Mann, Thomas "Confessions of Felix Krull, Confidence Man"

Mann, Thomas "Confessions of Felix Krull, Confidence Man" (German: Bekenntnisse des Hochstaplers Felix Krull) - 1954

Thomas Mann, one of my favorite authors, turned 150, and since I didn't want to end the year without reading at least one of his novels new to me, I went on a search. I had this book on my TBR pile, so the decision was easy.

I must confess, I had no idea that this book was unfinished. I now know that Mann worked on it for a long time and certainly made numerous notes about the plot, but only completed the first part and then died before writing the second.

What a shame, the beginning is already good. The second part would certainly have been just as excellent as anything by Thomas Mann.

In any case, the book has a lot of tongue-in-cheek humor. And even though Felix Krull manages to outwit many people, one can only admire his cunning.

The book is a very good read; I really enjoyed it.

I am not very happy with the translation of the word "Hochstapler" into "Confidence Man". Maybe that's my German thinking but the word "confidence" sounds far too nice to call someone who tricks other people. Impostor, cheater, trickster, swindler sound much more accurate to me.

Book Description:

"'The most astonishing work that Mann ever wrote and also one of the most perfect. . . with Felix Krull the world receives from Thomas Mann the gift which German literature has almost proverbially withheld from it: the great comic novel' - Edwin Muir

Waiter by day man about Paris by night, the young and good looking Felix Krull has created for himself a personality to charm and deceive the world of wealth. Then the Marquis de Venosta makes a proposal that he can't refuse."

Thomas Mann received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1929 "principally for his great novel, 'Buddenbrooks', which has won steadily increased recognition as one of the classic works of contemporary literature".

I contribute to this page: Read the Nobels and you can find all my blogs about Nobel Prize winning authors and their books here.

Kivi, Alexis " Seven Brothers"

Kivi, Alexis " Seven Brothers" (Finnish: Seitsemän veljestä) - 1870

This is supposedly the most famous and best classic Finnish book. Well, I haven't read much Finnish literature, but this was definitely not the best. As the title and description suggest, it's about seven brothers. One expects, or at least I expected, the story of a "normal" Finnish family from that era. I would have liked to learn about the life of an average family.

Instead, we only hear about fights and drinking bouts; the language is described as "rustic" but "coarse" or "crude" is still too flattering even with the most charitable interpretation. The brothers' behaviour towards each other was more like that of  pre-school or young school children; they displayed manners that one should have outgrown by the 1920s.

Some readers might find this amusing, but I didn't. What a shame.

And here are some of the comments from the discussion:

The book didn’t lead to dramatic reactions, but it did give us plenty to think about regarding its themes, its style, and its place in Finnish literature.

Most of us found the novel demanding. The older language, long passages, and slow pacing required some adjusting to.
It took a while to get into, but once I accepted the rhythm, the brothers’ development started to feel clear and honest.
Overall, many appreciated how the novel shows growth—learning responsibility, patience, and how to live with others.

We also talked about some of the more chaotic and difficult scenes, which help define the book’s realism:
The early conflicts with the village and authorities underline how unprepared the brothers are for adult responsibilities.
Their retreat to the forest isn’t peaceful: they burn down their own sauna-house during a careless moment, leaving themselves without shelter.
They face real danger, including the well-known scene where they end up killing a herd of bulls in self-defense.
Their years in the forest are marked by hunger, failed attempts to farm, heavy drinking, and frequent arguments.
These moments show the harsher side of rural life, and the distance the brothers must travel—practically and personally—before they can return to society.

We also revisited why Seven Brothers is so central in Finnish literary history:
Published in 1870, it was among the first major works written in Finnish at a time when Finnish-language literature was still new and culturally fragile.
Many expected Finnish literature to focus on noble, heroic, or uplifting themes. Instead, Kivi wrote about ordinary rural men, their flaws, and the unembellished reality of their lives.
Early critics found the book too rough and thought it gave a poor image of the Finnish people.
Over time, it became recognized as a groundbreaking work of realism—depicting rural life without idealization.
The brothers’ gradual journey from isolation and impulsiveness toward responsibility and community echoes broader changes happening in Finland at the time.

Our overall view was that Seven Brothers isn’t an easy read, but understanding its historical context and the realism behind its scenes helped us appreciate its significance. The rough edges and difficult moments give weight to the brothers’ eventual maturity, and the novel remains an important milestone in Finnish literature precisely because it chose honesty over idealization.

This was our read in our international online book club in November 2025.

From the back cover:

"Along with The Kalevala, Aleksis Kivi's Seven Brothers is Finland's most celebrated literary treasure. The crowning accomplishment of Finland's first literary genius, Seven Brothers remains 'the greatest Finnish novel of all time', the classic among the classics in Finnish literature. Published in 1870, in the author's 36th year and two years before his untimely death, Seven Brothers laid the foundation for what Kai Laitinen later called 'The Great Tradition in Finnish Prose'. This tradition is characterized by realism, humor, respect for the common people, and depiction of nature as both friend and foe. Received at the time of publication by uncomprehending arbiters of literary taste, who still delighted in romantic approaches to literature, Seven Brothers fared poorly in early reviews. Posterity, however, has resurrected the reputation of Aleksis Kivi, and critics, scholars, and readers at large continue to praise the virtues of this trail-blazing, exceedingly rich novel. Richard Impola's superb English translation captures the brothers' rustic milieu and the exceptional dynamics of Kivi's creative style and artistic conception."

Dickens, Charles "Martin Chuzzlewit"

Dickens, Charles "Martin Chuzzlewit. The Life and Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit" - 1843-44 

I'm a huge fan of Charles Dickens and am glad I read this novel. But I wouldn't recommend it if you haven't read anything else by him. For me, this was one of his worst novels.

Too many characters, even though he was able to include many interesting names. This also meant that some things got lost, such as the main love story, which is what everything supposedly revolves around. But it's barely portrayed. We hardly see the couple together. Otherwise, too much confusion, chaos, one catastrophe after another.

I read somewhere that this is Dickens' most underrated book. I wouldn't say that; I think it landed exactly where it belongs, somewhere at the very bottom of all his fantastic books.

I recommend "David Copperfield" for starters.

From the back cover:

"Old Martin Chuzzlewit believes that greed is so endemic in his family that he disinherits his grandson and hinders his courtship of Mary Graham. As the intricacies of he plot develop the story passes from sunny comedy to the grimmest depths of criminal psychology. Domestic tyranny is tellingly depicted through the household of Mr Pecksniff and public villainy - leading to blackmail and  murder - revealed in the activities of the Anglo-Bengalee Disinterested Loan and Life Assurance Company...

A brilliant satire on selfishness and hypocrisy revolving around a stubborn young protagonist. Martin Chuzzlewit is also one of Dickens's comic masterpieces. Peopled with a cast of characters - including Mrs. Gamp, Poll Sweedlepipe, Montague Tigg and Chevy Slyme - unequalled elsewhere in his novels."

Fielding, Henry "The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling"

Fielding, Henry "The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling" - 1749

This book has been on my wishlist forever. One of the British classic authors that I hadn't "met", yet. And this is always mentioned as the first true novel ever written.

Actually, this could have been two books. One, the novel with the story about Tom Jones and his life. Two, the philosophical thoughts of Henry Fielding before every chapter.

While I usually enjoy reading about philosophy, I think in this case it rather distracted than added to the story. I could have done without it, didn't add anything to the story itself. I also couldn't find the humour that it claims to contain. And I love British humour but this must have been a different kind to the one we usually enjoy. The only other time this has happened to me was with "Cold Comfort Farm" by Stella Gibbons.

This doesn't mean I didn't enjoy the book. The story itself was very interesting and gave us a great view of the society of the time, what was done and what wasn't, how many rights you had as a woman or even as a man if you weren't born with a silver spoon in your mouth.

So, all in all, an interesting read. But it won't be on my "read this again" list.

From the back cover:

"A foundling of mysterious parentage brought up by Mr. Allworthy on his country estate, Tom Jones is deeply in love with the seemingly unattainable Sophia Western, the beautiful daughter of the neighboring squire - though he sometimes succumbs to the charms of the local girls. When Tom is banished to make his own fortune and Sophia follows him to London to escape an arranged marriage, the adventure begins. A vivid Hogarthian panorama of eighteenth-century life, spiced with danger and intrigue, bawdy exuberance and good-natured authorial interjections, Tom Jones is one of the greatest and most ambitious comic novels in English literature."

Grass, Günter "The Tin Drum"

Grass, Günter "The Tin Drum" (German: Die Blechtrommel. Danziger Trilogie 1) - 1959

Günter Grass is one of my favourite Nobel Prize winners, certainly one of the best German authors we ever had. His style is unique, his language superb.

How to describe this book? To even try would be like rewriting the whole story which is, of course, impossible.

Why is it so important? The story represents not only a part of our history that is told from a completely different perspective than most books of the war, it also describes how many things could have been through the magic realism genre.

Oscar Matzerath was born in the then free city of Danzig (now the Polish city Gdańsk). When he is three years old, he decides not to grow anymore. He tells us the story of his grandmother and through his narration we go through WWII, the occupation of Poland and the post-war life of many refugees who went to West Germany.

Oscar incorporates many different characters, the grown-up child, the obsessive drummer, the evil of this world, the actor who wants to show us how it's done. He is many people in one, hard to grasp but so much one of us that we seem to know him.

This is certainly not one of the easiest books to read but it is totally worth it. It is a story you will never forget. I will continue reading the two other books of the "Danzig Trilogy": "Cat and Mouse" (Katz und Maus) and "Dog Years" (Hundejahre).

Like many other successful books, "The Tin Drum" was made into a film and received the Academy Award for best Foreign Language Picture.

From the back cover:

"Meet Oskar Matzerath, 'the eternal three-year-old drummer.' On the morning of his third birthday, dressed in a striped pullover and patent leather shoes, and clutching his drumsticks and his new tin drum, young Oskar makes an irrevocable decision: 'It was then that I declared, resolved, and determined that I would never under any circumstances be a politician, much less a grocer; that I would stop right there, remain as I was - and so I did; for many years I not only stayed the same size but clung to the same attire.' Here is a Peter Pan story with a vengeance. But instead of Never-Never Land, Günter Grass gives us Danzig, a contested city on the Polish-German border; instead of Captain Hook and his pirates, we have the Nazis. And in place of Peter himself is Oskar, a twisted puer aeternis with a scream that can shatter glass and a drum rather than a shadow. First published in 1959, The Tin Drum's depiction of the Nazi era created a furor in Germany, for the world of Grass's making is rife with corrupt politicians and brutal grocers in brown shirts: 

There was once a grocer who closed his store one day in November, because something was doing in town; taking his son Oskar by the hand, he boarded a Number 5 streetcar and rode to the Langasser Gate, because there as in Zoppot and Langfuhr the synagogue was on fire. The synagogue had almost burned down and the firemen were looking on, taking care that the flames should not spread to other buildings. Outside the wrecked synagogue, men in uniform and others in civilian clothes piled up books, ritual objects, and strange kinds of cloth. The mound was set on fire and the grocer took advantage of the opportunity to warm his fingers and his feelings over the public blaze. 

As Oskar grows older (though not taller), portents of war transform into the thing itself. Danzig is the first casualty when, in the summer of 1939, residents turn against each other in a pitched battle between Poles and Germans. In the years that follow, Oskar goes from one picaresque adventure to the next - he joins a troupe of traveling musicians; he becomes the leader of a group of anarchists; he falls in love; he becomes a recording artist - until some time after the war, he is convicted of murder and confined to a mental hospital. 

The Tin Drum uses savage comedy and a stiff dose of magical realism to capture not only the madness of war, but also the black cancer at the heart of humanity that allows such degradations to occur. Grass wields his humor like a knife - yes, he'll make you laugh, but he'll make you bleed, as well. There have been many novels written about World War II, but only a handful can truly be called great; The Tin Drum, without a doubt, is one. - Alix Wilber"

Günter Grass "whose frolicsome black fables portray the forgotten face of history" received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1999.

I contribute to this page: Read the Nobels and you can find all my blogs about Nobel Prize winning authors and their books here.

When visiting Lübeck a couple of years ago, I was happy to be able to visit the house where he lived. You can read about my experience here.

Bunyan, John "The Pilgrim's Progress from This World to That Which Is to Come"

Bunyan, John "The Pilgrim's Progress from This World to That Which Is to Come" - 1678

A classic I wanted to read for a while. I generally love classics and usually enjoy them very much. However, I did struggle with this one, it reads more like a play than a novel and I am not the biggest fan of reading plays. At times, I found I had set out the same way as our Pilgrim on a voyage through this book and I wondered whether I'd ever reach salvation, i.e. the end.

I did manage and even though I am happy to have finished it, I think this is a classic that is better left in its time, I'm sure it was a lot more appreciated back then but seems to be a tad outdated now. And I speak from the perspective of a Christian who has read and knows her Bible.

From the back cover:

"In John Bunyan's classic allegory, Christian abandons his family and the City of Destruction and sets off to find salvation. His path is straight but not easy, and he is beset by trials, including the terrible violence of the destructive Apollyon and the Giant Despair, as he pursues his pilgrimage through the Slough of Despond, the Delectable Mountains and Vanity Fair towards the Celestial City. In the second part of the narrative his wife, Christiana, is escorted by Great-Heart through the same difficult terrain. Written with the urgency of persecuted faith and a fiery imagination, The Pilgrim's Progress is a spiritual as well as a literary classic. In his introduction, Roger Pooley discusses Bunyan's life and theology, as well as the text's biblical and historical backdrop, its success and critical history. This edition also includes accompanying seventeenth-century illustrations, a chronology, suggested further reading, notes and an index."

Anonymous "Lazarillo de Tormes"

Anonymous "Lazarillo de Tormes" (Spanish: La vida de Lazarillo de Tormes y de sus fortunas y adversidades) - 1554

I found the title of this book in Jane Smiley's "13 Ways of Looking at the Novel" and thought it would be interesting to read.

And so it was. I have thoroughly enjoyed this book that was written almost 500 years ago, a great classic that you can read quite quickly because it is so short but there is a lot of action going on. This young, poor boy called Lazarillo, has to fend for himself, he has several masters and tells us his stories with them in this novel/novella.

I wouldn't exactly compare it to Cervantes' "Don Quixote" even though both books are only written about a hundred years apart and come from about the same area but there are some similarities. I loved the humour in this book, the humour you often find in those people who are less fortunate than others, who have to work hard for their living, who have no hope that it will ever get better. This is one such person and his humour does not leave him, no matter how hard the times.

The author managed to draw a very realistic sounding view of life in the 16th century, he was witty and intelligent, as is his protagonist Lazarillo. I just assume the author was a "he" because at the time, few women would write and they would probably have had totally different experiences.

A lovely book that introduces us to a genre that is called picaresque, novels that describe adventures of young boys of a lower social class. Some other books that belong to this genre, most of them are well known from television if people have not read the novels:

Berger, Thomas "Little Big Man"
Böll, Heinrich "The Clown"
Cervantes, Miguel de "Don Quixote"
Defoe, Daniel "Moll Flanders"
Eco, Umberto "Baudolino"
Fielding, Henry "Tom Jones"
Grass, Günter "The Tin Drum"
Grimmelshausen, Hans Jakob Christoffel von "Simplicius Simplicissimus"
Guareschi, Giovanni "Don Camillo and Peppone"
Hašek, Jaroslov "The Good Soldier Švejk"
Ilf, Ilja; Petrow, Jewgeni "The Twelve Chairs"
Jonasson, Jonas "The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared"
Mann, Thomas "Confessions of Felix Krull" (Bekenntnisse des Hochstaplers Felix Krull)

I think I need to put them all on my wishlist.

What a shame the author is unknown and there are not more novels by him.

See more comments on my ThrowbackThursday post in 2026.

From the back cover:

"Long considered by many scholars to be the first picaresque novel (or the precursor of all such novels), Lazarillo de Tormes made its initial appeared in Spain in the middle of the 16th century, on the heels of an era of novels of chivalry and romance. Despite the Inquisition's disapproval, this brief, simply told tale of a young rogue's adventures and misadventures became popular immediately and defied attempts to suppress it. Ever since, it has been recognized as one of the gems of Spanish literature, full of laconic cynicism and spiced with puns and word play."

Dickens, Charles "The Pickwick Papers"

Dickens, Charles "The Pickwick Papers" - 1836

The first novel of one of the greatest authors in history. As many novels at the time, it appeared in instalments in the newspaper. This makes the novel so easy to read, even though it has about 1,000 pages. Every chapter had to be finished in a day and you don't end up with some that go over several days.

Dickens has probably become so widely known and loved because he had a certain way to keep his readers in suspension but also because his language was easy to understand which does not necessarily mean it was simply written, not at all.

As in his other novels, he can make a big story out of any little occurrence, there is a lot of humour in his writing which is critical at the same time.

You can hardly believe that the author was only 24 when he wrote this work. Samuel Pickwick, Esquire, has three good friends, Messrs. Nathaniel Winkle, Augustus Snodgrass and Tracy Tupman with whom he starts "The Pickwick Club", a group that wants to explore the country by travelling through it and then report back to the other members. On their different voyages, they experience several bigger and smaller adventures but they always make us laugh. At the same time, Dickens draws a great picture of the different classes and life in the middle of the 19th century in the United Kingdom. He shows again why he is one of the greatest authors that have ever lived.

My favourite is still "Great Expectations" and I also read "A Tale of Two Cities" and "A Christmas Carol". You can find all my Dickens related posts here.

See more comments on my ThrowbackThursday post in 2025.

From the back cover:

"The Pickwick Papers is Dickens' first novel and widely regarded as one of the major classics of comic writing in English. Originally serialised in monthly instalments, it quickly became a huge popular success with sales reaching 40,000 by the final part. In the century and a half since its first appearance, the characters of Mr Pickwick, Sam Weller and the whole of the Pickwickian crew have entered the consciousness of all who love English literature in general, and the works of Dickens in particular."

Thackeray, William Makepeace "Vanity Fair"

Thackeray, William Makepeace "Vanity Fair, or, A Novel without a Hero" - 1848

Okay, so William Makepeace Thackeray is not a Jane Austen. But I didn't expect him to be. He is also not a Charles Dickens. However, he is a valuable classic British writer, someone who made himself a name and who deservedly belongs among the list of great authors. If I had to compare him to any classic writers, I'd say Oscar Wilde comes pretty close.

Seldom have I seen such a persiflage of aristocratic England and its surroundings. The author tries to answer the old question how important rank and money really is? The protagonist of this novel, Miss Rebecca Sharp, called Becky, is born into not too favourable circumstances in the mid 19th century. The author describes the way she tries to find her footing in society, her successes and her downfalls. But there is not just Rebecca Sharp, even she would not have been able to fill a thousand pages of a book. There is her friend Amelia Sedley who also has her share in the problems of a young lady of the time. And then there are countless guys who surround our two, shall we call her heroines? W.M. Thackeray called his novel "Vanity fair, or, A Novel without a Hero", that does not mean it cannot have a heroine. For me, there are two. At the time, a woman without a man was nothing. And our two girls have a lot of troubles to go through with or without the help of their fellow men.

An interesting story, partly humorous, partly sad, but overall well written.

Quote: "Which of us is happy in this world? Which of us has his desire? Or, having it, is satisfied?"

See more comments on my ThrowbackThursday post in 2025.

From the back cover: 

 

"Vanity Fair: A Novel without a Hero is a novel by William Makepeace Thackeray, first published in 1847–1848, satirizing society in early 19th-century Britain. The book's title comes from John Bunyan's allegorical story The Pilgrim's Progress, first published in 1678 and still widely read at the time of Thackeray's novel. Vanity Fair refers to a stop along the pilgrim's progress: a never-ending fair held in a town called Vanity, which is meant to represent man's sinful attachment to worldly things. The novel is now considered a classic, and has inspired several film adaptations."

Sterne, Laurence "The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman"

Sterne, Laurence "The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman" - 1759-67

Why I kept on reading this book until the end I will never know. I love classics. I do. They are my favourites. Just not this one.

Laurence Sterne tries to put the whole world into this novel, wanting to explain it by the example of one gentleman called "Tristram Shandy". He wants the story to be both philosophical as well as entertaining. It is neither. Most of the characters are so flat, they are all hopelessly useless and there isn't really any plot, the story hops from one end to the other without making sense. He starts hundreds of short stories without getting anywhere, without either ending them nor picking up the pieces at a later time. I kept asking myself whether I would find the meaning of this all. I didn't. The author doesn't convince me.

If someone wants to add philosophical thoughts to a story, he should at least tell the story. Or just leave the whole story out altogether. Which would have been better in this case.

The novel is supposed to be humorous, I couldn't find the humour in this, I didn't laugh even once. And I love British humour. This was NOT British humour. The only funny part are the names, like Hafen Slawkenbergius. Those I did enjoy.

From the back cover: "Laurence Sterne's great masterpiece of bawdy humour and rich satire defies any attempt to categorize it. Part novel, part digression, its gloriously disordered narrative interweaves the birth and life of the unfortunate "hero" Tristram Shandy, the eccentric philosophy of his father Walter, the amours and military obsessions of Uncle Toby, and a host of other characters, including Dr. Slop, Corporal Trim and the parson Yorick. A joyful celebration of the endless possibilities of the art of fiction, Tristram Shandy is also a wry demonstration of its limitations."

I think the last sentence in the synopsis says it all.

Cervantes, Miguel de "Don Quixote"

Cervantes, Miguel de "Don Quixote, vols. 1 and 2" (Spanish: El Ingenioso Hidalgo Don Quijote de la Mancha) - 1605/1615

Even if people haven't read Don Quixote, they know about his horse Rocinante, his faithful servant Sancho Panza and his beloved Dulcinea, his fight with the windmills and several other of his stories.

When reading any classic story, one has to consider the time it was written, the language used at the time. When reading the translation of a classic story, one has to think about that, as well. So, I wasn't too surprised when the language didn't flow as well as if I read a novel by Charles Dickens or Jane Austen, for example.

A lot of short stories are told, almost like in "The Decameron" which is about 300 years older. Still, you can tell the medieval character.

This might be one of the reasons why I enjoyed the second part more than the first, I had made my way through all those little stories and the whole thing came together more and more and developed into a large book rather than just little short stories.

Don Quixote lives in a world of his own which makes the story at times almost fantasy-like. However, this is always accompanied with a twinkle in the author's eye so we can all have a good laugh together. We fear with Don Quixote for the outcome of his next task, with Sancho for the outcome of the whole adventure. Will he ever return home to wife and children?

I was I had an edition that was parted in two halves, even they were very heavy. In cases like this I can understand that people tend toward an eReader, even though I normally don't like that at all (see here).

So, if you do like classic books, or large books, you should definitely put this on your reading list. And remember, especially when reading Don Quixote "Things are not always what they may seem."

From the back cover:

"Cervantes' tale of the deranged gentleman who turns knight-errant, tilts at windmills and battles with sheep in the service of the lady of his dreams, Dulcinea del Toboso, has fascinated generations of readers, and inspired other creative artists such as Flaubert, Picasso and Richard Strauss. The tall, thin knight and his short, fat squire, Sancho Panza, have found their way into films, cartoons and even computer games. Supposedly intended as a parody of the most popular escapist fiction of the day, the 'books of chivalry', this precursor of the modern novel broadened and deepened into a sophisticated, comic account of the contradictions of human nature. Cervantes' greatest work can be enjoyed on many levels, all suffused with a subtle irony that reaches out to encompass the reader."

Jonasson, Jonas "The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared"

Jonasson, Jonas "The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared" (Swedish: Hundraåringen som klev ut genom fönstret och försvann) - 2009

Translated into 35 languages, the biggest success, except for his native Sweden, was in Germany where he sold over a million copies. And that's where I found this gem of a book. This story contains everything, crime, murder mystery, historical fiction, alternate fiction, love, drama, and a huge sense of humour. It is so hilarious, and exciting. The story is told in two parts, the life of Allan Karlsson until he turns 100 and after he turns 100. And both parts are full of adventures.

This is an easy read novel that is still full of information and philosophy. A nice story about a man who does not want to fit in, who does not want to give up.

On Jonas Jonasson's website, you can find all the countries he travelled to and the people he met during his life. He travelled from Sweden to Moscow, Stalingrad (Volgograd), Gulag camps, Vladivostok, Los Alamos, The White House, Washington, China, Himalaya, Tibet, Afghanistan, Iran, North Korea, Bali, Paris and met Tsar Nicolas (well, that was his father), Gustav Fabergé (his father, as well), Vladimir Lenin, Miguel Primo de Rivera, Francisco Franco, Robert Oppenheimer, Harry S Truman, Soong May-ling, Eleonor Roosevelt, Jiang Ping, Winston Churchill, Tage Erlander, Joseph Stalin, Kim II Sung, Kim Jong II, Kirill Meretskov, Mao Tse Tung, Charles de Gaulle, Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard Nixon.

Apparently, the author is presently writing his second novel. I know exactly who is going to read it once it's out.

From the back cover:

"It all starts on the one-hundredth birthday of Allan Karlsson. Sitting quietly in his room in an old people's home, he is waiting for the party he-never-wanted-anyway to begin. The mayor is going to be there. The press is going to be there. But, as it turns out, Allan is not...Slowly but surely Allan climbs out of his bedroom window, into the flowerbed (in his slippers) and makes his getaway. And so begins his picaresque and unlikely journey involving criminals, several murders, a suitcase full of cash, and incompetent police. As his escapades unfold, we learn something of Allan's earlier life in which - remarkably - he helped to make the atom bomb, became friends with American presidents, Russian tyrants, and Chinese leaders, and was a participant behind the scenes in many key events of the twentieth century. The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared is a fun, feel-good book for all ages."

Woolf, Virginia "To the Lighthouse"

Woolf, Virginia "To the Lighthouse" - 1927

The verdict on "To the Lighthouse" was similar to that of many classics. Those who love classics enjoyed it. Those who don't didn't even give it a try. Some of them were glad they forced themselves to read it.

I loved this book. It was almost like poetry. The style was wonderful. Virginia Woolf describes the people most beautifully, the feelings, the thoughts, the way she describes the changes, the atmosphere, how they looked at each other, you can recognize it in your own life. Her descriptions are very detailed. She really understands people, thinking about that they don't say much to each other, it's even more amazing how she can write about this. Some found it difficult initially but were able to get through the first part. Some parts were extremely moving.

We talked about following the research first, I think that is very helpful here. You have to go back in time and put the author and what she wants to discuss into context. A great book about the beginning of the feminist time.  It is not an easy book but definitely worth the effort.

It was a creation of Victorian period.
This book also brought us do talk about the stream of consciousness and Henry James. Very philosophical.
The difference between mind and brain, the brain is the physical organ and the mind the psychic one. The mind pulls away, the brain draws to, there is a continuous pulling and drawing in the book.

We also discussed Virginia Woolf briefly, her bouts of marital instability, her anxiety. Her mother died when she was 13, it is just amazing how she internalized the relationship of her parents at that young age. She was a very smart lady.

According to Publisher's Weekly, "To the Lighthouse" also belongs to the Top 10 Most Difficult Books.

We discussed this in our international book club in May 2010.

From the back cover:

"The serene and maternal Mrs. Ramsay, the tragic yet absurd Mr. Ramsay, and their children and assorted guests are on holiday on the Isle of Skye. From the seemingly trivial postponement of a visit to a nearby lighthouse, Woolf constructs a remarkable, moving examination of the complex tensions and allegiances of family life and the conflict between men and women.

As time winds its way through their lives, the Ramsays face, alone and simultaneously, the greatest of human challenges and its greatest triumph--the human capacity for change."

See more comments on my ThrowbackThursday post in 2024.

I also read "Mrs. Dalloway".