Tuesday, March 20, 2012

I Burn Paris by Bruno Jasieński: An Introduction

1929 cover of I Burn Paris by Bruno Jasieński
Picture source


While I'm trying to pull together some thoughts on Galdós I'll post something about the book I read this weekend...


Twisted Spoon Press has just released an English translation of Bruno Jasieński’s novel I Burn Paris. Some background information and excerpts are provided in the links below:

Jasieński’s Wikipedia page

The journal Asymptote has posted the Afterword to the book by Soren Gauger (one of the translators of the novel) and a lengthy excerpt (most of Part 2, Chapter I). I highly recommend both links.

Anatol Stern’s Preface to I Burn Paris, from a 1957 edition of the book (also translated by Soren Gauger).

Update (23 Sep 2012): Lemon Hound has an Inter(re)view: I Burn Paris – A conversation with translator Soren A. Gauger
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2 comments:

seraillon said...

Thanks for the heads up. I just picked up a French copy on my daily visit to the library, and found it on the shelves in an alphabetical line between two favorites also connected to Romain Rolland, Panait Istrati and Joseph Kessel. Looks fascinating.

Dwight said...

I really enjoyed it...well, if 'enjoy' is the right term for the subject matter. I rarely have time to sit down and read a novel in a couple of days so this was an unexpected pleasure.

Soren Gauger's Afterword is helpful in reading it, although I think he overstates the ambiguity of the novel (which I'll try and cover in a future post). I think some of them would be better classified as countercurrents (later he highlights what he calls a subconscious life that contradicts some of the intended messages) that undermine his message. It's too easy to point out Jasieński's own life as Exhibit A for such a judgment since that was years down the road (although I'll note it anyway).