Explore these captivating reads: Helen Oyeyemi's latest, Balla, and Fernanda Eberstadt's current title.
In the heart of Prague, a city that weaves itself into the narrative as a character, a captivating story unfolds. Among the Ruins, the latest novel by a Slovakian author, presents us with two titular characters: Juraj Feleslegi, a psychiatrist in a small Slovakian city, and Mrs. Vargová, a former patient with a complex and intriguing past.
Feleslegi's strength lies in the daring, sometimes dizzying, prose that permeates the novel, while its weakness is equally apparent: a playful, absurdist tone that prevents the story from becoming overly gloomy. Meanwhile, Mrs. Vargová's letters to Feleslegi are filled with a peculiar blend of Communist nostalgia, racist diatribes, and agoraphobic anxieties.
Among the Ruins is a wild postmodern puppet show, cheekily adapted from Prague's rich history and folklore. The novel explores the personal struggles of both Feleslegi and Vargová. Feleslegi is affected by his brother's suicide, while Vargová is haunted by the shadows of domestic abuse.
In her latest work, Helen Oyeyemi, a UK novelist, delves into themes such as rejection and revenge, the weight of shared history, and the thrill of imagining alternative lives. Bite Your Friends, another of Oyeyemi's novels, is partly a memoir of her wealthy childhood in 1970s New York.
On the other side of the Atlantic, Stephen King, the author of Mr. Mercedes, continues to captivate readers. The German editions of his works are published by Wilhelm Heyne Verlag in Munich and are widely available. Other historical novel authors, such as Ken Follett, Diana Gabaldon, Rebecca Gablé, and Peter Prange, also have their books readily available in bookstores and online.
In the realm of crime novels, authors like Sebastian Fitzek, Simon Beckett, and Arno Strobel also have their books widely available, primarily in German markets.
Bite Your Friends, a pastiche book that loosely focuses on the power of wounded or rejected bodies, tells the story of three old friends coming together on a bachelorette weekend. Among the Ruins, translated into English by David Short with charming explanatory footnotes, is available from Jantar Publishing and Europa Editions.
Vargová's complaints about the post-communist order are often humorous, adding a layer of levity to the novel. Feleslegi, on the other hand, is often found daydreaming during his patient's sessions and avoiding lunch with his psychiatrist mother on Sundays.
In the end, both novels offer a unique exploration of human struggles and the complexities of the human condition, wrapped in engaging narratives that keep readers hooked until the very end.
