After a short but fun break in Berlin, it’s time to return to our literary muttons and take part in the monthly #6Degrees of Separation meme hosted by Kate. This month’s literary chain starts with The Anniversary by Stephanie Bishop, which I haven’t read and haven’t seen around in the UK, but which sounds interesting potentially, with its theme of creative couples and how they handle each other’s success. Perhaps reminiscent of the film Anatomy of a Fall?
I opted for another unequal (in terms of power) couple for my first link, namely the troubled relationship between Hans and Katharina in Jenny Erpenbeck’s Kairos. Many readers found the age difference and cruelty uncomfortable, but it worked well for me as a metaphor for the GDR.
Another GDR story (or set of stories, despite its slender form) is The Wall Jumper by Peter Schneider, published back in 1982. Or rather, it’s about the lives of ordinary people trying to survive in a divided city, on either side of the Wall, and trying to escape the wall in their own minds.
My next link is to another author named Peter, namely Peter Ackroyd and his strange, fascinating novel about London, architecture and satanism, called Hawksmoor. It’s that esoteric mix of history, erudition, speculative or fantastical fiction, but also detective fiction, that seemed to be hugely popular in the 1980s. So of course I had to include Umberto Eco’s Foucault’s Pendulum next, as that was my YA literature at the time.
I’ll stick to literary detection and another book I adored in my youth (and would like to reread), namely Possession by A.S. Byatt. I certainly dreamed of finding a partner in love and research as Roland and Maud (and I think I might have used it before in a 6 Degrees post, but I don’t even care!)
A.S. Byatt died recently, towards the end of 2023, so my final link is to another author whose recent death left me quite saddened, Paul Auster and his New York Trilogy, which was exhilarating and quite unlike anything I’d read before.
Coincidentally, all of my choices this month seem to have a link with the 1980s – either set during that time period or published then. And I have travelled from Berlin to London, Paris (and Milan) to London once more, and finally ended up in New York. Where will your Six Degrees take you?
findingtimetowrite 