70 Austria: Ingeborg Bachmann – Malina
What a weird book this was, yet also weirdly gripping. If you’re the kind of reader who likes books without an obvious story, this one is perfect for you. Cryptic descriptions of places, people and events left me rather flummoxed. But then, I enjoyed reading a book in German, and the snippets of Hungarian were translated by my colleague Laura.
71 Sudan: Tayeb Salih – Seasons of Migration to the North
A modern Arabic classic, and still off and on the banned-books list in some places. I found the interactions between the characters dramatic, and was intrigued how this mirrored the relationship between colonial power and colony. On top of that, it was shocking to read about the fate of the young widow. It is disturbing to think the author had some real-life model there, but unfortunately highly likely (looking at the news).
72 Tibet: Palden Gyatso – Fire under the Snow: Testimony of a Tibetan Prisoner
Another harrowing look into the human abyss. I had just finished reading this book when I went to a lecture about secular ethics by the 14th Dalai Lama. It was in stark contrast to how my students in China used to see him and Tibetans in general (also Uighurs) as monsters. Gyatso’s testimony, which he also told the UN, is written in an almost clinical style, e.g. when he talks about being tortured. Yet the reader can feel how his heart bled because of so much suffering of people, but also of the land.
Spocki's World 