what did you read in 2021?
what did you read in 2021?
full lists, thoughts, loves, disappointments, you know the score.
three days on the cross (wahome mutahi) - 9/10
gosta berling’s saga (selma lagerlof) - 7/10
masks (fumiko enchi) - 8/10
oracle night (paul auster) - 6/10
i lock my door upon myself (joyce carol oates) - 7/10
a house of gentlefolk (ivan turgenev) - 7/10
the ballad of the sad cafe (carson mccullers) - 10/10
something i’ve been meaning to tell you (alice munro) - 9/10
gosta berling’s saga (selma lagerlof) - 7/10
masks (fumiko enchi) - 8/10
oracle night (paul auster) - 6/10
i lock my door upon myself (joyce carol oates) - 7/10
a house of gentlefolk (ivan turgenev) - 7/10
the ballad of the sad cafe (carson mccullers) - 10/10
something i’ve been meaning to tell you (alice munro) - 9/10
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Monsieur Arkadin
- Posts: 422
- Joined: Mon May 27, 2019 5:56 pm
I'm not one of these multiple books a month readers. So my year topped out at 11 books.
Nightwood - Djuna Barnes
Loved it. But a sort of cold intellectual love.
Sugar Street - Naguib Mahfouz
Loved it, more for being the final installment of a long journey. Can't hold a candle to Palace Walk
L'Amour - Marguerite Duras
Didn't realize when I started it that this was what became Woman of the Ganges, but interesting as a companion to that film.
The Brothers Karamazov - Fyodor Dostoevsky
Nothing that can really be said. Book is good. Pevear and Volokonsky translation is garbage.
Hegel - Peter Singer
Read this just so I can parse Zizek a bit better without actually having to read Hegel. Works well for that purpose.
Thinking in Pictures - John Sayles
If I lived near a beach this would have been a good beach read.
Vineland - Thomas Pynchon
My first "minor" Pynchon. No complaints. Very much my shit.
Emily L. - Marguerite Duras
Perfect. It's no Lol Stein, but that's the closest thing to a flaw. One of my favorite Duras.
The Name of the Rose - Umberto Eco
Liked. Did not love.
The Sailor Who Fell From Grace With The Sea - Yukio Mishima
Did not expect to scare the shit out of myself with this one. Great.
Nightwood - Djuna Barnes
Loved it. But a sort of cold intellectual love.
Sugar Street - Naguib Mahfouz
Loved it, more for being the final installment of a long journey. Can't hold a candle to Palace Walk
L'Amour - Marguerite Duras
Didn't realize when I started it that this was what became Woman of the Ganges, but interesting as a companion to that film.
The Brothers Karamazov - Fyodor Dostoevsky
Nothing that can really be said. Book is good. Pevear and Volokonsky translation is garbage.
Hegel - Peter Singer
Read this just so I can parse Zizek a bit better without actually having to read Hegel. Works well for that purpose.
Thinking in Pictures - John Sayles
If I lived near a beach this would have been a good beach read.
Vineland - Thomas Pynchon
My first "minor" Pynchon. No complaints. Very much my shit.
Emily L. - Marguerite Duras
Perfect. It's no Lol Stein, but that's the closest thing to a flaw. One of my favorite Duras.
The Name of the Rose - Umberto Eco
Liked. Did not love.
The Sailor Who Fell From Grace With The Sea - Yukio Mishima
Did not expect to scare the shit out of myself with this one. Great.
my top 10:
a journal of the plague year (daniel defoe)
the souls of black folk (w.e.b. dubois)
don't look now [and other stories, nyrb edition] (daphne du maurier)
the man within (graham greene)
apprenticeship, or the book of pleasures (clarice lispector)
the anarchist's workbench (christopher schwarz)
the girls of slender means (muriel spark)
the man who lived underground (richard wright)
cyropaedia (xenophon)
on the silver globe (jerzy zuławski)
i think that lispector is the last novel of hers i had to read. really, really enjoyed going through all of those over the past few years. she definitely should be considered one of the maybe 10 best novelists of the 20th century. if the only two i really loved were that and the defoe, i'd be happy saying it was a really good year for reading. those two were tops for me.
a journal of the plague year (daniel defoe)
the souls of black folk (w.e.b. dubois)
don't look now [and other stories, nyrb edition] (daphne du maurier)
the man within (graham greene)
apprenticeship, or the book of pleasures (clarice lispector)
the anarchist's workbench (christopher schwarz)
the girls of slender means (muriel spark)
the man who lived underground (richard wright)
cyropaedia (xenophon)
on the silver globe (jerzy zuławski)
i think that lispector is the last novel of hers i had to read. really, really enjoyed going through all of those over the past few years. she definitely should be considered one of the maybe 10 best novelists of the 20th century. if the only two i really loved were that and the defoe, i'd be happy saying it was a really good year for reading. those two were tops for me.
"Most esteemed biographer of Peter Barrington Hutton"
heck i'm reading all the time, as refuge from our foolish age. probably forgetting some below: i make notes but don't always keep track. twas meant to be the year of the 19th century novels, but aside from the peacocks, austen, gissing, white, and turgenev i didn't get round to any. lots of literary essays and biographical (many volumes only dipped into: johnson wrote a lotta "lives"), too few good novels & travel books.
the misfortunes of elphin (thomas love peacock)
melincourt (peacock)
mansfield park (jane austen)
literary essays (walter bagehot)
a history of 19th century literature (george saintsbury)
the peace of the augustans (saintsbury)
specimens of english prose style, from malory to macaulay (saintsbury)
contemporary french novelists (rene doumic)
the minor pleasures of life (rose macaulay)
essays (william hazlitt)
lives of the poets (samuel johnson)
essays from the rambler (johnson)
french novelists and poets (henry james)
nostromo (joseph conrad)
under western eyes (conrad)
the emancipated (george gissing)
on life & letters vols I-IV (anatole france)
on the eve (ivan turgenev)
the mirror in the roadway (frank o'connor)
late essays (georges bernanos)
stories (ivan bunin)
the improvement of the mind (isaac watts)
french studies (edmund gosse)
friday nights (edward garnett)
characters and commentaries (lytton strachey)
on happiness (alain)
the strange necessity (rebecca west)
israel rank (roy horniman)
essays of elia (charles lamb)
the age of reason: the eighteenth century (harold nicolson)
small talk (nicolson)
a book for a corner (leigh hunt)
money & morals (eric gill)
essays, articles, and reviews (evelyn waugh)
at home: essays (gore vidal)
reperusals and recollections (logan pearsall smith)
mark rutherford's deliverance (william hale white)
the third miss symons (f. m. mayor)
the polyglots (william gerhardie)
the georgian scene (frank swinnerton)
selected critical writings (richard aldington)
essays from the guardian (walter pater)
characters and passages from notebooks (samuel butler)
the misfortunes of elphin (thomas love peacock)
melincourt (peacock)
mansfield park (jane austen)
literary essays (walter bagehot)
a history of 19th century literature (george saintsbury)
the peace of the augustans (saintsbury)
specimens of english prose style, from malory to macaulay (saintsbury)
contemporary french novelists (rene doumic)
the minor pleasures of life (rose macaulay)
essays (william hazlitt)
lives of the poets (samuel johnson)
essays from the rambler (johnson)
french novelists and poets (henry james)
nostromo (joseph conrad)
under western eyes (conrad)
the emancipated (george gissing)
on life & letters vols I-IV (anatole france)
on the eve (ivan turgenev)
the mirror in the roadway (frank o'connor)
late essays (georges bernanos)
stories (ivan bunin)
the improvement of the mind (isaac watts)
french studies (edmund gosse)
friday nights (edward garnett)
characters and commentaries (lytton strachey)
on happiness (alain)
the strange necessity (rebecca west)
israel rank (roy horniman)
essays of elia (charles lamb)
the age of reason: the eighteenth century (harold nicolson)
small talk (nicolson)
a book for a corner (leigh hunt)
money & morals (eric gill)
essays, articles, and reviews (evelyn waugh)
at home: essays (gore vidal)
reperusals and recollections (logan pearsall smith)
mark rutherford's deliverance (william hale white)
the third miss symons (f. m. mayor)
the polyglots (william gerhardie)
the georgian scene (frank swinnerton)
selected critical writings (richard aldington)
essays from the guardian (walter pater)
characters and passages from notebooks (samuel butler)
Have a look at all the picnics of the intellect: These conceptions! These discoveries! Perspectives! Subtleties! Publications! Congresses! Discussions! Institutes! Universities! Yet: one senses nothing but stupidity. - Gombrowicz, Diary
Great stuff 2021
the first 17 titles are personal favorites
01. Hulanhe zhuan “Tales of Hulan River“
Hong Xiao, Hong Kong 1940
read in German under the title "Geschichten vom Hulanfluss, translated by Ruth Keen
02. Schwarze Weide "Black Willow"
Horst Lange, Germany 1937
03. Tithidore “When the Time is Right”
Buddhadeva Bose, Inda 1949
read in English under the title “When the Time is Right”, translated by Arunava Sinha
04. Der Hochwald
Adalbert Stifter, Austria 1841/1844
05. Ameisenberg
Heinrich Wolfgang Seidel, Germany 1914
06. Himmelsvolk "People of the Sky"
Waldemar Bonsels, Germany 1915
07. Die Gesellschaft vom Dachboden "The Attic Pretenders"
Ernst Kreuder, Germany 1946
08. Manhattan Love Song
Cornell Woolrich, USA 1932
09. Tennessee’s Partner
Bret Harte, USA 1869
10. Die Tänzerin "The Dancer"
Rudolf Timmermans, Germany 1946
11. Die Stadt der träumenden Bücher "The City of Dreaming Books"
Walter Moers, Germanyd 2004
12. The Buried Giant
Kazuo Ishiguro, UK 2015
13. Сepыe пчёлы / Serye pčёly “Grey Bees"
Andrej Kurkow, Ukraine 2018
read in German under the title “Graue Bienen“, translated by Johanna Marx and Sabine Grebing
14. La Petite Bijou “Little Jewel“
Patrick Modiano, France 2001
read in German under the title “Die kleine Bijou“ translated by Peter Handke
15. Der Provinzlärm "Clamor in the Boondocks"
Wilhelm Lehmann, Germany 1930
16. Androcles and the Lion
George Bernard Shaw, UK 1912/1916
17. The Haunting of Hill House
Shirley Jackson, USA 1959
18. La nave “The Ship“
Gabriele D'Annunzio, Italy 1908
read in German under the title “Das Schiff", translated by Rudolf Georg Binding
19. Mogzauroba Qarabghshi “Journey to Karabakh“
Aka Mortschiladse, Georgia 1992
read in german under the title “Reise nach Karabach“, translated by Iunona Guruli
20. Il ritorno in patria
Winfried Georg Sebald, Germany 1990
21. Die Wupper
Else Lasker-Schüler, Germany 1909
22. Herein ohne anzuklopfen "Enter without knocking"
Ernst Kreuder, West Germany 1954
23. Elevation
Stephen King, USA 2018
24. Sankt Georgs Stellvertreter "Saint George's Substitute"
Rudolf Georg Binding, German 1920
25. Inside the Mind, a Soul of Dynamite? Fantasy, Vision Machines, and Homeless Souls in Weimar Cinema
Thomas Elsaesser, USA 2010
26. Verstehen erfordert mehr als Vertrautheit. Mori Ōgai – Hanako – Rodin
Beate Wonde, Germany 2016
27. Du plus loin de l’oubli “Out of the Dark“
Patrick Modiano, France 1996
gread in German under the title “Aus tiefstem Vergessen“, translated by Elisabeth Edl
28. Valerie a týden divů “Valerie and the Week of Wonders“
Vítězslav Nezval, Czechoslovakia 1932/1945
read in German under the title “Valerie und die Woche der Wunder“, translated by Ondřej Cikán
29. Betty
Georges Simenon, France 1961
read in German under the title “Betty“, translated by Elisabeth Edl and Wolfgang Matz
30. Yao “Medicine“
Xun Lu, China 1919
read in German under the title “Die Arznei“, translated by Johanna Herzfeldt
31. Sult “Hunger“
Knut Hamsun, Norway 1890
probably read in an edited, later version in German under the title “Hunger“, translated by Julius Sandmeier and Sophie Angermann
32. Sapiski is Mjortwogo doma “The House of the Dead“
Fjodor Michailowitsch Dostojewski, Russia 1862
read in German under the title “Aufzeichnungen aus einem Totenhaus“, translated by Dieter Pommerenke
33. Baby Love
Silvia Szymanski, Germany 1999
34. Tschudi
Mariam Kühsel-Hussaini, Germany 2020
35. Mandabi: Confronting Africa
Julius Lester, USA 1970
36. Meine Pfote wirft keinen Schatten "My Paw has no Shadow"
Volker Reiche, Germany 2016
37. L’écornifleur “The Sponger“
Jules Renard, France 1892
read in German under the title “Der Schmarotzer, translated by Manfred Müller
38. Mästerdetektiven Blomkvist “ Master Detective Blomkvist“
Astrid Lindgren, Königreich Sweden 1946
read in German under the title “Kalle Blomquist Meisterdetektiv“, translated by Cäcilie Heinig
39. Silent Movies: the birth of film and the triumph of movie culture
Peter Kobel and the Library of Congress, USA 2007
40. Krotkaja. Fantastičeskij rasskaz “The Gentle Spirit“
Fjodor Dostojewskij, Russia 1876
read in German under the title “Die Sanfte. Eine phantastische Erzählung“, translated by Wolfgang Kasack
41. al-Qôhira al-Jadîda “Cairo Modern“
Nagib Machfus, Egypt 1945
read in German under the title “Das junge Kairo“, translated by Hartmut Fähndrich
42. Imperium
Robert Harris, UK 2006
43. Piasshingu “Piercing”
Ryū Murakami, Japan 1994
read in German under the title “Piercing”, translated by Sabine Mangold
44. Das Werther-Thema in Hamsuns „Mysterien“
Frank Thiess, West Germany 1957
45. Nebel im Fjord der Lachse "Mist in the Fjord of Salmons"
C. C. Bergius, West Germany 1972
46. Walt Whitman
Fritz Usinger, West Germany 1957
47. Der Dichter Ernst Barlach "The Poet Ernst Barlach"
Walter Muschg, West Germany 1958
48. Karl-Detlev [Kapitel I] "Karl-Detlev [Chapter I]"
Simon Frauendorfer, Germany 2021
49. Ivanhoe
Walter Scott, Vereinigtes UK 1819
50. Elberfeld im Wuppertal
Else Lasker-Schüler, Germany 1925
51. Il Maestro
Martin Scorsese, USA 2021
52. The Institute
Stephen King, USA 2019
53. Die Göttin mit der Fackel "The Goddess with the Torch"
Theodor Däubler, Germany 1931
54. Balta drobulė “White Shroud“
Antanas Škėma, UK 1958
read in German under the title “Das weiße Leintuch“, translated by Claudia Sinnig
55. Entzückter Staub "Entranced Dust"
Wilhelm Lehmann, Germany 1946
56. A Room with a View
Edward Morgan Forster, UK 1908
57. El Chalet de las Rosas “The Castle of Roses“
Ramón Gómez de la Serna, Spain 1923
read in German under the title “Das Rosenschloss“, translated by Ernst Felix Weiß
58. Beyle oder das merckwürdige Faktum der Liebe
Winfried Georg Sebald, Germany 1990
59. Eine Schachpartie "A Chess Match"
Wilhelm Jensen, Germany 1888
60. La morte della farfalla “The Death of the Butterfly“
Pietro Citati, Italy 2006
read in German under the title “Schön und verdammt“, translated by Maja Pflug
61. Jean Giraudoux. In Marcel Prousts Welt … Du côté de chez Marcel Proust
Jürgen Ritte [editor], Germany 2021
62. Le Cheval Blanc “The White Horse Inn“
Georges Simenon, France 1938
read in German under the title “Zum Weißen Ross, translated by Trude Fein
63. Heimweh "Homesickness"
Franz Jung, Germany 1927
64. Du côté de chez Marcel Proust “In Marcel Prousts World“
Jean Giraudoux, France 1919
read in German under the title “In Marcel Prousts Welt“, translated by Jürgen Ritte
65. The Deep
John Crowley, USA 1975
66. Mameluk “The Mamluk“
Aka Mortschiladse, Georgia 2009
read in German under the title “Der Filmvorführer“, translated by Iunona Guruli
----------------------------------------------------
Pretty good year, the best part of it was that I discovered so many great writers I didn't even know existed before: Hong Xiao, Horst Lange, Heinrich Wolfgang Seidel, Ernst Kreuder, Bret Harte, Rudolf Timmermans, Jules Renard, Andrey Kurkov! I'm so looking forward to reading more of their work!!! And names I knew but hadn't read who turned out far better than expected: Adalbert Stifter, Waldemar Bonsels, Patrick Modiano, Shirley Jackson, Else-Lasker-Schüler! Or people I've wanted to read for years, like Sebald, Vítězslav Nezval, Xun Lu or Walter Scott. So many names!! Also fantastic new discoveries by old favorites like Cornell Woolrich, Walter Moers, Wilhelm Lehmann, George Bernard Shaw, Gabriele D'Annunzio, Stephen King, Geroges Simenon, Astrid Lindgren etc. as well as outstanding discoveries by writers I didn't love before but wanted to get to know better, like Buddhadeva Bose and Kazuo Ishiguro.
Discoveries, discoveries, discoveries.
I didn't read as much as I wanted and not all those 1000+ pages thick novels I had intended, but it was still an ok year in terms of quantity.
the first 17 titles are personal favorites
01. Hulanhe zhuan “Tales of Hulan River“
Hong Xiao, Hong Kong 1940
read in German under the title "Geschichten vom Hulanfluss, translated by Ruth Keen
02. Schwarze Weide "Black Willow"
Horst Lange, Germany 1937
03. Tithidore “When the Time is Right”
Buddhadeva Bose, Inda 1949
read in English under the title “When the Time is Right”, translated by Arunava Sinha
04. Der Hochwald
Adalbert Stifter, Austria 1841/1844
05. Ameisenberg
Heinrich Wolfgang Seidel, Germany 1914
06. Himmelsvolk "People of the Sky"
Waldemar Bonsels, Germany 1915
07. Die Gesellschaft vom Dachboden "The Attic Pretenders"
Ernst Kreuder, Germany 1946
08. Manhattan Love Song
Cornell Woolrich, USA 1932
09. Tennessee’s Partner
Bret Harte, USA 1869
10. Die Tänzerin "The Dancer"
Rudolf Timmermans, Germany 1946
11. Die Stadt der träumenden Bücher "The City of Dreaming Books"
Walter Moers, Germanyd 2004
12. The Buried Giant
Kazuo Ishiguro, UK 2015
13. Сepыe пчёлы / Serye pčёly “Grey Bees"
Andrej Kurkow, Ukraine 2018
read in German under the title “Graue Bienen“, translated by Johanna Marx and Sabine Grebing
14. La Petite Bijou “Little Jewel“
Patrick Modiano, France 2001
read in German under the title “Die kleine Bijou“ translated by Peter Handke
15. Der Provinzlärm "Clamor in the Boondocks"
Wilhelm Lehmann, Germany 1930
16. Androcles and the Lion
George Bernard Shaw, UK 1912/1916
17. The Haunting of Hill House
Shirley Jackson, USA 1959
18. La nave “The Ship“
Gabriele D'Annunzio, Italy 1908
read in German under the title “Das Schiff", translated by Rudolf Georg Binding
19. Mogzauroba Qarabghshi “Journey to Karabakh“
Aka Mortschiladse, Georgia 1992
read in german under the title “Reise nach Karabach“, translated by Iunona Guruli
20. Il ritorno in patria
Winfried Georg Sebald, Germany 1990
21. Die Wupper
Else Lasker-Schüler, Germany 1909
22. Herein ohne anzuklopfen "Enter without knocking"
Ernst Kreuder, West Germany 1954
23. Elevation
Stephen King, USA 2018
24. Sankt Georgs Stellvertreter "Saint George's Substitute"
Rudolf Georg Binding, German 1920
25. Inside the Mind, a Soul of Dynamite? Fantasy, Vision Machines, and Homeless Souls in Weimar Cinema
Thomas Elsaesser, USA 2010
26. Verstehen erfordert mehr als Vertrautheit. Mori Ōgai – Hanako – Rodin
Beate Wonde, Germany 2016
27. Du plus loin de l’oubli “Out of the Dark“
Patrick Modiano, France 1996
gread in German under the title “Aus tiefstem Vergessen“, translated by Elisabeth Edl
28. Valerie a týden divů “Valerie and the Week of Wonders“
Vítězslav Nezval, Czechoslovakia 1932/1945
read in German under the title “Valerie und die Woche der Wunder“, translated by Ondřej Cikán
29. Betty
Georges Simenon, France 1961
read in German under the title “Betty“, translated by Elisabeth Edl and Wolfgang Matz
30. Yao “Medicine“
Xun Lu, China 1919
read in German under the title “Die Arznei“, translated by Johanna Herzfeldt
31. Sult “Hunger“
Knut Hamsun, Norway 1890
probably read in an edited, later version in German under the title “Hunger“, translated by Julius Sandmeier and Sophie Angermann
32. Sapiski is Mjortwogo doma “The House of the Dead“
Fjodor Michailowitsch Dostojewski, Russia 1862
read in German under the title “Aufzeichnungen aus einem Totenhaus“, translated by Dieter Pommerenke
33. Baby Love
Silvia Szymanski, Germany 1999
34. Tschudi
Mariam Kühsel-Hussaini, Germany 2020
35. Mandabi: Confronting Africa
Julius Lester, USA 1970
36. Meine Pfote wirft keinen Schatten "My Paw has no Shadow"
Volker Reiche, Germany 2016
37. L’écornifleur “The Sponger“
Jules Renard, France 1892
read in German under the title “Der Schmarotzer, translated by Manfred Müller
38. Mästerdetektiven Blomkvist “ Master Detective Blomkvist“
Astrid Lindgren, Königreich Sweden 1946
read in German under the title “Kalle Blomquist Meisterdetektiv“, translated by Cäcilie Heinig
39. Silent Movies: the birth of film and the triumph of movie culture
Peter Kobel and the Library of Congress, USA 2007
40. Krotkaja. Fantastičeskij rasskaz “The Gentle Spirit“
Fjodor Dostojewskij, Russia 1876
read in German under the title “Die Sanfte. Eine phantastische Erzählung“, translated by Wolfgang Kasack
41. al-Qôhira al-Jadîda “Cairo Modern“
Nagib Machfus, Egypt 1945
read in German under the title “Das junge Kairo“, translated by Hartmut Fähndrich
42. Imperium
Robert Harris, UK 2006
43. Piasshingu “Piercing”
Ryū Murakami, Japan 1994
read in German under the title “Piercing”, translated by Sabine Mangold
44. Das Werther-Thema in Hamsuns „Mysterien“
Frank Thiess, West Germany 1957
45. Nebel im Fjord der Lachse "Mist in the Fjord of Salmons"
C. C. Bergius, West Germany 1972
46. Walt Whitman
Fritz Usinger, West Germany 1957
47. Der Dichter Ernst Barlach "The Poet Ernst Barlach"
Walter Muschg, West Germany 1958
48. Karl-Detlev [Kapitel I] "Karl-Detlev [Chapter I]"
Simon Frauendorfer, Germany 2021
49. Ivanhoe
Walter Scott, Vereinigtes UK 1819
50. Elberfeld im Wuppertal
Else Lasker-Schüler, Germany 1925
51. Il Maestro
Martin Scorsese, USA 2021
52. The Institute
Stephen King, USA 2019
53. Die Göttin mit der Fackel "The Goddess with the Torch"
Theodor Däubler, Germany 1931
54. Balta drobulė “White Shroud“
Antanas Škėma, UK 1958
read in German under the title “Das weiße Leintuch“, translated by Claudia Sinnig
55. Entzückter Staub "Entranced Dust"
Wilhelm Lehmann, Germany 1946
56. A Room with a View
Edward Morgan Forster, UK 1908
57. El Chalet de las Rosas “The Castle of Roses“
Ramón Gómez de la Serna, Spain 1923
read in German under the title “Das Rosenschloss“, translated by Ernst Felix Weiß
58. Beyle oder das merckwürdige Faktum der Liebe
Winfried Georg Sebald, Germany 1990
59. Eine Schachpartie "A Chess Match"
Wilhelm Jensen, Germany 1888
60. La morte della farfalla “The Death of the Butterfly“
Pietro Citati, Italy 2006
read in German under the title “Schön und verdammt“, translated by Maja Pflug
61. Jean Giraudoux. In Marcel Prousts Welt … Du côté de chez Marcel Proust
Jürgen Ritte [editor], Germany 2021
62. Le Cheval Blanc “The White Horse Inn“
Georges Simenon, France 1938
read in German under the title “Zum Weißen Ross, translated by Trude Fein
63. Heimweh "Homesickness"
Franz Jung, Germany 1927
64. Du côté de chez Marcel Proust “In Marcel Prousts World“
Jean Giraudoux, France 1919
read in German under the title “In Marcel Prousts Welt“, translated by Jürgen Ritte
65. The Deep
John Crowley, USA 1975
66. Mameluk “The Mamluk“
Aka Mortschiladse, Georgia 2009
read in German under the title “Der Filmvorführer“, translated by Iunona Guruli
----------------------------------------------------
Pretty good year, the best part of it was that I discovered so many great writers I didn't even know existed before: Hong Xiao, Horst Lange, Heinrich Wolfgang Seidel, Ernst Kreuder, Bret Harte, Rudolf Timmermans, Jules Renard, Andrey Kurkov! I'm so looking forward to reading more of their work!!! And names I knew but hadn't read who turned out far better than expected: Adalbert Stifter, Waldemar Bonsels, Patrick Modiano, Shirley Jackson, Else-Lasker-Schüler! Or people I've wanted to read for years, like Sebald, Vítězslav Nezval, Xun Lu or Walter Scott. So many names!! Also fantastic new discoveries by old favorites like Cornell Woolrich, Walter Moers, Wilhelm Lehmann, George Bernard Shaw, Gabriele D'Annunzio, Stephen King, Geroges Simenon, Astrid Lindgren etc. as well as outstanding discoveries by writers I didn't love before but wanted to get to know better, like Buddhadeva Bose and Kazuo Ishiguro.
Discoveries, discoveries, discoveries.
I didn't read as much as I wanted and not all those 1000+ pages thick novels I had intended, but it was still an ok year in terms of quantity.
"I too am a child burned by future experiences, fallen back on myself and already suspecting the certainty that in the end only those will prove benevolent who believe in nothing." – Marran Gosov
So what's some of your favorites and thoughts, nrh?
"I too am a child burned by future experiences, fallen back on myself and already suspecting the certainty that in the end only those will prove benevolent who believe in nothing." – Marran Gosov
everything i read in 2021 -
felicie, georges simenon
a dream come true: collected short fiction, juan carlos onetti
the promise, silvina ocampo
the horizontal man, helen eustis
in a lonely place, dorothy b. hughes
the blank wall, elizabeth sanxay holding
fools' gold, dolores hitchens
sparrow, maria doria russell
children of god, maria doria russell
our spoons come from woolworths, barbara comyns
vintage murder, ngaio marsh
the vet's daughter, barbara comyns
maigret, lognon & the gangsters, georges simenon
three women, robert musil
going to the dogs: the story of a moralist, erich kastner
the judge's house, georges simenon
little dorrit, charles dickens
madame maigret's friend, georges simenon
ambergris anthology, jeff vandermeer
elric: fortress of the pearl, michael moorcock
artists in crime, ngaio marsh
maigret & the old woman, georges simenon
elric: sailor on the seas of fate, maichel moorcock
the diaries of emilio renzi: a day in the life, ricardo piglia
the juniper tree, barbara comyns
invisible ink, patrick modiano
klara & the sun, kazuo ishiguro
lud-in-the-mist, hope mirlees
the plains, gerald murnane
jerry cornelius: his lives & his times, michael moorcock
tales of neveryon, samuel r. delaney
all those vanished engines, paul park
montage, mrinal sen
the sleeping sorceress, michael moorcock
gates of ivory trilogy, doris egan
cloud & ashes, greer gilman
our kind of traitor, john le carre
the blue hammer, ross macdonald
the drought, jg ballard
the crystal world, jg ballard
concrete island, jg ballard
ways of going home, alejandro zambra
in the forests of serre, patricia mckillip
angel with the sword, cj cherryh
the little buddhist monk, cesar aira
the proof, cesar aira
the divorce, cesar aira
written lives, javier marias
mr fortune's maggot, sylvia townsend warner
the dealings of daniel kesserich, fritz leiber
the salutation, sylvia townsend warner
princess of roumania, paul park
the tourmaline, paul park
the white tyger, paul park
the hidden world, paul park
weird year. looking at my notebooks it seems like a healthy spread of books but in reality it was a lot of fits and starts. whole weeks of not reading anything (not watching movies either).
highlights - reading dickens for the first time in many years with little dorrit was a huge pleasure. barbara comyns continues to be one of the greatest writers i've discovered in the last few years. the best of onetti's short fiction is amazing. reading more gerald murnane is a top priority for 2022. lud-in-the-mist should be canon by now.
and special pleasures found in odd genre fiction - delany's tales of neveryon is sold as a fantasy novel but largely a parable about a society moving from trade to monetary economy, with incredible asides along the way. the doris egan books i picked up at a neighborhood book swap without knowing anything, but turns out they are the most enjoyable modern swashbucklers i've read (same with cj cherryh's angel with the sword). patricia mckillip's in the forests of serre is beautiful, as is park's hard to describe princess of roumania trilogy.
did not read that many comics, but my favorite might have been julia gfrorer's vision, a victorian romance where a woman falls for her haunted mirror, with some truly horrible victorian cataract surgery along the way. the rupert & mulot/olivier schrauwen portrait of a drunk too, phantom pirate comics, as close to a raul ruiz comic book as i've seen.
felicie, georges simenon
a dream come true: collected short fiction, juan carlos onetti
the promise, silvina ocampo
the horizontal man, helen eustis
in a lonely place, dorothy b. hughes
the blank wall, elizabeth sanxay holding
fools' gold, dolores hitchens
sparrow, maria doria russell
children of god, maria doria russell
our spoons come from woolworths, barbara comyns
vintage murder, ngaio marsh
the vet's daughter, barbara comyns
maigret, lognon & the gangsters, georges simenon
three women, robert musil
going to the dogs: the story of a moralist, erich kastner
the judge's house, georges simenon
little dorrit, charles dickens
madame maigret's friend, georges simenon
ambergris anthology, jeff vandermeer
elric: fortress of the pearl, michael moorcock
artists in crime, ngaio marsh
maigret & the old woman, georges simenon
elric: sailor on the seas of fate, maichel moorcock
the diaries of emilio renzi: a day in the life, ricardo piglia
the juniper tree, barbara comyns
invisible ink, patrick modiano
klara & the sun, kazuo ishiguro
lud-in-the-mist, hope mirlees
the plains, gerald murnane
jerry cornelius: his lives & his times, michael moorcock
tales of neveryon, samuel r. delaney
all those vanished engines, paul park
montage, mrinal sen
the sleeping sorceress, michael moorcock
gates of ivory trilogy, doris egan
cloud & ashes, greer gilman
our kind of traitor, john le carre
the blue hammer, ross macdonald
the drought, jg ballard
the crystal world, jg ballard
concrete island, jg ballard
ways of going home, alejandro zambra
in the forests of serre, patricia mckillip
angel with the sword, cj cherryh
the little buddhist monk, cesar aira
the proof, cesar aira
the divorce, cesar aira
written lives, javier marias
mr fortune's maggot, sylvia townsend warner
the dealings of daniel kesserich, fritz leiber
the salutation, sylvia townsend warner
princess of roumania, paul park
the tourmaline, paul park
the white tyger, paul park
the hidden world, paul park
weird year. looking at my notebooks it seems like a healthy spread of books but in reality it was a lot of fits and starts. whole weeks of not reading anything (not watching movies either).
highlights - reading dickens for the first time in many years with little dorrit was a huge pleasure. barbara comyns continues to be one of the greatest writers i've discovered in the last few years. the best of onetti's short fiction is amazing. reading more gerald murnane is a top priority for 2022. lud-in-the-mist should be canon by now.
and special pleasures found in odd genre fiction - delany's tales of neveryon is sold as a fantasy novel but largely a parable about a society moving from trade to monetary economy, with incredible asides along the way. the doris egan books i picked up at a neighborhood book swap without knowing anything, but turns out they are the most enjoyable modern swashbucklers i've read (same with cj cherryh's angel with the sword). patricia mckillip's in the forests of serre is beautiful, as is park's hard to describe princess of roumania trilogy.
did not read that many comics, but my favorite might have been julia gfrorer's vision, a victorian romance where a woman falls for her haunted mirror, with some truly horrible victorian cataract surgery along the way. the rupert & mulot/olivier schrauwen portrait of a drunk too, phantom pirate comics, as close to a raul ruiz comic book as i've seen.