Berlin Book Club

Berlin hat das Buch gelesen und drüber geredet, wer Rodrigos Hinweis gefolgt ist, hat die Autorin in der wunderschönen Pablo Neruda Bibliothek im Friedrichshain lesen und tolle Fragen beantworten hören und nun, kurz bevor der Film herauskommt, ist es Zeit über das Buch zu sprechen - Lügen über meine Mutter von Daniela Dröscher.

Deutschlandfunk hat Folgendes über die Autorin und ihren Roman gesagt:
„…so erzählt „Lügen über meine Mutter“ nicht nur eine unerhörte familiäre Tragödie, sondern weit über das Private hinaus ein immer noch unterbelichtetes Kapitel weiblicher Alltags- und Sozialgeschichte. Daniela Dröscher in einem Atemzug mit Annie Ernaux zu nennen, ist unbedingt angemessen.“

Viel Spaß beim Lesen und ich freue mich auf eure Gedanken zum Buch!
Es gibt übrigens bereits ins Englische übersetzte Teile des Buche - wer also als DAF Lerner dazukommen möchte ich herzlich eingeladen.

Guardian writes about the novel:
„Could Caro Claire Burke’s Yesteryear be the first great tradwife novel? This was my hope: finally, a literary response to the unhinged social trend of women cosplaying “traditional Christian values” – pronatalism and obeying one’s husband – to large social media followings. I am not immune to hype, and Yesteryear has been hyped to high heaven, prompting massive auctions for the rights, and landing a film deal with Anne Hathaway.
You have to admit that the premise – Instagram tradwife wakes up in what appear to be the actual pioneer days, and finds that traditional wifedom is not as much of a hoot as her whitewashed social media re-enactment had implied – is genius. As one of the “Angry Women” our heroine Natalie so disparages, I was looking forward to some sweet schadenfreude.“
So let‘s enjoy the schadenfreude together or bemoan all the stuff that is missing from the book.

We return to our project of reading and discussing Russian/Soviet literature after the summer break. This time 1980s «И дольше века длится день». There are both English and German translations out and still to be found in Berlin libraries. I hope all those willing to join the event will be able to get hold of a copy.
Slavic review writes about the novel:
„A forlorn railway junction is central to the action of the novel, yet thanks to the rich tapestry of images and human emotions the reading never becomes boring. As so often in Aitmatov's work, animals are used as symbols of the achievements and failures of human beings, from the frightened vixen on the ground (and the children along the railroad) to the proudly soaring eagle (and the travelers in space). The trains, too, have
become an important persona against which the vicissitudes of life are constantly gauged. With respect to its themes of religion, legends and magic, politics, love and other passions (greed, competition, envy), The Day Lasts More Than a Hundred Years is reminiscent in
scope of Mikhail Bulgakov's The Master and Margarita.“
I am excited to discuss the book with you.

I was given a copy of a book by a friend and was amazed by what I listened to. I would like to share these wow-moments with you. NYT writes about the book:

„There is a funny visual irony to our smartphones — they’re tiny objects and yet, for many of us, they contain a seemingly endless well of tools, information and communications that dictate our lives. It’s impressive how something so small can hold so much.
The same can be said of Ben Lerner’s new novel, “Transcription.” It’s a slim book — 130 pages — and yet it cracks open some of the most colossal and enduring philosophical questions facing us.
The novel is told in three parts. We open with an unnamed narrator going to interview his mentor, Thomas — an acclaimed artist in his 90s who also happens to be the father of one of the narrator’s friends, Max — for a magazine. Before the interview, however, the narrator’s phone, which he was planning to use to record the conversation, falls in the sink and breaks. Rather than reschedule, he goes to Thomas’s home and proceeds with the interview anyway, taking no notes and only pretending to record him.

The second section flashes to the future. Thomas has died, and the article that our narrator wrote has become enshrined as the final interview with the iconic artist. At a symposium in Madrid, the narrator confesses that his interview with Thomas as it appeared was reconstructed, a revelation that dismays the other guests and infuriates Max. Then we flash again. In the final section, Thomas talks to Max, who discusses his own complicated relationship with Thomas and technology, including how the internet and other digital tools impacted his family during several crises.

Through these scenes, “Transcription” asks a series of questions: How does technology mediate our lives? How does it bring us together or pull us apart? Is there a difference between what’s real and what’s true?“

NYT had a book club discussion about the text and I would like to invite you to do the same - let‘s read, ponder and come together to share our thoughts.