pickA 170-page unbroken paragraph composed of a would-be piano virtuoso's obsessive, paranoid reflections on his former friends and fellow students - Wertheimer, now dead by suicide, and the great Glenn Gould, whose genius sent the others' lives into a tailspin (all three of whom are really different aspects of Bernhard himself). Venomous, funny, and formalistically daring, this was not an easy read by any means but well worth the effort.
pickAn interesting read of historical fiction. There was a bit of repetitiveness with the guilt, but the plot seemed to closely mirror the real life of Hedy Lamarr. I enjoyed the second half of the book better than the first, perhaps due to Hedy's maturing. At the start of the novel she was only nineteen!
pickAll of the loss and misery caused by Hitler was writ large in the life of Zweig. Once one of the most prominent authors in Europe, a truly joyful man, Zweig was ultimately defeated by book banning and exile and genocide. This is a harrowing tale of the toll of war on a gentle heart. It won‘t tell you much that you don‘t already know, but it is another thing entirely to see this history through the eyes of a witness who is also a gifted writer.
so-soOne of the more disturbing stories of a mother-daughter relationship I‘ve read, and an intense account of a woman‘s self-destruction. It was a bit too much for me at times, but I do admire Jelinek‘s bold approach. I‘d still like to see the film at some point.
AIRS ABOVE THE GROUND is awesome so far! Lots of interesting relationships and great tension as Vanessa digs into the mystery of her displaced husband. I‘m gonna binge-read it tonight while I puppysit these two wrestling enthusiasts and their slightly calmer brother.
An unexpected highlight of my #Interrail trip was Innsbruck in #Austria, a small city surrounded by beautiful mountains. The view of the city and the surrounding nature was spectacular.
My trip back home was awful - two delayed trains and an accident right before Hamburg. It took me 2,5 hours longer than expected.
Learned by Heart: 3 stars
Daisy lives nearish to a bookstore that maintains a public list of everything its patrons want. I had a bunch of things on there, so today I traded in a big bag of books and came away with two Mary Stewart novels to feed my recent craving. I‘ve also got tons of credit left; an excuse to visit again while I‘m here!
