Jörg’s Reviews > Die Stunde zwischen Frau und Gitarre > Status Update

I mark insights about life in books. None of these here. Instead: collected oddities, thoughts - the ones you don't voice, distractions and consolations sought to avoid facing life. And death. Which feels like upholstery covers, often Natalie's gooseflesh as if somebody walked over her grave.

The longer you read, the more normal the people appear. Could be your close colleagues talking about their dreams and thoughts. You start to live with the characters their quotidian life. Just that the quotidian in a mental institution is different.
Reminds me of another Austrian author who achieved this with his books. Von Doderer.

Setz gives us concepts explaining his stylistic choices. Non sequitur is the first and obvious one. Luminous details (coined by Pound) is the next. The oil-smeared bird in the room, the cum coin.
After more than 50%, I wonder if there is a mystery in the relation between Hollberg and Dorm at all. And if it ever gets resolved what's up with Mario. These questions are what comes closest to a plot.

Setz writes to all senses. Motives reappearing in later books, at least judging by their titles. Tactile feel: the perfect round fur ball animal without openings would fit in "Der Trost runder Dinge". Sound: ASMR to cleanse Natalie from earworms is matched by "Mein Leben als Noiseband".

Simple goings-on can happen in real time or even slow motion. Such as the moment when Natalie stalks the sister of her client. From the moment she stands in front of the front door to the moment she leaves, general observations on stairways, their nature as open spaces, a modification to the doorplate and thoughts about endlessly visible bus stops pass by and fill at least as much reading time as book time passed.

Natalie has synaesthetic traits. Sounds and tactile feel are combined with thoughts. The door is opened to surreal/hyperrealistic descriptions of blowjobs. It is a short way from there to the likeness of the title-giving similarity of women and guitars, the pads of fat leading to the curves of a guitar.
Non sequitur is close to nonsense. I learn words I never wanted to know (Meläna?).

Conversations share the pointlessness of every day life. Beating around the bush, skipping important parts, not conveying what you really think. Natalie's thoughts might seem disturbing. But only because they are not your own digressions.
More than a 100 pages and she still hasn't met Christopher Hollberg, only exchanged a few meaningless words with her assigned patient.

I now understand why Anna Carina referred to non sequitur in her comment. It's Nathalie's principle in conducting her life. And probably Setz' principle composition rule. Reminiscent of the great postmodern writers like Pynchon, Gaddis or Nadas in their huge sprawling messes of novels. With everything and the kitchen sink, it's easy to fill a 1,000 pages.

My first Setz. Is this a good idea starting with his opus magnum (so far) of more than a 1,000 pages?