The Collector Collector
by Tibor Fischer · first published 1997
67% recommend33% neutral
The hero of Fischer's tale is a bowl that comes into the possession of a young, lovelorn London art appraiser named Rosa. Rosa's bowl is no ordinary piece of clay, however: it is a ceramic sage, an urn of uncommon erudition that has witnessed all of history's major convulsions - revolutions, famines, massacres, wars - and has survived more than four hundred breakages and three thousand thefts. Equipped with an unerring memory and the ability to impart wisdom to its hapless custodian, the bowl observes and narrates the invasion and gradual colonization of Rosa's tiny apartment by an uninvited
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> I'd personally love it if society had more people like swombat, rather than fewer. You might feel differently if you lived next to a rule breaker who had no concept of noise nuisance. "The Collector Collector" (Tibor Fischer) is a fun read; relevant here because he describes quite nicely the sense of entitlement that some criminals feel.
on “The Real Hazards of E-Devices on Planes” ↗I like books by Tibor Fischer. I re-read "The collector collector" which I particularly enjoy for the sense of entitlement the petty criminals have. http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/0099268191/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?qi... http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0099268191/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?qid=...…
on “Ask HN: What were the best fun books you read in 2014?” ↗I enjoyed The Collector Collector and The Thought Gang by Tibor Fischer. They're both short, and funny. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Collector-Tibor-Fischer/dp/00992681... https://www.amazon.co.uk/Thought-Gang-Tibor-Fischer/dp/00995...…
on “Ask HN: I only read tech/business books – recommend me some fiction?” ↗…was shortlisted for the Booker prize and his publishers wanted more of that, but he wanted to write different things (and did). His later books tend towards darkly comic crime fiction. I recommend The Collector Collector as a good starting point.
on “Living the writing life means living with failure” ↗That reminds me of a scene from Tibor Fischer's The Collector Collector; a character's van is stolen, cleaned, and returned to its parking spot.
on “Intruders install security updates (1998)” ↗