As Long as the Tree Blooms: A Short History of Frisian Literature by Joke Corporaal

Abstract

history of his neighborhood. From there we’re led through a series of interrelated stories that together form a complex mosaic of hardships and transformations. In “Gotcha ,” a troubled youth gets a tattoo, which provokes beatings from junta-era police, feeding into his own fascinations with violence and a desire for more. In “Happiness Is a Sandwich,” a starving man finds a 5,000 drachmas note (something like 18 US dollars ), but no one will accept his money. A final solution, inspired by tactics used against Native Americans as well as various pest-control solutions, is proposed in horrific, dehumanizing apathy in “Another Night.” Meanwhile, the disinterested passenger cycles through emails on his mobile phone, distracted by spam and special offers, as the nationalist continues on. Throughout these several “chapters,” which are structured in a way that’s somewhat reminiscent of Italo Calvino’s Invisible Cities, another book that’s a conversation in vignettes, the nationalist challenges the disinterested passenger with an assortment of economic, cultural, and authoritarian rationalizations for his beliefs. At the core of this pitch is Victoria, or Vic City, a neighborhood in Athens with disappearing boundaries and rapidly shifting demographics, and where the nationalist grew up. Even so, the book serves to inoculate the reader from such nativist appeal by identifying and engaging its various lures. While it can be a demanding read at times, Vic City Express is thoughtfully executed and occasionally melancholy, and readers familiar with Athenian culture may find unexpected humor in some of its passages . The translation by Fred A. Reed is more than capable, shifting styles and tones with ease while keeping its regional intricacies intact. Tsirbas has written a timely book here, one that’s also a convincing, localized tour of creeping fascism in Greece and the alarming conditions that are allowing it to take root. Michael Kazepis Portland, Oregon Joke Corporaal As Long as the Tree Blooms: A Short History of Frisian Literature Leeuwarden, Netherlands. Bornmeer. 2018. 143 pages. In 2018 tens of thousands of tourists from near and faraway places visited Leeuwarden on the occasion of its designation as the 2018 Cultural Capital of Europe. They discovered the province that makes the Netherlands bilingual. Visitors saw traffic signs in Frisian, heard the language spoken in stores and other public places, heard music and the news in Frisian if they tuned in to the Frisian broadcast station, and if they visited Tresoar , the provincial treasure house of Frisian literary history, they encountered a world of information: countless newspapers and magazines, hundreds of thousands of books including some books from the library of Erasmus, manuscripts and letters by famous Frisians, a manuscript of “Noctes Atticae” made by monks and dating back to 836 CE, the oldest and most recent Frisian literature, Esther Kinsky River Trans. Iain Galbraith Transit Books Showing the power of a walk by the waterside, this longlist candidate for the German Book Prize finally appears in English from one of Germany’s most fluid prose writers. As the narrator walks along the river to which she has moved under mysterious circumstances , she reminisces about the other rivers that she has drifted down in life. From its haunting first-page dedication, this novel will stay with you long after the last drop. Brice Matthieussent Revenge of the Translator Trans. Emma Ramadan Deep Vellum Brice Matthieussent is an award-winning translator of over two hundred novels from English to French; Revenge of the Translator is his debut novel. An intensely thrilling tale of intrigue and translation with a comedic undercurrent, the novel explores the transcendent power of obsessive dedication and the blurred lines between reality and text. Nota Bene WORLDLIT.ORG 95 and much, much more. They learned that there are some one hundred books published each year, comprising all the literary genres; that Frisian music includes classical , pop, folk, opera, hard rock, ballads, hymns, and more; that the more universal poetry by Frisian poets like Obe Postma and Tsjêbbe Hettinga has been translated into English; that best-selling prose authors like Rink van der Velde and Hylke Speerstra have been translated into English as well as Nynke van Hichtem’s classic children’s novel Afke’s Ten...