Book Club - August, 2008

Book Club
Each week, members of the ForeWord staff choose a book to read and discuss. An excerpt from each book is available only during the week that book is featured. We encourage you to read the current book or past selections, and post your comments. To add a comment, just click the Comments link below each primary blog entry. Let's talk about books!

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

A Happy Man and Other Stories

A Happy Man and Other Stories by Axel Thormählen (Les Figues Press, 978-1-934254-04-2) is one of four collections of short stories in translation featured as a Web Exclusive in the September/October issue of ForeWord. With the increasing popularity in eBooks, and the growing capacity for reading on PDAs and cell phones, short stories are arguably better suited for the new millennium than novels or any other print medium. Thormählen's bite-sized tales are ideal for quick commutes or long lines.

"A Happy Man," the story available for free download at the ForeWord Book Club, is typical of the stories in Thormählen's latest collection. It objectively examines the life of Jochen, a man who is constantly deliriously happy. Because the collection was originally published in German, it is important to note that "glücklich" not only means "happy," but also "lucky." Jochen is both happy and lucky, but the two do not seem to be related. The narrator informs readers that Jochen has inherited some stocks, and has a wife and two children, but these are not the sources of his happiness. Even his morbid occupation, which is revealed at the end, cannot put a damper on his happiness.

posted on Tuesday, August 26, 2008 7:37:29 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)

Comments [2] Trackback

Thursday, August 14, 2008

Oranges in the Sun: Short Stories From the Arabian Gulf

“Auntie Kadrajan” is the story of a lonely spinster who pines for a lost love who will never come. It takes place in Saudi Arabia, a country on the other side of the world which most of us will never see; the names are unfamiliar to Western readers, as is the concept of arranged marriage. However, the themes of loss and hope are recognizable, and it is the Miss Havisham-like qualities of Auntie Kadrajan that highlight the similarities between our cultures. Although we are thousands of miles apart and our language, clothes, and gods may be different, emotions are the same around the world, as is the gradual understanding of the world that we gain as we grow up.

Oranges in the Sun: Short Stories From the Arabian Gulf (Lynne Rienner, 978-0-89410-869-3), from which this story is taken, is an appealing collection because of the glimpses at a distant world that it offers. The unfamiliar settings are imbued with a surprising familiarity that crosses borders. Look for other short stories from foreign lands in the upcoming September/October issue of ForeWord.

posted on Thursday, August 14, 2008 9:00:23 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)

Comments [0] Trackback