"Joyce's Pupil" Drago Jančar. Various translators. I had been struggling for some time to find a suitable book for Slovenia so was glad to come across Drago Jančar’s name. I was gladder still that a publisher had seen fit to translate this collection of short stories into English. Jančar is a famous author in Slovenia … Continue reading 14. Slovenia
Category: Second World War
13. Lithuania
"Between Shades of Grey" Ruta Sepetys. It is interesting to reflect that, in contrast to the crimes of the Nazis, there is little popular culture on the horror of the Soviet gulags - at least in my experience. I feel I imbibed it in a vague and abstract way, without much in depth explanation or … Continue reading 13. Lithuania
12. Germany II
"A Woman in Berlin" Anonymous. Translated from the German by Philip Boehm. It was quite by chance that I heard about this novel, reading some article or other that I do not even remember. But when I knew it existed I really wanted to read it alongside the other books dealing with the war and … Continue reading 12. Germany II
11. Luxembourg
"Borderlands" - Roy Jacobsen. Translated: Don Bartlett and Dan Shaw. It would be very easy for a book to teach me something of Luxembourg, for I am afraid my only knowledge of the country comes from news reports on multinational tax avoidance and dodgy banking. Yet trying to find an English book on the place … Continue reading 11. Luxembourg
10. Finland
"Unknown Soldiers" - Vaino Linna. Trans from Finnish by Liesl Yamaguchi. I don’t know how to start describing this book nor the gradual, building effect it compressed into a few hundred, unpoetic, pages. It is like every war film I have seen yet far more human, wordly and affecting. It tells the moribund story of … Continue reading 10. Finland
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