DESERT, by J. M. G. Le Clézio

 

DESERT

by Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clézio
Translated from the French by C. Dickson

DESERT is the first book by Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clézio that I have read, although during the gloomy days of the coronavirus, I listened to his audiobook "Mondo" , narrated by Behrooz Razavi . Le Clézio was born in Nice, France, but his mother is an English-born resident of Africa, and he is fluent in both English and French. However, most of his writings are in French. It is clear that spending part of his life in Africa has influenced his writing.
    In 2008, the Swedish Academy described Nobel Prize in Literature laureate Jean-Marie Le Clézio as follows:
    "Le Clézio is an innovative and unique writer. He has a poetic adventure, and his writings are in an emotional trance. He goes beyond humanity and seeks to restore human civilization."
     In this book, the author speaks so poetically and gently about the hardships and struggles of the desert and its inhabitants that it makes enduring life in the desert more bearable. The reader becomes immersed in the author's description of the desert's nature without having preconceived notions about the harshness of nature and the difficulties of living in the desert."
    Le Clézio speaks not only of the harshness and roughness of the desert but also of its unparalleled beauty. Just as he laments the aridity and thirst of the desert, he praises its softness and purity. He talks about the desert wind that both causes illness and cleanses ugliness, in such a way that the reader never tires of reading. This novel is essentially a single novel written in three separate chapters titled "Desert", Happiness", and "Life with the slaves". These three chapters follow two intertwined narratives, each with a central character.
    Nour is a young boy traveling with his family in a caravan of desert warriors, guiding a blind warrior to meet a spiritual leader. Life in the desert has made Nour a different kind of teenager than one might expect. Lalla is a teenage orphan living in the North Africa—more specifically, North Morocco—who flees to Europe to avoid marrying a middle-aged man. Although the immigration officer tells her that only domestic work awaits her, she eventually becomes a model for a photographer after working in a hotel for a long time.
In this book, Le Clézio talks about migration or, more precisely, journey, both out of the desert and within it. The two characters, Nour and Lalla, have a deep connection with the desert and its hardships. Le Clézio is known for his poetic prose and stark depiction of injustices, speaking about the historical injustice inflicted on the desert people, the cultural contrasts, and the way of life of the desert inhabitants compared to those beyond the Mediterranean Sea, as well as the identity of a person raised in the desert. The intertwined relationship between nature and humans and the exchange between them is highlighted, pointing to the resistance against European oppression.
    The final sentences of the book remind the reader that the human struggle for freedom and liberation is endless, and hope always sprouts, even in the desert, which can be depicted by the birth of a child under a fig tree.
    In this book, there is a character of a blind warrior, and Nure's main responsibility is to accompany and assist this warrior. The presence of a blind warrior, especially in the desert, raised questions for me. I tried to find the reason for this character and its symbolism from various sources and finally turned to ChatGPT. I received several ambiguous answers, and this one seems closest to reality: "He may represent a different kind of insight or wisdom, suggesting that true understanding does not always come from physical sight."
    Nick Turner has provided a brief commentary on this book, the link to which I will include below. I have also posted important sentences from the book further on this page and my website . If you are interested in learning more about this book, you can visit them, and the links are provided below.

Notes from book:

    Their cracked lips and tongues were hard and leathery. Hunger gnawed their insides. they couldn't have spoken. They had been as mute as the desert for so long, filled with the light of the Sun burning down in the middle of the empty sky, and Frozen with the night and its still stars. page 2

    They were the man and the woman of the sand, of the wind, of the light, of the night. They had appeared as if in the dream at the top of the dune, as if they were born of the cloudless sky and carried the harshness of space in their limbs. page 2-3

    It was a timeless land, removed from human history perhaps, a land where nothing else could come to be or die, as if it were already beyond other lands, at the Pinnacle of earthly existence. Page 4

    The desert cleaned everything in its wind, wiped everything away. Page 5

    when night fell over the well water there, the star-filled desert sky reigned again. page 9

    The little girls with copper hair grew up, learned the endless motions of life. They had no mirror other than the fascinating stretches of gypsum plain under the pure blue sky. The boys learned to walk, talk,hunt, and fight simply to learn how to die on the sand. page 13

    The next day as the sun was going down, Ma Al- Ainine came out of his house to say the last prayer. the men and women in the camp had hardly slept, for they hadn't stopped changing and stamping their feet. But the great journey across the desert had already begun, and the feeling of abandonment inspired by the march along the trail of sand had already entered their bodies, its scorched breath was already filling them, making mirage shimmer before their eyes. No one had forgotten the suffering, the thirst, the  relentless burning of the sun on the infinite stones and sand, or the ever- receding horizon. No one had forgotten the gnawing hunger, not only hunger for food, but all sorts of hunger. Hunger for Hope and for freedom, hunger for everything that is mission and that digs out of a dizzy hollow in the ground, hunger that pushes a man forward into the cloud of dust amongst the dazed animals, hunger that makes him climb all the way up hillsides until he must start back down again, with hundreds of other identical hills stretching out before him. page 36 

    Lala herself doesn't really understand how that happened, for time doesn't seem to exist anymore when she's sitting next to the Hartani. Words flow freely, go out toward the Hartani and come back to her, full of new meaning, like in certain dreams when you're two people at one. page 83

    Lala loves spending her days with the Hartani. He shows all other those things to her alone. He's wary of the others, because they don't have time to wait, to seek out smells, to see desert birds fly. He's not afraid of people. it's rather they who are afraid of him. they say he's mejnoun  possessed by demons, that he's a magician, that she has the evil eye. the Hartani, he's the one who has no father or mother, because he came out of nowhere; he's the one a desert warrior left near the well one day, without saying a word. He's the one who has no name. Sometimes Lala would really like to know who he is; she'd like to ask him "where are you from?" Page 99

    Naman the fisherman says that the sea is like a woman, but he never explains it. the gaze comes from all sides of once.  page 122

    Old Naman sometimes says that sea birds are the soul of men who died at the sea in a storm, and Lalla thinks that the white seagull is the soul of the very tall and slim fisherman, with light skin and hair the color of sunlight, whose eyes shine like a flame. page 123

    She came from the South, from the open desert, and what's where he had met her, because her tribe was from the South, from the Saguiet Al-Hamra, near the holy city of Samara, and her tribe belonged to the family of the great Ma al-Ainine, the one who was called water of the eyes. But the tribe had to leave their lands because the soldiers of the Christian drove them all- men, weman, and children- from their home, and they walked for days and months through the desert That is what your mother told us later.  page 137

    when that is slow, mild wind comes, people fall sick, almost everywhere, especially small children and elderly people, and they die. that's why it's called the wind of ill fortune. page 156

    Nour thought of the old woman who had given him some tea back there in the Smara camp. Maybe she too had fallen one day, struck down by the sun, and the desert sand had covered her over. But he didn't think about her for very long, because each step he took was like someone's death, wiping his memory clean, as if crossing the desert had to destroy everything, burn everything out of his memory, make him into a different boy. page 188

    " One day, oh, one day, the crow will turn white, the sea will go dry, we will find honey in the desert flower, we will make bedding of acacia sprays, oh, one day, the snake will speed no more poison, and rifle bullets will bring no more death, for that will be the day I will leave my love..."

    "One day, oh, one day, the wind cease to blow over the earth, the grains of sand will be sweet as sugar, under each white stone on the path, a spring will be awaiting me, one day, oh, one day, the bees will sing for me, for that will be the day I will leave my love..."

    "One day, oh, one day, there will be the night sun, and puddles of moon water will gather upon the earth,

    the gold of the stars will rain from the sky, one day, oh, one day, I'll see my shadow dancing for me, for that will be the day I will leave my love..."

    "One day, oh, one day, the sun will go black, the earth will split open to its very core, the sea will cover the sand, one day, oh, one day, my eyes will see no light, my lips will be unable to say your name, my heart will stop beat- ing, for that will be the day I will leave my love..." page 190-191

when he's finished, the man looks at Lalla and asks, "do you intend to work in France?" yes, lala says. "what job?" "I don't know." " Housemaid," the policeman says, and writes that on his form.  page 208

Night falls on the city. lights flicker on in the streets, around the train station, on the iron pylons, and on the long red, white, and green bars over the cafes and the movie theaters. Lala is walking through the dark streets without making a sound, sliping along hugging the walls. page 217-8

That's what Lalla's days are like, here, in the big city of Marseille, along all the streets, with all of the men and all of the women she'll never be able to know. page 218

Here, there are no wasps and flies zooming freely through the air where the dust swirls. There is nothing but people, rats, cockroaches, everything that dwells in holes with no light, no air, no sky. Lalla prowls around the streets like an old black dog with its hair bristling, not being able to find its spot. page 243

    They’ve lost everything, exiled, beaten, humiliated, they work on the roads, in the freezing winds, in the rain, they dig holes in the stony earth, they ruin their hands and their heads, driven mad by the jackhammers. They’re hungry, they’re frightened, they’re frozen with solitude and emptiness. (265)

    Death came. It began with the goats and the sheep, and the horses too, left in the riverbed, bellies bloated, legs hanging open. Then it was the turn of the children and the old people; they became become delirious and could no longer get back on their feet. Page 291

    Most of the Blue men had continued their aimless endless journey, toward the plateaus of the Draa, to pick up the trails where they'd left off.Nour's mother and father had gone back to the desert. But he couldn't bring himself to follow them. Maybe he was still hoping for a miracle, the land that the sheik had promised them, where there would be peace and abundance, which the foreign soldiers could never enter. The blue men had left, one after the other, taking their rags with them. But so many had died on the way! Never would they find the piece they had known before, never would the wind of ill- Fortune leave them in peace. page 324

    There was no end to freedom, it was as vast as the wide world, beautiful and the cruel as the light, gentle as the eyes of water. Each day, at the first light of dawn, the free men went back toward their home, toward the south, toward the place where no one else could live . Each day, with the same motions, they erased the traces of their fires, they buried their excrement. Turned toward the desert, they carried out their wordless prayer. They drifted away, as if in a dream, disappeared. page 352

Nick Turner's view about J.M.G. Le Clézio, Desert, translated by C. Dickson (Atlantic, 2010)

کتاب صوتی موندو اثر ژان ماری گوستاو لوکلزیو - #بهروز_رضوی

The Grass is Singing By Doris Lessing

The Grass is Singing

By  Doris Lessing

Today, I am proud to introduce to you the fascinating and memorable novel "The Grass Sings". According to many novel readers, more than the style and context of writing a novel , creating the atmosphere of the story and portraying the story in the reader makes the novel more lasting and perhaps more immortal. In my own experience, I would like to mention two examples of novel books. 

    I have read Dolatabadi's novel, " Kelidar " more than 25 Years ,and the opening sentences of the book are still in my mind.

    Also, about twenty years ago, I read the book named "My Bird" by Fariba Vafi, but it seems like I read it just last year.

    Doris Lessing in this book "The Grass Is Singing" throws us from the first page into the middle of a story about which we know nothing and we have to wait to discover the facts.

We read in the first page of book.

“murder mystery

by special correspondent

Marie Turner, wife of Richard Turner, a farmer at Ngesi, was found murdered on the front veranda of their homestead yesterday morning. The houseboy, who has been arrested, has confessed to the crime. No motive has been discovered. It is thought he was in search of valuables.

The newspaper did not say much. People all over the country must have glanced at the paragraph with its sensational heading and felt a little spurt of anger mingled with what was almost satisfaction, as if some believe had been confirmed, as if something had happened which could only have been expected. When natives steal, murder or rape, that is the feeling white people have.” Page 1

     Doris Lessing, winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2007, was born to English parents in 1919 in the city of Kermanshah, Iran. Doris's father, " Alfred Tayler ", worked at the Shahshahi Bank.

    Six years after Doris was born, she moved with her parents to Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) which was then part of the British colonies. Influenced by the atmosphere there, Doris published her first novel, The Grass Sings, in 1950.

    "The Grass Sings" addresses issues such as apartheid, the oppression of Zimbabwe during the British colonial era.

Notes from book:

    “They, the geese that laid the golden eggs, were still in that state where they did not know there were other ways of living beside producing gold from other people.” Page7

    sjambol. ( SHam'bak )(in South Africa) a long, stiff whip, originally made of rhinoceros hide.

    “At the trail, which was as a Sergeant Denham had said it would be, a more formality, he said what was expected of him. It was suggested that the native had murdered Mary Turner while drunk, in search of money and Jewelry.” page 25

    “Every woman in South Africa is brought up to be. In her childhood she had been forbidden to walk out alone, and when she had asked why, she had been told in the furtive, lowered, but matter-of-fact voice she associated with her mother, that they were nasty and might do horrible things to her.” page 60

    “A few months after her marriage she found there was nothing more to do. Suddenly, from one day to the next, she found herself unoccupied. Instinctively staving off idleness as something dangerous, she returned to her underwear, and embroidered everything that could possibly be embroidered.” page 64

    “Sometimes she would present the worn visage of an indomitable old woman who learned to expect the worst from life and sometimes the face of defenseless hysteria . But she was still able to walk from the room, silent in wordless criticism.” page 99

    “Thinking of that holiday, that she was always planning, but which never seemed to become possible, turned Mary's thought in a new direction. Her life, for a while, had a new meaning.” page 106

    “it was during these two hours of half- consciousness that she allowed herself to dream about that beautiful lost time when she walked in the office and lived as she pleased, before "people made her get married" That was how she put it to herself.” page 106-7

    “For although their marriage was all wrong, and there was no real understanding between them, he had become accustomed to the double solitude that any marriage, even a bad one, becomes.” page 117

    “The stinting poverty in which they lived was unbearable; it was destroying them. It did not mean that there was not enough to eat: it meant that every penny must be watched, new clothes foregone, amusements abandoned, holidays kept in the never-never-land of the future. A poverty that allows a tiny margin for spending, but which is shadowed always by a weight of debt that nags like a conscience, is worse than starvation itself. That was how she had come to feel. And it was bitter because it was a self imposed poverty.” Page138-9

    “when she saw him weak and goalless, and pitiful, she hated him, and the hate turned in on herself. She needed a man stronger than herself and she was trying to create one out of Dick.” page 143

    “for even daydreams need an element of hope to give satisfaction to the dreamer. she would stop herself in the middle of one of herself habitual fantasies about the old days, which she projected into her future, saying dully to herself that there would be no future.” page 150-1

    “ It seemed that something had finally snapped inside of her, and she would gradually fade and sink into darkness.” page 151

    “When a white man in Africa by accident looks into the eyes of a native and sees the human being (which it is his chief preoccupation to avoid), his sense of guilt, which he denies fumes up in resentment and he brings down the whip.” page 164

    

“They were like two antagonists, silently sparking. only he was powerful and sure of himself, and she was undermined with fear, by her terrible dream-filled nights, her obsession.” page 191

    “people who live to themselves, whether from necessity or choice, and who do not trouble themselves about their neighbors' affairs, are always disquieted and uneasy if by some chance they come to know that other people discuss them. It is as though a sleeping man should awake and find round his bed a circle of strangers staring at him.” page 192

    “No one really believes in the malignancy of gossip, save those who know how they themselves have suffered from it.” Page 192

    “She would walk out her road alone, she taught. That was the lesson she had to learn. If she had learned it, long ago, she would not be standing here now, having been betrayed for the second time by her weak reliance on a human being who should not be expected to take the responsibility of her.” page 231

    “She was alone. She was defenseless. She was shut in a small black box, the walls closing in on her, the roof pressing down. she was in a trap, cornered and helpless. But She would have to go out and meet him.” page 234-5

THE GRASS IS SINGING BY DORIS LESSING (AUDIO)

"چمن ها آواز می خواند"

The Grass Is Singing , the movie

 

The Birthday Party, a play by Harold Pinter

Birthday Party by Harold Pinter

        Harold Pinter won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2005 and his play "The Birthday Party" was first performed in 1945.
         Meg and Petey's  boarding house is the scene of this classic English drama, a quiet boarding house with almost no passengers, whose owners are happy that their boarding house's name is on the list of the city's boarding houses.
        The birthday party for Stanley, the only guest of the boarding house, turns into a nightmare with the presence of two strangers. This play examines identity, power dynamics, the absurdity of everyday life, and human relationships.
        The use of short and indifferent answers, which are mostly used at the beginning and end of the play, are used more to end the conversation than to maintain communication and interaction.
        In my view, the temporal progression of this drama can be delineated into two distinct phases: firstly, the intervals when the strangers are absent, marking both the commencement and conclusion of the play; and secondly, the periods when the two strangers, Goldberg and McCann, are actively involved.
        In the play, we do not know about the background of Stanley, who is the central character of this play, except that he was a pianist and lived in a secluded boarding house for some time. Is there a danger that threatens him that is hidden there? Is he a dangerous person? As the birthday party progresses, from the eyes of the two newcomers, "Stanley" appears as a mysterious and isolated figure who may have betrayed his organization and hidden away as a fugitive in a boarding house or committed a crime, creating an ambiguous atmosphere for the drama. adds When Goldberg and his fearsome accomplice McCann. First indirectly and then after receiving vague and suspicious answers from "Stanley Weber", they somehow start interrogating him. They call him by other names like Joe Soap. Do they know Stanley? Their exact motives and motives are unclear, and Stanley resists their sometimes threatening questions. Are there interrogators who came to arrest him in a van? Over time, it adds to the ambiguous atmosphere of the play.
         Meg and Petey's  boarding house is the scene of this classic English drama, a quiet boarding house with almost no passengers, whose owners are happy that their boarding house's name is on the list of the city's boarding houses.
        The birthday party for Stanley, the only guest of the boarding house, turns into a nightmare with the presence of two strangers. This play examines identity, power dynamics, the absurdity of everyday life, and human relationships.
        The use of short and indifferent answers, which are mostly used at the beginning and end of the play, are used more to end the conversation than to maintain communication and interaction.
        In my view, the temporal progression of this drama can be delineated into two distinct phases: firstly, the intervals when the strangers are absent, marking both the commencement and conclusion of the play; and secondly, the periods when the two strangers, Goldberg and McCann, are actively involved.
        In the play, we do not know about the background of Stanley, who is the central character of this play, except that he was a pianist and lived in a secluded boarding house for some time. Is there a danger that threatens him that is hidden there? Is he a dangerous person? As the birthday party progresses, from the eyes of the two newcomers, "Stanley" appears as a mysterious and isolated figure who may have betrayed his organization and hidden away as a fugitive in a boarding house or committed a crime, creating an ambiguous atmosphere for the drama. adds When Goldberg and his fearsome accomplice McCann. First indirectly and then after receiving vague and suspicious answers from "Stanley Weber", they somehow start interrogating him. They call him by other names like Joe Soap. Do they know Stanley? Their exact motives and motives are unclear, and Stanley resists their sometimes threatening questions. Are there interrogators who came to arrest him in a van? Over time, it adds to the ambiguous atmosphere of the play.

        While searching for some sources, I saw a few sentences of Harold Pinter regarding this play on several websites, which attracted me a lot.

        "Perhaps one can understand Harold Pinter's connection with the world of theater from his reply to a letter from a lady who was worried about her inability to understand the concepts of the birthday play. The reader writes: Dear Sir, I would be very grateful if you could please And clarify what you mean by the birthday party play. There are some things I can't understand: 1) Who are the two men? 2) Where does Stanley come from? 3) Are the people in the play normal people? Please keep in mind that if you don't answer these questions, I won't be able to fully understand your  drama. Then Harold Pinter replies: Dear Madam, I would be very grateful if you would be so kind as to explain what you mean. Please clarify from the letter sent. There are some points that I cannot understand: 1) Who are you? 2) Where do you come from? 3) Are you a normal person? Please keep in mind that if you don't answer To these questions, I will be unable to fully understand your letter"

        BBC Channel 4 shared a performance of this play on YouTube,  I recommend watching if you liek you can watch free. Finally, in my opinion, Harvard Pinter allows or rather forces us to interpret the events on the stage ourselves.

PINTER'S THE BIRTHDAY PARTY Part 1 of 4

The Piano Teacher by ELFRIEDE JELINEK

The Piano Teacher

by ELFRIEDE JELINEK

Translated by Joachim Neugroschel

I would like to write a few sentences about the novel "The Piano Teacher" and share it with you.

A challenging novel, "The Piano Teacher," had a significant impact on introducing the Austrian author Elfriede Jelinek as the winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2004. This novel, originally released in German in 1983, explores the intricacies of human relationships, desires, and love, as well as artistic brilliance, and artistic excellence.

The Guardian has provided a very interesting interpretation of this book: "A tale of love, fear, and self-destruction... In this story of mad love, the hunter becomes the hunted, pain is pleasurable, and hatred spews out of every vent."

Previously, I've mentioned in one of my videos and writings that it's very important to know where the story takes place. This novel unfolds in Vienna, known as the world's capital of music, and its protagonist is a piano teacher.

Page 32: The city of Vienna brutally transfers the art from one generation to another.

"The Piano Teacher" recounts the life of Erika Kohut, a talented piano teacher in Vienna. Despite her musical abilities, Erika's life is out of rhythm and harmony, and in my opinion, as the reader of the book, she suffers from a mental disorder. This novel explores Erika's dark and tumultuous world, including her erotic desires, suppressed emotions, pride, humiliation, and her complicated relationships with her overbearing mother and a her young student named Walter Klemmer.

Erika's inappropriate behavior can be understood as a manifestation of the influence exerted by her surroundings, be it within her family or within society, which leads to confusion. Ultimately, this isolated character seeks solace in what she has always sought to escape: her Apartment and her mother.

...

Notes from book:

This dress will soon be totally out of fashion-not even next year, but next month. Money never goes out of fashion. Page4

But that vanity of hers, that wretched vanity. Erika's vanity is a major problem for her mother, driving thorns into her flesh. Erika's vanity is the only thing Erika should learn to do without. Better now than later. Page7

The only item missing from her dismal wardrobe is, fortunately, a wedding gown. Mother does not wish to become a mother-in-law. She prefers remaining a normal mother; she is quite content with her status. Page 11

if neither spouse can yield, then a marriage is doomed. page 13

Vacation at the music academy doesn't coincide with vacation at the University. Strictly speaking, there are no holidays for art; art pursues you everywhere, and that's just fine with the artist. page 29

The city of Vienna brutally terminates the transmission of art from one generation to the next. Page 32

All the people around here experience the same things at the same time, except for some loner, who switches to the educational channel. This individualist is informed about a eucharistic congress, provided with facts and figures. Nowadays, if you want to be different, you have to pay your dues. page 47

Do nothing halfheartedly, her mother always demanded. Nothing vaguely. No artist tolerates anything incomplete or half-baked in his work. Sometimes a work is incomplete because the artist dies prematurely. page 56

Noisy contraptions pounce like locusts upon the silent spaces of thought. And throughout the day, the school is inundated by lasting values, by knowledge and music. These music pupils come in every size, shape, and form, even high school graduates and university students! they are all concerted in their efforts to produce sounds, alone or in groups. page 81

But how can tell how many things have already been disparaged and dispatched with no justification. Every day, a piece of music, a short story, or a poem dies because its existence is no longer justified in our time. And things that were once considered immortal have become mortal again, no one knows them anymore. Even though they deserve to survive. page 90

indeed a less sophisticated person might even conclude, just from her outer appearance, that the piano teacher belongs to an entirely different subcategory of the human species. However, a photo does not show the inner life; so any comparisons would be unfair to Fraulein Kohut, whose inner life is actually in blossom and in sap. page 99

Erica's student is demeaned and thereby chastised. Loosely crossing her legs, Erika sneers at his half-baked Beethoven interpretation. She need say no more; he's about to cry. She doesn't even consider it advisable to play the passage in question. He will get no more from his piano teacher today. If he doesn't notice his mistakes himself, then she can't help him. page 108

Klemmer begs his teacher to glean his unhappiness and unhealthiness from his marvelous playing. What we need is a music that makes us forget our suffering. Animal life (!) should feel deified. people want to dance, triumph. page 114

"Learning is better than looking." Page 129

The Yugoslavia and the Turk have a congenital hatred of women. the Viennese locksmith hates a woman only if she's unclean or wastes money on makeup. page 133

When discussing Bach's six Brandenburg concertos, the artistically aware person usually states, among other things, that when these masterpieces were composed, the stars were dancing in the heavens. God and his dwelling place are always involved whenever these people talk about Bach. Page 159

Erika is a teacher, but also a child. Klemmer may be a student, but he's an adult here. page 175

" Not for all the tea in China." Page 181

At night, Erika sweatily turns on the spit of anger over the blazing fire: maternal love. She is regularly basted with the pungent gravy of musical art. Nothing alters this immovable difference: old/young. Nor can anything be altered in the notation of music by dead masters. What you see is what you get. Erika has been harnessed in this Notation system since earliest childhood. page 190

he normally grazes on younger pastures. And love is fun only when you can be envied for having a beloved. in this case, later marriage is out of the question. Page 193

The piano teacher, Erika Kohut, is driven along by something behind her back; it is a man, who pulls the angel or a devil out of her. It's all in her hand now: She can teach the man tender consideration. page 199

Erika Koht is using her love to make this boy her master. The more power he attains over her, the more he will become Erica's pliant creature. Klemmer will be her slave completely when, say, they go strolling in the mountains. Yet Klemmer will think of himself as Erika's master. That is the goal of Erika's love. That is the only way that love won't be consumed prematurely. He has to be convinced: This woman has put herself entirely in my hands. And yet he will become EriKa's property. That's the way she pictures it. Things can go awry only if Klemmer reads the latter and disapproves. page 207

She only wants to be an instrument on which she will teach him to play. He should be free, and she in fetters. But Erika will choose the fetters himself. She makes up her mind to become an object, a tool; Klemmer will have to make up his mind to use this object. page 213

Let me know what I'll be in for if I don't obey. Everything has to be depicted in Loving detail. Levels of intensity should also be described very precisely. Klemmer again mocks the silent woman: who does she think she is!  His mockery tacitly implies that she is nothing or not much. page 217

Mother barks, the TV buzzes. the screen locks in tiny fingers that one controls by arbitrarily switching them on and off. Big real life is pitted against tiny TV life, and real life wins because it has full control over the image. Life adjusts to television, and television is copied from life. page 220-221

Erika Kohut buckles down with zeal and circumspection. She wanted to jump out of her skin, but couldn't. She feels pain in many places. Little in her has been chosen. page 248

Erika is utterly alone. Mother is again sleeping the deep sleep induced by alcohol. If Erika, aided by the mirror, finds an unravaged place on her body, she grabs a clothespin or needle, while weeping and wailing. She drives the instruments hard, drives them into her body. Her tears flow down and she is all alone.

after a long time, Erika's hand removes the needle and clothespins and neatly places them back in their containers. Pain recedes, tears recede. Erika Kohut goes to her mother so as to end her loneliness. page 249-250

Love is the only reason why she will deviate from her stipulations. She is looking forward to deviating from them. What a relief. Mutuality in love is exceptional, after all. Usually, only one person loves, while the other is busy running as fast as his feet can carry him. This situation requires two people, and one is telephoning the other. Isn't that great! How convenient. How marvelous. page 261

Most people don't laugh. They don't laugh because they are nothing but themselves. They don't notice Erika. page 279

Comparing My Analysis of 'The Piano Teacher (2001)' with my Professor's

داستان شهر وین، چند چهره‌‌ی زیبا

DISGRACE By John Maxwell Coetzee ( J.M. Coetzee )

 DISGRACE

By  John Maxwell Coetzee  ( J.M. Coetzee ) 

John Maxwell Coetzee, a renowned South African writer, achieved international acclaim with his book "Disgrace" in 1999, ultimately winning the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2003. Evaluating a book or work of art, particularly a written piece, requires a specific context—a consideration of its historical significance.

"Disgrace,"the evolving landscape of South Africa post-apartheid. The story revolves around David Lurie, a middle-aged university professor specializing in literature and romantic poetry. His journey serves as a conduit for portraying the societal changes in South Africa. From the very first pages, the narrative enthralls the reader, prompting contemplation as it navigates David's unconventional relationship with his student, Melanie Isaac. This ambiguous liaison culminates in scandal within society, leading to his resignation from the university.

The novel delves into intricate themes such as morality's complexities, sin, social norms, power dynamics, race, social responsibility, and ultimately, the notion of embracing acceptance for liberation. Seeking solace and attempting to forget his past, David retreats to his daughter Lucy's farm in the Eastern Cape, only to confront the stark realities prevalent in rural and remote areas. Racial tensions and the intricate power dynamics, manifested within both the colored and white communities, permeate the narrative.

The perpetual concern parents harbor for their adult children's fate and lives remains a central focus. As the tumultuous relationship between father and daughter unfolds amidst life-altering events, David begins reassessing his beliefs and values. His encounters within the village prompt a gradual realization—uncertainties cannot be indefinitely deferred; instead, finding solace lies in acknowledging and accepting the unexpected.

The book directly addresses the moral decline and scandal of an individual, offering a profound insight into the social and political trajectory of a nation in transition. It asserts that when individuals acknowledge their social responsibilities and embrace forgiveness, opportunities for redemption emerge. Coetzee's narrative not only mirrors society but also provides a pathway toward reconciliation, addressing both individual and collective disturbances.

FATELESSNESS BY Imre Kertész'

FATELESSNESS

BY Imre Kertész'

Translated From the Hungarian by Tim Wilkinson

FATELESSNESS(Sorstalanság) (1975)

I had the opportunity to introduce another book by a Nobel Prize winner in literature. When discussing a historical event, most of us typically commence by referencing the time. However, it appears to me and many others that it's often the places that possess a more expressive and enduring language to depict historical events. Throughout history, places have served as a more precise representation of events, sufferings, and difficulty of humanity. Forced labor camps like Buchenwald, Zeitz, and Mauthausen and crematoriums such as Auschwitz, mentioned in this book, stand as reminders of a dark chapter in human history.

"FATELESSNESS" by Imre Kertész, who received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2002 and is regarded by many writers as this Hungarian author's finest novel, narrates a terrible event  of world history. This novel also carries elements of a semi-autobiography, expressing the experiences of György Köves, a around 14-year-old Jewish boy from Hungary who left school to support finatialy his family after his father was sent to a concentration camp.

The story's atmosphere is skillfully, clearly, and concisely conveyed. The leading character smoothly navigates the process of humiliation and social expulsion, shedding light on the unforeseen dangers and tribulations faced by a 14-year-old Jew.

During a police search to arrest Jews, Gergi gets off the bus and realizes that his Jewish classmates have already gotten off. After a period of being kept in a stable, thirsty and hungry, they unbelievably find themselves in a concentration camp, and this is how Giorgi becomes one of the narrators of the Holocaust and the events of the concentration camp. The main theme of the story revolves around humanity's effort to survive in the midst of all suffering and shows how people in the depths of despair try to keep the flame of hope burning by relying on their identity, religious beliefs and mental flexibility. Imre Kurtz's book depicts the journey of overcoming physical wounds and mental tensions caused by humiliation and restrictions. The longing to return to Budapest represents hope in the darkness of the camps for Georgi and his fellow prisoners, who seek to preserve themselves and save others with a sense of compassion.

On page 170, we read:

"On the other hand, by the end of the day, I felt that something inside me had broken down irreparably; from then on, every morning, I believed it would be my last awakening; with every step I took, I doubted my ability to take another; with every movement, I felt incapable of giving an order; yet, for the time being, I somehow managed to accomplish it each and every time." - page 170

At the end of the book "FATELESSNESS" the reader returns to the same urban atmosphere of Budapest and the familiar names of the Gyorgy “Gyuri” Koves family. The names and places of Budapest come alive again, similar to the beginning of the book.

Notes from book:

Whatever the reason, it was nevertheless good that this was indeed what happened, and I sensed that it also gratified Father to see them. After that he sent me off to bed. By then I was dead tired anyway. All the same, I thought, at least we were able to send him off to the labor camp, poor man, with memories of a nice day. page 26

... She wanted to know how we felt in regard to our differentness, whether we were proud of it or rather ashamed. page 36

Quite. I too was curious about that; they did not inform us at the brickyard. All they announced was that anyone inclined to do so could present himself for work, specifically in Germany. page 59

Like Uncle Lajos had done once, he too spoke about fate, the fate of the Jews, and he too, like Uncle Lajos, considered that " We have abandoned the Lord," and that explained the tribulation that were being inflicted upon us. page 64

In the strengthening light, on the narrower gable end of the building, facing the direction in which we were traveling, on the surface below the roof, I could in fact make out two words: "Auschwitz- Birkenau " was that I read, written in spiky, curlicued Gothic lettering, joined by one of those wavy double hyphens of theirs. page 76

"Everyone work, no being tired, no being sick!" page 79

What happens to the patients then? "They die." And they dead? "They're burned," We learned. In trust, it slowly became clear that the chimney stack over the way, though I did not catch precisely how, was not actually a tannery but the chimney of a "circumstance," a place where corpses are reduced to ashes, as we were told the word meant. page 108

Then they too had entered the bathroom itself, with the same pipes and showerheads, so I heard, only out of these came, not water, but gas. This did not come to my notice all in one go but piecemeal, each time bringing further details, some disputed, others allowed to stand and added to. all along, I heard, everyone is very civil toward them, swaddling them with solicitude and loving kindness and the children play football and sing, while the place where they are suffocated to death lies in a very picturesque area, with lawns, groves of trees and flower beds, which is why in the end, it all somehow roused in my sense of certain jokes, a kind of student prank. Pages 110&111

Only in the Zeitz did I come to realize that even captivity has its mundane around; indeed, true captivity is actually nothing but a gray mundane around. page 135

All these things, and much else besides, all of it knowledge essential to prison life, I was taught by Bendy Citron, learning by watching and myself striving to emulate. page 137

But neither stubbornness nor prayers nor any form of escape could have freed me from one thing: hunger. I had, naturally, felt - or at least supposed I felt - hunger before, back at home; I had felt hungry at the brickyard, on the train, at Auschwitz, even at Buchenwald, but I had never before had the sensation like this, protractedly, over a long haul, if I may put it that way. page 162

...  and anytime I saw grass I would never hesitate; but then, sad to say, there was not much in the way of grass to be found, either in the factory or within the grounds of the camp. pages 162-3

I would maintain that there are certain concepts which can be fully comprehended only in a concentration camp. A recurrent figure in the dumb storybooks of my childhood, for instance, was that of a certain "itinerant journeyman" or "outlaw" who in order to win the princess's hand enters the King's service, and gladly so, because that amounts to only seven days altogether." but seven days with me means seven years to you, "the King tells him. well, I can say exactly the same about the concentration camps. I would never have believed, for instance, that I could become a decrepit old man so quickly. pages 164-5

I can safely say there is nothing more painful, nothing more disheartening than to track day after day, to record day after day, yet again how much of one has wasted away. I was generally in harmony with my body; I was fond of this bit of machinery, so to say. page 165

On the other hand, by the end of the day I felt that something within me had broken down irreparably; from then on, every morning I believed that would be the last morning I would get up; with every step I took, that I could not possibly take another; with every movement I made, that I would be incapable of making an order; and yet for all that, for the time being, I still managed to accomplish it each and every time. page 170

I can affirm that there is no amount of experience, no tranquillity so perfect, nor any insight of such weight, it seems as to lead us to abandon yet one more last chance in our favor- assuming there is a way, naturally. page 184

Despite all deliberation, sense, insight, and sober reason, I could not fail to recognize within myself the furtive and yet - ashamed as it might be, so to say, of its irrationality-increasingly insistent voice of some muffled craving of sorts: I would like to live a little bit longer in this beautiful concentration camp. page 189

l slumped back on my pillow in relief, only then that something loosened up inside me, and only then did I myself also think-probably for the first time in all seriousness - of freedom. page 236

He declared, " You must put the horrors behind you." Increasingly amazed, I asked, "Why should I?" " In order," He replied, "to be able to live," at which Uncle Fleishmann nodded and added, " Live freely," at which the other old boy nodded and added, "One cannot start a new life under such a burden," and I had to admit he did have a point. page 256

I made it clear to them that we can never start a new life, only ever carry on the old one. I took the steps, no one else, and I declared that I had been true to my given fate throughout. page 259

More Informantion:

Gyuri as a boy's name is of Greek origin, and the meaning of Gyuri is "farmer".

concentration camps:

Auschwitz

Zeitz

Buchenwald

Mauthausen

Theresienstadt. In Czech

In Imre Kertész's novel "Fatelessness," the term "Appell" refers to the roll call or assembly that took place in Nazi concentration camps. It was a routine procedure where camp inmates were gathered and counted by the camp authorities. During these roll calls, prisoners were often subjected to harsh conditions, including standing for hours in all weather conditions, and any attempt to escape or any other form of disobedience could lead to severe punishment or even death.

The "Appell" is a recurring and significant element in the novel, illustrating the dehumanizing and brutal nature of life in the concentration camps.

Links:

یادداشت هایی برای دخترم ، آی سودا

Plot summary, “Fatelessness” by Imre Kertesz in 7 Minutes - Book Review

Fatelessness, Imre Kertész - Book Review

Fateless or Fatelessness by Imre Kertész | Book Review

Ennio Morricone-Fateless / Sorstalansag

Review of Imre Kertesz' "Fateless"