This surreal, existential gem is brilliantly translated from the Bengali. Set in colonial Calcutta, which was rife with racism and daily humiliations This surreal, existential gem is brilliantly translated from the Bengali. Set in colonial Calcutta, which was rife with racism and daily humiliations of Indians by the British, and the humiliations of lower caste Indians by higher castes, Rajaram, a landowner and solitary man with little to no contact with anyone other than his two servants, fervently wants to improve his station in his life and to be fulfilled, but he spends his days writing letters he never sends and having crazy dreams over and over. Once he stumbles upon the English word Carnival he must know what it means, then his quest to experience Carnival consumes him.
With a touch of magic realism and even more surrealism, rich in symbolism, with Western and Indian literary references, and Christian and Hindu religious stories this is an exploration of finding meaning in life, of what we see and what we don’t see, of morality, of selfishness, and much more. I’ll be unpacking this novel for days and thinking of it for years.
I cannot write a review that does justice to this future classic of Indian/Bengali literature, other than to say I cannot recommend strongly enough....more
I would never seek out a book about zombies, fortunately this isn’t really about zombies, it’s one woman’s search for meaning. Where do we find meaninI would never seek out a book about zombies, fortunately this isn’t really about zombies, it’s one woman’s search for meaning. Where do we find meaning, how much of ourselves can we lose and still be ourselves? If we don’t even remember our name are we still the person who was known by that name? In order for her to observe and analyze life, her life, from outside of life she had to survive death and still have a body, or at least most of her body, and so she had to be a zombie. In order for her to contemplate the loss of everything that she loved, everything had to be lost, hence the need for some sort of apocalypse.
The unnamed undead narrator is walking to an undesignated coast where she had her best moments with her now dead lover. As she crosses through a landscape of decaying structures and verdant nature she looks back at her mortal life and life before the apocalypse and contemplates grief, loss, love, of course, hunger, identity, other people, what our body is and isn’t, and our relationship to it.
I enjoy this type of novel, one in which the narrator ruminates on our mortal existence and the universal experiences of all human beings, and that the protagonist was not only undead, but also fed on living humans (only once and it’s not a gory passage) added an interesting layer.
I loved this novella about gentle Wang Wei, an old eunuch, retired from service and living out the rest of his years in the Imperial palace of the SonI loved this novella about gentle Wang Wei, an old eunuch, retired from service and living out the rest of his years in the Imperial palace of the Song dynasty in 1120 Dongjang, where he has his own cubbyhole, a few books, and some simple “treasures.” Told in first person Wang Wei tells us that he was sold into service and castrated at age 6, along with his younger brother who did not survive the procedure. After a lifetime of quiet service, keeping his thoughts, not to himself, but from even himself, he dared not think about things that were not his to think about or that would make him unhappy, he is now thinking, “thinking about thinking is a pastime,” he tells us. He thinks, he reminisces, and he ponders as he walks or sits and watches birds.
Wang Wei shares his memories of life at court, all that he’s seen and heard, the people he has met and that have had an impact on his life. He gives free reign to his thoughts and questions about love, friendship, relationships between men and women, what it is to be a man or woman, about power, loneliness, solitude, aging and death. He worries about his best friend. He plays cards and drinks wine with his fellow eunuchs. He is happy and content, but he knows eunuchs who are not and he knows why they are bitter and angry.
This is a lovely little book, deeper than it appears at first, and I will be thinking about dear Wang Wei for some time.
At 45 pages this isn’t a novella, it’s a short story. A man gets lost in the dark woods in the winter and out of a shining presence sees and hears hisAt 45 pages this isn’t a novella, it’s a short story. A man gets lost in the dark woods in the winter and out of a shining presence sees and hears his parents and a man in suit, all 3 are barefoot. There isn’t much to parse here, it seems clear that the unnamed narrator froze to death and his parents and an angel came to walk the narrator into the light. This is not the story that earned Fosse the Nobel.
A surreal indictment of the erasure of old women in patriarchal culture explored in a novel that is wild, fantastic, and fun. Thelma and Louise have nA surreal indictment of the erasure of old women in patriarchal culture explored in a novel that is wild, fantastic, and fun. Thelma and Louise have nothing on Marian and Carmella.
This was a fantastic collection of short-stories, almost all of which were based on real people who tried in big ways and small to help people, animalThis was a fantastic collection of short-stories, almost all of which were based on real people who tried in big ways and small to help people, animals, and the world around them.
It’s translated from the Tamil and I feel certain that people who know better than I would deem this a very good translation. There were just enough Tamil words, culture, foods, historical figures, etc., that I had to do some research, but not so much that it interrupted the flow of the stories for English readers.
As with all short story collections, some stories were weaker than others, but the strong stories were so moving, heartbreaking, and hopeful that together they earned this book 5 stars. The standout stories: He Who Will Not Bow, The Elephant Doctor, The Meat Talley, One Hundred Chairs, The Palm Leaf Cross each contained more story, more character development, more insight into human nature, and more emotional weight in 20 to 40 pages than some novels provide in 300 pages.
I cannot recommend this collection strongly enough....more
I love these quiet, deep stories. The first chapter of this novella is prefaced with, “The prisoner will stand,” and each of the following chapters isI love these quiet, deep stories. The first chapter of this novella is prefaced with, “The prisoner will stand,” and each of the following chapters is prefaced with fragments of the reading of the sentencing of Robert for murdering Gloria after their five weeks in a dance marathon in 1935 California.
Robert met Gloria, both aspiring actors having very little luck, as they were leaving Paramount studios, and after spending the day together she persuaded him to enter a dance marathon where they would be sure of food and beds for the duration. Set in a dance hall on a pier with the feel of the waves under their feet, many small human dramas played out on the dance floor as more and more couples fell out.
Anyone unfamiliar with depression era dance marathons should do at least a brief internet search to learn about the grueling hours, days, weeks, and months that couples would remain on their feet and in motion with only 10 mins every hour to lie down and rest all in hopes of winning a thousand dollars. The author Horace McCoy worked at a dance marathon and saw firsthand the couples that pushed themselves to such extremes, the business owners who provided clothes and shoes with their store name on them to couples they sponsored, and the audiences that came to watch.
Gloria is a bitter, injured young woman who finds life utterly meaningless, best illustrated by her insistence that a young wife she met at that dance get an abortion. Robert, a more hopeful, pragmatic young man can’t understand Gloria’s dismal worldview, but he cares for her and he sees her deep unhappiness. When Gloria asks Robert to do the one thing that will end her misery, he feels he is doing her a kindness.
Simone de Beauvoir called this, “the first existentialist novel to have appeared in America.” This is the type of slim book that can be read in one sitting and then will stay on my mind for quite awhile....more
I read this for the 2022 Republic of Consciousness Prize.
Told in 1-5 page chapters we watch Iosac Mulgannon, an aging dairy farmer mostly referred to I read this for the 2022 Republic of Consciousness Prize.
Told in 1-5 page chapters we watch Iosac Mulgannon, an aging dairy farmer mostly referred to as the old man, stand against the modern world, debt collectors, well meaning neighbors who want the old man to give up farming and have an easy life, other farmers who want to help him modernize, the forces of nature and decay, and anyone who wants to take the young mute child that is in the old man’s care, only ever called Child, and who the superstitious villagers believe is cursed.
We are aware of the thoughts of the old man so we know that he feels he is meant to stand, to be challenged and to remain standing, like the mythic Celtic-Irish hero Cúchulainn whose stories the old man reads to the child every night in hopes of instilling pride and strength in the child.
The language is spare and much is hinted at and left unexplained, but this is a deeply layered book rich in symbolism, and the type of experimental fiction indie presses do best.
A widow of a beloved husband and mother of daughters deceased and living, is raising her deaf 8 year old granddaughter. Using their own created sign lA widow of a beloved husband and mother of daughters deceased and living, is raising her deaf 8 year old granddaughter. Using their own created sign language the grandmother shares with Granddaughter the ancient Irish myths of strong women, lines of mothers, daughters, and sisters, and their own family stories while immersing Granddaughter in the natural world of their environs: the bogs and rivers, the oaks, pines, and willow trees, as well as the wildlife, the grandmother tries to show Granddaughter that bonds of love and connections of the living and the dead endure through change, trying to prepare them both for a painful change yet to come.
Rich in symbolism, myth, memory and love, this poetic book had me in tears. I highly recommend it....more
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