March (fourth week) 2018 Reads

Didn't finish any books this week. March Madness! 

This week the "Deal Me In" card is a Joker which means a wild card pick and a second draw.

I made a library trip this week. I was looking for a book by Joanna Hershon when I noticed a book of Herman Hesse stories so I picked it for my Joker.  It turned out to be a great find.

The Fairy Tales of Hermann Hesse by Hermann Hesse; translation and introduction by Jack D. Zipes; Woodcut illustrations by David Frampton

So far I've read the introduction which gives a brief biography, a general summary of Hesse's work, and a discussion of the tales in this collection. I've also read the first three stories and enjoyed then very much. The Dwarf is a tale of revenge set in Venice; Shadow Play is set in the surrounds of a semi-deserted castle and concerns a mysterious woman and a jealous man. Both of these stories reveal the dark side of human nature.

A Man by the Name of Ziegler has a very different tone from the first two--there is nothing particularly mysterious or dark about Herr Ziegler. In fact, he is extremely ordinary until he visits a museum and somewhat inadvertently acquires a strange object. Enough said, no spoilers here.

Contents: The dwarf -- Shadow play -- A man by the name of Ziegler -- The city -- Dr. Knoegle's end -- The beautiful dream -- The three linden trees -- Augustus -- The poet -- Flute dream -- A dream about the gods -- Strange news from another planet -- Faldum -- A dream sequence -- The forest dweller -- The difficult path -- If the war continues -- The European -- The empire -- The painter --
The fairy tale about the wicker chair -- Iris.

The second card I drew is the Ten of Spades and its story is The Fire by Birutė Jonuškaitė; translated from the Lithuanian by Jayde Will (in Best European fiction 2015).

This is a perfect story to accompany the Hesse tales. It is about a young man who is a fire lookout in a forest tower. There is a mystery about him and his relationship to a local wood carver. It has the same dark fairy tale mood and I could easily imagine this story taking place in the same time and place as Shadow Play. 



Gutenberg find...




The Bashful Earthquake : & other fables and verses by Oliver Herford. Illustrated by the author. (c.1898)
Fun poems and illustrations. Not at all like the Hesse, these are light and airy and rather silly at times. And nicely illustrated with black and white sketches (only the cover is in color).