annethology
  • Home
    • About Annethology
    • About me >
      • A little more about me
    • About my books
    • Author talks
    • Contact me
    • Forthcoming events
    • World Mental Health Day
    • Privacy
    • Sign up for my newsletter
  • Sugar and Snails
    • Acknowledgements
    • Blog tour, Q&A's and feature articles >
      • Birthday blog tour
      • S&S on tour 2022
    • Early endorsements
    • Events >
      • Launch photos
      • Launch party videos
    • in pictures
    • Media
    • If you've read the book
    • Polari
    • Reading group questions
    • Reviews
    • In the media
  • Underneath
    • Endorsements and reviews
    • Launch party and events
    • Pictures
    • Questions for book groups
    • The stories underneath the novel
  • Matilda Windsor series
    • Matilda Windsor >
      • What readers say
      • For book groups
      • Interviews, articles and features
      • Matty on the move
      • Who were you in 1990?
      • Asylum lit
      • Matilda Windsor media
    • Stolen Summers >
      • Stolen Summers reviews
  • Short stories
    • Somebody’s Daughter
    • Becoming Someone (anthology) >
      • Becoming Someone (video readings)
      • Becoming Someone reviews
      • Becoming Someone online book chat
    • Print and downloads
    • Read it online
    • Quick reads
  • Free ebook
  • Annecdotal
    • Annecdotal blog
    • Annecdotal Press
    • Articles >
      • Print journalism
      • Where psychology meets fiction
    • Fictional therapists
    • Reading and reviews >
      • Reviews A to H
      • Reviews I to M
      • Reviews N to Z
      • Nonfiction
      • Themed quotes
      • Reading around the world
  • Shop
    • Inspired Quill (my publisher)
    • Bookshop.org (affiliate link)
    • Amazon UK
    • Amazon US
    • books2read

About the author and blogger ...

Anne Goodwin’s drive to understand what makes people tick led to a career in clinical psychology. That same curiosity now powers her fiction.
A prize-winning short-story writer, she has published three novels and a short story collection with small independent press, Inspired Quill. Her debut novel, Sugar and Snails, was shortlisted for the 2016 Polari First Book Prize.
Away from her desk, Anne guides book-loving walkers through the Derbyshire landscape that inspired Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre.
Subscribers to her newsletter can download a free e-book of award-winning short stories.

TELL ME MORE

Where we came from and where we are now: Homeland & Farewell, My Orange

27/11/2018

2 Comments

 
As if my head weren’t buzzing enough with the enigma of identity, I’ve recently read two translated novels exploring the gap between where the characters come from and where they ended up. In the first, a forty-something German man has given little thought to his origins across the border; in the second, two women, juggle loneliness and language difficulties as they gradually acclimatise to new lives in Australia, far from home.

Picture
Picture


Homeland by Walter Kempowski translated
by Charlotte Collins

In the year before the fall of the Berlin wall, Hamburg-based journalist, Jonathan Fabrizius, is invited to travel to Poland to research a story for a luxury car company. In his mid-40s, but not yet middle-aged in his ambitions, or in his relationship with his girlfriend who lives the other side of a(nother) makeshift wall, Jonathan is unsure whether to accept. But it would be an opportunity to see his birthplace: Jonathan was born on the Eastern Front as his mother fled west at the end of the war. Orphaned by the time he crossed the border, he was brought up by his uncle and never had any particular desire to go back.
 
Of course he goes on the trip, and comes face-to-face with the beauty, poverty and painful history of that long-contested land. While there isn’t a great deal of tension in the plot, there’s a wonderful dry humour in his observations, and those of his two travel companions, and of the larger group of elderly Germans whose tour Jonathan and his colleagues inadvertently tail. Anguish and guilt fester beneath the surface, both on account of historical wounds and the current discrepancy in wealth. Although Jonathan tries, particularly when he agrees to a woman’s request he send medicine for her daughter with serious mental health problems, even without the language difficulties, the differences between the two cultures and countries are too wide to bridge.
 
Unable to relate on an equal footing, the travellers alternate between gushing delight in the simplicity and fierce criticism of whatever interferes with the smoothness of their path, familiar to anyone who’s journeyed from a First World country to the Third. But even before Jonathan leaves Germany, there’s an undercurrent of collusion with violence, especially in girlfriend Ulla’s professional obsession with depictions of cruelty and torture, and in the imagery, such as on a visit to a Turkish restaurant (p31):
Picture
Picture
The blurb asks:
 
Do we need to know where we’ve come from in order to know who we are?
 
a current preoccupation of mine with the publication my forthcoming short story collection, Becoming Someone. I’m not sure if I was supposed to be more moved by Jonathan’s new connection to his origins but I’d rephrase the novel’s theme as
 
Do we need to know about our dark side in order to know who we are?
 
explored, as referenced in my recent post on concepts of identity in classic novels, in The Picture of Dorian Gray.
 
Homeland was first published in German in 1992; Charlotte Collins’ translation is fresh this month from Granta books who provided my review copy. They also published All for Nothing, perhaps a greater work, but, much as I appreciated that novel, I enjoyed the clash of light and dark in Homeland more.


Farewell, My Orange by Iwaki Kei translated
by Meredith McKinney

When two women join an English-language class in a small town in Australia, they seem to have little in common. Salimah, a refugee from an unnamed African country, and illiterate in her native tongue, is assigned to reading weather reports from the local newspaper but, while she stumbles over the words, her voice is strong. Sayuri, having come from Japan for the sake of her husband’s work, is more articulate in English but less confident in herself having interrupted her university education to care for the baby daughter who accompanies her to the class.
 
Both women are lonely, with language differences and racism setting them apart from the communities in which they live. Both are abandoned by their husbands: Salimah literally through desertion; Sayuri psychologically through the demands of his job. Both will experience further loss. But when the women find themselves working side-by-side on the predawn shift packing meat in the back room of a supermarket, their support for each other enables them to forge stronger self-identities in an alien culture.
 
Making new friends can be difficult; how much harder that must be when the only way to connect is through a language alien to both. I found this aspect of Iwaki Kei’s debut novel intellectually moving but emotionally I struggled to connect and found the overall tone too flat. But you might enjoy it: the original Japanese version, published in 2013, was awarded a prestigious prize. I received a copy of the English translation from the publishers, Europa editions. See my post Concepts of identity in 9 classic novels for more on how looking or sounding different can impact on identity.

Picture
Picture
Thanks for your support for my blog tour and launch, I’m still catching up with all the lovely comments. The following day, I read On Writers and Writing by Margaret Atwood, which had been gathering dust on my desk for some time, and came across this fabulous quote (p97):

Publishing a book is often very much like being put on trial, for some offence which is quite other than the one you know in your heart you’ve committed.

Pity I didn’t read this BEFORE writing all those guest posts on the writer’s identity.
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.
2 Comments
Charli Mills
28/11/2018 10:09:31 pm

Anne, it seems we are all plugged into identity now thanks to your exploration of the theme! It's with a new lens I'm seeing your book reviews. I always enjoy when you take on translations, too. I wonder what might get missed in between the original author's intent and the translator's interpretation.

Reply
Annecdotist
29/11/2018 08:47:16 am

Thanks, Charli, I suppose identity connects so closely to character it’s fundamental to our reading and writing.
My Hungarian translator (of a couple of my short stories) actually made it to my Facebook launch and made a comment about how tricky it is to work out the author’s implicit meaning. As reviewers, we’re free to read a book whatever way it speaks to us but the translator has to get inside the head of the author. Not easy at the best of times but even more so when the author’s dead – as in Homeland – but perhaps less so in Farewell as, living in Australia, I assume the author would be fairly fluent in English, if not quite able to write in that language.

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Picture
    Free ebook: click the image to claim yours.
    Picture
    OUT NOW: The poignant prequel to Matilda Windsor Is Coming Home
    Picture
    Find a review
    Picture
    Fictional therapists
    Picture
    Picture
    About Anne Goodwin
    Picture
    My published books
    entertaining fiction about identity, mental health and social justice
    Picture
    My latest novel, published May 2021
    Picture
    My debut novel shortlisted for the 2016 Polari First Book Prize
    Picture
    Picture
    My second novel published May 2017.
    Picture
    Short stories on the theme of identity published 2018
    Anne Goodwin's books on Goodreads
    Sugar and Snails Sugar and Snails
    reviews: 32
    ratings: 52 (avg rating 4.21)

    Underneath Underneath
    reviews: 24
    ratings: 60 (avg rating 3.17)

    Becoming Someone Becoming Someone
    reviews: 8
    ratings: 9 (avg rating 4.56)

    GUD: Greatest Uncommon Denominator, Issue 4 GUD: Greatest Uncommon Denominator, Issue 4
    reviews: 4
    ratings: 9 (avg rating 4.44)

    The Best of Fiction on the Web The Best of Fiction on the Web
    reviews: 3
    ratings: 3 (avg rating 4.67)

    2022 Reading Challenge

    2022 Reading Challenge
    Anne has read 2 books toward their goal of 100 books.
    hide
    2 of 100 (2%)
    view books
    Picture
    Annecdotal is where real life brushes up against the fictional.  
    Picture
    Annecdotist is the blogging persona of Anne Goodwin: 
    reader, writer,

    slug-slayer, tramper of moors, 
    recovering psychologist, 
    struggling soprano, 
    author of three fiction books.

    LATEST POSTS HERE
    I don't post to a schedule, but average  around ten reviews a month (see here for an alphabetical list), 
    some linked to a weekly flash fiction, plus posts on my WIPs and published books.  

    Your comments are welcome any time any where.

    Get new posts direct to your inbox ...

    Enter your email address:

    or click here …

    RSS Feed


    Picture

    Tweets by @Annecdotist
    Picture
    New short story, “My Dirty Weekend”
    Picture
    Let’s keep in touch – subscribe to my newsletter
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture

    Popular posts

    • Compassion: something we all need
    • Do spoilers spoil?
    • How to create a convincing fictional therapist
    • Instructions for a novel
    • Looking at difference, embracing diversity
    • Never let me go: the dilemma of lending books
    • On loving, hating and writers’ block
      On Pop, Pirates and Plagiarism
    • READIN' for HER reviews
    • Relishing the cuts
    • The fast first draft
    • The tragedy of obedience
    • Writers and therapy: a love-hate relationship?

    Categories/Tags

    All
    Animals
    Annecdotist Hosts
    Annecdotist On Tour
    Articles
    Attachment Theory
    Author Interviews
    Becoming Someone
    Being A Writer
    Blogging
    Bodies
    Body
    Bookbirthday
    Books For Writers
    Bookshops
    CB Book Group
    Character
    Childhood
    Christmas
    Classics
    Climate Crisis
    Coming Of Age
    Counsellors Cafe
    Creative Writing Industry
    Creativity
    Cumbria
    Debut Novels
    Disability
    Editing
    Emotion
    Ethics
    Ethis
    Family
    Feedback And Critiques
    Fictional Psychologists & Therapists
    Food
    Friendship
    Futuristic
    Gender
    Genre
    Getting Published
    Giveaways
    Good Enough
    Grammar
    Gratitude
    Group/organisational Dynamics
    Hero’s Journey
    History
    Humour
    Identity
    Illness
    Independent Presses
    Institutions
    International Commemorative Day
    Jane Eyre
    Kidney Disease
    Language
    LGBTQ
    Libraries
    Live Events
    Lyrics For The Loved Ones
    Marketing
    Matilda Windsor
    Memoir
    Memory
    Mental Health
    Microfiction
    Motivation
    Music
    MW Prequel
    Names
    Narrative Voice
    Nature / Gardening
    Networking
    Newcastle
    Nonfiction
    Nottingham
    Novels
    Pandemic
    Peak District
    Perfect Match
    Poetry
    Point Of View
    Politics
    Politics Current Affairs
    Presentation
    Privacy
    Prizes
    Psychoanalytic Theory
    Psychology
    Psycholoists Write
    Psychotherapy
    Race
    Racism
    Rants
    Reading
    Real Vs Imaginary
    Religion
    Repetitive Strain Injury
    Research
    Reviewing
    Romance
    Satire
    Second Novels
    Settings
    Sex
    Shakespeare
    Short Stories General
    Short Stories My Published
    Short Stories Others'
    Siblings
    Snowflake
    Somebody's Daughter
    Stolen Summers
    Storytelling
    Structure
    Sugar And Snails
    Technology
    The
    The Guestlist
    Therapy
    TikTok
    TNTB
    Toiletday
    Tourism
    Toxic Positivity
    Transfiction
    Translation
    Trauma
    Unconscious
    Unconscious, The
    Underneath
    Voice Recognition Software
    War
    WaSBihC
    Weather
    Work
    Writing Process
    Writing Technique

    Archives

    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013

    Picture
    BLOGGING COMMUNITIES
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
Photos used under Creative Commons from havens.michael34, romana klee, mrsdkrebs, Kyle Taylor, Dream It. Do It., adam & lucy, dluders, Joybot, Hammer51012, jorgempf, Sherif Salama, eyspahn, raniel diaz, E. E. Piphanies, scaredofbabies, Nomadic Lass, paulternate, Tony Fischer Photography, archer10 (Dennis), slightly everything, impbox, jonwick04, country_boy_shane, dok1, Out.of.Focus, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - Midwest Region, Elvert Barnes, guillenperez, Richard Perry, jamesnaruke, Juan Carlos Arniz Sanz, El Tuerto, kona99, maveric2003, !anaughty!, Patrick Denker, David Davies, hamilcar_south, idleformat, Dave Goodman, Sharon Mollerus, photosteve101, La Citta Vita, A Girl With Tea, striatic, carlosfpardo, Damork, Elvert Barnes, UNE Photos, jurvetson, quinn.anya, BChristensen93, Joelk75, ashesmonroe, albertogp123, >littleyiye<, mudgalbharat, Swami Stream, Dicemanic, lovelihood, anyjazz65, Tjeerd, albastrica mititica, jimmiehomeschoolmom