over the factory .It was a very small family business which he had inherited after the 1914-18 war which he’d run in relaxed prosperity with three cheerful woodworkers at his side whilst she kept the books in a big black -cloth-bound registers with ruled paper and pages she had numbered in violet ink …..
finding out about madame moreau .
a must read book that’s my reccomendation a book that i will reread a few times over the years .
Notes –
Colin is a forest ranger working for the forestry commission in Dorset ,His neighbour is angling journalist who suggest he publish this book from his notes made over a year working in his job .
The book –
We start of in January with Colin going round the woods with his two dogs checking that everything is ok for the year ahead .We learn what his job entails the control of the deer with in the land making sure the wood is in tip-top condition .We she him training a German to stalk a deer although he doesn’t like him that much he is touch by the farewell and the gratitude of the skills he has passed on to this guy .There are funny accounts like the time he has rushed out to help to rutting deers that have got there antlers stuck together .Now a note of caution there is hunting of animals described in this book .
It’s early and in the dark I stagger to find the door handle to the kitchen .A blast of wind and rain throws itself at the kitchen window and stare into the darkness ,jugding the opposition .
outside i point to the open door of my truck and both dogs are quavering in anticipation ,waiting for my command .I say the word -up ……………
the opening lines of the book .
My view –
I have always loved nature books from notes from walnut tree farm to Walden ,Colin drags you in to the Dorset woods and a year of the land changing around him the coming and going of nature wonderfully descriptive and insightful with the real sense of Colin’s love of his job and the land he is working in .A true gem for any nature lover .
I choose North Korea first because it is probably the country with the most outside chance of winning and the least works translated if any well my research has turned up a 2003 article from words without borders click here .There is also a graphic novel with very 1940s or 50s style graphics translated via words without borders ,there is a lot of political control and censorship over everything in North Korea so getting the man on the streets view hard to get .hence a short post to start with .
the graphic novel is available on-line at words without borders and is worth a half hour read ,retro and heavily full of propaganda for north korea .
world cup memories –
The last time north Korea played in world cup was 1966 ,before my time but my grandfather said he remember a lot of security around them at the time ,they played well beating italy and qualify for quarter finals being knocked out in a 5-3 lose to Portugal .
do you know any books from north Korea ?
Well April has been a hugely successful month ,i started a couple of ideas for the future the first is the late summer don Quixote read along reading the new Edith Grossman translation and also my world cup of writing going round the 32 countries qualified for the world cup .there has been a great behind the scenes interview in to the world of publishing .i ve read 10 books this month –
oh its hard to pick favourites hard to choose been really quality this month but 3 must reads young hitler ,Beirut39 and the queen of Palmyra all worth getting .
Challenges –
100 books this year – 39/100 -well on course think i ll read over a hundred this year
around the world in 52 books 14/52 -have fallen behind this month from my list but have read 8 translated books this month .
next month –
Just in middle of life a user manual ,got few library books i need to read and going to read football relate books early in month
