Europe through literature discussion

Hi,

So far, while we have chosen good books, it is hard not to notice that they have all been 500+ pages. So, in order to get everybody more engaged, even those who do not have the time for such long books, I was thinking that in addition to the main choice, we could add a monthly short story from the same country. This would be a story shorter than 100 pages, that can be read in one sitting and that wouldn't take more time than watching a LOTR film. Culturally important literary essays would also qualify.

Please, let me know what you think of this idea!

Hi Jehona,
I think this is definitively a great idea, as I also think it will encourage and enable more members to join in the group readings! I always find short stories a good way to get to know an author. And culturally relevant literary essays are also a good idea!

Hahahahah Oh yes, I'm all for something less-than-LOTR in length :)

I would love to see us add a monthly short story. -- from the peanut gallery

Do we already have any suggestions for short stories / novellas from France? The poll for the novel at the moment seems to be gravitating towards Les Miserables which has more than 1000 pages (no further comment on that ... )

Browsing through my shelves I have some suggestions for short stories / novellas from France:

The War of the Poor by Éric Vuillard
or:
Congo by Éric Vuillard

Vuillard was born in 1968. In his works he retells historical events and thus has created a new literary genre. He received the Prix Goncourt in 2017. Apart from the above mentioned titles he wrote some more which are all more or less 100 - 150 pages.

For a female writer I would like to suggest Faces on the Tip of My Tongue by Emmanuelle Pagano. This is a short story collection.

Pagano was born in 1969. In 2009 she won the EU Prize for Literature.

Orgeluse wrote: "Browsing through my shelves I have some suggestions for short stories / novellas from France:

The War of the Poor by Éric Vuillard
or:
Congo by [au..."

If we make a novella option, it should be in a separate poll. These group selections tend to gravitate towards books people have been wanting to read for a long time but have never been able to get themselves to start. And books people tend to avoid without an extra push are usually long. I'm just happy nobody thought of adding "In Search of Lost Time".

I would be very happy to engage in the group with shorter content: I'd like to read more from my European neighbours but I will admit I find it hard to even start if I already know I'm not going to finish in a month – and I'm not the most committed reader to begin with ^^''

I fully agree that we need a separate poll.
And yes, often people seem to gravitate towards the "classics" that are considered to be representative of a country's literature which is of course a legitimate approach.
Also the choice for German literature could have been on Robert Musil's The Man Without Qualities :)))

I'm finding it extremely hard to find short stories. I am not a short story reader usually, and google seems to assume that when I am looking for a short story I want something to practice the language. Is anybody here interested in being a moderator for the group and being in charge of short stories?

Hi Jehona!
I read short stories but the reason I joined the group was that I am interested in reading contemporary (!) literature from different European countries to get glimpses into the present state of Europe in all its facets through literature. With the odd exceptions contemporary literary works do not tend to exceed 400 pages which I find doable. I also like to read women writers. So although I have not yet had any experience moderating in a group here on goodreads I would offer to moderate contemporary literature with works also of female writers if this is wanted.

Orgeluse wrote: "Hi Jehona!
I read short stories but the reason I joined the group was that I am interested in reading contemporary (!) literature from different European countries to get glimpses into the present ..."

Sure, we could separate the categories into classical and contemporary. If you are willing to do it, that's great. I'll contact you by message shortly.

I still need someone for short stories, though.

Jehona wrote: "Orgeluse wrote: "Hi Jehona!
I read short stories but the reason I joined the group was that I am interested in reading contemporary (!) literature from different European countries to get glimpses ..."

What does it entail? I'm interested, but a little busy running the Great African Reads group as well - but I do like short works. Does it need to be 'old' or can it be more contemporary stuff like Orgulese suggests?

Anetq wrote: "Jehona wrote: "Orgeluse wrote: "Hi Jehona!
I read short stories but the reason I joined the group was that I am interested in reading contemporary (!) literature from different European countries t..."

Hi! Thanks for your interest.
For the short stories, it just needs to be a short story or an essay written by a writer from the country of the month. The time period is not limited. This month, for example, it would need to be from Spain, but I was unable to find one. Google doesn't seem very helpful as it mixes in writers from Central and South America, as well as stuff that is only useful for language learning.
What you would need to do is find a few (4-5) from the country of the month and create a poll. If you can find the time, it would be nice if you could participate in the zoom meetings on the last Sunday of the month, in which we discuss the books of the month. I haven't had much luck with those since I've never gotten more than 2 people to join, but with more books and more varied topics to discuss, there might be more interest. So far, most of the books have been classics.