Category Archives: Literature in Translation

September 21, 2015 · 1:43 pm

Review: The Looking Glass Sisters by Gøhril Gabrielsen

I received an advanced review copy of this novella from Peirene Press.  This is the third book in their Chance Encounter Series.  This title was originally written and published in Norwegian and this English translation has been done by John Irons.

My Review:
Looking Glass SistersThis is an emotionally intense and sinister book that will leave you thinking about relationships with close family members long after you finish the last page.  The focus of the book is on the codependence of two sisters who are each other’s only remaining relatives after their parents die.  When the book opens they are middle-aged and have been living together in isolation on the outskirts of rural Norway for almost 30 years.

The first sister, the one who is the unnamed narrator of the story, has been physically handicapped since she was a little girl.  She contracted a high fever which caused her to be in the hospital for several weeks and the illness left her paralyzed from the waist down.  She must rely on her parents for all of her needs and when her parents die the only other person she has left in her life is her older sister, Ragna.  The sisters live in a remote house that no one ever visits and the only way to reach the local village for supplies is by snow sled.

But one day the routine of the sisters’ lives changes when a man named Johan moves into the area and starts to court Ragna.  We get the sense that Ragna has been resentfully taking care of her sister for years and has never really developed any life of her own because of the constant needs of  her invalid sister.  Ragna seems bitter and at times she is emotionally and physically cruel to her disabled sister.  There is one scene in the book that is particularly painful to read;  the handicapped sister has to use the bathroom and drags herself out of bed with her crutches and just before she reaches the bathroom, Ragna runs in and locks the door.  Ragna refuses to come out of the bathroom and the crippled and helpless sister is forced to relieve herself in her pants.  Her dignity is further eroded when she then must be cleaned up and carried back to bed by Ragna.

When Johan comes along and decides to marry Ragna, it seems that Ragna could not be happier now that she has the opportunity to rid herself of the burden of her sister.  At times I felt sorry for both sisters.  On the one hand, the handicapped sister cannot help her situation and she has no choice but to be constantly asking her sister for everything she needs.  On the other hand, Ragna must constantly be at her sister’s beck and call and Ragna feels that her sister is never grateful for what Ragna does for her.  We also get the feeling throughout the narrative that the disabled sister has a very narrow view of the world and doesn’t understand what is going on outside her room or how her constant demands affect her sister.  At times she appears paranoid and melodramatic.

This novella brings up some interesting thoughts about family members and our obligations to them.  If we are the only ones left to take care of a loved one are we obligated to do so to the detriment of our own lives?   But if we can’t rely on our family, then who else is there to depend on in times of need?  In the end, Ragna and Johan make a selfish decision in favor of making peace and quiet for themselves.

The novellas published by Peirene are meant to be read quickly, in a matter of a few hours.  But I found this book so dark and intense that I could only read it a few pages at a time over the course of several days.  The final book in the Chance Encounter series is a stunner that is the perfect way to finish out this set of novellas.

About The Author:
G GabrielsenGøhril Gabrielsen, born in 1961, grew up in Finnmark, the northernmost county in Norway, and currently lives in Oslo. She won Aschehoug’s First Book Award for her 2006 novel Unevnelige hendelser (Unspeakable Events), and was the recipient of the 2010 Tanum Scholarship for Women. Since the publication of her debut novel she has brought out two further books to great acclaim in her native Norway, Svimlende muligheter, ingen frykt (The Looking-Glass Sisters) and Skadedyr (Vermin). Her fourth novel is due out in 2015.

 

 

 

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September 16, 2015 · 12:00 am

Review: The 6:41 to Paris by Jean-Philippe Blondel

Today I welcome France Book Tours back to the blog with an intriguing literary novel from New Vessel Press.  This novel was originally written and published in French and this English translation has been done by Alison Anderson. Scroll down to the end of the review to enter to win your own copy and to look at all of the stops on the book tour.

My Review:
641 to ParisCécile is a stylish and confident forty-seven year old entrepreneur who owns a successful cosmetics company, has been married for twenty years and has a teenage daughter.  When the book opens, she has just visited her elderly parents for the weekend and is about to take the 6:41 a.m. train back to her home in Paris.  As her parents age, her weekend visits to their home are becoming harder for her and more depressing.  The only thing that Cécile wants to do on the train is to relax and have a few hours of peace and quiet.  But when she realizes who sits down next to her on the train, her commute back home is anything but restful.

Philippe Leduc is also forty-seven but time has not been as kind to his physique as it has to Cécile.  Philippe is divorced and his teenage children pretty much want nothing to do with him and he has a monotonous job selling televisions in a big box chain store.  He is also on the 6:41 a.m. train to Paris but for a very different reason than Cécile.  Philippe’s childhood friend is dying of cancer and Philippe is on his way to the hospital in Paris to say his final goodbyes.  Philippe also assumes that his train ride will be quiet, until he realize that the only seat left on the train is the one next to his ex-girlfriend, Cécile.

Philippe and Cécile had a four month relationship when they were in their early twenties.  They were both very different people at the time: Philippe was the most popular boy in school, handsome, and very popular; Cécile was plain looking, shy and did not have many friends.  They immediately recognize one another on the train, but neither one of them has the courage to speak up and acknowledge one other’s presence.  They each sit in silence and contemplate the disaster that was their short-lived romantic relationship that ended more than twenty years ago.

While they were dating, the relationship, for the most part, seemed fine but Cécile always had the feeling that Philippe was better than her and that he would inevitably dump her for someone better.  They go on a trip to London together which ends up being an awful memory for both of them because it is on this very trip that Philippe decides to end the relationship in the worst possible way.  What is interesting about the end of their affair is the effect it has on each of them.  Cécile decides she will never again be made to feel inferior and will not be treated so badly by anyone.  Philippe, on the other hand, knows that he has behaved in a very mean and churlish way towards Cécile and this eats away as his pride and confidence.  He is never able to recover from the guilt of this bad breakup and never has a successful relationship after his time with Cécile.

The ending to this book is very interesting as the author builds up to the conclusion.  We are left wondering if Cécile and Philippe will ever speak with each other; and if they do have a conversation will it be amicable?  New Vessel Press has provided us with another entertaining translation of a charming French book.

About The Author/Translator:

Jean-Philippe Blondel was born in 1964 in Troyes, France where he lives as an author and English teacher.  His novel The 6:41 to Paris has been a bestseller in both France and Germany.

Alison Anderson is a novelist and translator of literature from French. Among the authors she has translated are JMG Le Clézio, Christian Bobin, Muriel Barbery and Amélie Nothomb. She has lived in Northern California and currently lives in a village in Switzerland.

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Giveaway:

You can enter the global giveaway here or on any other book blogs participating in this tour. Be sure to follow each participant on Twitter/Facebook, they are listed in the entry form below. This giveaway is open to US residents only. Five participants will each win an ARC print copy of this book.

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September 8, 2015 · 12:32 pm

Review: The Man in a Hurry by Paul Morand

I received an advanced review copy of this title from Pushkin Press through Edelweiss.  This book was originally written and published in French in 1941 and this English translation has been done by Euan Cameron.

My Review:
The Man In A HurryPierre has been in a hurry for all of his life.  He does multiple tasks at a time in order to speed up his life.  He shaves, gets dressed and brushes his teeth simultaneously; he drives too fast and he takes stairs three and four at a time.  There is no task for which Pierre will slow down.  The parts of the book that describe his lightening fast lifestyle are humorous.  For example, there is an incident in which his car breaks down after an accident and instead of waiting for help, Pierre abandons the car with his friend in it and proceeds to his destination on foot.

But Pierre’s fast life has not allowed him to slow down and forge any true or lasting relationships.  His closest friend and partner, the one whom he abandons with his care, decides he has had enough and severs their business relationship.  His manservant who has worked for Pierre for many years is tired of being yelled at and almost run over by Pierre so he quits.  Pierre is essentially alone in his life until he meets Hedwige.

Hedwige, her two sisters and her mother are the opposite of Pierre.  Their favorite activity is lounging around on their mother’s bed; they are never in a hurry for anyone or anything.  When they meet Pierre they are amused by this quirky man and his swiftness.  Pierre is immediately attracted to Hedwige and proposes marriage.  But can the love of a good woman really slow Pierre down and make him appreciate his life?

When Hedwige marries Pierre, the most beautiful gift that he decides he can give her is to delay the conjugal relations on their wedding night.  Pierre arranges for separate bedrooms in their apartment and decides to wait six weeks to get to know Hedwige before he has sex with her.  What better gift can he possibly give her than his patience, especially when it comes to putting off one of the most basic human drives.

When Hedwige becomes pregnant, the old pull of always being in a hurry starts to draw Pierre back in.  How can he possibly wait for nine months to see his child?  Hedwige begins to find comfort again in her mother’s bedroom with her other sisters and she slowly shuts Pierre out.  The matter comes to an ugly head when Pierre wants Hedwige to induce labor when she is only seven months pregnant.

This book has a humorous side as we read all of the ridiculous things Pierre does to hurry up.  But there is also an important social commentary about appreciating what we have and living in the moment.  If we are always in a hurry and worrying about what is happening next then we don’t appreciate those who are most important to us.

About The Author:
Paul MorandPaul Morand was a French diplomat, novelist, playwright and poet, considered an early Modernist.

He was a graduate of the Paris Institute of Political Studies (better known as Sciences Po). During the pre-war period, he wrote many short books which are noted for their elegance of style, erudition, narrative concision, and for the author’s observation of the countries he visited combined with his middle-class views.

Morand’s reputation has been marred by his stance during the Second World War, when he collaborated with the Vichy regime and was a vocal anti-Semite. When the Second World War ended, Morand served as an ambassador in Bern, but his position was revoked and he lived in exile in Switzerland.

Post-war, he was a patron of the Hussards literary movement, which opposed Existentialism. Morand went on to become a member of the Académie française; his candidature was initially rejected by Charles de Gaulle, the only instance of a President ever exercising his right to veto electees to the academy. Morand was finally elected ten years later, though he still had to forgo the official investiture).

Paul Morand was a friend of Marcel Proust and has left valuable observations about him.

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August 31, 2015 · 12:00 am

Review: Confusion by Stefan Zweig

I have not been very active on the blog this week, but I have a great excuse.  Classes have started again so that means I am back in the classroom.  I have a record number of students who have signed up for Latin this year.  So when someone makes the comment that Latin is a “dead language” I reference my robust numbers of enthusiastic students.  Confusion is the perfect book to review for back-to-school since it highlights a rather unusual relationship between a student and teacher.  This book was originally published in the German in 1929 and this English translation is done by Anthea Bell.

My Review:
ConfusionWhen the novella opens, Roland is celebrating his sixtieth birthday and his thirtieth anniversary of teaching in the Department of Languages and Literature.  His colleagues and students have presented him with a book that is a complete biography of his academic career.  The only thing missing is an account of how he was inspired to begin his career in academics.  The rest of the story is an account of Roland’s youth and his experience with the teacher that inspired his career.

Roland first attends university in Berlin where he is bored and uninspired and as a result he does not take his studies seriously.  He spends months lounging around in coffee-houses and sleeping with many women and not tending to his studies at all.  One day his father shows up unannounced and this incident makes for a very funny and awkward scene in the book.  Roland is so embarrassed by his behavior that he agrees to leave Berlin and attend university in a small provincial town in central Germany.  This is where he encounters the teacher that will change his life and infuse in him a lifelong passion for literature.

When he first arrives at his new university, Roland stumbles into a lecture on Shakespeare which is being given by a passionate and well-spoken professor.  All of the students listening are captivated by this teacher and Roland is instantly inspired as well.  He finds the professor and enlists his help in mapping out a plan for his academic future.  Roland lives in the same building as the teacher and his wife so he quickly becomes very close with the couple.  Roland eats meals with the couple, spends evenings in the teacher’s study, and even goes on various social outings separately with the wife.

From the beginning it becomes clear that the teacher and his wife have a very strange marriage.  They never display an affection for each other and seem to be more roommates than husband and wife.  As Roland spends time with the wife, she drops hints here and there that they are not happily married and that the teacher is rather a difficult person to live with.  But the true details about the non-traditional relationship between husband and wife are not revealed until the very end of the book.

Throughout his time with the teacher, Roland is plagued by the constant mood swings of his mentor.  Sometimes his teacher is encouraging and kind and then all of a sudden he is insulting, distant and cold.  Roland works hard at his studies to impress his teacher, even to the detriment of his mental and physical health.  Roland feels like he is walking on eggshells because he never knows if his teacher will be kind or cruel.  The teacher’s feelings and reasons for his changeable behavior are not revealed until the end of the book.

As a teacher this book was interesting to read because it reminded me that we oftentimes never know what kind of an impact we can have on students’ lives and careers.  Roland has this one man to thank for his long and successful career but he never gets to tell the teacher about his inspiration.  It is significant that the teacher is never given a name; he remains a nameless entity even though he has such an amazing impact on Roland’s fate.   Furthermore, there could not be a more apt title for this book than the word “confusion.”  Roland is confused about his relationship to his teacher, and he is also confused about the relationship between the teacher and his wife.  And until the very end, the reader is confused about what, exactly, is going on with the teacher.

This is a touching, powerful and short read that I highly recommend.  I look forward to reading more of Zweig’s works.  Thanks to the New York Review of Books for reviving another fantastic classic work in translation.

About The Author:
Stefan Zweig was one of the world’s most famous writers during the 1920s and 1930s, especially in the U.S., South America and Europe. He produced novels, plays, biographies and journalist pieces. Among his most famous works are Beware of Pity, Letter from and Unknown Woman and Mary, Queen of Scotland and the Isles. He and his second wife committed suicide in 1942.

Zweig studied in Austria, France, and Germany before settling in Salzburg in 1913. In 1934, driven into exile by the Nazis, he emigrated to England and then, in 1940, to Brazil by way of New York. Finding only growing loneliness and disillusionment in their new surroundings, he and his second wife committed suicide.

Zweig’s interest in psychology and the teachings of Sigmund Freud led to his most characteristic work, the subtle portrayal of character. Zweig’s essays include studies of Honoré de Balzac, Charles Dickens, and Fyodor Dostoyevsky (Drei Meister, 1920; Three Masters) and of Friedrich Hlderlin, Heinrich von Kleist, and Friedrich Nietzsche (Der Kampf mit dem Dmon, 1925; Master Builders). He achieved popularity with Sternstunden der Menschheit (1928; The Tide of Fortune), five historical portraits in miniature. He wrote full-scale, intuitive rather than objective, biographies of the French statesman Joseph Fouché (1929), Mary Stuart (1935), and others. His stories include those in Verwirrung der Gefhle (1925; Conflicts). He also wrote a psychological novel, Ungeduld des Herzens (1938; Beware of Pity), and translated works of Charles Baudelaire, Paul Verlaine, and mile Verhaeren.

Most recently, his works provided inspiration for the 2014 film ‘The Grand Budapest Hotel’

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August 24, 2015 · 12:00 am

Review: Rock, Paper, Scissors by Naja Marie Aidt

I received an advanced review copy of this title from Open Letter Press through Edelweiss.  This book was originally published in Danish and this English translation is done by K.E. Semmel

My Review:
Rock Paper ScissorsAt the core of the book is the complex character of Thomas who has never really dealt with or gotten over his terrible childhood.  Thomas’ mother walked out on their family when he was a young boy and left Thomas and his sister, Jenny, to be raised by a physically and emotionally abuse father.  When Thomas’ father, with whom he has not had contact in years, dies in prison, all of his unpleasant childhood feelings and memories come crashing in on his life.

Thomas owns and runs a successful stationery store with his best friend and partner, Maloney.  A lot of the book describes Thomas everyday life while he works, goes out for lunch and drinks and spends time with his live-in girlfriend, Patricia.  It seems that Thomas has a good life, a steady income, and is surrounded by stable friends and family.  Thomas is close to his sister, Jenny, and even though she is emotionally needy and dramatic he still feels the need to always protect her.  But when Thomas has to deal with his father’s funeral, he slowly begins to unravel and come apart at the seams.

The sentences and language of the book are oftentimes short, even choppy or staccato, which style fits well with the ever-changing moods of Thomas.  One minute he is enraged and punching a heap of boxes and the next he is calm and happy. There is a long stretch of time in the book, after his father’s funeral, during which Thomas wants to do nothing but sleep.   He becomes distant from Patricia and he won’t even consider having a family with her.  His rage also has sexual manifestations and this is what ultimately drives his girlfriend Patricia away.

A large section of the book is dedicated to a family trip that Thomas takes with Patricia as they go and visit Thomas’ aunt, cousins, sister and niece.  The setting in the rustic countryside and the meals shared together seem to put Thomas at ease and the reader is lured into thinking that Thomas’ rough patch is finally over.  But there is one guest at the party, a young man named Luke, who was an old acquaintance of his father’s.  Thomas doesn’t quite trust Luke or Luke’s supposed relationship with Thomas’ father.  Even when Thomas has some peace like on the weekend vacation, there is always a discomfort or an uneasiness lurking in the background.

One final aspect of the story worth mentioning is Thomas’ encounter with his father’s old business partners.  Thomas accidentally finds a large sum of money at his father’s abandoned apartment and he tries to ask his partners about his father’s criminal past.  But the partners are reluctant to speak about their business at all and it is never even revealed why his father was in prison.  Thomas’ stationery business is vandalized, his home is broken into and his girlfriend is attacked at one point.  Thomas assumes that all of these incidents are related to his father’s illegal business but, despite his theories, Thomas never really gets to the bottom of this mystery.

ROCK, PAPER, SCISSORS is a dark, complex look into the psyche of a man who has had a traumatic childhood; it is also a look into what can happen to that man’s life if these issues are never dealt with.   I will warn you that the book ends on a bit of a cliff hanger.  We can only wonder and hope that Aidt has another episode of Thomas’ story in the works for us.

About The Author:
N AidtNaja Marie Aidt is a Danish poet and writer. She was born in Greenland, and spent some of her childhood there. She published her first book of poetry in 1991, and in 2008 she was awarded the Nordic Council’s Literature Prize.

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