tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2609668304633418767.post4544261931876006209..comments2023-12-24T17:41:42.989-08:00Comments on seraillon: When The Mountain Fellseraillonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17654593356535433945noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2609668304633418767.post-60314048033038544552015-07-06T18:02:55.683-07:002015-07-06T18:02:55.683-07:00There's that note in Neversink editions about ...There's that note in <i>Neversink</i> editions about the books one picks up by chance being among "the most agreeable, grateful, and companionable," and this one fits that perfectly. I marveled at Ramuz' writing and have read another three or four of his novels since. But this one remains special. Yes, it is out of print, but copies abound. At 221 pages, it <i>almost</i> qualifies as a novella. <br /><br />I don't know the Vesaas at all, but will look it up. seraillonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17654593356535433945noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2609668304633418767.post-65229921399615698472015-07-03T05:28:11.935-07:002015-07-03T05:28:11.935-07:00This novel sounds very special indeed. Even just r...This novel sounds very special indeed. Even just reading the quotes (especially the one about the rim of the glacier jutting out from the rockface) gives a sense of greater, more mysterious forces at play. I guess this is out of print right now? It strikes me as just the type of story that Peirene Press might publish (although it would have to be a novella to fit their format).<br /><br />Going off on a slight tangent, have you read The Ice Palace by Tarjei Vesaas? Your description of When the Mountain Fell reminds me a little of the Vesaas. It's a combination of things: the simplicity of the language; the sense of danger in the natural world; and the contrast between an intimate central focal point and something wider. JacquiWinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16220597283351925721noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2609668304633418767.post-67325612115882161922012-10-15T11:05:40.933-07:002012-10-15T11:05:40.933-07:00Rise - Sebald's name pokes up on the Internet ...Rise - Sebald's name pokes up on the Internet quite a bit when one starts looking into Ramuz. He really strikes me as a very powerful, singular writer with a remarkable style, and I wonder why he seems so relatively unknown now. seraillonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17654593356535433945noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2609668304633418767.post-51690529567110251072012-10-14T02:13:42.948-07:002012-10-14T02:13:42.948-07:00Ramuz was very briefly mentioned in the 1st chapte...Ramuz was very briefly mentioned in the 1st chapter of Sebald's <i>The Rings of Saturn</i>. From your review, I can see his possible affinities with Sebald on the themes of destruction and the natural world.Risehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17446964640160585194noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2609668304633418767.post-78491113158586253812012-10-11T13:51:30.378-07:002012-10-11T13:51:30.378-07:00Caroline - I've always loved the mountains, bu...Caroline - I've always loved the mountains, but by sheer (<i>very</i> sheer) coincidence, I followed up <i>When the Mountain Fell</i> with a camping trip that had us sleeping at the foot of a cliff so high and overhanging that it blocked the sky. I nicknamed it "Derborance," not without some nervousness. I'm not sure I'll look at mountains the same way again after reading Ramuz, but I'll be reading more of him nonetheless.seraillonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17654593356535433945noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2609668304633418767.post-25176671974604020502012-10-11T13:44:58.750-07:002012-10-11T13:44:58.750-07:00Tom - thanks for the link. I look forward to explo...Tom - thanks for the link. I look forward to exploring. I just finished a second Ramuz novel, and am fairly certain I'll be championing him a bit more. seraillonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17654593356535433945noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2609668304633418767.post-40328033254973812842012-10-11T13:32:44.846-07:002012-10-11T13:32:44.846-07:00Thanks, Brian. I haven't read Lawrence in a lo...Thanks, Brian. I haven't read Lawrence in a long time - probably time to have another look.seraillonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17654593356535433945noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2609668304633418767.post-60785532601180116572012-10-10T01:42:49.598-07:002012-10-10T01:42:49.598-07:00My father's favourite author. He made me read ...My father's favourite author. He made me read this when I was maybe 16. I dont like mountains and find them scray. In this and another of his books, I think his most famous one, La grande peur dans la montagne, he evokes all that, how they loom and wait. The atmosphere is haunting and brooding. He is an impressive writer. I need to revisit him. Meinrad Inglin wrote similar stories but in German. He is Swiss as well. I'm not sure whether he has been transltaed. Carolinehttp://beautyisasleepingcat.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2609668304633418767.post-17586768206078722692012-10-07T10:21:02.686-07:002012-10-07T10:21:02.686-07:00Michelle at pieces has been translating and publis...Michelle at <a href="http://michellebailatjones.com/" rel="nofollow">pieces</a> has been translating and publishing Ramuz's short stories. <br /><br />She has some interesting posts championing him.Amateur Reader (Tom)https://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2609668304633418767.post-30342085413463426142012-10-06T08:11:40.120-07:002012-10-06T08:11:40.120-07:00Great commentary on this novel.
Something that y...Great commentary on this novel. <br /><br />Something that you wrote has made me think. I have been reading some DH Lawrence lately. Though the Lawrence works that I am reading were written about twenty years earlier, there is also strong hints in these books regarding a coming European catastrophe building.Brian Josephhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15139559400312336791noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2609668304633418767.post-1505291234491449202012-10-06T06:18:15.426-07:002012-10-06T06:18:15.426-07:00Miguel - Yes, that ostensible simplicity is anythi...Miguel - Yes, that ostensible simplicity is anything but. I pretty much reread <i>When the Mountain Fell</i> while trying to write about it and was astonished at how much Ramuz manages to paint into a page. I'm just finishing a second of his novels (it turns out there are not one but two volumes of him in those thick Gallimard collections). He's definitely a writer I'll continue to read. I don't know that a book I've picked up on impulse has ever been so surprisingly rewarding.seraillonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17654593356535433945noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2609668304633418767.post-43373410805762203982012-10-06T04:33:22.842-07:002012-10-06T04:33:22.842-07:00That simplicity of language, rather than making it...That simplicity of language, rather than making it seem pedestrian, make the novel strangely enchanting. I never heard of this novelist before, but I'm adding him to my TBR list.LMRhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08538873868140070018noreply@blogger.com