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Welcome

I started this blog in 2013 to share my reflections on reading, writing and psychology, along with my journey to become a published novelist.  I soon graduated to about twenty book reviews a month and a weekly 99-word story. Ten years later, I've transferred my writing / publication updates to my new website but will continue here with occasional reviews and flash fiction pieces, and maybe the odd personal post.

ANNE GOODWIN'S WRITING NEWS

The Empress and the Cake & A Beautiful Young Wife

25/9/2016

11 Comments

 
Two short reviews about two short European novels in translation, both shining a light on human disturbance, both of which I can recommend as a good read.

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When an elderly woman, dressed in an old-fashioned long black dress, invites our unnamed narrator to share a cake, it’s rather like the witch from the gingerbread house seducing Hansel and Gretel. At first, the young woman seems at greatest risk from herself, the bite of cake breaking the pattern of her carefully-controlled diet and triggering a protracted episode of binge eating and vomiting. But when Frau Hohenembs, channelling the Austrian Empress Elisabeth, renowned for her beauty, energy and an assumed eating disorder, pressurises into joining her, and her housekeeper, Ida, and various outings, the danger comes equally from without. Once she’s implicated in their mission to steal various bizarre artefacts from museums, there’s no escape.

First published in German in 2007 under the title Stierhunger, which translates as bulimia nervosa, The Empress and the Cake is a tale of entrapment and mental distress. The older woman’s psychopathic power and influence is reminiscent of Sylvia Slythe in Death and the Seaside. With her estranged girlfriend, non-job decluttering other people’s apartments and no real friends, the narrator has no chance, especially when the lease for her flat is spirited away from her. I found the descriptions of her dedication to her illness particularly striking: the obsession with food and with the most effective way of eliminating it from her body. Although I think those with an existing knowledge of Empress Elisabeth might get more from it, I did enjoy this peculiar tale.

Translated by Jamie Bullock, The Empress and the Cake is published by Peirene Press as part of their fairy tale series (which also includes The Man I Became and Her Father’s Daughter) – thanks to them for my review copy. If you enjoy modern fairytales, you might also like the short story anthology The Forgotten and the Fantastical -- you’ll find my mini review here.

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When Edward Landauer, a microbiologist who has made his name studying both HIV and avian influenza, spots Ruth Walta riding her bicycle down a street in his home city of Utrecht, he feels like running after her and shouting: Marry me, here, right now! He’s the happiest man in the world when, before too long, they’re married. As if he’s in his early 40s and she’s in her late 20s, it feels like a victory over time. But once their child is born, the age gap proves the least of their differences, as Edward’s responses to their ideological conflicts lead to both his and his family’s unravelling.

Like The Course of Love, A Beautiful Young Wife is about the way in which our different assumptions about the “right” way to live can complicate our most intimate relationships. Also related mostly from the male point of view, I was a little irritated initially at Edward’s focus on the age difference (yes, fourteen years must have an impact, but relationships do survive with much larger gaps) and his perception of Ruth as a kind of trophy wife. But, of course, that’s partly the point, and I should have realised the author of These Are the Names, would take his characters a little deeper into the puzzle of the human (and animal) condition. As a hard scientist, Edward is appalled when Ruth makes important decisions on the basis of “feminine intuition” yet, by the end, it is he who behaves most irrationally. Along the way, questions are raised about animal experimentation and, through the character of Ruth’s drifter brother, and adult responsibility. I thought the polarised perspectives of Edward and Ruth were cleverly resolved, for the reader, if not for the characters themselves.

Translated from Dutch by Sam Garrett, A Beautiful Young Wife is published by Scribe who provided my review copy. Incidentally, I also once rode a bicycle down a street in Utrecht; perhaps I’m lucky it didn’t lead to marriage.

Thanks for reading. I'd love to know what you think. If you've enjoyed this post, you might like to sign up via the sidebar for regular email updates and/or my quarterly Newsletter.
11 Comments
Norah Colvin link
25/9/2016 10:59:49 pm

Hi Anne. Thanks for these interesting reviews. Both stories sound a bit intriguing. I much prefer the translated title "The Empress and the Cake" to the original. I wouldn't find it too appealing. I like the thought of these stories being fairy tales. I guess if getting married was as easy as riding a bike down a street in Utrecht, there'd be just as many avoiding the activity as choosing it.

Reply
Charli Mills
26/9/2016 11:46:43 pm

Ah, this reminds me of how powerful short novels can be and that I have several yet to read. Stierhunger is and interesting word for bulimia nervosa. Thanks for these reviews!

Reply
Annecdotist
27/9/2016 06:48:58 pm

Thanks, Charli, if you fancy either of these and are short of time, the second is the quicker read.

Reply
sarah link
27/9/2016 01:01:47 am

Are these novellas? Novelettes? I can't keep up now. I do love short novels, regardless of what they're officially categorized as. And the darkness here, as well as the human condition, seduces me, as I think you'd imagine. It's mostly what I wind up with in my flash/short fiction. Thanks for sharing these, Anne. (Absolutely brilliant covers, by the way.)

Reply
Annecdotist
27/9/2016 06:47:01 pm

Oh, yeah, I did hear someone – it might have been Alison Moore, give a definition lately, but none of it stayed in my head. I think The Empress and the Cake might particularly suit you.
Following on from a conversation we had here or elsewhere recently, I’ve started writing something about a character who’s afraid of noise which would be interesting to share with you at some point.

Reply
Sarah
5/10/2016 02:40:20 am

I would love to see that when you're ready to share. Sounds fascinating.

Annecdotist
5/10/2016 09:34:03 am

Thanks, Sarah, I hoped you might be interested. It’s turning into a novel-level project so might be a while before I can share but would definitely be interested in your perspective.

Norah Colvin link
28/9/2016 08:55:31 am

Hi Anne. I'm quite intrigued by these two quirky fairy tales. I much prefer the title of "The Empress and the Cake" to the original. I don't think I'd bother to read the original. Titles are important. The new title is much more fairy-tale-like.
I think it's a good thing that not everyone who rides a bike down the streets of Utrecht ends up with a marriage proposal, though it could be useful for those who find a suitable partner elusive.

Reply
Annecdotist
28/9/2016 12:01:01 pm

That’s interesting, because I think the original title appeals to me more, and I thought the description of the obsessions of an eating disorder were really well done.
Mmm, I can’t remember much about Utrecht, but now I’m thinking there might have been an interesting chap in the hostel where I stayed the night …

Reply
Norah Colvin link
3/10/2016 12:12:55 pm

Now that's interesting, Anne. You choose fiction over non-fiction, and I choose the reverse. You preferred the more non-fiction-like title and I, the fiction. I wonder what a psychologist would make of that! :)

Reply
Annecdotist
3/10/2016 07:44:12 pm

Not exactly, more that it struck me as a story about an eating disorder, or maybe it’s that this psychologist connects more to eating distress than to Austrian empresses, of which there were surprisingly few on my caseload!

Reply



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