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sljbook's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
vtlism's review against another edition
3.0
jaeggy's short stories are cold, and i didn't fall in love with them. they're more character sketches, which i never understand the point of. her novels skirt cold and distant but always bring us round to an intimate understanding.
piwinki's review against another edition
3.0
Contes sobre les violències que sorgeixen entre els clivells de la democràcia aparentment perfecta de la “Confederació”. Vellesa, xicotetes depravacions dins de la vida familiar i famílies que s’allunyen de la imatge ideal de família són la temàtica que es manté a través d’aquest recull. És una lectura exigent en el seu sintetisme. Una relectura ofereix subtileses que queden sense explorar en una primera lectura, per això m’he trobat recomençant contes que tot just acabava.
Bé que m’ha agradat molt, vaig preferir Los dulces años del castigo. Sospite que aquesta traducció al català té alguna cosa a veure.
Bé que m’ha agradat molt, vaig preferir Los dulces años del castigo. Sospite que aquesta traducció al català té alguna cosa a veure.
nickelini's review
challenging
dark
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
corvidquest's review
dark
slow-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
For those new to Fleur Jaeggy, I think her very short and brilliant novel Sweet Days of Discipline is much more approachable. Last Vanities is a collection of compact short stories, and the cumulative effect may be disorienting for the uninitiated.
Jaeggy writes in crystalline prose as incisive as a scalpel. You won’t find American-style fiction here. She is uninterested in psychological insight, aspirational politics, or introspective characters searching for meaning or self-actualization. This collection is set in towns in the Swiss Alps, where the characters live their lives according to their social station, facing each day with grim boredom. They don’t expect much from life and life doesn’t expect much from them.
She is a brilliant writer, rendering whole lives in a few spare pages. Whether her prose is full of sardonic wit or malevolence is a matter of perspective. I often found laughter escaping my throat before being choked by disquiet. A picture of Jaeggy on the back cover shows a handsome woman inhaling a cigarette and transfixing the viewer with a gaze like the cold light of the universe.
One story here contains this line: “Aside from rotting, there’s little flowers can do, and in this they are not unlike human beings.” If you love this line, you will probably love this collection. And if you hate it, then move on, dear reader, move on.
Jaeggy writes in crystalline prose as incisive as a scalpel. You won’t find American-style fiction here. She is uninterested in psychological insight, aspirational politics, or introspective characters searching for meaning or self-actualization. This collection is set in towns in the Swiss Alps, where the characters live their lives according to their social station, facing each day with grim boredom. They don’t expect much from life and life doesn’t expect much from them.
She is a brilliant writer, rendering whole lives in a few spare pages. Whether her prose is full of sardonic wit or malevolence is a matter of perspective. I often found laughter escaping my throat before being choked by disquiet. A picture of Jaeggy on the back cover shows a handsome woman inhaling a cigarette and transfixing the viewer with a gaze like the cold light of the universe.
One story here contains this line: “Aside from rotting, there’s little flowers can do, and in this they are not unlike human beings.” If you love this line, you will probably love this collection. And if you hate it, then move on, dear reader, move on.
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