Sojourn
- Downloads：8165
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-08-28 06:51:45
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：Amit Chaudhuri
- ISBN：0571360343
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
'Where most of us can barely trace our own footprints in the mass of moments that are the stuff of experience， numerous and storyless as grains of sand on a beach， Chaudhuri delves in masterfully to lift out arcs， moods， treasures。'
James Meek
'A mysterious， subtle， haunting novel。'
Chris Power
An unnamed man arrives in Berlin as a visiting professor。 It is a place fused with Western history and cultural fracture lines。 He moves along its streets and pavements; through its department stores， museums and restaurants。 He befriends Faqrul， an enigmatic exiled poet， and Birgit， a woman with whom he shares the vagaries of attraction。 He tries to understand his white-haired cleaner。 Berlin is a riddle-he becomes lost not only in the city but in its legacy。
Sealed off in his own solitude， and as his visiting professorship passes， the narrator awaits transformation and meaning。 Ultimately， he starts to understand that the less sure he becomes of his place in the moment， the more he knows his way。
'Chaudhuri has already proved that he can write better than just about anybody of his generation。' Jonathan Coe
James Meek
'A mysterious， subtle， haunting novel。'
Chris Power
An unnamed man arrives in Berlin as a visiting professor。 It is a place fused with Western history and cultural fracture lines。 He moves along its streets and pavements; through its department stores， museums and restaurants。 He befriends Faqrul， an enigmatic exiled poet， and Birgit， a woman with whom he shares the vagaries of attraction。 He tries to understand his white-haired cleaner。 Berlin is a riddle-he becomes lost not only in the city but in its legacy。
Sealed off in his own solitude， and as his visiting professorship passes， the narrator awaits transformation and meaning。 Ultimately， he starts to understand that the less sure he becomes of his place in the moment， the more he knows his way。
'Chaudhuri has already proved that he can write better than just about anybody of his generation。' Jonathan Coe
Reviews
Annarella
，
I wanted to read it as it talks about Berlin。 It was a sort of diary， flush of consciouness， moments and places。Some characters and their story。I would define it as "rarefied"。 There's no plot but it was fascinating。Recommended。Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC， all opinions are mine I wanted to read it as it talks about Berlin。 It was a sort of diary， flush of consciouness， moments and places。Some characters and their story。I would define it as "rarefied"。 There's no plot but it was fascinating。Recommended。Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC， all opinions are mine 。。。more
Aoife Cassidy McMenamin
，
This neat little book by esteemed author Chaudhuri could be read in one sitting。 It’s neither plot driven nor character driven （unless you count Berlin as a character） but it’s very much an in-the-moment， observational novel。 It reminded me of Whereabouts by Jhumpa Lahiri but Chaudhuri has also been compared to Proust， if that’s your thing。 An unnamed professor takes up a guest post at a university in Berlin and settles into city life， befriending a Bangladeshi man and a German woman。 As he navi This neat little book by esteemed author Chaudhuri could be read in one sitting。 It’s neither plot driven nor character driven （unless you count Berlin as a character） but it’s very much an in-the-moment， observational novel。 It reminded me of Whereabouts by Jhumpa Lahiri but Chaudhuri has also been compared to Proust， if that’s your thing。 An unnamed professor takes up a guest post at a university in Berlin and settles into city life， befriending a Bangladeshi man and a German woman。 As he navigates life in a new city， he observes the idiosyncrasies of German life （notably， the shelf shitter toilets 😂 （nb he doesn’t call them this - it’s what myself and friends used to call them when I lived in Germany in my 20s）。 A nice bit of nostalgia for me， with cute references to Peek & Cloppenburg， and familiar U-Bahn stations and street names。 I can’t help but think this might be pretty dull for most readers。 Reading it is a little like watching a quiet documentary， there’s a meditative quality to it。 Go for it if you’ve ever lived in Germany and/or you’re a fan of Proust or quiet arty documentaries in literary format。 Just don’t expect anything to happen and you won’t be disappointed。 3/5 ⭐️ *Sojourn will be published on 25 August 2022。 I read an advance copy courtesy of the publisher @faberbooks via @netgalley （many thanks）。 As always， this is an honest review。* 。。。more
Aoife Cassidy McMenamin
，
This neat little book by esteemed author Chaudhuri could be read in one sitting。 It’s neither plot driven nor character driven （unless you count Berlin as a character） but it’s very much an in-the-moment， observational novel。 It reminded me of Whereabouts by Jhumpa Lahiri but Chaudhuri has also been compared to Proust， if that’s your thing。 An unnamed professor takes up a guest post at a university in Berlin and settles into city life， befriending a Bangladeshi man and a German woman。 As he navi This neat little book by esteemed author Chaudhuri could be read in one sitting。 It’s neither plot driven nor character driven （unless you count Berlin as a character） but it’s very much an in-the-moment， observational novel。 It reminded me of Whereabouts by Jhumpa Lahiri but Chaudhuri has also been compared to Proust， if that’s your thing。 An unnamed professor takes up a guest post at a university in Berlin and settles into city life， befriending a Bangladeshi man and a German woman。 As he navigates life in a new city， he observes the idiosyncrasies of German life （notably， the shelf shitter toilets （nb he doesn’t call them this - it’s what myself and friends used to call them when I lived in Germany in my 20s）。 A nice bit of nostalgia for me， with cute references to Peek & Cloppenburg， and familiar U-Bahn stations and streetscapes， but I can’t help but think this could be pretty dull for most readers。 Reading it is a little like watching a quiet documentary， there’s a meditative quality to it。 Go for it if you’ve ever lived in Germany and/or you’re a fan of Proust or quiet arty documentaries in literary format。 Just don’t expect anything to happen and you won’t be disappointed。 3/5 ⭐️ 。。。more
Adam Dalva
，
I quite liked this oblique， melancholy little novel of displacement。 It never quite catches fire， but the 125 pages fly by and the writing is lovely throughout
Sharmila
，
Sojourn follows an unnamed narrator， an exiled Bangladeshi poet and a woman whom the narrator shares an attraction。 The book was an easy， short read， following the narrator meandering through Berlin。 In terms of plot， not much happens， but despite this， it still made an interesting read - the characters weren’t particularly well fleshed out but Berlin itself was wrote really well。 Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers Fabre and Fabre LTD for an ARC in exchange for an honest review。
Ben Dutton
，
An unnamed man arrives in Berlin。 He befriends an Iraqi poet， he is attracted to a woman， he walks the streets of Berlin。 If this sounds rather abstract in terms of plot， that is because it is。 Chaudhuri's man is a flâneur， observing German society， trying to understand it。 That he does not reach any conclusions about society or himself by the end of this brief work is a point in of itself。 There are no answers， only ways of being。If you have admired Chaudhuri's work in the past， then there is a An unnamed man arrives in Berlin。 He befriends an Iraqi poet， he is attracted to a woman， he walks the streets of Berlin。 If this sounds rather abstract in terms of plot， that is because it is。 Chaudhuri's man is a flâneur， observing German society， trying to understand it。 That he does not reach any conclusions about society or himself by the end of this brief work is a point in of itself。 There are no answers， only ways of being。If you have admired Chaudhuri's work in the past， then there is a lot to treasure here。 If you like plot， this will frustrate you。 If you like to go on random walks and meander through thoughts on society， culture， love and life then this is a lovely way to spend 40 minutes of your day。Thank you to the publishers and Netgalley for the ARC。 。。。more
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Sojourn
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Sojourn&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Sojourn&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0