"`'Like' is a strong word," Shan said. "So everyone, this book is a memoir, right? It's about tons of stuff, growing up in this all-white town, being the only black kid in my prep school, my mom's passing, all that stuff. My editor reads the manuscript and says, 'I understand that race is important here but we have to make sure the book transcends race, so that it's not just about race[']. And I'm thinking. But why do I have to transcend race? You know, like race is a brew best served mild, tempered with other liquids, otherwise white folk can't sallow it.´"
From Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (2013, Anchor Books)
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie *1977
Actually, I came across Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and her latest book Americanah via my former participants of The English Book Club. While I was abroad for some months they decided to go ahead and chose books on their own to read and discuss. When I returned this spring, I joined them on a meeting and Chimamanda's book was on the list.
I have to admit that I was 'mildly surprised' they had chosen a book with 588 pages! But when I started reading Americanah, I couldn't stop. Timing, rhythm, style, schedule, characters...name it, everything fits its place and just by reading it you get into a flow.
Though, it certainly is not a lovely prose fiction but a rather tough-minded one with lots of bits to chew on. Open for another quote?
"`When I started in real estate, I considered renovating old houses instead of tearing them down, but it didn't make sense. Nigerians don't buy houses because they're old. A renovated two-hundred-year-old mill granary, you know, the kind of thing Europeans like. It doesn't work here at all. But of course it makes sense because we are Third Worlders and Third Worlders are forward-looking, we like things to be new, because our best is still ahead, while in the West their best is already past and so they have to make a fetish of that past.´"
With her talk on "We Should all be Feminists" (also published 2014 by Fourth Estate) she claims that equality for women would create equality for men as well, for: "The harder [sic] a man feels compelled to be, the weaker his ego is. And then we do a much greater disservice to girls, because we raise them to cater to the fragile egos of males." So, to make feminism an issue, not only by women but also by men, inequality could be diminished and more men might also become the person they actually are at their core and not trapped in an oppressive 'male' role.
I wonder if Chimamanda had Eugene Achike on her mind when she talked about this destructive 'relationship' between men and women? Eugene, the main character's father in her first novel Purple Hibiscus, a religious zealot intimidating his family both physically and emotionally. An impressive first novel published in 2003 and awarded with the Commonwealth Writer's Prize for Best First Book in 2005.
How eager Nigerian-born Chimamanda is as an observer of society and a spokesperson for her surroundings became obvious earlier on with her second novel, Half of a Yellow Sun. Published in 2006, the book covers the times of the Nigerian Civil War (1967-1970) and the massacres between Hausa and Igbo people during which the Igbo created a new republic, called Biafra, showing 'half a yellow sun' in its flag. Skilfully, she interweaves the lives of her characters with the political events using flashbacks to give a larger picture to her audience. Not only won the book the Orange Prize for Fiction in 2007 but was also made into an impressive Nollywood movie presented at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2013 (click here for the TIFF trailer).
Born in Enugu, Chimamanda grew up as fifth of six children in the university town of Nsukka, Nigeria. Both parents worked at the university and Chimamanda started studying medicine and pharmacy in Nigeria. In 1996 Chimamanda moved on to studying in the United States of America where she received a bachelor degree (summa cum laude) in communication and political sciences in 2001. Two years later, she completed her master's degree in creative writing and in 2008 a Master of Art's degree in African studies. She currently commutes between Nigeria, teaching creative writing, and the USA.
And very up-to-date: her latest book, Americanah, is currently shortlisted for the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award and the 'Winning Announcement' will be on 17th June (click here). I am most curious if Chimamanda will be honoured with another award. She certainly deserves it!
P.S.: Interested in all her nominations, awards and honours? Please check wikipedia for the list!
Quote of the Month - May 2015
“Stories
and poems don’t just appear on a page; they germinate, grow and are crafted.”
by Amal Chatterjee, ‘Editor’s Preface’
“The short story is that rare form of literature that follows just one rule, which is that there is no rule. It is fluid like water, can flow in any direction or be stagnant. It is like a fleeting feeling, a glimpse, a moment in time. It is not meant to satisfy but to whet your appetite for more good writing,[...].”
by Sabyn Javeri
All quotes from Creative Writing, Writers on Writing edited by Amal Chatterjee
by Amal Chatterjee, ‘Editor’s Preface’
“Writing
before all, is communication. It is communication with oneself and one’s inner
life even before it is communication with another. More broadly than that even,
writing achieves something. It externalises what was previously internal and
half-recognised. It allows thought to create itself by leaving a trail.”
by
Kathryn Heyman
“The short story is that rare form of literature that follows just one rule, which is that there is no rule. It is fluid like water, can flow in any direction or be stagnant. It is like a fleeting feeling, a glimpse, a moment in time. It is not meant to satisfy but to whet your appetite for more good writing,[...].”
by Sabyn Javeri
“When
you let language lead rather than trying to constrict its movement, it frees
the language and allows it to express itself in new ways through you, through
your individual voice. It is this that identifies the individual, gives the
individual identity within the tradition. And it is this that makes writing
creative and original.”
by
Colm Breathnach
“But
just as in our non-writing life we never truly know what is going to happen
next, what I was looking for each time was the poem beyond the poem I sat down
at first to write. [...] So the process of feeling in the dark for a poem
begins.”
by
Jane Draycott
“It
is as if the story is not quite complete without a discussion about it. This
may be in recognition of the reader writer duality that surrounds the story;
that after the story is written it needs to be read to complete its cycle of
being.”
by
Fred D’Aguiar
All quotes from Creative Writing, Writers on Writing edited by Amal Chatterjee
"Creative Writing - Writers on Writing"
First of all I tried to 'name' the book: it is an anthology for it presents eight very individual pieces of writing. At the same time it is a collection of essays, for each writer reflects on her/his unique writing process of the published piece of writing.
Next, the book is aimed at writers in general to give an inspiring insight of the diverse and very individual approaches to writing. At the same time, as a reader, this is a captivating collection of pieces by eight distinctive writers with a variety of languages and backgrounds (e.g. Australia, USA, India). So, whatever name I'll might try on the book it remains a fascinating and inspiring collection of pieces of writing supplemented by essays.
Take for example Fred D'Aguiar's short story on his grandfather. As a non-native speaker I had to wade through it with a dictionary close by. But as with a lot of walks in life: the story that unfolds before you rewards all the strain. For Fred, Guyanese by background, doesn't use the regular linear time progression but the lyric time as he explains in his supplementing essay: "I prefer to explore the motives behind the character's impulse to sow chaos in the story."
Emily Raboteau, in contrast, has chosen to use a personal experience for her short story to show how she 'transforms' her experience into a story: "I [...] knew that at its heart this story was about the cataclysmic transformation of becoming a parent. [...] The difference between the journal entry and the short story is structure. Real life is chaotic and, if not meaningless, plotless [sic]. Plot is the thing we impose upon real life to create story." I should say, completely the opposite to Fred D'Aguiar's point of view, isn't it?
Whereas Philip Gross reflects on his poem: "It is a journey, the oldest story-shape of them all [...]."
Another point of view?
"For me, characters are the backbone of the story. My stories lean heavily on the character rather than the plot, sometimes at the cost of slowing down the pace of the narrative." Sabyn Javri, Pakistani-born writer on her short story: "As the people in my stories reveal more about themselves, the story unfolds."
And then there is poet Colm Breathnach, from Ireland: "All creative writing starts with language, not with ideas, plot outlines, rhythms or literary theories but simply with language itself, with words and the desire to use words in a particular way." Which made Colm realise that he can best express the meaning of a word in his mother tongue, Irish. So you see, a wide range of points of view. And these are only quotes from the reflections! The stories and poems are at least as rewarding making it a matchless anthology/collection (see foto).
All in all the book is a well-composed collection of eight idiosyncratic pieces of writing with their supplementary essays. A unique combination which makes it a unique chance to listen to writers and their individual approaches to that particular writing itself.
A book, as mentioned, which is not easily named, registered or labelled but certainly worth expanding. So, my humble advice to the publisher: seriously think about making it a series.
Quote of the Month - April 2015
"Her mother comes back. As she walks past, she removes the sheet covering the hall mirror, folds it up, and carries it into the baby's room. She lays it at the bottom of the suitcase she's brought along for just this purpose, then takes the child's things from their drawer and puts them in the suitcase with the sheet. During the months that proceeded the child's birth, all of them - the pregnant woman, her mother, and her grandmother - sewed, knitted, and embroidered these jackets, dresses, and caps. Her mother now shuts the empty drawer. On top of the chest is the toy with the little silver bells. When she picks it up, the bells make a jingling sound. They jingled yesterday as well, when her daughter was still a mother playing with her child. The jingling hasn't changed in the twenty-four hours that have passed since then."
From The End of Days by Jenny Erpenbeck (Portobello Books; translation Susan Bernofsky)
From The End of Days by Jenny Erpenbeck (Portobello Books; translation Susan Bernofsky)
Jenny Erpenbeck *1967
To regular visitors of my blog, Jenny Erpenbeck isn't actually an 'unknown' author anymore. I had her already presented on my blog after I saw her at the EdBookFest in 2011 (read here). That time it was her then recently published book Visitation (org: Heimsuchung) which was in focus then.
So, why presenting the author another time?
Well, times fly and Jenny Erpenbeck is nominated for the "Europese Literatuurprijs 2015" with her latest book Een handvol sneeuw (orig: Aller Tage Abend (2012)/ UK: The End of Days).
This particular literary prize is a Dutch/Flemish cooperation and an initiative to highlight books by European authors and their Dutch/Flemish translators (see regulations (Dutch only)). The longlist 2015 highlights on 20 authors from 11 European countries: Portugal, Spain, France, UK, Finland, Norway, Germany, Iceland, Switzerland, Greece and Italy whereas the translation spans even further as Mikhail Pavlovich Shishkin writes in Russian though living in Switzerland.
Additionally, Jenny Erpenbeck crystallises more and more into a young, diligent high-class author. An author in the league of a Kamila Shamsie and Kiran Desai, a family background of writers included. She has such a unique voice of her own, her style of writing is brilliant, her use of words polished and refined, while her approach to the chosen subject is remarkable and singular.
So it is with her latest book The End of Days, nominated for the above mentioned literary prize: WHEN comes the end of days? As a child? As a young girl? As a young woman? As an elderly lady? Jenny uses five possibilities as a canvas to describe the lives that might or might not have taken place beforehand. As a reader we are five times lead into some metaphorical dead-end streets. Yet the narrator knows a rat run each time that takes us four times back again on to the main road.
Typically Jenny, the book is written in a minor mode, quietly moving ahead, very introverted, inside orientated. It's like she takes you along an inner search to the essence of life while creating five times a possible pattern that might lead to a possible end.
And it is about loss. Especially the last chapter echoes the loss when one realises that there won't be and cannot be another rat run to the main road. It's a loss not only of dear ones but losses that span generations, closing a circle, reminding me of her other book Things That Disappear (orig. Dinge, die verschwinden (2009)). A circle that starts and ends with objects and stories emerging and re-emerging, echoing in the reader's ears reminding one on how everything started.
A quiet and simple story; one could also read it as a philosophical hi-story refuting the idea that history is a linear progress as the Western world strongly believes. In her novel Jenny resounds the philosophy of the Eastern world that hi-story is a cyclic progress resuming at 'the end of days'.
The more I read by Jenny the more I grow fascinated by her style, her tone, her writer's idiosyncrasy, though there seems a familiarity of characters. A strong novel from a noteworthy German author.
The other titles nominated for the prize are certainly as strong, all of them first-class literature by authors as Finnish writer Sofi Oksanen, French writer Karine Tuil, or Greek author Yannis Kiourtsakis with his classic Double Exile (NL: Bij wijze van roman) actually also listed as a 'rediscovery' by schwob, another Dutch/Flamish cooperation (zie here). By September we should learn who won the prize. I'll keep you informed.
P.S.: For those living in the Netherlands and interested in meeting the various translators there are a variety of possibilities. Just check the site www.europeseliteratuurprijs.nl for more information.
So, why presenting the author another time?
Well, times fly and Jenny Erpenbeck is nominated for the "Europese Literatuurprijs 2015" with her latest book Een handvol sneeuw (orig: Aller Tage Abend (2012)/ UK: The End of Days).This particular literary prize is a Dutch/Flemish cooperation and an initiative to highlight books by European authors and their Dutch/Flemish translators (see regulations (Dutch only)). The longlist 2015 highlights on 20 authors from 11 European countries: Portugal, Spain, France, UK, Finland, Norway, Germany, Iceland, Switzerland, Greece and Italy whereas the translation spans even further as Mikhail Pavlovich Shishkin writes in Russian though living in Switzerland.So it is with her latest book The End of Days, nominated for the above mentioned literary prize: WHEN comes the end of days? As a child? As a young girl? As a young woman? As an elderly lady? Jenny uses five possibilities as a canvas to describe the lives that might or might not have taken place beforehand. As a reader we are five times lead into some metaphorical dead-end streets. Yet the narrator knows a rat run each time that takes us four times back again on to the main road.
Typically Jenny, the book is written in a minor mode, quietly moving ahead, very introverted, inside orientated. It's like she takes you along an inner search to the essence of life while creating five times a possible pattern that might lead to a possible end.
And it is about loss. Especially the last chapter echoes the loss when one realises that there won't be and cannot be another rat run to the main road. It's a loss not only of dear ones but losses that span generations, closing a circle, reminding me of her other book Things That Disappear (orig. Dinge, die verschwinden (2009)). A circle that starts and ends with objects and stories emerging and re-emerging, echoing in the reader's ears reminding one on how everything started. A quiet and simple story; one could also read it as a philosophical hi-story refuting the idea that history is a linear progress as the Western world strongly believes. In her novel Jenny resounds the philosophy of the Eastern world that hi-story is a cyclic progress resuming at 'the end of days'.
The more I read by Jenny the more I grow fascinated by her style, her tone, her writer's idiosyncrasy, though there seems a familiarity of characters. A strong novel from a noteworthy German author.
The other titles nominated for the prize are certainly as strong, all of them first-class literature by authors as Finnish writer Sofi Oksanen, French writer Karine Tuil, or Greek author Yannis Kiourtsakis with his classic Double Exile (NL: Bij wijze van roman) actually also listed as a 'rediscovery' by schwob, another Dutch/Flamish cooperation (zie here). By September we should learn who won the prize. I'll keep you informed. P.S.: For those living in the Netherlands and interested in meeting the various translators there are a variety of possibilities. Just check the site www.europeseliteratuurprijs.nl for more information.
Quote of the Month - March 2015
"By and by she cleared out her room, the same way she had cleared out her house. Or she walked between things never touching them. Only sometimes did she stop midway and had a notion of what she was missing. The things she then searched for were in eerie disproportion to the things she had actually lost.
I had assumed that my mother's personality would always stay the same until the very end."
from Okaasan. Meine unbekannte Mutter ("Okaasan. My unknown Mother") by Milena Michiko Flašar (2010, Residenz Verla; my translation)
I had assumed that my mother's personality would always stay the same until the very end."
from Okaasan. Meine unbekannte Mutter ("Okaasan. My unknown Mother") by Milena Michiko Flašar (2010, Residenz Verla; my translation)
Milena Michiko Flašar *1980
 |
| I called him Necktie |
Milena has been one of the many authors present at the Writers Unlimited Festival in Den Haag this year. Quietly and very politely listening to her colleagues she did not stand out immediately. But the things she had to say left an imprint on me to get at least curious. As Milena is Austrian and writes in German, I bought the original title of I called him Necktie = Ich nannte ihn Krawatte which had been in focus at the festival. A pretty book introducing a Japanese phenomenon called 'hikikomori': someone who withdraws from all social life and tries to live in isolation, mainly young adults still living with their parents. In the book itself, we meet two characters: one withdrawing from his former social life and one going the opposite way. A simple story it seems of two lost souls telling their lives to each other in the course of a few weeks. The narrator is very kind and understanding of the two characters' diverse situations. As a reader you feel all sympathy for the two men. But actually they cannot be trusted. The his-stories behind the characters are cruel, sometimes ugly, heartless and unsympathetic. Yet, as a reader you feel all the sympathy for their doings which leaves one torn between rejection and acceptance. Mainly, because you feel trapped by the conflicts they had to deal with in the past. The actions taken or not taken are so recognisable that one feels reminded of similar situations of one's own past. How much can you forgive yourself and/or the characters? Though the characters are clearly Japanese in their setting, their acts are universal - and with it all the book's perfect use of language and rhythm makes it more than brilliant.
And how come that an Austrian writes about a Japanese phenomenon? Milena was born in St. Pölten, Austria, to a Japanese mother and an Austrian father. That might give us some idea.
Her second book Okaasan. Mein unbekannte Mutter ("Okaasan. My unknown Mother"; not yet translated) is actually focusing on her Japanese mother, though in the book it is only a side track which doesn't stand central. As the title indicates, it is mainly about mothers in general. In the first part we are drawn into the life of the narrator but also learn about various other characters and their, obviously, complicated relationships with their mother. Non is true to the main character: she seems to have (had) a good relationship with her mother. Evidently, that relationship is undergoing massive changes as her mother is 'changing' herself. Also in this book, the author's craft of the use of language is palpable. It has an energy, strength and rhythm which I compared at some stages to David Grossman's book Falling out of Time which is similarly beautiful in its concept and language. Unfortunately, I was a bit at a loss with the second part of the book when the narrator steps on a plane to stay at an ashram in India for some time. There was some logic in it and the end of the story closes a circle but it somehow didn't fit.
Nevertheless, the author, who studied Comparative Literature, German and Romance philology in Vienna and Berlin, is a very promising author with an exceptional craft in the use of language. Probably, because she is bilingually educated and learned to live in at least two concepts of the world and its languages. Additionally, Milena is also trained as a teacher in 'German as a Foreign Language' (DAF) and is very much aware of language structure. All in all, a splendid background supporting her brilliance in language.
Her first novel, [ich bin] ("I Am"; no translation) is similarly intriguing and strong in its language use. Unfortunately, only the latest novel has been translated into English (and Dutch). Time to do some more translation, I should say.
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