The Archive of Feelings
A Novel
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- $10.99
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- $10.99
Publisher Description
Given a second chance with an old love, a coolly detached archivist questions the life he could have had, and whether it’s not too late to live it.
A poignant, ingeniously constructed new novel from “one of Europe’s most exciting writers” (New York Times Book Review).
Forty years ago—almost a lifetime—he confessed his love to a classmate and close friend, Franziska. Now, living in his late mother’s house with the obsolete archive of the newspaper he once worked for, he looks back on days spent poring over files and clippings, increasingly withdrawn from the world. His occasional relationships never amounted to anything, and the memory of Franziska—who became pop singer Fabienne—continues to haunt him as she appears in the media.
When the two cross paths again, the possibility of a different life feels achingly real. But should he risk the comfort of his ordered existence for a romance that might never match what he imagined?
A subtle, mesmerizing portrait of late-blooming passion, The Archive of Feelings showcases Peter Stamm at his best.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In Stamm's affecting latest (after The Sweet Indifference of the World), a middle-aged archivist reminiscences about a former love who's now a famous singer. When the unnamed narrator's archival work for a newspaper becomes irrelevant in the digital age, he rescues the thousands of files slated for destruction by moving them into his basement. Among the clippings he finds is a folder dedicated to his high school flame Franziska, who three decades earlier emerged as the next great sensation in Swiss pop. She's still popular, and he imagines her appearing now, 40 years later, affectionately teasing him and confessing buried feelings. He wanders the unnamed city and remembers watching fireworks from atop an apartment building and the time he and Franziska were forced to share a bed in a tiny hotel. Though the narrator's observations can feel a bit maudlin, a brief and thorny romance with a mutual acquaintance of his and Franziska's adds intrigue as the action builds toward a high school reunion where he hopes to see the singer. Despite a slow start, the looming promise of these old friends being reunited energizes the action, and Stamm delivers a striking and earnest conclusion. Fans of the author will love this efficient and wistful work.
