Goodreads Monday is a weekly meme started by @Lauren’s Page Turners but is currently hosted by Emily @ Budget Tales Book Blog. This meme is quite easy to follow – just randomly pick a book from your to-be-read list and explain why you want to read it. It is that simple.

This week’s book:

Havoc by Tom Kristensen

Blurb from Goodreads

Ole Jastrau is the very model of an enterprising and ambitious young man of letters, poised on the brink of what is sure to be a distinguished career as a critic. In fact he is teetering on the brink of an emotional and moral abyss. Bored with his beautiful wife and chafing at the burdens of fatherhood, disdainful of the commercialism and political opportunism of the newspaper he works for, he feels more and more that his life lacks meaning. He flirts with Catholicism and flirts with Communism, but somehow he doesn’t have the makings of a true believer. Then he takes up with the bottle, a truly meaningful relationship. “Slowly and quietly,” he intends to go to the dogs.

Jastrau’s romance with self-destruction will take him through all the circles of hell. The process will be anything but slow and quiet.

Why I Want To Read It

It’s Monday again! This means that I have to report to work after a long week’s worth of vacation I spent in Japan. That was one memorable trip as I was able to climb Mt. Fuji, the highest peak in Japan. This also means that I am two-thirds through of the Asian trilogy; only Malaysia’s Mount Kinabalu is missing from the trilogy. But since it is time to return to work, I hope everyone started the work week on a high note. I know, Monday is everyone’s – or at least the majority of us – least favorite day of the week; this includes me, especially as I am currently having a vacation hangover. But on a different note, Mondays present new opportunities. We are given a new week to go after our goals. As such, I hope that everyone will have a great week ahead.

Which reminds me, today is the last Monday of July. Oh how quickly my birth month passed me by. In a couple of days, we will be welcoming the eighth month of the year. I hope that, with seven months done, the year has been treating everyone kindly. I hope that the year has been going great. If it has been going otherwise, I hope that the remainder of the year will provide you with a reversal of fortune. I hope that the last five months of the year will shower us with blessings, good news, and positive energy. I hope that we get to work on the goals that we wanted to achieve at the start of the year. More importantly, I hope everyone will be healthy, in mind, body, and spirit.

To commence another blogging week is a fresh Goodreads Monday update. Reading-wise, July is an extension of my foray into the vast world of European literature; I commenced this journey way back in May. With July drawing to a close, I am also slowly wrapping up this adventure. I am currently reading Swedish writer Fredrik Backman’s Us Against You, the sequel to his novel Beartown. This is also my fifth book by Backman. After the book, I will be reading Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s Poor People which is a part of my 2024 Beat the Backlist challenge. It will be my fourth book by the highly-heralded Russian storyteller. To align with the month’s main reading theme, I have featured works of European literature I am looking forward to in my Goodreads Monday update.

However, the book that I am featuring in this week’s Goodreads Monday update is a book by a writer who is unfamiliar to me. It is just today that I encountered Tom Kristensen. Unfortunately, my foray into the works of Danish writers is rather sparse. I believe Tove Ditlevsen is the only Danish writer in my read list. This is one of the reasons why I wanted to explore Danish literature more. Born in London to Danish parents, Kristensen was considered as one of the most colorful poets of his generation. It was in poetry that he established his reputation. However, his most well-known work is Hærværk.

Originally published in Danish in 1930, the book’s title literally translates to Vandalism but was translated into English in 1968 as Havoc. The premise piqued my interest as the heart of the story is a journalist who was experiencing a personal crisis. For now, the challenge is how to obtain a copy of the book. I just hope I get to obtain a copy of it. How about you fellow reader? How was your Monday? What books have you added to your reading list? Do drop it in the comment box. For now, happy Monday and, as always, happy reading!