Just like that, we have completed eleven months of 2023. I hope that you have all filled the 334 pages of 2023 with wonderful memories. Time is such a surreal being. It flows sans any regard to anyone or anything. It will keep on moving forward regardless. With eleven months of 2023 already done, I want to know how your year has been? I hope that it has been kind to everyone. I hope you were all able or will be able to reap the benefits of everything you have worked hard for during the year. I hope you have been repaid for it. I hope that the remainder of the year will be filled with great news and blessings. More importantly, I hope everyone is and will be healthy, in body, mind, and spirit in the last days of 2023 and in the coming year.

Where my reading journey is involved, November has been a very productive month. However, like October, it was divided into two phases, with the first phase a continuation of my October reading journey. I continued reading works of European literature which was, as always, a wonderful experience. I got to read the works of writers whose works I have not previously explored while, at the same time, reading works of familiar writers. Following the conclusion of my foray into European literature, I crossed the Atlantic to commence a literary journey across North America. I had so much more planned for my foray into European literature but, unfortunately, time is not on my side. As such, I have been focusing on my ongoing reading challenges. Thankfully, I am nearly about to complete two of these challenges. Currently, I am reading the last book in my 2023 Top 23 Reading List. Without more ado, here is a peek into how my October reading journey shaped up. Happy reading!

The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann

My foray into European literature resumed with Nobel Laureate in Literature Thomas Mann. The German writer has long been on my list of writers whose works I wanted to read. The Magic Mountain was his first book that caught my attention. It took time but I was finally able to obtain a copy of the book which, due to my growing anticipation, I made part of my 2023 Top 23 Reading List. Set in the decade immediately before the First World War, the heart of one of the 1,001 Books You Must Read Before You Die is Hans Castorp, the only son born to a Hamburg merchant family. He lost his parents when he was young, he was raised by his grandfather, and, following his grandfather’s death, by his maternal uncle James Tienappel. When the story commenced, he was a young adult studying for a career in shipbuilding. The crux of the story was when he decided to pay a visit to his cousin, Joachim Ziemssen an officer in training suffering from tuberculosis and was convalescing in the International Sanatorium Berghof in the Swiss Alps. Hans was supposed to stay for three weeks but he extended his stay as his health became frail. During his stay, Hans got more immersed in the world of the titular “magic mountain,” getting acquainted with the other denizens of the sanatorium who were a microcosm of pre-war Europe. Mann takes the reader across a spectrum of subjects, such as death and the inevitable flow of time. It was a challenging read but it was, nevertheless, worth the long wait. Oh, I forgot to mention, The Magic Mountain is my 110th read this year and my 1,100th novel all-time.

Within A Budding Grove by Marcel Proust

From one literary classic to another. To finally keep my momentum with Marcel Proust’s Remembrance of Things Past/In Search of Lost Time going, I included Within a Budding Grove and The Guermantes Way, the second and third volumes in Proust’s magnum opus, in my 2023 Beat the Backlist Challenge. I was hoping to shoot two birds with one stone. In Within a Budding Grove, readers again meet the anonymous narrator, generally accepted amongst literary pundits as Proust himself. Marcel was now acquainted with the Swanns, the family at the heart of the first volume of the novel. Marcel became enamored with the Swann’s daughter, Gilberte. However, her parents were not too fond of the hero and as fate would have it, their paths diverged. The second part of the book covers Marcel’s travel to the seaside town of Balbec with his grandmother and Françoise; Marcel long wanted to visit the town. In Balbec, he befriended members of the Guermantes aristocrat and of the painter Elstir who was first introduced as a foolish young man belonging to Madame Verdurin’s “little clan” in Swann’s Way. The novel’s focus was on the narrator’s sexual and romantic awakening as he got acquainted with young women during his stay in Balbec. Gone was Marcel’s innocent gaze as we see him grow and develop as a person and as a member of society. As always, I was drawn both by the character and Proust’s lush description of his experiences and his environment.

Time Shelter by Georgi Gospodinov

From France, my literary journey next took me to Bulgaria, a part of the world of literature I have not ventured into ever. Enter Georgi Gospodinov who I learned about because of the International Booker Prize. I wasn’t originally too keen on his third novel Time Shelter but when it was announced as the winner, I needed to read the book. I wanted to know what the fuzz was about. Gospodinov, I learned, is quite a literary star in his native Bulgaria. When I was able to obtain a copy of the book, I resolved to make it part of my foray into European literature. The novel was narrated by an anonymous character but one can surmise him to be the author himself. A chance encounter with a mysterious man named Gaustine in Vienna led to a deep acquaintance which grew deeper into friendship after Gaustine set up a clinic in Zurich for the elderly who are suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. It was no ordinary clinic as it was comprised of different floors representing different decades and years of 20th-century Europe. The tailor-fitted rooms provided a sanctuary for people who wanted to find comfort in the past. It was a success but it soon became complicated when healthy individuals started flocking to his clinic to escape from the tediousness of the present. Time Shelter is no ordinary novel. It does not conform to the structural conventions of the typical novel and is parts-satirical and parts-philosophical. It also begs big questions related to memory and the past. Do the answers to the chaos of our quotidian lives lie in the past?

Raised from the Ground by José Saramago

From East to West. My next read took me to the Iberian peninsula, to the native country of Nobel Laureate in Literature José Saramago. It has been some time since I read one of his works although I have been meaning to read a novel by the Portuguese writer, particularly Raised from the Ground. A book I purchased during the first Big Bad Wolf Sale in Manila back in 2018, I included it in my 2023 Beat the Backlist challenge. Originally published in 1980, Raised from the Ground is one of Saramago’s earlier works. It charted the story of João Mau-Tempo and his family during the early 20th century. João was born in the Portuguese countryside, the oldest son of Sara and Domingos. Domingos was an abusive husband, prompting his wife to leave him. João and his family grew up in abject poverty. At a young age, he had to toil the soil to earn a living for his mother and siblings. The novel detailed a familiar theme: the exploitation of the poor by the rich and powerful. Calls to reform the system were quelled. Meanwhile, changes were sweeping the rest of Portugal. The monarchy was overthrown and was replaced by a dictatorship. We read about how João and his kin navigated this sea of changes. It was palpable, however, that despite the changes, there were no changes in the stations of the poor. Historical contexts made me appreciate the novel although I also appreciated the resilience of the characters; the novel, I learned, was inspired by the story of Saramago’s grandfather. Overall, it was a compelling read.

The Guermantes Way by Marcel Proust

As I mentioned above, Marcel Proust’s The Guermantes Way was included in my 2023 Beat the Backlist Challenge. This is to ensure that there will no longer be any delays in my reading Proust’s magnum opus, Remembrance of Things Past/In Search of Lost Time, easily one of the most recognized titles in French if not world literature. The Guermantes Way, the third volume in the novel continues the journey of Marcel, yes, the unnamed narrator is widely considered to be the author himself. The third volume of the novel documented Marcel’s fascination with the Guermanteses, an aristocratic family who symbolized the historic Parisian district of Faubourg Saint-Germain. When the story commenced, Marcel’s family moved to an apartment adjacent to his grandmother’s close friend, Mme. de Villeparisis, a member of the Guermantes family. Another member of the family caught Marcel’s attention: Oriane, Duchesse de Guermantes, the toast of Parisian society. Marcel doted on her but she barely took notice of her neighbor. To get close to the Duchesse, Marcel visited his friend Robert de Saint-Loup, another member of the Guermantes family, in his barracks. Things went awry when Marcel’s grandmother’s health worsened. Marcel’s memory is seminal in moving the story forward. In a way, the book extends the second volume, particularly Marcel’s romantic and sexual awakening. An important element injected into the novel was the discourse on the Dreyfus Affair. The Guermantes Way is a continuation of an excellent book.

Life: A User’s Manual by Georges Perec

Another French novel. Before this year, I had never read any work by Georges Perec who I first came across through an online bookseller.  His novel, Life: A User’s Manual, piqued my interest. One of the 1,001 Books You Must Read Before You Die, I included the book in my 2023 Top 23 Reading List; it is the 115th book I read this year. From the title alone, one can surmise that Life: A User’s Manual is brimming with philosophy. Partly it does in its charting of the stories of the occupants of a Parisian apartment building located at 11 Rue Simon Crubellier. The stories of the occupants of the apartments came to life through vivid descriptions of furnishings, decorations, and other relics unique to the apartment they occupied or were occupying. The novel may be bereft of a firm plot but Perec made up for it by providing a lush tapestry of interwoven stories; the novel is a work of postmodern fiction. Nevertheless, his evocative descriptions allowed the readers to meet an eclectic cast of characters and get to know them intimately. The meandering structure can be disorienting but Perec did provide a caveat at the start of the novel: it is a jigsaw puzzle, a recurring theme of the novel. One of the apartment owners, Percival Bartlebooth, spent half his life painting pictures that he had cut into jigsaw puzzles. He wanted to spend the second half reassembling these puzzles. It was an interesting idea but will it work? It may seem daunting but the writing is very accessible and lyrical. Life: A User’s Manual is an ambitious yet interesting and worthwhile read.

The Day of the Owl by Leonardo Sciascia

I wrapped up my foray into European literature with another unfamiliar writer: Italian writer Leonardo Sciascia. Like Life: A User’s Manual, Sciascia’s The Day of the Owl was a book I first encountered through an online bookseller, back in 2019; it was around this time that I kept on encountering works published by the New York Review of Books (NYRB). The NYRB has provided me books and writers I would have not otherwise encountered, like Magda Szabo and Sciascia. The Day of the Owl is also a part of my 2023 Top 23 Reading List. First published in Italian in 1961 as Il giorno della civetta, the main driver of the novel’s action was the assassination of Salvatore Colasberna. The owner of a small construction company, he was shot while on a bus about to depart from the piazza of a small Sicilian town. A lupara, a sawn-off rifle famously associated with the Sicilian mafia, was discovered to be the murder weapon. No one, not the passengers or the bus driver, would admit to seeing the murderer. Their lips, it seemed, were sealed. Hoping to crack the code, Bellodi, a Carabinieri captain and former Civil War partisan from Parma, took on the case. Despite his intentions, he was met with a wall of silence. All signatures of the Mafia were imprinted all over the crime. It did not help that everyone denied the existence of the Mafia, firmly standing by their belief that it was merely a figment of imagination. The Day of the Owl was a quick and insightful read about the maladies that plague modern Italy.

Fear of Flying by Erica Jong

Following the conclusion of my foray into European literature, a new literary journey in a different part of the world commenced. Without surprise, American literature is my most-read literature. It has been an integral part of my yearly reading tradition and 2023 is no different. It was through must-read lists that I encountered Erica Jong and her magnum opus, Fear of Flying. It piqued my interest but obtaining a copy of the book proved to be a challenge. When I was able to, I added the book to my 2023 Top 23 Reading List. Jong’s debut novel, Fear of Flying was first published in 1973. At the heart of the novel was Isadora Wing, a Jewish journalist from New York City’s Upper West Side. When the story commenced, she was aboard a plane bound for Vienna. She was to attend a convention of psychoanalysts. Her second husband, Bennett, was a psychoanalyst. Ironically, Isadora had a fear of flying, hence the book’s title. To distract her mind from her fear, she started ruminating on her life, focusing on a particular subject: the liberty of women. Isadora had a fear of being rid of male companionship. To appreciate her plight, one must be reminded that the book was set in the 1970s, a time when the social revolution referred to as the Sexual Revolution (or sexual liberation) took place. Isadora, however, was at an impasse because of her dependency on male companionship. After all, she was raised in a traditionally patriarchal society. Fear of Flying was worth the wait.

The Swan Thieves by Elizabeth Kostova

Elizabeth Kostova, whom I first encountered through her novel The Historian, was another writer whose oeuvre I have not explored previously. It was, however, another work by the American writer, The Swan Thieves, that I was able to obtain, back in early 2019. After gathering dust on my bookshelf, I made the book part of both my 2023 Top 23 Reading List and 2023 Beat The Backlist Challenge. The Swan Thieves charted the story of Dr. Andrew Marlow, a psychiatrist in 1999 in Washington, D.C. He also had a keen art interest, spending his free time learning to paint or visiting art galleries. It came as no surprise when a fellow psychiatrist referred a new patient to him. Robert Oliver was a painter who was put in the psychiatric ward after he attempted to stab a painting, Leda and the Swan by Gilbert Thomas, at the National Gallery of Art. Oliver refused to talk. Marlow was fascinated by the case but Oliver still refused to speak. A stack of letters among Oliver’s belongings provided a breakthrough. Oliver was also uncharacteristically protective of these letters which Marlow eventually learns were 19th-century correspondences between Beatrice de Clerval Vignot, a painter, and Olivier Vignot, her great uncle. Marlow dug deeper and answers were soon achieved. The journey to reaching it, however, was painstakingly long. There was a careful but overwhelming attention to details which, in the grand scheme of things, were unnecessary. It was still a compelling read but it does require significant trimming off.

The Memory Keeper’s Daughter by Kim Edwards

My last book for the month is Kim Edwards’ The Memory Keeper’s Daughter. It first caught my attention because of the word “daughter” in the book’s title. It was also around this time that I noted some books having daughter or son in their title such as Adam Johnson’s The Orphan Master’s Son and Amy Tan’s The Bonesetter’s Daughter. Honestly, I was reluctant to purchase The Memory Keeper’s Daughter at first but I eventually relented, curious about what it has in store. The novel commences with a mother, Norah Henry, giving birth. Her delivery was performed by her doctor-cum-husband, Dr. David Henry. Norah delivered a perfectly healthy boy whom they named Paul. What David did not expect was the birth of a second child just a couple of minutes after Paul’s delivery. The second baby was a girl who was born with a defect. She had Down’s Syndrome which means that her future would be brimming with difficulties, a high possibility of heart defect, and even early death. Recognizing the pain his daughter might inflict, David asked his nursing assistant, Caroline Gill to take his daughter to an institution catering to patients with Down’s Syndrome. Against his wishes and because of the conditions of the institution, Caroline took the child into her own fold, naming her Phoebe. What ensued was a story exploring the complexities and dynamics of families. The novel never quite peaked, even leaving Phoebe as an after thought. It had so much potential but it never quite reached it.

Reading Challenge Recaps
  1. My 2023 Top 23 Reading List: 22/23
  2. 2023 Beat The Backlist: 19/20; 114/60
  3. 2023 Books I Look Forward To List: 3/10
  4. Goodreads 2023 Reading Challenge: 119/100*
  5. 1,001 Books You Must Read Before You Die: 19/20
  6. New Books Challenge: 5/15
  7. Translated Literature: 65/40

*I updated my Goodreads target from 70 to 90 as I am quite ahead of my original target.

Book Reviews Published in November
  1. Book Review # 470: Our Share of Night
  2. Book Review # 471: The Wind Knows My Name
  3. Book Review # 472: Within A Budding Grove
  4. Book Review # 473: Time Shelter

Unfortunately, November was a busy month at the office, something that I did not expect. I guess it is also because I am still adjusting to my new role in the Risk Department. As such, I was not able to complete that many book reviews. Thankfully, I am already focusing on my 2023 reads as I already completed all pending 2022 book reviews last month. Unfortunately, I was not able to complete any reviews from books I read in January, which was supposed to be my focus this month. Nevertheless, I was able to finish four book reviews from my more recent reads. Oh boy. I still have quite a lot of catching up to do. I currently have over ninety book reviews pending for this year. I sure hope that I will be able to find the motivation to write as many as I can although the general attitude would still be taking it one step at a time.

As I have mentioned above, I am down to my last two books which are part of my ongoing reading challenges. With this, I will be taking it lightly in December although I do have some books I am raring to read, particularly five or six newly released books. Three of these books are part of my 2023 Top 10 Books I Look Forward To List.

On top of these three books, I am hoping I get to read Colson Whitehead’s Crook Manifesto, Tan Twan Eng’s The House of Doors, Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai’s Dust Child, and two recently translated Japanese novels. Speaking of Japanese novels, I will be taking them with me on my trip to Japan later this month.

How about you fellow reader? How is your own reading journey going? I hope you enjoyed the books you have read. For now, have a great day. As always, do keep safe, and happy reading everyone!