Whistle-stop Europe
A sweeping journey through defining 20th-century traditions — from German-language prose exploring inner crisis and the genesis of personality, through French existentialism, to the English-language line. The cycle culminates in postmodernism, casting a reflective eye back over the journey of ideas. Hesse and Mann strike the tuning fork: both probed humankind at its fracturing point — between culture and chaos, reason and sickness.
Sequence of the Cycle
Two items constitute paired works — read and examined in dialogue at a single collective gathering.
The maturation of Emil Sinclair, who discovers under the influence of Demian a realm beyond conventional morality; the Jungian path of individuation.
Gregor Samsa wakes transformed into an insect. An unsparing parable of tragic estrangement and social exclusion.
The ageing maestro Aschenbach in plague-ridden Venice, held captive by fatal obsession; the collapse of spiritual discipline before primal chaos.
Harry Haller trapped between bourgeois domesticity and the wild wolf of isolation. The Magic Theatre as a space for piecing together the fractured self.
Josef K. arrested by unknown authorities on an ordinary morning. Absurdist proceedings without a formal charge.
The fatal timelessness of an Alpine sanatorium before world catastrophe juxtaposed with Castalia — an ivory tower of pure intellect.
Meursault refuses to simulate feelings he does not experience. A manifesto of the absurd man and social ritual hypocrisy.
Quarantine-isolated Oran. A parable of human solidarity, Dr Rieux's integrity, and resistance against inevitable evil.
Emma craves the passions of romantic fiction amidst suffocating provincial tedium. An illusion that devours human reality.
Volume one of ‘In Search of Lost Time’. The anatomy of involuntary memory, Combray, the famous madeleine, and the fabric of time.
The green light across the bay, the Jazz Age, and the illusion of the great American Dream paid for in solitary heartbreak.
Santiago alone against the marlin and ocean. A laconic stoic manifesto: “Man is not made for defeat.”
A bitter parable of equality degenerating into dictatorship alongside the canonical novel of doublethink and historical control.
A single June day in London. The stream of consciousness of Clarissa Dalloway and shell-shocked Septimus: fragility of peace and inexpressible grief.
Seven generations of the Buendía family in Macondo. Magical realism as an instrument to fathom historical trauma and eternal solitude.
Tomáš, Tereza, and Sabina against the Prague Spring of 1968. A philosophical polyphony on responsibility vs treacherous lightness.
Murders within a 14th-century labyrinthine abbey library. Intellectual detective fiction, semiotics, and enquiry into the fear of laughter.
Track Rules
Arrive prepared — having read the announced text. This is neither a university exam nor a school quiz, but mutual regard for the time and depth of dialogue of every participant.
A clear mind and presence. At track gatherings, drinks stronger than tea are not welcomed.
The text or central dilemma remains focal. Discussion may wander into personal anecdotes or associations, which is natural. However, the host gently steers the thematic thread.
Ready to read ‘Demian’ with us?
Fill in a short questionnaire about your reading background. We will be in touch, forward reading notes for the upcoming 15 November discussion, and provide location details.
- ✦ Intimate format: around 10 participants around the table
- ✦ Attentive and considerate moderation