August 2025

Willa Cather, A Lost Lady
A Madame Bovary-type story, set in the US. An interesting novel.
Isaac Bashevis Singer, Shosha
First Singer novel I've read, this mixed sex, humor, and mysticism in pre-WWII Warsaw. A very strong piece of work.
Joyce Carol Oates, I Lock My Door Upon Myself
Candidate for my worst read of the year.
Luigi Pirandello, The Late Mattia Pascal
Another of his works that focuses on identity, how mutable it is: a man gets the chance to vanish when a corpse is mistakenly identified as his. He has some adventures which recall Dostoyevsky's The Gambler and then embarks on a romantic relationship. All the time, he fears that his true identity will be discovered. Finally, he goes back to his home town and... well, amusing at times, but never truly treats its themes with sufficient depth, remaining little more than a page-turning piece of entertainment.
Paul Bowles, Their Heads are Green and their Hands are Blue
Well-crafted essays.
Tommaso Landolfi, Words in Commotion
Excellent selection of his work.
Friedrich Nietzsche, Untimely Meditations
Honoré de Balzac, Père Goriot