Abel and Cain (New York Review Books Classics)

I would recommend reading some of v.Rezzori's other books first, just for orientation, because he is always writing about his perceptions of his past. Two captivating books that I read earlier are 'Memoirs of an anti-Semite' and 'Oedipus at Stalingrad'. Memoirs tells you where he's coming from, very straightforward, critical and sarcastic. I have heard from one older German that he's 'too sarcastic'. He wrote in German but his mentality is clearly not German. I've tried reading 'Ein Hermelin in Tschernopol' parallel in German and English but it's taxing. That book is about growing up in the Bukowina. Reading Abel and Cain first, with no background, as a stand-alone-Rezzori would have left me bamboozled. You may get more out of it if you already know how he thinks. It is damned entertaining.Note added later. You will anyway be bamboozled when you read toward the end of 'Cain'. v. Rezzori tries to illustrate self-referential contradictions in his context that the book is about an author writing a book about himself. Both v. Rezzori and Gödel were Wien residents, although at different times, and v. Rezzori apparently was aware of the self-referential aspect of Gödel's incompleteness theorem. I found it hard (boring) to read through the 'I' gyrations and skipped much of that part, but was motivated to go back after 35 years to my abandoned copy of 'Gödel, Escher, Bach'. There are, however, gems hidden in all the chaotic self-referencing.

Still working my way through this remarkable book. It cannot and should not be hurried. So much to ponder. So much to delight. So much to consider. This is a great book and there aren't many of those.

this novel is one of the greatest novels I have read in my life!