Alles Gute zum Geburtstag, Jakov Lind

We have a special birthday to celebrate today. Jakov Lind, lauded as one of the greatest contemporary German writers during his day, would be 82 today. In German-speaking lands he's right up there with Günther Grass and Thomas Bernhard as one of the best of the best. However, nowadays this great writer has drifted to become an international unknown, as his German pieces are virtually unavailable in English-speaking countries. (Thank goodness for Open Letter! They will be publishing a paperback translation of his Landscape in Concrete next month).

Jakov Lind, the name inscribed below these great works of fiction, lived a fascinating life of many names and languages. He was born to an Austrian-Jewish family as Heinz Landwirth, but escaped to the Netherlands in 1938 and took on the name Jan Gerrit Overbeek. He actually spent most of the war in Germany, hiding in full view as a Dutch laborer. After the war, he became Jakov Chaklan and lived briefly in Palestine. Returning to Vienna and finding his birth-city still overrun with Nazis, the man instead went to London and there began to write at last. Though many of his works are in German, he struggled greatly with his mother tongue, considering it a murderer's language. Later he mastered English and published works in this his fourth language; thus he is sometimes considered a British writer.

His writing style reflects his tumultuous, wandering life. Often compared to Kafka, Lind successfully pulls the reader into a wild and crazy adventure, but you can never quite trust his narration, his characters' biased perspectives, or know what is truly going on. In Landscape in Concrete, there is a sense that the end comes full circle with the beginning--Bachmann is still wandering, still alone, and still looking for his regiment. So much has happened in the pages in between, but readers feel a sense of symmetry and frustration, completeness and fragmentation, insufficiency and clarity. Definitely worth the read.

There are many treasures that have fallen through the cracks thanks to the ruthless advance of time, but Jakov Lind is one of the gems glittering between the floorboards.

Ulysses by James Joyce

Ulysses is often considered the crowning work of Modernism and consistently ranked as THE best book ever written. As such, many readers pick up the text determined to check it off their list of classics but are not warned of its difficulties. Thus, they drop it in frustration and leaving scathing reviews across the web. I ran into a number of these reviews (many of which were written by readers who never finished the text) and was determined to set things right. I enjoyed writing it, so I'll cross-post my review here. Enjoy, and I hope it helps alleviate this situation even just a little.

For reference, I recommend this edition of Ulysses (link to Amazon).

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ULYSSES by James Joyce
First published in 1922



It is hard to classify Ulysses, and even harder to actually make it through. The book makes you work--it's not about the plot, but about the *experience* of reading.

In this book (I hesitate to call it a novel), the Plot decides that it's tired of being obvious and in the forefront, packs up its bags, and goes on vacation to let the words and Language itself take the centerstage. And Language has a ball--it's as if the words start dancing, laughing, and making fun of the reader as they play games. Just flip through and you'll see what I mean. An entire episode ("chapter") that's written as newsletter headlines? As a Q&A? as 50 pages of ONE SENTENCE?! Let alone the sentence-by-sentence text itself.

Language not only plays a game, but pushes its limits. In the experience of reading this text, you become very aware of where language breaks down. It's hard work to be a reader of Ulysses and have to piece together the puzzle of what's going on. Indeed, many times there's no way of knowing, but that's part of its beauty. This is not a pre-packaged cut-and-dry novel; this is a reflection of the realities and conflict in life. You need to become comfortable with confusion, conflicting voices, and not knowing what's going on. Test the waters with T.S. Eliot's "The Waste Land" or similar modernist works.

That being said, I still strongly recommend it. I read this text with a class, which was most helpful--our learned professor was a guiding light through the confusion and twists and turns and discussions helped lead us through. But there is an infinite sense of peace and accomplishment as you reach the last pages. Like the characters, you were lost, but found your way. The chaos of the world threatened to close in around you, but you found connection.

These words may mean nothing until you have survived the experience, but in the end you will find them to be some of the most beautiful words ever written: yes I said yes I will Yes.

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For a similar challenge dealing with the experience of reading, I recommend: House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski
Also see: Waltzing Matelda: Belated Bloomsday

The Quest for Gelato in America

New feature: Reviews (of restaurants, books, movies, or whatever I feel like talking about).

Today's review is of L'Arte Del Gelato, a gelateria in lower and midtown Manhattan. After spending a semester in Vienna (be sure to check out Zanoni & Zanoni near Stephansdom!) and 10 days in Italy, I have become very picky about my gelato. I'm not a fan of the American imitations that are basically just ice cream and sorbet. With nostalgia and a craving for the European flavors, I am determined to find authentic gelateria... and what better place than in New York City?

Background: For those who are unfamiliar with this artful cuisine, gelato is an Italian dessert that is often mistranslated as ice cream. However, it is creamier and more flavorful than ice cream or sorbet--ice crystals are broken and smoothed when the gelato is made, resulting in more flavor and less watery taste. L'Arte Del Gelato explains the differences in its own words. Like ice cream, gelato is often made from sugar and milk, but with minimal air; some gelato includes eggs and many have fruit. Some of my favorite flavors include Stracciatella (the best chocolate chip you will ever taste), Nutella, Melon, grapefruit, peach, mixed berries, and more. Many good gelaterias also offer experimental flavors, such as apple and rosemary or Twix.

The gelato options might look like this (picture from a 70-flavor gelateria in Firenze):

For more information, see Wikipedia.


The Location: After some googling and reading about the owner's return to Italy and dedication to the old gelato-making traditions, I decided that L'Arte Del Gelato would be my first stop. I tried stopping by the Chelsea Market location during the week, but discovered that that location closes at 7pm on weekdays. Yesterday, I instead tried the location by the NYU campus at 7th Ave and Bleecker street and had success! If I am not mistaken, the Friday and Saturday hours at this location are 11am-1am... not positive about weekdays, but give it a shot! It is right around the corner from the famous Jekyll & Hyde dinner theater, and with lots to do on 7th and on Bleecker (i.e. there was street fair this weekend).

The Details: I stepped in the small shop and examined the options. There were many of the usual suspects--Cioccolato, Nutella, Coconut, Banana, and many more. The workers were very eager to offer samples. I chose a small bowl ($4.50 for two flavors) and settled on my usual of Stracciatella and decided to try passion fruit. In addition to a decent portion of each flavor, the server surprised me by placing a free hefty sample of Frutti di Bosco (mixed berry) on top; she thought I might like this and it would help offset the two extremes of creamy Stracciatella and refreshing fruity passion fruit.

Still, I miss the 3-flavor huge portions of the 2 euro Blümen Tüte (flower cone) at Zanoni & Zanoni.


My Verdict: Not bad! The Stracciatella was excellent! If you have never had gelato before, I strongly recommend heading down and checking it out. The chocolate flakes were just right, and it was richly smooth and flavorful. However, the passion fruit could have been better. Though refreshing and rather flavorful, the consistency reminded me too much of the poor imitations; I had to let it melt a bit before I found it smooth enough.

I'll have to head back in a few weeks and try some alternate flavors--the Nutella looked very tempting! I'm curious as to whether all of the fruit flavors are too stiff, or if it was just a bad day for passion fruit. The mixed berry sample was rather good, but I'll just have to get more to be sure. More gelato to try--what a shame! :)