The Mookse and the Gripes discussion

After the Sun by Jonas Eika tr. Sherilyn Nicolette Hellberg (Lolli Editions)

All the less than enthusiastic reviews actually has me eager to pick this one up!

I think you might like it David - clearly a talented author but just trying too hard in my view

I thought there was one real standout story here - "Alvin" which was printed in the New Yorker

Definitely worth trying this to get a feel for if his style appeals although not sure I could say with any confidence that those who like this will also like the others in the collection as reading reviews I was not alone in thinking the rest of the collection a little disappointing in comparison

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/20...

One issue I did have was with his right to tell some of the stories - in particular I wonder of what he really knows of homeless and dispossessed people in London and those who work to help them in shelters - and I thought his story here was really pretty lazy in perpetuating lots of tired stereotypes in a way which surprised me for an author who seems very left wing and politically active.

I really liked this one.

And in the original it won a very big literary prize, the Nordic Council Literature Prize. Past winners something of a who's who - Kim Leine, Lars Saabye Christensen, Jon Fosse, Sofia Oksanen, Per Petersson, Jan Kjaerstad, Dag Solstad, Sarah Stridsberg, Sjon for example (I have probably misspelled those as from memory).

Which is particular impressive as you are effectively the target of Alvin - the amorality of trading in derivatives and the survival of banks despite all the destruction they cause.

Yes he seems something of a wunderkind of Danish literature but like his bright green hair I think he somehow manages to be provocative in a predictable fashion (the TLS review - which was strong - said effectively the same about his political views, Alvin being a good example)

Very talented author though

"Lolli Editions is an independent publisher based in London. We publish contemporary fiction that challenges existing ideas and breathes new life into the novel form. Our aim is to introduce to English-language readers some of the most innovative writers that speak to our shared culture in new and compelling ways, from Europe and beyond.

Antonio Lolli was an itinerant 18th-century composer who lived between Scandinavia, England, Russia and Italy. Transcending traditional, national “schools”, Lolli worked from the ethic that artistic thought, and the means through which it could express itself, should be the basis of art, rather than following the predetermined rules of a school."

Nice to read a book that mentions derivatives. The banker hatred comes with the territory.

I also read the bit about sun-seeking tourists who refuse to be put off by torrential rain on the beach in Barbados on a rainy day.

Hopefully that’s where the analogy ends and you did not do anything with sea shells or with inverted parasols - to be honest it’s those kind of details that ruined that two part story for me, the writing seems so very immature

No comment.

I really liked this collection, but can’t remember the stories now. I just remember thinking they were different, not disturbing like Cursed Bunny, but interesting and different.

This book received a lot of attention here in the Nordic countries when it won the Nordic Council Literature Prize (47 000 euros or so) as Paul said. I still haven’t picked it up although I had the Swedish translation checked from the library (Danish would be way too difficult). There’s still no Finnish translation, but I will read it in English now that the RoC prize gave it the necessary bump in my reading list.

His acceptance speech, where he e.g. condemns the prime minister, got a lot of attention too, no surprise. Here it is with subtitles:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6kCj...

I have just finished this one. Best to say it isn't for me and then move on.

Wish I hadn't watched that - may be a star off!

Thanks for sharing the link, Tommi. I might not agree with all that he said, but I don't totally disagree with his sentiment either. Rather brave IMO.

This isn't exactly ideal for...beach reading.

Some of the speech made sense, others seemed a bit incoherent.

On beach read, I literally read this bit on a day of thunderstorms in Barbados:

There's a sweet, heavy, electric smell of thunder and sweat. There's a time, between when the rain appears in the clouds and when it hits their bodies, that the guests refuse to believe it. They're still lying there, in 24 rows of 20, with glossy tanned stomachs and sunglasses on because they've paid to lie in the sun.

That's me that is - well except I am always covered in Factor 99.

I warned you about his speech Paul in my review and also in our WhatsApp conversation on the book.

You did - I just made the mistake of clicking. It wasn't a good time to read someone complaining about the militaristic expansion of the EU (I suspect he means Nato) as causing issues.

Neil, Henk and I all have this as a five star book

Assuming you add our ratings.

I still like the book though.

I appreciate the book even more after watching the video.

Actually I have thought about it.

There is a long international tradition of accepting prizes while using it as a platform to call out the dignitaries in the audience even the prize itself.

Which seems oddly lacking in the UK actually - John Berger's Booker the one obvious exception.

But who was the king of doing this, the man who literally wrote the textbook on the topic, Meine Preise?

Yes - I can now add After the Sun to my list of Berhardian books.

I am genuinely puzzled by his speech. NATO recognizes Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, and Ukraine as aspiring members. Opposing expansion of NATO necessarily means opposing those countries’ entry into the organization. Perhaps he’s pro-Russia. In the US, that stance is usually associated with the hard right.

In the UK it is very much associated with the far left as well as the far right, particularly the far left represented by the former leader of the main centre left party and his supporters. Eg this from the person who would have been one of the 4 most senior people in the UK government if elected (https://leftfootforward.org/2022/02/d...)

In this complex mix, the US has decided that it is necessary to send US and other NATO troops to Russia’s border. As I have said elsewhere, this alone should tell us that the claims that Russia is the aggressor here should be treated very sceptically. The destabilisation of the entire region comes from the continued eastward expansion of NATO.

In the U.K. it’s the hard left that is pro-Russia eg the people who would have been Prime Minister and Home Secretary had Labour won the 2019 election have both in the last week made it clear they think it’s the US and U.K. who are the equal if not main aggressors in Ukraine.

For example from the latter this week

“The US has decided that it is necessary to send US and other Nato troops to Russia’s borders. As I have said elsewhere, this alone should tell us that the claims that Russia is the aggressor here should be treated very sceptically. The destabilisation of the entire region comes from the continued eastward expansion of Nato.”

Worth saying the current Labour leadership has very opposed views to this and also opposes Russian donations to the government

https://amp.theguardian.com/commentis...

Interesting. That’s not a perspective I’ve heard, although I’m sure you can find Americans who see it the same way. I have plenty of thoughts but don’t want to risk turning this into a conversation about NATO, as fascinating as that would be.

One consequence of Trump is that those on the left who oppose the WHO and globalization have been a lot quieter since 2016.

David wrote: "Perhaps he’s pro-Russia."

I highly doubt so. If anything, I would say they (I'm not sure about pronouns) are far-left and pro-queer if not queer themselves, and most certainly anti-authoritarian. And here I write queer in the sense of critique of any stable gender and sexual identity, not only in the sense of LGBTIAQ communities but including them too. That does not agree well with what Russia has turned into in the last two decades. Moreover, NATO is by definition a military organization (intertwined with industrial complex as it is), so for someone who is arguing for non-capitalistic, non-exploitative and non-violent co-existence of humans (and nonhumans) on this planet, it's something in need of dismantling. So, yes, one can be against what NATO and Russia stand for at the same time. I most certainly am.

*WTO

Thanks for that explanation, endrju. I think your take on the author’s politics is probably spot on.

Explanation, yeah sure. Rather a hope, because I'd be awfully disappointed to find out Eika supports Russia (or any other capitalistic-patriarchal social system bound by a nation state for that matter).

I would think you are probably correct as he is younger

The Labour politicians I refer to are much older school and very definitely pro Russian as they are still taking sides from the Cold War era in which they are stuck so think Russia is communist - and anyway assume any country which is an enemy of America is good

Maybe shifting back to the book …

This is a very interesting discussion between translator and author on many aspects of the collection

https://www.asymptotejournal.com/blog...

Ps. At one point the topic of gender pronouns comes up - albeit in reference to danish/English/Romance language differences. I also note the translator uses “he” for Jonas so I think it’s ok to use that.

Gumble's Yard - Golden Reviewer wrote: "The Labour politicians I refer to are much older school and very definitely pro Russian as they are still taking sides from the Cold War er..."

They apparently haven't heard of Non-Aligned Movement! :)

Have you read this collection yet, endrju? Curious to know your thoughts.

I see you’re currently reading Moldy Strawberries - that’s on my list for this spring.

I read Alvin and didn’t care for it too much, so if that’s the best story here as is suggested I think I’ve found my least favorite selection!

I mean, surely one thing about collapsed banks is that they DON’T just continue on, though I suppose you could say it’s a stand-in for the financial system in general. But still.

As someone who worked for both RBS after 2008 then another firm largely staffed by Lehman people I can assure you that collapsed banks very much do carry on. One of the many great things about the banking sector.

I must say that beach parasols are never the same after this bundle 🏖 😅

As I implied in my much earlier comment my real disappointment with the author's politics is his part stereotyped and part farcical treatment of the homeless/dispossessed in London - a subject on which I have doubts he knows anything

As I said in my review a much better use of the money it costs to buy this book would be to get Alvin free from the New Yorker and buy 3-4 week's copies of the Big Issue - the writing there is much better also

I don't want to risk running afoul of the group's alleged zero mistake policy, so let's say I was illustrating Eika's quote in his New Yorker interview: "Understanding financial phenomena is always difficult for me, as for most people, I guess, which is maybe part of the triumph of economics: the fact that it seems so inaccessible, as if withdrawn into this hazy, almost mystical world."

David wrote: "Have you read this collection yet, endrju? Curious to know your thoughts."

Yes, I have, back in October (which seems at least two years away). I gave it 4 stars, but I can't get into the detailed reasons for that because I don't remember much except it being distinctly queer (which doesn't tell much, really). I suppose I'll re-read it if it wins the prize.

Finished this book yesterday. It was like two different books -- one a short novel titled Bad Mexican Dog and the other 3 short stories. I liked the short stories, rating them 5, 4, and 3 stars (Rachel, Nevada; Alvin; Me, Rory and Aurora) and would rate it collectively 4 stars. I did not like Bad Mexican Dog at all, rating it 2 stars. It is, however, the type of book I expect on the RoC longlist.

I thought he really captured what Nevada, outside of Las Vegas, is like.

If this makes the longlist I’ll have to reread it. I remember liking it, but, like endrju, I can’t remember details.

I didn't like the book as much as you but I also thought Rachel, Nevada was the best of the stories. Actually I agree with your ranking of them completely, just deduct 2 stars from each of them for me.