Category: A LIFE IN BOOKS

Jan 2017 that was the month that was

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I am terrible at round ups as all of you may know but every year I try to keep track of what has been read and reviewed this year I am just marking books I have reviewed on the page of my blog not read then reviewed.So I have reviewed 13 books this month . I have gone from Belgium via Quebec, Latin America and Africa and back to europe with books from 13 countries reviewed and 8 new writers to the blog and five with books already on the blog. Three new to the blog publishers as well. Last all Translated of course .

  1. Maigert’s dead man by Geroges Simenon
  2. The old king in his exile by Arno Geiger
  3. Brothers by David Clerson
  4. Swallowing Mercury by Wioletta Greg
  5. Otared by Mohammad rabie
  6. Reputations by Juan Gabriel Vasquez
  7. The final bet by Abdelilah Hamdouchi
  8. Cockroaches by Scholastique Mukasonga
  9. The Potato eaters by Manuel Rivas
  10. A horse walks into a bar by David Grossman
  11. The African shore by Rodrigo Rey Rosa
  12. 2084 by Boualem Sansal
  13. Havoc by Tom Kristensen

Now book of the month

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For me it is the Danish modernist classic Havoc , simply a classic of its time worthy of Waugh , Joyce or any of the great modernist writers . 600 pages of a man struggle with drinking and falling down that rabbit hole of drinking to much.

Books read

I have read 13 books as well some I have reviewed this other will be reviewed next month. You can follow via my Instagram what I am reading at the moment  as I have been recording my current reads this year over there .

Non book discovery

Each month I want bring some non book related to the month end and this it is a Tv series I have been enjoying over on Netflix it is the series A  series of unfortunate events from the Lemony Snicket ,childrens books. I missed the film with Jim Carey in back when it came out I had by time the film came out had my fill of Mr Carey so came to this not knowing much about the books or film. So for me it was a treat the series style wise reminds me at times of Wes Anderson the same twee world his films live in  the tales of the Baudelaire children as they try to get by after the death of their parents , as the evil relative Count Olaf wonderfully played by Neil Patrick Harris , was he really that loveable kid Doogie Howser MD years ago here as a mad actor and his troop of actors  trying to catch his three relatives for the fortune. What has your month been like ?

The French compass points to Lithuania

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I decide as two books arrived today I would talk about them and save you another review til tomorrow. The first is the first from this years Fitzcarraldo editions and it is a big prize-winning French book this won the Prix Goncourt , I have read a number of the recent winners, this is from a writer I have really enjoyed before Mathias Enard. The book follows a night in Franz Ritter as he is unable to sleep but as the night pass he travels the middle east from Istanbul through Aleppo to Tehran. a bridge from east to west I read an interesting interview about the book and its Orientalist angle of the book from a french website L’orient Litteraire  a very insightful piece. Mathias Enard is one of of the most inventive writers around this is the third book from him I have.

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Then I was contact by the publish of this prize-winning Lithuanain novel as he noted I had yet to review a book from their and this is the first book published by a living writer Laura Sintija Cernauskaite won the 2009 eu prize for this book. The book follows a family with a son with epilepsy whom mother adopts another boy a young Orphan taking him to their country home where their lives will never be the same . This is first of two book they are publishing at Noir press .

What books have you had arrive ?

1984 no sorry its now 2084 the first book in the post of 2017

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Well the first book I got sent this year is from a writer I have reviewed before Boualem Sansal is an Algerian writer that has had his works banned and censored in his homeland. I reviewed Harraga Two years ago. This is of course an homage in a way to Orwell’s  great book 1984 and also a work  against all totalitarian regiemes here  in the future a country called Abistan after its spiritual leader a place where like in Orwell’s world every move is watch we find one man who is trying to find a new truth. What was your first book of 2017

A pile of Burgess nearly at 100

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Well 25th February sees the 100th anniversary of the birth of Anthony Burgess one of the most influential writers of the last hundred years . He wrote from Sci fi , lit and historic fiction . From tales in Shakespeare’s day to the future and violent gangs Burgess had an impressive output I have tried to add his books over the years but when I saw the anniversary was near last year i decide to up my buying now having 26 novels two of those include the Malay trilogy and the enderby books adding to a total and 31 novels of the 35 he wrote also have two non fiction books his 99 novels and a book about language also a short story collection. With a month to go I plan from next month to read one a month for the next few years.

Some new books of course all translations

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I treated myself for five books that were on various end of year lists that I read up and I hadn’t come across.

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A new translation of an old book from a Nobel great is always worth reading this is a saga style tale of two brothers that use the past to look at the cold war which was effecting Iceland at the time. as the two brother crazy ways leaves them with nothing a metaphor for the modern world.

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Another from archipelago books , Cockroaches is a memoir of a family growing up Tutsi in an increasingly Tutsi run Rwanda we see through the piece her the tensions that lead up to the genocide of 1994 in Rwanda this is also the first book from Rwanada I have read.

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Another novel from the mexican writer Yuri Herrera this is the story of two families at war during a plague and the man trying to help them return their dead to one another , a man called The redeemer is trying to help them out.

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We follow a poet that has been accused of rape and has been sent away and his task when he is sent away is to write poetry in this darkly lynchian type tale.another of those short novels from Latin America that is much more than its meager 110 pages.

file_004-1this is the story of a man researching his family discovering he is related to a great anarchist ,which leads him to going to New york. as the occupy Wall street movement is in full swing this leads him to Pittsburgh and the ghosts of the 1920’s

What books have you treated yourself too ?

Pushkin Press fortnight MK2 Feb 13-28 2017

~ winstonsdad ~ 17 Comments

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It was three years ago I did the first Pushkin press fortnight in 2014. As a publisher whose books I have enjoyed not just reading but also there design . Since the original fortnight Pushkin Have grown with a number of new imprints Pushkin Vertigo doing crime fiction One of their books  I recently saw was  by Frederic Dard,which  caught my eye , he was a friend of Simenon he wrote nearly as many as his fellow writer with 200 books in french.Pushkin Children whihc has been publishing the Dutch fantasy series by Tonke Dragt. Pushkin Collections this is where  all those Tranlsated classics we all love . The most recent is The Odessa stories by Isaac Babe was a paperback of the week in the Guardian l. One the best of english lit The fisherman was on the booker list from this imprint. As for me I’m looking forward to reading The Evenings by Gerald Reve for the fortnight.Why now you ask well it is thanks to Lizzy from Lizzy Siddal  who herself is trying to cut her TBR pile and in doing so found a number of Pushkin books so ask me if I would do a second Pushkin press fortnight , SO the last 15 days in Feburary if you could try and read one of more books from Pushkin press it would be great . Have you a favourite from them ? Please leave a comment of post on twitter with the Hashtag#ppf2

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Winstonsdad books of the year

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Well I reviewed less than other years this year so I am only going pick a few highlights of my year this year.

The Prophets of the eternal fjord by Kim Leine

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Was an epic Danish novel following a priest sent in the 18th century to Greenland to try to wrestle the natives back to the christian line a tale of times now gone. This would make a great HBO series full of mud and ice .My review

The Dirty Dust by Maitain O Cadhain

 

This was one of two translation of this classic Irish novel into English. Set in a small village graveyard we here the generations buried there talk about their lives and the past they had together and the hates they had together and the loves together.My review

Byron and the beauty by Muharem Bazdulj

Bryon in the Balkans falls for a beautiful woman only to find she is out of his reach for once the bad boy of british poetry struggle to gets what he wants .My review

 

Sudden Death by Alvaro Enrigue

A fiction tennis match between an italian painter and a spanish poet is the backdrop to this tale that flows around the world of the time just as man is discovering science and thought the age of enlightenment is on them.My review

One Million cows by Manuel Rivas

 

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This was a gem of short stories by one of my favourite spanish writers Manuel Rivas by a press started by his translator her we see the shackles of Franco be shaken of a people return to spain other have their last day at school looking forward .I have recently read his debut novel also from small station press .My review 

Constellation by Adrien Bosc

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The stories of a plane that crashed told from the point of view of the flight but also the stories of those on board from the man from Disney to a group of poor Spanish shepherds .One of those french novels that remind how great french lit can be . My review 

Trysting by Emmauelle Pagano

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A book of voice another French gem this is clips of what love is bits of people lives this is love stripped to the bone no names places or times just the acts of love shown. My review 

 

Land of my Father by Vamba Sherif

A freed slave returns to Africa from the Us to Liberia but not all is as he imagines it , he has to follow his calling and try to convert the natives .My review

Revulsion Thomas Bernhard in San Salvador by Horacio Castellanos Mayo

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A man returns to sort his mother affairs and gives a speech during the evening denouncing the country of his birth and why he had to leave and become Thomas Bernhard on his passport. An homage to the great writer from a great latin American writer .My review 

Panorama by Dusan Sarotar

 

My book of a year by a country mile this is simply why I read books in translation that once a decade discovery of a voice so exciting and fresh yes part Sebald but also a new tale of traveling from the very western tip of Europe back to the Balkan heart of it.My review 

There are my books of the year been lots of other great books

Three new arrivals from old favourites

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I love to get new books from writers I have previously enjoyed as on the whole for a writer to get a second book published in translation is a success in its self and in this set of three books it is also a chance to read a debut of a writer I really admire.

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Now Manuel rivas is a writer I have reviewed Three times before and this is the second from small stations I have reviewed when Jonathan his translator said he was doing this book I was really excited The potatoe eaters is his debut novel. Follows Sam a drug addict from his hospital bed where he befreinds an old man and has a soft spot for a nurse to the villagew where his brother takes him to hopefully kick the habit. I’m looking forward to this probably next on my tbr pile.

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Then we have another short story collectuon from one of the leading Galcian writers Miguel-Anxo Murado this is also a second book from small stations by this writer his previous collection soundcheck which I read but didn’t get to review but I really liked it so may combine the reviews as the first collection was set mainly in the Balkans .

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I treated myself to this after reading a few good reviews anopther Patrick Modiano , since his nobel win when I know before that win it was fairly difficult to find a book by him but since then many books have come out I have all the Maclehose books but this from Daunt is about a man on holiday discovering a couple and they aren’t all they seem and what they tell him is half truths the usual Modiano themes of memory and identitiy which frequently crop up in his works.

 

Bottom’s dream or Nightmare or is it Jam and Jerusalem Epic reading options

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I saw earlier today a post on conversational reads That Scott Esposito had posted a picture of this year maybe most awaited amoung die hard translated fans and that is the epic Bottom’s dream by Arno Schmidt , whom I reviewed earlier this year one of his shorter books The egghead republic. But Bottom’s dream is a whole different kettle of fish a book that in the german editon a folio size 1348 page book. To give you a glue of how huge this book is here is a video of the german edition being flicked through

The book follows the struggle of  a german translator in translating the works of Edgar Allen Poe into english and is also influenced by the wordplay James Joyce used in Fnnegans wake.Well Dalkey Archive and John E Woods the  translator , who has spent years working on it. Welll 2,250,000 words is a lot as Scott point out 4 times theat of War and Peace. Add to that is the cost at 50 pound it will be an investment, but also a talking point for many years to come. Then if that isn’t enough I have also an eye on this book Jerusalem by Alan Moore

A book that follows 6000years of history in his home town of Northampton . He said in an interview there was chapter influenced by Jame Joyce , Samuel Beckett and Noir as the tale of this town is told by 12 characters .This is also a 1,000,000 word novel and has a three vol editon coming out also in sept . So I have a battle of epic reads to try and read . Which of these two epic novels grabs you ?

Some recent arrivals at Winston’s towers

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The first of four books to arrive in the last few days is the latest by one of the best known writers in translation in recent years Herman Koch whose The Dinner is one of those books that was a runaway success. He did an interview at the time of the dinner . This latest is a about a writer whom is being watched by the narrator of the book but why is he being watched by him ?

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Tom Lanoye is a well-known Belgium writer Tells the story of his own mother Josee an actress and flamboyent character after she has a stroke which meant she lost her voice . A mother coping with the loss of one of her  sons and the other being Gay is a modern tale.

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Next up a purchase from Amazon Mati Unt was a writer I reviewed in the first year if this blog so felt it was time to revisit him with this modern gothic telling of the vampire story mixing fiction and actual Estonian history.

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Last up is the latest by Norwegian writer Roy Jacobson about a small Norwegian Island but this is just as Norway is opening its doors to the wider world .I like the cover art of this one something Art deco about it in a way.

 

Two faces Italy and Iceland march on euro 2016

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I arrived home yesterday to two books through the post . I was surprised firstly by an odd similarity in the two cover images. The first book young bride by Alessandro Barico the Italian writer follows a young women joining a noble family but as she does so she has learned secrets from each of her new family members. I have enjoyed his books before so am looking forward to this his latest in English.Then it is a real treat the next book by Jon Kalman Stefansson this book Fish have no feet is the first of his books to be set in a modern setting to be translated to english his trilogy which I enjoyed was a historic novel. This book follows a man returning to his childhood home town with memories of the music of the beatles and pink Floyd and a girl he once fell in love with. So as yesterday saw both Italian team and Iceland go forward to the next round in euro 2016 with Iceland playing England in the second round.

7 years bloganniversary let’s go to Spain

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The wordpress app told me at weekend it was seven years since winstonsdad started its trip around the world of Literature. In that time I have managed to review 635 books from 103 countries a real tour of the world . I miss the old days of blogging when it seemed new and fun but the recent move and a new library have spurred this old blogger on to carry on so we start off with the next spanish lit month which is next month. I have five books I plan to read one is reread.

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First up is two books due out from Harvil secker The first from a new star of Spanish Literature DIvorce is in the air by Gonzalo Torne one for the fans of Ferrante and Knausgaard says Harvil . Next is On the edge by Rafael Chirbes one of the great writers of recent times from Spain he won two of the biggest prizes in Spanish literature.

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Nocilla dream is the reread of the pile a wonderful odd collection of short snippets like a trail of photos with stories made up about them. I enjoyed it on the first read but felt a second reading would be worth it for this collection .

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Next up is Loquela by Carlos Labbe the chilean writer is compared to Borges and this is a warped love story and detective novel in one . One of those books that challenges the reader.

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Lasr but not least is the won derfully witty Sky over lima which sees two writers in Chile write and start a love affair in letter with the famous Spanish poet Juan Ramon Jimenz .In what started as a plan to get his latest book early turns it a love in letters .

Have you any plans for Spanish lit month ?

How do you keep your blogging fresh after a number of years ?

I’m back welcome to my book cave winstonsdad new HQ

~ winstonsdad ~ 24 Comments

Well its been a week since I moved from my old house to our new home which I now have a room for all the books a personnel library come office to blog from and read. I had to decide whether to keep my old shelves or buy new but when looking at the shelves I had five mismatch units I decide to take the dive and buy six billy shelves a new chair and small table.

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We managed to get in the weekend before and put the new book cases up. Then bit by bit I brought some books down and loaded the shelves. I wanted these new shelves to be more ordered than my shelves at the old house .

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The plan was a shelf full of my hard backs then shelves for Penguins . Then to order the rest of the books by Country or region . I managed to do this . So I have French , German, Italian , Spanish Portuguese together. Then regional lit of Eastern Europe, Latin America  , Asia,Middle East and Africa. Th en I pulled certain publishers together and new books and hey presto I have ordered shelf and the new HQ for Winstonsdad . I also can now easily find the books for Next months Spanish Lit month which Richard and I are running again for the third year  soryy fourth year doesn’t time fly . Anyway I will be filling you all in near the time on my choices .

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There as you can see my shelves are full and winstonsdad has a new home to return from. Tomorrow I return to Book reviews with  a french novel about a Romanian which given Euro 2016 kicks off with France against Romania .

Still reading but blog block

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I’m still readin g as much as ever but last week’s found  blogging slow. Well there is two reasons for this the first is some weeks I just can’t find time every other week at work I do 45 hour weeks and just recently have found blogging these weeks harder than in past. This leads to second reason we have been looking to move house and hopefully this week sign for a new house which will have a spare room for a library come office for my books and to blog from we plan to move first week of June so til then I expect spurts of blogging g but once I have first room so lol as a library office with a tiny desk reading chair  etc to blog from I hope to return to blogging as normal a few times a week so hold on be loads more from around the world here also a few post around my new library I expect as I have to fit all my books in one room.
IMAGE FROM NYPL COLLECTION