Reviewed by Caroline Vu
Running by Isabel Bogdan is an in-depth exploration of grief and renewal following the suicide of a life partner. Set against the backdrop of Hamburg, the novel intimately follows the protagonist’s journey through loss, recovery, and self-discovery.
The novel centres on an unnamed protagonist who, shattered by her partner’s suicide, turns to running as a means of coping and healing. As she navigates familiar streets and trails, she grapples with memories and guilt. Bogdan’s narrative unfolds through the protagonist’s introspective monologue, blending physical exertion with emotional turmoil.
Mental illness and suicides are sensitive subjects. How to portrait survivors without falling into cliché? The weeping parents, the stoic husband, the self-flagellating girlfriend, the silent wife turned alcoholic—all has been done. Bogdan’s novel manages to transcend that trope. Unlike others, the protagonist and survivor of Running talks. She talks a lot, mostly to herself. Yes, she indulges in self-pity and spends a fair amount of time moaning and groaning. Who wouldn’t? But she also succeeds in externalizing the bile circulating inside her. Her monologues take on a mean streak as she projects her negativity onto her partner’s parents. She views them as nasty enemies, blaming them for the little inconveniences in her life. As an infertile woman, she gets angry seeing a mother with her young child. She avoids seeing well-meaning colleagues because she no longer tolerates their inconsequential talk. They’d become boring in her eyes. And all that is fine. The paranoid, hostile and judgmental feelings only add depth to the protagonist. She becomes more authentic to us.
Translated with sensitivity by Luise von Flotow, Running preserves the emotional complexity of Bogdan’s original German text. The translation captures the nuances of the protagonist’s inner dialogue and the vivid imagery of Hamburg’s landscape, ensuring that English-speaking readers experience the full impact of Bogdan’s storytelling.
Running is published by Deux Voiliers Publishing.
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Isabel Bogdan, born in Cologne in 1968, studied English and Japanese in Heidelberg and Tokyo. She has translated works by Jane Gardam, Nick Hornby and Jonathan Safran Foer. In 2006, she received the Hamburg Prize for Literary Translation and in 2011 the Prize for Literature. Her novel Der Pfau was published in 2016 and sold over 500,000 copies. It was translated into English under the title The Peacock by V&Q Books. Laufen (Running) is her latest novel. Both novels have been produced as feature films.
Luise von Flotow is a Canadian translator, professor, and researcher. She completed undergraduate work at the University of London, an M.A. at the University of Windsor, and a Ph.D at the University of Michigan. She is best known for her pioneering research on feminism and translation, gender issues in translation, cultural diplomacy and translation. She has translated numerous literary works from French and German into English. She currently holds a position at the University of Ottawa.
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