acommonreader.st
I have been reading the Central European University Press version of Bolesław Prus’ The Doll (Hungary, 1996 paperback edition pictured above) and thoroughly enjoying it. The translation is by David Welsh with an introduction by Stanisław Barańczak. What looks to be the same translation is now available from the New York Review Books. I’m going […]
Previously: The Doll by Bolesław Prus—if anyone knows how to get a copy of the 1968 movie Lalka directed by Wojciech Has, please let me know. Success? I placed an interlibrary loan for a VHS copy I found…wish me luck. It may be a few months before it gets to me but I can be […]
I recently discovered The William and Mary Quarterly, a historical journal published by the Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture. The current edition (no longer available online: edition 69_2) has a critical forum on Pauline Maier’s Ratification: The People Debate the Constitution, 1787-1788, a book I enjoyed quite a bit. This comment came from […]
A quick post on what I have planned for the upcoming months, with input always welcome on authors, etc. Also, I wanted to float a Fortunata and Jacinta read-along at the end of the post. Also, I can’t decide on non-fiction books to listen to (several on my wish list but nothing appeals at the moment), […]
I wanted to make a short post after listening to the audiobook version of Winter King: Henry VII and the Dawn of Tudor England by Thomas Penn. Highly recommended. OK, maybe I should add a little bit to that… I knew very little about Henry VII before listening to the book, which probably reflects his position between the […]
Continuing with my sort-of-biweekly foreign movie posts for this year… For more foreign movies, check out Caroline’s World Cinema Series 2012 and Richard’s monthly Foreign Film Festival round-up. Jiří Menzel’s movie based on Vladislav Vančura’s Summer of Caprice highlights the “cinema ready” nature of Vančura’s novel. Menzel changed little, following much of the book. From […]
Summer of Caprice by Vladislav Vančura Translated by Mark Corner Karolinum Press, Charles University, 201 pages, Hardcover ISBN: 80-246-1195-3 Following up on yesterday’s introductory post on Summer of Caprice by Vladislav Vančura… Vančura’s novel appealed to me because of the playful descriptions in a meandering story, combining the normal and ridiculous while highlighting the very […]
Summer of Caprice by Vladislav Vančura Translated by Mark Corner Karolinum Press, Charles University, 201 pages, Hardcover ISBN: 80-246-1195-3 On the remarkable River Orsh there lies a town of good reputation and good water. The water bubbles up in shady places and the nine most powerful springs, secured in nine wells, have been designated with […]
…especially when dealing with the loss of a co-worker and friend. I’m traveling again this week so I’ll take a short break from posting. Feel free to leave a caption for the youngest and a friend he made yesterday.
I have been doing rather well on limiting my purchase of books, but another pre-order just went in… From The University of Chicago Press (distributed for Karolinum Press, Charles University): Behind the Lines: Bugulma and Other Tales by Jaroslav Hašek Jaroslav Hašek is a Czech writer most famous for his wickedly funny, widely read yet […]
Continuing with my sort-of-biweekly foreign movie posts for this year… For more foreign movies, check out Caroline’s World Cinema Series 2012 and Richard’s monthly Foreign Film Festival round-up. Note: See this post for more detail on the play and storyline. The elegantly structured Arthur Schnitzler play La Ronde lends itself to a movie adaptation and […]
A print of the 1900 private circulation of Der Reigen Picture sourceArthur Schnitzler’s play La Ronde (Reigen in German), written in 1897 but not performed until the winter of 1920/21, looks at a chain of ten sexual encounters. While known by several names depending on the language of translation, the title, named after a circular […]
The Eyewitness by Ernst Weiss Translated by Ella R. W. McKee Foreword by Rudolph Binion, Postscript by Klaus-Peter Hinze Houghton Mifflin Company, 206 pages, Hardcover ISBN: 0-395-25336-5 With the years going by, emptiness is growing around me. I am still living, feeling, having desires and hopes. I do not fear death itself, but I dread […]
Several quotes regarding the pivotal moment in Ernst Weiss’ The Eyewitness: The aftermath of the First World War found Adolf Hitler a charismatic political orator spewing rage and hate. The war itself had seen that same Adolph Hitler an innocuous underling in a front-line Bavarian regiment. The turning point came at the close of the […]
One “consideration” from Book of Aphorisms and Considerations by Arthur Schnitzler, translated by Carl Richard Mueller. The reposeful effect of a work of art is primarily due to the fact that that which we call chance is totally excluded from it. In the same way it seems that chance is also excluded from history (insofar […]
The scenes on this field would have cured anybody of war. Mangled bodies, dead, dying, in every conceivable shape, without heads, legs, and horses! I think we have buried 2000 since the fight our own & the Enemy, and the wounded fill horses, tents, steamboats and Every conceivable place. . . . I still feel […]
A Naked Singularity by Sergio De La PavaNote: I read the Xlibris version of the book (pictured above). The University of Chicago Press is scheduled to release the book May 1. Last Fall Levi Stahl noted that this book would be released by The University of Chicago Press this Spring. I’ll plagiarize part of his […]
Georg Letham: Physician and Murderer by Ernst Weiss Translation by Joel Rotenberg Archipelago Books, 560 pages, Paperback ISBN: 0980033039 / 978-0980033038As you can tell from the list of sections in this post the focus of Georg Letham: Physician and Murderer goes well beyond the murder and trial of his wife. After Georg’s conviction for the […]
In Joseph Roth: A Life in Letters, both Roth and editor/translator Michael Hofmann favorably refer to Ernst Weiss which was enough to send me looking for his novels. Fortunately Archipelago Books released this translation a couple of years ago (translation by Joel Rotenberg) and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Most reviews quote the opening line: “How […]
I Burn Paris by Bruno Jasieński Translated from the Polish by Soren A. Gauger & Marcin Piekoszewski Prague: Twisted Spoon Press (2012), Hardcover, 309 pages ISBN: 978 80 86264 37 0Please see my introductory post on I Burn Paris which has some links, including the Afterword by Soren Gauger. The story starts with Pierre, an […]