M. Sarki's Blog: Mewl House - Posts Tagged "bernhard"

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A German Picturesque by Jason Schwartz

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I need to write a review of this book someday, but anybody who has not read A German Picturesque should do so soon. That is, anybody who demands the highest quality from their literature. Jason Schwartz continues to write short stories and publish them in a select few print periodicals. He is taxing and is the only contemporary writer who never disappoints me in any way. I would recommend this book to demanding readers who enjoy the intellect of Thomas Bernhard and Robert Walser but could do with a little less negativism than these two offer up profusely (which I confess to not ever getting enough of). But the language Schwartz uses is exquisite. The images he produces will flat-out knock your socks off. Jason Schwartz is a master storyteller of the small things in life so vastly important to our life-long pursuit for perfection.



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Local Wonders: Seasons in the Bohemian Alps by Ted Kooser

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


Oh god, what did I ever think? I believe I have a contrary opinion here:

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Sky Saw by Blake Butler

My rating: 1 of 5 stars


I can't even honestly say the book was OK (two stars) as I really did not like it much after the first forty pages or so. There are no spoilers here in the following review, and really it is quite impossible to achieve with a work of this nature anyway. I tried hard to give this novel a good going over as it was my first venture into the work of Blake Butler, but it was just not my cup of tea. Here I explain in full why I feel this way:

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The Final Country by James Crumley

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


Pretty disappointed in this potboiler, but it wasn't James Crumley's fault. I will take the blame. And I explain why here:

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The Figure on the Boundary Line: Selected Prose by Christoph Meckel

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


The first half of the book and through the novella, Tullipan, could have been written by a fellow in the throes of a horrendously engaging acid trip. Nonsense abounds as does a silliness sometimes a little disconcerting. But after moving on past the novella, Tullipan, the work gets rumbling on a new fast-speed track and the work becomes itself something remarkable and magnificent. There is no weakness in the last half of the book at all. Comments here on goodreads.com comparing Meckel to Walser and others like him are accurate. The quality of Meckel's writing is amazing. But the beginning pieces are enough to scare some readers away, readers who have little enough faith in a reviewer such as myself who promises the glory at the end of the road. It seems that the first dozen pieces at the beginning introducing Meckel's nonsense prepares us for, and excuse the biblical reference here, the brilliant resurrection to come. Midway through reading the book I wrote a piece about it or something else that you can read here:

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Extinction by Thomas Bernhard

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


There is nobody I have ever read who speaks to me more clearly and like-minded than Thomas Bernhard does. It is so life-affirming to have the good fortune of reading a writer like this. He is an amazing talent and continues on as strongly as ever for anyone interested in examining his complete works. I wrote a longer, more detailed review that you can read here:

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Narratives Unsettled: Digression in Robert Walser, Thomas Bernhard, and Adalbert Stifter by Samuel Frederick

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I certainly loved this book and will revisit it from time to time. It is an inspiration to read such well-thought ideas about at least two of my favorite writers of all-time. My own thoughts regarding this master work and how it judiciously affected me in matters concerning a more personal accounting can be read here, if you are so inclined:

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