Moved » Fiction

Ferdydurke

kat — Thu, 02 Mar 2006 16:00:44 +0000

Ferdydurke
by Witold Gombrowicz, 1937
translated by Eric Mosbacher
Marion Boyars Publishers; Reprinted Ed edition (July 21, 2005)

A parody of common literary forms in prewar Polish literature, in Ferdydurke a 30-year-old complacent narrator, Johnnie (who, like Gombrowicz, has also published a book called Memoirs of a Time of Immaturity), is dragged by an old, all-cultural imposing professor Pimko back to secondary school. Absurdism of pomposity, immaturity, posed masks, unapologetic mysogyny, with short stories about Philifor and Philimor Honeycombed with Childishness inserted in the middle, Gombrowicz presents a madcap comic parody with intense underlying analysis of the way external factors shape one's (re)actions.

The Monkey’s Wrench

kat — Thu, 02 Mar 2006 15:17:13 +0000

The Monkey's Wrench by Primo Levi translated from the Italian by William Weaver Penguin Classics; Reprint edition (July 1, 1995) Narrative is contained within another narrative in this novel, as Faussone, an exuberant rigger, tells his stories of working to a chemist-writer narrator (no doubt Levi's alter ego):his constructions, an adventurous monkey, a machine that caught stardust, a name gone wrong, overcoming the fear of water, from India, Russia to Alaska.

Under the Glacier

kat — Fri, 24 Feb 2006 16:04:57 +0000

Under the Glacier by Halldór Laxness translated from the Icelandic by Magnus Magnusson Vintage (March 8, 2005) A young, unnamed emissary is dispatched by the Bishop of Iceland "to conduct the most important investigation at that world-famous mountain since the days of Jules Verne", i.e. to investigate Kristinihald undir jökli (the original title which literally translated would mean Christianity under the Glacier) and the strange going-ons in Snæffels glacier.

The Periodic Table

kat — Mon, 13 Feb 2006 17:58:25 +0000

The Periodic Table by Primo Levi translated from the Italian by Raymond Rosenthal Schocken; Reissue edition (April 4, 1995) Insightful, original, oftentimes funny without losing his sad ironies and fondness for details.

Conjugal Love

kat — Sat, 28 Jan 2006 17:55:51 +0000

However NYRB tries to convince us otherwise, we all know that Moravia was a dirty old man. No use pretending.

Libraries, and thanks

kat — Mon, 15 Aug 2005 15:19:37 +0000

A Son Called Gabriel by Damian McNicholl (2004) Backcover said, 'Evoking a sense of time and place as compelling as Angela's Ashes and At Swim, Two Boys, and the courageous spirit of Billy Elliot . . .' Should've known better: After all, praises for At Swim, Two Boys has already made me wonder if reviewers know any other Irish writers than Joyce. Aside from the fact that A Son Called Gabriel is set in Ireland (but in the 60s-70s) and the main character is struggling with the issues of homosexuality (among others), it doesn't 'evoke' anything that remotely reminds me A Son Called Gabrielof At Swim, Two Boys.

We’ll be politely encroached by their politely evil culture

kat — Tue, 30 Nov 2004 11:34:32 +0000

Unbearable Lightness of Being and Norwegian Wood made it to the top bestsellers. Whoddathunk? Although for the life of me, I don't know why NW is the one Murakami's novel that made it. (Unbearable, I can understand, but I'd rec Hard-boiled Wonderland and The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle over NW anyday.) Then again, bestseller list never makes sense. Still, can't help but noticing the growing popularity of Japanese novels (and of course manga/anime, and films, and music, and food, and architecture, and gift wraps, and, well, basically everything except for the most crucial: green tea pocky) lately in English-speaking world. Currently some of the most famous names: Murakami (Haruki, and Ryuu to a lesser extent), Banana Yoshimoto, Koji Suzuki, Koushun Takami (must be the film--Battle Royale is another one on the best-seller list). The following are some that I'm familiar with: Haruki Murakami, Banana Yoshimoto, Kobo Abe, and Ryuu Murakami. Fumiko Enchi is recommended as well. But if I write every single one of them, I'd bore you shitless (I think I already did anyway).