Reviews

This isn't really a review (so don't "like" it, folks), just wanted to write a few notes before I forget... although these are short unfinished novels, they felt almost finished to me, in that the entire arc is included. There are some missing pieces in the middle, but you can pretty much guess it, especially if you read these two along with Malina, which forms a trilogy both in content and in theme. I feel like these two are not as deeply complicated as Malina, while still retaining the amazing writing I found in that one. The idea of erasure, of death by other means, is really quite interesting, and I wish Bachmann had written more novels.

I read this book while not really feeling in the mood for reading... I've been a little burnt out on reading lately. So I read The Book of Franza pretty quickly, but then took almost a month to read Requiem for Fanny Goldmann. It would probably have been more enjoyable if I had read it quicker.

kassiopeija's review

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Content Warnings

mouldiness's review against another edition

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5.0

“Dolore, strana parola, strana cosa, riferita al corpo nella storia naturale dell'uomo, trasmigrata dal corpo e resa più dirompente nel suo cervello. Io sono nel deserto per liberarmi del mio dolore, e se non me ne libero il dolore che infuria dentro la mia testa, dentro i miei organi respiratori, dentro le mie coronarie e fino alle estremità contorte, questo folle dolore che di ora in ora sceglie un campo diverso per mettermi alla prova, la mia mascella per serrarla, i miei denti per farli battere, le mie mani perché diventino sorde, penzolanti come corpi estranei lungo i fianchi, e perché la tazza mi cada di mano, e se di questo dolore non mi libero più, non in queste ginocchia che si piegano, non in questi occhi in cui dopo la morte temporanea le pupille ballano e vengono storte. E se di questo dolore non mi libero più...”

Un anno fa ero rimasta incantata dalla lettura di Malina e solo adesso, dopo aver letto i frammenti di questi due romanzi incompiuti, non posso che rimpiangere ulteriormente la prematura e drammatica morte di Ingeborg Bachmann. Eppure immagino che le mie conclusioni non sarebbero state nemmeno troppo differenti da quelle di adesso, dal momento che riesco comunque a considerare “cause di morte” una delle mie trilogie preferite.

jadzia's review

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3.0

I've just read the first part of the book, "The Book of Franza", as it is incorporating the tale of Bluebeard into the plot, hence my great interest in it. Bachmann created a story of a woman, who married a man, and who's been tortuing her in a physical and mental way. She's trying to get away from him, and when she is found by her brother in a horrible state, almost as if she was dead, they decide to travel together to Egypt, and she decides to fight with what her husband did to her, but she's also running away, and finally she seems to give up. It is a difficult read, full of pain and extracts from the past of the main character, Franza, touching on a theme of medical experiments on prisoners conducted by Nazi doctors during the IIWW.
The topic of the book is really difficult and stays in one's head for longer but it hasn't been an extremely interesting book, it doesn't focus enough (for me) on what happened with Franza. It is also incomplete, as it is one of the latest books written by Bachmann, just before her death.

ameliasbooks's review against another edition

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4.0

This wasn't probably the best book to start with the work of this author, because these are unfinished pieces. And they are probably even weirder, than her usual writing. But I really enjoyed huge parts of both novellas and I will definitely read more by her.

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