Jakob von Gunten

#AlphabetGame
Title that begins with the letter J
Although I had a couple of other candidates in mind for today, I am going to focus on Robert Walser's unusual & memorable Jakob von Gunten. After deciding to become a servant, seventeen-year old aristocrat Jakob is sent to a mysterious Institute run by the Benjamenta family. This work has a disorienting feeling to it as Jakob undergoes a series of roleplay exercises. classroom lectures &👇

vivastory demonstrations that aim to improve him as a potential butler. Jakob vacillates on his future & there is an idea of the Institute as being a prison, although the students are free to leave at any point. Reviewed by J.M. Coetzee & a memorable adaptation by The Brothers Quay. 2y

Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Thank you for playing! 2y

batsy Nice! It's always great to see translated fic show up in these and I have this marked to read; loved this Walser book

Girlfriends, Ghosts, and Other Stories

vivastory @batsy I know that I have seen the tagged book before but I forgot to add it to my TBR. Thanks for the reminder. It sounds intriguing. I was unaware that they were shorter works! 2y

40 likes4 comments

sisilia

Jakob von Gunten | Robert Walser

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3⭐️ Based on Walser‘s personal experience, this is a fictitious diary of a young man from a rich family who enrolled himself into a school for servants. It gets odd in the middle when Jakob shares his weird dreams, and I‘ve never truly enjoyed a story where reality and dream blend together 😞Jakob‘s mix of arrogance and humility somehow reminds me of Uriah Heep (from David Copperfield)😂 …minus the writhing, of course.

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booksforlife83

Jakob von Gunten | Robert Walser

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Jakob Von Gunten is a student at the Benjamenta Institute where students are taught to serve and “stay small“. Written like whimsical thoughts and observations on life with ambiguities and philosophical ramblings, this is a brilliant book that stands alone in its style of prose. It is a must read!

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vivastory

Jakob von Gunten | Robert Walser

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Robert Walser died on Christmas Day 1956. Benjamin Kunkel wrote in his profile on Walser in the New Yorker, “In later years, stung by his failure to be taken seriously as a writer, Walser claimed that the ingenuousness was just an act: “My vocation, my mission, consists mainly in making every effort to keep my audience believing that I am truly simple. I give them the illusion that unspoiledness and naïveté still exist.”👇

vivastory But it can be hard to tell. When Walser met Lenin in Zurich, during the war, all he had to say was 'So you, too, like fruitcake?'“ Originally published in 1909, Jakob Von Gunten follows the titular character as he enters Institute Benjamenta, a mysterious boarding school for servants. Classes with enforced rules of conduct might tempt an allegorical reading of the rise of national socialism years later, but Jakob's unchecked playfulness & periodic (edited) 3y

vivastory dream sequences undercut a purely allegorical interpretation. Walser's sui generis quirky novel is at the forefront of a later tradition that would include such writers as Bruno Schulz, Italo Calvino & Julio Cortazar. NYRB has also published a volume of Walser's stories which I will def be picking up soon. Thanks to @leftcoastzen whose recent Walser posts motivated me to read this one. (edited) 3y

Leftcoastzen Nice review! I need to get to this one! 3y

Suet624 Ummmm...you must be a professor because that review is pure teacher material. I had to look up some of the words. 😀 (edited) 3y

batsy Lovely review! I loved the one book of his I read and must read more. 3y

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vivastory

Jakob von Gunten | Robert Walser

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Christoffer

Jakob von Gunten | Robert Walser

The innocent audacity of the narrator‘s attitude makes me want to equate it to rightness. This is the genius of Walser.

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vivastory

Jakob von Gunten | Robert Walser

#AllThePeopleInTheWorld made me think of international literature. Here's a few of my NYRB Classics in translation.
#SeptemberDanes
@Cinfhen @Kalalalatja

saresmoore Ooh, purty. 6y

Kalalalatja Great covers! 👌 6y

Leftcoastzen So lovely!NYRB picks such wonderful books . 6y

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Moray_Reads I love NYRB 😍 6y

Cinfhen Great interpretation ~ check em out @emilyhaldi @Reviewsbylola 6y

emilyhaldi Love this 😍😍😍😍 6y

LeahBergen Ooooh! 😍😍 6y

71 likes7 comments

fmcgeough

Jakob von Gunten | Robert Walser

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‪Finished first book in #24in48 @24in48readathon really good. Reminded me of Kafka. ‬plus there was a delicious lager with lunch. Bells Brewery Lager of the Lakes.

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