Friday Friyay: 'Fog' by Miguel de Unamuno, trans. by Elena Barcia

Happy Friday! I am so glad this week is over xD Not because it was bad, quite the opposite, but it was just a lot. The first proper week of the semester meant 3 hours of teaching, at least four hours of prep, and four hours of language learning, on top of preparing our conference in two weeks and just my own general admin and attempts at research. So, absolutely knackered but happy of what I achieved. This weekend I'm hoping to finally get around to reading Fog by Miguel de Unamuno, translated by Elena Barcia, which has been on  my TBR for way too long.

Fog is a fresh new translation of the Spanish writer Miguel de Unamuno’s Niebla, first published in 1914. An early example of Modernism’s challenge to the conventions of nineteenth-century realist fiction, Fog shocked critics but delighted readers with its formal experimentation and existential themes. This revolutionary novel anticipates the work of Sartre, Borges, Pirandello, Nabokov, Calvino, and Vonnegut.
 
The novel’s central character, Augusto, is a pampered, aimless young man who falls in love with Eugenia, a woman he randomly spots on the street. Augusto’s absurd infatuation offers an irresistible target for the philosophical ruminations of Unamuno’s characters, including Eugenia’s guardian-aunt and “theoretical anarchist” uncle, Augusto’s comical servants, and his best friend, Victor, an aspiring writer who introduces him to a new, groundbreaking type of fiction. In a desperate moment, Augusto consults his creator about his fate, arguing with Unamuno about what it means to be “real.” Even Augusto’s dog, Orfeo, offers his canine point of view, reflecting on the meaning of life and delivering his master’s funeral oration.

Fog is a comedy, a tragic love story, a work of metafiction, and a novel of ideas. After more than a century, Unamuno’s classic novel still moves us, makes us laugh, and invites us to question our assumptions about literature, relationships, and mortality.

Book Beginnings is at home on Rose City Reader, hosted by Gilion Dumas, and Friday 56 at Freda's Voice, hosted by Freda. Freda is taking a break at the moment, but we're keeping the spirit going! I'll also be joining the Book Blogger Hop, hosted by Billy over at Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Writer. All quotes are taken from an ARC and may be different in the published book.

BB:

'Prologue
Don Miguel de Unamuno insists that I write a prologue to this book of his relating the most pitiful story and mysterious death of my good friend Augusto Perez. I have to agree, because senor de Unamuno's wishes are my commands, in the truest sense of the word.' 1%

Beginning of the "real story"
Augusto appeared at the door of his building, extended his right arm, palm down, and maintained this august, statuesque pose as he looked up at the sky. He wasn't taking command of the world, he wanted to see if it was raining.' 7%

I wanted to quote both of these things the moment I realised that Fog is indeed a metafiction type of book that plays with what is fiction, what is real, and has therefore crafted a fake Prologue. de Unamuno even "responds" to the prologue, I saw, and now I can't wait to dive in. I also just thought the opening was so funny, with this detailed description of someone just checking for rain.

F56:

'He felt like himself only when he was alone. That's when he could tell himself - maybe even convince himself - "I'm me". When he was with other people in the middle of a busy, preoccupied crowd, he didn't feel like himself. He lost touch with himself.' 56%

Honestly, this is why these weekly posts are so good because now I'm so eager to finally read this book! This quote sums up beautifully how I feel sometimes. While it's perhaps not quite as bad as with the protagonist, I do sometimes feel like I lose track of myself when I'm around others, that it becomes difficult to figure out where I end and others start. 

BBH:

This week's question was suggested by Billy himself:

Do you have a bookish phobia?

Hhmm have never thought about this before. I'd very much say no, except that there are two things I'm kinda worried about. The first, which happens too often to not be embarrassing, is I'm scared of dropping my Kindle on my face when reading in bed... I have done this enough now that it's not really a phobia, but I'm just waiting for that one time where it really hits me straight in the eye or really gives me a split lip. The other worry is accidentally getting a major papercut from a book which I don't notice till I've bled all over the book... 

Maybe this isn't where the question was going but that is where my brain went, so apologies in advance and yay that it's almost Halloween!

And that's it for me this week! What are you reading?