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A New Name: Septology VI-VII by Jon Fosse
This book was longlisted for the International Booker Prize 2022
There are two Asle and two ladies called Guro. Why did the author do that? Was it to show two parallel lives? Was it to depict the irrelevance of names? Or was it just to show that in life, there are people with the same names and different lives?
Like in the other two books, the marathon sentences with haunting and atmospheric narratives only add to the brilliance.
The voice inside Asle’s head debates the connection between God and humans, tries to find purpose and direction through faith, suffers due to isolation, questions one's identity, and tries to find the meaning of human existence vis-à-vis life and death, morality, etc.
As we grow old, we live mostly with our memories. Often grandpas and grandmas have told me a lot of tales about their childhood. In fact, they enjoy the narration themselves, and it kind of brings them comfort and evokes a sense of nostalgia. Whether sad or happy, these stories offer glimpses into who they were or how their lives got moulded. Reminiscing is a way of connecting with life, finding meaning, and reminding oneself of the journey undertaken, that is, a person’s history.
The ending was a bit ambiguous, left to readers' discretion, I think!
This concludes the Septology.
This is a must-read!
medium-paced
5.0
A NEW NAME, SEPTOLOGY VI&VII, JON FOSSE (NOBEL PRIZE FOR LITERATURE 2023), Translated by DAMION SEARLS
This book was longlisted for the International Booker Prize 2022
The Septology is a captivating story of Asle, spanning seven days.
Asle, a widower, intimately shares his present thoughts and past memories, expressing profound loneliness and longing for his late wife. He recalls all the moments he had with his wife. Despite being a renowned painter, Asle remains a humble, unassuming old man.
The concluding part delves into Asle's new life at art school and his marriage to Ales, exploring the fascinating tale of how he meets the gallerist Beyer and achieves success selling his paintings.
A part I loved was a scene where Asle pushes the swing Ales is sitting on, and Ales loves it and swings higher and higher. A similar scene is mentioned in the first book, where Asle, while taking a walk, sees a young woman sitting on the swing being pushed by a guy. Asle reminisces the time he enjoyed with Ales. I found it very sweet and sad.
There are two Asle and two ladies called Guro. Why did the author do that? Was it to show two parallel lives? Was it to depict the irrelevance of names? Or was it just to show that in life, there are people with the same names and different lives?
Like in the other two books, the marathon sentences with haunting and atmospheric narratives only add to the brilliance.
The voice inside Asle’s head debates the connection between God and humans, tries to find purpose and direction through faith, suffers due to isolation, questions one's identity, and tries to find the meaning of human existence vis-à-vis life and death, morality, etc.
As we grow old, we live mostly with our memories. Often grandpas and grandmas have told me a lot of tales about their childhood. In fact, they enjoy the narration themselves, and it kind of brings them comfort and evokes a sense of nostalgia. Whether sad or happy, these stories offer glimpses into who they were or how their lives got moulded. Reminiscing is a way of connecting with life, finding meaning, and reminding oneself of the journey undertaken, that is, a person’s history.
The ending was a bit ambiguous, left to readers' discretion, I think!
This concludes the Septology.
This is a must-read!
I is Another: Septology III-V by Jon Fosse
medium-paced
5.0
I IS ANOTHER, SEPTOLOGY III- V, JON FOSSE (NOBEL PRIZE FOR LITERATURE 2023), Translated by DAMION SEARLS
I IS ANOTHER picks up from where THE OTHER NAME finishes off.
The translation is so perfect that one doesn’t realise that the book was written in another language. The long and winding sentences that run to pages don't seem to bother me at all.
Asle, the protagonist finds it rather difficult to strike up a conversation and often ends up having the same old talks, which is very symbolic of how old people have the habit of repeating stories. His friendship with Asleik, his neighbour, is very sweet, and both look up to each other, helping and caring for each other. Asle in the present lives in a house near the sea. Asle has had a knack for painting from his childhood. He couldn't shake off the picture in his mind till he painted it.
The transition from past to present and vice versa is just sudden, and every time that happened, I just went back and reread those parts, thinking I might have missed something.
Though the story keeps moving back and forth, the part about the present nonetheless is interesting, where he portrays Asle’s forgetfulness, his reticence, and his concern for his ailing namesake.
A major chunk of this book focuses on adulting, how Asle moves out from his parent's house to settle in another place to study further, his new friends and the school. Asle is made to read, and he freezes and decides to skip school on days he has English. I found this part rather cute as children often tend to do that.
I loved the part when he gets to meet his future wife and how they instantly connect, both with similar names: Asle and Ales
From being not so religious to becoming a pious old man- what brings about this transition in Asle? Jon Fosse himself has a similar story. Fosse quit drinking and converted to Catholicism. He then wrote Septology after these major life changes.
THIS BOOK WHICH COMPRISES OF THE 3RD, 4TH, AND 5TH part of the Septology
The spellbinding tale is to be continued...
Next: A NEW NAME, SEPTOLOGY VI-VII
I IS ANOTHER picks up from where THE OTHER NAME finishes off.
The translation is so perfect that one doesn’t realise that the book was written in another language. The long and winding sentences that run to pages don't seem to bother me at all.
Asle, the protagonist finds it rather difficult to strike up a conversation and often ends up having the same old talks, which is very symbolic of how old people have the habit of repeating stories. His friendship with Asleik, his neighbour, is very sweet, and both look up to each other, helping and caring for each other. Asle in the present lives in a house near the sea. Asle has had a knack for painting from his childhood. He couldn't shake off the picture in his mind till he painted it.
The transition from past to present and vice versa is just sudden, and every time that happened, I just went back and reread those parts, thinking I might have missed something.
Though the story keeps moving back and forth, the part about the present nonetheless is interesting, where he portrays Asle’s forgetfulness, his reticence, and his concern for his ailing namesake.
A major chunk of this book focuses on adulting, how Asle moves out from his parent's house to settle in another place to study further, his new friends and the school. Asle is made to read, and he freezes and decides to skip school on days he has English. I found this part rather cute as children often tend to do that.
I loved the part when he gets to meet his future wife and how they instantly connect, both with similar names: Asle and Ales
From being not so religious to becoming a pious old man- what brings about this transition in Asle? Jon Fosse himself has a similar story. Fosse quit drinking and converted to Catholicism. He then wrote Septology after these major life changes.
THIS BOOK WHICH COMPRISES OF THE 3RD, 4TH, AND 5TH part of the Septology
The spellbinding tale is to be continued...
Next: A NEW NAME, SEPTOLOGY VI-VII
The Other Name: Septology I-II by Jon Fosse
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
5.0
THE OTHER NAME, SEPTOLOGY I&II, JON FOSSE, Translated by DAMION SEARLS
JON FOSSE was honoured with the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2023 and has been bestowed with many other awards.
I can not possibly describe what the book is. I feel I'm 'a nobody' to write a review or comment on this artwork. It is like trying to describe a painting. Everybody might have a different perspective, but everyone would like to know what made the painter paint it in the first place or what his source of inspiration was. Are there any right answers?
This is a lyrical rambling of an old, religious painter, a widower named Asle, who forgets and keeps repeating things. He is helpful, friendly, yet aloof. He has a routine he prefers to stick to, like he always stays in the same room of a hotel he always checks into whenever he goes to the town. It happens over two days. The author has poured in all the thoughts of an old painter, Asle. His doppelganger, namesake is a drunkard, a painter too, and our protagonist is worried about him. The way there is a barrage of thoughts in our minds while driving alone or trying to sleep or while taking a walk; grudges, regrets and delights, things we like and dislike, to do or not to do; all these feelings have been encapsulated into this book. Sometimes, these thoughts are so overpowering that they might hinder our daily lives, and it happens to the protagonist, too.
Many years ago, I started reading Swann’s Way by Proust but did not finish it because it had long sentences that ran into pages. Though I felt Septology(I-II) moved at a slow pace, the story without breaks, which runs to pages, makes sense. It neither bothered me nor confused me as the prose is smooth-flowing.
If you are looking for a book with a plot, look elsewhere. This book reads like a memoir, and one easily falls into the rhythm of the fascinating prose. One needs to read with a little concentration as there are repetitions and people have the same names, too. The translation is so brilliant that it feels as though it is the original language.
To be continued…
Next in line, Septology III – V: I is Another
JON FOSSE was honoured with the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2023 and has been bestowed with many other awards.
I can not possibly describe what the book is. I feel I'm 'a nobody' to write a review or comment on this artwork. It is like trying to describe a painting. Everybody might have a different perspective, but everyone would like to know what made the painter paint it in the first place or what his source of inspiration was. Are there any right answers?
This is a lyrical rambling of an old, religious painter, a widower named Asle, who forgets and keeps repeating things. He is helpful, friendly, yet aloof. He has a routine he prefers to stick to, like he always stays in the same room of a hotel he always checks into whenever he goes to the town. It happens over two days. The author has poured in all the thoughts of an old painter, Asle. His doppelganger, namesake is a drunkard, a painter too, and our protagonist is worried about him. The way there is a barrage of thoughts in our minds while driving alone or trying to sleep or while taking a walk; grudges, regrets and delights, things we like and dislike, to do or not to do; all these feelings have been encapsulated into this book. Sometimes, these thoughts are so overpowering that they might hinder our daily lives, and it happens to the protagonist, too.
Many years ago, I started reading Swann’s Way by Proust but did not finish it because it had long sentences that ran into pages. Though I felt Septology(I-II) moved at a slow pace, the story without breaks, which runs to pages, makes sense. It neither bothered me nor confused me as the prose is smooth-flowing.
If you are looking for a book with a plot, look elsewhere. This book reads like a memoir, and one easily falls into the rhythm of the fascinating prose. One needs to read with a little concentration as there are repetitions and people have the same names, too. The translation is so brilliant that it feels as though it is the original language.
To be continued…
Next in line, Septology III – V: I is Another
The Steppenwolf by Hermann Hesse
dark
medium-paced
5.0
STEPPENWOLF, HERMANN HESSE
Herman Hesse was honoured with the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1946.
There are many translated versions of Steppenwolf. I started reading an edition translated by Basil Creighton but found certain parts difficult. Since I buddy-read this book , my friend sent photos of the same page, which I found easy. Then I got an edition translated by Kurt Beals,and I found the book easier. Though it’s a novel that's autobiographical, existential fiction, parts of it read like an epistolary and magical realism.
Having read Siddhartha (by the same author) a few years ago, I could see that both the books spoke about finding oneself or self-exploration in different ways.
The protagonist Harry Haller and the author Hermann Hesse have similar names starting with ‘H’. Hermann Hesse wrote this book when he was about fifty.
Harry is a man around the age of fifty. He looks like an intellectual, and he is courteous and amicable but is a mystery and perpetually looks disenchanted. Harry is a writer and a pacifist who has given up many things in his life, including his wife and job.
What is he going through?
Was he going through a midlife crisis?
Or did he suffer from an existential crisis?
A neighbour initially narrates and tells us how he perceives Harry. Then he reads out the book Harry has written about himself.
Often, we as adults feel that we do not need anybody to guide or chide us, and inherently, we need that father figure or maternal touch to pilot our lives. So many decisions in our lives would be much easier if we constantly had someone to show us the way. Time and time again, we need people to bring out the best in us. Don't you think?
Harry meets a girl at the bar who very vociferously tells Harry to do things as though taking control of his life. Harry happily listens to her and humbly agrees to do whatever she asks him to do. Loved the fact that he found a person who could bring him out of his cage. He hates dancing and considers it a rather brainless activity but ends up loving it, a talent that he was unaware of. He is a big lover of Mozart and classical, and he hates any other music like jazz. He ridicules the radio, which was new to society then.
I feel the author was beautifully able to depict how man gets torn between a dichotomy, be it good or bad, right, or wrong, isolation versus society, or man versus himself, but mostly man versus wolf or beast. He also portrays how a person dons many personalities or the existence of multiplicity in individuals
Hermann Hesse was diagnosed with type II bipolar disorder. A note at the beginning of the book says that the character shares many features with the author himself.
Did you know the rock band Steppenwolf was inspired by this novel?
This is a tough read, but I enjoyed the read thoroughly because I buddy-read it!
Herman Hesse was honoured with the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1946.
There are many translated versions of Steppenwolf. I started reading an edition translated by Basil Creighton but found certain parts difficult. Since I buddy-read this book , my friend sent photos of the same page, which I found easy. Then I got an edition translated by Kurt Beals,and I found the book easier. Though it’s a novel that's autobiographical, existential fiction, parts of it read like an epistolary and magical realism.
Having read Siddhartha (by the same author) a few years ago, I could see that both the books spoke about finding oneself or self-exploration in different ways.
The protagonist Harry Haller and the author Hermann Hesse have similar names starting with ‘H’. Hermann Hesse wrote this book when he was about fifty.
Harry is a man around the age of fifty. He looks like an intellectual, and he is courteous and amicable but is a mystery and perpetually looks disenchanted. Harry is a writer and a pacifist who has given up many things in his life, including his wife and job.
What is he going through?
Was he going through a midlife crisis?
Or did he suffer from an existential crisis?
A neighbour initially narrates and tells us how he perceives Harry. Then he reads out the book Harry has written about himself.
Often, we as adults feel that we do not need anybody to guide or chide us, and inherently, we need that father figure or maternal touch to pilot our lives. So many decisions in our lives would be much easier if we constantly had someone to show us the way. Time and time again, we need people to bring out the best in us. Don't you think?
Harry meets a girl at the bar who very vociferously tells Harry to do things as though taking control of his life. Harry happily listens to her and humbly agrees to do whatever she asks him to do. Loved the fact that he found a person who could bring him out of his cage. He hates dancing and considers it a rather brainless activity but ends up loving it, a talent that he was unaware of. He is a big lover of Mozart and classical, and he hates any other music like jazz. He ridicules the radio, which was new to society then.
I feel the author was beautifully able to depict how man gets torn between a dichotomy, be it good or bad, right, or wrong, isolation versus society, or man versus himself, but mostly man versus wolf or beast. He also portrays how a person dons many personalities or the existence of multiplicity in individuals
Hermann Hesse was diagnosed with type II bipolar disorder. A note at the beginning of the book says that the character shares many features with the author himself.
Did you know the rock band Steppenwolf was inspired by this novel?
This is a tough read, but I enjoyed the read thoroughly because I buddy-read it!
The Book of Everlasting Things by Aanchal Malhotra
dark
informative
reflective
slow-paced
5.0
THE BOOK OF EVERLASTING THINGS, AANCHAL MALHOTRA
This book is historical fiction, a bildungsroman, with its epicentre as partition. This is Aanchal Malhotra’s third book, the other two being nonfiction on partition.
There is love, perfumes, calligraphy, and oodles of aroma. Vivid descriptions of smells emanate from many natural flowers, herbs, and spices. A major chunk of the book deals with perfume making, and the author has quoted many historical facts and anecdotes relating to perfumes, which I found very interesting.
Did you know that it takes four tons of roses to make one kilogram of Attar?
Did you know that Babur, besotted by roses, named his daughters: Gulchihra, Gulrukh, Gulbadan, and Gulrang?
Did you know that Ambergris is produced in the digestive system of the Sperm whale?
The book primarily showcases the impact of war and partition on commoners with a backdrop of a love story. Having watched movies and series and read a few books on partition, we know that the partition of 1947 impacted the common man significantly, rendering them homeless, separating them from families, and causing mass displacement. Millions were uproote, resulting in trauma, suffering, and loss of life. All this has been woven into the story beautifully.
Samir Vij and Firdaus, the main characters, the star-crossed lovers, are based in Lahore, part of India, then. Samir, a nose, is Hindu and Firdaus, a calligrapher is Muslim.
Two characters that I liked the most were Samir’s uncle Vivek and Firdaus’s father Altaf. On observing that Samir is a nose like himself, Vivek sees to it that Samir learns the art and skills required in making perfumes, like fragrance creation, sourcing the ingredients, bottling them, organizing etc. He teaches Sameer affectionately and patiently. Altaf is depicted as a father who is quite modern for that era. He lets his daughter learn the art of calligraphy and sends his daughter to college, which is scorned by his neighbours.
Upon reading this book, I felt transposed to that era. Aanchal has superbly and vividly described the era. She is a historian and the cofounder of the Museum of Material Memory. I got the opportunity to see her talk and got to meet her and get her book signed @emirateslitfest. She is brilliant.
"SOMETIMES, WHEN THE WHOLE WORLD SEEMS RUINED BEYOND RECOGNITION, EVEN THE FAINTEST GESTURE OF BEAUTY, LIKE THE WHIFF OF A FAMILIAR PERFUME CAN BRING A SENSE OF SOLACE."
This book is bound to leave a trail of fragrance, a sillage, in our minds!
This book is historical fiction, a bildungsroman, with its epicentre as partition. This is Aanchal Malhotra’s third book, the other two being nonfiction on partition.
There is love, perfumes, calligraphy, and oodles of aroma. Vivid descriptions of smells emanate from many natural flowers, herbs, and spices. A major chunk of the book deals with perfume making, and the author has quoted many historical facts and anecdotes relating to perfumes, which I found very interesting.
Did you know that it takes four tons of roses to make one kilogram of Attar?
Did you know that Babur, besotted by roses, named his daughters: Gulchihra, Gulrukh, Gulbadan, and Gulrang?
Did you know that Ambergris is produced in the digestive system of the Sperm whale?
The book primarily showcases the impact of war and partition on commoners with a backdrop of a love story. Having watched movies and series and read a few books on partition, we know that the partition of 1947 impacted the common man significantly, rendering them homeless, separating them from families, and causing mass displacement. Millions were uproote, resulting in trauma, suffering, and loss of life. All this has been woven into the story beautifully.
Samir Vij and Firdaus, the main characters, the star-crossed lovers, are based in Lahore, part of India, then. Samir, a nose, is Hindu and Firdaus, a calligrapher is Muslim.
Two characters that I liked the most were Samir’s uncle Vivek and Firdaus’s father Altaf. On observing that Samir is a nose like himself, Vivek sees to it that Samir learns the art and skills required in making perfumes, like fragrance creation, sourcing the ingredients, bottling them, organizing etc. He teaches Sameer affectionately and patiently. Altaf is depicted as a father who is quite modern for that era. He lets his daughter learn the art of calligraphy and sends his daughter to college, which is scorned by his neighbours.
Upon reading this book, I felt transposed to that era. Aanchal has superbly and vividly described the era. She is a historian and the cofounder of the Museum of Material Memory. I got the opportunity to see her talk and got to meet her and get her book signed @emirateslitfest. She is brilliant.
"SOMETIMES, WHEN THE WHOLE WORLD SEEMS RUINED BEYOND RECOGNITION, EVEN THE FAINTEST GESTURE OF BEAUTY, LIKE THE WHIFF OF A FAMILIAR PERFUME CAN BRING A SENSE OF SOLACE."
This book is bound to leave a trail of fragrance, a sillage, in our minds!
Dust Child by Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai
emotional
fast-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
DUST CHILD, BOOK BY NGUYỄN PHAN QUẾ MA
A poignant tale that connects many people affected by the Vietnam War. In this tale, every character is worthy of empathy as they suffer their own. The war affects everybody and the aftereffects or people traumatized by it react in their own way.
This book is a historical fiction/war story that moves back and forth. Each character's tale is moving,and the author has brilliantly portrayed the struggles in their lives. The story shows discrimination based on colour, gender, and class.
Why can't people accept people for what they are?
How does it matter who they are or where they are from?
The author has written in the beginning that this book was a result of her Ph.D. research. The author has projected the traumas and the impact of the war so realistically that one can visualise it. The simplicity of the language and the captivating storyline set a happy and sad tone while creating intrigue and a want-to-know-more kind of situation at the end of each chapter.
On one side, sisters, Trang and Quynh, desperate to help their parents pay off their debts,become bar girls. On another side, an Amerasian orphan, Phong, is frantically looking for his parents. Many years later,Dan returns to Vietnam looking for his girlfriend and child.
I found Trang's story very evocative and kept hoping everything would turn out well for Trang. I loved this character who is shown as a sweet and simple girl who earnestly works to earn money to support and help her parents. She is also a loving and caring sister.
Why do women pardon men if they cheat on them? If one imagined a role reversal ,would the man be able to pardon the wife?
Though Dan is portrayed as being severely traumatised by the war, having seen death face to face is quite pitiable. But I hated this character for dumping his girlfriend and running off. Throughout the story, I couldn’t empathise with him.
Pyong’s trying to feel belonged can be felt throughout the book- for he tries so hard to find a place to call his own! There is a sense of helplessness, exclusion, hostility, and unwantedness that Pyong faces. He is ill-treated, traumatised, and is looked down upon. I felt very bad for Phong.
I hate wars and war-based books, but this is such a beautifully written book that does not showcase the war predominantly but can be felt in the backdrop. I do recommend you read this beauty for sure!
A poignant tale that connects many people affected by the Vietnam War. In this tale, every character is worthy of empathy as they suffer their own. The war affects everybody and the aftereffects or people traumatized by it react in their own way.
This book is a historical fiction/war story that moves back and forth. Each character's tale is moving,and the author has brilliantly portrayed the struggles in their lives. The story shows discrimination based on colour, gender, and class.
Why can't people accept people for what they are?
How does it matter who they are or where they are from?
The author has written in the beginning that this book was a result of her Ph.D. research. The author has projected the traumas and the impact of the war so realistically that one can visualise it. The simplicity of the language and the captivating storyline set a happy and sad tone while creating intrigue and a want-to-know-more kind of situation at the end of each chapter.
On one side, sisters, Trang and Quynh, desperate to help their parents pay off their debts,become bar girls. On another side, an Amerasian orphan, Phong, is frantically looking for his parents. Many years later,Dan returns to Vietnam looking for his girlfriend and child.
I found Trang's story very evocative and kept hoping everything would turn out well for Trang. I loved this character who is shown as a sweet and simple girl who earnestly works to earn money to support and help her parents. She is also a loving and caring sister.
Why do women pardon men if they cheat on them? If one imagined a role reversal ,would the man be able to pardon the wife?
Though Dan is portrayed as being severely traumatised by the war, having seen death face to face is quite pitiable. But I hated this character for dumping his girlfriend and running off. Throughout the story, I couldn’t empathise with him.
Pyong’s trying to feel belonged can be felt throughout the book- for he tries so hard to find a place to call his own! There is a sense of helplessness, exclusion, hostility, and unwantedness that Pyong faces. He is ill-treated, traumatised, and is looked down upon. I felt very bad for Phong.
I hate wars and war-based books, but this is such a beautifully written book that does not showcase the war predominantly but can be felt in the backdrop. I do recommend you read this beauty for sure!
The Waystation by Clifford D. Simak
lighthearted
mysterious
slow-paced
4.0
"TO READ SCIENCE-FICTION IS TO READ SIMAK. THE READER WHO DOES NOT LIKE SIMAK STORIES DOES NOT LIKE SCIENCE-FICTION AT ALL." - ROBERT HEINLEIN
Clifford Simak and Isaac Asimov were contemporaries and Simak was well-liked by Asimov.
Way Station is a Pastoral Science Fiction. I just came to know about this genre. Did you know about this genre? It’s a sci-fi set in the woods in this case.
A way station, its keeper, some aliens and events that transpire!
The protagonist, Enoch Wallace is a guardian of the way station, which is actually his house. It's a station meant for intergalactic travel. He provides coffee and refreshments to the aliens who pass by. The aliens reach Earth through a materializer. The station, set up by the aliens keeps Enoch young. He looks like a 30-year-old although he is 124.
What would it be like to live so long? I might not like to live so long and that too without my friends and close relatives.
I loved the character Lucy, who is deaf and mute but is sweet, warm and charming. Though I wasn’t certain of her role in the book at the beginning, her role fits the story so aptly, finally.
The story is set in the 19th century and was written in 1963, but reads as though it has been written in the current years.
If Aliens are found, what might be the extrapolated words for global citizens, or nationalistic for instance? Though Marvel movies do have a lot of new words and so does Star Wars etc.
Every time I read the word aliens, I remember reading in a book by Stephen Hawking, where he says that humans should never try to contact aliens for if they come to earth, they might suck out all our energy resources. (though this doesn’t happen in the Way Station!)
It’s a simple, slow-paced read that I found very interesting and the theme was really sweet too!