Tea With Tarvos - Tarvos' Log 2019

[tarvos]

I started El Salón de Ámbar (I also finished Wolkenfern in the meanwhile). This is a Spanish book about a group of art robbers who get embroiled in some nasty business. Loads of fun. Not that long a book, on my computer it's only 156 pages or so (maybe 240 in paperback). The plot centers around the Amber Room (El Salón de Ámbar, Янтарная комната / Bernsteinzimmer) which is a disappeared artifact of great wonder and value destroyed in Königsberg (modern Kaliningrad) during WWII.

Other than that, nothing of note really. My depression is kicking ass, and I can barely sleep.

[tarvos]

I've been feeling a little better because I got a lot of sleep over the weekend. I finished a Dutch YA novel with a trans thematic running through it (I shouldn't read that stuff, it traumatizes me to no end to read about trans people who have it worse than I do), and have started reading both Han Kang's the Vegetarian (in Czech, original in Korean) and the sixth part of Les Rois Maudits.

Without giving away too much of the plot (not that I am very far into the book), Han Kang's the Vegetarian is an interesting case study in otherism. One day, a woman has horrid dreams that cause her to stop eating meat, fish, eggs, which in Korea is like... anathema, with its traditional outlook on life. Not eating meat and being a vegetarian completely others and ostracizes you from such a society. Her family doesn't understand her (she slashes her wrist because her parents try to force her to eat meat... it's cruel), society at large doesn't understand her...

As someone who doesn't eat meat or fish either (I do consume eggs) I often feel that I get similar looks from people when I explain that I don't eat meat. (I wish I could go vegan, but I really need the vitamins and calcium from dairy because of my transition). I should probably stop reading stuff that affects me so much emotionally.

[Elenia]

I found that book really very harrowing. I couldn't finish it, although I read the majority. Jag läser Ru av Kim Thúy just nu och tycker att den är verkligen fantastisk. Hennes prosa är delikat och jag tycker att hon har hittat rätt balans mellan det sorgliga och det underbara. Jag läser på franska, svenska och engelska. Franskan är originalet men jag tror att den svenska översättningen är mycket bra.

Whew. That was hard. I'm not used to writing like this in Swedish - need to get back to reading Swedish books and writing Swedish reviews.

[tarvos]

Det gör inget, det är ju bara att göra det om och om.

[Elenia]

...och inte bara slutar under ett år. Det är lättare att skriva när jag vet att ingen annan kommer läsa det - nu blir jag blyg inför tanken att alla kan se mina feler.

[tarvos]

Det är nog ingen fara. Fel gör vi ju alla, jag med. Jag tror, nej är faktiskt helt säker på, att Jeff kan inte räkna ut alla fel som jag har gjort under tidens lopp. Fel är aldrig något du bör skämmas över.

[tarvos]

中文： 最近我的身体不好， 所以难学的东西我什么都没做。 不过，我还能看电视，电视剧也有意思。那，我现在最喜欢的电视剧是中国的少年四大名捕。

剧情是在明朝中期。四大名捕是四个人，他们的任务是保护皇帝的人，也杀坏人。安世耿是这个剧的坏人，想要皇帝，忘了他的爱人，蝴蝶·。那，我不想告诉你完全的故事，但是这个四大名捕更多在开玩笑，比杀坏人。。。 最好的东西是我会听懂很多。自己写，表达感觉还难，所以你们补偿在这里要看我的文章。

那，我希望我明天更幸福，不要一整天睡觉。

[tarvos]

EN: Depression is murdering me, but I did read a novella called The Deviant Hearts (in English, but written by a Dutch native speaker).

[tarvos]

I finally finished The Vegetarian, which is literally one of the most heartwrenching, horrible books I've read in recent memory. So many scenes from it are violent, heartbreaking and get under your skin. Poor, poor Yeonghye.

[tarvos]

About halfway with the sixth tome of Les Rois Maudits. Other than that, not much of note really. I'm not doing much in terms of concerted effort.