REVIEW: Leo X. Robertson - "Sinkhole" (2014)

2014, 196pp.

Robertson's sophomore effort is a collection of short-stories, which are, as he says, full of "postmodern silliness". This is certainly true. His first novel, Findesferas, dealt with a number of topics, including Revolution in Latin America, space travel and a dystopian oil crisis. In his new collection, the scope is somewhat smaller, but also more nuanced:  There are confessionals, pseudo-scientific examinations of breakups, a choose-your-own-adventure story, hypochondric compulsive liars, gay-only cities, biting satires about millenials and shirtarians, a lengthy work on the use and misuse of caffeine, Scottish vernacular, and the Badass London Ex-Bitches. This is a scope that can please nearly everyone.

OVERVIEW: September 2014

September 2014 was a good month: Not only was I able to extensively read into the postmodern canon, I also managed to knock off a few books from the Man Booker 2014 Shortlist.

REVIEW: Ali Smith - "How to be Both"

Hamish Hamilton, 2014. 384pp 

In Ali Smith's neuem Roman vermischen sich Zeiten und Zeitzeugen, Auge und Kamera, Moderne und Renaissance, Mann und Frau um ein rundum gelungenes experimentelles Erlebnis abzuliefern. 

REVIEW: Anne Carson - "Red Doc>"

Cape Poetry, 2013, 164pp.

Anne Carson it says. 
Red letters on the 
envelope. One hundred 
sixty and something 
pages flowing like 
ice / no not ice / 
flowing like red mist
/ better / in this 
album. Prose or poetry
is what I am asking 
myself. One look 
betrays her intent. 

A full-fledged story
indeed. Made up in
the weirdest stanzas. 
But nonetheless quite 
lovely he said it 
flows nicely on the 
page and in my head 
the echoes form a 
cacophonous sonorous 
sound of Stille ja 
silence immer wieder 
und doch he said und 
doch wirklich lesbar 
das Ganze ja. 

REVIEW: Leo X. Robertson - "Findesferas"

2013, 276pp.

Findesferas is ambitious - just the short blurb made me interested what this was actually about. While it is certainly a quick read, it manages to connect a number of genres: Science-fiction, magical realism, surrealism, some romance here and there. The fragmented narration jumps jauntily through temporal and spatial constraints. Characters are well-rounded. All in all, Findesferas never falls short of what it tries to achieve. It is both entertaining and enlightening. 

The footnotes were a bit too sprawling here and there, and some parts in the beginning interfered with the reading flow, but those are just minuscule criticisms. I loved the language, especially the bilingual parts. Let's hope that Robertson's next novel is as good as this one - you've definitely found another interested reader! 

Get free here: Lulu

★★★★☆

REVIEW: Martin Esslin - "The Theatre of the Absurd"

3rd Ed.,Vintage, 2004. 480pp

I first stumbled on this book during my first semester - we had to write a term paper on any topic we wanted to - and I chose to write about Beckett's Waiting for Godot, which I had read back then for the first time. Reading Beckett for the first time was somewhat of a revelation for me, one of those moments that will shape you. Back then I read a few pages here and there, and was amazed how complex Esslin's analysis was. 

REVIEW: Tony Sandoval - "Doomboy"

Diamond Book Distributors, 2014. 136pp

Sometimes music is the only thing that helps you get through the day. For D, the longhaired metal kid from Tony Sandoval's Doomboy, music is the outlet to vent his emotions. All his anger and despair over the death of his girlfriend pours out from his guitar as the wind howls and the waves crash onto his sordid existence. Put on some Omega Massif and start reading. 

Introduction

My name is Sam. I am a 24-year-old student pursuing a teaching degree at the University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany. After my graduation, I will start teaching English and Fine Arts to students from year 5-13 at one of Germany's Gymnasien or Gesamtschulen. 

This blog is more or less a reminder for myself, serving as a place to collect my book reviews and other work I deem important. After a year abroad at the University of Chester, England, my English is at an all-time high, but I can feel it deteriorating every single day. This blog is supposed to be a mental exercise to keep up and possibly enlarge my English knowledge. 

My main interests include fiction of the 20th and 21st century, especially literature with a modern or postmodern label. I am in the process of research for my state examination thesis, which will be about postmodernism and magical realism in the US, and hopefully span a mixture of literature and art. 

This is not a necessarily reader-friendly blog. Bare with me if my reviews seem incongruous and farfetched, there is no harm meant. If people want to connect with me, I have profiles at several other sites. 

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/6214700-sam

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/synkopenleben