In a lean month for paperbacks, September’s preview begins with two books by Danish poet/novelists, one of which was a 2025 favourite for me. Set in the seventeenth century, Olga Ravn’s The Wax Child is narrated by the titular child moulded by an impoverished noblewoman charged with witchcraft. Christenze lives in a friend’s household, helping with the birth of Anne’s many children, none of whom survive more than a few days. When Anne’s hope turns to a bitterness, she points a finger at Christenze who flees before accusations are voiced but finds herself under suspicion again. Evidence is gathered and paid for, torture administered, confessions extracted, convictions declared and cruel punishment handed down. As you might expect from a poet, Ravn’s writing is arrestingly vivid. Kudos to Martin Aitken for his expert translation.
Tove Ditlevsen’s Vilhelm’s Room was originally published a year before she took her own life in 1976. It traces the fallout from Lise and Vilhelm’s breakup after which Lise, suicidal and still consumed with memories of her husband, publishes a lonely hearts advertisement triggering a series of tragi-comic events. ‘A blackly funny and devastating tour-de-force that pulses with life even as it journeys towards death’ say the publishers setting the scene. I’ve read just one of Ditlevsen’s books, the autobiographical novella Childhood, which I admired for its striking writing rather than enjoyed.
Kiran Desai’s The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny is her first since she won the Booker for The Inheritance of Loss back in 2006 and was also longlisted for last year’s prize. The titular couple spot each other on an overnight train, both embarrassed by memories of their grandparents’ efforts to make a match between them. Sonia has returned to India after studying in Vermont while Sunny is trying to escape his quarrelsome family, not least his demanding mother. ‘The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny is the sweeping tale of two young people navigating the many forces that shape their lives: country, class, race, history, and the complicated bonds that link one generation to the next’ according to the blurb.
Drawing on the dream journals he kept in the years before his death aged ninety-four in 2006, Nobel Prizewinning Naguib Mahfouz’s I Found Myself…The Last Dreams straddles the line between fiction and autobiography. An assassination attempt had made him more cautious in his waking hours but while asleep he roamed his beloved Cairo, recording his dream wanderings and weaving them into vivid vignettes. ‘Each dream is layered with philosophical and spiritual musings, hopes and disappointments. Over the course of the book, they build to a rich and complex picture of Mahfouz’s subconscious’ says the blurb which sounds fascinating.
That’s it for September. A click on a title will take you either to my review or to a more detailed synopsis should you want to know more, and if you’d like to catch up with new fiction it’s here and here.
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Once again I find books to tempt me! The two I have added to my wish list are: Tove Ditlevsen’s Vilhelm’s Room (I know what you mean about not really enjoying her grim, gritty writing and yet I was compelled to keep reading her trilogy from Childhood to Dependency) and Naguib Mahouz’s I Found Myself…the Last Dreams, which sounds haunting and reflective.
I didn’t get any further than Childhood although I may pick the trilogy up again. Very keen to read the Mahouz.
I’d forgotten about The Wax Child so thank you for the reminder! I really must get round to that one.
Maybe one for #NovellaNovember?
It was one of our most popular selections for the challenge last year!
Perhaps not that many paperbacks but what’s there is good stuff! Like you, I loved Ravn’s The Wax Child, grim at times but with that wild poetry who cares? (must admit, however, I preferred her earlier work, The Employees!) Sonia & Sunny is a bit of a doorstopper but worth it if you want an engrossing family type saga (read it for last year’s Booker); since this exhausted my craving for big, multi-character family-type epics I decided to pass on Buckeye! Of the two that’s left, I’m going with Vilhelm’s Room. As you said, Ditlevsen’s work can be grim but she’s such a wonderful writer I can get around that (I thought her Copenhagen trilogy was quite an achievement). As for the Mahfouz, I’m interested but I’m putting it on hold until I read some of his work! (had Cairo trilogy sitting around for ages)
You’re right: quality not quantity! I loved The Wax Child but have yet to get around to The Employees, and thanks for the encouragement with the Desai which I’m sure I’ll get around to. It’s an attractive premise. I can recommend the Cairo Trilogy.
I’m reading a different Ravn, The Employees, for Women in Translation Month. It’s taken me a while (perhaps one-third of the length!) to truly figure out what’s going on.
I’ve found Ditlevsen a bit grim so probably won’t read more.
I gather it’s very different. I may try the trilogy again but Villhelm’s Room is more appealing.
Buckeye has tempted me before so I might check it out now it is in paperback…
I thought it was an enjoyable, satisfying read. A good one if you’re looking for something to lose yourself in.
Ditlevsen’s integrated autobiography is one of the best I have read, although it is a tough read. I have Buckeye on wait-list in my public library. A long waitliist.
High praise, indeed! I imagine Buckeye is a popular choice for summer reading.
Sonia and Sunny keeps tempting me, but I’m not very good with chunksters. There’s always a point around the 300 page mark where I start to lose the will to live. It’s over 20 hours if I commit to an audiobook. Hmm. Well, I will have to see how the autumn goes as I would like to at least try one of these big, sweeping Indian epics.
I do know what you mean about chunksters. I often think they need a good edit. Fingers crossed for Sonia and Sunny which has a great premise.
I enjoyed Sonia and Sunny, not realising how hefty it was when I got it via NetGalley. A worthy read, though.
It’s the heftyness that put’s me off but I do like the premise. I’m sure I’ll get around to it.