It's been awhile since I read a piece of fiction for my Daily Devotional Reading. 212 days, to be exact. And it's been an even longer while since I read any László Krasznahorkai. Not sure how many days on that one, but I think the last book I read (not as a DDR) was The Manhattan Project, and that was in October of 2017. And it's also been a long time since I read a book that wasn't centered on World War II. 265 days, to be exact. (At least I'm assuming that Baron Wenckheim's Homecoming doesn't have anything to do with World War II. That's not really Laszlo's thing, you know?) So I'm pretty excited about starting this book. A little bit of strange, you know?
Near the end of Churchill's The Second World War, I did start to feel like I should start in on Ian Toll's Pacific War Trilogy, though. I looked at copies online...most of which cost more than I wanted to spend, so I didn't buy it, thus couldn't change my mind and switch over to it. Or so I thought. Because at the last minute (a day before finishing The Second World War), I checked the first book of the trilogy, Pacific Crucible: War at Sea in the Pacific, 1941-1942, out from the library.
And it tempted me. But a deal is a deal, so I put it on the shelf and started went to meet The Baron.
Day 1 (DDRD 1,326): June 20, 2021
1 to 558, but page 1 is preceded by 14 pages of content...7 of which are text-filled. So I'm calling it 572 pages. I'm aiming for twenty pages per day, so if I hold to that this will be a 29 day project, putting End Day at July 18th. I suspect that I'll be taking down more than 20 pages a day. Hell, 20 pages isn't even a complete sentence for László. But we'll see how it goes. I've found that the road to success vis-à-vis my Daily Devotional Reading exercise is to set a reasonable goal rather than to try to push myself too hard. 20 pages will probably be thirty minutes or so, and that should do the trick.
I was puzzled by something that László was quoted as saying on the front flap of this book's cover: "...I really wrote just one book--Satantango, Melancholy of Resistance, War and War, and Baron Wenckheim's Homecoming. This is my one book." (1) I've read the first three of those books...and I didn't see that they were connected in any way. Of course, it's more than possible that I missed something obvious, but still...REALly? (2) László wrote quite a few other books:
...and then there are the novellas and uncollected short stories and screenplays.... So what's up with this "one book" thing? Well, writers are paid liars...and they do like to fuck with people...so it could be that (or that). But I feel like there's something else to it, and at very least it makes me want to have another run at those other three books (in László's order, of course--which is also their order of publication). Let's see, that would be 288 + 320 + 279 + 576 = 1,463 pages (using Amazon's numbers; I only own the first of these three books--and that's on Kindle--so I can't do a hand verification). So at the going rate for my DDR, that would only take 73 days. Do-able. But not now. I'm ready for some NEW Krasznahorkai now, so it's The Baron for me.
And a mere 6 (vi) pages in...well. I know it must be hard to proofread László Krasznahorkai. But hey, if you can't stand the heat, get out of the fuckin' kitchen, right?
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Seriously, New Directions, László Krasznahorkai deserves better than this.
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Page 38, a single pigtail is a ponytail, isn't it?
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I can see why this might seem like nitpicking, but shit, I'm only 40 (+) pages into this book, and I've already found four errors. And though I can't recall specifics, I know that in previous New Directions reads (of László Krasznahorkai books) that I found errors. It just strikes me as being disrespectful. I've written to them about it, but they didn't even bother to responds. Mothefuckers. László Deserves Better!
ADDENDUM: Had some time, went back and read another 20 pages, to page 60. Which actually means that I read 50 pages today, which is kind of hard to believe, as it felt effortless. My goodness, if I could keep that pace up (I don't intend on trying, but that doesn't mean it won't happen), I could be finished the book in ten more days. Just sayin', sir.
So I checked out Gyula, Hungary on Wikipedia, and it is referred to as a "town," exalted for its medieval castle & thermal baths, and as of 2017 had a population of 30,004. Furthermore, Albrecht Dürer's daddy was born here.
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And hey, by the way: I'm getting pretty close to the halfway point of this novel. And I'm thinking that when I finish it up, it might be an excellent time to read the only other Krasznahorkai book I haven't yet read: The World Goes On. (Less than 300 pages, so probably just a few days' worth of reading, which makes me think that I should just do it as a side project, not as a DDR. But then again, it came out 3 1/2 years ago, I've checked it out of the library several times, and I haven't yet made a dent in it, so....)
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Page 239:
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This is a particularly puzzling one, by the way. It should have read, "and then he couldn't finish his work if...." Where on earth did onehe come from? Come to think of it, this is actually three errors, then, isn't it? Yep. Because you also have to excise "the one." Shoddy, shoddy work, New Directions. And by the way, this is the second then / than error. That seems more than a little suspicious to me.
So I'm not quite halfway through this book, and I've already found 20 proofreading errors. And I'm not even really trying, you know? Makes me wonder if I've missed a few. At any rate, my ire is growing by leaps and bounds. Trying not to let it distract me from this novel, as it is truly great stuff.
Oh, I got a little pissed off there and almost forgot: here's where Marika's house is.
So it turns out there is a Jokai on Gyula. And as for this "intersection"...which is not quite an intersection...that's pretty specific in terms of locating Marika's house, isn't it?
ADDENDUM: Had a little lay-over, so I knocked back another 20 pages, putting me at (1) 280 and (2) a smidge past the halfway point in the novel. I'm sorry to say that I also scooped up another proofreading error:
Page 268:
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So there's that.
There were also a couple more VERY specific Gyula references: a restaurant located at 23 Sinka Istvan Street & the At Home Hotel. Neither of them are real, though (1) there is a 23 Sinka Istvan Street and (2) there are hotels in Gyula. So there's that.
According to Amazon, Baron Wenckheim's Homecoming is #165,732 in Best Sellers Rank: Books (Today). Which got me to wondering how his other books have fared on the A→Z. So I had a look.
Satantango: #212,719The Melancholy of Resistance: #374,773
War & War: #611,779
Seiobo There Below: #653,866
The World Goes On: #818,235
The Last Wolf & Herman: #1,514,337
Destruction and Sorrow Beneath the Heavens: #1,794,256
The Manhattan Project: #2,202,866
The Bill: For Palma Vecchio, at Venice: #2,714,260
Animalinside: #17,162,424 NOTE: saw listings for this selling at outrageous prices...as high as $877.95. I think I'd better locate my copy asap. (NOTE to NOTE: I will sell for less than $877.95 if you're interested.)
Just for the sake of comparison, I looked up the number for Stephen Dixon's I., published by McSweeney's in 2002. I briefly knew Stephen (we exchanged letters for a couple of years), and he told me that this book had been rejected by his usual publisher, and that in general his books didn't make any money...didn't even make back his modest advances. So I thought that would lend some perspective. And? It was #2,344,636 on the A→Z list. So all of László's BOOK books are doing better than that. It worries me. I hope László is doing okay. I want him to keep writing for another couple of dozen years, y'know?
ANYway....
Oh, just one more thing. I'm more than a little surprised that Baron Wenchkeim's Homecoming is László's "best selling" book. It's long... maybe his longest...it's difficult...and it doesn't have a very attractive cover. And I'm only halfway through it, and enjoying it mightily, but still, I have to say that at this point...I have to say that it is not László's best book. (That would be Seiobo There Below for me.) So what made BWH do so much better than his other books? Dunno. You tell me.
Okay?
Okay.
Read to page 340. So 60 pages. Didn't feel like it at all, though. For one thing, because it's one of my rare alone mornings...except for several phone calls from Joe and a video call or two from Jacqueline, it's just been Jet and me. Which re-arranges the time, for sure. For another thing, because The Professor has returned to the story, and I'm still struck by how his character makes me think that he is a kind of stand-in for László. Not for any direct reason, as I'm pretty sure that László has never killed a man or gone into hiding from a murderous biker gang, but just because he is erudite, philosophical, and far outside the realm of the Ordinary People. Also perhaps because he seems to have a telepathic relationship with the dog who has latched onto him. Anyway...there were a couple of lines in today's "20" (60) which I found noteworthy, namely:
"everything is just a kind of conceptual round in a boxing match that leads only to non-existence.." (304)
&
"...a child feels more than an adult knows...." (305)
Both come courtesy of The Professor.
And of course there was a proofreading error.
Page 292:
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(An "into" seems to be needed here.)
I thought that I'd found another one on page 291:
But it turns out that you actually can use essay as a verb. I thought it had to be assay. Also turns out that there's a shade of difference in meaning between the two. According to our friends at Merriam-Webster, essay means "to try, attempt, or undertake," while "assay" is to "to test or evaluate." So I learned something today.
Lastly, the section I've been reading is entitled "ROM." Which of course made me think about our friend the Space Knight (originally published by Marvel from 1979–86, after that published by IDW). So for the love of ROM, I did an artsy picture of that chapter heading:
ADDENDUM: I got a little preoccupied with Krasznahorkai. Spent a long time searching for the two pamphlet books (The Bill and Animalinside)...with no success. I know I still have them somewhere, but I have the feeling that it's going to take a lot of patience to find out where I put them. Sigh. I also couldn't stop thinking about "ROM," so I went back and finished off that chapter. It was really good stuff. Just The Professor talking about life, the universe, and everything (actually talking to his dog, ha ha), but some great stuff, like this:
That made me stop and have a good think. For one thing, about how we spend so much time in our lives essentially doing things which are aimed at annihilating thought. We fall in love, we fight, we buy things we don't need, we have sex, we steal, we read books, we sing, we listen to singers, we dance, we drink. Desperately trying to annihilate thought. I dictated the line into my phone, and I was kind of amused that it turned my page identification (345) into a Bible chapter and verse format. So I kept it that way.
Day 8 (DDRD 1,333): June 27, 2021
Read to page 404.
You know, I don't want to belabor the point of this Daily Devotional Reading thing...but I must interject that I am regularly amazed at how the books fall to this "twenty or thirty minutes a day" strategy. I mean, I've had Baron Wenckheim's Homecoming in my possession for a year and a half...and not only really wanted to read it, but actually started reading in a couple of times...but didn't get anywhere. When I took it up as a DDR subject, though, the pages just flew by. I'm probably going to finish this book in less than another week. I think part of the reason for the success of this strategy is that it doesn't set the bar too high, so not only have I met it every single day except for 1 out of 1,333...and that one was because I was in the emergency room...but also because that gives me the desire to read on a bit more on occasion. That desire seems to be amplified by fiction, as in the three works of fiction that I've taken on, I've been exceeding the 20 Pages Per Diem rate most of the time. But even if I didn't do that, the books would still be falling. It's the hitting it everyday. 🌊 breaks 🥌.
During the course of today's reading, I came to the end of the End of "HMMM" chapter, and guess what? The last page of the chapter consisted of 6 lines, and there were 2 periods and an exclamation point! Hmpfh.
Also, a word about disorienting transitions: László likes to switch point of view abruptly, sometimes even in the middle of a paragraph, and it always takes a few lines before I stop and say, "What?" And then I have to backtrack a bit, figure out where the break occurred, figure out who the new "speaker" is, and then resume the thread of the story. It's an interesting way of making the reader work a bit. It also has the possibly profound implication of joining people together, kind of like that "we're all one person" bullshit that my Crazy Ladies Group likes to foist upon me. Which, of course, may not be bullshit at all. (The mantra of my old age: Well...what the fuck do I know?)
ADDENDUM: Went back for another dip. Read to page 435, which means a mere 123 pages left now. Getting close to the end. Which I'm excited about, but not actually happy about. I'm not ready to leave this world just yet. (Although I suppose I could take László at his word and go back to Satantango and read "the whole novel" in one fell swoop. Sounds good...but probably not just now, I think.)
Alas, found two more proofreading errors:
Page 422:
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Page 432:
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Day 9 (DDRD 1,334): June 28, 2021
Read to page 475. Though I'm pretty sure that I'll be reading more later on today. In fact, my goal is to read to page 508...which would (1) leave me with only 50 pages in the novel & (2) make it pretty much a certainty that I would be finishing up this book tomorrow. Which also means that (3) I need to decide what my next book is Right Quick, don't I?
Anyway. I continue to be intrigued. Fascinated. Caught it the gravitational field. And almost dreading the end, actually.
Proofreading errors? Sorry to say yes.
Page 440:
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Again, Page 440:
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Perhaps this should be "...not even to mention to Dante that some little mutt kept rubbing up against his leg...." If so, that would mean that there are two errors here, but since it's not clear if that's the correction, I'll leave it at one.
Page 443:
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Found a couple of spots online that indicate that deaccelerate actually is a word...but it's a stupid word, and any sensible editor would replace it with decelerate.
Page 476:
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One positive thing that I should have noted long ago, on the other hand, is that this book actually has a sewn binding:
That's a pretty rare thing to see in these Quality Free days, so hats of to New Directions for that, at least.
I also noticed something rather odd about the table of contents. The second page looks more or less like this:
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Day 10 (DDRD 1,335): June 29, 2021
Read to page 558...in other words, FINI. And quite a finish it was, probably the biggest (the spoilers) ending ever for Mr. Krasznahorkai.
And my final proofreading errors:
Page 517:
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Page 530:
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Still pondering if it's worth my time to try to write to New Directions about this. I guess it can't hurt to try, anyway. But I'm also thinking about just trying to write to László agents or even to László himself, because it really, REALly irritates the piss out of me that New Directions did such slovenly work on such a great novel.
Speaking of...I still haven't decided what my next DDR book is going to be. I have no more László Krasznahorkai in hand, but I could pick The World Goes On from the library this afternoon. Or I could start The Pacific Trilogy. Or...several other possibilities are in hand.
More news as it happens!
DDR Day 1000 to Day 2000:
(1) Leviathan 63 days, 729 pages(2) Stalingrad 27 days, 982 pages
(3) Life and Fate 26 days, 880 pages
(4) The Second World War 34 + 32 + 40 + 43 + 31 + 32 days = 212 days, 4,379 pages
(5) Baron Wenckheim's Homecoming 10 days, 572 pages
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