Letter & Line

In which a certain book blogger sidles into the room. Discretely. With jazz hands.

I’m back from an unannounced summer vacation from blogging and am ready to get back in the swing of things. The beginning of fall always feels like a new year (read: I’ve spent more years in school than out) so, before I get around to what I’m currently reading, I feel like a summer reading round up is in order. So, in no particular order, here are two-line reviews of the books I read this summer:

Fair Play by Tove Jansson, translated by Thomas Teal (NYRB 2011)
Rent spel was originally published by Schildts Förlags Ab, 2007

On first glance, Fair Play appears to be a series of lovely vignettes in which Mari, a writer, and Jonna, an artist, go about their lives on an island. From squabbling during film nights (“B-Western”) to doubting the other’s creative abilities (“Killing George”) and to allowing the story to get in the way of experiencing something in real life (“Travels with Konica”), Fair Play is about work and love, which, Ali Smith says in the introduction, was Tove Jansson’s motto: labora et amara. Recommended.

The Stronger Sex by Hans Werner Kettenbach, translated by Anthea Bell (Bitter Lemon Press)†
Das starke Geschlecht was originally published by Diogenes Verlag AG Zurich, 2009

Alexander Zabel is put on the case of the difficult Herbert Klofft, whose mistress and former employee has accused him of wrongful dismissal; meanwhile, the young lawyer is torn between his revulsion/sympathy for both Klofft and his wife, who turns her attention to young Zabel. While there were some intense moments that were less charged than intended, this was a compelling and fast read.

Seven Years by Peter Stamm, translated from the German by Michael Hofmann (Other Press 2011)†
Sieben Jahre was originally published by S. Fischer Verlag, 2009

Seven Years is a tersely-written novel that turns the conventions of desire upside down: Alexander’s wife Sonia is beautiful and talented but he finds himself inexplicably drawn to Ivona, a simpering, unattractive woman whom he met when he was in architecture school; seven years after their first meeting, he starts an affair which spirals out of control. This book deserves a better review (and it has) but I will leave you with this: read this book now. Recommended (obviously).

♦

I hope you all have had a wonderful summer–it seems odd to type this now that we’re well into September–but please share your favorite summer reads with me! Or, fall reads, since we’ve just welcomed the most glorious of seasons a few days ago.

Oh, and if you haven’t noticed, I’ve changed the name of my blog from the very boring but very specific “Gina Choe blogs about books in translation” (yawn) to “Letter & Line” which I hope is a little less boring. Gary and I have been going back and forth about the many book blog names that can be found in Alberto Manguel’s  A Reader on Reading (Hortus Conclusus/Enclosed Garden, which is just one of many descriptions that Manguel uses to describe the ideal library–another great book blog name; both taken) but I’ve decided on this letter & line business, for now, because I want to incorporate more art and illustration into this space. Don’t worry, this will be a book blog first, and other things second. I’m still tweaking the more design-y parts of the blog so if you have suggestions, I’m all ears. Just know that I’m learning CSS very, very slowly. And bitterly.

I’ll leave you with this picture that I took while I was in Chicago a few weekends back. It is one of the many nooks that make up Ravenswood Used Books in Lincoln Square, Chicago.

 †Thanks to the German Book Office and Other Press for the review copies