UNESCO Part IV

There are books in this list that have the power to make you see what other cultures' imaginations are like. And then there are books that have the power to make you feel that you know what it's like to live in that culture. The latter are few, but they are like jewels: I read two since my last post. They are Condamne a vivre by German Santamaria, and Jouer avec le Feu by Jo Jong-nae. Santamaria writes a conventional novel about various passions, but I feel like I too was a survivor of a great volcano eruption and landslide in Colombia. I could almost feel the grit under my nails when the hero went to buy a bun (reference passions). It was extraordinary. Jo's novel helped me feel what it's like to live in Cold War South Korea: it's a spy thriller about a double agent worrying about being discovered.

I also read Nakamura L'ete, to whom I refer as the Japanese Proust, with more and heterosexual sex. Natsume's Je suis un chat is a comic novel, and I generally don't like those, although I did crack a couple of smiles over the 400 pages. And nondescript despite their recommendations were Les eperons d'argent by Mejia Valleo, Verga's Mastro-Don Gesualdo, Kafu's Sumida (and I spent a lot of time on that riverside when I lived in Tokyo), and Souvenirs de misere by the daughter of a Danish king, Leonore Christine. The latter is supposed to be a jewel, adn I'm well disposed towards noblewomen writers of past centuries, but it failed to hold my attention. I also read Balanchine Variations by Nancy Goldner. It turned out to be disappointing -- although reading about dance, in particular choreographies of dances, is always going to be challenging.

I also read seven other books from the UNESCO list. Histoire de Dame Pak is a book about a disfigured woman who is a faithful wife. I don't recall the other six titles, and the library site is down so I cannot check my titles there.

I also read one issue of Eclectic Reading.