There were velvet revolutions all over the globe, but the tiananmen square massacre had snuffed out the brief hope of democracy in china. The mussel feast 1990 birgit vanderbeke ive taken the plunge this year and bough a subscription to peirene press turning points series of contemporary european novellas. Birgit vanderbeke, born in 1956, is one of germanys most successful literary authors. I wrote this book in august 1989, just before the fall of the berlin wall. The father has brought with him the authoritarian paternalism of the state he fled, turning his family into a minisurveillance society. As the narrators courage grows and the truth unfolds, readers of the mussel feast can see the multiple ways in which a domestic dictatorship operates. The mussel feast by birgit vanderbeke past sunday 6 july 2014 the writer and cartoonist tex rubinowitz received this years ingeborg bachmann prize in klagenfurt, austria. March 26, 2020 via the zoom application with about 87 online attendees and started with peirene press publishing assistant maddie rogers interviewing translator jaime bulloch about the mussel feast interspersed with group member questions submitted by the chat function. Birgit vanderbeke why peirene chose to publish this book. It seemed logical to use the figure of a tyrannical father and turn the story into a german family saga. Father wants to eat mussels and the rest of the family obeys. Birgit vanderbeke says, i wrote this book in august 1989, just before the fall of the berlin wall.
I preferred us when my father was away the blank garden. Having fallen into a yearslong pattern of submi tting to his will the children in the family are teenagers at this point the mother has cooked muss els for. Review of the mussel feast by birgit vanderbeke book word. It has been translated into all major european languages, including french, spanish and italian. The mussel feast by birgit vanderbeke overdrive rakuten. Lee the mussel feast por birgit vanderbeke disponible en rakuten kobo. The modern german classic that has shaped an entire generation. So, in short, the mussel feast is about a small sc ale revolution that happens within a german family one night when the tyrannical father of the family does not come home a s planned. The mussel feast is a slim book, coming in at just 105 pages, and it covers a single monumental night in the life of a german family. Jamie bulloch a mother and her two teenage children sit at the dinner table. Read the mussel feast, by birgit vanderbeke online on bookmate the modern german classic that has shaped an entire generation.
The mussel feast by birgit vanderbeke, 20, peirene press ltd edition, paperback in english. The mussel feast, by birgit vanderbeke trs jamie bulloch. Her debut novel the mussel feast, originally published in 1990, won the ingeborg bachmann prize and is on the school curriculum in germany. The mussel feast by birgit vanderbeke librarything. This tale of a fragmenting family also has larger allegorical ambitions. I wrote this book in august 1989, just before the fall of. The mussel feast by birgit vanderbeke reading matters.
Vanderbeke grew up in frankfurt am main after her family moved to west germany in 1961. Buy the mussell feast by birgit vanderbeke, jamie bulloch from amazons fiction books store. Jamie bulloch the modern german classic that has shaped an entire generation. The mussel feast ebook by birgit vanderbeke rakuten kobo. In the mussel feast, vanderbeke demonstrates an equal scepticism towards controlling literary forms in which everything is stuffed into the harmony.
It came to me as the first book since i subscribed to the peirene press. The mussel feast by birgit vanderbeke book cover, description, publication history. It won the prestigious germanlanguage literature award, the ingeborg bachmann prize, that same year. Weighing in at 105 pages and paragraphs yes that is not a typo the book has thirteen paragraphs it is a work that you feel you could knock over simply in one sitting. When the father doesnt return, her thoughts start to wander and the novella is a slow reveal of their lives. Open library is an open, editable library catalog, building towards a web page for every book ever published. In birgit vanderbekes book, the marine mollusks trigger a real family tribunal. Mother, daughter and son pass the verdict on the absent father. The mussel feast 1990 birgit vanderbeke a novel approach. The mussel feast is both a comingofage novel set in germany, and a comingofage novel for germany. The 2014 independent foreign fiction prize features a number of short works and the mussel feast is yet another. In the middle stands a large pot of cooked mussels. It was neither a sign nor a coincidence that we were going to have mussels that evening.
Every march for 30 plus years this bold, briny and blue tradition has been a favorite washington festival. This weekly zoom series is run by six european publishing houses. Read the mussel feast by birgit vanderbeke available from rakuten kobo. A mother and her two teenage children sit down to eat dinner, expecting the imminent arrival of the father. The capital by robert menasse meet your next favorite book. The mussel feast by birgit vanderbeke is a short novella that is deceptively short. On the table a pot of mussels his favourite and a celebration for an expected promotion. The mussel feast will make uncomfortable reading for those who aspire to the ideal of the perfect nuclear family. The book instantly became a sensational success, with its theme of family life, the psychological warfare within it, and its underlying suggestion of the stirrings of political rebellion, peacefully staged but. With the world holding its breath over the hong kong protests, birgit vanderbekes the mussel feast has a contemporary resonance that she probably didnt expect when she wrote it in 1990.
The mussel feast was first published in 1990 in german. The participating houses switch off presenting a book from their catalogs to their audience. The mussel feast by birgit vanderbeke nook book ebook. The mussel feast birgit vanderbeke translated by jamie. The author lays bare the contradictory logic of an inflexible mind. The mussel feast, by birgit vanderbeke kevinfromcanada.
Lucy popescu, independent on sunday the book charts the collapse of the fathers rule over his family during a single evening, as his wife, son and daughter sit at the dinner table tensely awaiting his arrival. Birgit vanderbekes the mussel feast is a classic in the authors native germany, where it was published to critical and popular acclaim in 1990. Its the first peirene book which made me laugh out loud with tears in my eyes. This is a poignant yet hilarious narrative with a brilliant ending. The mussel feast as you no doubt know, birgit vanderbekes novella the mussel feast is shortlisted for the independent foreign fiction prize, in jamie bullochs translation. You can have a good book club discussion about a bad book, but. She wrote it just before the fall of the berlin wall, so it is the perfect opening title in peirenes revolutionary moments series. Birgit vanderbeke introduces pen atlas readers to her book the mussel feast and her experience of penning such a controversial work at a. Everyday low prices on a huge range of new releases and. I read the mussel feast as part of the translated fiction online book club which has been organized by peirene press and 5 other uk independent publishers for a 6 week period march 26 to april 30, 2020 during this current world pandemic situation. A sparkling gem of a book best read in one sitting, so pick. Birgit vanderbeke says, i wrote this book in august 1989, just before the fall of the. The book was published in 1990 and has never been out of print since. The mussel feast is narrated by the daughter and starts off with the actions of preparing and cooking the mussels.
The mussel feast by birgit vanderbeke fantastic fiction. It feels very much like you were weaving words around a blank space. The mussel feast was written in august 1989, three months before the berlin wall fell. Peirene press are making waves in the publishing industry and, like me, many look forward to the european gems which they publish in english often for. The mussel feast by birgit vanderbeke read online on bookmate. The mussel feast kindle edition by vanderbeke, birgit. The blurb on the back of the mussel feast tells us that this is a modern german classic, one that has been taught in german schools for the last twenty years. Peirene publish distinctive european literary fiction in translation, by authors who are awardwinners or bestsellers in their countries of origin. Vanderbekes prose and its pace are vital to the books success, so i want to quote her but i warn that what is excerpted here are mere snatches from far longer passages. The mussel feast a disdainful dinner gets out of control. The mussel feast was her first publication and won the most prestigious german language literature award, the ingeborg bachmann prize.
The book was published in 1989 and has never been out of print since. As a record of the overthrow of domestic tyranny and violence, the book is also a metaphor for a chilling bigger picture, offering not just hope but also, surprisingly, flashes of laughout. The mussel feast by birgit vanderbeke is being presented, a family drama set before the fall of the berlin wall. The mussel feast, by birgit vanderbeke, translated by. The mussel feast is only 105 pages but, true to monologue form, the paragraphs in the narrative extend for several pages. A mother and her two teenage children sit at the dinner. The story begins in an interesting and rather original manner. Birgit vanderbeke born 8 august 1956 in dahme, brandenburg is a german writer. It was first published in german in 1990, and apparently can be read as an allegory for the collapse of the east german state.