Alina Bronsky: An Appreciation

Alina Bronsky has been one of my favorite authors ever since her book Broken Glass Park came out in 2010. She writes in German, largely about the Russian immigrant community in Germany, though her themes- family, belonging, the search for and power of love- are universal. Her books can be challenging- she frequently writes about difficult situations and characters that may be unlikable on the surface- but her books are always deeply rewarding reads.

Her latest book. Barbara Isn't Dying, just came out from Europa Editions and they reached out to me about doing a retrospective on her books, and I couldn't possibly say no. They provided with a copy of Barbara and copies of most of her back catalog to help get me back up to speed as well.

Broken Glass Park was her debut in 2010 and told the story of Sascha, a young woman whose mother was murdered by her stepfather, who is now in prison. Sascha navigates her life more or less on her own, though she is able to find mentors and friends who support her and offer her a brighter version of the future than what she sees herself. It's a beautiful book that shows with piercing insight the realities of family violence and the consequences for children. 

You can read the interview I did with Bronsky for Broken Glass Park by clicking on the link here.

The Hottest Dishes of the Tartar Cuisine (2011) moves the setting to the crumbling Soviet Union as matriarch Rosa tries to make a better life for her granddaughter, Aminat, born to Rosa's (in her opinion) feckless daughter. Hottest Dishes is more satirical than Broken Glass and less tragic- more tragicomic. Rosa is the first in a series of myopic, or even narcissistic, characters that Bronsky will introduce.

You can read the interview I did with Bronsky for Hottest Dishes at this link.

 Just Call Me Superhero (2014) was one of the most challenging of Bronsky's books for me emotionally, but the reasons for that are idiosyncratic to me. Superhero tells the story of Marek, a teen boy whose face was mutilated by a dog. We return to modern-day Germany for Marek's story- he's a virtual shut-in who becomes infatuated with a beautiful young woman, Janne, with her own challenges. The book is a beautiful story about redemption and the power of love.

Baba Dunja's Last Love (2016) Set in modern day Eastern Europe in an area damaged by the Chernobyl disaster, this book tells the story of Baba Dunja, who is part of a community of people who try to eke out a life despite the radiation and ongoing danger. Into this world come a father and daughter; Baba Dunja takes a liking to the little girl, for whom she fears, but soon something happens to the father and it's the fallout from that which determines the fate of the town and Baba Dunja herself.

 My Grandmother's Braid (2021) is a wonderful, bittersweet novel. It's a subtle coming of age story set in Germany among Jewish immigrants from Russia. It's a very sharp portrait of living with a narcissist for sure. Maxi lives with his grandparents- his domineering grandmother and a grandfather who falls in love with a neighbor. The book is largely concerned with the fallout from that affair, and Maxi's struggle for air in a claustrophobic household.

Which brings me to her latest book, Barbara Isn't Dying, just out yesterday from Europa Editions! I will have a review of that book up on Friday. Spoiler alert: it's great too.

Author Appreciation: The Books of Ian McEwan

Today marks the release of the latest novel by British writer Ian McEwan, someone I think is one of the top living writers in the English language. His new novel, Solar, is out today in the U.S. I haven't read it yet, though the first thing I do today will be to buy a copy hot off the presses, and I hope to have my review done next week. In the mean time, I wanted to talk a little about the books of his that I've read, for those of you who might not be familiar with this amazing, brilliant writer.

I first started reading McEwan in college; I don't remember what exactly attracted me to his books, but I remember spending almost the entirety of winter break one year curled up in my dorm's living room with Black Dogs and The Cement Garden, two of the most chilling books I'd read, or have ever read. I don't remember much more about them except that they were creepy, creepy, creepy- and dazzling at the same time. McEwan is what I like to call a master prose stylist- someone who really knows how to put words together on the page to dizzying effect.

The next book I read was his novel Enduring Love, about a couple, Joe and Clarissa, whose relationship is strained when a man named Jed becomes obsessed with Joe. I'm not big into stalkers but again, I just couldn't help but admire McEwan's writing.

I read The Child in Time, about the effect of a missing child on a marriage, on a plane flight a couple of years ago; I liked it a lot, though it's probably the most low-key of those of McEwan's books that I've read, the closest to a sweet love story. I was on my way to Hawai'i for my honeymooon and if I were going to choose a McEwan book to bring on my honeymoon, that was probably the best one!

Just about all of McEwan's books (at least those I've read) spin out a plot from some kind of trauma in the characters' lives, be it physical or psychological; the trauma sits at the center, even if the blow doesn't come until the very end. Sometimes, as in his 1998 Booker Prize-winning Amsterdam, the threat of violence lies poised like the sword of Damocles, hanging just out of view. Other times, like in the incredible Atonement, the violence is multi layered. In Atonement, a young girl is traumatized by sexual behavior she doesn't understand, and this trauma leads her to implicate a servant in a rape, which she also witnesses. One trauma leads to another until several lives are irreparably torn asunder. On Chesil Beach is another story of sexual trauma, this time about the worst wedding night in the history of wedding nights. In both books, credibility hinges on the reader believing that these people could be as naive as they are; if the reader doesn't believe that, the stories would fall apart.

Then there's the book I hated- Amsterdam, the book for which McEwan won the Booker Prize in 1998. This book centers on a deteriorating friendship between two men, which unwinds gradually to a stunning denouement. The ending of this slim, elegantly written volume, which I loved up until that ending, made me want to throw it out the window. I've since learned I'm not alone!

Finally, there's the book I'll never read- The Comfort of Strangers. I saw the movie, starring Natasha Richardson, Rupert Everett, Christopher Walken and Helen Mirren, at some point in my late teens and it traumatized me! I was not surprised, several years later, to learn that McEwan wrote the novel, presumably in his creepy-stalker phase. If the movie bothered me as much as it did- it gave me nightmares- I can only imagine what McEwan set down on the page.

When I think about why I love McEwan's work, I'm reminded of Howard Zinn's saying "You can't be neutral on a moving train." One way or the other, McEwan is going to stir you up- you may be moved to tears or may have nightmares, or you might just be stunned into silence by the sheer skill with which he wields the English language, but he's going to make an impression. You may not like every book of his you read, but you'll never forget it. How many authors can you really say that about? I'm sure that whatever I think of Solar, I'll have strong feelings!

Author Appreciation: The Books of Margaret Atwood- or, at least, Those I've Read

Margaret Atwood is absolutely and by far and away one of my favorite authors. I first read her in 2003, when I chose The Handmaid's Tale as my Banned-Book-Week pick. I haven't been able to get enough since. Over the past five years or so I've worked my way through most (though not all) of her novel-length fiction and of course I'm so excited for her new book and I hope everyone reads it.

So the other day I promised a little recap of the books of hers that I've read. Where I've blogged a full review I'll include the link.

The Handmaid's Tale was my first foray into Atwood's work and still the most emotionally riveting. Don't make the mistake I made and read it the month before you're getting married! Trauma! I loved this book but it definitely shook me up.

Alias Grace is without question my favorite of her books. It's historical fiction centering on a true-crime story about a young Irishwoman named Grace Marks, a maid who was convicted of the murders of her employer and his mistress. Grace is one of the most fascinating literary creations I've come across, and the book is filled with the themes and motifs that you'll see over and over in Atwood- women, sex, and power- but executed in a wholly unique way.

The Blind Assassin was the second Atwood novel I read, several months after finishing The Handmaid's Tale- when the shock had worn off. A Booker Prize winner, it's a combines a truly creepy family story with metafictional and science fiction elements in a brilliant, compelling work.

The Robber Bride is another brilliant entry, this time focusing on a group of friends whose lives and loves have been impacted by another friend, the enigmatic Zenia, whose funeral opens the book. But is she really dead? And is (was?) she, anyway? Atwood creates three vivid, different women and a fourth whose story is told through their eyes- though she never speaks for herself. I think there's a lot more going on in this one than meets the eye.

Lady Oracle is an earlier book, and one that I enjoyed immensely. It's about a housewife who becomes an unlikely literary star, then fakes her own death. It's not a particularly heavy book but I found it very, very satisfying and enjoyable.

Life Before Man, another early Atwood, is about a love triangle between two women and the husband of one. A worthwhile read.

The Penelopiad came out a couple of years ago as part of a series of rewrites of mythology by modern writers. It's the story of The Odyssey from Penelope's point of view. It's not my favorite but Atwood completists will want to read it.

Cat's Eye is probably one of my least favorite of her books. It's a coming of age story about an artist and her troubled relationships, particularly with her best friend. I liked the way Atwood depicts the pains of childhood- it seemed very real to me- but in a lot of ways it strikes me as a rough draft of The Blind Assassin, where a lot of the themes and situations are repeated. It's on the light side so it will appeal to some readers more than others. I will say though, that certain things about it have stayed with me.

I've also read her novels Surfacing and Bodily Harm; I wasn't crazy about either one and can't remember much more about them than that.

Recently I picked up The Edible Woman and I hope to get to that soon; Moral Disorder and Other Stories is out there for me at some point, and then maybe I'll dive into her short fiction and poetry as well. You can click to see my recent reviews of The Year of the Flood and Oryx and Crake .

If you've never read her, or read one or two of her books, I hope that you find something to try!