3.5
The Sweet Indifference of the World
ByPublisher Description
NAMED A BEST BOOK OF THE SEASON BY VOGUE
In this alluring, melancholic novel—Peter Stamm at his best—a writer haunted by his double blurs the line between past and present, fiction and reality, in his attempt to outrun the unknown.
“Please come to Skogskyrkogården tomorrow at 2. I have a story I want to tell you.” Lena agrees to Christoph's out-of-the-blue request, though the two have never met. In Stockholm's Woodland Cemetery, he tells her his story, which is also somehow hers. Twenty years before, he loved a woman named Magdalena—an actress like Lena, with her looks, her personality, her past. Their breakup inspired him to write his first novel, about the time they were together, and in its scenes Lena recognizes the uncanny, intimate details of her own relationship with an aspiring writer, Chris.
Is it possible that she and Chris are living the same lives as Magdalena and Christoph two decades apart? Are they headed towards the same scripted separation? Or, in the fever of writing, has Christoph lost track of what is real and what is imagined?
In this subtle, kaleidoscopic tale, Peter Stamm exposes a fundamental human yearning: to beat life's mysteries by forcing answers on questions that have yet to be fully asked.
In this alluring, melancholic novel—Peter Stamm at his best—a writer haunted by his double blurs the line between past and present, fiction and reality, in his attempt to outrun the unknown.
“Please come to Skogskyrkogården tomorrow at 2. I have a story I want to tell you.” Lena agrees to Christoph's out-of-the-blue request, though the two have never met. In Stockholm's Woodland Cemetery, he tells her his story, which is also somehow hers. Twenty years before, he loved a woman named Magdalena—an actress like Lena, with her looks, her personality, her past. Their breakup inspired him to write his first novel, about the time they were together, and in its scenes Lena recognizes the uncanny, intimate details of her own relationship with an aspiring writer, Chris.
Is it possible that she and Chris are living the same lives as Magdalena and Christoph two decades apart? Are they headed towards the same scripted separation? Or, in the fever of writing, has Christoph lost track of what is real and what is imagined?
In this subtle, kaleidoscopic tale, Peter Stamm exposes a fundamental human yearning: to beat life's mysteries by forcing answers on questions that have yet to be fully asked.
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Meet readers like you in the Fable For You feed, designed to build bookish communities13 Reviews
3.5
Lyss
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Sageandcitrus
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“The writing style was interesting, especially the lack of quotation marks. It made it feel like someone was telling you this story from an outside perspective. I wasn’t a fan of the “manic pixie dream girl” obsessed main character? The idea of him following this repeated version of his younger self is thought provoking.”Christina Sterzel
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youjen
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Lily
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“In his reflection-provoking voice, Peter Stamm yet again discusses the what ifs of relationships through the lens of writer Chris, as he shares his unforgettable experience with Magdalena, an actress who he met in the mountains, fell in love with, built a life with, but then suffered a break-up. The recipient of this story is Lena, an actress in Stockholm, who is also married to a writer named Chris. It becomes apparent that there are many parallels between their lives and these two protagonists in the past and present, with a doppelganger narrative becoming weaved throughout.
This might be my favourite Peter Stamm book yet. There's no accidental pregnancy, yay! And it had many elements that I enjoyed, this reflective nature, looking at the essential decision-making points in a relationship, pondering how one falls in love and what urges us to, and characters that seem more open to learning and improving than those in other books. The theme of doppelgangers and parallel lives brings in a note of magical realism, which pushes us to question reality. Are these plotlines truly connected, is one a mirror or a re-do of the other? Or is the main character just insane?
Magdalena/Lena does remain a mysterious character, which is most likely because we follow her through Chris' eyes. She seems fascinating, effervescent and charming, with a sense of adventure that challenges Chris out of his comfort zone. It is from Chris that we see the anxiety, wondering if their love is reciprocated, how to raise the interest of the beloved, how to make them feel comfortable, safe, and committed. I like that here the male protagonist does not show to be selfish or misogynistic in any way, but he puts thought and effort into ensuring a happy future with Magdalena. It seems to be a balanced, happy relationship, with problems that are relatable, such as incompatibilities in career aspirations.
They're realistic, not overdone, not exaggerated, full of insightful moments for readers.”
About Peter Stamm
Peter Stamm is the author of the novels Seven Years, On a Day Like This, and Unformed Landscape, and the short-story collections We’re Flying and In Strange Gardens and Other Stories. His prize-winning books have been translated into more than thirty languages. For his entire body of work and his accomplishments in fiction, he was short-listed for the Man Booker International Prize in 2013, and in 2014 he won the prestigious Friedrich Hölderlin Prize. He lives in Switzerland.
Michael Hofmann has translated the work of Gottfried Benn, Hans Fallada, Franz Kafka, Joseph Roth, and many others. In 2012 he was awarded the Thornton Wilder Prize for Translation by the American Academy of Arts and Letters. His Selected Poems was published in 2009, Where Have You Been? Selected Essays in 2014, and One Lark, One Horse: Poems in 2019. He lives in Florida and London.
Michael Hofmann has translated the work of Gottfried Benn, Hans Fallada, Franz Kafka, Joseph Roth, and many others. In 2012 he was awarded the Thornton Wilder Prize for Translation by the American Academy of Arts and Letters. His Selected Poems was published in 2009, Where Have You Been? Selected Essays in 2014, and One Lark, One Horse: Poems in 2019. He lives in Florida and London.
Other books by Peter Stamm
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