A review by afi_whatafireads
Sweet Days of Discipline by Fleur Jaeggy

dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

"Up on the hill I was in a state you might describe as 'ill-happiness'. A state that required solitude, a state of exhilaration and quiet selfishness, a cheerful vendetta. I had the impression that this exhilaration was an initiation, that the sickness in the happiness was due to a magical novitiate, a rite. Then it went wrong. I didn't feel anything particular any more."

Reading this book was like looking through the scene laid out by the narrator from the above. From the surface, its almost like a beauty of sorts, looking through the lenses of girlhood and having the lush of the Switzerland's landscape as the background. But when you deep dive down deeper through the layers of sweet innocence, there's almost a sheer terror that runs through the story. Straightforward but also laced with its own bout of the complex of the human nature and psyche.

I breezed through this book but in a sense, it almost feel like I was disassociating. Jaeggy's proses are straightforward but laced with hints of the darkness that looms within the human nature. The lines between freedom were blurred with the concept of 'discipline' that the narrator has undergone through various phases of her life. And coming from a person that was also sent to a boarding school (an all female at that), the sense of constant scrutinisation that is formed through the rules that is set by the school will somewhat shape you as the adult that you will turn out to be.

"The pleasure that comes from obedience. Order and submission, you can never know what fruits they will bear in adulthood.

A fairly short novella but one that is impactful on its own. I was definitely in the clouds whilst reading this, but there's also something about Jaeggy's writing and the translation itself that makes you feel compelled to finish this story. Splendid read indeed, especially since I read this for #WIT.

4.25🌟 overall for this gem