Jude the Obscure

One of the few books I did not sell with the rest of my collection is Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy. I read this book sometime within the past ten years and enjoyed its bleakness and the exploration of unhappiness, societal oppression, and other issues enough to believe I would give it a second reading. That time has come, sooner than I imagined, but with the added pleasure of having the book read to me. So, I can enjoy the pleasure of Hardy’s narrative while puzzling away. A fine way to spend an evening. The reader is Michael Ian Black and he presents his reading with commentary through his podcast, Obscure. I found it through Pocket Casts but I am sure it is widely available. It’s kind of like a mini book club, but from the comfort of my home and enhanced with a glass of wine. Thanks Michael Ian Black!

Book Report: June 2020

There were no grand discoveries in June, although I did start the Virginie Despentes Vernon Subutex Trilogy, which is enjoyable, and I was inspired by the craft in Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah’s short story collection, Friday Black. In June I also started alternating between ebooks and real books as I still have over 100 paper books on my to-read shelf, most of which I still plan on getting to. As mentioned in other posts, I have not fully accepted the Kindle experience and still prefer to hold a book in my hands, as well as have them sitting on my shelf for further perusal. But I am committed to this change and will persevere; most of my purchases these days are ebooks.

June STATS in brief: 12 books read (8 in English translation); 3 short story collections; 9 novels; 2871 pages; 5 languages represented; 6 ebooks and 6 real books; authors: 9 male, 4 female; translators: 6 male, 4 female.

2019 Reading Data

85 books read in 2019; 22666 pages

shortest book was 88 pages, longest was 1668 pages

62 were books in English translation; 23 written in English

76 different authors: 46 male, 30 female

54 different translators: 29 male, 22 female, 3 mixed team

36 different countries with Spain best represented with 10 books

43 publishers with New Directions best represented with 13 books

oldest book published in 1956 and most recent in 2019

60 novels, 24 short story collections, sadly only 1 nonfiction

82 physical copies, 3 ebooks, a trend that may change in 2020

2018 Reading Data

121 books read in 2018; 31942 pages

105 were books in English translation; 16 written in English

103 different authors: 74 male, 47 female

67 different translators: 36 male, 31 female

31 different countries

58 publishers with Fitzcarraldo Editions and FSG tying for the most with 7 each

oldest book published in 1933 and most recent in 2018

83 novels; 38 short story collections

The Laughing Monsters & Jesus' Son

The Laughing Monsters Denis Johnson (USA), Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2014.                        Jesus’ Son Denis Johnson (USA), Reclam, 1992.

The Laughing Monsters is a literary thriller which takes place throughout western Africa. There are exploitative spies, missionaries, and politicians, all pursuing their self-interests at the cost of Africans and the African environment. Superb settings and characters amongst a degraded environment, and a lot of fun.

One of the characters from a short story in Jesus’ Son says, “Because we all believed we were tragic, and we drank.” This quote sums up quite nicely what takes place in this excellent collection. From the Midwest, to the west coast, Johnson populates his stories with soul-searching characters who abuse alcohol and drugs in an endless pattern of self-destruction. And yet, these stories and characters stand out with their extreme humour and unavoidable sympathy, making this an excellent collection of well-written stories.

Another Country

Another CountryJames Baldwin (USA), The Library of America, 1962.

What an incredibly fantastic read. I have read Baldwin before, but this time I was really taken in by his prose and the story he had to tell. Another Country takes place mostly in Greenwich Village in the late fifties. The race and gender relations discussed in the book, unfortunately, resonate in today’s United States: sadly, not much has changed. This does not come as a surprise, yet it is amazing that Baldwin spoke so eloquently about these issues sixty years ago and we still struggle with identity today.

The theme of another country is obviously prevalent in the novel. It involves geographic countries and cities, but also our individual and group ‘countries’ we develop, with all the border and political turmoil that take place in geographic countries. The situations in the book deal beautifully with this theme and the struggle to understand and appreciate ourselves and others. Highly recommended!

Cities I've Never Lived In

Cities I’ve Never Lived In Sara Majka (USA), Graywolf Press, 2016.

Sara Majka mines the fragility and sadness of men and women in this collection of short stories which take place primarily on the Northeast coast of America, in cities, suburbs, and isolated islands. The people in these stories live difficult lives and spend most of their time leaving one place in search of themselves somewhere else. There is not much redemption or discoveries in the stories, just sadness and endless struggles, in spite of the connections they continually make. This is a well-written collection with drawn out character flaws, personal disappointments, and plenty of self-destruction.

Charges

Charges Elfriede Jelinek (Austria): 2013; translated by Gitta Honegger, Seagull Books, 2016.

Jelinek tackles the European refugee crises, specific real-life events which took place in Vienna and throughout Europe. Charges consists of three independent, yet related, performance texts, comments by Honegger, and a conversation between author and translator. Jelinek’s three texts are difficult to follow but are supported by Honegger’s comments, without which, a reader might be quite lost. The monologues are closer to nonfiction than fiction and the likes of which can be seen still occurring worldwide. Charges is a sober, and very good read with its fingers directly on the pulse of the continuing refugee crises.

Slade House

Slade House David Mitchell (UK): Alfred A. Knopf, 2017.

Slade House is not quite a ghost story, more of a psychosoteric story (explained by one of the characters), where two twins live off the souls of others. It is much like his novel The Bone Clocks but with a contemporary setting. Funny I should read this so near my reading of Radiant Terminus as there are many similar concepts. And like that novel, this one was also not to my liking. I really admire Mitchell and his stories but I just didn’t take to this one, as well-written as it was.

All The Lights

All the Lights Clemens Meyer (Germany): 2008; translated by Katy Derbyshire, & Other Stories, 2011.

Completely enjoyable collection of short stories where all of the characters deal with loss in some way. In spite of this downer of a subject, each character forges on and searches for the next bit of success, regardless of terrible odds, and there is an upbeat feel to each story. I prefer the storytelling in Meyer’s Bricks and Mortar better, but still I found this to be a solid and highly recommended collection.