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Unsteady Earth
HIS FATHER STILL warm in the grave, Bartholomé de Ménibus leaves his traditional farming village in a bucolic valley and sets out to discover what lies behind the only mountain he has ever known: endless other mountains. Behind each, fantastical Swiftian worlds inhabited by Quixotic characters all convinced that their lifestyle is the only way to face the future. Dairy cows with portholes sewn into their rumps offer consumers 'a window on the product'; elderly folk are abandoned by the roadside as their families drive on through traffic jams to holiday destinations; pigs are farmed in 125-storey skyscrapers. In this quirky, satirical novel, sparkling with surreal humour and inventiveness, Marie-Jeanne Urech adopts the codes of epic medieval quests and epistolary tales of the past as she skips lightly but purposefully towards the essential question: What kind of Earth are we leaving for future generations?
- GenresShort Stories
44 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 2022
2 people are currently reading
23 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
April 21, 2025
Lovely short read with a conclusive yet intriguing ending which left the story open and unending.
The creativity and randomness (or possibly symbolism) of the novel is what makes it so beautiful and enticing and I hope to find more writing by Marie-Jeanne Urech in the future.
The creativity and randomness (or possibly symbolism) of the novel is what makes it so beautiful and enticing and I hope to find more writing by Marie-Jeanne Urech in the future.
August 25, 2022
Unsteady Earth by Marie-Jeanne Urech (tr. from French by Andrea Reece)
Unsteady Earth (La Terre Tremblante) is a short tale following young Bartholomé de Ménibus who following his father's funeral sets out from his traditional farming village and crosses the mountains to discover new places. What he uncovers can only be described as weird and whacky. Old people abandoned by their relatives on the sides of the road (with portaloos galore), cows with portholes sewn into them to see the product, pig farms in skyscrapers and more.
The novel whilst falling into these weird habits actually has a deeper question about how we engage with our environment and look after the earth. Who are valuable people, how do we travel, how do we operate, what do we put into the earth.
It's a clever and quirky short novel that I was so easily absorbed in. Another great addition in the +svizra collection from Stranger's Press.
Unsteady Earth (La Terre Tremblante) is a short tale following young Bartholomé de Ménibus who following his father's funeral sets out from his traditional farming village and crosses the mountains to discover new places. What he uncovers can only be described as weird and whacky. Old people abandoned by their relatives on the sides of the road (with portaloos galore), cows with portholes sewn into them to see the product, pig farms in skyscrapers and more.
The novel whilst falling into these weird habits actually has a deeper question about how we engage with our environment and look after the earth. Who are valuable people, how do we travel, how do we operate, what do we put into the earth.
It's a clever and quirky short novel that I was so easily absorbed in. Another great addition in the +svizra collection from Stranger's Press.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews