tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2609668304633418767.post630868388587398593..comments2023-12-24T17:41:42.989-08:00Comments on seraillon: "A game of light: elusive, vague and improbable" - Piero Chiara's The Bishop's Bedroomseraillonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17654593356535433945noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2609668304633418767.post-29646921264769789282019-11-12T10:38:48.810-08:002019-11-12T10:38:48.810-08:00Thanks Jacqui! If you loved Signora Giulia, you...Thanks Jacqui! If you loved <i>Signora Giulia</i>, you'll <i>certainly</i> love this novel. Needless to say, I hope to see more of Chiara's work appear in English; he's terrific. I've had Gazdonov on my list for a long time (almost certainly thanks to you), so I'll move him up. seraillonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17654593356535433945noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2609668304633418767.post-84713034715549959862019-11-12T10:31:03.815-08:002019-11-12T10:31:03.815-08:00The novel doesn't really say anything about th...The novel doesn't really say anything about the labor camps - one of numerous objects Chiara dangles into his narrative that makes the reader want to know more. I was indeed curious about these camps, about which, from my cursory research, the history seems pretty unsettled. What does seem settled is that conditions varied widely (from deplorable to occupation of villas where internees were more or less on permanent vacation), and with reports that in some cases Jews were separated from others and treated more poorly. All refugees in Switzerland were apparently required to be interned, but that term was interpreted pretty loosely, to many refugees' benefit. <br /><br />I'd like to see the original Italian here - I don't have the novel in front of me, but I recall the translation using "labor" or maybe "work," but not "refugee." And that's an intriguing choice in itself. seraillonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17654593356535433945noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2609668304633418767.post-57522008174247606642019-11-12T08:07:39.768-08:002019-11-12T08:07:39.768-08:00Well, you've made this sound irresistible, ver...Well, you've made this sound irresistible, very intriguing indeed! I loved Chriara's Signora Guilia, so the appearance of another novella in English is great to see. Completely different country and era, but something about your commentary made me think of Gaito Gazdanov's novel The Spectre of Alexander Wolf. Possibly the existential nature of the narrative combined with elements of mystery. You may have read it already, but if not it's worth checking out.<br /><br />PS Lovely to see you blogging again. Your presence has been sorely missed! JacquiWinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05821296196011645410noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2609668304633418767.post-54174328673356791442019-11-11T19:03:53.644-08:002019-11-11T19:03:53.644-08:00A pleasant surprise, both to read your work again,...A pleasant surprise, both to read your work again, Scott, and to learn of this book, which sounds terrific. I am particularly interested to learn more about the Swiss labour camps you mention. I'd never heard of this--another part of Switzerland's tarnished past, I suspect.Dorian Stuberhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10502464360299604387noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2609668304633418767.post-41455721710072096222019-11-11T10:43:28.608-08:002019-11-11T10:43:28.608-08:00Thanks, Brian. I thought this was a terrific littl...Thanks, Brian. I thought this was a terrific little book, the best of the three Chiara novels I've read to date, though I thoroughly enjoyed both of the other two (<i>The Disappearance of Signora Giulia</i>, also translated by Jill Foulston, and <i>Le 28 Octobre</i>, in French, not yet translated into English). seraillonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17654593356535433945noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2609668304633418767.post-41551644486147406202019-11-11T10:25:16.796-08:002019-11-11T10:25:16.796-08:00Glad to see you back to blogging again.
This sou...Glad to see you back to blogging again. <br /><br />This sounds good. I have really come to appreciate character driven stories. Baggage popping up from the past makes them even more interesting. Brian Josephhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15139559400312336791noreply@blogger.com