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3.28 AVERAGE
3.28 AVERAGE
first two stories beautiful..meeting Thomas Mann/meeting your idols and an ode to lovers in China.. last one about that certain disease powerful..middle stories a muddled hodge podge broken attempt at being a slice of life/metaphysical essay. Idk it was giving predecessor to the Substack girls of today (shade)
Until Stories, I had only known Susan Sontag‘s work as an essayist. However, when it came to my attention that Penguin Random House was publishing Stories, in 2017, I felt compelled to know this other side of Sontag’s writing.
The author wrote these stories to fathom the world she lives in, to find her place in it and to understand her mind and thoughts.
Sontag's voice and writing style varies throughout these eleven short stories. One of my favourite from this collection, called Pilgrimage, is perhaps the most traditional. Sontag reveals the first great encounter of her life: the day she met Thomas Mann. She was only fifteen years-old. However, as I said, her register changes completely throughout the book. The influence of science fiction or of the New French Novel is explicit in other texts, for instance.
Although I loved some of the tales, there were others that weren’t so successful, in my opinion. Old Complaints Revisited – another allegory – was a very dull text to read. I nearly gave up on that story.
Overall, I think Susan Sontag was one of the greatest intellectuals of last century and that is enough reason to recommend Stories. It’s a book one slowly savours and apprehends.
I’d like to thank Penguin Random House UK for sending me a copy of the book.
For more reviews, follow me on Instagram: @booksturnyouon
The author wrote these stories to fathom the world she lives in, to find her place in it and to understand her mind and thoughts.
Sontag's voice and writing style varies throughout these eleven short stories. One of my favourite from this collection, called Pilgrimage, is perhaps the most traditional. Sontag reveals the first great encounter of her life: the day she met Thomas Mann. She was only fifteen years-old. However, as I said, her register changes completely throughout the book. The influence of science fiction or of the New French Novel is explicit in other texts, for instance.
Although I loved some of the tales, there were others that weren’t so successful, in my opinion. Old Complaints Revisited – another allegory – was a very dull text to read. I nearly gave up on that story.
Overall, I think Susan Sontag was one of the greatest intellectuals of last century and that is enough reason to recommend Stories. It’s a book one slowly savours and apprehends.
I’d like to thank Penguin Random House UK for sending me a copy of the book.
For more reviews, follow me on Instagram: @booksturnyouon
I don’t like collections of short stories as it turns out. I liked the stories I read I guess. I haven’t read anything else by her but this is what the library had and I wanted a physical book.
2.5
Die Kurzgeschichten waren mir so egal, nur die erste ist haften geblieben, in der zwei Jugendliche auf ihren Lieblingsautoren Thomas Mann treffen und bei ihm zu Kaffee und Kuchen eingeladen werden
Die Kurzgeschichten waren mir so egal, nur die erste ist haften geblieben, in der zwei Jugendliche auf ihren Lieblingsautoren Thomas Mann treffen und bei ihm zu Kaffee und Kuchen eingeladen werden
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Adorei o primeiro conto, o segundo mais ou menos, e depois disso foi sempre a descer, só tendo escapado o último (com boa vontade). Pareceu-me um conjunto de esboços de escrita criativa, sem ligação uns com os outros, demasiado soltos e livres. Fiquei bastante desiludida, estava à espera de outra coisa.
Until I saw this collection in the public library racks, I'd never associated Susan Sontag with fiction. Other than her essays, my only other experience of reading her was the much acclaimed book 'On photography'. The first story itself, titled 'Pilgrimage', was quite a surprise, portraying her awkward meeting with Thomas Mann in her childhood days. The whole narrative leading up to the meeting, her anger with her friend for dialing up Mann's house directly and requesting for the meeting and her own wish for that meeting not to happen, all that make for an engaging read as much as their meeting with the writer, during which he is surprised at their "serious" reading at that young age.
The story 'Project for a trip to China', with its fragmented structure and its subject of travel, reminded me of 'Flights' by Olga Tokarczuk. 'Old complaints revisited' is also an elaborate plan, though not a fragmented narrative, with the protagonist planning to leave from a secret organisation. Structure-wise, the story 'Baby' is quite inventive with each successive chapter having a couple and taking turns meeting a counsellor to discuss an issue that has been simmering between them. We get to see only their answers to the counsellor's questions, not the questions themselves, and often end up playing a guessing game, until the reveal in the end. But, it has to be said that not every story in this collection is as engrossing as the best ones in the collection.
The story 'Project for a trip to China', with its fragmented structure and its subject of travel, reminded me of 'Flights' by Olga Tokarczuk. 'Old complaints revisited' is also an elaborate plan, though not a fragmented narrative, with the protagonist planning to leave from a secret organisation. Structure-wise, the story 'Baby' is quite inventive with each successive chapter having a couple and taking turns meeting a counsellor to discuss an issue that has been simmering between them. We get to see only their answers to the counsellor's questions, not the questions themselves, and often end up playing a guessing game, until the reveal in the end. But, it has to be said that not every story in this collection is as engrossing as the best ones in the collection.
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes