Next up on the Ramblings is the latest pair of Penguin Moderns from my lovely box set. Numbers 33 and 34 feature two male authors who really couldn’t be more different – yet reading them both was extremely enjoyable and convinced me I should try to pick up books by them sooner rather than later! 😀
Penguin Modern 33 – Piers of the Homeless Night by Jack Kerouac
I am on very familiar ground with Kerouac, as back in my teens I read pretty much everything available by him (and I’ve hoovered up most of what’s been released in the interim). Inevitably, because of the period in which his works were written I have occasional issues with his attitudes to women, but when his prose soars I love him. “Piers…” contains two short sections extracted from “Lonesome Traveler”, his account of his travels around American which was first published in 1960. The title piece is a beautifully written evocation of his encounter with an old buddy in San Pedro, and his failure to ship out as a crew-member on a boat as does his friend.
Kerouac was always drawn to the sea – it’s a recurrent motif in his work, if I recall correctly from my readings all those decades ago – and the prose here is so hypnotic. The second piece is “The Vanishing American Hobo”; it finds Kerouac in philosophical mood, musing on the changes taking place in his country and the modern difficulties of bumming your way around America. It was no longer easy to hop a freight train or sleep under the stars without the authorities moving you on; I imagine it would be nigh on impossible nowadays, and that’s another kind of freedom gone…
I don’t go back to Kerouac often; maybe part of me is worried that I won’t find the magic in his prose that I did before. However, on the evidence of this I obviously should!
Penguin Modern 34 – Why Do You Wear a Cheap Watch? by Hans Fallada
In contrast to Kerouac, Fallada is an author who’s come to prominence in the English-speaking world relatively recently; his novel, “Alone in Berlin” caused a stir on its release in 2010, and many of his works have now been published widely in translation. I tried (and failed!) to read “Alone…” pre-blog, so I was very interested to see how I would find the three short works collected here. Spoiler alert – I loved them! 😀
There are three short stories featured in the Penguin Modern, all drawn from the collection “Tales from the Underworld” (2014). The title tale is a humorous ‘cry wolf’ story of a watchmaker’s son who seems to find it impossible to hold on to the timepieces given to him by his father; “War Monument or Urinal?” brilliantly captures the range of small town politics in pre-war Germany, and the tensions that existed; and “Fifty Marks and a Merry Christmas” is a touching story of a couple trying to make ends meet at the edge of the poverty line.
I found these stories wonderful and compelling, so I can’t understand, looking back, why I struggled with “Alone…” unless it was simply a case of right book, wrong time. Whatever – Fallada writes wonderfully, brilliantly capturing so much of his times in these short works!
*****
So PMs 33 and 34 were winners! A revisit to a favourite author and an introduction to a new one, both of which I loved. The Penguin Moderns really are proving to be the best way to meet new authors and rediscover old ones – can’t wait to see who comes up next! ;D
Lisa Hill
Nov 25, 2020 @ 09:38:43
I think Fallada is wonderful. I’ve read nearly all his books that have been translated (including this Penguin Modern) and have been impressed by them all. I’m saving my last one for when I’m in the depths of despair after reading some trashy disappointment and cannot bear the thought of the next book not being any good!
kaggsysbookishramblings
Nov 25, 2020 @ 11:02:32
I don’t really know why I didn’t gel at first, because I loved these. I really must try to read him again! 😀
Lisa Hill
Nov 25, 2020 @ 21:53:46
Books are just like people…wrong book at the time. It works the other way too, sometimes I wonder, why on earth did I like that one?
kaggsysbookishramblings
Nov 26, 2020 @ 09:26:57
Lol! True – I’ve sometimes gone back to a book and gone “meh! what was I thinking?” ;D
juliana brina
Nov 25, 2020 @ 11:06:51
I am happy you liked these stories by Fallada, Karen! He always impresses me.
kaggsysbookishramblings
Nov 25, 2020 @ 11:11:02
I definitely need to explore more of his work! 😀
A Life in Books
Nov 25, 2020 @ 12:34:33
Very keen to read the Fallada which I’d not spotted before.
kaggsysbookishramblings
Nov 25, 2020 @ 14:49:48
I loved it, and it definitely made me want to explore more of his other writings!
Caroline
Nov 25, 2020 @ 15:54:29
Such different writers but I like them both. I think it must have been a „wrong time“ thing with Fallada. Although, I haven’t read it yet but I’m pretty sure I’d like it.
kaggsysbookishramblings
Nov 25, 2020 @ 16:05:03
I think so – I loved these Fallada short works so I can’t see why I wouldn’t love the longer books! 😀
Helen
Nov 25, 2020 @ 16:25:57
I’m glad you enjoyed the Hans Fallada. I haven’t read that one, but I’ve loved some of his others. If you want to read more of his work, I thought Little Man, What Now? was a wonderful book!
kaggsysbookishramblings
Nov 25, 2020 @ 18:46:38
i must give him another try because I really did love these stories!
Jane
Nov 25, 2020 @ 17:53:43
Fallada is new to me too so thanks for the introduction. I think bumming around America or anywhere now would just be too scary, what a shame.
kaggsysbookishramblings
Nov 25, 2020 @ 18:46:15
Most welcome! As for hitching *anywhere* nowadays I think it would be desperately risky – plus you just feel there’s nowhere nowadays that isn’t observed….
heavenali
Nov 25, 2020 @ 18:16:36
Kerouac is one of those big name American writers I’ve never read, Philip Roth is another. Fallada is a completely new name to me, so must have passed me by. The Kerouac appeals to me particularly, with his musings on the America he saw around him.
kaggsysbookishramblings
Nov 25, 2020 @ 18:45:35
I read a *lot* of Kerouac back in the day, but I’ve only ever read one Roth. I remember liking it but I didn’t feel I desperately had to read more. But I love Kerouac’s prose so that always draws me to him. As for Fallada, I think it was about ten years ago his name started to appear (or maybe more?) – I think I definitely would like to explore his work.
JacquiWine
Nov 26, 2020 @ 08:03:37
Ooh, a Fallada. Like Susan, I don’t think I was aware of his inclusion in the Penguin Moderns series…that’s interesting to know. Alone in Berlin is worth another try if you ever feel minded to read more of him. It took me a couple of goes to get into, but once I had enough time to devote myself to it without major distractions I found it incredibly absorbing.
kaggsysbookishramblings
Nov 26, 2020 @ 09:26:28
Alone in Berlin is the one I failed with and I suspect I just needed to read it at the right time. I *have* been a bit distracted lately and maybe that was the problem back then – it’s sometimes hard to settle into a book!
rakeshreader
Nov 27, 2020 @ 03:31:10
Good one.
Kerouac is my favorite as well.
kaggsysbookishramblings
Nov 27, 2020 @ 06:46:27
Thanks! He’s a long term favourite of mine too!
Joachim Boaz
Nov 29, 2020 @ 17:04:22
Gah, I love the font on those!
kaggsysbookishramblings
Nov 29, 2020 @ 17:14:47
Great isn’t it? It’s a very pretty set all round!
Liz Dexter
Nov 29, 2020 @ 19:12:13
What a great pair! Someone I was transcribing was on about Hans Fallada but I can’t remember who now!
kaggsysbookishramblings
Nov 29, 2020 @ 19:32:56
They were a really unlikely pairing, but both very interesting. i didn’t think I liked Fallada, but not so sure now… ;D
Janakay | YouMightAsWellRead
Nov 30, 2020 @ 10:00:52
As always, I enjoyed the review. Despite his iconic status, I’ve never read anything by Kerouac. I’ve actually considered remedying that, but have been hesitant to do so, thinking he was one of those “you should read him at a certain stage of life” writers (perhaps wrongly, I put J.D. Salinger in that category as well). As for Fallada — well, with my new found enthusiasm for translated literature, for me at least his time may have come!
kaggsysbookishramblings
Nov 30, 2020 @ 10:42:00
I think it *does* make a difference when you read Kerouac. I was in my teens and he resonated in a different way to now. Plus I am less tolerant of things (attitude to women) nowadays. But I still love his soaring prose and that in the end, plus his ability to transport me to a different place and time, is what a get from his books.
buriedinprint
Dec 03, 2020 @ 15:49:10
When I was in my early teens, I pulled a copy of On the Road off a family member’s bookshelf (I think we were visiting for Christmas and I was sleeping on the floor of a guest room) and was teased for it (really, I can’t remember why, only the embarrassment). The language was accessible for sure, and I was drawn to the plainspeak, but when I did take another look years later, I was nonplussed. Maybe a shorter work would be another way in?
kaggsysbookishramblings
Dec 03, 2020 @ 16:11:04
IDK really – I was the right age to read Kerouac first time round (17 or 18) but I don’t actually think On the Road is his best (but that may be because I read and loved Dharma Bums first). Perhaps dip into a few and see what takes your fancy??
buriedinprint
Dec 04, 2020 @ 16:48:49
Maybe this is one of those instances when a Reader truly comes in handy. Normally they just leave me wanting more. But they’d be ideal for samplers.
kaggsysbookishramblings
Dec 04, 2020 @ 18:36:10
Definitely. I know there are Beat Readers on the market (I think I have one, actually) but how much Kerouac is included I’m not sure. A good introduction to a number of authors, though.
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