Hux Book Blog 2025 (Spoilers)

[Hux]

The Other Side (1909) Alfred Kubin

In the late 1800s and early 1900s, a lot of books like this seem to have become fashionable, stories about an eerie place somewhere else in the world (or on another planet or dimension altogether) where a madman has attempted to create a new kind of Utopia. This one starts like that, but quickly changes direction, after a man (the protagonist) is visited and told that an old school friend (Patera) has created a place called the Dream Realm and has invited him to come and see it. The language used (at least in this translation) makes it seem as though this place -- the dream realm -- will turn out to be some kind of other worldly place, a magical dimension inaccessible to others, perhaps reached only by some sort of magical vortex or hypnotism. But no, it's actually a real place located in central Asia. And so off they go, the narrator and his wife, across Europe and Asia to find this strange place. I quite enjoyed this part of the book, like Phileas Fogg or something, with trains and steam ships, man and wife crossing the Caspian and meeting exotic natives etc. 

Once they arrive, however, heading for the capital Pearl, instead of finding some majestic land of curious mystery, what they actually encounter is a very banal environment with European style buildings, unpleasant people, and standard living arrangements. There's a population of around 65 thousand and, somewhat inexplicably, the narrator gets a job as a journalist essentially reporting on the Dream Realm and making life here permanent. This felt odd to me as I was given the impression they were just visiting but they basically make a new life here, in a place that is ostensibly strange but still a letdown. Meanwhile, the mysterious Patera is never to be seen, a symbol of uncertainty and myth, and you get the impression that the book will give us a big reveal at some point. But again, that doesn't really happen. As things go along, the Dream Realm begins to capitulate, turn into chaos, and the crumbling downfall is recorded by our narrator. 

I'm not entirely sure what Fubin was trying to say here. At first I thought it was just your standard mystery land narrative popular at the time; then I thought it was a direct satire on those very types of books. But it never really goes anywhere and you're left wondering what it was all for. Having done the bare minimum amount of research, it turns out that Fubin (an illustrator) was actually commissioned to create artwork for Meyrink's The Golem but this was delayed. So instead he decided to write a story that could utilise these drawings and simply build a story around them (my copy did include these rather grotesque pencil images). But I just never felt that the story quite matched up to them.
 

Anyway, of this genre, I didn't think it was that interesting. Worth a look certainly but nothing that amazing. I liked some aspects of the book but mostly found it rather prosaic. I was hoping for some kind of twist ending, a big reveal, but all I got was Fubin reminding us that everything in life whether magical or mundane is ultimately banal:

True hell lies in the fact that this discordant clash continues within us. Even love has its focus between faeces and urine.

 

5/10

[Hux]

Death and The Penguin (1996) Andrey Kurkov

Perhaps one of the most mediocre things I've read in a long time, certainly among the most forgettable. Another contemporary novel that disappointed me. Honestly, I read stuff like this and wonder how on earth certain people get publishing deals. It bewilders me. This whole book felt like it was written for people who struggle to watch TikTok videos without getting distracted. Simplistic prose, banal, dull, unutterably lifeless, and peppered with equally dry dialogue. It's one of those books that's very easy to read so you don't actually notice how thoroughly empty the thing is. I can't even say I disliked it, but merely found it boring.

In theory, the story is an original idea, a man commissioned to write advanced obituaries for people who aren't dead yet but who are, not long after they're submitted by our protagonist, the aspiring author, Viktor, murdered by the gangsters using the newspaper as a front. This is presumably why the book has those horrible phrases on the front cover such as: 'brilliant satire' or 'black comedy.' That should have been my first clue. Then we have the fact that Viktor lives with a penguin (how very zany) due to the zoo closing down and needing people who are willing to adopt various animals. He later gets lumbered with Sonya, the child of a mysterious neighbour (also called Misha like the penguin), then comes the love interest NIna. What follows is some Kafkaesque mimicry enveloped in obvious satire (he now becomes the focus of a new obituary writer and the penguin needs to go to Antarctica). But none of it matters because this whole book is just predictable and lifeless.

Reading this reminded me of Before the Coffee Gets Cold, another book written for people who enjoy easy to digest narratives that demand very little of the reader, neither challenging nor beautiful, just wallpaper for the mind. This is the reason why I have so little time for modern literature, it's all so vapid and soulless, so trapped by form and function. Yes, easy to read but so thoroughly bloodless. You can't just have a nice idea for a novel, you have to actually write prose that sparkles and dances, otherwise it's just beige coloured paste being flung into your mouth as you chew, unthinkingly, like a docile cow. Perfectly well-written but, in my opinion, utterly valueless as literature. Ask me about it next week, and I'll have no memory of this book whatsoever. 

 

3/10

[Hux]

War Trash (2004) Ha JIn

Having read Waiting and mostly enjoyed it, I was expecting to like this more since it was about war and would presumably focus more on that and less on the existential nightmare of a relationship that is never allowed to begin. Unfortunately, I found this significantly less interesting, mostly because very little happens and secondly because Ha Jin's writing is very listless and dull, prosaic, matter of fact etc. It's not bad writing, it's just very perfunctory. It was easier to ignore with Waiting because that story had an intriguing dynamic but this is more straight-forward.

The book is about a young Chinese soldier, a 'volunteer' called Yu Yuan, who is fighting on behalf of the Chinese Communists in the Korean War. It's told from his later perspective as an elderly man now living in the USA writing his memoir. As a young man he left his mother and fiance behind and, understandably, had a strong desire to get back to them. It begins with his unit engaging the enemy sporadically but mostly it concerns their ceaseless marching towards various locations. Very early on in the book he and his unit are captured and placed in a series of prisoner of war camps where the book settles for the duration. This is essentially the meat and potatoes of the story, switching from a Nationalist camp to a Communist camp, and only the occasional distraction of intrigue here and there, such as escape attempts, religious leaders, his desire to improve his English, a dog named Blackie, a captured American general, and several (very well researched) forays into the finer details of the war. From that angle, it might appeal to people because I thought the military stuff was effectively done, meticulous even, and nicely realised. It was tempting to think this was indeed a personal memoir but Ja Hin wasn't even born until 1956 so hats off for researching and creating such a convincing world. The problem is I just didn't think it was ever that interesting.

Ultimately, Ha Jin's writing is very basic. I think I said the same when reviewing Waiting. It's just very functional and, as such, never develops into anything remotely challenging or exquisite, it's just there to do a job, move you along. You can dismiss this as deliberate (given that the fictional Yu Yuan is not a writer himself) but since this was also the case with Waiting, I think that might be generous. Overall, I was never that interested in the narrative and found his writing was simply too dry to bring any of it to life. It was fine, well researched (you could genuinely believe this was a real memoir), but not much more.

If you liked Waiting or are a fan of military novels then I'd recommend it. 

 

5/10