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Circe's Mountain
A couple passes a fearful night in the belief that their adopted son is coming to kill them, and a man ignores a child's cry for help and can't forgive himself when the child is slain. During WW II, a girl misplaces a room key and this seemingly innocuous act leads to the murder of her foster parents at the hands of German soldiers, while elsewhere, a young woman jumps to freedom from a train bound for a concentration camp as g the train carries her older sister to her demise. Death is the most prominent protagonist in this posthumously translated short-story collection by Kaschnitz, a g post-WW II German writer who makes her American debut here. The relentlessly bleak perspective revealed in clear, simple prose is adeptly tinged with supernatural concerns in One Day in the Middle of June: on a trip, a widow almost drowns herself in the sea but is mysteriously called back to life by the music of her daughter's flute, which wasn't brought to the beach that day; she returns home to discover that at the moment of her near-suicide a stranger reported her death to her neighbors. But the parapsychological element is glibly effected in Silver Almonds,, in which g a woman's silver wedding anniversary is blessed by none less than the pope.
128 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 1990
About the author
Marie Luise Kaschnitz
113 books18 followersMarie Luise Kaschnitz (born Marie Luise von Holzing-Berslett; 31 January 1901 – 10 October 1974) was a German short story writer, novelist, essayist and poet. She is considered to be one of the leading post-war German poets.
She was born in Karlsruhe. She married archaeologist Guido Freiherr Von Kaschnitz-Weinberg (the author of The Mediterranean Foundations of Ancient Art) in 1925, and travelled with him on archaeological expeditions.
She received high praise for her short stories, many of which were inspired by events in her life, complemented by her personal reminiscences. These stories were collected in books such as Orte and Engelsbrücke. She enjoyed travel greatly and her tales make use of diverse settings. They are thoughtful in nature, rather than eventful, often dealing with particular stages in a woman's life or a relationship. Her main collection is Lange Schatten ("Long Shadows"). Her favorite story was 1961's "Das dicke Kind".
Her post-war essay collection in Menschen und Dinge 1945 established her reputation in Germany. Her poems dealt with the war and the early post-war period, often expressing a yearning for a peaceful past, but also hope for the future. In the volume Dein Schweigen - meine Stimme she dealt with the death of her husband. After 1960 she became influenced by Pablo Neruda.
She briefly taught poetics at the University of Frankfurt. She was a member of PEN. She won many prizes, including the Georg Büchner Prize in 1955 and the Roswitha Prize in 1973. She died, aged 73, in Rome. The Marie Luise Kaschnitz Prize is named in her honor.
(from Wikipedia)
She was born in Karlsruhe. She married archaeologist Guido Freiherr Von Kaschnitz-Weinberg (the author of The Mediterranean Foundations of Ancient Art) in 1925, and travelled with him on archaeological expeditions.
She received high praise for her short stories, many of which were inspired by events in her life, complemented by her personal reminiscences. These stories were collected in books such as Orte and Engelsbrücke. She enjoyed travel greatly and her tales make use of diverse settings. They are thoughtful in nature, rather than eventful, often dealing with particular stages in a woman's life or a relationship. Her main collection is Lange Schatten ("Long Shadows"). Her favorite story was 1961's "Das dicke Kind".
Her post-war essay collection in Menschen und Dinge 1945 established her reputation in Germany. Her poems dealt with the war and the early post-war period, often expressing a yearning for a peaceful past, but also hope for the future. In the volume Dein Schweigen - meine Stimme she dealt with the death of her husband. After 1960 she became influenced by Pablo Neruda.
She briefly taught poetics at the University of Frankfurt. She was a member of PEN. She won many prizes, including the Georg Büchner Prize in 1955 and the Roswitha Prize in 1973. She died, aged 73, in Rome. The Marie Luise Kaschnitz Prize is named in her honor.
(from Wikipedia)
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