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O último verão
Escritora alemã que combateu o nazismo cria trama de suspense ambientada na Rússia pré revolução bolchevique Rússia, início do século Yegor Rasimkara, governador de São Petersburgo, está passando o verão no campo com a mulher e seus três filhos adultos. Poderiam ser dias maravilhosos, não fosse a chegada de uma carta com uma ameaça. Temendo a agitação estudantil, o governador mandou fechar a universidade e agora sua vida está em perigo. A esposa sugere que ele contrate um jovem para protegê-lo. Ela não imagina que o brilhante Liu, que logo seduziu toda a família, sobretudo as duas filhas do casal, está planejando uma tentativa de assassinato do marido... Nas cartas dos membros da família e do jovem revolucionário, as diferentes perspectivas se desdobram em um verão que inevitavelmente chegará ao fim. Com um toque leve e magistral, Ricarda Huch captura a atmosfera nervosa da Rússia pré-revolucionária e, ao mesmo tempo, desenha o perfil de uma sociedade que não quer admitir que seu tempo acabou e os efeitos do extremismo político sobre as pessoas.
156 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1910
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About the author
Ricarda Huch
168 books17 followersRicarda Huch was a pioneering German intellectual. Trained as a historian, and the author of many works of European history, she also wrote novels, poems, and a play.
Huch was born in Braunschweig and died in Schönberg in the Taunus (today, part of Kronberg). She was the daughter of Richard Huch, a wholesale merchant, and his wife Emilie (née Haehn). She also used the pseudonym Richard Hugo and published her first poems under the alias R. Ith Carda. She prepared for university work privately and studied in Zürich, where she received her doctorate in 1891. Her brother, Rudolf, and her cousins, Friedrich and Felix, were also well-known writers.
Huch studied philosophy, history and philology at Zürich University, as women were not then eligible for degrees at German universities. In 1890, she was one of the first women to attain a doctorate from Zurich with a dissertation on "The neutrality of the Confederation during the Spanish War of Succession" (Die Neutralität der Eidgenossenschaft während des spanischen Erbfolgekrieges). Shortly after attaining her doctorate, she published poetry under the alias of Richard Hugo. After working as a librarian, Huch left for Bremen, where she taught German and history. She later moved to Vienna and in 1898, she married Ermanno Ceconi, an Italian dentist. She moved to his Italian homeland of Trieste for several years, where they had a daughter, but they divorced in 1906. She later married her brother-in-law and cousin, the writer Richard Huch.
Huch was a member of the "Preußische Akademie der Künste", but resigned in 1933 when the National Socialists seized power and began purging the Academy. Huch left after Alfred Döblin quit. Despite her critical attitude to the new régime, Joseph Goebbels and Adolf Hitler sent her congratulatory telegrams on her 80th birthday. Huch dedicated much of her life to Italian, German and Russian history and historical novels that were psychological biographies. In 1947, she was an honorary president of the First German Writers Congress in Berlin.
Thomas Mann called her "The First Lady of Germany".
Ricarda Huch was not well known in the English-speaking world until the Australian critic and man of letters Clive James devoted pp. 328-33 of his 2007 Cultural Amnesia: Necessary Memories from History and the Arts to her. He called her the First Lady of German humanism and as a bridging figure between Germaine de Stael and Germaine Greer. He reminds readers that she educated at the University of Zurich, from which she was one of the first women to graduate, because in her day, German universities did not allow women to be candidates for degrees. He describes her gift for talking about the powerless as if they had the importance of the powerful, as shown in her book about the Thirty Years' War. According to James, when the Nazis came to power in 1933, they sought to recruit her into the party or at least “co-opt her prestige” but she declined to cooperate. She resigned as the first woman ever elected to the Prussian Academy of Arts, and wrote to composer Max von Schillings, president of the Prussian Academy, asserting that the Nazi concept of Germanness was not her Germanness. She then retired to private life in Jena (she turned 69 in 1933), effectively going into internal exile.
After the war, Huch wrote as follows about the young men involved in the July 20 Plot against Hitler's life:
“To save Germany was not granted to them; only to die for it; luck was not with them, it was with Hitler. But they did not die in vain. Just as we need air if we are to breathe, and light if we are to see, so we need noble people if we are to live” (Ricarda Huch, "Für die Märtyrer der Freiheit," March/April 1946, cited in Briefe an die Freunde, p. 449, as quoted in James p. 329).
The Third Reich tacitly tolerated Huch's contempt for it, as long as she was not too vocal about her opinions. James contrasts this silence with Huch’s younger, rebel years, when she i
Huch was born in Braunschweig and died in Schönberg in the Taunus (today, part of Kronberg). She was the daughter of Richard Huch, a wholesale merchant, and his wife Emilie (née Haehn). She also used the pseudonym Richard Hugo and published her first poems under the alias R. Ith Carda. She prepared for university work privately and studied in Zürich, where she received her doctorate in 1891. Her brother, Rudolf, and her cousins, Friedrich and Felix, were also well-known writers.
Huch studied philosophy, history and philology at Zürich University, as women were not then eligible for degrees at German universities. In 1890, she was one of the first women to attain a doctorate from Zurich with a dissertation on "The neutrality of the Confederation during the Spanish War of Succession" (Die Neutralität der Eidgenossenschaft während des spanischen Erbfolgekrieges). Shortly after attaining her doctorate, she published poetry under the alias of Richard Hugo. After working as a librarian, Huch left for Bremen, where she taught German and history. She later moved to Vienna and in 1898, she married Ermanno Ceconi, an Italian dentist. She moved to his Italian homeland of Trieste for several years, where they had a daughter, but they divorced in 1906. She later married her brother-in-law and cousin, the writer Richard Huch.
Huch was a member of the "Preußische Akademie der Künste", but resigned in 1933 when the National Socialists seized power and began purging the Academy. Huch left after Alfred Döblin quit. Despite her critical attitude to the new régime, Joseph Goebbels and Adolf Hitler sent her congratulatory telegrams on her 80th birthday. Huch dedicated much of her life to Italian, German and Russian history and historical novels that were psychological biographies. In 1947, she was an honorary president of the First German Writers Congress in Berlin.
Thomas Mann called her "The First Lady of Germany".
Ricarda Huch was not well known in the English-speaking world until the Australian critic and man of letters Clive James devoted pp. 328-33 of his 2007 Cultural Amnesia: Necessary Memories from History and the Arts to her. He called her the First Lady of German humanism and as a bridging figure between Germaine de Stael and Germaine Greer. He reminds readers that she educated at the University of Zurich, from which she was one of the first women to graduate, because in her day, German universities did not allow women to be candidates for degrees. He describes her gift for talking about the powerless as if they had the importance of the powerful, as shown in her book about the Thirty Years' War. According to James, when the Nazis came to power in 1933, they sought to recruit her into the party or at least “co-opt her prestige” but she declined to cooperate. She resigned as the first woman ever elected to the Prussian Academy of Arts, and wrote to composer Max von Schillings, president of the Prussian Academy, asserting that the Nazi concept of Germanness was not her Germanness. She then retired to private life in Jena (she turned 69 in 1933), effectively going into internal exile.
After the war, Huch wrote as follows about the young men involved in the July 20 Plot against Hitler's life:
“To save Germany was not granted to them; only to die for it; luck was not with them, it was with Hitler. But they did not die in vain. Just as we need air if we are to breathe, and light if we are to see, so we need noble people if we are to live” (Ricarda Huch, "Für die Märtyrer der Freiheit," March/April 1946, cited in Briefe an die Freunde, p. 449, as quoted in James p. 329).
The Third Reich tacitly tolerated Huch's contempt for it, as long as she was not too vocal about her opinions. James contrasts this silence with Huch’s younger, rebel years, when she i
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March 16, 2022
THE LAST SUMMER (first published in German in 1910; translated into English by Jamie Bulloch in 2017) is an epistollary novella set in a family estate in the Russian countryside outside of St. Petersburg. The first letter of this slim thriller is dated May 5, “19—”, that is, early in the twentieth century
Following a rather violent student protest, Yegor von Razimkara, the governor of St. Petersburg, closes the state university. The implicated students await the trial, which will take place by the end of the summer. Meanwhile, he and his family move to the countryside and his wife hires a young, clever man called Lyu as a secretary and bodyguard to protect her husband from any (real or imagined) threats. Lyu has very devious, violent plans, though, which are gradually revealed in his secret correspondence to an accomplice called Konstantin.
Mr an Mrs von Razimkara, their two young daughters and son, welcome Lyu into the family with affection and trust, totally unaware of his secret plans. They fail to perceive him as the serious threat he was supposed to keep at bay. Lyu, cold-blooded and determined, keeps to his plan as he shares his very acute observations regarding the family every time he writes to Konstantin.
Ricarda Huch was a German historian, poet, philosopher and novelist. She was one of the first women to study at the University of Zurich, where she received her doctorate degree in both History and Philosophy in 1892. Thomas Mann generously gave her the title "The First Lady of Germany ", Hans Fallada admired her too ... and even an asteroid (!!) was named in her honor; yet she is hardly known to English readers because not much of her work has been translated into English.
This is a clever, entertaining thriller, a short, undemanding but very enjoyable book.
3.5⭐
Following a rather violent student protest, Yegor von Razimkara, the governor of St. Petersburg, closes the state university. The implicated students await the trial, which will take place by the end of the summer. Meanwhile, he and his family move to the countryside and his wife hires a young, clever man called Lyu as a secretary and bodyguard to protect her husband from any (real or imagined) threats. Lyu has very devious, violent plans, though, which are gradually revealed in his secret correspondence to an accomplice called Konstantin.
Mr an Mrs von Razimkara, their two young daughters and son, welcome Lyu into the family with affection and trust, totally unaware of his secret plans. They fail to perceive him as the serious threat he was supposed to keep at bay. Lyu, cold-blooded and determined, keeps to his plan as he shares his very acute observations regarding the family every time he writes to Konstantin.
Ricarda Huch was a German historian, poet, philosopher and novelist. She was one of the first women to study at the University of Zurich, where she received her doctorate degree in both History and Philosophy in 1892. Thomas Mann generously gave her the title "The First Lady of Germany ", Hans Fallada admired her too ... and even an asteroid (!!) was named in her honor; yet she is hardly known to English readers because not much of her work has been translated into English.
This is a clever, entertaining thriller, a short, undemanding but very enjoyable book.
3.5⭐
February 24, 2017
(3.5) Originally published in 1910, The Last Summer is a suspenseful epistolary novella by Ricarda Huch (1864–1947), one of the first German women to earn a PhD. She wrote widely across many fields – history, poetry, fiction, and religion – and had an asteroid named after her, earning Thomas Mann’s accolade of “the First Lady of Germany.” I’m grateful to Peirene for resurrecting this German classic as I have a special love for epistolary novels – traditionally told through nothing but letters. You have to be on the lookout for little clues dotted through the correspondence that will tell you who these characters are, how they’re connected to one another, what you need to know about their pasts, and what’s happening now.
Set across one May to August in the early 1900s, the book joins the von Rasimkara family at their summer home. In response to student protests, patriarch Yegor, the governor of St. Petersburg, has shut down the university and left for the country. With him are his wife, Lusinya; their three twenty-something children, Velya, Jessika and Katya; and Yegor’s new secretary-cum-bodyguard, Lyu. What the family don’t know, but readers do from the first letter onward, is that Lyu is in league with the student revolutionaries and is in on a plot to assassinate the governor at his summer home.
This central dramatic irony is what fuels much of the book’s tension. All of the von Rasimkaras persist in believing the best about Lyu, even when the evidence seems to point to his deception. Both daughters fall in love with him, Velya calls him their “guardian angel,” and Lusinya is sure of his loyalty even after odd incidents she can’t explain, like finding him standing in their bedroom doorway in the middle of the night and a mysterious letter appearing under her pillow. “In case of doubt, one ought to hold back with one’s judgement,” Lusinya opines.
I wouldn’t go so far as to call this a “psychological thriller,” as the back cover blurb does, but I do think it’s a compelling picture of how different groups and ideologies can be fundamentally incompatible. In my favorite passage, Lyu describes the von Rasimkara family to his friend Konstantin:
As I sometimes feel about novellas, the plot is fairly thin and easily could have been spun out to fill a book of twice the length or more. But that is not what Peirene Press books are about. They’re meant to be quick reads that introduce European novellas in translation. This one has a terrific ending – which I certainly won’t spoil, though the title and cover could be read as clues – and is a perfectly enjoyable way to spend a winter evening.
[Peirene issues books in trios. This is the first of the three books in the “East and West: Looking Both Ways” series. The other two, The Orange Grove by Larry Tremblay and Dance by the Canal by Kerstin Hensel, will be released later in 2017.]
The Last Summer was published in the UK on February 1st. Translated from the German by Jamie Bulloch.
With thanks to James Tookey of Peirene Press for the free copy for review.
Originally published on my blog, Bookish Beck.
Set across one May to August in the early 1900s, the book joins the von Rasimkara family at their summer home. In response to student protests, patriarch Yegor, the governor of St. Petersburg, has shut down the university and left for the country. With him are his wife, Lusinya; their three twenty-something children, Velya, Jessika and Katya; and Yegor’s new secretary-cum-bodyguard, Lyu. What the family don’t know, but readers do from the first letter onward, is that Lyu is in league with the student revolutionaries and is in on a plot to assassinate the governor at his summer home.
This central dramatic irony is what fuels much of the book’s tension. All of the von Rasimkaras persist in believing the best about Lyu, even when the evidence seems to point to his deception. Both daughters fall in love with him, Velya calls him their “guardian angel,” and Lusinya is sure of his loyalty even after odd incidents she can’t explain, like finding him standing in their bedroom doorway in the middle of the night and a mysterious letter appearing under her pillow. “In case of doubt, one ought to hold back with one’s judgement,” Lusinya opines.
I wouldn’t go so far as to call this a “psychological thriller,” as the back cover blurb does, but I do think it’s a compelling picture of how different groups and ideologies can be fundamentally incompatible. In my favorite passage, Lyu describes the von Rasimkara family to his friend Konstantin:
My stay here is fascinating from a psychological viewpoint. The family has all the virtues and defects of its class. Perhaps one cannot even talk of defects; they merely have the one: belonging to an era that must pass and standing in the way of one that is emerging. When a beautiful old tree has to be felled to make way for a railway line, it’s painful to watch; you stand beside it like an old friend, gazing admiringly and in grief until it comes down. It is undeniably a shame about the governor, who is a splendid example of his kind, but I believe that he has already passed his peak.
As I sometimes feel about novellas, the plot is fairly thin and easily could have been spun out to fill a book of twice the length or more. But that is not what Peirene Press books are about. They’re meant to be quick reads that introduce European novellas in translation. This one has a terrific ending – which I certainly won’t spoil, though the title and cover could be read as clues – and is a perfectly enjoyable way to spend a winter evening.
[Peirene issues books in trios. This is the first of the three books in the “East and West: Looking Both Ways” series. The other two, The Orange Grove by Larry Tremblay and Dance by the Canal by Kerstin Hensel, will be released later in 2017.]
The Last Summer was published in the UK on February 1st. Translated from the German by Jamie Bulloch.
With thanks to James Tookey of Peirene Press for the free copy for review.
Originally published on my blog, Bookish Beck.
December 1, 2019
Un clásico de la literatura que ha sido todo un descubrimiento.
Publicada en 1910 y ambientada en la Rusia de los zares, en una época donde la tensión entre las clases sociales está a punto de estallar, se trata de una novela epistolar que narra la preparación de un atentado por parte de un joven anarquista infiltrado en la casa y la familia de su víctima. A través de las cartas que los personajes van intercambiando, iremos conociendo de manera fascinante sus preocupaciones, ilusiones y debilidades, y adentrándonos en el pensamiento y las costumbres del momento histórico. Una mezcla de novela histórica y policiaca narrada magistralmente por esta autora hasta ahora totalmente desconocida para mí.
Publicada en 1910 y ambientada en la Rusia de los zares, en una época donde la tensión entre las clases sociales está a punto de estallar, se trata de una novela epistolar que narra la preparación de un atentado por parte de un joven anarquista infiltrado en la casa y la familia de su víctima. A través de las cartas que los personajes van intercambiando, iremos conociendo de manera fascinante sus preocupaciones, ilusiones y debilidades, y adentrándonos en el pensamiento y las costumbres del momento histórico. Una mezcla de novela histórica y policiaca narrada magistralmente por esta autora hasta ahora totalmente desconocida para mí.
March 29, 2021
So the thing about this book is I only came to it because the author was mentioned in Hans Fallada’s brilliant but wild prison memoir, “A Stranger in My Own Country”, as one of the few German writers who had not only stayed behind in Germany throughout WW2, but also one of the even fewer who was openly (if not cautiously) critical of Hitler and the Nazis. If Hans Fallada likes you, there’s a good chance I will as well.
Well, I did mostly like this book.
The narrative structure is certainly interesting as the story unfolds via various letters back and forth between the family members of a prominent Russian official, as well as the letters between a Russian revolutionary/assassin and his handler who he updates on his progress.
When the story begins we quickly learn that this official, in hearing of student protests at a university has decided to shut it down halfway through the school year. Not only shut it down but have its ringleaders arrested and approve their execution. Through his letters we never get the sense that this official is particularly tyrannical or bloodthirsty however. He seems to love his family and is carrying out the executions (he repeatedly asked the students to stop the protests according to him) if not reluctantly, than because that is just what is done.
What do they say about the banality of evil?
The irony is that his son is very sympathetic to the student protestors (it occurred at his university) and he is not shy about voicing his own radical opinions to his father.
Nor is the new man, hired by the official’s wife to protect him from potential assassins, shy about voicing his own radical opinions.
Oh by the way, the new guy’s actually an assassin on a mission to kill said official, with a seemingly highly risky penchant for frequent letter writing to someone about how he is doing to do it.
Didn’t see that coming?
To be fair, despite almost everyone in the house quickly becoming enamored with charm and intelligence (and seemingly oblivious to him being creepy and well…pretty assassin like at times), he doesn’t seem particularly bright.
He is caught late one night (on his way to murder the official in his sleep) at the entrance to the official’s room by his wife and offers up the lame excuse that he couldn’t sleep because he was worried sick someone would hurt him. The wife is touched by his kindness and everyone goes back to bed. Yeaaaah.
He also has the brilliant idea of leaving a note under the wife’s pillow saying that the official’s time is almost up. Prepare to die!
Well not exactly those words but still. Seriously man? Why?
You are the only outsider in this house where nobody else really has any motivation to hurt this guy except you, the new guy with the radical views. So of course you leave a threatening note telling him that you’re about to kill him. I wanted to ask him, have you done much assassin stuff before? I’m no assassin myself but maybe you know, as good and scary as it may have sounded in your head, don’t do that letter thing. Really.
When the official’s dimwitted son happens to be in the new guy’s room, and happens to be rifling through his papers (because of course he is) for no reason whatsoever, he notices that new guy’s handwriting is suspiciously similar to the writing on the threatening note! He’s going to confront the new guy about this! Aha!
New guy cooly and calmly is like, “Oh yeah for sure. They are similar because those letters you found in my room are me trying to copy the handwriting of the person who wrote the note so I can understand them better!”. Umm yeah.
Dimwit thanks him profusely for his kindness for caring about his dad and the assassin continues on with his nefarious, if not incredibly prolonged and hair brained schemes.
By the time I reached the end of this book I not only knew what was going to happen, I knew exactly what the last sentence would look like.
I don’t say this to brag, but more like, we could’ve skipped all the shenanigans in between and just got there 50 pages earlier.
Maybe this is all satire. Something about privilege, aristocrats, new ideas versus entrenched ideologies.
To me it was entertaining in some places with some really wonderful descriptive passages in others.
But mostly just kind of silly.
February 5, 2017
Thanks to Peirene Press for an ARC of the English translation of Ricarda Huch's Der letzte Sommer. Not easy to capture the German of 1910!
I am not usually a fan of epistolary novels but Ricarda Huch's novella kept me engaged despite the format. In fact, the story lends itself to it. The characters and their relationships and circumstances are revealed slowly through the differing perspectives of the protagonists and their letters.
Set in the Russian countryside, not too far from St Petersburg, Huch develops a portrait of a family and of each member, set against the pre-revolutionary times when the old order was being questioned by the younger generation or even challenged by groups of university students. Huch is a very subtle and perceptive writer. Her depiction of a lazy summer at a Russian datcha reminds us of descriptions in some of Anton Chechov's plays and stories. It appears calm and peaceful. From the outset, however, we understand that this peaceful life may be a temporary refuge and a political conflict will be waiting in the wings.
I am not usually a fan of epistolary novels but Ricarda Huch's novella kept me engaged despite the format. In fact, the story lends itself to it. The characters and their relationships and circumstances are revealed slowly through the differing perspectives of the protagonists and their letters.
Set in the Russian countryside, not too far from St Petersburg, Huch develops a portrait of a family and of each member, set against the pre-revolutionary times when the old order was being questioned by the younger generation or even challenged by groups of university students. Huch is a very subtle and perceptive writer. Her depiction of a lazy summer at a Russian datcha reminds us of descriptions in some of Anton Chechov's plays and stories. It appears calm and peaceful. From the outset, however, we understand that this peaceful life may be a temporary refuge and a political conflict will be waiting in the wings.
February 2, 2017
I am reading this in both languages. Excellent translation by Jamie Bulloch. For the review, please read it under The Last Summer. Just a note to add on language and Jamie Bulloch's translation. At times Ricarda Huch used expressions that read odd or quirky these days. They do capture the time, however. Bulloch's translation flows beautifully even when he tries his best to (successfully) find words and expressions that fit the original.
April 24, 2020
Os traigo una novela corta pero intensa. Se lee de una sentada, casi sin respirar y me ha impactado desde el principio.
En 1906 entre crecientes tensiones sociales Yegor de Rasimkara ha cerrado la Universidad de San Petersburgo debido a las protestas estudiantiles y los líderes de la revuelta quedan a la espera de juicio. Amenazado de muerte por los anarquistas, pretende evitarlo y se refugia en su casa de campo con su mujer Lusinia y sus hijos Yessika, Katia y Velia . Lusinia, inquieta, contrata a Liu, para que proteja al Gobernador pero en realidad es un anarquista que pretende asesinarlo en su casa.
Mediante una narración epistolar, a través de las cartas que los miembros de su familia envían a su tía Tatiana y a su primo Peter y las que envía Liu a su cómplice Konstantin, muestra en esta breve novela, la preparación del atentado, el espíritu político y social de la época, las relaciones familiares, personales y sociales y un maravilloso estudio psicológico de los personajes.
A través de las cartas vemos las dudas, las inquietudes e ilusiones de una familia con muy buenos sentimientos, afectuosos, que se adoran entre ellos, que se tratan con mucha dulzura y con los que se empatiza fácilmente. Y también se ve la fría personalidad de Liu que aunque reconoce la bondad y las cualidades de los Rasimkara y logra conquistar a toda la familia e incluso enamorar a las hijas no cesa en el plan que lo ha llevado allí.
Me ha asombrado como en tan pocas páginas ha podido trazar de forma tan magistral las distintas personalidades de los protagonistas.
Es un clásico de la literatura que ya os he dicho que se lee solo, en un rato lo habéis devorado y no os va a dejar indiferentes. Una breve joya que no debéis dejar de leer por lo que cuenta, por lo que se intuye y por la manera tan bonita de contarlo.
En 1906 entre crecientes tensiones sociales Yegor de Rasimkara ha cerrado la Universidad de San Petersburgo debido a las protestas estudiantiles y los líderes de la revuelta quedan a la espera de juicio. Amenazado de muerte por los anarquistas, pretende evitarlo y se refugia en su casa de campo con su mujer Lusinia y sus hijos Yessika, Katia y Velia . Lusinia, inquieta, contrata a Liu, para que proteja al Gobernador pero en realidad es un anarquista que pretende asesinarlo en su casa.
Mediante una narración epistolar, a través de las cartas que los miembros de su familia envían a su tía Tatiana y a su primo Peter y las que envía Liu a su cómplice Konstantin, muestra en esta breve novela, la preparación del atentado, el espíritu político y social de la época, las relaciones familiares, personales y sociales y un maravilloso estudio psicológico de los personajes.
A través de las cartas vemos las dudas, las inquietudes e ilusiones de una familia con muy buenos sentimientos, afectuosos, que se adoran entre ellos, que se tratan con mucha dulzura y con los que se empatiza fácilmente. Y también se ve la fría personalidad de Liu que aunque reconoce la bondad y las cualidades de los Rasimkara y logra conquistar a toda la familia e incluso enamorar a las hijas no cesa en el plan que lo ha llevado allí.
Me ha asombrado como en tan pocas páginas ha podido trazar de forma tan magistral las distintas personalidades de los protagonistas.
Es un clásico de la literatura que ya os he dicho que se lee solo, en un rato lo habéis devorado y no os va a dejar indiferentes. Una breve joya que no debéis dejar de leer por lo que cuenta, por lo que se intuye y por la manera tan bonita de contarlo.
June 4, 2023
Eine durchaus gut lesbare Erzählung von 1910. Spielt im zaristischen Russland der Jahrhundertwende. Ein gutes Beispiel für einen gelungenen Briefroman des 20. Jahrhunderts. (3,5/5)
December 31, 2022
3.5 ★
Menurut ku buku ini penyampaian ceritanya cukup menarik, dikemas dengan konsep surat menyurat dari antar tokohnya.
Kisahnya sendiri tentang revolusioner namun sudut pandangnya diambil dari sudut pandang penguasa dan keluarganya. Disini aku pribadi bisa liat sisi lain dari penguasa otoriter yang keras dan kapitalis. Bahkan aku pribadi sempat tersentuh waktu pemberontakan diceritakan dari sudut pandang sang penguasa namun sebagai ayah dan suami. Sangat mengggambarkan sosok ayah yang bertanggung jawab, dan suami yang ideal.
Yang buat aku gak puas itu karna endingnya yang kurang jelas. Tapi masih bisa dipahami.
Meskipun bukunya tipis, namun inti cerita dan tujuan dari ceritanya bisa tersampaikan dengan baik. 👍🏻
Menurut ku buku ini penyampaian ceritanya cukup menarik, dikemas dengan konsep surat menyurat dari antar tokohnya.
Kisahnya sendiri tentang revolusioner namun sudut pandangnya diambil dari sudut pandang penguasa dan keluarganya. Disini aku pribadi bisa liat sisi lain dari penguasa otoriter yang keras dan kapitalis. Bahkan aku pribadi sempat tersentuh waktu pemberontakan diceritakan dari sudut pandang sang penguasa namun sebagai ayah dan suami. Sangat mengggambarkan sosok ayah yang bertanggung jawab, dan suami yang ideal.
Yang buat aku gak puas itu karna endingnya yang kurang jelas. Tapi masih bisa dipahami.
Meskipun bukunya tipis, namun inti cerita dan tujuan dari ceritanya bisa tersampaikan dengan baik. 👍🏻
June 3, 2023
Musim Panas Penghabisan diceritakan dalam bentuk surat-surat yang dikirim dari rumah peristirahatan seorang gubernur. Di antara pegawai gubernur, ada Lyu, sekretaris sekaligus pengawal baru yang dipekerjakan setelah Pak Gubernur mendapatkan ancaman pembunuhan.
Awalnya, kehadiran Lyu memberikan rasa aman, terutama bagi istri gubernur yang pencemas. Namun, lama-lama timbul masalah. Mulai dari dua anak gadis gubernur yang terpikat pada Lyu, hingga rahasia mematikan yang disembunyikan olehnya...
Novel ini membangun suspense dengan baik sekali sampai aku deg-degan menjelang halaman-halaman terakhir. Endingnya pas ☺️
4,5/5 ⭐
Awalnya, kehadiran Lyu memberikan rasa aman, terutama bagi istri gubernur yang pencemas. Namun, lama-lama timbul masalah. Mulai dari dua anak gadis gubernur yang terpikat pada Lyu, hingga rahasia mematikan yang disembunyikan olehnya...
Novel ini membangun suspense dengan baik sekali sampai aku deg-degan menjelang halaman-halaman terakhir. Endingnya pas ☺️
4,5/5 ⭐
July 19, 2021
Buku tipis yang ternyata menarik. Kisah nya dituturkan dengan unik melalui surat menyurat antar karakter-karakternya.. Mudah diikuti dan membuat penasaran, hanya ending nya kurang gregret bagiku😁😁
February 3, 2017
The Last Summer, by Ricarda Huch (translated by Jamie Bulloch), is an epistolary thriller set in early twentieth century Russia. It is Peirene Title No 22 and the first offering in the publisher’s new East and West Series.
A challenge to the status quo by students has resulted in the governor of St Petersburg, Yegor von Rasimkara, closing the university. This controversial action has been countered by a threat to the governor’s life.
Yegor has withdrawn to his summer residence with his wife, the always anxious Lusinya, and their three children – Velya, their son, who is described as a handsome and droll young chap studying law in the hope of one day pursuing a diplomatic career; their two daughters, Jessika and Katya, are ‘sweet, blonde creatures’, although Katya retains a mind of her own.
“There is something childishly harmless about the family overall […] deep down they feel themselves to be alone in a world that belongs to them.”
The loyal servents are described as old-school Russians who still feel like serfs. They are joined by a new addition, Lyu, who is taken on as a bodyguard and secretary to Yegor in an attempt to mitigate Lusinya’s worries following the death threat. Unbeknown to them, Lyu is the rebel student’s chosen assassin.
Lyu is welcomed by the family adding depth and diversion to their daily discussions. The letters each writes to friends and wider family tell of first impressions, love interests and then growing disquiet at the developing situation. It is a fascinating study of how people react and their opinions change as experience colours perceptions.
Lyu gets to know the family and considers several means by which he may carry out his quest. Where his reconnaissance risks raising suspicion he finds the trusting family jump to conclusions he could not have predicted.
The novelty of a new mind to probe soon wanes and the family resume their own pursuits which Lyu seeks to influence. The audacious plan he settles on is not without risk. The family become caught up in the younger members’ attempt to further their education despite the university’s closure. They talk of aiding other students who do not enjoy their privileges which vexes their father.
The writing is taut and insightful laying bare how selfish individual outlooks tend to be. Other than Lyu, whose actions some may consider a necessary means to an end, the cast at first appears benign. Their actions, however, will have repercussions on the less fortunate. They think of helping only when it was of little trouble to them.
Despite the historical setting this story remains pertinent. It is also beautifully written, its points raised more powerful for their subtlety. The polite interactions tremble with undercurrents of suppressed emotion. In reading I became a part of the time and place.
My copy of this book was provided gratis by the publisher, Peirene Press.
A challenge to the status quo by students has resulted in the governor of St Petersburg, Yegor von Rasimkara, closing the university. This controversial action has been countered by a threat to the governor’s life.
Yegor has withdrawn to his summer residence with his wife, the always anxious Lusinya, and their three children – Velya, their son, who is described as a handsome and droll young chap studying law in the hope of one day pursuing a diplomatic career; their two daughters, Jessika and Katya, are ‘sweet, blonde creatures’, although Katya retains a mind of her own.
“There is something childishly harmless about the family overall […] deep down they feel themselves to be alone in a world that belongs to them.”
The loyal servents are described as old-school Russians who still feel like serfs. They are joined by a new addition, Lyu, who is taken on as a bodyguard and secretary to Yegor in an attempt to mitigate Lusinya’s worries following the death threat. Unbeknown to them, Lyu is the rebel student’s chosen assassin.
Lyu is welcomed by the family adding depth and diversion to their daily discussions. The letters each writes to friends and wider family tell of first impressions, love interests and then growing disquiet at the developing situation. It is a fascinating study of how people react and their opinions change as experience colours perceptions.
Lyu gets to know the family and considers several means by which he may carry out his quest. Where his reconnaissance risks raising suspicion he finds the trusting family jump to conclusions he could not have predicted.
The novelty of a new mind to probe soon wanes and the family resume their own pursuits which Lyu seeks to influence. The audacious plan he settles on is not without risk. The family become caught up in the younger members’ attempt to further their education despite the university’s closure. They talk of aiding other students who do not enjoy their privileges which vexes their father.
The writing is taut and insightful laying bare how selfish individual outlooks tend to be. Other than Lyu, whose actions some may consider a necessary means to an end, the cast at first appears benign. Their actions, however, will have repercussions on the less fortunate. They think of helping only when it was of little trouble to them.
Despite the historical setting this story remains pertinent. It is also beautifully written, its points raised more powerful for their subtlety. The polite interactions tremble with undercurrents of suppressed emotion. In reading I became a part of the time and place.
My copy of this book was provided gratis by the publisher, Peirene Press.
June 23, 2017
Yegor van Rasimkara, the governor of St Petersburg closes the university and imprisons some radical students. He receives death threats and as a result his wife Lusinya hires a bodyguard, Lyu to protect him whilst his family vacation at their summer home. But little does she realise that Lyu sides with the students. Has she invited the viper into the nest?
Peirene books are novellas from around the world, often previously unknown to the English Language market and they are the ideal length to be consumed in a couple of hours.
The story is told in a series of letters which is a very effective narrative. The reader gets to see inside the home of the von Rasimkara family, gaining an understanding of the political stand point of them all and also building up a relationship which each family member. Whilst the reader knows that the author of each letter has their own viewpoint, prejudiced or otherwise, the story told through the letters creates shades and nuances to allow the reader to build up a fuller picture of the tale. The story is threaded with sadness as the reader knows the true intent of Lyu from the outset and all that can be done is to sit and wait for the inevitable, all the while, forming a relationship with the intended victim and his family.
We can see that Lusinya truly loves Yegor, the professor, longing forward to the time she can be alone with him. Whilst the children may not necessarily agree with their father’s political views, and indeed are more revolutionary than their parents may realise, they obviously care for him. As for Lyu, whilst he intent on his mission the longer he spends with the family the more he grows to feel for them. His letters become tinged with something akin to regret as the story progresses.
Whilst written in 1910 the story has not aged in that time and is still relevant today. Yes it is set around the time of the Russian Revolution but it’s political commentary could be applied in equal measure to the present. It shows that both the repressors were real people with feelings and families and that the revolutionaries didn’t always take pride in their work and felt the hardship of it. It must have been seen as enlightened and possibly scandalous at the time of it’s original publication.
The translation works extremely well. I forgot I was reading a translation, convinced I was reading the original. Always a sign of a great translation.
My favourite of the Peirene books I’ve read so far. Topical, even for today, well written, insightful and at times moving. Recommended.
Peirene books are novellas from around the world, often previously unknown to the English Language market and they are the ideal length to be consumed in a couple of hours.
The story is told in a series of letters which is a very effective narrative. The reader gets to see inside the home of the von Rasimkara family, gaining an understanding of the political stand point of them all and also building up a relationship which each family member. Whilst the reader knows that the author of each letter has their own viewpoint, prejudiced or otherwise, the story told through the letters creates shades and nuances to allow the reader to build up a fuller picture of the tale. The story is threaded with sadness as the reader knows the true intent of Lyu from the outset and all that can be done is to sit and wait for the inevitable, all the while, forming a relationship with the intended victim and his family.
We can see that Lusinya truly loves Yegor, the professor, longing forward to the time she can be alone with him. Whilst the children may not necessarily agree with their father’s political views, and indeed are more revolutionary than their parents may realise, they obviously care for him. As for Lyu, whilst he intent on his mission the longer he spends with the family the more he grows to feel for them. His letters become tinged with something akin to regret as the story progresses.
Whilst written in 1910 the story has not aged in that time and is still relevant today. Yes it is set around the time of the Russian Revolution but it’s political commentary could be applied in equal measure to the present. It shows that both the repressors were real people with feelings and families and that the revolutionaries didn’t always take pride in their work and felt the hardship of it. It must have been seen as enlightened and possibly scandalous at the time of it’s original publication.
The translation works extremely well. I forgot I was reading a translation, convinced I was reading the original. Always a sign of a great translation.
My favourite of the Peirene books I’ve read so far. Topical, even for today, well written, insightful and at times moving. Recommended.
August 6, 2020
4,5 stars. My review: https://theblankgarden.com/2020/08/06...
November 17, 2022
Ein in Briefen erzählter Attentat, der mit dem Tod des russischen Gouverneur Jegor von Rasimkara und seiner Frau endet. Keiner in der Familie realisiert die bevorstehende Katastrophe, obwohl der Attentäter Lju Spuren seines Vorhabens offen preis gibt. Obwohl die Hinweise auf einen Mörder im Haus andeuten lassen, schöpft niemand Gefahr und steuert geradezu auf das unvorhergesehene Unglück.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 21, 2021
Impresionante. No conocía a esta autora y me ha fascinado. Novela epistolar que se lee sin despegar los ojos del libro, presenta un retrato extraordinario del choque entre en tradicionalismo y los nuevos movimientos revolucionarios/anarquistas de principio de SXX en centroeuropa.
Indagando un poco sobre la autora resulta ser un personajazo en la historia, una más de esas mujeres brillantes y silenciadas posteriormente. Muchas ganas de indagar más, en ella y en sus escritos.
Indagando un poco sobre la autora resulta ser un personajazo en la historia, una más de esas mujeres brillantes y silenciadas posteriormente. Muchas ganas de indagar más, en ella y en sus escritos.
August 31, 2022
Intriguing little novella, I really enjoyed the epistolary form and getting into the voices of all these characters. Felt both very rooted in its time, and yet very fresh.
August 14, 2023
Aku suka build suspense dan thrilling nya, slow but sure klimaks endingnya oke.
February 2, 2020
Fabelhaft, eine Geschichte erzählt anhand von Briefen.
January 10, 2020
This brief novel, by a writer that was once very famous in Germany (Thomas Mann revered her), but who seems to have been ignored everywhere else, is a stunner. Brilliantly evocative, incredibly tense (sometimes in an almost hitchcockian way), wonderfully atmospheric, it owes something to Chekhov, but a review also mentions director Ingmar Bergman, and that sounds quite right, too. I also thought a lot about the great novellas of Eduard von Keyserling, that share with this story a sense of ineluctability that is masterfully conducted. The narration is deceptively simple: in pre-revolutionary Russia, a charismatic young man, who intends to murder a governor who embodies, in his eyes, a regime he hates, becomes the personal secretary of his intended victim, and, soon, he has everybody in the family charmed by his intelligence and persona. But he, too, is under the charms of this family. Will he follow through? That is the line of tension that keeps the reader beguiled and on edge till the very, very last word - and that ending, I have to say, is quite a shock. The novel consists of letters that the young man, and all members of the family, write during the course of the fateful summer they spend in the estate where most of the action is centered: by doing this, Huch cleverly goes straight into the heart of her characters and of how they see (and don’t see) what is happening, without having to burden her story with descriptive passages, and heavy-handed explanations. It is adroitly full of ellipses and untold emotions that swim under the surface, it is as incisive as it is elusive. It’s also heartbreaking, and it burns like a hot Summer sun. Huch deserves to be recognized as one of the greats.
May 11, 2017
The family has all the virtues and defects of its class. Perhaps one cannot even talk of defects; they merely have the one: belonging to an era that must pass and standing in the way of one that is emerging. When a beautiful old tree has to be felled to make way for a railway line, it’s painful to watch; you stand beside it like an old friend, gazing admiringly and in grief until it comes down.
Thus does young idealist Lyu condemn the von Rasimkara family, to his friend Konstantin engaged in a plot to kill patriarch Ygor, governor of Petersburg, who has closed the university due to student unrest. Set in Russia at the beginning of the 20th century, the story unfolds in the form of letters exchanged between the conspirators and various family members over the course of a summer, with Lyu serving as bodyguard to the man he intends to assassinate.
Lyu is like Apollo’s simple bow, which never shoots a stray arrow. Unadorned, slim, flexible, handsome on account of its complete functionality, a picture of divine power, accuracy and unscrupulousness.
It's a simple story, easily read and well told, perfectly suited to the epistolary format. Gradually we discover relationships and connections between correspondents, their respective agendas, hopes and fears. By making the reader aware of Lyu's intentions from the beginning, when the governor's wife hires him to protect her husband following death threats, we are complicit in his plotting. It's hard not to feel sympathy for this privileged but blinkered family nursing a viper in its bosom. You can't help thinking Lyu, too, surely must be swayed by their hospitality and trust. He's a likeable chap and, as weeks go by, seems in no great hurry to carry out the task at hand, Can revolutionary zeal defeat human kindness and love? Lyu almost gives the game away a few times; the governor's wife is particularly astute : What I find strange about this man is that he evidently has an active interest in all of us, he appears receptive to our qualities, he accepts the trust we place in him as a matter of course, and yet gives nothing of himself.
The result is a tense affair of conflicted loyalties, building to a terrific climax.
Thus does young idealist Lyu condemn the von Rasimkara family, to his friend Konstantin engaged in a plot to kill patriarch Ygor, governor of Petersburg, who has closed the university due to student unrest. Set in Russia at the beginning of the 20th century, the story unfolds in the form of letters exchanged between the conspirators and various family members over the course of a summer, with Lyu serving as bodyguard to the man he intends to assassinate.
Lyu is like Apollo’s simple bow, which never shoots a stray arrow. Unadorned, slim, flexible, handsome on account of its complete functionality, a picture of divine power, accuracy and unscrupulousness.
It's a simple story, easily read and well told, perfectly suited to the epistolary format. Gradually we discover relationships and connections between correspondents, their respective agendas, hopes and fears. By making the reader aware of Lyu's intentions from the beginning, when the governor's wife hires him to protect her husband following death threats, we are complicit in his plotting. It's hard not to feel sympathy for this privileged but blinkered family nursing a viper in its bosom. You can't help thinking Lyu, too, surely must be swayed by their hospitality and trust. He's a likeable chap and, as weeks go by, seems in no great hurry to carry out the task at hand, Can revolutionary zeal defeat human kindness and love? Lyu almost gives the game away a few times; the governor's wife is particularly astute : What I find strange about this man is that he evidently has an active interest in all of us, he appears receptive to our qualities, he accepts the trust we place in him as a matter of course, and yet gives nothing of himself.
The result is a tense affair of conflicted loyalties, building to a terrific climax.
October 25, 2017
Among the many names this project has introduced me to for the first time, Ricarda Huch stands out prominently, and I can only conclude I hadn't heard of her before due to sexism. She was a peer of Thomas Mann, Gerhart Hauptmann, and Arthur Schnitzler, a scholar, historian, and novelist with a broad and penetrating understanding of the forces which shaped the modern world.
This epistolary novella, one of her lighter and more frivolous works -- on the surface a taut thriller told through the inconsequent chatter of a family on holiday -- still takes time to think deeply, if briefly, about the loyalty owed to unjust systems, about the demands which ideology carves out of a person, about the arrested development which the protection of class and power require. Although it's set in Russia for the convenience it lends the plot, the social dynamics, and Huch's gimlet eye for self-deception, are thoroughly German. English writers of the period would catalogue the individual idiosyncracies of character with softer tones, but because of their woolly sympathy would be unable to actually commit that last page, where Huch is ruthless, and deeply funny because of it.
This is the second time in a week I've been reminded of the method and manner of Alfred Hitchcock: although it's a novel of ideas from 1910, Huch is practically as hard-boiled as the 30s.
This epistolary novella, one of her lighter and more frivolous works -- on the surface a taut thriller told through the inconsequent chatter of a family on holiday -- still takes time to think deeply, if briefly, about the loyalty owed to unjust systems, about the demands which ideology carves out of a person, about the arrested development which the protection of class and power require. Although it's set in Russia for the convenience it lends the plot, the social dynamics, and Huch's gimlet eye for self-deception, are thoroughly German. English writers of the period would catalogue the individual idiosyncracies of character with softer tones, but because of their woolly sympathy would be unable to actually commit that last page, where Huch is ruthless, and deeply funny because of it.
This is the second time in a week I've been reminded of the method and manner of Alfred Hitchcock: although it's a novel of ideas from 1910, Huch is practically as hard-boiled as the 30s.
May 27, 2017
This is a captivating book, although when I first began reading, I wasn't sure the structure of the novel - comprised entirely of letters to and from the various characters in the story - was going to sustain my interest. But it did and completely. It gives us an insight into all the characters, their thoughts, feelings and motivations without any sense of artificiality coming into play.
The focus of the novel is gripping, unfolding on so many different layers: psychological, social, political and personal. It really is compelling.
There is a sense of Chekhov about Huch's remarkable book as the different viewpoints, ideas and ideologies circle round each other and overlap, with the difficulties gradually confronting the radical student on his deadly mission making it a story which touches at the heart of humanity.
The novel takes place in a particular time and place, and captures this with insight and integrity. Nevertheless, its central theme resonates strongly and painfully with recent events in Manchester, whereby violence becomes the chosen and devastating method of making some kind of futile point.
The final letter in the novel - and literally the final letter 'Y' - is poignant, brutal and haunting as the ramifications of what this means sink in.
An evocative, moving and brutally timely novel which will linger in my mind for a long long time to come.
The focus of the novel is gripping, unfolding on so many different layers: psychological, social, political and personal. It really is compelling.
There is a sense of Chekhov about Huch's remarkable book as the different viewpoints, ideas and ideologies circle round each other and overlap, with the difficulties gradually confronting the radical student on his deadly mission making it a story which touches at the heart of humanity.
The novel takes place in a particular time and place, and captures this with insight and integrity. Nevertheless, its central theme resonates strongly and painfully with recent events in Manchester, whereby violence becomes the chosen and devastating method of making some kind of futile point.
The final letter in the novel - and literally the final letter 'Y' - is poignant, brutal and haunting as the ramifications of what this means sink in.
An evocative, moving and brutally timely novel which will linger in my mind for a long long time to come.
April 5, 2025
Qué delicioso descubrimiento. Una novela de una escritora silenciada por los acontecimientos políticos de su época. Era la escritora más leída y respetada en la Alemania de la primera mitad del s. XX, candidata en varias ocasiones al Premio Nobel y, por desgracia, se convirtió en otra más de tantos escritores silenciados y perseguidos.
Ha sido un placer haber podido disfrutar de esta lectura rescatada del olvido. Una lectura q ella misma consideraba una obra menor, ya q la escribió como un reto para comprobar si sería capaz de escribir una novela policíaca. No sé si catalogarla como novela policíaca, pero lo cierto es q sabe mantener la tensión. Y es q nos encontramos en San Petersburgo, en 1906, en el seno de la familia de un gobernador q vive bajo la amenaza de un atentado.
La novela es epistolar, lo q para mí ha sido un atractivo más. A través de un cruce de cartas entre todos los componentes familiares y habitantes de la casa de veraneo, vamos descubriendo los perfiles de cada uno de ellos y sus ideas políticas, deseos y temores. Una novela q nos anticipa ese momento histórico de la Rusia revolucionaria, mientras nos sumerge en el suspense de lo q le ocurrirá al cabeza de familia.
Ha sido un placer haber podido disfrutar de esta lectura rescatada del olvido. Una lectura q ella misma consideraba una obra menor, ya q la escribió como un reto para comprobar si sería capaz de escribir una novela policíaca. No sé si catalogarla como novela policíaca, pero lo cierto es q sabe mantener la tensión. Y es q nos encontramos en San Petersburgo, en 1906, en el seno de la familia de un gobernador q vive bajo la amenaza de un atentado.
La novela es epistolar, lo q para mí ha sido un atractivo más. A través de un cruce de cartas entre todos los componentes familiares y habitantes de la casa de veraneo, vamos descubriendo los perfiles de cada uno de ellos y sus ideas políticas, deseos y temores. Una novela q nos anticipa ese momento histórico de la Rusia revolucionaria, mientras nos sumerge en el suspense de lo q le ocurrirá al cabeza de familia.
November 29, 2021
old entirely through nothing but letters—which apparently has a term: epistolary, this psychological thriller is definitely one of a kind. Oh, by the way, for my fellow Indonesian, it has been translated to Bahasa Indonesia by Moooi Pustaka.
The Last Summer is a suspenseful novella about an assassination plot of a prominent Russian official by a revolutionary who disguise him self as their secretary-cum-bodyguard. Not, it's not a spoiler since it's mentioned from the first page and actually not the most important part. I think the most important part to enjoy is indeed the narrative structure. Set on a summer at the summer house, we will follow the complete tales and everything happened there via various letters from all of its characters (the son to his cousin, two daughters to their aunt, a wife to her in-law, and the assassin to his handler).
At some point, I feel it's dragging and I got bored a little since the narrative structure force us to follow it day by day. I cannot stop reading it though and I think it paid off in the end for it's such an interesting one. And we will get a glimpse of Russian politic in early 90s. Well, a little.
The Last Summer is a suspenseful novella about an assassination plot of a prominent Russian official by a revolutionary who disguise him self as their secretary-cum-bodyguard. Not, it's not a spoiler since it's mentioned from the first page and actually not the most important part. I think the most important part to enjoy is indeed the narrative structure. Set on a summer at the summer house, we will follow the complete tales and everything happened there via various letters from all of its characters (the son to his cousin, two daughters to their aunt, a wife to her in-law, and the assassin to his handler).
At some point, I feel it's dragging and I got bored a little since the narrative structure force us to follow it day by day. I cannot stop reading it though and I think it paid off in the end for it's such an interesting one. And we will get a glimpse of Russian politic in early 90s. Well, a little.
January 20, 2023
Set during one summer in the early 1900s, we are in the country retreat of the von Rasimkara family. They are here because the father, as governor of Saint Petersburg has closed down the University in the face of student protests. The three adult children (a young man, two young women) send the letters from which the book is composed to various family members describing their lives and feelings, and the young man whom the mother has hired to protect the life of their father. Little do they know, as we find out almost immediately, that this young man sides with the student revolutionaries, and is here to do harm to von Ramiskara. And it's this irony which fuels the book's narrative. The whole family, for different reasons, believe in the young protector, even when his behaviour is, to say the least, odd. The tension builds until the final letter ... An exploration of ideology and trust, and the complicated layers of family life.
July 26, 2018
Review of The Last Summer by Ricarda Huch, translated by Jamie Bulloch
This novel written in the style of letters from various characters, both of the family and the person hired to protect them is set in Tsarist Russia. The father Yegor is the Governor of a University that due to student unrest, he has closed. Yegor and his family retreat to their summer home to get away from the trouble but the trouble finds them in the way of the hired bodyguard, Lyu, who we find out is part of the group causing unrest.
Through the letters, we see the private thoughts of the characters. As well as highlighting the unrest, you also find covered in them, matters of family life, disagreements and things like the family's firwst car (it was written in 1910 as well as Lyu's plotting.
I thought this was a very good novel, really well written and worked very good.
* * * * 1/2
This novel written in the style of letters from various characters, both of the family and the person hired to protect them is set in Tsarist Russia. The father Yegor is the Governor of a University that due to student unrest, he has closed. Yegor and his family retreat to their summer home to get away from the trouble but the trouble finds them in the way of the hired bodyguard, Lyu, who we find out is part of the group causing unrest.
Through the letters, we see the private thoughts of the characters. As well as highlighting the unrest, you also find covered in them, matters of family life, disagreements and things like the family's firwst car (it was written in 1910 as well as Lyu's plotting.
I thought this was a very good novel, really well written and worked very good.
* * * * 1/2
October 16, 2021
"Aku sudah mengirimkan mesin tik itu. Mari kita sepakati, ledakannya akan terjadi saat tuts huruf Y dan shift ditekan bersamaan".
Kisah upaya pembunuhan seorang Gubernur yang dikemas secara unik dan cerdas oleh Ricarda Huch. Buku ini menampilkan surat-surat yang ditulis dan dikirim diantara 9 orang tokoh utamanya. Menarasikan secara linier keadaan keluarga seorang Gubernur yang sedang menjalani musim panas ditengah upaya pembunuhan yang dijalankan oleh sekretaris si Gubernur.
Buku ini tipis, alur ceritanya mudah diikuti dan penggambaran karakternya lumayan kuat. Kerja penerjemah mungkin memberi pengaruh atas hasil akhir buku ini, ciamik.
Yang terasa kurang adalah ending yang mudah ditebak tanpa kejutan.
Kisah upaya pembunuhan seorang Gubernur yang dikemas secara unik dan cerdas oleh Ricarda Huch. Buku ini menampilkan surat-surat yang ditulis dan dikirim diantara 9 orang tokoh utamanya. Menarasikan secara linier keadaan keluarga seorang Gubernur yang sedang menjalani musim panas ditengah upaya pembunuhan yang dijalankan oleh sekretaris si Gubernur.
Buku ini tipis, alur ceritanya mudah diikuti dan penggambaran karakternya lumayan kuat. Kerja penerjemah mungkin memberi pengaruh atas hasil akhir buku ini, ciamik.
Yang terasa kurang adalah ending yang mudah ditebak tanpa kejutan.
March 12, 2022
Cerita tentang percobaan pembunuhan politik ternyata bisa lucu, meskipun bukan jenis lucu yang membuat tertawa terpingkal-pingkal. Kelucuannya terletak pada pengamatan setiap tokoh dalam cerita terhadap karakter tokoh-tokoh lainnya yang ditampilkan dalam bentuk surat. Cerita novel pendek ini seluruhnya memang dibangun lewat surat-menyurat antar tokoh-tokohnya. Ada yang pandai menilai, ada yang suka bercanda dan ada juga yang terkesan naif. Walaupun begitu, bagian paling lucunya bukan berada pada itu semua, tetapi pada bagian akhir yang menjadi klimaks.
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