Turgenev’s last and lengthiest novel is a riveting tale of Nordniks or Populists from the Russian intelligentsia looking to live among the peasants anTurgenev’s last and lengthiest novel is a riveting tale of Nordniks or Populists from the Russian intelligentsia looking to live among the peasants and teach them the wonders of revolutionary socialism. As explosive as that sounds, the bulk of the novel is contained within a country estate, where the moody tutor Nezhdanhov clashes with the pettiness of the aristo classes, foremost the snooty Sipyagins. A discursive, talky novel, presaging the far longer and far talkier ‘What is to be done?’ style of novel from Dostoevsky, Virgin Soil is a quieter, more ironically ruminative snapshot of Russia nearing the end of the century, on the cusp of social and political upheaval. The NYRB Classics edition simply reprints Constance Garnett’s very old translation, without endnotes or translations for the French dialogue, so I’d recommend reading a more recent translation. ...more
As another reviewer wrote, I like Krzhizhanovsky more in theory than in practice—a surreal, avant-garde Soviet modernist with an explosive satirical aAs another reviewer wrote, I like Krzhizhanovsky more in theory than in practice—a surreal, avant-garde Soviet modernist with an explosive satirical and fantastical imagination? What’s not to like? There’s plenty to like in this novel, a restless pell-mell of mythomaniacal mayhem, a fantastical picaresque of surreal ramblings, punctuated by frequently hilarious pseudo-philosophical monologues. As with most novels that indulge in unapologetic stylistic lunacy, Munchausen is a high-wire act that continually titillates and exasperates the reader, and the obscure, plotless rumbustiousness of the prose invariably creates a sensory bloat that left this reader begging for the end to come. ...more
An underread Victorian-era Russian maestro. This collection contains six novellas, the longest among them the picaresque ‘The Enchanted Wanderer’, wheAn underread Victorian-era Russian maestro. This collection contains six novellas, the longest among them the picaresque ‘The Enchanted Wanderer’, where tenacious monk Ivan Flyagin narrates a sequence of adventures in and out of serfdom, the military, and the realm of funky monkery; the titular story concerning the bodacious lusts of Katerina Lvovna which laid the groundwork for many fine softcore 1970s romps; and ‘The Steel Flea’, which makes amusing use of malapropisms and wordplay in a strange tale about a mechanical flea that loves to microscopically boogie. The NYRB Classics edition also includes ‘The Unmercenary Engineers’, a bleak tale of an engineer ostracised from the bourgeoisie for his unwillingness to take kickbacks, ‘The Sealed Angel’, and ‘The Innocent Prudentius’, a tale of bloodthirsty piracy and lusting for your father’s murderer’s missus. The Penguin Classics edition contains the title story, ‘The Sealed Angel’, and three that are not present here, ‘The Musk Ox’, ‘Pamphalon the Entertainer’, and ‘A Winter’s Day’, while the Vintage Classics edition contains fourteen other stories not printed here or in the Penguin edition. For Leskov appreciators, it’s probably worth tolerating the repeated content to read the other work of this fine Russian maestro....more
A scabrous and surreal novel written in script form, the bastard lovechild of Larry Cohen and Dušan Makavejev, inverting racist tropes in cartoonish sA scabrous and surreal novel written in script form, the bastard lovechild of Larry Cohen and Dušan Makavejev, inverting racist tropes in cartoonish scenes of righteous and hilarious incoherence to perform a brutal comic KO....more
Maupassant, a master of the fin de siècle potboiler, meanders along in this entertaning if inessential contribution to a corpus of cherubic French claMaupassant, a master of the fin de siècle potboiler, meanders along in this entertaning if inessential contribution to a corpus of cherubic French classics. The plot takes second place to the stylish prose, elevating a rather ho-hum tale of a painter’s unfortunate infatuation with a countess’s daughter to, according to the translator, Proustian levels....more
Cortázar’s premier potshot might leave one frustrated at the lack of limbic lexical loveliness as per the Hopscotch and co.: the novel is an episodic Cortázar’s premier potshot might leave one frustrated at the lack of limbic lexical loveliness as per the Hopscotch and co.: the novel is an episodic and conversational one, with ponderous flourishes and moments of mischievous humour. The prose, especially in the alphabetical philosophasterations, reaches moments of undenible wonder, and shows Cortázar’s early word-wizardry (in trans.), however, the multi-character toing-and-froing is not always satisfying (not to mention confusing), and their antics vary in terms of interest and amusement, as per one’s patience and indulgence levels. An ambitious leap onto the world fiction stage regardless. (Note: The Winners is not in print from NYRB. Rectify, chaps.)...more
One of Britain’s leading intellectuals and most European of novelists, Tom McCarthy, rocks up with fifteen scintillating and challenging essays on topOne of Britain’s leading intellectuals and most European of novelists, Tom McCarthy, rocks up with fifteen scintillating and challenging essays on topics as mouthwatering as Ulysses, Tristram Shandy, the cultural significance of dodgem jockeys, existing in the epicentre of London’s weather, and David Lynch. McCarthy writes in an engaging and ice-cool manner, beckoning the reader into his eclectic discourses before unleashing his tremendous talent for the weaving of complex theoretical concepts (of a literary nature), allusions from a swathe of avant-garde, European, and classic literature, the art and cinematic worlds, always prodding the reader into deeper thought within every stylish paragraph. One suspects that these fifteen pieces are a fraction of the omnivorious author’s preoccupations, and that McCarthy could wax on a myriad of authors, artists, and oddballs, and the results would be as stimulating as those presented here. A rewarding mental workout....more
A 1970s spec classic reissued with a fresh tonguing from Jeff Vandermeer. Set in a dystopic future (this one), where the pain-starved public crave reaA 1970s spec classic reissued with a fresh tonguing from Jeff Vandermeer. Set in a dystopic future (this one), where the pain-starved public crave reality shows about the moribund, eager to soak up their final croaks, stiff romance novel editor Katherine Mortenhoe is told about her terminus by a seedy doc in the pockets of a Murdoch-like TV empire. Split between a first-person account of human camera Roddie, tailing the heroine, and third-person narration of the arch and quick-witted Katherine, the novel is a smart suckerpunch to the amoral digital age of the time, an age enhanced tenfold since the seventies, and like the finest spec novels, has predicted the boorishness of the future (the handling of reality TV figure Jade Goody’s terminal cancer was a shameful intrusion on the dignity of dying). Compton’s prose is not sensational but seriously above-par for a spec dealer. ...more
A bland woman is remembered in nostalgic intrigues by the clientele of the Condé, a café of the Parisian demimonde, inspired by the haunts of the situA bland woman is remembered in nostalgic intrigues by the clientele of the Condé, a café of the Parisian demimonde, inspired by the haunts of the situationists. A svelte pang of time lost in lean and unmemorable prose....more
Bove, famous for his masterpiece of solitude My Friends, also penned short paeans to solitude and strange male friendships, seven of which are collectBove, famous for his masterpiece of solitude My Friends, also penned short paeans to solitude and strange male friendships, seven of which are collected in this fresh translation. ‘Night Crime’ features a woeful soul whose whisperings lead to murder, a fattened wallet, and the inevitable moral decay; ‘Another Friend’ a woeful soul who meets a rich ‘friend to the poor’ who proves to be no friend at all; ‘Night Visit’ a woeful soul whose girlfriend in a moment of thoughtless cruelty ends their relationship; ‘What I Saw’ a woeful soul convinced his wife was kissing another man in a taxi; ‘The Story of a Madman’ a woeful soul who chooses to sever contact with everyone close to him to make them suffer; ‘The Child’s Return’ a woeful soul who is unable to return to his parental home after a long absence; ‘Is it a Lie?’ a woeful soul who wonders where his wife was last night. A pattern is clear: woeful souls whose relationships are teetering on the brink of severance, or fail to even occur. The pain of attempting to make meaningful contact with another human being is Bove’s topic, one plumbed with wonder here....more
Sokolov’s first novel has little of the verbal explosiveness of his opus Astrophobia. The novel challenges conventional narrative modes, breaking downSokolov’s first novel has little of the verbal explosiveness of his opus Astrophobia. The novel challenges conventional narrative modes, breaking down the unities and time and place, and obscuring narrator(s) and voices, to the extent the prose becomes a wash of poetic and strange scenes punctuated with tagless dialogue and copious literary and historical references and puns. Dreamlike and unusual and impossible to follow at times (I had to exit on p.151). In Russian the prose is more musical (according to the reviews here) . . . this translation is a pleasant attempt but lacks the flowing music of the mother tongue. ...more
Lacking in the satirical surrealism found in his later (and some say lesser) NYRB book Asleep in the Sun, unfortunately this one failed to sustain my Lacking in the satirical surrealism found in his later (and some say lesser) NYRB book Asleep in the Sun, unfortunately this one failed to sustain my attention despite forty pages of anticipatory eagerness. The narrator, nameless, mooches around an island spying on a gypsy woman and is evicted from her presence by bearded Frenchmen. Naturally, she is beautiful, naturally he falls in love with her, then something happens to do with photographs and people dying and I didn’t understand most of it, due to the absence of an interesting character or situation or compelling narrative style, and too much technical-contraption-waffle of the kind found in the most boring nouveau roman stuff....more
Nine stories from an underappreciated Dutch scribe with a melancholic and tender sensibility. Early works ‘The Freeloader’ and ‘Young Titans’ were theNine stories from an underappreciated Dutch scribe with a melancholic and tender sensibility. Early works ‘The Freeloader’ and ‘Young Titans’ were the most affecting for me, with later pieces ‘Little Poet’ and ‘Insula Dei’ a little too scattershot in approach to be wholly satisfying. The remaining stories are slight sketches or incomplete fragments. A fittingly gloomy but hopeful end to 2012....more
Coming up, Knig-o-lass will teach us how to pronounce this writer’s cumbersome surname. In the meantime, here’s seven fantastical stories. ‘QuadraturiComing up, Knig-o-lass will teach us how to pronounce this writer’s cumbersome surname. In the meantime, here’s seven fantastical stories. ‘Quadraturin’ is a slice of Russian absurdism qua Gogol. ‘The Bookmark’ is an early, essentially metafictional story about storytellers losing control of their characters and other opaque meanderings. ‘Someone Else’s Theme’ continues the literary satire, spliced with a fantastical layer that makes the story impossible to pin to one thing . . . halfway into certain pages it seems the story has morphed into another entirely. ‘The Branch Line’ and ‘Red Snow’ are entirely fantastical dream-narratives with shades of Bulgakovian magic, closer to surrealism in style. ‘The 13th Category of Reason’ is irresistible black comedy. ‘Memories of the Future’ transports the time-machine yarn to Stalinist Russia in an extremely detailed SF number that predates the nouveau roman’s contraptive exactitude. Joanne Turnbull (translator) preserves the wordplay and unusual snakiness of his sentences, making this septet an uneven but quiet delight.
Sorry Ticketholders: Knig-o-lass removed the recording without telling me when I expressly asked her to tell me if she wanted the link removed. People behave oddly. ...more
Despite the back cover revealing the entire plot, this surreal anthropomorphic bodyswap novel contains as much wit as that other canine comedy, MikhaiDespite the back cover revealing the entire plot, this surreal anthropomorphic bodyswap novel contains as much wit as that other canine comedy, Mikhail Bulgakov’s Heart of a Dog. Lucio, in a series of implausible “letters” written from a mental asylum, narrates his tale of wife-fixing gone awry. Sending his wife Diana off to be “cured” of her undesirable traits, upon her return he finds a docile impostor inhabiting her body, and a dog in possession of her soul. Eager, in his bumbling way, to find answers, Lucio finds himself the victim of the sinister asylum doctors, rendered in the creepiest B-movie tradition. A diverting slice of unusualness for a lazy weekend with a fine, fine moral: don’t send you wife off to the nuthouse if she nags at you too much. ...more
This is a charming little tale of a mother smothering and drowning babies, a mad brother stabbing his sister, and Harrison Ford-style adventures on GrThis is a charming little tale of a mother smothering and drowning babies, a mad brother stabbing his sister, and Harrison Ford-style adventures on Greek cliff-faces looking onto crashing death-waves below. Mr. Papadiamantis serves us a moral fable with oodles of suspense and terror, weaving a folky classical Greek yarn around a desperate on-the-run action narrative, told slowly and elegantly, with vitality and astonishment. Sublime little 19thC novella....more
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