Grove by Esther Kinsky
Translated by Caroline Schmidt
Grief takes many forms, especially after the loss of a parent or a partner. Some bottle up the emotions, some let them all out, and others try to find other ways to cope with, and make meaning of, that loss. There are many forms of catharsis, travel being one and writing another; and these two strands come together in a new book from Fitzcarraldo Editions, “Grove” by Esther Kinsky.
It’s been a few months since I read one of this marvellous publisher’s books; in fact, I haven’t picked one up since Lizzy and I co-hosted our Fitzcarraldo Editions Fortnight (which was such fun). I read mostly non-fiction for our event, so it was nice to turn to one of their fiction titles, and Kinsky is an author they’ve published before (her “River” has glowing reviews). So I approached this with interest!
Esther Kinsky was born in Germany and grew up near the Rhine; for a dozen years she lived in London; and she’s also a poet and translator. As “Grove” opens, Kinsky’s unnamed narrator travels to Olevano, a small village to the southeast of Rome. She’s recently bereaved and has taken herself south during the winter months, settling in a temporary dwelling between the village and the cemetery. With this base, she explores the area whilst attempting to come to terms with her loss. Her heart is heavy, her focus intense, and she obviously feels the loss of M., her partner, deeply.
I stood at the window for hours as if inside a bell jar which had covered me and displaced me to my childhood, when in the afternoons and evenings I often felt incapable of doing anything but look out the window. Save that now beneath my hands on the window ledge I could feel M.’s hands. I didn’t see them like I had that morning, only felt them and wondered if this was what had taught me to forget my own hands
The second section of the book opens with death of the narrator’s father, and as she travels home for his funeral, this triggers more memories. Once again, these are of Italy and the narrator explores past family trips to the country, memories dominated by her father’s personality. He often appears to have been a lost man, both psychologically and literally, and there is an emotional distance between them. The narrative slips between past and present; fragmented images of Communist party gatherings, driving through the Italian landscape and his research into the Etruscan past build up a picture of her younger life. In the final part, the narrator visits the north of Italy at a later date, in search of the location of the garden of Finzi-Contini family (from Giorgio Bassani’s classic novel). However, the garden is not to be discovered, although perhaps the search for it has given the narrator comfort.
The garden of the Finzi-Continis remained a space that was shaped and reshaped by memory and interpretation, an area of loss that refused to be found… It was a place that could be found only by sensing its absence, by recalling what was lost…
“Grove” is a stunning piece of writing; Kinsky is a lyrical author, and her prose explores and captures the landscapes through which she wanders beautifully. Inevitably, the book is a melancholy read because of the subject matter and there is a sense that the narrator is seeking comfort or meaning in the lands she visits. However, she so often encounters bleakness or disintegration, in the form of half-built areas or landscapes being destroyed for modern constructions, that it does make you wonder what solace she found in her travels. She so often seems a displaced person, unable to find where she fits in the world like so many of the refugees she encounters as she journeys through Italy.
There’s also a sense of the fluidity of time throughout the narrative, as the author explores her past and present; and there’s also a feeling of continuity, with her father’s intense search for the Etruscan necropoli mirrored by the narrator’s focus on, and regular visits to, the many cemeteries she seems to encounter.Like other works I’ve read from Fitzcarraldo which are published in their blue ‘fiction’ livery, it’s hard not to see this book as some kind of autofiction; the narrator refers to her departed partner as M., and of course Kinsky was married to the literary translator Martin Chalmers, who sadly died quite young in 2014. Although the book is described firmly as a novel, it’s impossible not to see it as very much informed by Kinsky’s own life experiences. However, that’s by the by. Whether novel, autofiction or disguised autobiography, “Grove” is a mesmerising, beautiful and melancholy piece of writing. Her writing is compelling and poetic, and having loved this book I may well have to search out her earlier work, “River”!
Review copy kindly provided by the publisher, for which many thanks. There is an interesting piece on the book and its locations on their blog here.
roughghosts
May 18, 2020 @ 06:33:40
I loved River. I wrote about it for Music & Literature, one of the few critical reviews I’ve written in the past few years. I ordered this from the UK as the North American edition won’t be out until July. Remains to be seen if it gets here before July given the state of Canada Post parcel mail (Christmas volumes and much of the work force out with the virus, so they say).
kaggsysbookishramblings
May 18, 2020 @ 08:55:18
I hope your copy arrives soon Joe – it really is a very profound book. And I really will have to track down a copy of River!
Liz Dexter
May 18, 2020 @ 10:36:12
That sounds beautiful and a thoughtful book to dwell on.
kaggsysbookishramblings
May 18, 2020 @ 10:53:45
It really was lovely. It’s one of those which gets under your skin and you find yourself thinking about it a long time afterwards…
Bellezza
May 18, 2020 @ 13:40:25
Oh, I so want to read this! Whatever Fitzcarraldo publishes is extraordinary in the first place, and the topic of grief interests me very much. (It seems quite imminent with my aging parents, not to make presumptions they’ll go before me.) I will try to find a copy, as Fitzcarraldo is reluctant to send a copy overseas, although they do if I cry hard enough. 😉 Even the garden of Finzi-Contini’s is fascinating to include; that was a fascinating book, too.
kaggsysbookishramblings
May 18, 2020 @ 15:46:43
They are indeed a publisher with a unique collection of books and I love the fact that they’re unlike anything else. The link with the Finzi-Continis was unexpected but very resonant – such a wonderful book, too. I really want to read more of Kinsky’s writing now!
madamebibilophile
May 18, 2020 @ 14:06:58
This sounds stunning. The quotes are so thought-provoking, I can see this would reward careful reading.
kaggsysbookishramblings
May 18, 2020 @ 15:45:16
It really is. One of those books you take your time with and which really makes you think about the deeper stuff…
Claire 'Word by Word'
May 18, 2020 @ 17:55:05
Sounds wonderful, I’ve yet to read a Fitzcarraldo, it sounds like this one might be a good place to start.
kaggsysbookishramblings
May 19, 2020 @ 08:37:09
Oooh, well you have treats in store – they publish *so* many good books! This is a great place to start, or maybe “Viven” or maybe one of their non-fictions. I wouldn’t actually know where to start myself, though “Flights” was actually my first Fitzcarraldo.
heavenali
May 18, 2020 @ 18:03:50
This sounds lovely, it might be one for me to remember when it comes to Women in Translation month.
kaggsysbookishramblings
May 19, 2020 @ 08:34:18
It would be ideal for that! And I guess I could always track down a copy of River to read for it myself! 😀
BookerTalk
May 18, 2020 @ 20:36:33
This does sound appealing. One for my wish list I think….
kaggsysbookishramblings
May 19, 2020 @ 08:33:46
Definitely! Such an interesting and moving book!
hopewellslibraryoflife
May 18, 2020 @ 20:40:17
Excellent review.
kaggsysbookishramblings
May 19, 2020 @ 08:33:30
Thank you!
Vishy
May 18, 2020 @ 20:57:23
Wonderful review, Kaggy! This book looks so moving and poignant. So nice to know that it mentions the garden of the Finzi-Continis. I want to read that book some time. Will keep eye for this and ‘River’. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
kaggsysbookishramblings
May 19, 2020 @ 08:33:21
Thanks Vishy! It *is* a very moving book – the sense of her loss is very strong all the way through, and of a women trying to come to terms with her past. I’m very keen to read River now too!
Vishy
May 20, 2020 @ 12:15:53
I want to read this sometime. Hope you like ‘River’ too. Will look forward to hearing your thoughts. Happy reading!
kaggsysbookishramblings
May 20, 2020 @ 12:33:30
Thank you Vishy and happy reading to you – hope you can get hold of this one soon!
Hayley at RatherTooFondofBooks
May 18, 2020 @ 22:45:03
This sounds like a stunning read! I’ve not heard of it before but it sounds like a book for me so I’ll make a note of the title.
kaggsysbookishramblings
May 19, 2020 @ 08:32:15
It’s marvellous, and very evocative. Fitzcarraldo do produce the most individual books!
buriedinprint
May 19, 2020 @ 15:44:47
And so, yet again, reading one book leads one to want to read another: this is why our TBRs never shorten. 🙂 (What a lovely “problem” for us to have.) The idea of grief rooting in landscape makes so much sense, the way that the places we’ve been hold our memories. This definitely sounds like a book I would like (and I grow ever more sure that I’d like anything they publish fiction or non).
kaggsysbookishramblings
May 19, 2020 @ 15:53:28
I’m the same – I’ve read a good new Fitzcarraldos now and not had a dud amongst them. This really was a powerful book and yes, wanting to acquire yet *another* book is a wonderful problem to have! 😀
Jules_Writes
May 20, 2020 @ 09:31:17
Great review and this sounds like a thoughtful and well-written read.
kaggsysbookishramblings
May 20, 2020 @ 10:33:41
Thank you! It really is a moving read – very evocative and thoughtful, as you say. I really do want to read more of her work.
Tony
May 21, 2020 @ 12:55:48
I am keen to try one of Kinsky’s books (albeit in German), but her remarks on translating Olga Tokarczuk (after her Nobel win) didn’t exactly endear me to her…
kaggsysbookishramblings
May 21, 2020 @ 13:12:44
Yes, I’d forgotten that – a pretty arrogant attitude, actually, because based on what I’ve read by both, I know who I think is the better writer of the two…
Caroline
May 26, 2020 @ 08:56:27
Wonderful review, Karen. I think I would like This very much. I haven’t read her yet.
kaggsysbookishramblings
May 26, 2020 @ 09:37:40
Thanks Caroline. It’s such an atmospheric read, and one that really lingers in the mind, I definitely want to read more of her.
Caroline
May 26, 2020 @ 10:31:35
I might make a trip to the book shop tomorrow or so and see what they have.
kaggsysbookishramblings
May 26, 2020 @ 10:39:49
*sob* – a trip to a bookshop……
Caroline
May 26, 2020 @ 13:20:56
Yeah, sorry, we’re allowed again. I’ll take a picture because it has a traffic light at the entrance 🙂 I only saw it from afar but will go tomorrow or the day after.
kaggsysbookishramblings
May 26, 2020 @ 13:29:37
Very jealous….
Caroline
May 26, 2020 @ 13:32:00
A friend asked me “Are you quite alright?” Me:”Why?” “The book shops have been open since May 11 and you’ve not been yet.”
kaggsysbookishramblings
May 26, 2020 @ 13:32:19
:DDDDD
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