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A review by drifterontherun
Little Snow Landscape by Robert Walser
2.0
I have a number of New York Review Books Classics, as I'm sure you do. There are many, indeed, classic works of literature that are only available as an NYRB edition.
They're beautiful books — in design and content — and back in February or March of this year the publisher announced that it was starting a monthly subscription.
Now, you know me. I love a good book subscription, particularly one that includes books in translation. I mean, is there anything better than getting book mail? So I, of course, signed up to my fourth active subscription service.
"Little Snow Landscape" is the first of the NYRB Classics I received as part of my subscription. I'd heard of the Swiss writer Robert Walser before but had never read him.
I wish this hadn't been my introduction to him.
Because these aren't really stories, they're more like sketches, two or three pages each. A man walking down the street, a visit to relatives, some people chat about something I can't really remember ...
To be honest, I can't remember much of anything about this collection ... except for how boring it all was.
I've been struggling to get through "Little Snow Landscape" for the past couple of months now, I set it aside for a few weeks just because I couldn't bear it any longer. If you or I had written this, nobody would give a damn. It certainly wouldn't be published. But because Walser is a well-regarded 20th-century novelist, here it is.
The first NYRB Classic I've ever read that I didn't like. I recommend the subscription — not the book.
They're beautiful books — in design and content — and back in February or March of this year the publisher announced that it was starting a monthly subscription.
Now, you know me. I love a good book subscription, particularly one that includes books in translation. I mean, is there anything better than getting book mail? So I, of course, signed up to my fourth active subscription service.
"Little Snow Landscape" is the first of the NYRB Classics I received as part of my subscription. I'd heard of the Swiss writer Robert Walser before but had never read him.
I wish this hadn't been my introduction to him.
Because these aren't really stories, they're more like sketches, two or three pages each. A man walking down the street, a visit to relatives, some people chat about something I can't really remember ...
To be honest, I can't remember much of anything about this collection ... except for how boring it all was.
I've been struggling to get through "Little Snow Landscape" for the past couple of months now, I set it aside for a few weeks just because I couldn't bear it any longer. If you or I had written this, nobody would give a damn. It certainly wouldn't be published. But because Walser is a well-regarded 20th-century novelist, here it is.
The first NYRB Classic I've ever read that I didn't like. I recommend the subscription — not the book.