![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mookseandgripes.com\/reviews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/The-Three-Christs-of-Ypsila.jpg\" "\\"The-Three-Christs-of-Ypsila\\"")
<\/a>Milton Rokeach: The Three Christs of Ypsilanti<\/em> (original review January 25, 2012<\/a>)<\/strong>\u00a0— My brother and I dug into this book together, each interested in the topic: Milton Rokeach, a doctor at Ypsilanti State Hospital, put together\u00a0three men who\u00a0each claimed to be Jesus Christ, hoping he could study the effects of this conflict on their identities. Over the course of two years, these men met each day, developing strangely touching relationships. It all becomes even darker when Rokeach\u00a0begins experimenting with them individually, subjecting their beliefs to\u00a0a volley of attacks.\u00a0It’s a psychological case study, but it reads with the richness of a novel, digging into the dark recesses of this existence and what we do to get along in it.<\/p>\n\n
<\/a>Jean Strouse: Alice James: A Biography<\/em> (original review February 24, 2012<\/a>)<\/strong>\u00a0— This biography of Alice James, ill-fated and sickly\u00a0sister of Henry and William, surprised me with its insightful exploration of a brilliant woman held back by her family and times. I knew next to nothing about her, despite all of the intrigue I’ve\u00a0felt toward her famous brothers. What I found was a woman who was probably their equal, if only she weren’t held back by her times and by her sickness. Or was her sickness her strongest response to the times? Strouse’s\u00a0account may be the best biography I’ve ever read, having as it does a very Jamesian feel.<\/p>\n
\n<\/a>Nescio: Amsterdam Stories<\/em> (original review March 23, 2012<\/a>)<\/strong>\u00a0— This is one of the greatest publications of\u00a0the year, for my money. Nescio\u00a0is a legendary\u00a0Dutch master whose work had not been available in English before. Which is astonishing, really, because all of his work fits in this slender volume of\u00a0just over 150 pages. In this short space,\u00a0Nescio\u00a0puts\u00a0up a\u00a0valiant\u00a0fight against the passage of time, which there’s too little of to begin with.\u00a0He focuses on that strange, brief period of transition to adulthood, when one has\u00a0vague dreams for the future and a sudden realization that it will all end soon. Responsibilities, work and family, will make the time pass that much quicker. This is fascinating when looked at in connection with Nescio’s own life as a man who wanted to write but had\u00a0a large family and a demanding job.<\/p>\n
\n<\/a>Eric Chevillard: Demolishing Nisard<\/em> (original review April 13, 2012<\/a>)<\/strong>\u00a0— I think this is the funniest book on this list, though by the title and the cover you’d be forgiven for thinking it was some lofty post-modern bit of theory. Okay, and by the subject too: Nisard\u00a0is a real French literary critic who lived in the 19th century.\u00a0According to this sarcastic narrator who has allowed himself to become infuriated and obsessed with this nearly forgotten (and best-forgotten) bore,\u00a0Nisard\u00a0is basically responsible for every little pain in the neck: “In a Tuesday, August 3 interview on RTL Radio, D\u00e9sir\u00e9\u00a0Nisard\u00a0reaffirmed his position that France\u2019s minimum wage is overly generous.” Nisard\u00a0is\u00a0the disenchnater, but this book is the opposite.<\/p>\n
\n<\/a>Victor Serge: Memoirs of a Revolutionary<\/em> (original review May 3, 2012<\/a>)<\/strong> — When I received this book in the mail I didn’t even know if I’d be able to finish it, let alone like it. It’s fairly large and came at a time when I was extra busy at work. I decided to give it a shot, though, one night before I went to sleep. I was completely pulled in by the prose, the narrative, and the attempt to come to grips with an ugly time in our world’s history, and suddenly I found the time to read it all. It’s a fascinating political memoir that takes into account one’s changing (or, at least, complicating) perspectives over decades of loss. There are multiple struggles here, not the least of which are the struggle to change society and the struggle to comprehend the ugliness even our most noble thoughts can conjure.<\/p>\n
\nStefan Zweig:\u00a0Confusion<\/em> (original review May 24, 2012<\/a>)<\/strong> — It was wonderful to return to Stefan Zweig, whom I hadn’t read since I began this blog in 2008. This novella showcases his reflective yet frenetic style as it tells the story of a young man, almost lost to schooling, who becomes enchanted by literature when he hears a lecture from an elderly professor. His passion for learning becomes insatiable as he neglects the physical for the life of the mind. But one cannot neglect the physical forever, and the subject of Confusion<\/em> is as much about physical passion as it is about intellectual passion. To be honest, it’s not the best book on this list, but I can’t help but look back on it with fondness and recommend picking up anything you find by Zweig.<\/p>\n
\n<\/a>Robert Walser: The Walk<\/em> (orginal review June 10, 2012<\/a>)<\/strong>\u00a0— I read two books by Walser this year, and each deserve to be on this list. However, I opted to focus on The Walk<\/em> rather than Berlin Storie<\/em>s<\/em>, mostly because The Walk<\/em>\u00a0perfectly shows Walser’s\u00a0“exuberance\u00a0as performance” (tip o’ the hat to Pykk),\u00a0a performance meant to cover up something darker. The narrator is a writer who agonizes over his work through the night hours, finally fleeing for his walk when morning breaks. He manages to evade (at least, on the outside)\u00a0his sadness for pages and pages of comic encounters, but shadows begin to fall over the land.<\/p>\n
\n<\/a>Richard Beard: Lazarus Is Dead<\/em> (original review October 3, 2012<\/a>)<\/strong> — Another surprising book, Lazarus Is Dead<\/em>\u00a0is an unclassifiable work on the life, death, and second life of Lazarus of Nazareth (as he’s presented to us here). Once Jesus’ best friend, Lazarus has parted ways and is comfortably living close to Jerusalem. To his dismay,\u00a0his old friend begins performing miracles and with each one\u00a0Lazarus’ health declines noticeably. He realizes,\u00a0angry, that he has a role to play in Jesus’ ministry. But what? And, more importantly, why? Part biography, part scriptural analysis, funny and serious, this novel questions authority in all of its forms.<\/p>\n
\n<\/a>Gon\u00e7alo M. Tavares: The Neighborhood<\/em> (original review November 8, 2012<\/a>)<\/strong>\u00a0— This book is a compilation of Tavares’ ongoing “Mister” series (though there will be Miss). A fictional\u00a0neighborhood counts among its residents some men who bear a striking resemblance to our perceptions, made by the life they lead or the lives they created, of some famous writers: Paul Val\u00e9ry, Italo Calvino, Robert Juarroz, Henri Michaux, Karl Krauss, and Robert Walser. Delightful and, if you look, dark, these pieces introduced me to Tavares, and I’m hopeful more of his books will be on this list next year. Incidentally, if you read nothing else in this book, read “Mister Walser.”<\/p>\n
\n<\/a>Alice Munro: Dear Life<\/em> (original review November 13, 2012<\/a>)<\/strong> — I actually haven’t finished reviewing this short story collection yet (I’m doing it story by story and have four more to go), but I knew before it was published that it would be on this list. These stories have been dripping out over the past few years, and this collection brings them together as a striking finale — at least, that’s what she calls the\u00a0last four,\u00a0more-or-less\u00a0autobiographical\u00a0pieces here. I hope she’s still writing, but if Dear Life <\/em>is the last\u00a0collection we get from her, she goes out on a high note. Might I particularly recommend “Amundsen,” “Gravel,” and “Corrie”?<\/p>\n
\n<\/a>Wieslaw\u00a0Mysliwski: Stone Upon Stone<\/em> (original review December 14, 2012<\/a>)<\/strong>\u00a0— As I said in my review, I read this book much earlier in the year and just couldn’t\u00a0post this list without reviewing it and including it. So I revisited Stone Upon Stone<\/em>, a long book that actually moves very fast, found it as wondrous as I did back in March, and proclaimed it my favorite book of the year. It’s a magnificent, intimate look at a Polish farmer’s life from the 1920s to the 1960s. I love all of the books on this list, but if you’re looking for just one, here it is.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"