The Mookse and the Gripes discussion

Tk

Eileen Battersby's take:

At first glance the judges must be applauded for including two remarkable European works, Compass, by the gifted French writer Mathias Énard (translated by Charlotte Mandell) and Bricks and Mortar, by visionary German realist Clemens Meyer (translated by Katy Derbyshire).

Both novels are bold, brilliant and very different from each other and just about everything else. Also, they are published by Fitzcarraldo Editions, the daring, young independent publisher established in 2014. Either of these novels could win; each has a strong claim and it is difficult to choose between them.

Compass is a cultural and blatantly indulgent tour de force which elegantly trawls through the contrasting artistic and historical legacies of East and West. Énard, who established his voice with the magnificent Zone (2008; 2014, also translated by Mandell) – which was aptly described as an Iliad for our violent epoch – is a scholar of Arabic and Persian and an original. His imagination is indeed a wonder to behold. Compass won the 2015 Prix Goncourt.

Compass is dazzling and very clever, as well as immensely entertaining. The central character, Franz Ritter, is a musicologist, unrequited lover and career insomniac. He is also very ill and as he lies in bed, one very long Viennese night, his memories run riot. Having travelled widely throughout the Middle East, often in the company of the elusive Sarah, a scholar obsessed with the interaction of East and West in history and art, his thoughts are alive with fact, digression, anecdote and images of composers, writers and archaeologists all struggling for meaning. Énard takes Claudio Magris’s Danube, a work he references throughout, many, many stages further. It is an eccentric delight.

I've been luxuriating in this one while I walk in the evenings. I'm still in the early part so don't know how I will feel in the end, but I'm really enjoying it now.

I loved his Zone - should have won the MBI the year it was published, and indeed the shadow jury of bloggers, as I recall, called it in and awarded it their prize

This Wednesday, at the opening night of the Leipzig Book Fair, Énard will receive the Leipzig Book Award für European Understanding for "Compass". The jury statement says that in a time of division and hatred, Énard is a unique intermediary between cultures and a passionate scholar with stupendous knowledge and poetic power. "Compass" is described as a book illustrating the influence of the Orient on European cultures: "It becomes clear that one cannot be imagined without the other.(...) In his book, Énard explores how Europe has evolved and what it can be today."
(please excuse my rocky translation of the statement, I`m not a pro at this - I hope I could convey the meaning)

I think this sounds intriguing, I am really interested in reading "Compass"! The Leipzig Book Fair is the bolder brother of the one in Frankfurt and gets enormous attention in Germany, so the award will probably be good for Énard's sales over here. The effect could be heightened if the German translators, who are nominated for the Prize of the Leipzig Book Fair in the category "Translation", would actually win.

By the way: Clemens Meyer, who is also on the MBI longlist for "Bricks and Mortar", received the Prize of the Leipzig Book Fair in the category "Fiction" in 2008 for "All the Lights".

I'm going to break the mould here. So, with apologies to all those who loved it, I really hated this. I read the first third of it but then had to stop as it was driving me crazy. Happy to admit it's me rather than the book, but I really disliked it.

Neil, had you read Enard before?

I have only read Street of Thieves & would be interested in views on how the two compare. Presumably this one is more complex, but not quite so experimental in structure as Zone?

Antonomasia wrote: "Neil, had you read Enard before?

I have only read Street of Thieves & would be interested in views on how the two compare. Presumably this one is more complex, but not quite so experimental in str..."

Antonomasia - no, this was my first (and last) experience. I can't think of any reason why I would attempt another. There are some authors that some readers just don't get on with. In last year's Booker, I really disliked the Coetzee book and I'm not inclined to try any others of his, but I know a lot of other people love his books.

Yes, know the feeling. I hope I will never read a Jhumpa Lahiri book again.

Interesting. I would never assume that one bad experience of a writer meant anything unless the book had no redeeming features whatsoever. Neither Coetzee nor Lahiri would come into that category for me. Never read any Enard but I would trust Anya' s judgment.

For me, it is simply a matter of having so many books I want to read. I'm not inclined to add more by authors I haven't enjoyed.

Also, this book has won several prizes, so I am sure it is me not the book.

Hugh wrote: "Interesting. I would never assume that one bad experience of a writer meant anything unless the book had no redeeming features whatsoever. Neither Coetzee nor Lahiri would come into that category f..."
I think if you really can't stand their style - as I couldn't with Lahiri - it's a major deterrent to reading more. Whereas if a plot was a bit silly, or you weren't into the subject, there may be hope.

Anya - I know you loved Compass, so we will have to differ on that one. But we are agreed on A Cup of Rage!

Urgh cup of rage. Waste of 42 pages in my opinion

Seconded (or fourthed) on Cup of Rage

I loved Compass, which I have just finished, but I can see why it wouldn't be too universal taste.

Interview with the translator

http://conversationalreading.com/7-qu...

Which includes this link - to a play list for the various music mentioned on Spotify

https://play.spotify.com/user/fitzcar...