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Compass

By Mathias Enard
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3.79 goodreads logo

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Check link for latest rating. ( 2,795 ratings, 460 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Compass by Mathias Enard is a contemplative journey through musicologist Franz Ritter's sleepless night in Vienna. As he reflects on his past travels through the Middle East and his deep affection for a fellow scholar named Sarah, the novel intricately weaves themes of cultural interconnectedness, historical scholarship, and unrequited love. It offers an evocative exploration of the dialogue between Western and Eastern cultures.
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Format: Paperback / softback
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

This book may appeal to you if you are intrigued by an intricate narrative that weaves together tales of travel, music, and the deep connections between Eastern and Western cultures. It transports readers on a cerebral journey, exploring the profound beauty of art and history. Perfect for those who enjoy thought-provoking reflections and eloquent storytelling.

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Compass

Winner of the 2015 Prix Goncourt, this is Mathias Enard's most ambitious novel since Zone.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

As night falls over Vienna, Franz Ritter, an insomniac musicologist, takes to his sickbed with an unspecified illness and spends a restless night drifting between dreams and memories, revisiting the important chapters of his life: his ongoing fascination with the Middle East and his numerous travels to Istanbul, Aleppo, Damascus, and Tehran, as well as the various writers, artists, musicians, academics, orientalists, and explorers who populate this vast dreamscape. At the centre of these memories is his elusive, unrequited love, Sarah, a fiercely intelligent French scholar caught in the intricate tension between Europe and the Middle East.

An immersive, nocturnal, musical novel, full of generous erudition and bittersweet humour, Compass is a journey and a declaration of admiration, a quest for the otherness inside us all and a hand reaching out - like a bridge between West and East, yesterday and tomorrow.

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Compass by Mathias Enard is widely praised for its rich and intricate narrative, offering an immersive journey through the cultural and historical landscapes of the Mediterranean. Critics commend its depth, describing it as a complex, yet rewarding read full of literary and historical insight. The book's unique style and broad scope, featuring an Austrian musicologist's introspective exploration, earn it comparisons to Proust and acclaim as an important work in contemporary fiction.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781910695234

Publisher: Fitzcarraldo Editions

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 22 March 2017

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Fitzcarraldo Editions

Contributors:

  • Translated by Charlotte Mandell
  • Translated by Charlotte Mandell
  • Translated by Charlotte Mandell

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Width: 127.0mm

Height: 195.0mm

Weight: 0g

Pages: 480

Collections

Fiction General Fiction Literary Fiction Mathias Enard

About the Author

Mathias Enard, born in 1972, studied Persian and Arabic and spent long periods in the Middle East. He has lived in Barcelona for about fifteen years, interrupted in 2013 by a writing residency in Berlin. He won several awards for Zone, including the Prix du Livre Inter and the Prix Decembre, and won the Liste Goncourt/Le Choix de l'Orient, the Prix litteraire de la Porte Doree, and the Prix du Roman-News for Street of Thieves. He won the 2015 Prix Goncourt for Compass.

Charlotte Mandell has translated fiction, poetry, and philosophy from the French, including works by Proust, Flaubert, Genet, Maupassant and Blanchot.

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