WAVES

Eduard von Keyserling, trans. Gary Miller (Dedalus)

Originally published in 1911, and now rereleased over a century later, the world Eduard von Keyserling describes in Waves– of an aristocracy weighed down by generations of tradition and rigid moral codes – seems more distant than even 100 years ago. Rippling with an undercurrent of melancholia, the book is set in an unspecified Baltic Sea fishing village during a summer in the pre-war years. We follow a group of upper-class Germans as they swim, squabble, and strive to interact beyond the boundaries of their strict upbringings. A distant era it may be, yet Keyserling imbues his characters with the mistakes we continue to make, and his vivid descriptions of the interplay between sunlight and sea are gorgeous – a simpler beauty, perhaps, in the midst of a coming storm.

words Dafydd Haine

Price: £9.99. Info: www.dedalusbooks.com