Whew! I finished this project. Now I might actually find some time to write about the novel. One of the problems I have with a large novel like Fortunata and Jacinta is finding passages after reading them so I thought I would provide sub-chapter headings to help me (and anyone else) reading the novel. My […]
When I posted the schedule for the read-along I forgot my wife was going to be traveling and the boys and I would be living the bachelor life for a few days. The only casualty so far is a post I made Saturday evening—I’m not sure what happened to it but it has vanished. I […]
Please see the final outline post, replacing this placeholder for the work-in-process.
This isn’t intended as commentary on the book by Collins but some notes on the Naxos audio reading of the novel. I’m not sure why I picked this out at the library but it turned out to be a delight. The cast does a very good job, not just in their narrated character but in […]
Jarmila by Ernst Weiss Tanslated by Rebecca Morrison and Petra Howard-Wuerz Afterword by Peter Engel Pushkin PressJarmila is one of those instances when most of what I have to say about a book has already been said. I’ll defer to Max at Pechorin’s Journal. And now that I look, I also see Guy at His […]
Without beating around the bush, Don Balomero made a very sensible commentary, the product of his experience and observation: “I don’t know what will happen twenty or fifty years from now. You can’t see that far ahead in Spanish society. All we know is that our country alternates between two fevers, revolution and peace. At […]
I continue with my erratic foreign movie posts for this year as well as posting on movies adapted from books. This turned out to be one of the most disturbing movies I’ve seen in a while. Luis Buñuel loosely adapts and updates Benito Pérez Galdós’ novel Halma (1895). A quick overview of the plot: Before […]
A simple web search will unveil a host of Bob Staake’s Bad Children Books. When I have more time I want to collect other links for alternate book titles or spoofs like this. Meanwhile, enjoy!
At Radio Prague recently… Jaroslav Hašek: not just The Good Soldier Švejk. I have been waiting for Behind the Lines for some time (and have recently been told “soon”). The interview with translator Mark Corner includes an excerpt from one of the stories. Willa Cather and the Bohemians of the prairies looks at the importance […]
At the risk of turning into the Galdós channel (all Galdós, all the time), I plan on intermittent posts on the author and Fortunata and Jacinta over the next few weeks. Hopefully they will be helpful for anyone thinking about exploring the author or book. In this post I want to highlight The Pérez Galdós […]
Voyage to Kazohinia by Sándor Szathmári Translated from the Hungarian by Inez Kemenes North Adams, Massachusetts: New Europe Books, 2012, paperback.How to review a novel I greatly admired but didn’t necessarily click with? Instead of avoiding any write-up, as I did with Job by Joseph Roth, I’ll attempt to lay out both why I admired […]
1973 Moscow subway map Picture source: Old Russian Tram Maps Trevor at The Mookse and the Gripes posted on the short story by Leonid Tsypkin: “The Last Few Kilometers” in the September 17, 2012 edition of The New Yorker. Since I enjoyed Summer in Baden-Baden so much, I stopped by the library this weekend and […]
Three used books and one used bottle of wine (magnum). Expect more on the Alas and Galdós soon. The Chave, sadly, did not survive the evening. Coincidentally, this copy of His Only Son‘s round-about journey to my library started at the Auburn University at Montgomery library. It may have been on their shelves while I was […]
Ramon Casas “La Madeleine” (1892) I’m finally getting around to formally announcing the October read-along of Fortunata and Jacinta by Benito Pérez Galdós. Never having officially hosted a read-along, bear with me as I stumble my way through it. I’ll try and adhere to a schedule, at least loosely: Week of October 8—Volume 1 Week […]
If I find articles that relate to older material here I’ll add an update to the original post. I’m not good about letting anyone know about the updates so I’ll take this opportunity to note a few from the past few months. Parade’s End on BBC Two Update (12 Sep 2012): Parade’s End, the BBC […]
The Spendthrifts by Benito Pérez Galdós Translation by Gamel Woolsey; illustrations by Charles Mozley; introduction by Gerald Brenan Farrar Straus & Young Inc.: New York, 1952.My previous posts on The Spendthrifts: One: a Spain that does not understand anything except eating and digesting Two: The ceremony? It was nothing. Three: Me-ow! Torquemada! Krausism! My introduction […]
Sorry for the tabloid-style heading, but this post will be a jumble of things that turned up in the book that I enjoyed and wanted to share. So far Galdós’ novel has shown him at his cattiest of the few books I’ve read by him, as the posts so far have demonstrated some good examples. […]
In Chapter 7 of The Spendthrifts, Galdós highlights some part of the farcical nature of Queen Isabella II’s court by detailing the Maundy Thursday ceremony held in the palace. Two dozen members of the lowest class (after being scrubbed, of course) are selected to eat in the palace, served by the Queen and her staff. […]