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Sherds Podcast

Sherds Podcast is a journey through the outskirts of literary history. Each episode, we take an in-depth look at a lesser-known literary text and attempt to give it the critical attention it deserves: books that are criminally overlooked, have struggled to reach an anglophone audience, or are just downright odd. Hosted by Sam Pulham and Rob Prouse.

#30 Sweet Days of Discipline by Fleur Jaeggy

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Sweet Days of Discipline by Fleur Jaeggy was originally published in Italian in 1989.  The English translation is by Tim Parks, and the book is published by And Other Stories.   The novel concerns the early years in the life of a young student at an exclusive boarding school in the Swiss mountains.  Throughout the book, her strained relationship with her environment, her peers, and her inner self are subject to cold examination. In crystalline, almost clinical, prose, all is dissected and laid bare - the innocent exterior of school life is peeled away, and the rotting core exposed. 

Over the course of the episode, we discuss the corrosive effects of school life, Jaeggy’s treatment of sexuality, and the themes of death and decay that permeate the text.

LiteratureSam Pulhamswissliterature, boardingschool, fleurjaeggy, sweetdaysofdiscipline, timparks, andotherstories