Prometheus Dreaming just published my short story Where Comfort Can Be Found, a story I wrote in 2017, inspired by a garden scene along the Rheinsteig hiking trail. Read it here.
Rota Vicentina
I recently returned from walking a large portion of the Rota Vicentina Trail in Portugal. I would love to do it again.
This was an incredible twelve day hike on the coast (The Fishermans Way) and a little bit inland (The Historical Way). The trails were easy to walk and very well-marked. I may have spent longer staring at and contemplating the ocean than actual walking, but it was time well spent. Heading back to Berlin after two weeks living out of a backpack was good, but I miss the tranquility and flow of walking in sand, listening to the waves crash on shore, and the overwhelming beauty of Portugal.
Favourite Reads of 2018
Out of the 121 books I read this year, nine were outstanding: well-spent reading time. They are as follows:
The World Goes On Lászlo Krasznahorkai (Hungary), translated by John Batki, Ottilie Mulzet, and Georges Szirtes, Tuskar Rock Press, 2017.
Chronicle of the Murdered House Lúcio Cardoso (Brazil), translated by Margaret Jill Costa and Robin Patterson, Open Letter, 2016.
Homesick for Another World Ottessa Moshfegh, (USA), Jonathan Cape, 2017.
I am the Brother of XX Fleur Jaeggy (Switzerland), translated by Gini Alhadeff, New Directions, 2017.
Old Rendering Plant Wolfgang Hilbig (Germany), translated by Isabel Fargo Cole, Two Lines Press, 2017.
The Imperfectionists Tom Rachman (UK), Quercus, 2010.
Berta Island Javier Marías (Spain), translated by Margaret Jill Costa, Hamish Hamilton, 2018.
Belladonna Daša Drndić (Croatia), translated by Celia Hawkesworth, New Directions, 2017.
Flights Olga Tokarczuk (Poland), translated by Jennifer Croft, Fitzcarraldo Editions, 2017.
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
Sorting Through Clams
Adelaide Magazine has just released their September 2018 issue which includes my short story, “Sorting Through Clams.” You can read it here.
Within Reach
My short story “Within Reach” was just published by borrowed solace in their new Home themed issue. For now it is only available with an inexpensive purchase of a digital issue. It is a beautiful journal with impressive photographs on each page. Glad to be a part of it.
Sostenuto Avenue
Projected Letters published my short story “Sostenuto Avenue” back in August. Read it here.
Fragility
My story 'Fragility' was just published by The Slag Review. Read it online at www.slagreview.com.
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!