Visitation | 
so-soIn this book, the author shows German history
between maybe the 1920s and 1990s by following the property ownership of a piece of land (which later had a house) on a lake outside Berlin.
While many of the stories are very powerful, the arrangement and the writing was often very confusing.
As I said, I liked listening to this book but I‘m really not sure if I would have made my way through it had I read it in physical form. Erpenbeck‘s writing style sometimes is a bit special because here and there she likes to insert extensive repetitions.
So I am prepared to need to struggle the next time I pick up one of her physical books because I feel that her art of writing might turn out to be demanding for me.
pickYes, I see and appreciate all the hard work Erpenbeck put into this novel and I liked listening to it. But sometimes it‘s hard to follow her protagonists because none is gifted a name, most are only professions. The architect, the soldier … 🙄 I‘m sure, I lost track of who is telling the story towards the end – which in my eyes is a pity. Additionally, this novel seems to be related to Erpenbeck‘s own story and family. Why does she hide this❓
I was “a bit” surprised by @AnneCecilie ‘s comment because I wondered “Well, isn‘t this something obviously noticed?” and “What kind of pretty strange duck am I that such things only jump at _me_❓” 😉
But after a while it all flows calmly – maybe also because of the author‘s voice and way of reading – that I forgot that there is no direct speech in there. So far I like it. But still: You need a certain level of attentiveness …
This might be one you where you constantly need to be attentive.
The complete lack of spoken word caught me by absolute surprise. So far the story is only description. Quite unusual. I‘m afraid that it therefore _can_ happen that the book/narration becomes monotonous because I feel there‘s few that challenges the author‘s voice while reading her own book aloud …
So far I‘m still curious.
Crystal clear that, if I don‘t find enough time to read my e-book, it definitely is time to check out another audiobook. 🤷🏽♀️
I made my choice based on running time. This one with 5 hours was the shortest.
So let‘s see who comes visit me in this “Vsitation”. 😉 I just now noticed how well the cover motive goes with the content. Since it‘s about a house during 20th century I like the idea of having a cover with a front door with bullseye pane.
As you were, @AnneCecilie ‼️
“Visitation” is exactly the book by Jenny Erpenbeck I was referring to in my comment under your post for the 1st quarter for #ReadingEurope2020.
Look, it received quite bad ratings – and I am absolutely unsure if I like the book‘s topic. 🤷🏽♀️ Must have been daydreaming when you posted your review. 🤭
Maybe I‘ll give the author a try – since I just figured out my library has most of her prose as e-books. ☺️
pickApparently Erpenbeck‘s novels are translated into Norwegian in reverse order, so this was published in Germany in 2007
At the beginning of the 20th century a summer house is build outside Berlin, next to it another house is built. As the years move on we learn how WWI, WWII, the Cold War and the Berlin Wall influences the families visiting their summer house. Sometimes it‘s the events that‘s just mentioned in passing, that is remembered.
so-soI've had my troubles with this book. But let me tell you - this is a book one only gets in retrospect. Also, one sure has to read it a couple of times to really get it. It might be a pick for me if I read it a second time. Just not sure if that's going to happen. Now that I've finished it I can see all the work and thought Erpenbeck put into her text and that's just astonishing.
And now he had to consider himself lucky he was escaping with his life.
pickThere is a lot to contemplate in this slim novel, it's rich & dense. For me it is about the temporary nature of our tenure on a piece of land or in a dwelling, in fact the temporary formations of even the landscape itself. If I reread this a year from now, I'd likely have a different perspective bc I know I didn't grasp it all. (Not a breezy read.) There are poetic descriptions of nature and some startling brutal human encounters and acts.
There are some longer passages of exquisite writing about nature in this book. But here is a shorter gem that resonated.
"As if time, even when you grip it firmly in your hands, can still flail and thrash about and twist which way it will."?
pick#litsyreadingchallenge #indiepublisher This little gem follows the families that live in a German house over several generations. The stories are haunting and surprising. I would definitely reread this one to pick up on details that I may have missed. Published by New Directions, a press that produces outstanding titles. 📚😍
#readjanuary #readingequipment Airport edition! ✈️ Husband and I are off for a short vacation to celebrate his birthday!
pickI don't have the words to properly review this short book. I'm always more moved by an author who can get across immense feeling with few words. Erpenbeck does this with brutal efficiency.
I think this one will haunt me for some time.
Once again, this time with feeling.
I stared this book several years ago, but only got a few pages in. I'm going to give it another go from the beginning again.
#currentread
pickRereading this gorgeous, haunting thing. Such sharp writing.
