I finished a modest seven books this month, mainly because of the continuing Proustathon. Three each in German and by women/POC, which isn’t enough, but for the half year that makes 24 and 31 respectively out of 53, so on target. No particular theme this month other than a bit of everything!
- A Flat Place — Noreen Masud
- Aliss at the Fire — Jon Fosse tr. Damion Searls
- Wenn der Hahn kräht: Zwölf hellwache Geschichten aus Brasilien — ed. Wanda Jakob and Luísa Costa Hölzl, tr. various
- Draussen um diese Zeit — Ulrike Ulrich
- Der Augenblick der Liebe — Martin Walser
- The Sandman Vol. 7: Brief Lives — Neil Gaiman
- The Guermantes Way — Marcel Proust, tr. Mark Treharne
A Flat Place was a great start to the month for me: poised somewhere between nature writing and memoir, it explores the relationship between the flatness of the not so obviously attractive landscapes which Masud explores, and the distinctly traumatic experiences of her childhood. Even if I wasn’t convinced by all the links she draws (which might also be a result of listening to the audiobook and not pausing enough at the more abstract parts), I found the honesty of her writing gripping, and her sometimes uncomfortable engagement with the landscapes refreshingly genuine. Bonus points for featuring a black cat called Morvern, which has long been high on my shortlist of potential cat names.
Aliss at the Fire is also heavy on psychological trauma and landscape, somehow packing a multi-generational epic into a novella-length story, despite the typically Fossesqe use of repetition.
I read two short-story collections: Wenn der Hahn kräht gathers stories by various Brazilian women, with an understandable emphasis on the position of women in Brazilian society (not always great). The stories themselves were often rather light, but the title story by Claudia Lage is a banger.
Ulrike Ulrich’s stories are often light on plot, but present intriguing situations; I particularly enjoyed Le Refuge, which follows the mini-society in and around a Paris cafe.
Der Augenblick der Liebe is a very strange book: an elderly man and a young academic have an inexplicable affair, which they intertwine with discussion of an obscure French philosopher. Walser does at least address the improbability and the problematic Altersgeilheit, but with no very convincing result. I listened to this one as an audiobook read by the author, which was energetic, if fatiguing in its one-noteness.
Sandman volume 7 was much more successful: every time I’m impressed by how much Gaiman can pack into a limited space, while allowing room for the reader to develop their own thoughts in response.
Finally, I finished volume 3 of Proust just in time to keep on schedule to finish in 2023: favourite quotes are in a separate thread; most notably for me, the aristocrats (especially the Duchesse) were more interesting than in my memory, but there was still a lot of cringing at their laboured conversations.
Next month I plan a mainly African month: I’ve already got far more books than I’ll be able to finish on my shortlist, so I’ll be focusing on the less obvious countries as much as possible.