tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911087927983597831.post8485439509639303340..comments2024-01-02T15:37:04.858-05:00Comments on Caravana de recuerdos: Journey by MoonlightRichardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01746599416342846897noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911087927983597831.post-43764990636444576912014-12-17T05:48:49.907-05:002014-12-17T05:48:49.907-05:00Actually, my memory of the book isn't all that...Actually, my memory of the book isn't all that great; for one thing, I think it was a Persian, rather than a Turk, who featured. As for whether the stereotyping was character- or novelist-driven, my impression (so far as I remember) was that it was a bit of both. It wasn't necessarily anti-Persian or xenophobic, it just didn't seem to get beyond an 'exotic' representation.Captain Nednoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911087927983597831.post-72177580330675171812014-12-16T14:22:19.472-05:002014-12-16T14:22:19.472-05:00There was a fair amount of anti-Italian or at leas...There was a fair amount of anti-Italian or at least anti-"lower class Italian" comments mixed in with some of the pro-Italian sentiments as well, Captain Ned, but I don't remember the anti-Turk stuff well enough to recall whether the stereotyping was character-driven or maybe novelist-driven. That being said, I agree that this was a lovely book all in all and things like that bit about English meritoriousness were typical of the sort of off the wall surprises Szerb amused me with again and again. Thanks for visiting the blog, by the way!Richardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01746599416342846897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911087927983597831.post-80431758398574668942014-12-16T14:09:08.987-05:002014-12-16T14:09:08.987-05:00I'd lined up a handful of Hungarian novels tha...I'd lined up a handful of Hungarian novels that I wanted to get to this year, Séamus, but it looks like Szerb's might be the only one I'm going to get to other than maybe Kosztolanyi's <em>Skylark</em>. In any event, this'd be a fine add to your pile if you don't end up finding it in the pile before then!Richardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01746599416342846897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911087927983597831.post-6624939397970461352014-12-16T14:07:23.034-05:002014-12-16T14:07:23.034-05:00Great - glad to be of help, Richard! Great - glad to be of help, Richard! seraillonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17654593356535433945noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911087927983597831.post-89024692170483371612014-12-15T10:39:03.293-05:002014-12-15T10:39:03.293-05:00A lovely book, slightly marred by a whiff of racia...A lovely book, slightly marred by a whiff of racial stereotyping concerning the 'Turk', but delightful nonetheless. I especially enjoyed the observation about what English people mean when they use the word 'meritorious'.Captain Nednoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911087927983597831.post-89064459599012575552014-12-14T04:55:53.013-05:002014-12-14T04:55:53.013-05:00Another one for the pile. I've bought some Hun...Another one for the pile. I've bought some Hungarian books recently but can't even find them to see if any were by Szerb. The books are taking over the asylum...Séamus Dugganhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00574186409184247059noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911087927983597831.post-50075850649067596202014-12-11T23:45:05.932-05:002014-12-11T23:45:05.932-05:00This was a super easy book for me to get geeked up...This was a super easy book for me to get geeked up about, Scott, and I suspect you'll feel the same after giving Len Rix's NYRB translation a try. Found the storytelling vibrant and kaleidoscopic in tone if that makes any sense at all. Thanks, by the way, for your own slightly similar sounding but still off-topic enthusiasm: I used your old <em>Ill Met by Moonlight</em> post to break a tie between two or three book gift ideas I had in mind for my dad for Christmas this year. Appreciate the help!Richardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01746599416342846897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911087927983597831.post-10707477386006957052014-12-11T16:05:08.762-05:002014-12-11T16:05:08.762-05:00I have started and abandoned this novel three time...I have started and abandoned this novel three times, using a different translation (I should have been forewarned away by its pedestrian title <i>The Traveler</i> rather than the unforgettable <i>Journey by Moonlight</i>). But as the NYRB edition was just given to me and as your enthusiasm is, as always, contagious, I plan to try it again. seraillonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17654593356535433945noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911087927983597831.post-85659239413229631062014-12-08T14:49:39.404-05:002014-12-08T14:49:39.404-05:00Thanks, that's a great question, Jacqui. While...Thanks, that's a great question, Jacqui. While it's almost impossible not to consider <em>Journey by Moonlight</em> in the light of the political climate at the time in particular given what little I know of Szerb's biography--i.e. a) he made a trip to Italy just before writing this book because he didn't know how much longer that country would continue to exist in the way he had known it, and b) he later was sent to and died in a concentration camp on account of his heritage--the curious thing is that Szerb wrote this novel in such a way that Mihály's crisis is decidedly more personal than political in terms of the trajectory of the plot. In any event, I hope to read more by the author in the future. He had a deft feel for contradictory registers of tone, and the writing was often as vivid as that painting on the cover of the NYRB edition of the book pictured in the post. Cheers!Richardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01746599416342846897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911087927983597831.post-2017568238653476462014-12-08T03:23:48.338-05:002014-12-08T03:23:48.338-05:00Google translate has almost certainly messed with ...Google translate has almost certainly messed with your eloquent prose, Richard, but I'm so glad you enjoyed this novel. I like how you've described it as a meditation, a story with a somewhat dreamy, bittersweet feel. I wondered if Mihaly's existential crisis was a reflection of the political climate at the time: a yearning to return to an earlier period, to reconnect with the past.JacquiWinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16220597283351925721noreply@blogger.com