First Impression Friday will be a meme where you talk about a book that you JUST STARTED! Maybe you’re only a chapter or two in, maybe a little farther. Based on this sampling of your current read, give a few impressions and predict what you’ll think by the end.

Synopsis:

Searching for an inn, the enigmatic traveler Hans stops in a small city on the border between Saxony and Prussia. There, he meets an organ-grinder in the market square and immediately finds himself enmeshed in an intense debate – on identity and what it is that defines us – from which he cannot break free.

Indefinitely stuck in Wandernburg until his debate with the organ-grinder is concluded, he begins to meet the various characters who populate the town, including a young freethinker named Sophie. Though she is engaged to be married, Sophie and Hans embark on a relationship that defies mores about female sexuality and what can and cannot be said about it.

Traveler of the Century overflows with discussions about philosophy, history, literature, love, and translation. It is a book that looks to the past in order to have us reconsider the conflicts of our present. The winner of Spain’s prestigious Alfaguara Prize and the National Critics Prize, Traveler of the Century marks the English-language debut of Andrés Neuman, a writer described by Roberto Bolaño as being “touched by grace.”

And cut! Happy Friday everyone! Well, technically, it is already Saturday. Still, it means that another workweek is in the books. It is time to dress down after a long week at the office. I hope that everyone ended their workweek on a high note. I just realized today is the second to the last Saturday of September. Oh, how time flies. Before we know it, we will already be greeting a new year. But as the year approaches its inevitable close, I hope the rest of the year will be brimming with good news and tidings. I hope that before the year ends you get repaid for the hard work you poured in from the start of the year. More importantly, I hope that everyone is doing well, in body, mind, and spirit.

As has become a weekly tradition, I will be capping the workweek with a fresh First Impression Friday. In nearly a month and a half, I immersed myself in the works of African literature. It was a fantastic reading journey – as always – that was two years in the making. It was my first African literature month since 2021. After this successful journey, I commenced a journey across South America. This is also going to be just the second time I held a South American literature month. Interestingly, the last time I had one was back in 2021 as well. After reading my second novels by Laura Esquivel (The Law of Love) and Roberto Bolaño (2666), I am currently reading my first novel by Argentine writer Andrés Neuman. This makes Neuman just the second Argentine writer who I read at least one work; the first one was Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Hernan Diaz.

It was back in July 2020, shortly after the easing of COVID-19 restrictions, when I first encountered Andrés Neuman through an online bookseller. I obtained a copy of his short novel Talking to Ourselves. But because of my growing reading pile, I put the book on hold. Nearly three years later, I would encounter the Argentine writer again, now with his novel Traveler of the Century. Originally published in 2009 in Spanish as El viajero del siglo, Traveler of the Century is Neuman’s fourth novel. It was also his first novel to be translated into English and the book that elevated him to global recognition. It earned him several accolades; this was the primary reason why I chose to read it over the first Talking to Ourselves.

Traveler of the Century transports the readers to the fictional German city of Wandernburg, lodged between the ancient states of Saxony and Prussia. The time period was the 19th century, a pivotal period in Europe, with the continent reeling from the effects of the Napoleonic Wars. The novel commences with the introduction of Hans, the titular traveler. He was no ordinary traveler as he was also a translator. He arrived in Wandernburg planning to stay overnight in a local inn before pursuing his journey to Dessau, his final destination. Wandernburg, he soon discovered, was no ordinary overnight town. It was a city that captivated both travelers and locals for its charm. Time has seemingly stopped and no one had to proclivity to move beyond Wandernburg. Entering Wandernburg was easy but leaving it was difficult.

During his stay, Hans got acquainted with a motley crew of interesting characters. Herr Zeit was the owner of the inn he was staying in. He also befriended an old organ grinder who was residing in a cave. Every day, he goes to the market square to play his organ, hence, his nickname. The longer he stayed, the more Hans was immersed in local affairs. He soon found himself invited into the home of Herr Gottlieb, one of the city’s more esteemed denizens. At the Gottlieb household, he got acquainted with Professor Mietter, a conservative academician. Their conversations comprise discourses on history, at least these were embedded in the part that I have read so far.

I am expecting that this type of discourse will comprise the novel. After all, both Mietter and Hans are intellects. I don’t have any qualms about it as I do expect the novel to be a tad complex. I am just a hundred pages in, after all, and the book is a whopping 600 pages long. This means that there are bound to be more elements that will unravel as I move forward. I am quite interested in the organ grinder because he seems to be central to the other elements of the city and, by extension, the novel. Perhaps his backstory will be unveiled? I hope so. I am also looking forward to the demystification of Wandernburg. What enchants travelers? Will Hans be able to decipher it?

There is a bit of a drawdown, however. The long paragraphs that make up the novel add a little bit of a challenge. It has also a slow pace; despite its length, I was expecting it to be a quick read but that does not seem to be the case. Nevertheless, I am looking forward to how Neuman will build the story and the case for Wandernburg and its denizens. There are a lot of things to look forward to. How about you fellow reader? What book or books are you taking with you for the weekend? I hope you get to enjoy them. Again, happy weekend everyone!