Dan Wang

1913: The Year Before the Storm by Florian Illies

1913: The Year Before the Storm presents a whimsical slice of Central Europe. Art historian Florian Illies collates fragments of leading figures month by month, diary-entry style.

on danwang.co · 1 Jan 20268mo

Austria 1867-1955 by John W. Boyer

John Boyer’s Austria 1867-1955 offers parts of the answer, though not in a conceptually organized way. It’s a work of history written for specialists, which means that the narrative serves the footnotes rather than the other way around.

on danwang.co · 1 Jan 20268mo

Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

I’d like to read more experimental books like this one. Susannah Clarke’s Piranesi is a glittering jewel.

on danwang.co · 1 Jan 20268mo

The Chinese Tragedy of King Lear by Nan Z. Da

Nan Z. Da’s The Chinese Tragedy of King Lear also has an experimental form. Da is a professor of literature at Johns Hopkins who emigrated from Hangzhou before she was 7.

on danwang.co · 1 Jan 20268mo

The Eastern Front by Nick Lloyd

Nick Lloyd’s The Eastern Front covers the clashes between Imperial Germany and the Russian Empire as well as the Austro-Hungarians against the Italians and the Serbs. Whereas the western front was essentially static throughout the whole war, the east was characterized by the sort of maneuver warfare that most generals had expected to fight.

on danwang.co · 1 Jan 20268mo

The Hebrew Bible: A Translation with Commentary by Robert Alter

There is something deeply satisfying with reading out loud phrases like: “for in mere breath did it come, and into darkness it goes, and in darkness its name is covered.” Though King James is iconic, Robert Alter better conveys overall the literary power of the Hebrew Bible.

on danwang.co · 1 Jan 20268mo

The Red and the Black by Stendhal

I last picked up Stendhal’s The Red and the Black a decade ago. I wasn’t certain that the novel, which I keep calling my favorite, would hold up on re-reading.

on danwang.co · 1 Jan 20268mo

The Wall by Marlen Haushofer

Marlen Haushofer’s The Wall is short and engrossing. It was deemed a “Cold War” novel by the German press when it was published in 1963.

on danwang.co · 1 Jan 20268mo