Elif Batuman

The last ten days have witnessed me plugging away at Witz and, likewise, a rejuvenation in spirit towards the Karamazov via samizdat. My 30 pages per day with Joshua Cohen were derailed late in the week as I went IUS and checked out their copy of The Possessed. Ms. Batuman's memoir of sorts of reading Russian literature and trips to such over the last decade. it begins strong, anchored with Babel's: Spectacles on his nose, Autumn in his heart. It becomes a bit chatty after that. Substance ebbs and personal anecdotes reign.

I finished it in two days. Unfairly, I found it couldn't compete with Germany/Argentina.

Before finding myself shackled with a sore throat for the remainder of my holiday, I did find a copy of Quest For Corvo at the library book sale.