2022 Group Read of Anniversaries by Uwe Johnson

Hello all, this is our thread to discuss Anniversaries by Uwe Johnson. All are welcome regardless of whether you regularly read from the 1001 books list.

Anniversaries is written in journal format over the course of one year. I would propose we stick roughly to the following schedule for discussion purposes. Please feel free to comment as you go, and either put the journal date in bold or use the spoiler feature if you get ahead.

Anniversaries Schedule:
Quarter 1, Jan-March
Volume 1 (415 pages) August 21 - December 19, 1967

Quarter 2, April-June
Volume 2 (456 pages) December 20, 1967 – April 18, 1968

Quarter 3, July-September
Volume 3 (322 pages) April 19 – June 19, 1968

Quarter 4,October-December
Volume 4 (461pages) June 20 – August 20, 1968

It seems to really be one entry per day, so for pacing, you could read one day per day and finish over the year. Or if you are very numbers oriented, it’s about 4-5 pages per day to finish in a year. For me, I’m afraid I’ll lose the flow of the book if I read that slowly, so I’ll aim to finish each volume per quarter of the year and take breaks as needed.

Please check in if you think you'll give this book a try. All are welcome throughout the course of the year if you want to jump in at any point.

Thanks for setting this up! I have a physical copy on its way to me.

My copy is on its way too. Thanks for the schedule, this must be doable!

I have owned this book for more than ten years and I guess this is my chance to finally read it! It's so daunting but the schedule should help to finally tackle it.

Thank you for setting this up and creating a schedule for us!

I just found this. Thanks for the schedule. My copy is on the way.

You know, I tried to tag everyone on litsy and I think it didn’t work. I’ll try again!

Thanks for setting this up. Will try my best to keep up!

Thanks, Jennifer! I bought a copy of Anniversaries last year, so I'll join in.

This is wonderful! We’re getting quite a nice sized group. Feel free to keep mentioning it to anyone who might be interested.

A little wrench was thrown in my plans. I ordered a boxed set and today volume 2 arrived. That's it. Not a boxed set. No volume 1. Further, when I went to return and order another box set... and I couldn't find one (apparently my seller couldn't either). I can only find the books sold separately and they each cost about the same as the boxed set I didn't get...

>10 dchaikin: How strange! I almost always by nyrb publications on their website.

I went to look and it does seem that they only have it split into two volumes right now. I purchased mine as a boxed set in two volumes. But here is volume one. It is expensive . . .

https://www.nyrb.com/products/anniversaries-volume-1?_pos=4&_sid=08de86343&a...

I bought the kindle version and even that seems to have gone up in price since October.

>11 japaul22: i was really irritated last night and did lots if searches. That one will cost $30 plus s&h. Whereas on Amazon (source of my frustration) I can’t get both volumes, separately, for $46 and no s&h charge. I decided to hold off a bit, and cool down. (And return my bad order today).

>12 Yells: how comfortable are you with that Kindle version? I’m considering that or Apples ebooks. I could check Nook and elsewhere too. I looked at samples and was frustrated by no real page numbers. (Apples renumbers based on text size. It’s a sort if made up page number.)

>13 dchaikin: I haven't looked too closely at this book, but I read a lot of kindle books and enjoy them. I'd say half the Kindle books I've bought don't have page numbers - that part is a little frustrating.

>14 Yells: i got a sample from Nook and it said 88 pages. Which seems unlikely. But i changed the font to large and small extremes and the page numbers held. I’m favoring that route for the moment. But haven’t bought a copy yet. Still a bit indecisive.

I wish Kindle consistently had (or consistently didn’t have) page numbers. I don’t like not knowing until i buy.

>10 dchaikin: Sorry to hear about your order not being filled properly Dan. Hope the next time you look you can find what you need.

>16 markon: thanks.

I need to work on getting the book too. I think I'll get the first volume from the library and see what I think before I order one.

>13 dchaikin: Argh. I'm sorry to read about the screw up of your order of Anniversaries, Dan. I'll have to be sure that I have both volumes of it when I return to Atlanta next month.

*mumble*As if I need yet another book to read on a schedule. But it looks interesting.*mumble*

Hey everyone :) My kindle says that it does not care if a book is 10 pages or almost 2,000.

>20 AnnieMod: I'm sure we'd all love to have your European knowledge/perspective!

>15 dchaikin: If it helps your concern about the lack of page numbers, the book is structured as short daily entries, some are only a page or two, some are longer (but the average is 4.5 pages per date). Basically, the date structure should make it easy to track where you are compared to those reading different formats.

The offer still stands. :)

>22 ELiz_M: "Basically, the date structure should make it easy to track where you are compared to those reading different formats." That's what I hope, too, because as far as I can see I'll be the only person reading the German Suhrkamp edition (please correct me if I'm wrong). But given the structure it should still be easy to follow the discussions.

I can't wait to start but I will be away to visit family for a few days and won't pack the book because it's so huge, but I plan to start reading when I return in a week.

>15 dchaikin: The lack of page numbers is one of the many things putting me off using a Kindle, but I hope you can adhere to it or find another solution to this problem! How disappointing that your order was messed up like this!

>20 AnnieMod: oh.... grrr. :) My Kindle has no opinion. It's retired. The App on my phone has to compete with other apps and they are not all associated with the company that only sent me volume 2... (I'll probably go with Nook.) I did get my refund today, that was quick.

>21 japaul22: no comment. :)

>22 ELiz_M: thank you! And good point about the structure. Probably page numbers aren't so critical.

>23 MissBrangwen: thanks. :)

Did anyone jump right in today? I did not. :-)
I did finish a book today though, so I will probably start this either tomorrow or Monday.

I did a little internet research tonight to put me in the right frame of mind. I actually didn't know that Uwe is a male name, and knowing that the journal is written from the POV of a woman, I think I had been thinking the author was a woman. Even so, it seems from some very cursory reading up that large parts of this could be autobiographical, just based on Johnson's life movement from growing up in Germany, living in East Germany, and emigrating to NYC in similar time periods to our main character. It may end there though, as far as being based on Johnson's life - we'll have to see!

I also found that this was originally published and written from 1970-1983: volume 1 in 1970, volume 2 in 1971, volume 3 in 1973, and volume 4 in 1983 after some serious writer's block.

Also, for those wanting to read an entry per day, 1968 was a leap year, so there are 367 entries.

I did! I read the first entry and it seems interesting. I’ve added this to my daily task list so we’ll see how long my discipline lasts.

>25 japaul22: I thought about it, but then decided Sunday is the day to begin...I think. Thanks for this info.

I've requested Vol 1 from the library to check it out first, but with the holiday and it being a weekend, I probably won't get it and start before the end of the week.

>25 japaul22: Going an entry per day does not seem to be working very well for me. I’d still hang around for the conversations but I think I will be done with it way ahead of schedule.

>29 AnnieMod: Try reading a week's worth of entries once a week. That was the schedule I settled on. :)

>30 ELiz_M: We shall see. I am somewhat reluctant to stop for now but I suspect that it will slow down in the future. :)

>29 AnnieMod: to be honest, that’s usually what happens to me as well. I envision reading each volume as a book (in a few weeks since I read other books at the same time), but probably “sticking to the schedule” by only reading one volume per quarter.

All the above schedules were mainly to give us discussion flow that everyone could keep up with.

Everyone should read in the way that works best for them to enjoy the book! I often don’t know til I start what that will mean for me.

I've read through August 24, 1967 and do see that the cultural references are going to be tough for me. I was born in 1978 and the 1960s are sort of a black hole for me - it's not something we studied in school and is an era I haven't read a lot about. I think I'll get the hang of it, though, with a little googling.

I'm also having a little trouble understanding why the book is broken into days when the text for each day doesn't seem to always have anything to do with Gesine's actual experiences that day. Some are just flashbacks to a completely different time. That coupled with the fact that it isn't first person (I was expecting a diary feel) has me a bit out of sorts. But I'm going to read a good chunk over the next few days to "get my bearings". Then I will likely slow down.

On a positive note, I'm already very interested in Gesine and what led her to NYC.

I’m a few days ahead of you. I was also expecting this to read like a diary but I kind of like the ramblings and flashbacks. This reminds me a lot of the USA trilogy by dos Passos.

>34 japaul22: Most entries are a mix of first and third person. And the “news” always match the day. Give it some time - it makes more sense after a few entries (or as much sense as it will make - the switching narrator still drives me crazy sometimes but I am getting used to it).

I was expecting a diary too, but what was weird was it was a third person diary with "I"'s in there. So, who is the "I"? It doesn't seem to be Gesine... or is it?

>37 dchaikin: which day(s)?

>38 ELiz_M: eek. Um…somewhere deep in Aug 21-23…. Ok, in Aug 21 a few sections begin “I imagine: “ and on Aug 23 “the passport I stole from him” - “him” being dad, I think.

>39 dchaikin: Right, that bit isn't clear, is it? The book is told from many perspectives, trying to capture not only the day-to-day of an individual, but also all the thoughts, memories, and connections the person has. So the perspective zooms in and out and the story is told through many different narrators, although the focus is Gesine.

I think the "I imagine" in this entry in the authorial voice. If it was in italics, it would be one of the "ghosts" Gesine holds conversations with in her head.

>40 ELiz_M: huh. I need to process that comment. And read more.

Uwe (real) and Gesine lived at 243 Riverside Drive (which is roughly 96th street). Worth a look on Google maps: https://goo.gl/maps/3AYp6Cp5YtM8yV528

Also: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riverside_Drive_(Manhattan)

I just finished the first week Aug 21-27. I think i’ll pause here till next week.

Overall, I feel I’m mostly getting used to the style. And i like Mary.

I'm still waiting for my copy from the library, so finding the comments interesting to hear before I start. There was only one copy in the state so it's coming as an ILL and I probably could have driven there faster and got it had I thought of it.

>40 ELiz_M: I thought the "I imagine" was an authorial voice also.

So glad to be reading this with a group, because I'm sure I'll have lots of questions and there will be plenty to discuss!

Doesn't it just figure? I went out to the library website to see if my book was still "in transit" to find that it's there but the library is closed until Mon. I sent my sister a text to see why (she's one of the children's librarians) and she said there are 4 staff who tested positive for covid, including her. They only closed at 6 tonight so if I'd thought to look earlier, I could have gone and gotten it. Rats!

>46 dudes22: oh, that's a bummer! Well, good news is that with a long book and year long project, we will all be at different paces and that's totally fine!

I pulled out my copy this evening, but probably won't start until tomorrow. The last time I tried to read this, I was reading it one day at a time, which didn't work for me ( and I only read the first week before the entire project fell by the wayside). I think I will try to read a week at a time (even if one week takes me more than a day to read). I have lots of notes I wrote in the book from when I started it before, so I'll be interested to read those too.

I am behind already! Still waiting for my copy. I ordered it on Amazon (in a box, I really want that!) but it still hasn't been shipped. i have been looking for alternatives (BookDepository and a Dutch book site) but so far no luck. Ordering it directly from NYRB costs me too much (shipping costs are so high) so I have to be patient - not really one of my strenghts...

I have begun and read the first two weeks in two sessions, to go with the flow. Now I want to go back and take some notes and questions. This is going to be interesting, between keeping track of time/place and working out who is narrating this.

>48 arubabookwoman: One day at a time wouldn't work for me. I need more info to start putting a flow together. And we keep moving from present-day (1967-68) New York, to the Baltic, to Vietnam, to various parts of Western Europe.

>49 Simone2: Simone, this flows well enough for me that I hope you'll be able to catch up over the course of the year once you get the book(s).

I started yesterday and read up to Aug 28. The first few pages were a little hard but then I got settled and was able to go with the flow. Right now, to me the parts taking place in Germany in the past are easier to imagine and digest than the parts taking place in the US, but that is natural I suppose.

On a personal note, I discovered (through a comment made by Daniel in my thread in Club Read because of a review I posted) that Uwe Johnson was born only four years after my grandmother's birth in a place only about 200km from where she was born and grew up. I know that my grandmother often visited Szczecin (Stettin), which is very close to Kamien Pomorski (Cammin), Johnson's birthplace. I am interested in discovering if there are any other parallels or things familiar in the novel.

I am looking forward to reading this book, but I am unsure if I will keep the pace I envisioned (about one week of entries per week) or if I will read longer stretches and then pause. I will see what works best!

I finally managed to stop on November 1 (yeah - I did mention that I have issues with stopping with this one) :)

I was a bit worried about the period - my knowledge about the 60s in USA are a bit muddled but so far I had been able to connect the dots where needed (although I find the other timeline, the story of the 30s Germany (and earlier points in that story) a lot more compelling for now. Part of it is that it IS history for me - the world of the 1967 is my Mom's world (she was born in 1958) but it is very different from anything she had told me about her childhood (Eastern Europe is different) so my brain still tries to sort things out and it feels almost contemporary. On the other hand, the NYT excerpts (I need to check if they are real or imagined - does anyone know?) and reporting what is in the newspaper is fascinating.

I am actually happy that I went for a longer start - a lot of what was bothering me initially (the jumping in time never bothered me but the narrators jumps inside of the same entries and the lack of understanding of who is talking and from what perspective was getting to me for a bit) smoothed out as the story progressed and once I got a somewhat better handle on the narrative style, the novel runs a LOT smoother for me. Except for one passage that was entirely in French (which I just skipped...).

>51 MissBrangwen:, >52 AnnieMod: And this is where a group read is so helpful. I was immediately drawn in by the NYC setting and could easily picture (and visit!) the important locations. However the 1930, 1940s East German storyline was never clear to me.

NYT time machine (23-Aug-1967): https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1967/08/23/issue.html

>53 ELiz_M: Cool! I was wondering if that existed on line!

>51 MissBrangwen: That is really neat about the connection to your Grandmother!

>40 ELiz_M: italics are the "ghosts" that Gesine holds conversations with . . .
I don't really get this yet, but I'm paying attention.

I love that the New York Times is written as a character in this book. The September 11 entry was really fun.

I also think Marie is really well-drawn. I feel like I know her better than Gesine so far.

I'm enjoying this. Just reading a bit each day until I feel like stopping.

I somehow missed this, but fancy taking part. I'll order it, but it may be February before I begin. I'm on my second chunky novel of the year and I feel like I need to read some 'normal' sized books for a while.

>56 AlisonY: so glad you’re joining! Our schedule is very loose, so join in at any time!

I have read the first week now. I think reading a week at a time will work for me.
The time setting is very much of my time as I was 17-18 during the one year period this takes place. I have vivid memories of many of the news events, the race riots in the cities and the Vietnam war so far (the body counts listed each day for US killed and Viet Congress killed, as if whoever killed the most would win, as if someday the other side would run out of bodies to be killed). Coincidentally last year I read 1968 by Mark Kurlansky a nonfiction account of many of the events taking place around the world in 1968-it was a very consequential year.
Also coincidentally the book opens at the Jersey shore. I spent the summer of 1967 in New Jersey, and went to the Jersey shore several times. By the end of August though we had moved to London.
So far I'm really liking the book!

Thanks to all who have posted links. The NYTimes is behind a paywall, so I am considering whether to purchase a subscription, or if I can find a timeline covering world events, civil rights in the US and US involvement in Vietnam. I am six years old as this book begins.

I'm curious about how age/familiarity with the settings will influence our readings. I was born in the early 1960s and grew up in the Midwest part of the US. My familiarity with the 1960s was gained by the seat of my pants when I moved to Georgia (civil rights) and I never got my head around our war in Vitenam.

I was just a young teenager in 1967 so I expect there isn't a lot I was paying attention to then. I just picked up my book (Vol 1) from the library and hope to start reading it later today.

I was born in 1973 so, well.

I just finished Week 2, Sep 3, ending with the Koch trial and the Cresspahl courtship (mixed together! What do we make of that?)

I found it really interesting how he describes Jerichow one day, and then Manhattan the next. The tone is the same, and I couldn’t help comparing and contrasting…and seeing more parallels than anticipated between small dead German town, and constantly changing glass-walled big American city.

I drove from Atlanta to suburban Philadelphia yesterday, and brought my NYRB boxed set of Anniversaries, which I'll start reading today.

Just finished week 3 (Sep 10). Still getting my footing. My page pace is slow, but with an ebook I don’t notice. It feels like it reads very fast.

Finished week 4. Easy captivating reading at this point, with aunt NYTimes. I would keep going if I didn’t have so many other books asking for attention.

I really need to get back to reading this. I've barely started.

>65 dudes22: I feel like it's hard to get in a flow with a long book that you're reading slowly. Plus, because I have a paper copy, it's enormous and I can only read it at home.

I'm up to October 13. I don't have a lot to say yet. I'm enjoying it but still sorting some things out with the point of view, italics, etc. Every few days, I'm sitting down and reading it for a half hour or so.

Can we do a check in on who has started and what pace we're all reading?

I decided that I should join this read as well, because I'd go crazy seeing all the messages if I weren't reading the book. So I began yesterday and am trying to catch up. I'm about 2 weeks in. Figuring on reading a month per month -- that should be pretty doable. It's an intriguing book.

>67 annamorphic: Great! Glad you're joining in!

I haven't much a lot of progress, but I'm still here and plodding along. Bathroom reno (and finishing the umpteen other books I started) have sidetracked this project a little.

I'm only about 4 days in, but I have a slow week so I'll try to get some more read. Plus, it's due back at the library next week although I expect it will automatically renew if no one is waiting for it.

>66 japaul22: So far I'm reading one week every Sunday night/Monday morning. I start at bedtime Sunday and so read a bit before I get too tired, then pick it up the next chance. It takes me a litter over an hour a week (4.5 hours for 4 weeks).

I haven't done any reading since I last posted, so I am still at Aug 28. I plan to catch up in February.

I was trying to read a week's worth of entries each week. I am finding it hard to have the interruption in the reading flow, and seem to have to reread several pages before starting the new entries each week. My reading this week will start with October 1.

>73 arubabookwoman: I am in early November :) And the writer Uwe Johnson just showed up as a character. Just when I started to recognize voices :)

I'm a bit late to this, but bought the NYRB version on Kindle today so will get started soon. Sounds like pacing of the read might be an issue but with 1700 pages to go I'll have plenty of time to work out what's best for me!

>73 arubabookwoman: - I think a week at a time is a good idea, but first, I need to catch up a little bit.

This book is wonderful! I'm going to stop at the end of 2 months, read something else, and do another two months after that. Two months seems like about the right amount to handle at a time, for me at least.

I’m a month in now. Finding it all quite readable and interesting. Just not sure how it’s going to develop - are the daily news events going to impact directly on the life of Gesine at some point; is there some big reveal coming from her past in Germany; or will life continue unchanged while war and conflict reign elsewhere???

>78 puckers: I've been looking for connections between the various focuses as well. Not finding them yet.

Also, right now, I wonder if the format of having an entry per day will tie into Gesine and Marie's story more deeply. It seems right now that the daily entry ties most closely to the news and doesn't have a ton to do with Gesine and Marie's daily life. I'm wondering if 1967-8 is a pivotal year for them or if the news will be the reason it's set in that year.

I'm finding it very readable, though there are certain entries that I find a bit baffling. I don't have my book in front of me, but might come back later to ask a question about one that I was particularly confused about. I love Marie and the European storyline is also intriguing.

Sad to say, guys, but I think I'm going to drop out although I was looking forward to this. My reading mojo has left me this year and I can't seem to get interested in any book. But I'm going to hang around and see what you all have to say and maybe I'll attempt it another time.

>78 puckers: >79 japaul22: interesting comments. I see the daily news and the stories as creating parallels between nazifying Germany and nyc soulless financial engine driving the Vietnam war and dealing with other social havoc. And our Gesine and Marie being small humans within these larger context as Gesine’s parents were.

>80 dudes22: just want to wish you well. I think we have all been there. Finding reading mojo is for me a delicate thing.

>80 dudes22: We'll miss you, but I get it. Forcing a book for a group read never works for me, either!

>81 dchaikin: I like this parallel idea - I'm going to try to pay attention to that.

>81 dchaikin: That connection/parallel gets even more obvious as the story progresses -- plus the stories seem to be converging as we get "in between" scenes as well - so I wonder if by the end the 1930s story and the 1960s stories won't fully merge and we will get the full life of Gesine, just told out of order, and not just an year... (At the end of Part 1 and it is not there yet but...)

>84 AnnieMod: I’m looking for it, but I’m only 100 pages in.

I’m still on a one week per week pace. I would like to push along but I’ve committed myself to too many other reading groups and plans. Anyway I finished September today and the botched bank robbery (where they pulled the push door). Next is Monday, Oct 2, 1967 and some graffiti.

Dan, I'm ready to start October also. Enjoying this so far, though I'm not sure I'm keeping all the names and places straight. I'm liking the slow unfolding of bits and pices. I do find I have to read several entries to a week at a time for it to make sense to me.

>86 markon: That's why I decided to push a bit and get to the end of part 1 -- it was too fragmented for my brain otherwise :)

>85 dchaikin: Patience, Dan, patience! :)

I’ve stalled out a bit on this because the book is so big that I only read it at home. I’ve been working in person the last two weeks so reading kindle books mainly instead. I’m going to get back to this over this weekend though, and likely will prioritize it til I finish the first volume.

If anyone is still looking to purchase a copy, you can buy it direct from NYRB right now, on sale, up to 50% off.
There are 100 titles on sale, including both volumes of Anniversaries, and several other list books.

Here is the ad:

The 2022 NYRB Winter Sale is on! Choose from 100 selected titles. Buy 2 books and save 20%, 3 and save 30%, 4 and save 40%, or 5 and save 50%.

Free US shipping on orders of $50 or more.

https://www.nyrb.com/collections/2022-winter-sale

>89 BentleyMay: thanks. It’s ~20% discount on both volumes. $46.32. You will need to add another book to get free shipping - must be over $50. (I’m personally enjoying my Nook version.)

>90 dchaikin: And the discount increases with each title you add, up to 50%.

It's still expensive, compared to the price I paid when NYRB published the boxed set.

I just got through Thanksgiving. After taking a month's break, it was a little hard to remember all the characters and threads. I can't take such a long break before the next chunk.

Usually I thought the 1960s part of the book was just burbling along and the "plot" stuff was in the past, but suddenly in November there was this very confusing but definite plot in the present, involving the mafia and cars. Really unexpected, to me at least.

>92 annamorphic: I agree that I won't be able to take long breaks in the middle of a volume! And I was also really surprised when all the stuff with the mafia and D.E. was happening.

I've pushed through and finished the first volume. It definitely works better for me to read it in larger sections rather than a few pages a day. I think I'll take a break for a bit and then read volume 2 in April.

I'm going to post my comments that I put on my main thread here. There aren't any spoilers because I didn't get into plot points. Happy to do so as people move through this volume, though! There are lots of things I'd like to talk about it more detail.

___________________________________________________________

I've finished the first of four volumes of Uwe Johnson's epic novel, Anniversaries. This novel follows one year in the life of Gesine Cresspahl, the single mother of Marie, who is a German immigrant living in NYC. The book is told in the format of daily journal entries and volume one covers August 21, 1967 - December 19, 1967. Gesine is a dedicated reader of the New York Times and most entries involve some of the stories from the Times that day. In this way we follow the Vietnam war and the race riots of the era. Competing with the current day events are the stories of Gesine's parents and grandparents in 1930s Germany that Gesine tells to her daughter, Marie. Marie is the star of the book for me so far. She is a precocious, opinionated, funny 10 year old and when the focus is on her I'm absolutely entranced by this book. At other times, though, I'm a bit annoyed. Johnson has no compunction in shifting point of view, pronouns, voice, etc. and I'm often confused about who is supposed to be speaking. I also don't totally buy that the daily format was necessary since many entries seem to be completely untethered to the day to which they are assigned. After 400 pages, though, I think I'm accepting it and getting the hang of it. I think it helped that I read the last 150 pages of this rather quickly and stayed in the flow of the story. Moving forward, that will be my strategy. I'll take breaks between the remaining 3 volumes, but read them as a novel over a few weeks instead of reading a few pages a day (my initial idea).

At the end of this first volume I feel like I'm getting a handle on the important characters and have sorted out the key people both in 1930s Germany and in NYC. I have a lot of questions, but Johnson has 1200 pages left to answer them, so I suppose I'll be patient.

>93 japaul22: congrats on finishing Volume 1. I'm still in October. :) I'm reading a week of entries every Sunday night, and carrying over into my week. I'm curious where it's going, but I've been enjoying the flow. The news parts work for me, and help separate me from whatever else I have on my mind (on a Sunday night!). i feel a bit carried away into this world once a week.

I'm continuing at my pace of one month per month, so just finished 21st October to 20th November. As others have observed, the introduction of a Mafia "kidnap", and the entry where the author himself is a character added some variety to the narrative flow. I wonder whether the author was actually at the event on the date stated and he imagined Gesine watching him in the room at the time? It would be a nice piece of real-time writing if it were true.

I just started Anniversaries yesterday, but I hope to catch up by the end of this month, or sometime in April.

I've finished Volume 1 as well, and moved on to Volume 2. Hoping to get through that before I leave town for the month of June, because I cannot imagine carrying this tome with me! Will then do Vols 3 & 4 in the second half of this year.
I'm really enjoying this book in a strange way. It's less like a novel than like having an experience -- as I also felt about Ulysses but this book is less overwhelming (and less great). The historical parts have more of a narrative feeling (although they too can be highly confusing) which kind of stabilizes the not-very-narrative 1960s parts. Gradually the picture puzzle of Gesine's whole life is becoming clear.

>97 annamorphic: “It's less like a novel than like having an experience”

I’m feeling that too.

I started Anniversaries yesterday - enjoying it so far.

Debating (assuming I read both volumes) whether I count this as 2 books or 4 in my reading tally.

>96 kidzdoc: >99 AlisonY: Glad you both joined us Darryl and Alison! Alison, I'm counting it as four because I find it a bit more motivating. Plus, they were initially published separately as he completed them.

I'm sorry I've been pretty absent in this thread. Life has come back full force with work finally back to the workload it was pre-covid. Plus school and activities have started back up for my boys. I am still planning to start volume two sometime mid-April and devote quite a bit of reading time to it until it's done. The short chunks that are working well for some of you didn't work for me.

>97 annamorphic:, >98 dchaikin: I love this description of the novel as an experience. I think it's part of why I haven't had a lot to say about it. I'm just observing and waiting to see where it goes.

For some reason it's reminding me of Ducks, Newbury Port. Perhaps it's that "experience" thing some of you have mentioned. You're not expecting any plot per se - just going with the flow of her life and the flashbacks to her parents getting together.

I'm feeling slightly hard done by that this book doesn't appear in my copy of 1001 books, which I think is one of the very early editions.

>101 AlisonY: It is probably listed under Jahrestage.

>102 ELiz_M: Bingo! :)

>101 AlisonY: I think it is similar to Ducks, Newburyport in terms of the "reading as experience" idea, but I found Ducks easier to get into and more tightly constructed than Anniversaries. The shifting points of view seem haphazard to me in Anniversaries and I wonder a bit if it could have been done better. But only one quarter of the way in, that is probably not a fair assessment yet.

I won't have time this week to start volume 2, but plan to prioritize starting volume 2 in the third week of April.

I am halfway the second volume (of 4 -- so second part? Second volume?) and the whole "read that part and then wait for next quarter" is not a very good idea apparently -- I had to stop and think who someone was when they showed up (mainly in the German story - the New York one has a lot less people in it).

The shift between the stories seems to get even more abrupt as the novel progresses - while earlier we will get the New York story then switch to the Germany one, now they may switch around a few times in the same date entry. It was a bit jarring the first few times but once you get into it, it works. Plus Marie starts adding commentary to the German story (plus another narrator/voice shows up more often (ghost Lisbeth).

But at the same time, it seems like there is a finally a pattern in the switch and we learn why the story goes that way (or get a confirmation anyway).

>105 AnnieMod: I am about where you are -- late February 1968, I believe. I find myself getting confused quite often, and it's not only from having put the book down and picked it up again. There are just a lot of pretty minor characters. But that's how a person's life is, and this is more a life than a novel as I think of it. So I just keep moving along, thinking that I will figure out why a certain figure is important if the author wants me to. Johnson does give hints about that. And when he doesn't, I decide that it doesn't matter.

The sub-narrative voices really are super confusing. Again, I try not to worry about who is talking. Usually it becomes apparent. If it doesn't, I just move along. When you take this lackadaisical attitude, the book is an easy read!

>106 annamorphic: There is that although I needed a minute for not so minor characters as well. Once I got back into it, it’s back to normal - a name may catch me unawares for a bit but that’s normal as you say.

I am not sure about the narrative voices being confusing anymore - they are almost logical once you recognize them in the first sentence of the passage. I kinda like the way they switch around - although I keep thinking that there are really 3 separate novels mixed up here and I am still not entirely convinced they had to be mixed. But I am reserving my judgement on that - the narrative and it’s structure does grow on you it seems.

I'm still at about page 150 of volume 1. I was really into it for the first 100 pages but my attention has been waning ever since, so the going has got slower. Not sure why. Has the novelty worn off? Am I just not in the mood for it this week?

I must admit at this stage I'm looking at the end of Volume 1 as a finish line when I will probably move onto something else for a while to reignite my interest in it.

I'm 100 pages further on now and I've got back into it. The rise of Nazism in Germany told through Cresspahl's return to Jerichow for his child's birth has drawn me back in - it feels like there is a thread of a story now to hook me in more. I'm enjoying the 1933 Germany parts of the story more than the 1967 tales from New York at this stage, which I sometimes find confusing as we are launched into the middle of conversations.

I expect to finish Volume 1 in the next few days.

I enjoyed the introduction of Johnson himself into the narrative for the first time, and an insight into what may have driven the subject matter of the book.

I am at the end of May (and considering a trip I have planned for next week, I may end up finishing the whole thing this month). I still like the older story better than the 1960s one (although in the third part, they get closer to being equally interesting). But I am also getting very annoyed with Marie - especially when she is turned into a narrative device.

I picked this up this morning, for the first time since March 15. I visited Manhattan last weekend and spent a lot of time in Morningside Heights. I parked on Riverside and 107th. I wasn’t searching this out, but enjoyed being so close to this story location. I’m in mid-November. I’ll spend some catch-up time, but might revert to my one-week-a-week after that.

I just finished volume 1 (review on my thread). I'm glad I got back into it again. I definitely got more out of it when I'd time to devote to chunks of 30-50 pages in one sitting.

>110 AnnieMod: I'm also drawn more to the German part. I think that's because there's more of a story to that part, whereas the NY parts can often be very bitty. There were a few points towards the end of volume 1 when the NY parts picked up for me, and that's when more of a thread to the narrative emerged.

>111 dchaikin: That's pretty cool. Not sure I've ever been able to immerse myself in the real life location of a book I'm reading.

>113 AlisonY: By the third part there is more of a narrative thread in the New York sections as well. Plus you can see that these were written separately - the style changes - not as much between 1 and 2 but 3 feels different (and not only because the German story is post-war and the New York one is less involved with the Vietnam war).

I am still not entirely convinced that it had to be one novel - the connection points that get the two stories connected are the among the more annoying part of the novel...

>112 AlisonY: Yeah, the entry per day or a week in a week was not working for me either.

I'm still reading one month per month and today got to the end of Part 1 (19th December). Like others I find the German story increasingly interesting, with the rise of Nazism, but the 1960s New York story isn't going anywhere for me at the moment.

On to Volume 2 - about 70 pages in....

I'm on volume 2 at the end of December.

I probably should have a better handle on this by now, but the different "voices" still really bother me. In all the recounting of the German story, I don't get who's telling it. Sometimes it's clearly Gesine telling Marie about her grandparents and great-grandparents. But sometimes that isn't clear - is it just an omniscient narrator? And then why tie the story to a particular date in the year 1967-8? And always I wonder, if Gesine is telling their story, how in the world would she know so much detail? And if she's filling in blanks, is that really normal? I don't think most children really know or care to know that much detail about their parents' inner lives.

If there was one voice throughout or even different voices but that paired consistently with each storyline or time period, I would be enjoying this more. I'm still trying to just go with it, but I'm having trouble turning off my brain.

Side note: do you all make markings in a book like this? I like to track themes/characters/storylines/settings in a book of this length with so much going on. I always have a pencil with me when reading and make a 1-2 word note in the margin so I can flip through and see all the places that the above topics are discussed.

>117 japaul22: still in November but I _think_ I’m getting the voices. Gesine doesn’t really know, so she’s storytelling, and she outright says something to that effect occasionally. I think the ghost is mostly Lisbeth and she’s trying to influence Gesine. So she’s not entirely reliable either. But i don’t either change the base storyline. As for Marie, I think she likes stories and I think she feels a need to understand why she has no family. That must be strange to her and it really isolates her in this big city. There’s only mom and her weird sorta boyfriend and whole lot of dangerous stuff out there. My 2¢

As for notes - I’m using Nook and the highlight option. But mostly I’m highlighting names.

>117 japaul22: I'm not so bothered by the change of voice now - I feel like I've got into the flow. I'm not sure, however, that I'm always 100% "getting" some of the points of the story, but usually all becomes clearer at a later point anyway.

Johnson certainly takes poetic licence with regards to Gesine's narration, adding detail there's no way she could have known, but I'm happy to roll with that.

No notes at my end - I'm struggling just to hold the book comfortably (what a brick it is).

My problem with the voices is more of a snobby one that I feel like Johnson could have done a better job with them! I understand who's supposed to be talking for the most part, but I don't always like it or think it makes sense. I feel, when I'm reading, like he just wrote the whole thing and never went back to rework it and refine it for consistency. But I have a long way to go, so maybe I won't feel that way by the end. I would like to know his writing process, though. I've found it interesting in a few of the author biographies I've read to learn about the creative process and how it differs for various authors.

I also feel that he's using the NYTs differently in this second volume. He does still reference it here and there, but there seem to be fewer daily entries that start with the news of the day. I'm missing that a bit. With several hundred pages to go in this section, this could certainly change again.

But I loved the house the Marie built for Gesine and thought it was a nice touch to show that Marie is listening and caring about the story of her ancestors and wants to be connected to them.

>119 AlisonY: yes, I think I need a book pillow or book stand or similar!

>120 japaul22: Although this book isn't stream of consciousness style, I wonder if Johnson was trying to create that effect at times, with the random changes of voice almost like switches of topic and voice in Gesine's head.

I must admit I quite like it - it keeps me working as a reader to pay attention.

Sometimes it's hard to figure out if something like this in writing is utter genius in terms of playing with form, or, poor writing that we now look look for cleverness in because it's considered a must-read title!

>121 AlisonY: Agreed! And I'm definitely intrigued and invested enough to keep reading to find out what I think at the end.

>121 AlisonY: that's what I keep coming back to. Whatever Uwe was doing, I like it. I like the disembodied feel of the text, the presence of the NYTime voice floating in and mixing with his and the other voices.

Quick not exactly pop quiz (out of curiosity more than anything) - how many people recognized the final date of the diary? And if you did, did you expect that it will become relevant (aka obviously not randomly picked) earlier than it does (which is book 3 more or less)?

>124 AnnieMod: I did because of Eliz_M's review last year, otherwise I doubt it would have occurred to me. For me, I'm happy to have it in my mind because I know so little about that time period that I wouldn't have picked up on it til it bashed me over the head. :-)

>125 japaul22: I am debating if I should point it out here - without it, a lot of the references in parts 2 and early part 3 will kinda get lost (and they do matter because there is an almost full novel in there in them). By mid-part 3 it is obvious that this is very important.

On the other hand - it is a spoiler. But any of the readers of the original would have recognized that date on the spot and would have recognized that this is where it is going even without the exact date as soon as the references started popping up. I just assumed it is absolutely obvious but then something else elsewhere made me think of perspective and what people actually do recognize and it made me wonder. Thus the quiz. :) Oh well - whoever is curious can look at the review or do some checks on the date I guess. :)

Clueless here (about the date). : )

I finished volume 1 just now (Dec 19). Hardly felt like an ending.

>128 dchaikin: The later transitions between parts/volumes are even less of endings than this one - it really is one big novel.

August 6, 1968 - I’ll just leave that here. Just when I was sure that the book is moving to its end and there won’t be more surprises…

>126 AnnieMod: This is why I wish I had read this with a group. I had no idea of the significance of the end date and I am sure I missed all of the references at which you hint. I also could have used a European's perspective on the 1940/1950 German timeline as for me it was muddled.

So let's talk about this! As a group, is there a consensus on whether we're ok discussing "spoilers" that can help us put the novel in historical context and understand foreshadowing/build up as we read?

Please chime in if you're actively reading this (or planning to this year) and let us know if . . .
*you'd like everyone to continue not giving away historical plot points
*would like the spoiler feature used and/or journal entry dates indicated so you can skip comments on sections you've not yet read
*would actually prefer some wider historical context of how the story fits as we go (vs. at the end when most of us have completed the book)

For me, I wouldn't necessarily want to know ahead of time if a character was fictionally involved in some way in a historical event, but any and all information of a historical nature I'm happy to have pointed out to me (i.e. anything I could search up on the internet or that I could easily know if I were more well-versed in European history)

I think as long as we say where we are in our posts, it’s not really a spoiler. But be respectful of those behind you to warn or prompt as you see fit. For example, maybe avoid major spoilers of parts 3-4 since the suggested annual pace puts us in part 2. (I know in David Copperfield one person posted a small but significant spoiler with no pretext. Just came out said, I can’t believe so and so died, or something like that. I was behind and caught off guard. But if they had prefaced it with where they were on the book, I think it would have been better.)

Also, I’m all for sharing historical info and contexts.

I posted on part I in Litsy yesterday. I wrote, “It’s oddly directionless and captivating at the same time.”

>132 japaul22: >134 dchaikin: I think that it is fair to assume that most of us will be at least as far in to the book as the pace set out in the first post (broadly one month of the book per calendar month of 2022) so detailed discussion/spoilers at that pace should be OK. If (as some seem to be) you are ahead of that pace and want to raise a major plot twist/spoiler then a date alert at the start of the post would be appropriate so the plodders like me can skip over it!

I don’t mind spoilers, ever. But probably better to hide them for most readers.

Also, I cannot figure out the significance of August 6, 1968! I thought of a number of possible things but none were right. What can it be?

I'd prefer no major fictional plot spoilers, but am good with pointers on the significance of politics of the time or similar. The hints given a few posts ago helped, as I wasn't clued into that and it's a part of history I've not read about so it's useful to do some reading around that now so I understand that better in the book.

I'm at mid February and am finding it really immersive now. My reading speed per page still seems much slower than normal, but I'm ignoring that (or trying to) and just enjoying it. I'm not sure I'm understanding all of the NY conversations Gesine is having with certain men and hope I'm not missing something key. If anyone can remember the early Feb sections and wishes to keep me straight on anything of significance I may have missed there please do (with a spoiler cover for others not there yet).

>137 annamorphic: My very limited historical understanding thinks that it's leading up to a pivotal moment in the Prague Spring. But I'd love to know if I'm wrong about that. I have virtually no understanding of that time in history for that region.

I think we should continue to use Date headings or spoilers as we discuss beyond the posted schedule. That means if we're on schedule you'd be around February of 1968

So something as simple as the following should work for most discussion.

"I'm up to ***date*** and observing _____ "

>139 japaul22: That was one of my guesses! It happens just a bit later.

>137 annamorphic: That one is in book only - not tied to the historical conversation directly. Thus the surprising part - the history of the period can really not be called surprising. :) Sorry if it caused confusion.

>138 AlisonY: Feb 1968: Keep an eye on anything mentioning Czechoslovakia at this point - both in story and in the newspapers coverage. Anything else in the New York story is background and side plots.

>143 AnnieMod: Yep, keeping an eye on that. Not entirely sure why she got her promotion and how important that is to the Czech part of the story (and the character who seems to know a lot about her job and her boss), but perhaps that all becomes clearer later.

>144 AlisonY: Feb ‘68: Not entirely - besides the fact that she can plausibly be sent to the country on vacation. Remember that it is Gesine that tells the story (even if we have an author as well) and to her 10/11 years old daughter at that - there are places where the narration is unreliable (by choice) and in some where it can be almost misleading (early on because she is making up things she cannot know, later, when she tells her own story really, because she is skipping things she does not want to talk about) - sometimes a single line and the lack of details tell you more than the story itself)

>145 AnnieMod: Thanks. Just wanted to be sure I wasn't missing something important along the way.

>146 AlisonY: The important points get repeated - when needed. So it will be more of a “oh, that’s why we read about that before” kind of moment more than a “where did this come from?” one around these.

In other news - I finished the whole book and it managed to pack a few surprises in the last days of the story (and a few not exactly surprises which may be easily missed if someone does not know the author's life and works).

I am not sorry I read it, I enjoyed it and I plan to read more by Johnson but I am glad it is done - it was a slow read.

>148 AnnieMod: Well done. I'm finding it a slow read too, even though I'm really enjoying it. I can't decide if it's just the need for close reading or if the pages are deceptively a bit larger than what I'm used to - I think US books are slightly taller than UK books, so I feel like I'm crawling through it at times compared to my usual reads.

>149 AlisonY: Well, my usual speed with modern (and somewhat modern) novels is about twice my speed with academic or otherwise dense non-fiction - and this one was very close to the non-fiction rate (so 30 pages per hour give or take). As I read it as an ebook, I don't know what font NYRB used but my guess is that it was their smallest in the series (they change it based on the length of the book...) which would explain that as well. So a page IS really bigger (in words/characters) than most modern novels I think. Based on the length in words and the pages number, we are looking at 360-370 words per page (roughly). Most modern novels which do not play with the fonts and the pages are ~250-300 words per page usually.

But I've read other novels like that as well - I think that it is just a dense novel with very little actual dialog (even the one there is more narrative than the usual novel-level one). And the constant shift in who is speaking and where the story is does slow you down a bit as well.

>149 AlisonY: >150 AnnieMod: it reads slow for me in minutes-per-page, but it doesn’t feel slow. I’m using Nook and it follows the print pagination. I get a little surprised when I get into and feel I’m clucking along and an hour later i’ve read 18 or 20 pages.

I'm plugging away. I do think it feels like slow progress - such a big book and so many words on each page, plus the dense writing means that I feel like I read for a long time and only finish a handful of pages. But that's ok - I often like slow books.

This exchange between Gesine and Marie on February 2, 1968 made me feel so much better about the questioning I was doing about how Gesine would have know so much detail about things that happened before she was born or when she was very young:

Marie: I don't mind that the only thing you know for sure is how Friedrich Jansen stood in the Gneez Woods, and that the rest of the story grew up around that later. I just want to know how you're putting it together.
Gesine: Even though Jansen's story is only possible?
Marie: It's the possibility that no one but you can get to. Whatever you think about your own past, that's a truth too.

I love that they discussed this. The entire passage expounds even more deeply on this issue.

I've finished volume 2. Not a lot more to comment on from volume 1. I was perhaps a little disappointed at the speed at which the German section went through the war. I was enjoying that, so am slightly nervous that volumes 3 and 4 won't hold my attention in the same way.

I liked that the NY part developed into more of a story in volume 2 - it felt quite meandering in volume 1.

I will get to volume 3, but want to read some other stuff for a few weeks before I start it.

I’m now starting Volume 2.

I sometimes wonder about Marie. She is 10 years old yet is able to express mature political analysis (Dec 21st - “she was outraged that the president could describe Senator Kennedy as an unduly ambitious man……‘You’re saying that when a president’s lie comes out, it’s too late for us and late enough for him….I’d have been expelled if we didn’t lie like three American presidents in a row’”)

My daughter is exactly Marie’s age but I could never envisage her engaging in similar discussions. Nor could I imagine her sitting and listening to me and my parents histories for hours on end. Maybe 10 year olds were different back before iPads and Netflix took over their spare hours.

This thread's gone quiet. How are people getting on? Which volume are you on? Are you taking a hiatus for a while? Have you given up?

I've read volumes 1 & 2, but although I enjoyed them I'm holding back about diving into #3. I've not got much reading time these days, and these massive books make me feel like I'm getting through hardly any titles this year.

Perhaps later in June I'll feel like picking it up again.

>155 AlisonY: I am exactly where you are. Planning to start #3 in late June when I am back from traveling. I couldn’t carry such a huge book with me!

I might finally start volume 2 in June

I've kind of stalled out half way through volume 2. This is partly because I do a lot of my reading at work during down time and I'm not bringing that enormous book with me. So it's my "at home" book but work has been very busy, so I haven't had a lot of at home time.

If I'm being honest, I'm also not super excited about reading this book, so it's feeling a bit like an "assignment" that I'm putting off. We'll see if I can get back into it.

I did start book 2. I’m in January.

And found I an article on the Cliff Dwellings - 243 Riverside: https://www.thecityreview.com/uws/riverside/riv243.html

>159 dchaikin: Excellent! Things in real life are never how you imagined them, are they? This isn't the Riverside I have in my head (but I'm sticking with it!). Cool that you managed to find this.

Another month read - up to 21st February 1968. Continuing to find the 1938 German story more coherent and interesting.

I’m now six months in but only 38% complete according to my Kindle. The days must get longer soon…

So I'm reading the second gigantic volume now and it's May 1968. This volume has started off feeling different from the first. It's not just that the war is over and the issue is Russian occupation (which is more interesting than I expected). It's that in the present time there is a lot more about Czechoslovakia and wheat purchases and about the bank where Gesine works, and her boss, and this is all just not very interesting. And the daily updates from Auntie NYT have gotten kind of lost. Even Gesine's "voice" feels different, although perhaps that is down to how long it's been since I last read this.

>161 puckers: Some of the days do get very long.
>154 puckers: About Marie. I think we are supposed to imagine her being very much channeled by Gesine. So it's less what she really says, and more how Gesine would interpret her words/thoughts/actions to herself. Still, yes, her maturity is a little bizarre.

Anyway, am going to try to get to page 1000 by the end of this month and then start the massive tome that the 1001 group is doing for the group read.

Another month in (20th March). Still can’t figure if the US story is going anywhere but the German story maintains my interest.

My interest for starting Volume 3 has waned. Much as I enjoyed the first 2 volumes, can anyone persuade me that there is something new to find in volumes 3 & 4 that make it worth committing to?

I am up to June 3 and honestly, the New York part is just not very interesting at all, less than it was before. Nor is it coherent. And there is too much peripheral politics. The Germany part is still extremely interesting, though. I haven't encountered much fiction that deals with the Russian occupation, and I feel like I am finding out a lot. None of it good.
I stopped at June 3 on this leg of the book because there's about to be a major event in New York and I thought I'd save that for my August leg. The days are definitely getting longer.

>165 annamorphic: Thanks - that helps. I probably will read it but likely will save it for later in the year when the nights are longer.

I feel bad that I started this group and then totally fell off the radar!

It really just isn't working for me. I am going to try to finish part 2 of 4, but I don't know that I'll carry on past that.

>165 annamorphic: "And there is too much peripheral politics."

That becomes relevant as the story progresses - the ultimate end of the novel requires all that seemingly unrelated material - it allows one to see how Gesine makes her decisions at the end. It also ties in some ways to the German story - contrast in places, repeats history in others (not matched in the novel - but the connections are there if one looks for them).

I just finished Part 3, so I'm into the middle of June. This part was shorter than the others but very on/off. Sometimes the NY part was quite interesting, sometimes the Germany part was, but each also takes its turn at being very dull (NY) or very confusing (Germany). There's this whole weird section toward the end where Gesine answers unlikely questions from Marie about all the various people in Gneez, Jerichow, Mecklenberg, and what their political feelings really were and what they did about them, etc etc. I tried not to keep track of who the characters were and whether I was even supposed to know, and just went along with the anecdotes about their politics and actions. But it was annoying.

>168 AnnieMod: I anticipate missing a lot of those connections in the end, too. I think I just have too many other things happening in my mind.

Will start reading Part 4 in September.

>169 annamorphic: Don't worry about that too much - the ones that are needed get reiterated enough times to make them stick. The one which are missed? Well, we all miss things in books. :) Part 4 is in a way less episodic which helps with some of the more mundane part of the story - we finally start getting the end of some stories and not just parts of them (which also breaks the timeline a bit so we jump back and forth a bit here and there)...

Starting Part 4 was amazing -- like coming home after a long absence. It's funny, but I now feel completely absorbed in this monster of a book. Even though I absolutely have lost track of characters, it doesn't matter. I just embrace them as they come along.

Maybe it's because I didn't take as long off after the last part, or maybe it's because in between I read some other books that I didn't like much, but I'm happy to be back!

>171 annamorphic: Good to know! I'm starting Part 3 next.

Half way through Part 3 now. The day’s entries are getting longer and I’m appreciating these longer entries as it’s easier to get immersed in what’s happening rather than leaping around in time and space.

>173 puckers: Does it feel similar to the previous two volumes? Any different vibes?

Just checking in. I finished part two in August and I’m working through part 3, in May (of the book), which so far feels a lot like part 2. First I struggled with part 2, then later i got into it.

>174 AlisonY: Similar hopping between 1940s (post war) Germany and 1960s NY with no obvious thematic link other than Gesine as a common character. I found the Soviet occupation stories interesting though as it’s not something I’ve read much about before.

I finished Part 3 today, the shortest book. I found the post-WWII Soviet Germany part so confusing - not the writing exactly, but the actual history, the Communists trying to run a rich capitalist country, is so strange. I plan to start the last book next month, but not right away.

I'm trying to finish the month of July this month, and what I am finding confusing now is things happening in Prague 1968! I agree with >177 dchaikin: that occupied Germany was often kind of insane (that being the point) but I didn't mind if I couldn't figure out who was doing what. Frequently the case with the German parts of this book. But until now, 1968 kind of made sense.

>178 annamorphic: interesting! is there any big change in style in part 4? I’m wondering what impact the ten year delay had on his writing.

I've started book 4, still June.

I’ve been reading this book all year. Did not know there was a group read. I am in June, going into July.

>181 Kristelh: welcome. I guess if you have almost made July you must like it so far. 🙂

>182 dchaikin:, I find it easy enough to read because it is what I do at bedtime. I read one day. Sometimes I fall asleep and have to finish the next day. Sometimes I am confused but I just keep reading.

Finished! A full review will come on my 1001 thread, but I will say that the last 100 pages or so are very odd. There's a chapter entirely occupied by a school teacher's efforts to teach a short novel by Fontane. It's the epitome of the book's dwelling on details that reveal characters. And then... well, things change. I don't want to give any spoilers but let's say I was not expecting it. And was disturbed.

>184 annamorphic: interesting and congrats.

>183 Kristelh: cool that you read it daily. I started weekly, reading a week every Sunday night and Monday, but i went through stop/start fits. So now I’m hoping to read so much each month and finish in December

I just finished July 3rd and so confusing. A made up word by Marie.Cydamonoe.

I realised I had a milestone coming up on my Boxall list so finished the last two months (and therefore the book) today. Without giving too much away, the ending leaves you hanging which is a bit of letdown after 1850 pages... Overall I thought the book way too long, particularly the uneventful NY sections, but I liked the historical insights into life in East Germany during and after WW2, and the disorienting switches between time and narrator make this a different read which is ultimately what the Boxall list is about.

As a side note, it was interesting that Vietnam, which dominated the early NY sections, is barely mentioned in the closing volume.

>187 puckers: Congrats on finishing

>187 puckers: Congrats on finishing AND on #1100 from the list!

For the most part, you all are not convincing me that it's worth my reading time to go back to this book . . .

I am in July, a little half way through July. I can't say I hate it. I would have liked to have someone to help grasp what is going on, but maybe it doesn't lend itself to discussion. As an annual read I found it easy to keep up which is not always the case.
Next year my annual read will be Clarissa: or the history of a young lady.

I’m on July 2. Hoping to get through July this month

I just finished. I liked the sort of love letter to NYC near the end. It crystallizes that part of the book for me, and I think i enjoyed NYC a lot more than Germany.

The last book is softer, with a lot of digressions on characters in Germany that I wasn’t invested in (a whole lot of them), and I didn’t feel it gave me a great understanding of the GDR. And i never got a sense of the romantic part of her relationship with Jakob.

And Uwe gave up all pretense of making Marie a realistic character. She becomes just a Gesine alter-ego of sorts to keep the conversation going.

Overall I enjoyed it. I feel very forgiving of its insane length, which I mean as a really nice compliment. I liked getting swept up on these short time capsules of the moment. (History’s rough draft)

>193 dchaikin: well done on finishing the book!

>193 dchaikin:. Daniel, congrats on finishing. I am closing in on finishing too but it seems like it is so slow.

>194 puckers:, >195 Kristelh: thanks! Kristelh - I had push through all those German students. But I found the last 20 pages really nice.

>196 dchaikin:, Daniel, that is encouraging.

I finished and this is my comments; I don't believe there are any spoilers here and perhaps it might be helpful.

Uwe Johnson, German Author, Johnson was born in Kammin in Pomerania (now Kamień Pomorski, Poland). His father was a peasant of Swedish descent from Mecklenburg and his mother was from Pomerania. In 1945 the family fled to Anklam in West Pomerania and in 1946 his father died in a Soviet internment camp. Due to his failure to show support for the Communist regime of East Germany, he was suspended from the university on 17 June 1953, but he was later reinstated. He came to the US in 1961. I think I read some where that he lived at the address that he gave Gesine.

Book original title is Jahrestage. Aus dem Leben von Gesine Cresspahl, 2018 translation by Damion Searls.
The book is written as a diary with a submission for every day of the year from August 1967 to 1968 which includes a leap year, also has a prelude and an appendix. The book does not remind you of a diary but more of a journal and free floating with some confusion as to who is actually talking but it has to all be Gesine because it is her diary. Gesine was born about the time of Hitler coming to power. She endured the war, the soviet occupation, communism and getting herself to the US, finding work, raising her daughter as a single mother. The actual time period finds them in the use for 6 years and the daughter is 10 and Gesine has decided to tell the story of her own childhood and coming of age. So the book is a coming of age story of a German girl and also a historical novel encompassing the past but also the present including; the Vietnam war, Che Guevara, racial violence, elections and assassinations. It also covers the Prague Spring;a period of political liberalization and mass protest in the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic. It began on 5 January 1968, when reformist Alexander Dubček was elected First Secretary of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (KSČ).

Liked: it wasn't hard to read but it also was not compelling. The decision to read a section every day helped to keep me reading and ultimately finish. It was a panoramic view of history.

Disliked: it was often confusing and hard to know who was speaking, even though it had to be Gesine. And the point was often lost or unclear. Perhaps because it was history through Gesine's eyes and the NYT it was unreliable? It also has or shares a lot of details with the author's life.
Rating 3.4 stars

>198 Kristelh: Well done on finishing. A nice summary of the book.

>199 puckers:, Thank you Puckers

>198 Kristelh: enjoyed your post, and some of that on Johnson was new to me. Congrats!

>201 dchaikin: Thank you Daniel