Tag: around the world 52

THE POST OFFICE GIRL BY STEFAN ZWEIG

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STEFAN ZWEIG

Notes-

This was Zweig lost book so to speak not published in German until 1982 ,forty years after his death .Zweig in his day was the most widely translated writer ib the world ,but had fallen out of print in English til the late nineties when Pushkin press ,N.Y.R.B books and sort of books ,slowly started reissuing his work .Zweig was a pacifist and had to flee his native Austria when Hitler rose to power ,traveling to his eventual death in 1942 in Brazil .

The book –

The book follows Christine Hoeflehner a young Austrian women in the post world war one Austria ,her mother is an invalid as she lives in a provincial town and works hard in the post office ,not really enjoying her life .Then she gets a chance to travel to meet an aunt who has return to europe after making a fortune in America ,Christine ends up in the swiss alps living the high life in fine clothes and fine dining . But this comes to the end all of a sudden after a number of disagreement ,and Christine returns to Austria with her tail between her legs ,disappointed with her life Christine meets Ferdinand a kinder spirit and life brightens slightly.

One village post office in Austria is much like another ;seen one you’ve seen them all .Each with the meagre furnishings provided (or rather issued ,like uniforms )during Franz Josef ‘s rule ,all drawn from the same stock ,their sad look of administrative stinginess is the same every where .even in the most remote mountain villages of the Tyrol …..

the opening of the post office girl .

My view –

Zweig captures the hopelessness of the mundane life of Christine wonderfully ,his writing is poetic at times and fits nicely with that of his contemporary at the time Joseph Roth and Robert Musil ,I did feel the second part of the book dropped of a bit ,the scenes in Switzerland where wonderful .I will be getting some more Zweig probably the Pushkin ones that rob at robaroundbooks so likes .

STEFAN ZWEIG

links –

Stefan Zweig .org

Stefan Zweig the german site

Best european fiction 2010 -2

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best european fiction 2010

The second story in best european fiction is from Austria ,from an essay collection entitled while sleeping (Im schlaf ) by Antonio Fian .Antonio Fian is an essayist and playwriter ,who is well-known in his native Austria for his dramolettes ,small dramas on current events that are printed in the ,magazine falter (moth),der standard and have been collected together in to four vols .the excerpt in best european fiction from the book is a number of short pieces varying in length from  half page to a full-page .they are about a wide range of subjects ,such as an adult themed Barbie seen in a shop to a trip to Tokyo after seeing it on tv and an encounter with Loudon Wainwright ,when Antonio want to translate his lyrics in to Viennese dialect .the piece are informative ,cleverly written and follow a style of writing similar to Staisuk,Bernhard and Sebald in a way .there appears to be none of Fian’s works available in english ,Lets hope some come available soon .

Antonio Fian

other book prizes other than the booker !

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i ve spoken a lot about the booker ,but thought I d point out some other prizes that are out there –

PRIX GONCOURT-

START IN 1903 ,named after the successful french writer /editor Edmund de Goncourt .it is award annually ,and never tends to be awarded to the same writer twice ,notable previous winner in recent years have been Jonathan Littell’s the kindly ones and Atiq Rahimi’s the patience stone .the 2009 winner is Marie Ndiaye with her book  trois femmes puissantes.

atiq rahimi 2008 winner

DEUTSHER BUCHPREIS -GERMAN BOOK PRIZE –

This is germany’s premier book prize it is closely modeled on the booker prize it is also awarded annually ,with first a longlist ,then short list and winner .the prize started in 2005 .last years winner was Kathrin  Schmidt. du stirbst nicht a novel that follows some one awaking from a coma .

Kathrin Schmidt winner 2009

best translated book award –

This award is present by three percent the organization based in america to promote translated books as in america only three percent of books are translated from other fiction .the prize is awarded annually ,this prize also highlights the wonderful people who translate and bring alive these books in english the last winner was Gail Harevens the confession of Noa Weber translated from hebrew it follows Noa Weber a well-known writer .

the 2009 winner

NORDIC COUNCIL LITERATURE PRIZE –

Is an award given by the nordic council annually ,the nominees come from all the nordic countries ,and has been awarded since 1962 ,notable winners include Per Petterson,Sjon .this years winner was finnish Estonia writer Sofi Oksanen with her Puhdistus /purge tells of a families experience follow tragedy .

winner 2010 sofi oksanen

There are some other book awards .

LIBRARY LOOT (AGAIN)

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books books books

After reading the books i got a few weeks ago i decide to call in again return the books i ve read and found the translated fiction stand was still there so got a lot more books to read with a group of nights coming up ,i need some nice short novels to read every night .the books i got fit in to three categories

  • japanese
  • the sailor who fell from grace with the sea by Yukio Mishima -this reads a bit like lord of the flies mixed with peter pan and is part of the vintage east series .
  • scandal by Shusaku Endo – this is probably japan’s second most well-known writer behind Murkami ,a catholic writer is accused of visiting ladies of the night most enter seedy Tokyo to face his own demons
  • african
  • The purple violet of Oshaantu by Neshani Adreas -a debut novel part of the Heinemann african writer series this book is about women and village life in Namibia ,which will be interesting i work with some one from Namibia .
  • Neighbour the story of a murder by Lila Momple -a novel set in Mozambique about a raid from south africa and how it affects life this book is also from the African writer series .
  • the beautiful screaming of pigs by Damon Galgut – A conversation on twitter remind me to seek this guy out a south african ,up and coming ,this was his breakthrough novel and strangely  also set partly on Namibia about a man facing his past and actions he has done .
  • classics
  • Le Bal by Irene Nemirovsky -I read suite franciase a few years ago ,this is set in the parsian society of the 1930’s about a girl trying to ruin her mother whom she hates
  • the actual by Saul Bellow it must be ten years since i read a bellow a beautiful writer and one of the great post war american writers ,this is the story of Harry Trellman a complex character .

A great selection ,some new names and some old names .

Brecht at night by Mati Unt

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BRECHT AT NIGHT MATI UNT

This Book is part of dalkey archives Baltic literature series .the book is set in the early 1940’s and follows a journey the German playwriter Bertolt Brecht took in 1940 fleeing germany en route to the U.S.A he had to stop in finland for a while whilst awaiting visa clearance to travel to U.S.A .the book unfolds like a docu drama with two main  strands Brecht’s journey and time in Finland and also a history of Finland and Unt’s own Estonia during the war years .We find that Brecht a socialist ,is what maybe termed nowadays a champagne socialist ,that when even fleeing his own country on the run so to speak still really wants the creature comforts ,as well as a mistress a fling with an older women a well-known Finnish playwriter  .In the other strand of this novel we discover the soviets land grab during the second world war grepping Finland ,with a short and bloody warwith Finland that the soviets wrongly considered a soft target, and the Baltic states including Estonia .what happens once this has taken places the book banning by russians and new rules ,a new governor for Estonia named M.Unt no relative to the writer Unt points out ,we also get little glimpse of what happens in germany the oddness of the german leaders and what lead to Brecht leaving his homeland .This book is a wealth of info and pin points a small event i n a great writers life ,it isn’t the easiest book to read but is rewarding in the end .It brings to a wider audience Unt’s undoubted talent and unique style of writing ,and the translation is wonderful by Eric Dickens .

 Brecht decides :I’m taciturn by nature . i won’t reveal anything about myself or my plans.he remembers that Ibsen came from somewhere up here ,and said ………yes,what was it he said ? something about silence, and something about being on your own -you where stronger alone – and silent .If Ibsen did say something like that,he refuted it later on .

Brecht just about to arrive in Finland .

Of kids and parent by Emil Hakl

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of kids and parents

This was the second book i got from the local libraries translated stand ,Emil Hakl is a czech writer that had a number of manual jobs in the communist era ,but also wrote poetry ,short stories and novels,in the post communist era he work in advertising before becoming a full-time writer ,he has published three novel ,two short stories collection and some poetry .Of kids and parents Follows a fathers and son on a meander round Prague where they visit numerous pubs and pass the sights of the city .They in the course of this journey they discuss many subjects such as ,fighter plane design in the post second world war era ,some family members a memorable aunt and uncle ,a stunning Slovenian women the father eulogies over her body and beauty .They move back and forward in time .The chapters tended to be short and each based on a discussion between the father and son .the description of this book is similar to Ulysses and Harbal .I could see the comparisons ,like Joyce Hakl likes to dart of on angles in the story,the other writer i was deeply reminded of was W G Seblad the style of writing is similar ,not a lot plot wise happens in this book but you discover lives places and history .i think this is a writer i ll read again and would even reads this book again in the future .

we left the pub and walking along the line of the hill ,we reach the governors place .”so where now ?” father asked nonchalantly ,his voice directed toward the battlement-like row of tiny housing block on the horizon.Behind the hill spattered with the tiny white cubes of buildings,an unbroken ridge of clouds was slowly advancing .”i guess the best thing is to go back to Stormovka ,if you don’t mind .

opening of chapter -the world

The book is published by twisted spoon and was translated by Marek Tomin .

Do you have a favourite  Czech writer ?

best european fiction 2010 1

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best european fiction 2010

This is dalkey archives collection of short stories from all round europe ,it was edited by american Bosnian Aleksandar Hemon .he was given about four or five stories from each country and decide to choose one from each country  ending up in 35 stories from 30 countries ,as some countries have two languages and different parts like the uk .i ve decide to write short reviews for each story over the next few months to give this wonderful project its due .

  • 1. Albania -(extract from) The country where no one ever dies by Ornela Vorpsi 
ornela vorpsi
  • This story is about the experience of growing up as a young women and girl in Albania ,how important being a virgin is how men perceive women in Albania  ,how well looked after she was when she was sick and how she want to be sick again to have strawberry jam .the story is only 8 pages but gives a brief glimpse into a relatively unknown country .My personal experience with Albania was a summer in the early nineties working alongside a Kosovo Albanian in a factory in Germany a wonderful guy who had worked in tv in his own country ,he ended up in germany as he was intermidatted by the mainly Serbian police in Kosovo .I have read some Ismail Kadare as well who like Vorpsi writes in another language other than Albanian .

 have you read any books from Albania ?

a sun for the dying by Jean Claude Izzo

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Jean Claude Izzo -A sun for the dying

I got this from local library as part of their translated fiction month .A great find it turned out to be .Izzo was primarily a thriller write ,but this book is something completely different more a keen to an updating of down and out in paris by Orwell .The novel follows Rico a down and out ,as the book opens we find him in Paris with his good friend Titi ,who dies of exposure on the station .This leads Rico to decide to leave the cold north of france and head to Marseilles where he grew up .Along the way Rico bumps in to numerous characters a african security guard who helps him out by staying on a building site .a Bosnian hooker who he befriends ,an argument with a french ticket collector and police .till he arrives in Marseilles  you find out why he left .Izzo has brought french life warts and all to life .It seems as thou its the immigrants that help Rico along the way rather than the french .The book was Izzo last as he died in 2000 the book was published in 1999 in france and 2008 in english.The book is wonderfully translated from the french by Howard Curtis .

Rico reckoned Titi must have been a teacher , a professor something like that .he d read lots of books and was always referring to them in conversations .one afternoon they were sitting on a bench in the sun ,on square des Batigonolles – one of their favourite meeting places – and Titi said you know , when I was a teenager , i read a lot of Burroughs ,Ferlinghetti and Kerouac …

Rico and Titi

nervous conditions by Tsitsi Dangarembga

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nervous conditions

This is considered a modern african classic ,the book follows Tambu a 14 year old  as she grows up in a changing Zimbabwe or Rhodesia as it was when the book was set .she is sent to live with her aunt and uncle Babmakuru a strict ,father figure .her brother has died ,she must get on with it .In what is a change world between african traditions and western (english) values and cultures .she manages this but shows along the away the effect on various members of her family as some want progress and other try to cling to the old ways .The is times of joy and sorrow along the way at times Tambu escapes to her garden .I loved the feel of this story and setting a society on the edge of a new post colonial age .the struggle of african and western influences on every day life in africa .Tsitsi has written a follow-up to this book which i am looking forward to reading to find out what happened to the family .

I was not sorry when my brother died .nor am I apologising for my callousness,as you may define it ,my lack of feeling .For it is not that at all .I feel many things these days when i was young and my brother died ,and there are reasons for this more than the consequence of age .therefore i shall not apologise but begin by recalling the facts …………..

the opening words of nervous conditions.

senselessness by Horacio Castellanos Moya

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This book is one of the rainmaker series of translation .i found this book particularly hard to read as it has very long passages and in places is very violent and sexual ,but in other places has some funny description . it follows a writer as he is reviewing and editing a 1100 page document about an indian massacre in an unknown central american country but as Moya has lived in el Salvador and Honduras you can draw your on conclusions to where it is set ,the writer is undertaking this for the church and the is an under current of them wanting him to less the impact of what had happen to the indians .The writer himself likes to have a drink in the local bars and seduce young women .there is a beauty to Moya’s prose they seem to flow seamless of the page .This was the first book by Moya to be translated in to english .wonderfully by Katherine silver .It is worth reading as there isn’t many book published in english from this region and is only short at 144 pages .

In order to celebrate my first day of work as god intended i arranged to meet my buddy Toto at noon at El Portalito ,the city’s legendary cantina ,fortunately located a mere two hundred yards from my office close enough to prevent the onset of anxiety in someone who is afraid above all else of being punctual as is the case with me ;someone who requires a drink to calm his nerves at the strangest moments .

from the 2nd chapter opening .

senselessness

tehran lipsticks and loopholes by Nahal Tajadod

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 I got this book for my around the world challenge from the lovely Sarah at bookrabbit .It follows Nahal who lives in france but still had iranian citizenship as she has to return to her homeland to renew her passport staying with her family in Tehran .The main thing she has to do for her passport is get a islamic approved picture from a photographer this is hard than it seems as they don t advertise as they can t put pictures in the window .after a few false starts and constantly being asked by people to help out family members or fill in forms from aboard .she has the photo now to tackle Iranian bureaucracy where she has to remove make up dress modestly and hoping she is lucky with the time she has on her hands she spends time with her family .Nahal ‘s work is funny and highlights the differing standards and lunacy in iran ,a cast of oddball characters,the humour makes this book come alive  make this a real page turner .i feels this book would work well as a book group book it certainly makes you think loads .

The salesman open a drawer and takes out a press cutting with a photograph of the commander-in-chief of Tehran’s armed forces posing in front of a blackboard with the following instructions :

  • bright lipstick?>do not lance >remove with tissue
  • heavy make up ?>don’t apply acid>apply rosewater
  • shortened coat?>offer chador
  • tiny scarf ? >avoid saying: either you cover your head or we ll beat you > lower scarf to hide hair or gently trim the hair .

rules ,rules a quote from the book published this week by virago books

tehran lipstick and loopholes by Nahal Tajadod

 

 

the unnamed by joshua ferris

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 This is probably one of the most eagerly waited books this year as ferris follows up his hugely successful then we came to the end ,with this the unnamed the novel centres on tim Farnsworth and his family .the novels starts with tim a successful lawyer in an up and coming law firm just about to talk his biggest case .When he suddenly starts to walk and wander off been unable to stop the compulsion to walk.at first this just happens from time to time ,but as the book moves on the frequency increases ,until in the end Tim has to walk all the time just grasping food and sleep from time to time .The family tries to support tim helping in a battery of test for what is an unknown and thus unnamed condition .The book is beautifully written i did find it a little predictable in places and had echos later on of scenes from into the wild where the main charcater in that wanders alaska.but is compelling story of how families can struggle and break under problems like this . It also falls into what Marco Roth in nplus1 called the neuro novel ,the trend for the main charcater to have a mental or psychological condition .

Hands and feet are cold .Leg is hurting .Stomach is empty and would like some food .he was assailed night and day by such complaints .they were crude and unimpeachable .he was accustomed to accommodating his body ,so defiance had to be deliberated ,disciplined, as zen like as possible .

quote from late on as tim struggles with problems caused by constant walking

first as tragedy ,then as farce by Slavoj ZIZEK

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Slavoj Zizek a Slovenian is one of the major thinkers on the left ,this is his most recent book .A collection of thoughts ideas and musing on the world and particularly the last decade ,how post 9/11 both sides of the political spectrum have had to reevaluate there positions a move away from Liberalism and on the other hand with the credit crunch and financial meltdown a move towards state socialism has been called for .Zizek brings in many different arguments for the changing face of the left reference both academic works and items for popular culture .Elsewhere globalism and ethical trading are discussed with the Starbucks model of trading .i feel this book will take a few readings over time to fully absorb all the information within its 156 pages .if you ve an interest in current affairs or politics this is a great book to read ,

On account of its all-pervasive ,ideology appears as its own opposite as non-ideaology. as the core of human identity underneath all the ideological labels .this is why Jonathan Littell’s outstanding les bienveillantes(the kindly ones) is so traumatic ,especially for germans :

Zizek on ideologies

 do you like philoshpy books ?

B S Johnson The Unfortunates

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  There are some wonderful books out there just by the way they look , from time to time like today i ll bring some pictures of them. this book is a great read if a little strange the book is divide in to 27 sections that can be read in any order except the first and last chapter .A great piece of post modernism ,i feel sad that Johnson is sometimes overlooked his work is difficult and challenge to read but reward the reader my addition is the 90’s reprint but there is a new version via new direction but hurry its a limited print run. Johnson was the subject of biography by the novelist Jonathan Coe called ,like a fiery elephant which i ve on the tbr pile

 

Have you read johnson what is your favourite book ?