I finished Tokarczuk's Books of Jacob just yesterday (I was impatient and ordered the Fitzcarraldo edition to get it sooner). I thought it was wonderfully immersive in the setting and atmosphere of the time, and I learned a ton about the Frankists and mid-18th century Poland. Hope you will enjoy it when you get to it next year! 🙂
Hi, Sean. New sub here, and I'm truly excited to discover your UA-cam. It's my pleasure to connect with fellow BookTubers in the community, and I'm glad to be here. I love your techniques of book reviews as I've just checked through couple of your videos and I must say that they're absolutely fascinating and quite exceptional. The Tunnel sounds quite amazing, I love your demeanor. You sound quite intellectual, and I'd have to check through your BookTube newbie tag. I'll stick around your channel and would check your content from time to time. Truly excited to be here
A few weeks ago I read a fragment from The Tunnel from The William Gass Reader. Before I knew, tears were rolling down my face, which is rarer for me than I’d like. I can’t imagine that it would be like to read the whole thing. Terra Nostra is not very easy to find in Spanish, for some reason, although most of his other works are readily available. Another Mexican Maximalist whose style I enjoy even more than Fuente’s is Fernando del Paso. How thrilling to find that Levrero’s novel has been translated to English, I love his shorter works and I have La novela luminosa right here with me, it may be the one I read along with you next year. I’m a very slow reader, and I read America and the Cult of the Cactus Boots very quickly. It truly is a book like no other that I know of. The story of how that book ended up traveling from Slovenia to Colombia seems like something out of the book itself. Just know that its author and its editor are very generous people. Have you read Cartarescu’s Blinding? I think you would enjoy it.
Wow - your anecdote makes me even more excited to get to The Tunnel... I also just picked up the William Gass Reader. I think I'll read a few of his essays in there ("On Evil" and "Kinds of Killing," especially) before I read The Tunnel. Either way, it looks like an emotionally exhausting, but brilliant novel... I haven't even heard of Fernando del Paso until right now. It looks like he has few novels in translation - his Noticias del Imperio/ News from the Empire looks interesting. Now I just need to search the internet for used copies! Thanks for the recommendation. Glad to hear that Levrero is good - I know nothing about him, unfortunately, but knowing that someone else enjoyed his works makes me more excited to check him out. Hah! That sounds like a great story - I've only heard good things about both the author and publishers. I think I might try to dive into this one over Winter break...we'll see. I (somehow!) haven't read any Cartarescu yet, though Blinding and Nostalgia are both sitting on my shelf. Thanks for the nudge - I really need to get to his works as soon as possible. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on these books!
So manny wounderfull books, so much time wasted on work, so little time left for the wounderfull books! I really enjoy your videos and share your passion for litterature. Thank you 📖🥰🇩🇰
I think your channel should have the phrase 'World Literature' somewhere in its title. I appreciate your reviews because Booktube seems to be filled with (mostly) reviews of fantasy and sci fi books geared toward younger people, while the reviews seem to be very fan-oriented: whether the critic identified enough with the characters; how limited in representation the books are, and how progressive romantic relationships seem to be. I share these concerns, but I read novels for form, the degree of beauty in the prose, and to try to understand how certain emotional effects are achieved. I care about politics, so I am not at all a conservative reader who believes that politics should be separated from literary texts (as if one ever could). More than anyone, I guess I presently align with someone like Edward Said, who engaged the aesthetic richness of the western canon, while probing deeply into its imperial underpinnings and, in some cases, its overt imperialist depictions. I have to have aesthetics in my literary analyses, even in political readings. 1) Reading _The Books of Jacob_. It is is worthwhile. I'm thinking that if the greatness of the first few chapters is sustained, I'll be able to say by the end that it's a masterpiece. Loving it so far. 2) In graduate school, I took a course with the great medievalist, Kathryn Kerby-Fulton. I am a World Lit prof (but, really, in terms of scholarship, a 19th century transatlanticist), so, I was surprised to find how awesome medieval lit could be, under Kathryn's tutelage. I took the course as a req, but it was a great experience. Kathryn used to bring in relics and codices that were apt. I ended up writing my seminar paper on Piers. Kathryn is one of the greatest teachers I've ever had. 3) Have you always liked maximimalist pomo novels? Once a staunch 19th centurist, I waged a malicious campaign against pomo fiction, especially against metafiction, for many years. But something happened. In the last year and a half, I have become obsessed with maximalist fiction. I read _The Quincunx_ and then Helen Dewitt, and while visiting South America, I bought a Spanish-language maximalist novel titled _Mil de Fiebre_ ("A Temperature of a 1000 Degrees") that has not yet been translated into English. One thing I really like is...I'm perplexed about why, but I really like the description of minutiae or the hyper-specific listing of things that are somehow compellingly rendered. I say that my pleasure in these kinds of descriptions is perplexing because, as a scholar of 19th c lit (including Realist fiction), the abundance of descriptions of houses, landscapes, and even of inner psychological states (_Middlemarch_) in 19th c novels are not always pleasing. Whenever I have some time, I'd like to sit down and compare passages from 19th c novels with those of pomo maximalist novels, to see why there's more pleasure in the hyper-specificity of the prose in the latter. 4) How far are you in your program? What's your focus in Medieval Lit? Cheers, man.
My preemptive apology: it could very well be that you are a prof or teacher, and not a graduate student. I guess because you look young, I assumed that you are a PhD student.
With sincere apologies for my late response: thanks for the kind words! That's not a bad idea to put "world literature" in the channel name -- the current name was made up on a whim with little thought and probably isn't the most marketable...oh well! I need to get back to The Books of Jacob. I started it back in February, I believe, but only made it about half way before putting it aside. While I was enjoying many parts of it, I just didn't have the time to really devout the attention that it required. I suspect I'm in the minority here though -- it's good to hear that you're finding it very worthwhile! I also really like the hyper-specificity of certain pomo lit. I'm a big fan of Karl Ove Knausgård (I know many people do not like him!), and I think he utilizes that exceptionally well. The comparison between 19th century lit and pomo lit is quite interesting. I'm sure there are plenty of similarities, though I'm admittedly not very well-read when it comes to the 19th century. That's something I hope to fix in the future. It's great to hear from your perspective! I'm in my final year of my PhD. I should be defending this spring/summer if everything else goes according to plan. I focus primarily on Old Norse-Icelandic literature, with a subsidiary focus on translation. My diss. looks at translations from Old French and Latin into Old Norse. I'm glad you left a comment, Emilio -- it's good to see other academics around booktube as it is certainly dominated, as you suggest, by fantasy/sci fi fans(which isn't necessarily a bad thing, of course!). I hope you have a nice weekend!
@@travelthroughstories _Books of Jacob_: Definitely requires attention if one is to optimally take in its richness. I'm also stalled--the semester just started and had to get back to reading and teaching books for classes. Advent of defense: whoooo--hoooo! That's exciting! Well, best of luck, man, and your topic sounds amazing.
You are motivating me to read all the long /big/thick books I have in my list and some of your recommendations... Thank you and I am glad I found this channel.
I just discovered your channel today. I'm more interested in reading half of the books you mentioned. I'm ordering Phillip Freenenberg's book. Thank you for talking about these books.
I love big books as well, and you have quite an ambitious list for the year. I read 'The Tunnel' several years ago and loved it. 'Terra Nostra', 'Cactus Boots', and 'Baron Wenckheim' are all on my shelf -- not sure I'll get to them this year. While I am an inveterate list-maker, I do allow myself to meander and drift from the list during the year as my interests take me. Currently I'm reading 'Prae' by Szenthkuthy, Volume 1 of 'Miss MacIntosh, My Darling' and finishing a 1000-page biography of US Grant. I would like to read 'Kin' this year as well as 'Jerusalem' by Alan Moore, and perhaps a reread of 'The Magic Mountain' one of my favorite novels. Have a great year!
That's quite the "currently-reading" list! Both Prae and Miss MacIntosh look incredibly interesting - I think I heard that Prae vol II is supposed to be translated within the next year or two. Magic Mountain also sounds wonderful - he's been on my list for years, but I haven't gotten to him yet. I'm looking forward to hearing more of your thoughts on these big books!
The tunnel, the ice trilogy, terra nostra, the luminous novel and the book of jacob are on my TBR the next month. Tomb of sand seems awesome! I can find nowhere the book by freedenberg that I would like to read so much. The other books are completely new to me. Thanks for introducing me to them! Awesome video as always. Have a great day!
Shout out to you for picking out Tomb of Sand before it was nominated for the International Booker! I'd never heard anyone mention it before and I think it has about 8 ratings on goodreads. It's next on my to read list, can't wait for my copy to arrive!
Hah - thank you! I know, I'm kicking myself for not actually reading it sooner. It looks so wonderful though. I'm hoping to get to it soon (after I finish The Books of Jacob...). I hope you enjoy it!
Nice and varied set of big books. You've introduced me to a few titles I haven't heard mentioned before, so thanks for that. I found the channel via the Spinecrackers podcast. Keep up the great work!
Thank you, UA-cam, for suggesting this to me! This is exactly what I am interested in right now! Subscribed right away! I love reading, and since the discovery of audiobooks started doing it quite regularly, but some time ago I realized that the authors I read are either Russian or US/UK. I wanted to expend my literature geography, and even went as far as making a list of authors from every country in the world. But when I started searching for those audiobooks, I couldn't find any :((( Anyways, to cut it short, I am absolutely ecstatic for finding your channel and the fact that most of your recommendations are of non-english writers! Some of these are not quite my cup of tea, but I picked up a few ideas and will follow your future videos from more inspiration! Thank you! I am staying :)
What a wonderful list! I'm also reading Olga in February, I loved Flights and Primeval & Other Stories. I've had Terra Nostra on the shelf for too long as well, maybe 2022 is the year. I'm on the same page as you with Kraznahorkai. Read Satantango and some short fiction, but I've been close to picking up Melancholy of Resistance many times the last few months. Now, Leena Krohn I've heard mentioned here and there, but I have been resisting without researching too deeply what she's about. Anyone who gets compared to Italo Calvino needs to get on my shelves immediately, so that's now in the cart. I have read the Seducer but not the follow up books.. I currently think that Homo Falsus is the book by him I have that's the most interesting sounding. 2022 is shaping out to be very exciting for reading and booktube imo.. And thanks so much for the shout out!
2022 is the official year of Terra Nostra and Krasznahorkai. The comparisons to Italo Calvino (and Tove Janson!) really told me Leena Krohn as well... As for Kjærstad, it doesn't look like Homo Falsus is translated, but it does look quite interesting. I also have his most recent(?) BERGE on my shelf as well - perhaps that would be a better starting point than the Jonas Wergeland trilogy.
What a great list Sean! Tomb of Sand is on my docket to read next year, I read Geetanjali Shree’s novel Mai this year and although I didn’t love it, I’m keen to try this one out, I want to finish A Suitable Boy first though which I’m starting in January and am also reading The Books of Jacob with a friend in February so I guess I’m having my own big book year! 😉
Thank you! I'm glad other people are interested in Tomb of Sand. I haven't read any of her work , but I'm eager to. Wow, A Suitable Boy AND The Books of Jacob to start off the year? That sounds incredible - good luck with that. I'd be interested to hear what you think of both. A Suitable Boy looks interesting, but I've never really looked too much into it. I just know that it's incredibly long... Happy New Year, Jo!
That's one of the reasons I've been putting it off so long! It's probably a good book to read slowly though, so I'm sure you're getting a lot out of it.
An amazing collection of TBRs and a very enjoyable video. Thank you. I have read Kristin Lavransdatter years ago and loved it. I wondered if you were familiar with the Henrik Sienkiewicz trilogy With Fire and Sword, The Deluge and Fire in the Steppe. Polish classic but use the Kuniczak translation. Best to you, again thank you.
This is an epic list and I'll gladly watch and support from the sidelines 🤣 I may jump in for the Luminous Novel and the Seducer, but I already have so many books on my tbr that you've mentioned this year so we'll see. Happy New Year Sean!
I read the first “book” of Kristin Lavransdatter, but my husband has read the whole thing and absolutely loves it. This is an ambitious list, but I am excited to see how the year will turn out for you!
Good to hear that there's another Kristin Lavransdatter fan out there! And thank you - the list is a bit...much. There's little chance I get to it all, but I can dream!
Added so many of these to my tbr! So many new authors I’ve never heard of! Baron Wenckheims Homecoming sounds especially intriguing to me. I read Kristen Lavransdatter in high school and I really liked it even though I thought it was long winded towards the end. 😂
I'm glad some of them sounded interesting to you! Kraszahorakai really is one of the greatest living authors - I'd be interested to hear what you think of his books if you decide to read one. Good to know that you enjoyed Kristin Lavransdatter - I'm really looking forward to finishing the series!
I find it says something about you that you would escape into a contemplative novel about writer’s procrastination while procrastinating your dissertation. 😂 Many people escape into Jim Butcher novels or trashy paranormal romance, but you chose something much more thought-provoking! I am glad to hear about Terra Nostra, especially as I am Hispanic and have much family in Mexico. This video is making me realize that I could aim to read more international works of literature. Great video!
Haha! It certainly says "something" about me - whether it's positive or negative, I don't know... Carlos Fuentes seems to be a great place to start with Mexican/Hispanic literature, though there are so many wonderful writers from that region (Fernanda Melchor and Roberto Bolaño are two personal favorites!). Terra Nostra looks incredible though! Thanks, Johanna!
Also received Tombs of Sand in the mail this month and it’s on the TBR for 2022. I have enjoyed other translation of Indian literature by Daisy Rockwell, in particular Falling Walls/In the City a Mirror Wandering.
Rockwell seems like a pretty prolific translator (and author? Apparently she wrote a biography of Upendranath Ashk...), though I haven't read either of the ones you noted. I'll look into both of them! Tomb of Sand looks really, really good though - excited to hear what you think about it.
Great list! I learned the hard way that planning out what I want to read never works out lol. There's nothing wrong with having a TBR list or stack or whatever, but too much structure slows my reading motivation to a halt. I loved the way that you described your more organic approach (like a "mood reader") in that you "read a book and then, for whatever reason, that book will draw me to another book." I used to feel guilty for what I haven't read yet, but more and more I'm warming up to the idea that I seem to find every book at the right time, or maybe the book finds me at the right time. 😊 How many of these did you end up reading in 2022? I remember a few, Terra Nostra, Tomb of Sand, Cult of the Cactus Boots. Either way, great video and great list!
Thanks -- yeah, I utterly failed with this TBR, haha. There's a reason why this is the only tbr video I ever made. I definitely read at least the same amount of "big books" in 2022 that I talk about here, but just not all of THESE big books... I also DNF books fairly often, which I did with one of these (Books of Jacob). My problem with strict TBRs is that they make reading feel like a series of obligations rather than paths of discovery. I'm glad to hear that I'm not the only one who doesn't really like tbrs!
Uhh, you need to email a man from Slovenia, PayPal him like €25, then hope it shows up in a couple of weeks... (But seriously, the only way to order it is directly through the publisher, who is located in Slovenia. You just need to email him directly if you wanted to order it. coronasamizdat.com/aboutcs/ . I'm not sure if there are any plans to sell the rights to a US-based publisher, but it is unfortunate that the book is difficult to acquire right now.)
That looks like a fascinating selection of books. The Tunnel sounds wonderfully bizarre. You mentioned Hungarian books being “dreary”; you’re probably aware that the country has had for decades among the highest suicide mortality rates in the world. When I was there about twelve years ago they told me that suicide rates were dropping but alcoholism was on the rise, which sounded to me like trading a quick death for a slow one. It’s definitely a culture steeped in gloom.
Wow, that's a statistic I would not want to be known for... Whatever they're doing though, there's a lot of great books coming out of Hungary. Whether there's a correlation between that and the suicide rates/alcohol rates, I'm not sure, though the "myth of the depressive artist" seems relevant.
Please do read ' Tomb Of Sand' , originally written in my mother language, hindi. It's original name is ' Ret Samadhi ' that has deeper and more philosophical meaning than ' Tomb Of Sand'. However, the translator Daisy Rockwell has done a great job. The story is multi-dimensional and multi-layered at the same. There is glimpse of different eras and generations. It explores the shadow tree relationship of an individual's life and history of nations. It explores human relationships and their different meanings . It explores different identities and the common divine spirit in all of them. In the beginning of the first part of this musical composition of life, you will meet an new age caring daughter, her stubborn yet open-minded mother ( our chief protagonists coz there are so many protagonists) and the mother's transgender bestfriend, Rozy. This are the very initial characters of this novel who will lead you into the ocean of this Hindi masterpiece. It will make you smile, at sometimes weep ( really badly), sometimes angsty and in the end, totally in a state of mental serenity .
Wow, you've made it sound soo amazing! It's still high up on my TBR - I just need to carve out some time to actually read it. I'm really looking forward to it though!
Great list. I share your thoughts regarding the feeling of immersion in big novels being akin to well-written epic fantasy. Apart from Ret Samadhi (which is personally meaningful as it discusses Partition of India), I'm very interested in reading The Books of Jacob and Kristin Lavransdatter. Similar to you, I generally don't like plain historical fiction but find genre-mixing/experimental historical novels e.g. The Name of the Rose enjoyable. Have you read/do you plan to read Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel or Hild by Nicola Griffith? If yes, would you recommend them?
Thank you! I haven't read Wolf Hall or Hild yet, but I've heard great things about Wolf Hall. Hild also looks particularly interesting as it's about one of my favorite medieval figures: Hilda of Whitby! I may have to read that one.
@@travelthroughstories 🙂 I'm reading Wolf Hall now and then will probably try The Books of Jacob. Hild does seem very interesting. My one concern is the second book hasn't yet been published and it is supposed to be a trilogy. I also want to try Umberto Eco's 'The Prague Cemetery' but I do find his writing quite difficult.
I can't wait to hear your take on all of these! Can I ask where you were able to find a copy of the Freedenberg? I'm so intrigued, but can only find a site that would require purchasing from Slovenia. Has it not been released in the US?
Ordering from Slovenia is the only way to get it, as of right now. I was surprised by how quickly it shipped to the USA though - it took less than 2 weeks. But yes, you'll need to email Rick Harsh directly to order it. It certainly looks worth it though!
@@travelthroughstories Thank you! Somehow that makes me even more intrigued, like it's this rare little treasure that can only be found on a hidden shelf on the other side of the world. Looks like I'll be buying myself a Christmas present!
@@Elizabeth-Reads Haha! Agreed! Just based on what other reviewers have said about the book, I suspect that it may find a larger US-based publisher in the next couple of years, but getting it all the way from Slovenia and reading it before it does sounds like a lot more fun.
Glad to hear you've enjoyed reading Kin so far since Jergović really nails the whole spectrum of themes relevant for understanding the problem of one's own identity through narratorial omniscience and an interesting interplay between fact and fiction, interpolating memoirs, pseudocitations and much more along the way. Still, the bleak tone and the constant autoreflexive tendency of the narrator to question his reliability do not always work well, and Jergović is not the kind of writer interested in pushing the language to it's limits, but anyway, it's a stunner and one of my personal favorites (my native serbian is pretty much the same as croatian). Be sure to pay attention to the metaphorization of animals such as bees, bunnies and dogs, as well as to the diegetic exuberance. If you end up liking it, you will have a satisfactory understanding of identity problems typical for an ex-Yugoslav. Coming from one of the countries that proclaimed independence after the dissolution of Yugoslavia, even though I am to young to remember the civil war that followed it, the ethical and political problems punctuated in the novel still have a tremendous impact on my life and the lives of my native people, hell, it affects pretty much everybody here. If there is one maximalist novel that can be useful as an introduction to ex-Yugoslav culture and very relevant, I believe this is it. I'm currently going through the third section of Terra nostra, which has a lot of medieval elements, so it's a safe bet you will find it more appealing to your taste. The use of language in this one is very solid. My first Fuentes thus far seems to be a genuine experience. P.S. South Slavic literature, though fairly small, is abundant in medieval elements. I can reccomend you a little list of works which you might find amusing from authors such as Miodrag Bulatović, Vasko Popa, Novica Tadić, Ivan V. Lalić, Miloš Crnjanski, Milorad Pavić and Goran Petrović. And one can't read South Slavic literature without diving into Borislav Pekić. P.P.S. Keep up bringing the content Sean, your contribution to booktube is no joke.
Thanks for all the kind words, Balša! I really appreciate it. You've made me really want to return to KIN as soon as possible - the identity problems, the mix of "fact" and fiction, etc. is all incredibly interesting. It's a region and history that I, unfortunately, don't know enough about so I'm sure I was missing quite a few references/allusions, but I'm keen to learn more. Thanks for the advice for what to look out for - I'll keep those in mind! Have you read any of Pajtim Statovci's work? He writes in Finnish, but he was born in Kosovo and most of his works are about the breakup of Yugoslavia and the ensuing...problems. Good to know about Terra Nostra! I'd be interested to hear what you thought of it once you finish as well. As for South Slavic literature - thanks so much for the recommendations! I'm eagerly researching all of the authors you listed right now. Hopefully I'll get to some of them soon.
@@travelthroughstories Ugh, been busy today, sorry about the delay. As a matter of fact I haven't, but having heard your take on Bolla my schedule will be updated with Crossing and My cat Yugoslavia in 2022! Thanks a lot for the recommendation, hope to share some thoughts after reading them. I will, Terra Nostra does cover medieval grounds very frequently. Since I come from a background of Orthodox Christianity my reading is somewhat restrained in theological terms (in light of the question of ,,faith" and heresy, certain heretic teachings characteristic for Catholicism), but again, it inspires me to catch up with the task of understanding different ideas. :) Milorad Pavić's novel Dictionary of the Khazars may be a good one to try, since it envisions the conversion of mighty Khazars to three monotheistic religions while remaining a postmodern work par excellence, close poetically to such writers as Umberto Eco and Jorge Luis Borges. www.goodreads.com/book/show/321566.Dictionary_of_the_Khazars?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=7KYbEXdsD2&rank=2 Ivan V. Lalić is a poet like a sibling to TS Eliot, who was always fascinated with Byzantium. Hopefully Francis R. Jones manages to translate his collection Four canons, which echoes Eliot's Four quartets but is a unique medieval-toned poem. www.goodreads.com/book/show/396692.Roll_Call_of_Mirrors?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=OMeuRAZN1M&rank=1#bookDetails www.goodreads.com/book/show/3214132-rusty-needle Other prominent voices in poetry are Vasko Popa: www.goodreads.com/book/show/1278509.Collected_Poems_of_Vasko_Popa?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=OmXxhGwOTX&rank=1 and Novica Tadić, dark as you can get, probably more than Hungarians: www.goodreads.com/book/show/6581502-dark-things Miodrag Bulatović remains one of the very powerful and autonomous voices, close to magical realism and full of diabolical imagery, his best known novels being: a) The red cock flies to heaven / The red rooster flies heavenwards www.goodreads.com/book/show/40516295-the-red-cock-flies-to-heaven?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=LE5JQIzI0H&rank=2 b) Stop the Danube (short stories collection actually) c) Hero on a donkey www.goodreads.com/book/show/5112241-a-hero-on-a-donkey?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=gxpuBlqP7q&rank=1 Svetislav Basara's The Cyclist Conspiracy tells the tale of a secret Brotherhood who meet in dreams, gain esoteric knowledge from contemplation of the bicycle, and seek to move in and out of history, manipulating events, it will be captivating if you like parodies and alternate history narratives: www.goodreads.com/book/show/11723752-the-cyclist-conspiracy?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=LooMbYP6mU&rank=1 Borislav Pekić might be fascinating and very challenging. His first novel The time of miracles deals with the problem of miracles and salvation with allusions towards stalinist and titoist trials of the time: www.goodreads.com/book/show/1757915.The_Time_of_Miracles?from_search=true&from_srp=V7Xd3eqIDM&qid=10 His novel The houses of Belgrade is a styllistic masterpiece, telling the inner monologue of a man obsessed with his houses for rent that doesn't cross his doorstep for 27 years only to come out on the day of student's anti-government demonstrations in 1968. www.goodreads.com/book/show/2641198-the-houses-of-belgrade?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=s3lBQx1mzJ&rank=1 His most exciting novel is probably How to quiet a vampire, a novel of ideas. It takes upon the theme of betrayal and Faustian nightmares of a man who hides his own Nazi past. www.goodreads.com/book/show/1101366.How_to_Quiet_a_Vampire?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=YajziWj4im&rank=1 His magnum opus Golden Fleece follows the genealogy of the Njegovan-Turjaški family, and I believe it remains the longest novel in South Slavic literature. It is highly unlikely it will be translated any time soon though... One of the authors I like to reccomend for better comprehension of Yugoslav affairs is Aleksandar Tišma, his novels The book of blam and Use of man, also dealing with war related identity issues: www.goodreads.com/book/show/685499.The_Book_of_Blam www.goodreads.com/book/show/1066549.The_Use_of_Man If you like lyrically rich novels, check out one of the best narrators of the Central European tradition, Danilo Kiš, who recollects his family history in times revolving around the atmosphere of Holocaust: www.goodreads.com/book/show/217984.Garden_Ashes?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=BrKjQJE0uw&rank=3 Lana Bastašić Is a beautiful witer, her first novel Catch the rabbit deals with friendship overblown by traumas of (post) war emigration: www.goodreads.com/book/show/56064463-catch-the-rabbit I plan od reading Ismail Kadare's work as well, maybe you are familiar with his writings? Anyway, I crossed the line, I better stop blabbering. :)
@@balsavukcevic8841 Wow, what an absolute treasure-trove of recommendations. Thanks so much for taking the time to write this out - so many of these books look so interesting. I've heard of Tišma and wanted to read his books for awhile now, but all the other authors are new to me. It looks like I'll be ordering a lot of books in the coming weeks! I actually read my first Kadare (Chronicle of Stone) earlier this month and I have his Broken April on my shelf that I need to get to soon. I quite enjoyed Chronicle of Stone! He's a writer I want to read more of as well. Well, I'm gonna look up all of these books/authors and order some soon - thanks, Balša!
That sounds like a great idea! I do have 4-5 Finnish authors I plan to read before I go, so I'll definitely do something like that. Thanks for the idea!
Thank you! I learned Old Norse in grad school and have since self-taught myself some Icelandic and Norwegian, but I'm definitely not fluent in any modern Scandinavian languages, unfortunately. For Norwegian, I found the book The Mystery of Nils. Part 1 - Norwegian Course for Beginners (ed. Werner Skalla) to be quite helpful, as my goals are to be able to read the languages rather than necessarily speak them. I basically just pick up "easy" books in those language and try to read them, figuring out the grammar along the way!
Phill Freedenberg was asked if you need to read Manifold Destiny of Eddie Vegas to read his. He said no. And that's true. But as chief editor of corona\samizdat press I have to tell you that the official reply is 'No--but why wouldn't you?'
Haha! Good to know, though, and I don't think I made this clear in the video, I'm quite interested in both books on their own terms as well as because they're connected. And I'm looking forward to checking out more books from corona/samizdat!
@@travelthroughstories Your viewers needed to know. I appreciated you showing my book, of course, but I don't want anyone feeling like they won't get Phill's if they don't read mine. Take care, Rick
These all look like they certainly enrich culture. As for their "significance," it may be too early to tell, as many were only published in the last 20 years.
Another lame-o who wants to look smart over things they haven't read. "Here's a stack of books I haven't read."
Another person angry at a stack of books 😆
What a mean-spirited comment, take a cold shower - get a grip
Just out of curiosity: Have you read the books he discusses? Also: don't bring that negative energy up in here. You sound...bitter.
@@emiliotarsa6582 Some good beers are bitter. @Michael Smith
Gass is a genius. I love seeing his name talked about.
Definitely an author I need to read more of. I'm really looking forward to The Tunnel, though I'm a bit intimidated to start it!
I finished Tokarczuk's Books of Jacob just yesterday (I was impatient and ordered the Fitzcarraldo edition to get it sooner). I thought it was wonderfully immersive in the setting and atmosphere of the time, and I learned a ton about the Frankists and mid-18th century Poland. Hope you will enjoy it when you get to it next year! 🙂
I'm so glad to hear that it's as incredible as it sounds! I'm looking forward to watching your review once I finally get around to reading it.
Hi, Sean. New sub here, and I'm truly excited to discover your UA-cam. It's my pleasure to connect with fellow BookTubers in the community, and I'm glad to be here. I love your techniques of book reviews as I've just checked through couple of your videos and I must say that they're absolutely fascinating and quite exceptional.
The Tunnel sounds quite amazing, I love your demeanor. You sound quite intellectual, and I'd have to check through your BookTube newbie tag.
I'll stick around your channel and would check your content from time to time. Truly excited to be here
Hello! Thank you for checking out my channel and for the kind words. I look forward to seeing you around!
@@travelthroughstories It's a pleasure, Sean.
A few weeks ago I read a fragment from The Tunnel from The William Gass Reader. Before I knew, tears were rolling down my face, which is rarer for me than I’d like. I can’t imagine that it would be like to read the whole thing.
Terra Nostra is not very easy to find in Spanish, for some reason, although most of his other works are readily available. Another Mexican Maximalist whose style I enjoy even more than Fuente’s is Fernando del Paso.
How thrilling to find that Levrero’s novel has been translated to English, I love his shorter works and I have La novela luminosa right here with me, it may be the one I read along with you next year.
I’m a very slow reader, and I read America and the Cult of the Cactus Boots very quickly. It truly is a book like no other that I know of. The story of how that book ended up traveling from Slovenia to Colombia seems like something out of the book itself. Just know that its author and its editor are very generous people.
Have you read Cartarescu’s Blinding? I think you would enjoy it.
Wow - your anecdote makes me even more excited to get to The Tunnel... I also just picked up the William Gass Reader. I think I'll read a few of his essays in there ("On Evil" and "Kinds of Killing," especially) before I read The Tunnel. Either way, it looks like an emotionally exhausting, but brilliant novel...
I haven't even heard of Fernando del Paso until right now. It looks like he has few novels in translation - his Noticias del Imperio/ News from the Empire looks interesting. Now I just need to search the internet for used copies! Thanks for the recommendation.
Glad to hear that Levrero is good - I know nothing about him, unfortunately, but knowing that someone else enjoyed his works makes me more excited to check him out.
Hah! That sounds like a great story - I've only heard good things about both the author and publishers. I think I might try to dive into this one over Winter break...we'll see.
I (somehow!) haven't read any Cartarescu yet, though Blinding and Nostalgia are both sitting on my shelf. Thanks for the nudge - I really need to get to his works as soon as possible.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on these books!
So manny wounderfull books, so much time wasted on work, so little time left for the wounderfull books! I really enjoy your videos and share your passion for litterature. Thank you 📖🥰🇩🇰
Agreed!! Thanks for watching! :)
I think your channel should have the phrase 'World Literature' somewhere in its title. I appreciate your reviews because Booktube seems to be filled with (mostly) reviews of fantasy and sci fi books geared toward younger people, while the reviews seem to be very fan-oriented: whether the critic identified enough with the characters; how limited in representation the books are, and how progressive romantic relationships seem to be. I share these concerns, but I read novels for form, the degree of beauty in the prose, and to try to understand how certain emotional effects are achieved. I care about politics, so I am not at all a conservative reader who believes that politics should be separated from literary texts (as if one ever could). More than anyone, I guess I presently align with someone like Edward Said, who engaged the aesthetic richness of the western canon, while probing deeply into its imperial underpinnings and, in some cases, its overt imperialist depictions. I have to have aesthetics in my literary analyses, even in political readings.
1) Reading _The Books of Jacob_. It is is worthwhile. I'm thinking that if the greatness of the first few chapters is sustained, I'll be able to say by the end that it's a masterpiece. Loving it so far.
2) In graduate school, I took a course with the great medievalist, Kathryn Kerby-Fulton. I am a World Lit prof (but, really, in terms of scholarship, a 19th century transatlanticist), so, I was surprised to find how awesome medieval lit could be, under Kathryn's tutelage. I took the course as a req, but it was a great experience. Kathryn used to bring in relics and codices that were apt. I ended up writing my seminar paper on Piers. Kathryn is one of the greatest teachers I've ever had.
3) Have you always liked maximimalist pomo novels? Once a staunch 19th centurist, I waged a malicious campaign against pomo fiction, especially against metafiction, for many years. But something happened. In the last year and a half, I have become obsessed with maximalist fiction. I read _The Quincunx_ and then Helen Dewitt, and while visiting South America, I bought a Spanish-language maximalist novel titled _Mil de Fiebre_ ("A Temperature of a 1000 Degrees") that has not yet been translated into English.
One thing I really like is...I'm perplexed about why, but I really like the description of minutiae or the hyper-specific listing of things that are somehow compellingly rendered. I say that my pleasure in these kinds of descriptions is perplexing because, as a scholar of 19th c lit (including Realist fiction), the abundance of descriptions of houses, landscapes, and even of inner psychological states (_Middlemarch_) in 19th c novels are not always pleasing. Whenever I have some time, I'd like to sit down and compare passages from 19th c novels with those of pomo maximalist novels, to see why there's more pleasure in the hyper-specificity of the prose in the latter.
4) How far are you in your program? What's your focus in Medieval Lit?
Cheers, man.
My preemptive apology: it could very well be that you are a prof or teacher, and not a graduate student. I guess because you look young, I assumed that you are a PhD student.
With sincere apologies for my late response: thanks for the kind words! That's not a bad idea to put "world literature" in the channel name -- the current name was made up on a whim with little thought and probably isn't the most marketable...oh well!
I need to get back to The Books of Jacob. I started it back in February, I believe, but only made it about half way before putting it aside. While I was enjoying many parts of it, I just didn't have the time to really devout the attention that it required. I suspect I'm in the minority here though -- it's good to hear that you're finding it very worthwhile!
I also really like the hyper-specificity of certain pomo lit. I'm a big fan of Karl Ove Knausgård (I know many people do not like him!), and I think he utilizes that exceptionally well. The comparison between 19th century lit and pomo lit is quite interesting. I'm sure there are plenty of similarities, though I'm admittedly not very well-read when it comes to the 19th century. That's something I hope to fix in the future. It's great to hear from your perspective!
I'm in my final year of my PhD. I should be defending this spring/summer if everything else goes according to plan. I focus primarily on Old Norse-Icelandic literature, with a subsidiary focus on translation. My diss. looks at translations from Old French and Latin into Old Norse.
I'm glad you left a comment, Emilio -- it's good to see other academics around booktube as it is certainly dominated, as you suggest, by fantasy/sci fi fans(which isn't necessarily a bad thing, of course!). I hope you have a nice weekend!
@@travelthroughstories _Books of Jacob_: Definitely requires attention if one is to optimally take in its richness. I'm also stalled--the semester just started and had to get back to reading and teaching books for classes. Advent of defense: whoooo--hoooo! That's exciting! Well, best of luck, man, and your topic sounds amazing.
You are motivating me to read all the long /big/thick books I have in my list and some of your recommendations... Thank you and I am glad I found this channel.
I just discovered your channel today. I'm more interested in reading half of the books you mentioned. I'm ordering Phillip Freenenberg's book. Thank you for talking about these books.
Thank you for watching! I hope you enjoy Freedenberg's book - it's an absolutely wild and fun ride!
I love big books as well, and you have quite an ambitious list for the year. I read 'The Tunnel' several years ago and loved it. 'Terra Nostra', 'Cactus Boots', and 'Baron Wenckheim' are all on my shelf -- not sure I'll get to them this year. While I am an inveterate list-maker, I do allow myself to meander and drift from the list during the year as my interests take me. Currently I'm reading 'Prae' by Szenthkuthy, Volume 1 of 'Miss MacIntosh, My Darling' and finishing a 1000-page biography of US Grant. I would like to read 'Kin' this year as well as 'Jerusalem' by Alan Moore, and perhaps a reread of 'The Magic Mountain' one of my favorite novels. Have a great year!
That's quite the "currently-reading" list! Both Prae and Miss MacIntosh look incredibly interesting - I think I heard that Prae vol II is supposed to be translated within the next year or two. Magic Mountain also sounds wonderful - he's been on my list for years, but I haven't gotten to him yet. I'm looking forward to hearing more of your thoughts on these big books!
The tunnel, the ice trilogy, terra nostra, the luminous novel and the book of jacob are on my TBR the next month. Tomb of sand seems awesome! I can find nowhere the book by freedenberg that I would like to read so much. The other books are completely new to me. Thanks for introducing me to them! Awesome video as always. Have a great day!
Shout out to you for picking out Tomb of Sand before it was nominated for the International Booker! I'd never heard anyone mention it before and I think it has about 8 ratings on goodreads. It's next on my to read list, can't wait for my copy to arrive!
Hah - thank you! I know, I'm kicking myself for not actually reading it sooner. It looks so wonderful though. I'm hoping to get to it soon (after I finish The Books of Jacob...). I hope you enjoy it!
Nice and varied set of big books. You've introduced me to a few titles I haven't heard mentioned before, so thanks for that. I found the channel via the Spinecrackers podcast. Keep up the great work!
Thank you very much! Good to see a fellow Spine Crackers fan!
Glad you made this video. My reading has really fallen off in recent years, but this list seems to have sparked the old fire. Happy reading!
I'm so glad I could help spark a fire! Cheers!
Thank you, UA-cam, for suggesting this to me! This is exactly what I am interested in right now! Subscribed right away! I love reading, and since the discovery of audiobooks started doing it quite regularly, but some time ago I realized that the authors I read are either Russian or US/UK. I wanted to expend my literature geography, and even went as far as making a list of authors from every country in the world. But when I started searching for those audiobooks, I couldn't find any :((( Anyways, to cut it short, I am absolutely ecstatic for finding your channel and the fact that most of your recommendations are of non-english writers! Some of these are not quite my cup of tea, but I picked up a few ideas and will follow your future videos from more inspiration! Thank you! I am staying :)
Thank you so much, Anastasia! I'm glad you were able to find a few books to add to your to-be-read pile! Audiobooks are a fantastic way to read more.
Baron Wenckheim's Homecoming is quite brilliant. One of my favorite books I read last year.
Good to hear! I've really only heard good things about it. I can't wait to dive back into Krasznahorkai.
What a wonderful list! I'm also reading Olga in February, I loved Flights and Primeval & Other Stories. I've had Terra Nostra on the shelf for too long as well, maybe 2022 is the year. I'm on the same page as you with Kraznahorkai. Read Satantango and some short fiction, but I've been close to picking up Melancholy of Resistance many times the last few months. Now, Leena Krohn I've heard mentioned here and there, but I have been resisting without researching too deeply what she's about. Anyone who gets compared to Italo Calvino needs to get on my shelves immediately, so that's now in the cart. I have read the Seducer but not the follow up books.. I currently think that Homo Falsus is the book by him I have that's the most interesting sounding. 2022 is shaping out to be very exciting for reading and booktube imo.. And thanks so much for the shout out!
2022 is the official year of Terra Nostra and Krasznahorkai. The comparisons to Italo Calvino (and Tove Janson!) really told me Leena Krohn as well... As for Kjærstad, it doesn't look like Homo Falsus is translated, but it does look quite interesting. I also have his most recent(?) BERGE on my shelf as well - perhaps that would be a better starting point than the Jonas Wergeland trilogy.
Terrell Owens was a prototype Wide Out. This cat is a prototype academic type, and I love it.
What a great list Sean! Tomb of Sand is on my docket to read next year, I read Geetanjali Shree’s novel Mai this year and although I didn’t love it, I’m keen to try this one out, I want to finish A Suitable Boy first though which I’m starting in January and am also reading The Books of Jacob with a friend in February so I guess I’m having my own big book year! 😉
Thank you! I'm glad other people are interested in Tomb of Sand. I haven't read any of her work , but I'm eager to. Wow, A Suitable Boy AND The Books of Jacob to start off the year? That sounds incredible - good luck with that. I'd be interested to hear what you think of both. A Suitable Boy looks interesting, but I've never really looked too much into it. I just know that it's incredibly long... Happy New Year, Jo!
The Tunnel is so dense. t was part of my year of reading maximally this year and I'm still only halfway through. It is good though
That's one of the reasons I've been putting it off so long! It's probably a good book to read slowly though, so I'm sure you're getting a lot out of it.
Great list. Can't wait to see this path over the next year.
So many books to get through... Thank you!
Read Jan Kjærstad ehen it first came out and loved it. The writing and construction of the book is great!! Curious to hear what you think about it!
I've somehow still not read Kjærstad, but I have 4 of his books staring down at me. Good to know that his trilogy is worth reading though!
Wow Sean! Super list. Love to read all your booklist. Keep introducing grand books .
Thank you! Will do.
An amazing collection of TBRs and a very enjoyable video. Thank you. I have read Kristin Lavransdatter years ago and loved it. I wondered if you were familiar with the Henrik Sienkiewicz trilogy With Fire and Sword, The Deluge and Fire in the Steppe. Polish classic but use the Kuniczak translation. Best to you, again thank you.
Thanks for watching! I've never heard of Henrik Sienkiewicz, but I'll keep an eye out for his book. Thanks for the recommendation!
Sienkiewicz wrote the classic Quo Vadis
This is an epic list and I'll gladly watch and support from the sidelines 🤣 I may jump in for the Luminous Novel and the Seducer, but I already have so many books on my tbr that you've mentioned this year so we'll see. Happy New Year Sean!
So. Many. Books! Glad to have a +1 for The Luminous Novel and The Seducer - I'm very eager to read both books. Have a happy new year, Yahaira!
Once you finished the novel, what did you think of The Luminous Novel? For me, it was one of my profound reading experiences, ever.
I read the first “book” of Kristin Lavransdatter, but my husband has read the whole thing and absolutely loves it. This is an ambitious list, but I am excited to see how the year will turn out for you!
Good to hear that there's another Kristin Lavransdatter fan out there! And thank you - the list is a bit...much. There's little chance I get to it all, but I can dream!
@@travelthroughstories Dream away!
Added so many of these to my tbr! So many new authors I’ve never heard of! Baron Wenckheims Homecoming sounds especially intriguing to me. I read Kristen Lavransdatter in high school and I really liked it even though I thought it was long winded towards the end. 😂
I'm glad some of them sounded interesting to you! Kraszahorakai really is one of the greatest living authors - I'd be interested to hear what you think of his books if you decide to read one. Good to know that you enjoyed Kristin Lavransdatter - I'm really looking forward to finishing the series!
The Books of Jacob is my favorite book of all time!
Your channel is such a gem! Thank you for sharing your reviews! How do you find new books to read?
I find it says something about you that you would escape into a contemplative novel about writer’s procrastination while procrastinating your dissertation. 😂 Many people escape into Jim Butcher novels or trashy paranormal romance, but you chose something much more thought-provoking! I am glad to hear about Terra Nostra, especially as I am Hispanic and have much family in Mexico. This video is making me realize that I could aim to read more international works of literature. Great video!
Haha! It certainly says "something" about me - whether it's positive or negative, I don't know... Carlos Fuentes seems to be a great place to start with Mexican/Hispanic literature, though there are so many wonderful writers from that region (Fernanda Melchor and Roberto Bolaño are two personal favorites!). Terra Nostra looks incredible though! Thanks, Johanna!
Also received Tombs of Sand in the mail this month and it’s on the TBR for 2022. I have enjoyed other translation of Indian literature by Daisy Rockwell, in particular Falling Walls/In the City a Mirror Wandering.
Rockwell seems like a pretty prolific translator (and author? Apparently she wrote a biography of Upendranath Ashk...), though I haven't read either of the ones you noted. I'll look into both of them! Tomb of Sand looks really, really good though - excited to hear what you think about it.
Great list! I learned the hard way that planning out what I want to read never works out lol. There's nothing wrong with having a TBR list or stack or whatever, but too much structure slows my reading motivation to a halt.
I loved the way that you described your more organic approach (like a "mood reader") in that you "read a book and then, for whatever reason, that book will draw me to another book." I used to feel guilty for what I haven't read yet, but more and more I'm warming up to the idea that I seem to find every book at the right time, or maybe the book finds me at the right time. 😊
How many of these did you end up reading in 2022? I remember a few, Terra Nostra, Tomb of Sand, Cult of the Cactus Boots. Either way, great video and great list!
Thanks -- yeah, I utterly failed with this TBR, haha. There's a reason why this is the only tbr video I ever made. I definitely read at least the same amount of "big books" in 2022 that I talk about here, but just not all of THESE big books... I also DNF books fairly often, which I did with one of these (Books of Jacob). My problem with strict TBRs is that they make reading feel like a series of obligations rather than paths of discovery. I'm glad to hear that I'm not the only one who doesn't really like tbrs!
Always a book(s) I need to look into. I’m fighting off the temptation of The Tunnel, but we will see. Subbed.
So many books, so little time. I'm also a bit worried about The Tunnel - it looks bleak and all encompassing. Thanks for the sub!
Yuuus emergent reading FTW!
Damn, some fantastic stuff. How do you even _get_ the Cactus Cult one. Doesn’t seem to come up for any book buying sites?
Uhh, you need to email a man from Slovenia, PayPal him like €25, then hope it shows up in a couple of weeks...
(But seriously, the only way to order it is directly through the publisher, who is located in Slovenia. You just need to email him directly if you wanted to order it. coronasamizdat.com/aboutcs/ . I'm not sure if there are any plans to sell the rights to a US-based publisher, but it is unfortunate that the book is difficult to acquire right now.)
@@travelthroughstories ohh wow haha! It’s wild that it became such a sensation, then! Thanks for letting me know hah
Great selection thank you
Thanks for watching!
That looks like a fascinating selection of books. The Tunnel sounds wonderfully bizarre.
You mentioned Hungarian books being “dreary”; you’re probably aware that the country has had for decades among the highest suicide mortality rates in the world. When I was there about twelve years ago they told me that suicide rates were dropping but alcoholism was on the rise, which sounded to me like trading a quick death for a slow one. It’s definitely a culture steeped in gloom.
Wow, that's a statistic I would not want to be known for... Whatever they're doing though, there's a lot of great books coming out of Hungary. Whether there's a correlation between that and the suicide rates/alcohol rates, I'm not sure, though the "myth of the depressive artist" seems relevant.
Please do read ' Tomb Of Sand' , originally written in my mother language, hindi. It's original name is ' Ret Samadhi ' that has deeper and more philosophical meaning than ' Tomb Of Sand'. However, the translator Daisy Rockwell has done a great job.
The story is multi-dimensional and multi-layered at the same. There is glimpse of different eras and generations. It explores the shadow tree relationship of an individual's life and history of nations. It explores human relationships and their different meanings . It explores different identities and the common divine spirit in all of them.
In the beginning of the first part of this musical composition of life, you will meet an new age caring daughter, her stubborn yet open-minded mother ( our chief protagonists coz there are so many protagonists) and the mother's transgender bestfriend, Rozy. This are the very initial characters of this novel who will lead you into the ocean of this Hindi masterpiece.
It will make you smile, at sometimes weep ( really badly), sometimes angsty and in the end, totally in a state of mental serenity .
Wow, you've made it sound soo amazing! It's still high up on my TBR - I just need to carve out some time to actually read it. I'm really looking forward to it though!
Great list. I share your thoughts regarding the feeling of immersion in big novels being akin to well-written epic fantasy. Apart from Ret Samadhi (which is personally meaningful as it discusses Partition of India), I'm very interested in reading The Books of Jacob and Kristin Lavransdatter.
Similar to you, I generally don't like plain historical fiction but find genre-mixing/experimental historical novels e.g. The Name of the Rose enjoyable.
Have you read/do you plan to read Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel or Hild by Nicola Griffith? If yes, would you recommend them?
Thank you! I haven't read Wolf Hall or Hild yet, but I've heard great things about Wolf Hall. Hild also looks particularly interesting as it's about one of my favorite medieval figures: Hilda of Whitby! I may have to read that one.
@@travelthroughstories 🙂 I'm reading Wolf Hall now and then will probably try The Books of Jacob.
Hild does seem very interesting. My one concern is the second book hasn't yet been published and it is supposed to be a trilogy.
I also want to try Umberto Eco's 'The Prague Cemetery' but I do find his writing quite difficult.
I can't wait to hear your take on all of these! Can I ask where you were able to find a copy of the Freedenberg? I'm so intrigued, but can only find a site that would require purchasing from Slovenia. Has it not been released in the US?
Ordering from Slovenia is the only way to get it, as of right now. I was surprised by how quickly it shipped to the USA though - it took less than 2 weeks. But yes, you'll need to email Rick Harsh directly to order it. It certainly looks worth it though!
@@travelthroughstories Thank you! Somehow that makes me even more intrigued, like it's this rare little treasure that can only be found on a hidden shelf on the other side of the world. Looks like I'll be buying myself a Christmas present!
@@Elizabeth-Reads Haha! Agreed! Just based on what other reviewers have said about the book, I suspect that it may find a larger US-based publisher in the next couple of years, but getting it all the way from Slovenia and reading it before it does sounds like a lot more fun.
Glad to hear you've enjoyed reading Kin so far since Jergović really nails the whole spectrum of themes relevant for understanding the problem of one's own identity through narratorial omniscience and an interesting interplay between fact and fiction, interpolating memoirs, pseudocitations and much more along the way. Still, the bleak tone and the constant autoreflexive tendency of the narrator to question his reliability do not always work well, and Jergović is not the kind of writer interested in pushing the language to it's limits, but anyway, it's a stunner and one of my personal favorites (my native serbian is pretty much the same as croatian). Be sure to pay attention to the metaphorization of animals such as bees, bunnies and dogs, as well as to the diegetic exuberance. If you end up liking it, you will have a satisfactory understanding of identity problems typical for an ex-Yugoslav. Coming from one of the countries that proclaimed independence after the dissolution of Yugoslavia, even though I am to young to remember the civil war that followed it, the ethical and political problems punctuated in the novel still have a tremendous impact on my life and the lives of my native people, hell, it affects pretty much everybody here. If there is one maximalist novel that can be useful as an introduction to ex-Yugoslav culture and very relevant, I believe this is it.
I'm currently going through the third section of Terra nostra, which has a lot of medieval elements, so it's a safe bet you will find it more appealing to your taste. The use of language in this one is very solid. My first Fuentes thus far seems to be a genuine experience.
P.S. South Slavic literature, though fairly small, is abundant in medieval elements. I can reccomend you a little list of works which you might find amusing from authors such as Miodrag Bulatović, Vasko Popa, Novica Tadić, Ivan V. Lalić, Miloš Crnjanski, Milorad Pavić and Goran Petrović. And one can't read South Slavic literature without diving into Borislav Pekić.
P.P.S. Keep up bringing the content Sean, your contribution to booktube is no joke.
Thanks for all the kind words, Balša! I really appreciate it. You've made me really want to return to KIN as soon as possible - the identity problems, the mix of "fact" and fiction, etc. is all incredibly interesting. It's a region and history that I, unfortunately, don't know enough about so I'm sure I was missing quite a few references/allusions, but I'm keen to learn more. Thanks for the advice for what to look out for - I'll keep those in mind! Have you read any of Pajtim Statovci's work? He writes in Finnish, but he was born in Kosovo and most of his works are about the breakup of Yugoslavia and the ensuing...problems.
Good to know about Terra Nostra! I'd be interested to hear what you thought of it once you finish as well. As for South Slavic literature - thanks so much for the recommendations! I'm eagerly researching all of the authors you listed right now. Hopefully I'll get to some of them soon.
@@travelthroughstories
Ugh, been busy today, sorry about the delay.
As a matter of fact I haven't, but having heard your take on Bolla my schedule will be updated with Crossing and My cat Yugoslavia in 2022! Thanks a lot for the recommendation, hope to share some thoughts after reading them.
I will, Terra Nostra does cover medieval grounds very frequently. Since I come from a background of Orthodox Christianity my reading is somewhat restrained in theological terms (in light of the question of ,,faith" and heresy, certain heretic teachings characteristic for Catholicism), but again, it inspires me to catch up with the task of understanding different ideas. :)
Milorad Pavić's novel Dictionary of the Khazars may be a good one to try, since it envisions the conversion of mighty Khazars to three monotheistic religions while remaining a postmodern work par excellence, close poetically to such writers as Umberto Eco and Jorge Luis Borges.
www.goodreads.com/book/show/321566.Dictionary_of_the_Khazars?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=7KYbEXdsD2&rank=2
Ivan V. Lalić is a poet like a sibling to TS Eliot, who was always fascinated with Byzantium. Hopefully Francis R. Jones manages to translate his collection Four canons, which echoes Eliot's Four quartets but is a unique medieval-toned poem.
www.goodreads.com/book/show/396692.Roll_Call_of_Mirrors?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=OMeuRAZN1M&rank=1#bookDetails
www.goodreads.com/book/show/3214132-rusty-needle
Other prominent voices in poetry are Vasko Popa:
www.goodreads.com/book/show/1278509.Collected_Poems_of_Vasko_Popa?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=OmXxhGwOTX&rank=1
and Novica Tadić, dark as you can get, probably more than Hungarians:
www.goodreads.com/book/show/6581502-dark-things
Miodrag Bulatović remains one of the very powerful and autonomous voices, close to magical realism and full of diabolical imagery, his best known novels being:
a) The red cock flies to heaven / The red rooster flies heavenwards
www.goodreads.com/book/show/40516295-the-red-cock-flies-to-heaven?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=LE5JQIzI0H&rank=2
b) Stop the Danube (short stories collection actually)
c) Hero on a donkey www.goodreads.com/book/show/5112241-a-hero-on-a-donkey?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=gxpuBlqP7q&rank=1
Svetislav Basara's The Cyclist Conspiracy tells the tale of a secret Brotherhood who meet in dreams, gain esoteric knowledge from contemplation of the bicycle, and seek to move in and out of history, manipulating events, it will be captivating if you like parodies and alternate history narratives:
www.goodreads.com/book/show/11723752-the-cyclist-conspiracy?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=LooMbYP6mU&rank=1
Borislav Pekić might be fascinating and very challenging. His first novel The time of miracles deals with the problem of miracles and salvation with allusions towards stalinist and titoist trials of the time: www.goodreads.com/book/show/1757915.The_Time_of_Miracles?from_search=true&from_srp=V7Xd3eqIDM&qid=10
His novel The houses of Belgrade is a styllistic masterpiece, telling the inner monologue of a man obsessed with his houses for rent that doesn't cross his doorstep for 27 years only to come out on the day of student's anti-government demonstrations in 1968. www.goodreads.com/book/show/2641198-the-houses-of-belgrade?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=s3lBQx1mzJ&rank=1
His most exciting novel is probably How to quiet a vampire, a novel of ideas. It takes upon the theme of betrayal and Faustian nightmares of a man who hides his own Nazi past.
www.goodreads.com/book/show/1101366.How_to_Quiet_a_Vampire?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=YajziWj4im&rank=1
His magnum opus Golden Fleece follows the genealogy of the Njegovan-Turjaški family, and I believe it remains the longest novel in South Slavic literature. It is highly unlikely it will be translated any time soon though...
One of the authors I like to reccomend for better comprehension of Yugoslav affairs is Aleksandar Tišma, his novels The book of blam and Use of man, also dealing with war related identity issues: www.goodreads.com/book/show/685499.The_Book_of_Blam
www.goodreads.com/book/show/1066549.The_Use_of_Man
If you like lyrically rich novels, check out one of the best narrators of the Central European tradition, Danilo Kiš, who recollects his family history in times revolving around the atmosphere of Holocaust:
www.goodreads.com/book/show/217984.Garden_Ashes?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=BrKjQJE0uw&rank=3
Lana Bastašić Is a beautiful witer, her first novel Catch the rabbit deals with friendship overblown by traumas of (post) war emigration:
www.goodreads.com/book/show/56064463-catch-the-rabbit
I plan od reading Ismail Kadare's work as well, maybe you are familiar with his writings?
Anyway, I crossed the line, I better stop blabbering. :)
@@balsavukcevic8841 Wow, what an absolute treasure-trove of recommendations. Thanks so much for taking the time to write this out - so many of these books look so interesting. I've heard of Tišma and wanted to read his books for awhile now, but all the other authors are new to me. It looks like I'll be ordering a lot of books in the coming weeks! I actually read my first Kadare (Chronicle of Stone) earlier this month and I have his Broken April on my shelf that I need to get to soon. I quite enjoyed Chronicle of Stone! He's a writer I want to read more of as well. Well, I'm gonna look up all of these books/authors and order some soon - thanks, Balša!
These sound amazing…intimidating…but amazing.
You should make a video talking about your Finland trip after you go and any Finnish authors we should know about
That sounds like a great idea! I do have 4-5 Finnish authors I plan to read before I go, so I'll definitely do something like that. Thanks for the idea!
Lots of new too me books on your list
I'm glad to hear it! I only now realized how much of this list is translated literature - some of them are perhaps more obscure than I thought.
Hey, you always do great vids. How do you learn norse/scandi languages? I'm trying to learn Norwegian
Thank you! I learned Old Norse in grad school and have since self-taught myself some Icelandic and Norwegian, but I'm definitely not fluent in any modern Scandinavian languages, unfortunately. For Norwegian, I found the book The Mystery of Nils. Part 1 - Norwegian Course for Beginners (ed. Werner Skalla) to be quite helpful, as my goals are to be able to read the languages rather than necessarily speak them. I basically just pick up "easy" books in those language and try to read them, figuring out the grammar along the way!
@@travelthroughstories cool, that was my plan as well. Thank you
@@ivailopetrov2827 Good luck on your journey! I hope to have more Norwegian/Old Norse content on the channel in the coming months.
@@travelthroughstories Good luck with that. Norwegian should be kind of easy, but I wouldn't try to tackle Norse.
Phill Freedenberg was asked if you need to read Manifold Destiny of Eddie Vegas to read his. He said no. And that's true. But as chief editor of corona\samizdat press I have to tell you that the official reply is 'No--but why wouldn't you?'
Haha! Good to know, though, and I don't think I made this clear in the video, I'm quite interested in both books on their own terms as well as because they're connected. And I'm looking forward to checking out more books from corona/samizdat!
@@travelthroughstories Your viewers needed to know. I appreciated you showing my book, of course, but I don't want anyone feeling like they won't get Phill's if they don't read mine. Take care, Rick
I appreciate the clarification, Rick!
At first I thought you meant "big books" in terms of cultural enrichment/significance.
#LFLR
"V.B.W."
These all look like they certainly enrich culture. As for their "significance," it may be too early to tell, as many were only published in the last 20 years.
This is just the Booker longlist. Normie.
Only three of these were ever nominated for the Booker. Two of these were nominated in 2022, over three months after I made this video.