Finished this finally, unintentionally in the perfect way, reading from three to five in the morning when I couldn't sleep. It's the perfect way to finish because this is an insomniac's diary, or more so, its conceit involves an Austrian insomniac's cognitive perambulations in bed in Vienna as he makes his way, only ordered by the increasingly late hour, through the occidental experience of (the novel's keyword) in the orient. It's about the interpenetration of east and west, self in th Finished this finally, unintentionally in the perfect way, reading from three to five in the morning when I couldn't sleep. It's the perfect way to finish because this is an insomniac's diary, or more so, its conceit involves an Austrian insomniac's cognitive perambulations in bed in Vienna as he makes his way, only ordered by the increasingly late hour, through the occidental experience of (the novel's keyword) in the orient. It's about the interpenetration of east and west, self in the other. Like, it's a vehicle for erudition, an assemblage of a whole lot of stuff previously unbeknownst to me.

In 'Zone,' each phrase of a discontinuous, single, 500-page sentence is like the ties along the tracks the narrator rolls over seated in a train, providing basic forward movement and structure, whereas in this one, the narrator is in bed mostly, or puttering around his apartment, as nocturnal hours pass. In both novels, the masks the author wears (his narrators) have insider information -- although he's not a former spy as in 'Zone,' the academic orientalist narrator of 'Compass' feels more naturally aligned with the author who I believe at one time taught Arabic at the University of Barcelona. The narrative mask seems more transparent. At one point, research is associated with espionage and this is sort of like the secret history of the western infatuation with the east, but Enard being a great writer blurs the duality and complexifies it. He also refers to Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata solely as his 14th sonata, which I then had to look up on Spotify, which really comes in handy when reading this since you can find Mendelssohn's Octet and choose from dozens of versions, or pieces by Schubert, Chopin, Wagner, or any other piece by western classical composers you don't know at all or well that are discussed at one point.

Roaming Romans indeed! As a two year old convert to the Catholic Faith, this groups work has opened. My eyes to the rich history and tradition of Christianity as it is found within Catholicism. Romans 8 - NIV: Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.

Someone with more time should put together a 'Compass' playlist. The title itself refers in part to Beethoven's compass, which is set to point east instead of north. Processmaker cracked. It's not all about 'orientalist' interests, however -- there's also a love story with another academic, Sarah, who the narrator loved and loves still, and idealizes, especially times together in Tehran and Damascus, and the love story, the history of their interactions since then, the cooling off, the letters, the time together in Vienna when Sarah only wants to visit museums related to horror, establish the novel's spine, the trunk from which the limbs of episodes and anecdotes and the foliage of essay and ideas can grow. Although nowhere near as conventional as Enard's last translated novel,, the love story is satisfying enough, as is all the esoteric information and all the reference particularly to writers and artists and composers.