The Road (Vasily Grossman, various dates 1930s - 1950s)

I really like this guy's writing.  I also like stuff set in Russia, including this dark era with Stalin, WWII, Nazi invasion, 1937 liquidations, kulaks, etc. - compelling settings. Grossman in trouble with the authorities from time to time while also having success with Russian army as writer for "Red Star". As mentioned elsewhere - his masterpiece was denied publication by the Soviets and had to be smuggled out.

This is a collection of Grossman's short stories plus a few essays and letters.

"The Old Teacher" - the ending where the young girl in a maternal way consoles the teacher who was waiting for words of love. Compare to Life and Fate scene with the (female, unmarried) doctor going into the gas chamber taking care of someone else's child. I liked this.

"The Hell of Treblinka" - read only a few pages plus skim. A topic on which I feel pretty well informed so not wanting to slog through the grim detail again.  This is notable because it’s one of the first accounts. 

"The Road" - two mules working with German army, then the younger mule with mare with Russian army. I see that this was about the Italian army invading Ethiopia; but it felt in many ways like a metaphor for folks slaving away in the labor camps. 

"Mama" - a key figure in the 1936-38 liquidations adopts an orphan, who then becomes an orphan again when this person (Yeshov) is himself arrested and taken away (also his wife).

Interesting throughout; recommended.

The Siege of Berlin and other stories (Alphonse Daudet, 1873)

Poking through the "Harvard Classics," I gave a try to this set of five or six stories. Rather patriotic in tone by this French author; stories are set in the Franco-Prussian was of 1870 (a disaster for France). Characters without much depth. Super easy read but not particularly recommended. 

A Swim in a Pond in the Rain - In Which Four Russians Give a Master Class on Writing, Reading, and Life (George Saunders, 2021)

(408 pages)

In The Cart

The Singers

The Darling

Master and Man

The Nose

Gooseberries

Alyosha the Pot

Re-read for me, I picked it for book club.  Things I talked about -

A book celebrating these peerless Russian authors and learning to write - or more pertinently to me, to READ.  Seven short stories plus discussion around each.

That made this book well worth some contradictions.  I don’t really love the short story format; you just get used to a few characters and then - it’s over. I was kind of disappointed in some of the stories Saunders selected. I got tired of his preaching.  

The contrast to Lonesome Dove. Big canvas; led me to War & Peace.

Two good rules: Be entertaining.  Advance the story in a non-trivial way.

The Cart - was Marya changed by remembering childhood happily?

The Singers - I really liked this, especially his efforts to describe music (the indescribable, I’ve tried). Keyed to the reactions of the audience, especially the wife (sharp-nosed and quick-eyed tradeswoman). (Kind of rich – in The Singers, he is criticizing Turgenev for running on and on, apparently not understanding that he is doing a far worse job of it himself. Plus, I like Turgenev’s running on!)

Too much analysis = yuck. 

This collection is worth it for Master and Man alone. 

Grappling with spirituality - the moment when the master decides to devote himself. Difficult to write about that something “larger than ourselves” - but it works, quite a moment.

In the first few pages after Master and Man, Saunders talks about opinion and fact, that Tolstoy here is pure fact. Compare War and Peace - all sorts of opinions about Napoleon, war, etc. Here:  “It’s mostly just descriptions of people doing things.”  Perfect. Saunders is helping me read better.

The “facts” of being out in that snow for anyone who’s lived there.  Billy Devine’s corncrib. 

        Page 219. Reminds me of my reaction to the snow drift sections.

        How Tolstoy goes into the master’s mind as he tries to sleep. Everyone familiar with this from night experiences of difficult situations - tell yourself not to think about it; select something happier to think about; keep trying; maybe drift off but there it is again! Saunders discusses section 6 of the story at page 232 (the part where master and man are in the cart overnight).

The Nose - can anyone find something of value either in the story, or in the author’s notes? I liked Dead Souls, but this?

At 331, Chekhov uses the same technique to describe beauty as Turgenev does to describe music in the singers. Here: “The moment when Pelageya stops Ivan and Burkin in their tracks with her good looks.” 

At 336-7 is a key for my readings of Chekhov.  Saunders best work appears here (or is it just because I agree with it?!) The idea of Checkov having clear views, weakly held. Start at “interested in everything but not wedded to any fixed system of belief” and read the highlights.

Refer to page 381 re Russian history. Saunders cites the 70-year explosion (mostly literature but some music)! How does it fit in with Russian Revolution, Stalin, etc. I’ve wondered about this.

The Inimitable Jeeves (P.G. Wodehouse, 1923)

(225 pages)

I really want to like Wodehouse's books.  He has such a funny way of writing (always coming up with a phrase or word that I wouldn't expect); I think the books are considered to have aged well; I want to keep trying; but I usually end up wondering why I'm spending any time reading them.  Hmm.

My last Wodehouse attempt was 10 years ago.

This is the first volume in what became a lengthy series of books centered around the unflappable problem-solving butler, Jeeves. He is employed by Bertie Wooster - a youngish gentleman who is independently wealthy. In this volume, Bertie is beset by Aunt Agatha; deals with multiple romances experienced by his friend Bingo; deals with two miscreant cousins (Claude and Eustace).

With Jeeves around, everything turns out well.  

OK I will try the next Jeeves volume before deciding on whether to give up.

A Swim in a Pond in the Rain - In Which Four Russians Give a Master Class on Writing, Reading, and Life (George Saunders, 2021)

(408 pages)

Rote gibes in the early going directed at whatever it is that the author thinks of as "capitalism" made me unreceptive, but then I have to admit that the author does say a lot of useful things about writing.  Perhaps can't help it that he spends a lot of time in campus environment? [As the book goes on, annoying comments about climate change activism, gender/class, "my truth" as a useful concept - pretty much the entire catechism. Why are politics even invoked?  Whatever, the book remains quite useful.]

_____________

He head-on addresses in a useful way (first at page 102) something we've noticed and talked about but not really nailed down - 

--that the appreciation of an art work at its deepest level happens when there is that instant of recognition that something special, or moving, is hitting us; and we can ride that for a while depending on the nature of the art work (and what's happening in the immediate environment - distractions?)

--that instant is somewhat sharable without words - the knowing look at another contemporaneous observer - we know there is some element of sharing but cannot know the extent of the overlap of our respective appreciations.  which is fine.

--that moment will fade away every time . . . we may remember aspects of it, and we definitely will remember that it happened

--often it's followed by an attempt to verbalize or write down what was experienced (what I sometimes am trying to do in a weak way here in this blog).  sometimes we do a decent job of that, but we (I don't think it's just me but who knows) always and quickly get the feeling that our words are mostly failing to express the experience

--which is interesting in itself.  humans have developed this marvelous capacity for language, and for writing things down to speak across geography and years.  And it's super-valuable.  But - as valuable as words are - the "words cannot express" concept is real.  Everyone knows/accepts it.

--the "instant of recognition/appreciation" is the best moment - better than the subsequent point at which we try our hardest to share via words - Proust/Mann as great at trying to put that experience into words but I don't recall, or didn't pick up, how they made this point.  (Mann with music in Doctor Faustus; Proust with Elstir/painting, Bergotte/writing, Berma/acting, Vanteuil/composing)

Turgenev in "The Singers" - the reaction of the sharp-eyed innkeeper's wife (the author is telling us by this adjective that she's not sentimental or easily-swooned) - as soon as the second singer got going, she immediately "drew herself up to her full height" - eventually had to leave the room (we conclude because the performance was so striking).  Wow - a wonderful way to tell us about the quality of the music via an observer's reaction - we all know that feeling even if we can't put it into words.  Turgenev's description of other listeners also good but I thought this was the best.

_______________________

"Pattern stories" - where repeat certain elements but with variation and escalation - I often think this exact thought with the piano works that I try to learn.  Those works are relatively short, just a few minutes - I think they can be fairly compared to short stories - these piano works introduce a theme, it comes back but escalates.  Interesting.  (This was "The Darling" by Chekhov.) (Also true of larger musical works but I don't play those on piano.)

_______________________

Master and Man - a story I've loved for decades.  Author telling us how Tolstoy wrote with "facts" - I'll try to watch for this.  Then the author annoys me with early 21st century "woke" criticism (about treatment of the peasant) - I'm pretty sure that criticism won't age as well as Tolstoy's story.

the moment when the "master" decides to take action - so powerful; it creates that "instant of recognition."  The build-up pays off, immensely.

reminders of "The Death of Ivan Ilych."

__________________________

Gogol's "The Nose" - I find it worthless.  And I find worthless the author's effort to explain why it's not worthless.  (I also didn't much like "The Overcoat", but found "Dead Souls" great, so who knows.)

___________________________

The remaining stories and commentary not as striking.

___________________________

More generally - made me think why I don't read a lot of short stories - maybe because, like poetry, they often make the reader work harder?  My habit is to rather rapidly read extended novels or history - I'm steadily rewarded with interesting or perhaps even moving passages that don't so much require me to stop and think; constantly presented with something new.  I do believe this is my problem with poetry, something to work on.  Short stories less of a problem, there are quite a few that I like a great deal.

The Troll Garden (Willa Cather, 1905)

(131 pages)

Collection of early short stories by a favorite author.

Flavia and Her Artists - Flavia overestimates her connection to (and perhaps the value of) artists she hosts.

The Sculptor's Funeral - a Boston student accompanies the remains of his teacher (a famours sculptor) for burial back in rural Nebraska.  Unflattering portrayal of the locals.

The Garden Lodge - protagonist overcomes difficult upbringing, marries money, is very practical, runs into famous tenor - this makes her consider some things.

A Death in the Desert - protagonist has uncanny resemblance to his world-famous musician-brother; traveling west he encounters a dying woman who initially is interested in him because of that resemblance.

The Marriage of Phaedra - famous painting.

A Wagner Matinee - probably my favorite of this group - musician marries a mediocre guy who tries to make a living out on the frontier - no piano but a dugout instead - made me think about just how isolated those early pioneers were.

Paul's Case - protagonist is a daydreamer who can't continue in high school and way over-values the theater and the life he imagines is associated with it.  Goes from oppressive small town to NYC.

The Complete Professor Challenger Stories (Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

I'm a big fan of The Lost World - recently re-read it because of connection to a book club selection.

Hadn't previously seen other Professor Challenger stories.  This volume was a birthday gift from Charlie . . . who had received it from Carol.

The Poison Belt - the earth passes through an area of space that threatens to wipe out human life.

The Land of Mist - this is just pretty weird - ACD was into the occult stuff (as was the case for many of his era).

The Disintegration Machine - short, just what it sounds like, the inventor is trying to sell it to a hostile foreign power.

When the World Screamed - Challenger leads a deep dig.

Generally the same characters as in The Lost World.  Bickering with Summerlee.  Lord John Roxton.  Malone.

Ship Fever: Stories (Andrea Barrett, 1996)

(256 pages)

Book club selection (via Emily; session held (via Zoom) May 23, 2021).  (Debbers, in Phoenix, joined from 706.)

Collection of short stories; science themes; I liked it.  Here are my discussion notes on the eight stories:

1 - Mendel & his nemesis; Tati & his nemesis; Richard the husband not very flattering portrayal; Euro assistant romanced by wife.  Tati had a letter from Mendel, it's given to Richard.  Unflattering portrayal of 70s students.

2 - Linnaeus - forgetful/slipping old man in sleigh, stops in house; recalls Apostles sent to the far reaches, so many with a bad ending (was this what happened?  I think yes.)  One shows up at the house.  Sounds like his immediate family wasn't very heartwarming.  

3 - littoral zone - a couple goes on a summer project, their marriages are broken.  not sure if this is finished, or if another story will come back to it?  Not very interesting.

4 - Rare Bird - Sarah Anne disappears with Mrs. Pearce.  Interested in whether swallows winter underwater.  Correspond with Linnaeus.  Brother's wife and child die, he goes to America; Sarah Anne's letters found later.

5 - Soroche - Zaga marries wealthy/older Joel, gets sick in Peru, widowed, loses $$.  Siblings unhappy with her, as are stepchildren.  Doctor that she meets in Peru makes a comparison - Fuegians who went back to England didn't fit in either place.  That's the interesting angle, even Willa Cather wrote about it.  

6 - Birds with No Feet - Alec tracks Wallace . . . who is way more successful.  Wallace publishes, gets sponsors, does an article about natural selection.  Alec travels cheap; excels at finding specimens; early batch lost in ship fire.  Alec eventually not comfortable "back home" - he "went native."  Gifted at finding stuff, not so much at coming up with any unifying theories.

7 - The Marburg Sisters - two messed-up kids, not interesting

8 - Ship Fever - longest - quite interesting - dr. who can't get traction goes to an island where Irish emigrants are quarantined; his childhood sweetheart volunteers (her husband is on the ground in Ireland writing articles); he hangs out with immigrant Nora.  Made this come alive in an interesting way.  Minor criticism - usual unthinking unflattering references to business, making a profit, wealthy folk.

Selected Stories of Anton Chekhov (Pevear and Volokhonsky, 2000)

(454 pages)

Chekhov as a master story writer - consistently wonderful here.

Some overlap with this recently-read collection, but not too much.  

The translators made a big splash originally, but seem to have fallen out of favor.  I have no way to judge.  Their translations are very readable, if that's worth anything.  Don't know how true to the tone of the original.

Wide variety of characters from so many walks of Russian life and from many geographic areas.

His ability set a scene; little descriptions of nature packed with so much; etc.

I'll be paging through this from time to time - a lot to absorb. 

Dandelion Wine (Ray Bradbury, 1957)

(239 pp)

Didn't know Bradbury wrote this kind of thing; suggested by (borrowed from) Paul Jr; another book that I wouldn't necessarily seek out, but much enjoyed.

Bradbury is building stories out of his Ohio childhood.

A reason for the recommendation - and it turns out to be correct - is that Bradbury had an ear for a life very much like mine as I grew up in the 50s and 60s.  There are some differences - he's a decade or two earlier, and lives in the town proper - but there were many-many times while reading that I would have a memory, typically quite pleasant, of something long-forgotten.

As usual - I liked some stories more than others - that's not a problem.  A little dramatic with the "ravine" angle.  Perhaps a little overly hero-worship-ish with the grandparents - but that's kind of how we felt, too. Ideas about getting older; about kids getting wiser (and perhaps correspondingly sadder).

Kids sitting around listening to the grown-ups converse in the evenings - Bradbury describes it as the "soundtrack" of childhood in those days - I thought that was very observant.  (And find myself using the phrase.)

Arrival - Stories of Your Life and Others (Ted Chiang, 1990-2002)

Book club selection (via Lon; session held (via Zoom) 31 May 2020).

Liked this; didn't love it.  Notes on a few of the stories follow.

First story - about Tower of Babel - probably my favorite.  I of course love the original Bible story - this is very creative in describing the tower construction - ending a bit of a letdown, not understanding the water business going in a circle.

"Story of Your Life" - per the Arrival movie - all the back-and-forth with the daughter who died in an accident.  The idea of their written language as differing from verbal - didn't have to waste time with sequential-ness - that made a glimmer of sense as thinking of listening to a reader (or video/TV narrator) as compared to reading.  Knowing the future.  Interesting.

"Seventy-Two Letters" - trying to generate human life via automata; kabbalist; didn't care about anything in this story line.  Hugo movie . . . don't know what the 72 letters/nomenclature thing refers to.  Gilgamesh.

"The Evolution of Human Science" - just a few pages, something about metahumans taking over scientific research because humans can't keep up

"Hell Is the Absence of God" - angels visit; some cured, some harmed, protagonist's wife is killed and he wants to go to heaven to be with her.  another character is harmed then cured then harmed.  storm-chasing the angels.  didn't care about the characters

"Liking What You See: A Documentary" - perception of beauty; the Neanderthal who points out the next step will be suppressing appreciation for musical or athletic talent; and what about height?  probably supposed to draw parallels to other PC situations.  at the end, suggestions of software that will make speakers charismatic/effective.  follows thwarted romance of a girl that grew up with calli, turned it off at 18, now wants to go back.   referendum at the college.  This was pretty interesting.

Sometimes it feels like the author is showing off knowledge in science or math areas - doesn't add much to the storyline.

The Complete Works of Isaac Babel (compilation 2002; mostly written early 1920s)

(1,051 pages) (though I skipped the screenplays)

I keep seeing favorable references to Babel, but never read him before this.  His biography is compelling - war correspondent (reminded me of Vasily Grossman) so lots of access - then he becomes disillusioned and out of favor.  Rare, at least for me, reporting on the Red v. White (and other splinter groups) immediately following WWI.  Early 1920s Russia hadn't yet implemented systematic censorship so his war reporting was more open, I think, than what Grossman could have done (Grossman had to do it via his smuggled-out book).

Babel eventually executed by Soviet regime.

I'll just mention a few of the categories in this quite-wonderful collection.

***

1920 Diary - perhaps my favorite war writing (and I've read lots of this)?  Can't-miss content, and not even prep'd for publication (though this was basis for much of the Red Cavalry tales)

dense.  highly effective . . . at least at the level of battles, skirmishes, movement between towns (cart transports. horses).  towns taken and lost.  confusion, exhaustion, merely finding food or forage.  billets.

constant movement, constant commandeering of horses, provisions, shelter - locals get expert at hiding things

airplanes new - being used by the Poles - terrifying though not all that effective

just being tired, and depressed

interspersed with descriptions of age-old interactions - Poles and Jews, Cossacks, the borderlands, Galicia, shtetls, centuries of getting along and then sudden butchery.  like forever.

Babel as "more like me" - bookish, not cut out for soldiering - but somehow finds himself right smack in the middle of everything - reminds of Vasily Grossman (Red Star writer)

little context is provided (as to what was going on in the larger political/military sphere, who was backing Poles - etc) - I think this heightens the immediacy of the war reporting, limits the distractions

running throughout - author as Jew - don't know if he tried to hide it, but he couldn't in any event.  he feels connectedness to Jewish communities that he encounters.   most in dire circumstances

the excitement around communism fading for Babel . . . he eventually characterizes as "fairy tales" the grand stories he tells locals as part of his job.  as in all these settings, others are true believers and/or opportunists; discussing the International, worldwide uprisings, free everything (modern US politics might buy it, however)

***

Odessa stories - mostly about Jewish gangsters

***

Red Cavalry stories - genuinely excellent - but not quite as compelling to me as the raw notes in the 1920 Diary (though I read Red Cavalry first).  One aspect here:  Babel made the mistake of being too honest, naming commanders who were ineffective - several became leading figures in Soviet army, and they didn't forget.

**

Stories from Leningrad 1918 - just a few, great, raw

**

Stories from [Georgia?] - propaganda feel, I didn't like these very much.

Interpreter of Maladies (Jhumpa Lahiri, 1999)

(198 pages)

A collection of nine short stories.  Most concern the experiences of Indians who have emigrated to America; a couple stories are set in India.

I liked it.  Of course we now know several folks from India who are living in the U.S.  I don't know that the stories have any overlap whatsoever with the experiences of folks we know, but in general it's useful to get this perspective.  While the comparison is rather strained (because so much more of the heritage was in common), the book even made me think a bit about 19th-century Luxembourg emigrants to the U.S.

I think my favorite story was the last one - about the Bengali gentleman who took a job in the Boston area, rented a room with a (very) elderly lady, brought over an arranged-marriage wife, and settled in the Northeast U.S.

Kolyma Stories (Varlam Shalamov, written between 1954 and 1973)

(734 pages)

I really, really liked this book (actually it's three books - Kolyma Stories; The Left Bank; and The Spade Artist; I decided to read all three in one shot rather than breaking into separate sessions).

Another favorite, highly recommended.  I very much took my time reading it.

Initially I was worried about redundancy with prior reading on the camps in Russia, especially Solzhenitsyn  and/or Primo Levi's wonderful book, or books on the Nazi camps.

But it wasn't redundant.  Shalamov has an entirely unique voice.  I see the Chekhov comparison but wouldn't be able to explain it.  Spare, unsentimental - yet lyrical (perhaps because of this)?  Short story format is not at all my favorite - Shalamov makes it work so beautifully, including in many stories that run just a few pages.  Heartbreaking, often - but not hopeless.

There is never any doubt that Shalamov lived through (more accurately: suffered, survived) that about which he wrote.  A sad life in so many ways, but look what he left us. 15 years in the camps.

Thoughts -

1.  I sometimes wonder "what can I really learn" from stories of humans functioning in such extreme conditions - how can this be instructive, even relevant, to me?  Don't know the answer, maybe I just found the stories here well-written and compelling?  But it feels like more.  Then I think that so much literature is set in more or less extreme settings - whether war or natural disaster or crime or whatever - not sure how to think about this.

2.  I'm not finding much new these days in the stories set in Nazi world.  Perhaps because the canvas there, while fascinating in so many ways, is relatively limited - only a few years in power, then rapid movement in a war setting; smaller geography (fewer remote places); and bad guys that almost feel a bit cartoonish.

3.  In comparison the Soviet canvas goes on for decades, and includes incredibly remote places - where war and political change back in Europe didn't disturb much; where all of those years resulted in interrogators, prison guards, informers, exiles, NKVD types, who in some sense could be considered "regular people" in that continuing society. (Even a longer history if we include the similar behaviors from tsarist times.)

4.  And the setting for Shalamov's stories is even starker because of Kolyma's specific climate - extreme cold so much of the year - and extreme geographic isolation.  And the policy of sustained near-starvation and overwork - specific calorie counts - unfavored prisoners slated for "heavy physical work" only (meaning a quick death sentence).

5.  Shalamov's focus isn't so much on the cruelties of the system (though those are not overlooked), but on the way prisoners - including literary folks like this author - functioned, and tried to survive, at least until giving up.  Entirely unromantic.  Dealing with gangsters - apparently they are organized in every prison.  Political prisoners.  In particular political prisoners with the dreaded "T" (Trotskyist) marked in their file.  Nonpoliticals (such as "ordinary" thieves, rapists, murderers) favored in this world, relatively speaking.

6.  Shalamov excellent with descriptions of the local geography - taiga, dwarf pines, plants/animals - even rivers and streams - struggling against the cold.  Kolyma!  Just look up the city of Magadan (the local metropolis, lying well south of the camps) on a map.

7.  By far the longest story - doesn't even have a plot - recounts the author getting into paramedic training classes - describes individually all the students and teachers - fascinating look, folks from around the huge USSR with unbelievably disparate backgrounds who were selected for a wide variety of more or less understandable reasons.  Initially each is desperate to stay in the program mostly for the incrementally better food.  They weren't in the First Circle, but at least were no longer near the bottom circles.  Getting the paramedic position saved Shalamov's life.

8.  Spouses hoping for the best, but destined for the worst.  Some imagined they could repeat the experience of the famous Decembrist wives, but it was not to be.  Camp bosses knew how to take advantage; visits to the spouse invariably denied.

9.  Of the three books - the first is pretty grim - mostly about life in the camps.  The second was my favorite - broader look - includes transit prisons, interrogation prisons, paramedic world, lots of hospital action.  The third overlapped thematically with the first two to a considerable extent, but then moved on to discuss Shalamov's last days in Kolyma - the releases after Stalin finally died - his lengthy return trip to Moscow - those tales are amazing in their own way.

The Tales of Chekhov (short story collection, late 19th century)

(620 pages)

Chekhov's reputation is so high that I've been looking around for collections of his short stories; bought this one on Amazon, it's a rather odd collection but nevertheless a fine introduction.

All I've previously read of Chekhov's work - this compilation of his longer stories.  I learn that he is mostly remembered for his short fiction (including items from this collection) and plays.

He must have been an entirely amazing fellow - medical practice, Sakhalin Island days, little things like that in addition to epic writing ability.

Recently saw a quote that seems apt - to the effect that the problem with short stories is that they are so difficult to remember.  That's certainly the case with this collection.  I genuinely looked forward to picking up the book every time I turned to it - that's typically the case, but ran at a deeper level with Chekhov's short stories, not sure why.  I'll stick with the usual explanation - "he sees us" - gently illuminating our foibles, and our wonderful-ness.

I much recall his ability to portray scenes in nature, or landscapes perhaps - the sun, especially when setting or rising; wind, specific birds offering sounds, clouds, bullfrogs, the scene changing as the sun moves, a hot day - this  is not important as his descriptions of his characters - but it helps make the stories entirely immersive.

Death in Venice (1912) and Other Stories (Thomas Mann)

(313 pages)

Thomas Mann is one of my favorites, but this group of short stories didn't do much for me.

The centerpiece of this collection is Death in Venice - a story about which I've seen so many favorable references - I'm sure it's elegantly constructed and written, but the story line did nothing for me.  Aschenbach follows Tadzio around.

I preferred Tonio Kroger and Tristan.  Even Man and Dog:  An Idyll - Mann certainly could describe relationship between dog and master.

Read quite a bit of this on the planes to/fro India.

The Thing Around Your Neck (Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, 2009)

Book club selection (via Rose; session held January 22, 2017).

Typically I avoid short stories.  And contemporary authors.  Would have been a mistake to miss this collection, however.  And perhaps I need to revisit my book selection guidelines?

Author communicates things like:  (1) challenges of the immigrant - seemingly mundane things like English usage, grocery store navigation; larger things like attitudes of locals; (2) challenges of the newly-emigrated in dealing with those-who-emigrated-just-a-few-years-earlier; (3) challenges of being female in situations where males are favored - without being preachy or annoying about it; (4) the disorder and perhaps charm of a place like Nigeria.

My favorite stories:

--story #3 - two women in a store during a riot

--story #4 - retired university professor runs into someone he thought had be3n killed in the war following Biafran independence

--story #10 - aunt/uncle arrange their niece's marriage to an American doctor (previously had emigrated from Nigeria) - she meets the doctor - not in love but sticks it out - interesting stuff about transitioning to America

--story #12 - only story set earlier in time - arrival of white men, protagonist's son becomes one of them, next generation rediscovers earlier culture - well written

Thought-provoking throughout, good.

Nine Stories (J.D. Salinger, 1953)

Book club selection (via Nick P; November 16, 2015)

I too seldom read short stories - and never read Salinger - so this was time well spent.  But I think I will continue to avoid short stories - for whatever reason, I find the format limiting, or frustrating, or whatever; probably it's just me.

The "Laughing Man" story was highly creative.

The "Banana Fish" story was compelling but I would have liked to see it developed a bit further. Gave an insight into the challenges of the returning vet.

"For Esme - With Love and Squalor" - very effective, perhaps because it was a more traditional style of story-telling?

Good stuff.

Dimanche and other stories (Irene Nemirovsky)

I didn't care a great deal for this set of short stories - written around the time of the second World War but just now translated into English. Perhaps it was published because the author had achieved quite a bit of fame based on her recently published Suite Francaise - which I thought was quite good. The biography of the author also is quite compelling, all the way up to her death in Auschwitz during World War II.

"Flesh and Blood" had many elements that rang true - including the interactions of family members who got together regularly with their elderly (and ill) mother. I liked "Fraternite" - elderly Jewish man encounters person at train station with same name. "Le Spectateur" and "Monsieur Rose" were somewhat similar; the latter had elements of the fleeing-Paris scenes in Suite Francaise.

Quick read, worthwhile.

In Other Rooms, Other Wonders (Daniyal Mueenuddin, 2009)

This is different than my usual reading, and I enjoyed it a bunch.

The writer is from Pakistan; he puts together eight stories with quite a bit of overlap among the characters. It centers around a wealthy landowner named K.K. Harouni; he is now quite old and has gradually been selling off ancestral lands to cover failed ventures, high expenses, etc. The stories pick up various members of his family, but also focus on domestic servants, his key overseers, an electrician working on his properties, etc. Some of the family members are back and forth among London, America, Pakistan, etc.

So it speaks to the transition from feudal(?) Pakistan to very modern times, and it speaks across the social classes and geographies. All of which works very well. The last story is mostly about an old man who built a box-house that he could take with him when he moves (final move is to work on a Harouni property), nice and very sad.

Birthday gift from the Reghabis. Nice.