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The Fox Was Ever the Hunter
The Fox Was Ever the Hunter: A Novel | Herta Müller
27 posts | 18 read | 68 to read
From the winner of the Nobel Prize hailed as the laureate of life under totalitarianism, a haunting early novel of surveillance and paranoia Romania—the last months of the Ceausescu regime. Adina is a young schoolteacher. Paul is a musician. Clara works in a wire factory. Pavel is Clara’s lover. But one of them works for the secret police and is reporting on the rest of the group. One day Adina returns home to discover that her fox fur rug has had its tail cut off. On another occasion it’s the hindleg. Then a foreleg. The mutilated fur is a sign that she is being tracked by the secret police—the fox was ever the hunter. Images of photographic precision combine into a kaleidoscope of terror as Adina and her friends struggle to keep mind and body intact in a world pervaded by complicity and permeated with fear, where it’s hard to tell victim from perpetrator. And once again, Herta Müller uses language that displays the “concentration of poetry and the frankness of prose”—as the Swedish Academy noted upon awarding her the Nobel Prize—to create a hauntingly cinematic portrayal of the corruption of the soul under totalitarianism.
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Moony
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Ok @Andrew65 is so motivating so I'll participate at the #24B4Monday #readthon this weekend. I'll travel the most time, but some hours I'll spend on reading the tagged book. Thx @TheReadingMermaid and @Andrew65 for hosting.

#12littens12books

Andrew65 Yes! 😠Wonderful to have you with us again no matter how much or how little you can read. Just have fun with the rest of us. And thanks ğŸ‘😠5y
17 likes1 comment
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Moony
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LittleBug
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Pickpick

This was a tricky one… Not an easy read, because of both style and subject. Short sentences, often formulated in a ‘stream of consciousness‘ kind of way, have you wondering how much you‘re missing, how many more layers there are to the story. It is not until the end of the book that the story starts to take on a more concrete shape. I almost DNF, but am very glad I pushed through. A very impressive read, can only recommend!

#12Littens12Books

ju.ca.no I‘m glad you ended up liking it! 6y
LittleBug @ju.ca.no Me tooâ˜ºï¸ Very glad it is part of our book circle! 6y
37 likes2 comments
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yourfavouritemixtape
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Mehso-so

I‘ve also finished this today. It‘s the first book in our #12littens12books swap! Will keep my review for the notebook. I hope my analysis isn‘t too weird, I got a bit carried away...
 @LittleBug sending you the book next week!

julesG You should see my ramblings. 😉 6y
LittleBug Looking forward to it!! 6y
8 likes2 comments
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ju.ca.no
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Pickpick

I‘ve just finished my first book for #12littens12books I‘m much looking foward to reading everyone‘s thoughts on it! I hope I‘ll be able to mail it out asap to @yourfavouritemixtape ,but I‘m not sure if my workschedule lets me drive to the post office next week🙈 friday latest I should manage!

The book is written in a very poetic way. It paints a picture of desolation, everyday violence, fear and hunger in a dictatorship.
4/5â­ï¸

yourfavouritemixtape I‘m looking forward to it! And don‘t worry, my tbr-pile is way too high for you to stress :) 6y
ju.ca.no @yourfavouritemixtape I just want to make sure you have enough time to read it :) 6y
59 likes2 comments
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ju.ca.no
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#booksinthewild #31bookpics - I was planning on taking my book outside for todays prompt but its cold, rainy and windy. So this is in my Office - which is pretty wild as well😂 couldn‘t find a fox though (that would match the titel: the fox was ever the hunter) so this wild cat has to do😅 #12littens12books

Cathythoughts Amazing cat â¤ï¸â¤ï¸â¤ï¸ 6y
ju.ca.no @Cathythoughts luckily stuffed- otherwise I might be missing a hand... (we‘re planning an exhibition about cats somewhen in the next years...) 6y
enoyus At first I was like aww cute cat and then I noticed it was a taxidermy cat hahahaha 😂😂 6y
ju.ca.no @miranda_booknerd haha I would love a cat running around in our office though😠but I do have little monkeys who sometime knock at my window which is pretty cool as well😠6y
enoyus @ju.ca.no wow that‘s awesome 6y
74 likes1 stack add5 comments
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ju.ca.no
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shawnmooney
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Bailedbailed

I‘m glad I read half of it. I have no idea what I read. I cannot continue. I‘m glad I read half of it.

TrishB Haven‘t seen a bail for a while 😠6y
shawnmooney @TrishB That‘s because I haven‘t been keeping a Litsy up-to-date – I‘ve missed updating you all on at least four other bails in the last couple weeks. LOL -will try to rectify the situation… 6y
TrishB I‘ll look forward to it 😘 6y
LeahBergen I‘m with @TrishB . I miss seeing your bails on here. 😂 6y
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shawnmooney
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shawnmooney
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shawnmooney
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shawnmooney
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DivineDiana Perfect image for the quote! ğŸ‘🻠6y
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shawnmooney
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shawnmooney
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ju.ca.no Oh I have this on my tbr pile! Is it good? 6y
Mdargusch Intriguing 🤔 6y
shawnmooney @ju.ca.no So far so good! 6y
42 likes2 stack adds3 comments
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Kathrin
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Not my cup of tea at all. I felt like this was a series of vignettes rather than a story, especially in the first half of the book. I still think Mueller is a spectacular writer, but in this book the prose got in the way of the storytelling. It had me shake my head with wonder what even went down.

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wanderlustforwords
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Mehso-so

Well, my first initial impression of my first Pulitzer Prize winning author, Herta Mueller was hmmmm. Unfortunately, this didn‘t change much when I finished. The first half is abstract, I didn‘t find relevance chapter to chapter or a distinct plot. The second half pulled things together, but I still wasn‘t thrilled. I‘ve heard that her other books are different and not impressionistic in style. All in all, I wouldn‘t recommend it. ğŸ˜

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alisonrose
Bailedbailed

DNF. I tried but...... I literally could not figure out what the hell was happening. I think it's a combination of the poetic style and the fact that it's a translated book, but it made no sense whatsoever. The metaphors were so obscure, and the language was just too bizarre and intentionally unclear. I know it won the Nobel, but TBH I think it was the prize committee trying to seem super deep 😜

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alisonrose
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I don't remember how I heard about this book and I'd never heard of the author before but it sounds super fascinating so let's go. #nowreading

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BookishFeminist
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Pickpick

What a beautiful, frightening book. This is my first Herta Müller, & I'll be back for more. Translated from German, it follows a couple living under Ceausescu's dictatorship in Romania. One of them works for the secret police. In many ways it mirrors her own life of standing up to the secret police & fleeing Romania to live in Germany. It's a short but savory book with gorgeous & haunting prose about life under totalitarianism. Scary & timely. ?

Moray_Reads This isn't my favourite Müller but she's one of my favourite writers ⤠8y
TheLondonBookworm Wow sounds amazing-stacked! 8y
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KVanRead The Hunger Angel blew me away. I will have to look for this one. 8y
Louise Lovely to discover a new author to read for German practice! 🤓 8y
Kitta I'd like to read more books set in Romania, do you have any suggestions? 8y
Notafraidofwords Have you seen the news? I believe there was a protest there recently ? 8y
Bookwormjillk So many stack adds tonight! 8y
MrBook Nice review! 8y
132 likes26 stack adds9 comments
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BookishFeminist
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Spending Saturday afternoon with a coffee and some light reading on what it's like to live under a totalitarian regime. I've been meaning to read Herta Müller for a while and this looks like a great place to start. It focuses on a couple, one of whom works for the secret police under Romania's Ceausescu regime. Should be interesting.

#booksnbucks

Shortstack Expect me to be hitting you up for loads of recommendations each month after I graduate. Because everything you read looks amazing. 😂😂😂 8y
BookishFeminist @Shortstack I expect it 😂😂 Expect me to do the same! I need to read more classics and this year sounds like a good one for some Vonnegut. 8y
Shortstack @BookishFeminist Any time. I'll read all the classics. You read all the diversity and we can recommend the best of each to each other. Win win all around. 😉 8y
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TheBookStacker That book was amazing but als very scary. 8y
vivastory @BookishFeminist Anytime's a good time for Vonnegut 😀 8y
Anton Adding this to my list! 8y
136 likes23 stack adds6 comments
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Nitpickyabouttrains
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Pickpick

This book was beautifully translated from Romanian. It gave a peak at a time of history in Romania that I was not familiar with. The prose style had me hooked.

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Moray_Reads
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Moray_Reads
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Herta Müller's writing (tr. Philip Boehm) is bleak and beautiful and paints a haunting picture of totalitarian Romania. #translatedbooks #nobelprizewinner #nobelprize

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AmyStewart
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Please meet Camden at #Booksmith in the Haight, who loves loves loves this book and says "She can use some more love!" Even though she has a Nobel (sometimes we also need love) #getindie

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Hestapleton
Bailedbailed

I just can't get into this one and I just started my graduate program. New motto: if it doesn't grab me, save it for later.

Notafraidofwords This is at my library. I'm glad I skipped. 8y
Hestapleton @Notafraidofwords Don't get me wrong--it looks interesting, I just don't have the time for books I don't love right off the bat. I want to come back to this at some point--maybe next summer. :) 8y
6 likes2 comments
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Hestapleton
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This one definitely looks promised. Müller is known for her use of language, so I'm curious to see how it holds up under translation.

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Arbol
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Mehso-so

I've liked Müller's work before (The Appointment blew me away) but I could not seem to get into this one.