We have nothing left to fear but insincerity.
—Qiu Miaojin, Last Words From Montmartre
notes on life and literature
We have nothing left to fear but insincerity.
—Qiu Miaojin, Last Words From Montmartre
My month of reading books in translation was surprisingly productive up until the middle of the month, when I fell ill at the same time as my plans to move cities in January fell apart. It took me a week to fully recover, which ate up a lot of my free time.
Last week I bridged the gap between 2018 and 2019 with the novels of Qiu Miaojin, Notes of a Crocodile and Last Words from Montmartre, and began my new year of reading on a high note.
For the month of January I’ll be focusing on reading fiction and nonfiction by writers in translation, from Haruki Murakami to Marguerite Duras.
To live in preparation of adversity and finding ways to preserve your core values—this is what it means to learn ‘how to live.’
—Qiu Miaojin, Last Words from Montmartre