Recently finished books? [Archive] - Page 2

sara

29-Nov-2008, 11:42

I just finished Pascal Quignard's Villa Amalia.
I didn't know anything about the author when I bought the book, but I discovered that he had written Tous les Matins du Monde (which was later made to be a wonderful movie).

It was ok. I don't know if I can say more than that.
I am not so much into this writing style: the sentences are short (and a little bit pompous at times) and the scenes and the narration are often abruptly cut.
I guess that it's supposed to be poetic, and it does work sometimes (even though more rarely than intended) but overall I had the impression that I was reading a humourless book written by someone who takes himself (and his work) very seriously.
Because of this very style, I was never really sure whether the writer failed to create a character with whom a female reader could relate or if I was intentionally not supposed to relate to the character in the first place.
Not that it is necessary of course, but I was unsure of the writer's intentions and I don't take this as a good sign.

The ending (I mean the very last sentences) was good, though.
Sad, depressing, bittersweet, but not redeeming-
(Because of these qualities it reminded very vaguely (!) of the ending to Jonh Banville's The Sea, which is one of the most beautiful endings I've ever come across in a novel, but there is certainly no comparison between the two books, nor is Pascal Quignard anywhere near Banville as a writer.)

I would like to give ***00 (despite the not so positive things I said), because overall, it is a carefully written, consistent and honest book, that had some beautiful moments.
It was just not what I look for in novels.

Stewart

30-Nov-2008, 21:28

I finished The Armies by Evelio Rosero today. For a 215 page book that some reviews I've read have called "a page-turner", it's only proof that such praise only refers to the basic functionality of a book as I've had to push myself through this book which is like a hypnotist saying look into my eyes, look...into...my...eyes until you are glazed over.

It started off promising, and the idea is good with many well done set pieces, especially at the end, but Rosero's vaguery in who the armies are (Colombia boasting of all manner of guerrilla groups and paramilitaries) begins to transfer itself to the whole story, what with a narrator losing his marbles as the horrors/realities progress, and becoming more confused, but never having been all that lucid or interesting in the first place. I've wrestled with a **000 and ***00 rating, probably coming down on the side of the former.

Apparently the author got a ?40,000 advance for this book which did win him the Premio Tusquets Editores de Novela (http://www.criticasmagazine.com/article/CA6460538.html) in 2006. Perhaps it's one I'll come to again, to reappraise, but not for a few years at least.

Jayaprakash

01-Dec-2008, 09:29

The Passion Of Martin Fissel-Brandt by Christian Gailly. Translated by Melanie Kemp.

Written in a minimalist style. A bit like. This. Sentences short. Paragraphs, too. Sometimes it works. Brilliantly. Other times. Not so much. But still, an interesting experience. The story is surprisingly complex and full of twists, although in this case subject matter played second fiddle to the sheer strangeness of the style. I don't really think I can say much more unless I actually read some more of his books.

***00

titania7

01-Dec-2008, 10:19

Stewart

01-Dec-2008, 10:29

I was actually more interested in reading The Armies after reading your complete review, Stewart, than I was from the brief comments you made on this thread.
This was an initial reaction, getting a couple of things out of the system, whereas the longer one is an actual consideration.

sara

02-Dec-2008, 17:18

I just finished J.M. Coetzee's Disgrace.
In the other thread I wrote a few things on how amazing I found the book.
****0

Eric

04-Dec-2008, 14:11

I've just finished reading Anthony Powell's 1936 novel, "Agents and Patients". I found it a delightful read, a lightish novel, full of wit, observation and Menschenkenntnis.

A young, fairly rich man who doesn't really know what to do with himself gets hemmed in by two men who are out to screw money out of him, one by psychoanalysing him, the other by making a film involving the mentally disturbed patients of the former. There is, of course, a love interest, as this hapless young man keeps falling for women, usually ones of character, such as one who writes articles about motor cars, another who runs an upmarket flower shop.

There is a lot hinted at and alluded to, even homosexual attraction and drug addiction; everything is rather subtle. But there are far more wry smiles than guffaws in the novel.

The book is set in London, Paris, Berlin and the English countryside, adding a little colour. It is Berlin, not Paris, that is the real hub of decadence and club life in the mid-1930s.

All in all, an enjoyable read for someone, like me, who is always dealing with complex postmodernist or politically tinged novels in my translation work.

Cocko

05-Dec-2008, 10:54

Ulysses by James Joyce ***00. I've started a thread in European Literature.

titania7

05-Dec-2008, 17:53

The Ice Palace by Tarjei Vesaas ****0. Vesaas has been called the most important Norwegian author since Hamsun, and it isn't difficult to see why. This book, which is both striking in its simplicity and mesmerizing in its layers of deeper meaning is a must-read for anyone who appreciates great literature. The writing is translucent, as crystal clear as the glittering ice that forms the bewitching palace.

For my full review, click on the link below. Here is an excerpt:

"....The words that Vesaas uses to describe this potent, beguiling castle (the "ice palace") are so rich and full of beauty that at times it seems as if he is painting a picture of the place. Perhaps, he intended to show how easy it is to get caught up in appearances, how effortless it is to allow oneself to be deceived by the outward beauty of something."

http://www.worldliteratureforum.com/forum/european-literature/13-tarjei-vesaas-ice-palace.html#post15673

~Titania

cuchulain

05-Dec-2008, 19:24

kpjayan

06-Dec-2008, 10:06

Maus II - A Survivor's Tale - Art Spiegelman : Second part of the Maus series. Another Auschwitz and holocaust story, but with a difference. Though this is a graphics novel, the intensity and the seriousness of the subject is maintained at a high level. I liked it, but, I am not a great fan of graphics novels.

The Yacuobian Building - Alaa Al Aswany : Contemperory Cairo life through the depiction of 'Yacoubian Building' and its inhabitants. A mix of suppressive sex , terrorism , homosexuality, womanising, all in a 240 odd pages. Quite gripping and engaging story. ***00

Stewart

06-Dec-2008, 18:13

The Yacuobian Building - Alaa Al Aswany : Contemperory Cairo life through the depiction of 'Yacoubian Building' and its inhabitants. A mix of suppressive sex , terrorism , homosexuality, womanising, all in a 240 odd pages. Quite gripping and engaging story. ***00
I really need to get back around to reading it. Here's the thread on it: http://www.worldliteratureforum.com/forum/african-literature/1094-alaa-al-aswany-yacoubian-building.html
(http://www.worldliteratureforum.com/forum/african-literature/1094-alaa-al-)

Mirabell

07-Dec-2008, 01:56

Das Jagdgewehr by Yasushi Inoue. My first foray into his work and what a great story this is.

saliotthomas

07-Dec-2008, 11:51

I gave up on Saramago-the history of the siege of Lisbone 50 pages from the end.Well written and interesting, it just toke me too long to read it.Like 2 pages a day.....
The three arch brige by Ismael Kadare was better than the pyramide but didn't raised my enthousiame.Maybe the long diatride on denationalisation of countries by Ottoman empire was too complexe for me.

I started A dog of charactere by Sandor Marai and already know i shall love it.Very light compared to what i already read from him.

Jayaprakash

08-Dec-2008, 02:01

Klezmer Book 1: Tales Of The Wild East by Joann Sfar. Another delectable look at Jewish life by Joann Sfar. 'The Rabbi's Cat' books concentrate on the experiences of north African jews, this book looks at jews and other outcasts in pre-WW2 Europe. A rag-tag group of runaways, outcasts and wanderers fall in together and become a klezmer band, playing Jewish folk music. The usual understated explorations of big topics, and Sfar's gloriously free-flowing line. There's a delightful afterword. Can't wait for the sequel!*****

Good-bye by Yoshihiro Tatsumi
Delectable is perhaps the last word I'd use here. Haunting, more like, or disturbing. This third collection of Tatsumi's work show both his art and his stories become more incisive and telling. The first story, 'Hell' tackles the demons of Hiroshima - and they're not the demons you'd expect. The title story is another highlight, if the term can be applied to anything so bleak and sordid. Elsewhere, the mood can get a bit too heavy and the stories a trifle repetitive, but when it works it's brilliant - a scathing portrait of humanity's urban misadventure.****0

Eric

08-Dec-2008, 16:41

Following on from #260, I have now finished a second Anthony Powell novel, within the space of about a fortnight: "What's Become of Waring?" (1939).

The title is pretty bland, but the story itself is a pleasantly amusing comedy set in publishing in the late 1920s and 1930s. There are military people (the world was, after all, gearing up for war), s?ances, country houses, London flats, dodgy people, staid publishers, plus their disparate writers.

It is a light and lively novel, like the previous one I read (that one from 1936).

You detect plenty of hints at what is to come with the "Dance" sequence that Powell began in the 1950s.

Heteronym

08-Dec-2008, 21:47

I gave up on Saramago-the history of the siege of Lisbone 50 pages from the end.Well written and interesting, it just toke me too long to read it.Like 2 pages a day.....

Well written?

I think you're too kind. This was a chore to read. By the middle of the book I wasn't reading anymore, I was just scanning a few lines and moving to the next page. This was my least favorite Saramago novel. I figured the story would be interesting: an editor deliberately leaves in a typo in a Portuguese history book he's proofreading; this typo changes history. The editor is then invited to write a book about how history would have gone differently.

But Portuguese history is dull and no amount of changes in it could alter that.

saliotthomas

08-Dec-2008, 22:06

I thought the charactere was very well outlined.A proof reader,bachelor,maniac and full of habit deliberatly breaking his life rule of precision and by so changing the all meaning of an history book.
The style show perfectly the slow transformation of the man.
I tried very hard to finish if for i liked it,but couldn't.I even left it in the plane but someone brought it back to me.The dame thing was following me.I put it down at least 3 times but kept picking it up.I manage to leave it in Paris at the end (i hope my parents won't bring it back at Christmass !)

As for Portugese history i think you very hard on your country.In fact i got to be very interested in traveling to visit what was called the Portugese counters whereever i fond then.There are a few in India including Goa(Panjim is beautifull)and there are stuning churche lost in the jungle or on Beaches.Essaouira in Morroco where i often go to eat sea food and for the atmosphere is also beautiful-the ex mogador.
A small country with wide reaches.I know very little about the history proper but it has ground for fantastic stories.

Karen

08-Dec-2008, 22:10

Broken April by Ismail Kadare, a bleak tale of the pernicious effects of local mountain law, particularly on one unfortunate young man caught up in a blood feud. I wrote a little review of it here.

Earth and Ashes by Itaq Rahimi, a tiny but powerful little novel about the Russian invasion of Afghanistan.

nnyhav

10-Dec-2008, 02:57

Junichiro Tanizaki, The Makioka Sisters (trans EGSeidensticker)

titania7

10-Dec-2008, 03:27

Nnyhav,
I would love to hear your thoughts on this book. Is a review forthcoming?
In some respects, I could see how someone would view The Makioka Sisters as Junichiro's masterpiece. It was written on a much more complex and grander scale than such comparatively unsubstantial novels as Quicksand and Some Preter Nettles. Have you read any of Junichiro's other writing besides this? I'm currently reading The Makioka Sisters (after re-starting it three times), and I should be finishing it very soon. I'm about 150 pages from the end. The translation I own is also by Edward G. Seidensticker. So far, I have both good things and a few less-than-positive things to say about it. Perhaps I came to the novel expecting a bit too much, hearing it was one of the great classics of International Literature and so forth. All the same, it's a worthwhile and substantial read, in addition to being an extremely important part of Junichiro's oeuvre.

Best,
Titania

nnyhav

10-Dec-2008, 04:57

titania, seems you've got the review territory pretty well covered here; for all its merits, technical[1] and otherwise, took too long to get through it. (I'd read Arrowroot & The Secret History of the Lord of Musashi previously.)

[1] the narrative slide from familial impersonal into second sister singular is neatly handled

Max Cairnduff

10-Dec-2008, 18:09

tanizaki junichiro - diary of a mad old man

How did you find it? I really enjoyed this one, curious to know what others thought.

Max Cairnduff

10-Dec-2008, 18:10

I just finished We by Yevgeny Zamyatin. Loved it. Brilliant, provocative. Unique prose.

Have a short review (http://www.spinozablue.com/2008/12/1199/) on my website . . . and will be adding a blog post regarding Orwell's take on the book shortly.

Very impressed by the novel.

I agree, I think it's an excellent work, surprisingly fresh given it's the source novel for the dystopian genre to a large extent.

Max Cairnduff

10-Dec-2008, 18:34

Tobacco Road, by Erskine Caldwell. I didn't like it, but I'll do a fuller writeup for it on a post here in the next few days going into it in more detail than that. I wrote tons on it in my blog (Pechorin’s Journal (http://pechorinsjournal.wordpress.com/)), far more than I meant to actually, but that too can be summed up as "I didn't like it" at the end of the day.

But then, perhaps all book discussions ultimately boil down to "I liked it" or "I didn't like it".

I need to write up Derek Raymond for here too actually, I've blogged two of his novels so far (one just before Tobacco Road) and a short post here discussing his work might interest some folk.

nnyhav

11-Dec-2008, 06:16

Robert Coover, A Night at the Movies or, You Must Remember This: some good fun, some not so good, strong start (for 50pp) and finish.

titania7

11-Dec-2008, 10:30

But then, perhaps all book discussions ultimately boil down to "I liked it" or "I didn't like it".

You have an apt point, Max. When a person casts aside the hoopla and intellectual rhetoric written about themes, context, characterizations, and so forth, it does come down to whether one likes a book or one doesn't.

I'll look forward to reading your full review of Tobacco Road at your blog. I've read two books by Erskine Caldwell thus far--God's Little Acre and Deep South. They were both readable and interesting, though I wouldn't say Caldwell is one of my favorite authors, not by any means.

I need to write up Derek Raymond for here too actually, I've blogged two of his novels so far (one just before Tobacco Road) and a short post here discussing his work might interest some folk.

Indeed it would! I'll check out your blog, too, Max. You know how much I like your in-depth reviews!

~Titania

Ramblingsid

11-Dec-2008, 14:08

I have managed to get to end of The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters by G W Dahlquist and although it was intended to be a light read - a bit of a romp indeed - in fact I found it a little hard going here and there.

I sort of enjoyed it but had hoped for a lot more. It is essentially a rather old fashioned feeling adventure yarn set in a fantasy world that is heavily reminiscent of the Victorian age. And while it has more cliff hangers than The Perils of Pauline I felt there was something missing.

And I think that was humour or at least a sense of fun in the book or a devil may care attitude in the characters. The main characters are all a little too serious. There's a lot that's good in the book; he (if it is a he) creates his world convincingly and while it is not brilliantly written and seemed to me a little linear and even repetitive - the characters lurching from one crisis to the next rather similar crisis for over 700 page - it was fun. But could have been better. ***00

saliotthomas

11-Dec-2008, 17:42

Coyote Rising-Allen Steele****0very good science fiction.

Ghost -Alan Lightman**000 dietread,lightprose,lightideas,...Felt like a book written by a groupe of reader with very little talent and plenty of bad ideas for twist and turns.The tiltle and the cover were promising and should be the only thing bringing reader to Lightman,not mouth-to-ears certainly.1 and a half more like.
A dog of Characteres-Sandor Marai****0 Incredible Marai,very different from the ones a read before.I thought it a lighter read but i'm not sure.This man has the aptitude to make you feel like is talking about your life.But how could he know?

nnyhav

13-Dec-2008, 06:45

Friedrich H?lderlin, Hyperion (http://www.archipelagobooks.org/bk.php?id=43)(trans Ross Benjamin): too bipolyrical, hyperbole that knows only its asymptotes of exultation and despair, converging. (Another Friedrich provides the cover blurb.) So I thought. More soon.

Eric

13-Dec-2008, 10:22

Titania and Max Cairnduff's point about "liked it / didn't like it" is interesting. But I think good reviews try to highlight both the good and the bad. Because no novel or poem is wholly good or bad.

Mostly, I read a totally different author once I've finished reading a novel, simply because variety is the spice of life. However, I've just finish reading my third Anthony Powell novel within the space of a fortnight, and when you read several things by the same author, one after the other, stylistic considerations become clearer. You therefore see the plus and minus points more clearly.

Nnyhav, I've tried to read H?lderlin, in an annotated book with parallel texts, so that I miss as little as possible of the connotations and context. But I'm not on the same wavelength. I'm not attuned to this sort of 18th-19th century German poetry. I have similar problems with Goethe and Schiller. I prefer later poetry written in German, by such poets as Rilke, Trakl and Celan.

saliotthomas

13-Dec-2008, 16:44

Chinghiz Aitmatov-Djamilia*****+

Antonio Tabucchi-Nortune Indien****0++

Jayaprakash

15-Dec-2008, 03:58

ILIUM, by Dan Simmons. A sprawling SF epic with Proust-quoting AIs, Hector and Achilles making war against the gods, posthumans falling prey to ravenous Caliban, and all sorts of other goodies. I've started on OLYMPOS, the second half of the story, now. ****0

Max Cairnduff

15-Dec-2008, 16:28

AK47, The Story of the People's Gun, by Michael Hodges. Written up on my blog but not here as it's not world literature. A book of two halves, the first being not so good, the second very good. Pleased it was that way around, as opposed to the reverse.

In response to Eric's point, a good review (as opposed to a positive review) should equip you to come to a personal decision on a work which may differ from the reviewer's. Whether I like a book or not is not a good guide to whether you will like it or not, but if I dislike it and say why then that explanation should help you make an informed choice whether that choice is in line with my conclusion or otherwise.

titania7

16-Dec-2008, 04:20

Great Expectations by Charles Dickens *****++ My third reading of this masterpiece of English literature. It just gets better every time!
For my full review, click on the link below. Be forewarned: if you don't like lengthy reviews, satisfy yourself with the excerpt below ;).

Charles Dickens: Great Expectations:

"....The criticisms of Dickens' writing--that it is long-winded, discursive, and heavy-handed--seem to be forgotten when one reads this book.
Those who have claimed he had little understanding of romance and male-female relationships must surely admit that, in this particular novel, such is not the case. What Dickens offers to those who read him is not just a glimpse into the inner core of life. Likewise, the general exuberance that characterizes much of his fiction is not what makes him such a phenomenal author. Rather, it is his profound understanding of human nature that puts him in a class with few others who have ever penned a book. To many, including the writer and Dickens admirer, G.K. Chesterton, all his novels seem to be about "great expectations" as they present characters who are always expecting something. To me, though, the greatness in his novels and what makes them genuinely timeless is not something that can be summed up in one sentence, much less a mere phrase. It is a greatness that defies expectation, a greatness that must be read to be fully appreciated."

http://www.worldliteratureforum.com/forum/european-literature/8472-charles-dickens-great-expectations.html#16627

For those who have glanced or perused this review and dread reading more of my reviews because you fear they'll be terribly long, don't worry! I'll be writing shorter ones from now on.

I suppose I must just be smitten with Charles Dickens! ;)

~Titania

nnyhav

18-Dec-2008, 01:23

Clive James, Cultural Amnesia: Framed by the Vienna cafe culture, James chronicles its dissolution, and the threat to liberalism generally, by totalitarian regimes left and right, and pulls some worthy (and disworthy) names away from the brink of the memory hole. Culture by his lights is at the intersection of the arts and politics, which in my view places undue burden on the former for the latter (and a blurring with society), perhaps a distortion of the journalistic prism, though I agree with much of his estimation of those involved (or not), which always takes into account artistic value where real. Still, the occasional overly glib dismissal (e.g. pomo), signalling a weakness in evidence or in examination, mars some of his judgments.

I particularly recommend this one to Eric, who will find himself in agreement more strongly and more often than I did.

Isis

18-Dec-2008, 03:35

Bleak House by Charles Dickens *****

Bleak House, considered by many critics to be one of the best of all Victorian novels, if not the best, has an intriguing, complex story-line as well as a fascinating group of characters throughout its pages. It would be difficult indeed to forget such personages as Harold Skimpole, Guppy, Grandfather Smallweed, old Mr. Turveytop or the enigmatic Lady Dedlock and the heartless attorney, Tulkingham. There's a little something for everyone in this classic--illegitimate birth, love, marriage, murder, obsession, and death to name few--in addition to a tangle of mysteries that eventually become solved.

Effi Briest by Theodor Fontane *****

Effi Briest, tells the story of a young 19th-century German woman named Effi and her fall into adultery with its tragic consequences. Just a 17-year-old girl when she marries the cold Baron Innstetten, her loneliness, solitude in an isolated town, and her naivete cause her to fall under the spell of Major von Crampas, a "ladies' man." When her husband discovers her former involvement with Crampas seven years later through reading some of her letters, he takes swift action, changing Effi's life forever.

Corelli's Mandolin by Louis de Bernieres ****0

A marvelously told historic story with both elements of humor and pathos, this novel is primarily set on the Greek island of Cephallonia, during World War II. The lives of the island's inhabitants are followed through happiness and tragedy--especially through the happenings surrounding the beautiful Pelagia, Dr. Iannis's daughter. When the island is taken over by conquering Italian forces during the war, Pelagia falls in love with the Italian Captain Corelli and his romantic mandolin playing. Then, the Germans decide to oust the Italians from power, and horror transpires for not only the Italians but the Greek islanders. The writer A.S. Byatt highly recommends the book. In a review in The Evening Standard (London), she said the following: "Louis de Bernieres is in the direct line that runs through Dickens and Evelyn Waugh. Corelli's Mandolin will give pleasure to all sorts of readers. It is so good that it will last."

Isis~

Ramblingsid

18-Dec-2008, 15:11

I thought that perhaps an interim report on Jules Romains' Les Homme de Bonne Volonte (Men of Good Will) might be in order as, sitting on the tube this morning, I came to the end of Volume I (The Sixth of October).

This is something of mammoth undertaking, on my part, as I understand that there are some 27 novels that make up this series.

I only know what I have seen through googling but perhaps I could put together a note on Romains if people are interested in him.

When reading a novel sequence usually one tracks the progress of a group of people or a family across a number of years or succeeding generations. At the end of the first book Romains appears to be doing something slightly different. It is as though he is painting a picture of the city of Paris by means of describing the lives of a multiplicity of characters drawn from all sectors of society at that time (1908) most of whom have no connection with each other. Some characters appear more significant than others and it appears that plotlines will develop for them but the sense I have from the first novel is more of the City itself and its diversity.

The novel is also much concerned with the international politics and the scientific advances of the day. There are political crises that threaten war and keen interest in the work of the Wright brothers.

I had thought that these novels might be hard work and I was unsure as to whether I would enjoy reading them. I also had concerns over the fact that the translation dates back to the 1930s. I get the impression that these novels have not been published in the UK since they first appeared in the 1930s. But actually they read very easily and apart from the odd anachronism the translation is ok. The overall impression is one of quiet amusement at what is being described by the narrative voice.

In fact there are hints at humour in the book - which makes me wonder how a translator copes with the translation of humour, irony and so on. But I suppose that is another subject entirely.:)

saliotthomas

18-Dec-2008, 20:43

Knut Hamsun-Rosa ****0+++I need to read more to get a clearer picture.Very original writting.

Positivly 4th street-David Hajdu****0 Yeah...how does it feel,to be one your own,like a complete unkown,....

nnyhav

19-Dec-2008, 01:31

Manuel Puig, Eternal Curse on the Reader of These Pages: for summary see Negative Symbiosis (http://www.nytimes.com/books/00/08/13/specials/puig-curse.html) ...

kpjayan

19-Dec-2008, 03:57

nnyhav, would like to know your opinion.

To me "eternal curse on the readers of these pages" and "kiss of the spiderwoman" are two outstanding novels. I haven't liked the 'betrayed by Rita Hayworth'.

nnyhav

19-Dec-2008, 04:55

kpj'n, it's the first Puig I've read, and I'm impressed. (That Kiss was a major motion picture was offputting, so I needed a better introduction.) The NYTimes review I linked I liked, but that Puig managed it in English is all the more remarkable (which begat the Spanish version, published first): an uncanny parallel between the interplay of languages and that of the characters (whilst the French remains offstage, as do the women). But then I appreciate texts that make demands on, even challenges to, the reader, so long as the author experienced and answered similar demands and challenges. Very much the case here.

Mirabell

21-Dec-2008, 23:46

finished a quick reread of Der Weltensammler by Trojanow and finished The Rachel Papers by Amis.

reviews, as always, forthcoming

Eric

22-Dec-2008, 11:18

Just finished a 2008 semi-autobiographical novel called Barndom (Childhood) by the Finland-Swedish author Bo Carpelan, several of whose books are available in English, though not yet this one.

It tells of the childhood of a small boy growing up in the 1930s in Helsinki, his dreams and perceptions with, looming in the background, the slide towards the Second World War at the end of that decade. His parents fall on hard times, relatives die, but somehow the boy is buoyed up by his reading, his imagination, his friendships.

titania7

28-Dec-2008, 10:58

The Czar's Madman by Jaan Kross (translated by Anselm Hollo)
*****+++ I have Eric to thank for recommending this phenomenal novel to me. Without the threads he started on Estonian literature and Estonian authors, I would never have discovered Jaan Kross--or this incredible book. For my full review (relax, it's not that long ;)) click on the link below:

An excerpt: Jaan Kross: The Czar's Madman

"...There are many themes in this monumental achievement, and one wonders what message Kross intended to reader to come away with. There are elements of a detective story, and an afterword that explains to the reader how much of the book was inspired by real people and true events. But to me, love and truth are at the heart of The Czar's Madman. "No principles in the world are more enduring than these," Timo (the "madman") writes in the closing paragraphs of his memorandum. We must ask: how strong is the connection between love and truth? Can there be one without the other? Or are they bound together just as surely as the threads of this mesmerizing book? Like all truly great authors, Kross gives the reader much to ponder over, and even when the book ends, we can't be wonder whether or not some mysteries aren't meant to be solved."

http://www.worldliteratureforum.com/forum/european-literature/8915-jaan-kross-czars-madman.html#post17273

Needless to say, to read more of Kross's work will be an absolute pleasure.

Cheers,
Titania

sara

28-Dec-2008, 19:00

I just finished Jeffrey Eugenides' Middlesex
and I 've got to say that reading it was a rather frustrating experience.
I don't know if I would have begun to read it had its main story not been about greek immigrants in the US and I 'm not sure if I would have kept reading if I didn't consider it a big shame to quit on a book after 100 pages.
Anyway, I have to agree completely with a review on The New York Review of Books that said that the book gives the impression that the author came up with two ideas for two separate novels, one about the story of greek immigrants from the 1920's till today, and one about the life of an intersex person, a man born in a woman's body.
The reviewer suggested -and that was exactly my own impression of the book- that at some point, the author decided it would be a good idea to put the two stories together and make believe that there is actually a point behind this.
However, there is absolutely none.
The narrator could have been just about anyone, a man, a boy, a girl, an old woman, and it would make no difference to the main plot, the greek-american saga.
I believe that Eugenides thought this was supposed to work as an allegory on "duality" (the narrator is a man and a woman, and the main characters are greek and american at the same time), but unfortunately, it just does not work: you can't help but think that the two main themes could be treated perfectly well in separate books, or that the main character could have been a man OR a woman, and there would still be nothing missing from the book.
As for the main story, if you want to read a novel which deals with the american history from the 20s till today, there are plenty of wonderful books out there that did it better than Middlesex (Don deLillo's Underworld comes to mind, or even Philip Roth's trilogy).
In one word, the book is shallow.
I don't want to sound so negative, though: there are indeed some beautifully written passages in there.
However (and I' m sorry to say that, because Eugenides is really talented and it must have been a difficult book to write),
the whole novel seems like a really, really, long essay or exercise on creative writing.
Nothing, not even the most moving passages (for example the first part about Smyrna, which was really good, or the account of the narrator's love story during the teenage years , another highlight of the book) convey any sense of urgency or true emotion.

SilverSeason

28-Dec-2008, 20:00

Tender at the Bone by Ruth Reichl.

I don't usually read cook books. I have already cooked enough in my past lives to take care of all future existence. Nevertheless I picked up this memoir somewhere and found it wonderful light reading. Reichl relates events of her growing up and life as a young women in terms of cooking and eating, especially eating. Her mother was a manic depressive who planned big parties and them prepared for them by pulling everything out of the closets. Her father was a scholarly artist who had really wanted a son. So is this childhood angst? It is not, it is Reichl's responses by coping. She cooked -- for her hungry father, for her mother's guests, for her future husband -- and ate also in the same company.

For example, her account of living in a commune in San Francisco is clear eyed and fun.

"I could live with the grains. I didn't mind when Nick started sneaking been pollen and nutritional yeast into our food. It was all right with me when he gegan growing bean sprouts even thought they took up all the space on the counter not already occupied by towel-wrapped bowls of milk being turned into yogurt. I could even support his interest in a new book called The Lazy Colon. But when he started in on sugar I drew the line."

skip the recipes and read all the parts in between.

Sybarite

29-Dec-2008, 12:21

On a sudden whim, I read Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol over Christmas itself and then finished John Updike's The Witches of Eastwick.

Heteronym

29-Dec-2008, 18:40

Just finished Borges and Casares' El Libro del Cielo y Infierno: the two friends, after extensive reading, compiled an anthology of excerpts dealing with Heaven and Hell in all its varieties; it cites the main holy texts, poems, popular sayings, novels; it includes deeply religious people and atheists, and has a lot of stuff I didn't know. Like all books by Borges, it whets one's appetite for other books. I finished it feeling an urge to read Emanuel Swedenborg and Samuel Butler.

titania7

30-Dec-2008, 06:18

Isis,
As I believe I've told you personally, Bleak House is one of my favorite books. At a sprawling 800+ pages, it's a long read....but, as I'm sure you'll agree, quite a fulfilling one. As in Great Expectations and his other books, in Bleak House, Dickens creates characters who come alive and remain in our memories long after we've finished reading. Compliments on a good, abbreviated review, Isis. Indeed, there is "a little something for everyone" in Bleak House. For me, the most fascinating character of all was Lady Dedlock. Without giving too much away, I will say that the tragic fashion in which her life came to an end left me heartbroken. After my recent re-read of Great Expectations and your comments about Bleak House (which have reminded me of how much I enjoyed it), I can't wait for my next excursion into the world of Charles Dickens.

Please keep those posts coming, Isis! We need you around here....:)

Holiday cheers,
Titania

Bleak House by Charles Dickens *****

Bleak House, considered by many critics to be one of the best of all Victorian novels, if not the best, has an intriguing, complex story-line as well as a fascinating group of characters throughout its pages. It would be difficult indeed to forget such personages as Harold Skimpole, Guppy, Grandfather Smallweed, old Mr. Turveytop or the enigmatic Lady Dedlock and the heartless attorney, Tulkingham. There's a little something for everyone in this classic--illegitimate birth, love, marriage, murder, obsession, and death to name few--in addition to a tangle of mysteries that eventually become solved.

titania7

30-Dec-2008, 06:20

On a sudden whim, I read Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol over Christmas itself and then finished John Updike's The Witches of Eastwick.

Oh, I just love being capricious. Don't you, Sybarite? Will a review of Updike's The Witches of Eastwick be forthcoming, per chance? I would very much like to hear what you have to say about it!

Holiday cheers,
Titania

Mirabell

30-Dec-2008, 12:56

Ana Historic, Daphne Marlatt

Stoner, John Williams

House of the Seven Gables, Hawthorne

jackdawdle

30-Dec-2008, 13:27

Ana Historic, Daphne Marlatt

Stoner, John Williams

House of the Seven Gables, Hawthorne

John Williams?! What sort of pen name is that?

Daphne Marlett, now there's a pen name, and as to the 3rd -- that needs no further commentary.

Mirabell

30-Dec-2008, 13:36

John Williams?! What sort of pen name is that?

I believe that's his real name

John Edward Williams - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Edward_Williams)

here's my thread on "Stoner"

http://www.worldliteratureforum.com/forum/americas-literature/8981-john-williams-stoner.html

jackdawdle

30-Dec-2008, 14:05

I believe that's his real name

John Edward Williams - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Edward_Williams)

here's my thread on "Stoner"

http://www.worldliteratureforum.com/forum/americas-literature/8981-john-williams-stoner.html

I still think he ought to have published under a pseudonym. John Edward Williams -- too ponderous, doesn't roll off the tongue with that snappy snappiness a good publicist would surely have made it his business to insist upon ad infinitum.

Checking out the thread now, more later.

liehtzu

31-Dec-2008, 07:54

Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

To many, including the writer and Dickens admirer, G.K. Chesterton, all his novels seem to be about "great expectations"

...and also furnished one of the great throwaway dialogue exchanges ever, in Hot Shots: Part Deux:

-Watcha reading?

-Great Expectations.

-Yeah? How is it?

-It's not all I'd hoped for.

kpjayan

31-Dec-2008, 16:40

Death of a Salesman - Arthur Miller : Couldn't get a better book to end my financial year, when the recession is taking a toll on my earnings !! I hadn't read this earlier and found to be quite good read. Very relevant, even now.

Hardboiled & Hardluck - Banana Yoshimoto : Two short novellas compiled into a small book. A 'ghost' story , where the nameless protagonist experiences the presence of her now deceased roommate and girlfriend, on her first death anniversary in her dreams, and a face to face interaction with a ghost in the ill fated hotel room on the same night. In hardluck , again the protagonist, coming to terms with her sisters medical conditions ( she is in coma with brain dead, life being extended with the supporting devices) and she developing a relation with the brother of the boyfriend of her sick sister. Very average book.

titania7

31-Dec-2008, 16:47

Death of a Salesman - Arthur Miller : Couldn't get a better book to end my financial year, when the recession is taking a toll on my earnings !! I hadn't read this earlier and found to be quite good read. Very relevant, even now.

Jayan,
I love this play...and I'm crazy about Arthur Miller. In fact, I used to have
quite a crush on that man! I can see why Marilyn Monroe married him.
I'm pleased you enjoyed Death of the Salesman, and if you haven't yet read it, don't miss The Crucible. It's another classic play from Miller's oeuvre of work.

Happy, happy 2009!

~Titania

titania7

31-Dec-2008, 16:49

...and also furnished one of the great throwaway dialogue exchanges ever, in Hot Shots: Part Deux:

-Watcha reading?

-Great Expectations.

-Yeah? How is it?

-It's not all I'd hoped for.

Liehtzu,
I love it. What a classic bit of dialogue! I did see the first Hot Shots film, but missed out on the second one. Though I'm a wee bit embarrassed to admit it, I used to have a crush on Charlie Sheen :eek:. That was before I knew about his penchant for hookers and porn queens. Oh well....live and learn ;).

~Titania

Mirabell

03-Jan-2009, 19:24

The Savage Detectives, Roberto Bolano

The Slaves of Solitude,Patrick Hamilton

The Ghostwriter, Philip Roth

Typee, Herman Melville

all excellent

liehtzu

04-Jan-2009, 06:25

Typee, Herman Melville

And?? And...?

For me this was the major literary discovery of last year. Often dismissed as a mere "adventure tale" and a warm-up to the greatness that is Moby Dick, this novel has all the concentration and genius of his best short stories, like "Benito Cereno." It may sound heretical, but I'd take Typee over the great white whale any day. It's beautiful, poetic, wonderfully strange, and a hymn to the "savage" as opposed to the "civilized." I immediately added this to my slim shelf of Must Read Once a Year. Loved it, loved it, loved it.

saliotthomas

04-Jan-2009, 20:03

Rohinton Mistry-Family matters ***00

Yasushi Inoue-Takeda's sabre ***00

stephendedalus

04-Jan-2009, 22:39

liehtzu

06-Jan-2009, 01:08

Alejo Carpentier, The Lost Steps. I have trouble rating this, because the novel has it's flaws. It seems a overwritten at places and the narrator repeats himself in long monotonous monologues. He doesn't so much describe the world but sort of explain it to the reader along the lines of overall concept of the book he assumes. Yet, the style remains original and the language beautiful. So i give a strong ***00 rating. Perhaps on a better day it would be 4 stars.

This is in my stack... Speaking of "overwritten" I'm trudging dutifully through one right now - Julien Gracq's The Opposing Shore - and it reminds me of a friend of mine who would have given it up long, long ago, probably within the first few pages. He used to dismiss anything with a lot of flourish by saying "the dude's trying to hard." And while that sort of dismissal always used to annoy me, the older I get the more I think he may be on to something. Although as stephendedalus you're named after a character in a book that my friend would certainly have scoffed at after the first few sentences: "Trying too hard!"

Also after the first part out of 3 of Fuentes' Terra Nostra I can give it ***** in advance. Great book! One of the best I read and though it's came out a long time ago I must include it in this year's big discoveries. It exceeded my all expectations.

I have this back in the States but never read it. I've always wanted to, though. What got me to purchase it in the first place was a recommendation from Milan Kundera - I believe it was The Art of the Novel - where he rates it among the best of the century. Keep us posted...

Dante Newton

06-Jan-2009, 08:24

The stone raft by Jose Saramago(garnered the 1998 literary nobel prize) is a rendition from Portuguese to English,which is sublime in vocabulary and grammar.This inimitable chef-d'oeuvre is worthwhile to be bestowed an ovation,or laudatory.*****
Addendum-
I recommend reading The Year OF THE Death OF Ricardo Reis thereafter.*****

Max Cairnduff

06-Jan-2009, 12:52

Wind, Sand and Stars, by Antoine Saint-Exupery.

It will get its own thread and blog entry soonish, but overall an excellent and poetic read with some genuinely powerful and affecting passages.

stephendedalus

07-Jan-2009, 01:23

This is in my stack... Speaking of "overwritten" I'm trudging dutifully through one right now - Julien Gracq's The Opposing Shore - and it reminds me of a friend of mine who would have given it up long, long ago, probably within the first few pages. He used to dismiss anything with a lot of flourish by saying "the dude's trying to hard." And while that sort of dismissal always used to annoy me, the older I get the more I think he may be on to something. Although as stephendedalus you're named after a character in a book that my friend would certainly have scoffed at after the first few sentences: "Trying too hard!"

As to Carpentier, that actually was my second attempt on it. And I was encouraged to read it by a friend who wrote an MA thesis on magical realism and Carpentier's "lo real marvilloso". I gotta say it's a rough read rather than difficult as, say, Joyce can be. But I haven't read The Opposing Shore so can't compare these two. Hmm, "trying too hard" - that's a short legged argumemt. You can never agree where is the boundary between "trying as hard as necessary" and "too hard". Vaugness ;). That's how I refute such robust arguments.

I have this back in the States but never read it. I've always wanted to, though. What got me to purchase it in the first place was a recommendation from Milan Kundera - I believe it was The Art of the Novel - where he rates it among the best of the century. Keep us posted...

Thank you for mentioning Kundera. I have to confess I didn't know The Art of the Novel but it sounds exellent. Is it any good? Is it something simmilar to Nabokov's Lectures on Literature?

kpjayan

07-Jan-2009, 04:01

The Art of the Novel but it sounds exellent. Is it any good?

It is good. You have to read "The art of the novel" and its follow on "The curtain". Some good insights. His fictions , of late has become sort of repetition, but his non fictions works are good.

saliotthomas

07-Jan-2009, 12:23

Revolutionary road-Richard Yates *****
I wonder if Bjorn could post his review.
My first read of the year,a very,very good start.Another author from whom i will grab all books in my reach.

DreamQueen

07-Jan-2009, 14:58

Inkheart by Cornelia Funke was my latest and it was quite enjoyable. ****0

Having defended my PhD thesis and then taken over the bookstore my husband and I bought less than a week later, I've been really brain-dead. I've been reading a lot of children's lit, including The Phantom Tollbooth (****0) and The White Darkness (*****).

I find children's lit very often either too formulaic or too didactic (or god forbid, both) but have to say The White Darkness is the most original YA book I think I've ever read AND the writing was amazingly good.

Mirabell

07-Jan-2009, 15:08

titania7

07-Jan-2009, 18:24

Revolutionary road-Richard Yates *****
I wonder if Bjorn could post his review.
My first read of the year,a very,very good start.Another author from whom i will grab all books in my reach.

Thomas,
If you like Yates, he must be magnificent. I'm still on the wait list at my library for Revolutionary Road. It seems to be immensely popular. Believe me, I would be getting impatient if I weren't already in the middle of four other novels! ;)

Best always,
Titania

titania7

07-Jan-2009, 21:55

Some Prefer Nettles by Tanizaki Junichiro ****0.
A subtle yet psychologically complex novel. As is always the case with Junichiro, this is a completely worthwhile read.

An excerpt from my review:

"The psychological complexities that are inherent in this work are not visible to the naked eye. They must be discovered by the reader.
Junichiro is a master of subtlety, and never more so than in Some Prefer Nettles....

Some Prefer Nettles lacks the bite of Quicksand. There is no raw energy or scintillating sexuality, nor is there a femme fatale to liven things up..."

More? For the complete review, go here:

http://www.worldliteratureforum.com/forum/asian-oceanic-literature/9300-tanizaki-junichiro-some-prefer-nettles.html#post18124

~Titania

Bjorn

08-Jan-2009, 09:51

I finished M. Ageyev's Novel With Cocaine (AKA Cocaine Romance) yesterday. It's a 1934 Russian novel that reads a bit like a cross of Notes From Underground, Catcher In The Rye and Junky... I'll try to get a review done, I feel like I'm seriously lagging behind on those. But ****0, I guess.

Mirabell

09-Jan-2009, 16:53

Carpenter's Gothic, William Gaddis. Extraordinary.

nnyhav

09-Jan-2009, 17:37

Carpenter's Gothic, William Gaddis. Extraordinary.
Really? I've passed it by since it's the least respected of his work. Or you just being contrarian about it?

Mirabell

09-Jan-2009, 17:54

Really? I've passed it by since it's the least respected of his work. Or you just being contrarian about it?

It's incredibly good. The only other Gaddis novel I've read so far are The Recognitions which is my favorite novel in English, so maybe, after having read all of Gaddis' work, CG will turn out to be the worst of the bunch but then we're talking about William Gaddis. Even if it's his worst book it doesn't mean it's bad. Just that the others are better. CG is one of the best books I've read during the past months and there were a lot of great ones. Maybe the fact that it's his shortest book by far and has a generic plot (which is part of the point of the novel) has also contributed to disparaging opinions. Next one on the list is JR, which I'll read after finishing Ada.

SilverSeason

09-Jan-2009, 19:25

Vile Bodies by Evelyn Waugh. A visit to the 1920s. An entertaining trip, going nowhere and back again.

DreamQueen

10-Jan-2009, 15:53

cuchulain

10-Jan-2009, 19:16

Finished Horacio Castellanos Moya's Senselessness. Have a review here (http://www.spinozablue.com/2009/01/1522/) and here (http://www.spinozablue.com/2009/01/1506/), but still don't think I have a handle on it. My musings are not yet up to the subject matter. Still tossing things around about the book. Though I do know that I disagree with other reviews I've read regarding the narrator's supposed empathy for the victims. I don't get that. I see him as much more concerned with himself.

SilverSeason

11-Jan-2009, 13:03

Istanbul by Orhan Pamuk. I put some comments in the Pamuk thread.

cuchulain

11-Jan-2009, 18:59

Masks by Fumiko Enchi. A compelling blend of intense sensuality and intellectualism. (I think Enchi was probably significantly influenced by Junichiro Tanizaki at his best). Masks was really good and I'm hoping more of Enchi's work is available in English.****0

I read Masks back in 1997. Don't remember very much of it but remember being very impressed, caught up in the novel. I, too, would like to read more of Enchi's work.

cuchulain

11-Jan-2009, 19:07

It's incredibly good. The only other Gaddis novel I've read so far are The Recognitions which is my favorite novel in English, so maybe, after having read all of Gaddis' work, CG will turn out to be the worst of the bunch but then we're talking about William Gaddis. Even if it's his worst book it doesn't mean it's bad. Just that the others are better. CG is one of the best books I've read during the past months and there were a lot of great ones. Maybe the fact that it's his shortest book by far and has a generic plot (which is part of the point of the novel) has also contributed to disparaging opinions. Next one on the list is JR, which I'll read after finishing Ada.

Carpenter's Gothic was the first Gaddis for me. Excellent short novel. A Frolic of His Own is also brilliant. A bit more complex. A better novel overall, IMO, but both are wonderful. Have not gotten around to Recognitions, yet, which is supposed to be his best.

If you like Gaddis, I think you'll like Joseph McElroy as well. His Smuggler's Bible is a great example of PoMod fiction in English, cerca 1960s America.

Some critics group PoMod writers together. Along with Gaddis, Robert Coover, Walter Abish, McElroy, John Barth and Donald Barthelme are generally included. Every now and then, Kurt Vonnegut joins the team.

Of the bunch, I like Barthelme the most. He's the most likeable and accessible, in my view. The funniest of the bunch as well.

Mirabell

11-Jan-2009, 20:55

Carpenter's Gothic was the first Gaddis for me. Excellent short novel. A Frolic of His Own is also brilliant. A bit more complex. A better novel overall, IMO, but both are wonderful. Have not gotten around to Recognitions, yet, which is supposed to be his best.

If you like Gaddis, I think you'll like Joseph McElroy as well. His Smuggler's Bible is a great example of PoMod fiction in English, cerca 1960s America.

Some critics group PoMod writers together. Along with Gaddis, Robert Coover, Walter Abish, McElroy, John Barth and Donald Barthelme are generally included. Every now and then, Kurt Vonnegut joins the team.

Of the bunch, I like Barthelme the most. He's the most likeable and accessible, in my view. The funniest of the bunch as well.

Hawkes, also often in that group. I have recently discovered Coover, love Barth so far and cherish Barthelme, but not as much as Gaddis. The recognitions are my favorite. as for carpenter's gothic, here's my review: http://www.worldliteratureforum.com/forum/americas-literature/9436-william-gaddis-carpenters-gothic.html

miercuri

11-Jan-2009, 21:26

saliotthomas

13-Jan-2009, 12:58

Le desert -J M G Le Clezio ****0

I read it long ago and this re-read was like a first time.
I try to write something about it,but my first though goes for the style.
It's the closest i can find to "abstrac writing".The story is but a vague shape and the multiple strokes Le Cleziot use with repetition of words and sentences is what give the generale atmophere to the novel.It struk me because i started Yourcenar-Alexis just after which is very classic in style(beautifull).In the Desert there is pages after pages of the untied impressions of a young girl in the Moroccain desert.Maybe impressionist would be a more accurate comparaisson to painting.
I must admit it was a bit of a struggle,being a concrete type of persone(algebra never was a probleme but geomtry was chinese to me).I could see the quality of the work but i could not enjoy it All heartedly.
The good point was the setting in Morocco and marseille,two places i'm familiar with,so i was not completly lost.
Very similar to Mondo(the child,the impressions in his daily life,the liberty theme)

I come back on this and post it in the Le cleziot section.

titania7

13-Jan-2009, 13:18

Finished Sons and Lovers by DH Lawrence yesterday, have been meaning to read it for years. Had I read it in highschool, it would have probably become my favourite book. Nevertheless I enjoyed it a lot, especially after I got through with the first part. I am definitely looking forward to reading Women in Love soon. ****0

Miercuri,
Sons and Lovers is a fantastic book. I'm delighted to hear that you enjoyed it so much. D.H. Lawrence is one of those writers that a person can become addicted to. I've gone through two obsessive phases in which I read several of Lawrence's novels at one time. During the first phase, I read Sons and Lovers. I was aware, as I was reading it, that I had discovered one of the greatest authors in the history of the English language. The power behind Lawrence's words is indescribable. His passion is all-consuming, and it burns through his pages. Never is this passion more palpable than in Women in Love. That is one of the few books that I have finished in one day without any effort at all. Generally, if I finish a 500 or 600 page book in a day, it's a bit of a struggle. But reading Women in Love was like drinking wine....one glass/chapter after another, each more intoxicating than the next. Needless to say, you're in for a treat. I've read Women in Love twice, and I intend to read it many more times.
I cannot live without that book. You might also enjoy The Rainbow, which is (technically) the prequel to Women In Love. It tells the story of Ursula Brangwen, one of the two sisters who is at the center of Women In Love. I highly recommend it, as well as any other novels of Lawrence's that interest you. His short fiction is also spectacular! Indeed, he is an incomparable writer.

Enjoy!

~Titania

Mirabell

13-Jan-2009, 13:37

Der Tod des Teemeisters, Yasushi Inoue. Hasn't been translated into English yet, as far as I know. Excellent, though. Has been made into a movie twice, both called, I think, The Death of the Teamaster, neither of whom I have seen. The novel is excellent, really. Written a review already.

miercuri

13-Jan-2009, 15:44

I cannot live without that book. You might also enjoy The Rainbow, which is (technically) the prequel to Women In Love. It tells the story of Ursula Brangwen, one of the two sisters who is at the center of Women In Love. I highly recommend it, as well as any other novels of Lawrence's that interest you. His short fiction is also spectacular! Indeed, he is an incomparable writer.

Thank you for your recommendation Titania, I will continue with The Rainbow before delving into Women In Love. Lawrence, along with Nabokov, is one of the writers I intend to read more intensely in 2009. I will surely have to return to Lawrence in two years time, when I will be studying him at college, but I am far too intrigued to wait until then.

titania7

13-Jan-2009, 19:54

Beatrix by Honore De Balzac *****. An intriguing, witty, almost fiendishly clever novel that has reminded me yet again of why Balzac ties with Dostoevsky has my all-time favorite writer.

Excerpts from my review:

"....The relationship between these two women, Felicite and Beatrix, provides the reader with a glimpse at how artfully Balzac is able to weave the themes of deception and intrigue into his work. They are not rivals in the classic sense, but they play a cunning game with one another, each making use of the other's weaknesses to achieve her ultimate objective....

In fact, it is in the scenes between Felicite and Beatrix that Balzac is at the height of his creative powers. Always a master of characterization, he conveys the depths of cattiness and guilefulness that often exist between two females...

Balzac has always been cited as a writer who regarded women as the weaker sex, the self-sacrificing martyrs who were willing to give everything up for love. But Beatrix is a feminist treatise, a powerful look at the devastating influence of a male-dominated society."

For my full review (not too long, either), go here:

http://www.worldliteratureforum.com/forum/european-literature/9546-honore-de-balzac-beatrix.html#post18546

~Titania

spooooool

14-Jan-2009, 06:47

Sextus Empiricus, "Outlines of Pyrrhonism", which is already a new favourite on first read. makes me smile and want to write, so soon after rereading Browne's the Garden of Cyrus. He's exhaustive, but for me all his examples are charming and as open, ingenious as Hume. I love his natural world, theories of vision at least as deployed (history/theories of vision are thrilling to me)

Titania hello! I tried and failed to send you a message the other day, hugs and thanksto Mirabell. Titania have you ever listened to any of the rado four classic serial adaptations, i'm wondering what you'd make of them.

nnyhav

16-Jan-2009, 00:53

Two novels of dissolution:

F. Scott Fitzgerald, Tender is the Night was just as good as expected, the intricate psychological observations pared down to the most elegant expression, even though the supporting structure fell apart as the main character did.

Joseph Roth, The Emperor's Tomb (John Hoare) disappointed, despite a similar acuteness, perhaps because it was confined to one character's viewpoint.

Mirabell

16-Jan-2009, 10:54

Varieties of Disturbance, Lydia Davis
http://www.worldliteratureforum.com/forum/americas-literature/9747-lydia-davis-varieties-disturbance.html

saliotthomas

16-Jan-2009, 11:13

Coussine Bette -Honore de Balzac ***00++
Not my favorite of the great man.Specialy the acrobatic ending.As always it's full of pearls,perfectly sense observation,notably the portrait of a failed artist turned critic.
Magueritte Yourcenar-Alexis ***** Just for the prose.
Sorry for it's in French but here is an exemple of it(among many)

"Rien n'est aussi touchant que ces reves de jeune filles,ou tant d'instincts qui dorment s'expriment obscurement"

I also found out the she translated Wave of Virginia Woolf,Henry James,greek poetry,wrote about Mishima,Travelled all her life,lived in many different country,and if i remenber well an interwiew,had a terrific sense of humour.
God but i worship this woman.

Colette Jones

16-Jan-2009, 16:16

I recently finished Nella Bielski's The Year is '42 translated by John Berger & Lisa Appignanesi. I'm not sure what to think of it... I expected the three main characters to pull together more cohesively in the end. Perhaps they did and I missed the significance. I think Anna has read this - what did you think? Have I totally misunderstood it?

saliotthomas

17-Jan-2009, 15:59

Margueritte Yourcenar-Le coup de grace *****

Paul Auster-The man in the dark ***00

Colette Jones

17-Jan-2009, 19:12

Magueritte Yourcenar-Alexis ***** Just for the prose.
...
God but i worship this woman.

Margueritte Yourcenar-Le coup de grace *****

Okay, I want to read these based on what you've written. Do you know whether the translation to English is good?

saliotthomas

17-Jan-2009, 19:56

The translation would have to be very good for the beauty of the book reside mostly in the prose.
Here is a copy of coup de grace the best of the two.Powell's Books - Coup de Grace by Marguerit Yourcenar (http://www.powells.com/biblio?PID=26490&cgi=product&isbn=0374516316)
Be aware that i am often very generous with the stars.
Le memoires d'Hadrien is also fantastic.

nnyhav

17-Jan-2009, 20:39

The English translation is by Grace Frick the amaneusis or partner or whatever and of course done in collaboration. ***** isn't generous for that aspect.

promtbr

18-Jan-2009, 22:11

My have-read posting "catch-up".... back dating from Dec:

(In keeping with the current Balzac craze...)

The Black Sheep-- Balzac ***00 (a re-read but @ 28 yrs ago, memory no longer serves)

Pere Goriot-- Balzac ***** ( One of the best of his, once you get past the melodrama...)

Also continuing my 19th Century focus:

The Red and the Black-- Stendhal ***** (a re-read, see above) there is only ONE Julian Sorrel -(the women in the audience all clap that there is only one)

The Charterhouse of Parma-- Stendhal ***** (can't decide which I like more, I would say the Rouge is the more profound character study on a bigger stage, but I would re-read CoP first, as I love the ironical narrative asides re: Italian manners...+ more interesting troupe of characters. There also is only ONE Duchess Gina Sanseverina...(the men in the audience all sigh)

Then a contemporary:

Dreams of My Russian Summers-- Andrei Makine *****+
Because I am a sucker for lyrical prose ("trying to find the words for the unsayable" ) Best prose I have read since I re-surfaced into things literary last fall..I have now ordered most of his translated works -(thankyou Salliothomas....)

I think I will continue my reading plan of alternating a contemporary work with my list of 35 MUST READ BEFORE I DIE 19th century classics...Keeps me fresh and I can only spend so much time in the salons ...

saliotthomas

18-Jan-2009, 22:52

Dreams of My Russian Summers-- Andrei Makine *****+
Because I am a sucker for lyrical prose ("trying to find the words for the unsayable" ) Best prose I have read since I re-surfaced into things literary last fall..I have now ordered most of his translated works -(thankyou Salliothomas....)
.
And you have some hugh surprises ahead of you for Makine is a diamond with multiple facets.It would be hard to believe The woman who waited and Requiem for the east where writen by the same authors is the wonderfull prose was not there to link those two.
I'm always delighted to find a reader of Makine.(and of Balzac of course)

titania7

19-Jan-2009, 00:58

....Makine is a diamond with multiple facets.

Thomas,
I think you summed this up perfectly. What an exquisite analogy! Speaking of Makine, I just purchased A Hero's Daughter. Needless to say, I'm looking forward to reading it.

I, too, am delighted to find another reader of two of my favorite authors, Balzac and Makine. You can count on both writers to overwhelm you with breathtaking prose...

~Titania

PS note: Thomas, my mother is finally reading Maupassant's Un Vie. She thinks it's among the most splendid novels she's read in recent years. A true gem.

titania7

19-Jan-2009, 01:25

Zeno's Conscience by Italo Svevo *****++

An excerpt from my review (link below)

"...Vain, supercilious, and disloyal, he (Zeno) never seems to give the reader much room for admiration. Of course, it was not Svevo's intention for us to respect Zeno. Rather, we should be bewitched by him. And we are. The book, which spans over 400 pages, seemed to be scarcely long enough....

Stylistically, Svevo transports us into the world of modernism that echoes the work of Joyce, one of his most fervent admirers. The structure of Zeno's Conscience is innovative and logical, and even though Zeno oftentimes makes no sense, Svevo's realistic prose enables us to perceive Zeno's most ridiculous actions as being completely believable. At once witty, brilliant, and rich with detail, this novel is a work of sheer genius."

For more:

http://www.worldliteratureforum.com/forum/european-literature/9816-italo-svevo-zenos-conscience.html

~Titania

Isis

19-Jan-2009, 04:24

Smoke by Ivan Turgenev (translated by Constance Garnett) *****

This beautifully written novel takes place in 1862 and portrays Russians of all classes, congregating in the German resort town of Baden-Baden.
The upper-class well-to-do Russians are shown in a most unfavorable light, as vain, egotistical, corrupt, and shallow. The story centers around
the engaged Grigory Litvinov and his encounter there with his beautiful former fiancee, Irina Ratmirov, now married to a Russian general. She is imprisoned in a miserable marriage and diligently strives to rekindle the flames of their former love. Litvinov has to make a choice, and, when he does, he reflects on his painful life through the image of "smoke."

Snow Country by Yasunari Kawabata (translated by Edward G. Seidensticker) ****0+

Nobel Prize winner Kawabata's 1956 novel is about a doomed, short-lived love affair between a hesitant geisha named Komako and an affluent vacationer from Tokyo named Shimamura, who is visiting a hot springs resort. In addition, Shimamura becomes attracted to Yoko, an innocent young girl he first sees when he arrives on the train. Kawabata offers us an intriguing glimpse into the lifestyle of a geisha, now a way of life from the past. The poetic descriptions of the Japanese snow country, the exotic costumes, and the prescribed customs of the times offer the reader breathtaking images he will not soon forget.

The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith ****0

Psychopath Tom Ripley doesn't let anything get in his way from his desire to achieve success. When Herbert Greenleaf shows up in a bar and asks him to go on an expensive-paid trip to Mongibello, Italy, to bring back his son, Richard (Dickie), one of Tom's distant acquaintances, to the United States, Tom agrees. He goes to Italy and befriends Dickie and his friend Marge and soon becomes Dickie's close buddy. Then, Dickie mysteriously disappears, and, not long afterwards, Dickie's friend, Freddie, is found murdered in Rome. But the elusive Ripley seems to have all the right answers for the police, Marge, and Mr. Greenleaf.

Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic by Alison Bechdel ****0

This book is a unique, poignant memoir by comic artist Alison Bechdel.
Via an array of gothic pictures, it tells the humorous but sad story of the author growing up in a home with her historical preservationist father, who is an English teacher, a funeral director, and a closet gay, and her mother, a theatre actress in the community. Alison eventually "comes out," though her announcement doesn't startle her family all that much as they assume she'll change her mind. Her father confesses to her that he has had various struggles with his sexuality, and the two of them are able to find a way to connect as never before.

Isis~

kpjayan

19-Jan-2009, 08:01

Death Etc. - Harold Pinter : Collection of his previously unpublished works. Contains few of his speeches, few short plays and few poems. The speeches and the poems are on the Iraq war and are his very clear and vocal political stand against Bush and Tony Blair in particular. Its a good read if your political views are in line with that of the writer. Otherwise, its another rhetoric against the war on terror.**000

The Crossroad - Niccolo Ammaniti : Already discussed. However, I don't see a review posted. Can Lizzy post her review?

Balthasar's Odyssey - Amin Maalouf : Year 1666 is speculated as the "year of the beast". Jews, Christians and Muslims have their own theories and fears about the imminent end of the world. However, one of the answer seems to be in the mysterious book titles " The hundredth name", which legends says reveals the name of the GOD unknown to people. Balthasar, a Lavantine dealer of curios and books, had the book for a brief period before being forced to sell the same. The novel is about his quest to retrieve the book, as he travels from place to places on the mediteranian cost and to places as far as London and France, over a period of 16 months. Interesting read, with many sub-stories and incidents to spice up the journey. Though the World did not end , 1667 brings a new beginning to the life of Balthasar after an eventful year. ****0

titania7

19-Jan-2009, 08:15

Colette Jones

19-Jan-2009, 14:06

Be aware that i am often very generous with the stars.Me too!

But this message is too short to submit... oh look, now it's not...

nnyhav

20-Jan-2009, 02:54

Claude Simon, The Georgics (Beryl & John Fletcher) ****0+ A high degree of difficulty, interleaving or should I say interweaving stories, the didactic point being that history teaches us that we can learn nothing from history (the point being made nonchronologically). The minor cavil is that the homage to Orwell (yes that's as ironic as the title's allusion to Virgil) is not really integral to the tapestry (but it's not superfluous, nor tacked on).

I haven't yet been disappointed by Simon, having first stumbled on The Trolley (aka The Tramway) a copula years ago and The Flanders Road last year; now I'm on the look-out for Acacia.

cf Reading Claude Simon (http://www.dalkeyarchive.com/article/show/98)

Mirabell

20-Jan-2009, 06:48

Oh I love Simon, ever since I read l'Acacie in french two years ago.

nnyhav

21-Jan-2009, 13:05

Cristina Peri Rossi, The Ship of Fools (Psiche Hughes) ***00+ re-engendering the world, strong in concept and excellent in parts but uneven; YMMV.

Tim Krabb?, The Rider (Sam Garrett) ****0 should be read in one sitting; see complete's-review (http://www.complete-review.com/reviews/krabbet/rider.htm)

Bjorn

21-Jan-2009, 13:50

Finished Adichie's Half A Yellow Sun and Bryson's Shakespeare, both a not-very-strong-but-still ****0 I think. Enjoyable and occasionally very good, but overlong (the first) and misses the point slightly (the second).

kpjayan

21-Jan-2009, 15:19

Adichie's Half A Yellow Sun

The English Title is "Half of a Yellow Sun" , which signifies the Flag of the break away republic of Biafra. I read this a couple of years back and found this very good ( I too would give it a 4 star rating)

Bjorn

21-Jan-2009, 15:22

The English Title is "Half of a Yellow Sun"
Right you are. My bad.

titania7

21-Jan-2009, 20:01

Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie

I'm not at all a good reviewer but here I go:

Midnight Children captivated me in so many ways. The manner that Rushdie told the tale demonstrates his unique style and utterly true talent. It’s a story about three generations of Indians living in turbulent times. It’s a masterpiece, really, no joke. The only thing that was a drag was remembering all the 30+ characters. But besides that, it’s flawless. I will now make certain to read all of Rushdie’s novels, that you can carve in stone. Read Midnight’s Children and discover it for yourself. It’s great. *****

Aquablue,
If I hadn't already purchased this book as a Christmas present to myself, you would have convinced me to do so. It sounds positively magnificent! I'll definitely be adding it to my 2009 TBR list. How can anyone resist a book that been described as "flawless?"

~Titania

Jan Mbali

21-Jan-2009, 20:44

Just finished "The best of Saki" - Picador with a good intro by Tom Sharpe - that related his uniqueness to a common childhood shared by other famous authors. That is, staying with gruesome aunts in England because the parents were out running the empire. Only put-off is the occasional piece of anti-semitism, very, very common in the 1900s to WW2 acorss European literature. Wodehouse, influenced by Saki, is similarly guilty, and G K Chesterton rabidly so.

Read it previously many years ago - language more difficult and dated than I remembered. Great economy and clever, very clever, and always with a sting in the tale (pun intended). Very fond of high-handed aristos who slice to the bone, although they too often get their come-uppences. Oh yes, Roald Dahls adult stories are much in the same vein, but in a larger and more satisfying way - they are of course generally longer.

nnyhav

21-Jan-2009, 20:58

Victor Pelevin, The Helmet of Horror (Andrew Bromfield) ***00, maybe +: a chatroom should not mean, but be. (complete's-review (http://www.complete-review.com/reviews/pelevinv/helmet.htm))

23-Jan
fine as far as it goes, but I didn't really take to:
Kurt Tucholsky, Castle Gripsholm (Michael Hofmann) too Thin-Mannish
Nikolai leskov, Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk (Robert Chandler) just too thin (Hesperus annoys at full price, even half off and half again is still a bit much for a short story)

nnyhav

25-Jan-2009, 04:14

Carlos Fuentes, The Old Gringo (Margaret Sayers Peden)
[...] Not so satisfying. Some very cliched sexual politics in particular. This American woman mooning on about a Mexican revolutionary who 'showed her what she could be, and then took it away'. Translation: first major sexual thrill, followed by betrayal. It had its moments, but I think a far better book can be written about Ambrose Beirce's last days. [...]
Sadly, I concur with jaya overall if not in all particulars; flawed execution, overdone. ***00 maybe +

saliotthomas

25-Jan-2009, 19:19

Brian Moore-Black robes***00

Nancy Mitford-The sun king***00

Mirabell

26-Jan-2009, 01:07

Gerald's Party, Robert Coover

Max Cairnduff

26-Jan-2009, 15:41

Zanzibar, by Giles Foden. I'll write it up for the forum in the next day or two, in the meantime I write about it on my blog here:

Pechorin’s Journal (http://pechorinsjournal.wordpress.com/)

In short though, not his most successful novel, a cross between literary fiction and thriller and not quite satisfactorily either for me. Contains much that is good, but an overall slightly unsatisfying whole.

miercuri

26-Jan-2009, 15:53

Aquablue,
If I hadn't already purchased this book as a Christmas present to myself, you would have convinced me to do so. It sounds positively magnificent! I'll definitely be adding it to my 2009 TBR list. How can anyone resist a book that been described as "flawless?"

~Titania
Midnight's Children is an amazing book, I hope you get round to reading it soon. However, I feel the need to warn you that I can become a nuisance at times. I made the mistake of trying to read it on the train and ended up with a head-splitting migraine. I had no other book to rinse my brain with, longest seven hours of my life.
I would recommend reading it in big gulps, comfortably at home, with a clear head because it demands your entire attention (which is probably one of the features that places it among truly great novels).

The last two books I read are:
The Talented Mr Ripley - Patricia Highsmith
I wanted a healthy page-turner inbetween exams and this was by far my best choice. A charming book, a very elegant thriller, it didn't disappoint me one bit (as it usually happens with me and crime novels). Next time I'll be needing a page-turner I'll pick another Ripley novel.
****0 (and a half)

Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit - Jeanette Winterson
This is the second book I read by her. The first one was Gut Symmetries and it turned out to be a big disappointment. I had to give Jeanette Winterson another chance though, and since I had such wide range of choice I picked her debut novel/memoir. It is an honest coming-of-age story of a working class girl of a born-again family and her coming to terms with being a lesbian. Like in Gut Symmetries, I found her style rather rigid. I constantly got the feeling that I was reading an overlong reflective essay, but nevetheless, an enjoyable one this time. I have to check out a few more books by her before finally making up my mind, I started reading The Passion earlier today.
***00 (and a half)

abecedarian

26-Jan-2009, 19:53

Train to Pakistan-Khuswant Singh- This is one of those books I hate to give a rating to. The writing is excellent; the characters lifelike and memorable. What probably bothers me is how gloomy and desparate the events described here. What a tumultuous time and place to be living; that period of history when India broke off a piece of itself to create the nation of Pakistan. Imagine a small village on the edge of that newly formed line, full of Moslems, Hindi, and Sikhs who'd managed to forge a workable method of getting along amongst themselves, now suddenly forced to evacuate half the town for 'their own protection.' Of course, even that is not as simple as it sounds; nothing ever is. There's horrible violence and attrocities afoot from all sides. Good reading, but not for everyone.

Heteronym

27-Jan-2009, 00:35

Lord Dunsany's The Sword of Welleran, a collection of fantasy short-stories. I loved his Wonder Tales collection I read last year, and I really want to love him more because he's a fantasy classic; but I've been reading him chronologically and his first stories have an annoying King James Bible style to it, full of thous and eres and goest and goeth :confused:

In 'Welleran' he starts writing in more informal English, but he's still too attached to his old style. Otherwise it's a nice collection of fantasy stories. One in particular, called "The Kith of the Elf-Kind", about a mythical creature that longs to have a human soul, left me heartbroken.

kpjayan

27-Jan-2009, 03:41

Train to Pakistan-Khuswant Singh
Khushwant Singh is an Indian writer. You may want to reconsider the flag ;). In fact , I am reading one of the book compiled and translated by him. These are the short stories from Punjab.

SilverSeason

27-Jan-2009, 11:01

***00Just finished rereading Pearl Buck's The Good Earth. I first read it as a teen ager and was so impressed by this depiction of life in a different culture that I went on to read many of her other books.

Now I am disappointed. It reads like a fairy story or parable, with consciously archaic language and the same images repeated over and over. The characters are one-note people: Ching is faithful, Olan is suffering, Wang loves the land. It is set in a time out of time, with references to trains and revolutions, but no time period clearly identified.

Max Cairnduff

27-Jan-2009, 11:38

Is there a thread for Kushwant Singh? I'm quite interested in hearing more about that.

Dunsany, a strange writer, quite influential and more powerful than he has any right to be given the apparent flimsiness of his stories.

abecedarian

27-Jan-2009, 14:13

Khushwant Singh is an Indian writer. You may want to reconsider the flag ;). In fact , I am reading one of the book compiled and translated by him. These are the short stories from Punjab.

I know, I waivered back and forth. I went for Pakistan since where he was born is now Pakistan, but if he's considered Indian, I don't mind changing it. Unfortunately, we can't put two or more flags up even if it rightly fits; Stewart's computer might blow a gasket:p

Stewart

27-Jan-2009, 20:13

Is there a thread for Kushwant Singh? I'm quite interested in hearing more about that.
No, there's no thread...but if someone wants to start one. ;)

nnyhav

28-Jan-2009, 00:56

in keeping with the transit theme:
Robert Louis Stevenson, Travels with a Donkey
Graham Greene, Travels with My Aunt
not heavy going, but first class fare

add: the next stage, more transporting:
Shiva Naipaul, An Unfinished Journey

kpjayan

28-Jan-2009, 09:06

No, there's no thread...but if someone wants to start one

We have it now ! http://www.worldliteratureforum.com/forum/writers/10308-khushwant-singh.html#post19807

Max Cairnduff

28-Jan-2009, 13:11

We have it now ! http://www.worldliteratureforum.com/forum/writers/10308-khushwant-singh.html#post19807

Hurrah! Much appreciated.

saliotthomas

28-Jan-2009, 14:18

Chester Himes-Real cool Killers ****0

Jeanette Winterson - Weight -Mythof Atlas and Heracles *0000

kpjayan

28-Jan-2009, 15:16

Jeanette Winterson - Weight -Mythof Atlas and Heracles *0000

Thomas,
Is this the general view of her works ? Coming from someone who is liberal in giving stars !

I have read Gut Symmetries and Written on the Body. I have another in my pile and haven't summed up enough courage to take that up.

Bjorn

28-Jan-2009, 15:30

Jeanette Winterson - Weight -Mythof Atlas and Heracles *0000
I didn't find it quite that bad, but it's very very far from her best. I love some of the Winterson I've read - especially Lighthousekeeping - but Weight just felt like she was commissioned to turn in a book and just filled up pages with text.

saliotthomas

28-Jan-2009, 15:30

Not at all Kpjayan.
This is the first book i read from her and i found it very ennoying,manieriste and obsene in that order.
Heracles running around with his prick out(i did not count the times this word is used but i'd say every 5 sentences a least)masturbating and raping.I was not in the mood for it,at all.

I heard her mentioned many time as an important and gifted author so i shall try another one later.

Sorry Bjorn,got your post too late.I'll certainly try Lighthousekeeping.

Jan Mbali

28-Jan-2009, 18:58

Also read Travels with a Donkey recently. Some extremely funny passages. It was clearly written to amuse and to sell on that basis, but it is also as self-reflective as a any good dairy and as such gives us some glimpses into a mind of a particular time.

nnyhav

28-Jan-2009, 20:11

jan, I recommend the whole package above, as amended (w/ Shiva Naipaul); there's some weird crosstalk between them.

titania7

29-Jan-2009, 03:36

Sunflower by Gyula Krudy. *****+++ If you love Sandor Marai, this book is for you. To find the right words to describe this crazy, brilliant, magical book is quite a task. I did make a genuine effort. To read the full review, click on the link. Here is a mere excerpt:

"In Gyula Krudy's Sunflower, each passage ripples like threads of gold and silver, each sentence is like a poem. This book is like a gift to all who read it. My only complaint is that it is over much too soon....

...it isn't the characters in this novel that bewitch the reader. Rather, it's Krudy's prose. Echoing the stream-of-consciousness style of other writers yet never once compromising his own unique voice, Krudy paints visual images with such copious grandeur, that you feel as if you've eaten a luxurious feast after a mere ten pages. Krudy is no mere author--he is a magician. It is only appropriate that the book is filled with witchcraft and superstition--indeed, it seems to cast a spell over its reader from the very first page....

It is like a series of love letters that you want to keep reading and re-reading. It both confuses you and thrills you, both stuns and enchants you, both saddens you and leaves you ecstatic. Reading it is like breathing the fragrance of wild roses. Amid bunches of classic books that are read and revered, this little masterpiece stands alone like an exotic jewel. Don't let it pass you by."

Full review:

http://www.worldliteratureforum.com/forum/european-literature/10347-krudy-gyula-sunflower.html#post19879

~Titania

Bjorn

29-Jan-2009, 09:21

Started one of my goals this year - delving further back into 20th century Swedish lit - by reading Ulla Isaksson's Kvinnohuset (House of Women) (1952). Isaksson is probably best known outside Sweden for scripting a couple of Bergman films (most notably The Virgin Spring) and I mostly picked this up because I thought it was set in my building (turns out it's about three doors up the road). But it's not bad; dated and slightly overwritten, but it's still a remarkably frank examination of gender and sexual roles in 50s Sweden, and relationships and what makes them tick in general. ***00

saliotthomas

29-Jan-2009, 11:29

Guy Gavriel Kay-Tigana *****(thanks Mirabell)

Those ***** are not the same as the one i gave to Yourcenar or Makine.They are the one i would give to Indiana Jones(the first) in comparaisson to La grande illusion.
It is a different level of pleasure and resonance.

Ramblingsid

29-Jan-2009, 14:03

Following on from #291 I have now come to the end of the second volume of Jules Romains' novel sequence Les hommes de bonne volonte (one of these days I'll work out how to do the accent thingees) - "Quinette's Crime".

I have to admit to having struggled with this one somewhat. Largely I think because of the fact that the major plotline - Quinette and his rather bizarre crime - seemed rather fanciful and unconvincing to me. There were some interesting episodes however - an oil cartel trying to subvert a politician's work as it is against their interest.

Romains problem seems to be that because of the scope of his enterprise he is in effect writing in all sorts of genres - crime, romance. intrigue, politics ..... and I suspect his handling of some is weaker than others.

But I will perservere I think - silly to give up when there are only another 25 to go. :)

Stewart

29-Jan-2009, 14:44

(one of these days I'll work out how to do the accent thingees)

Perhips this thread will help you: http://www.worldliteratureforum.com/forum/support-feedback/75-codes-non-english-letters.html

Mirabell

30-Jan-2009, 01:17

Goldfinger, Ian Fleming

Interesting.

nnyhav

30-Jan-2009, 14:49

Shusaku Endo, Deep River (Van C. Gessel): syncretic sermonizing, overlitanized, partially redeemed by plot and character sketch but demonstrating Endo's worst tendencies, at best ***00
Knut Hamsun, Hunger (Robert Bly): manic depression's a frustrating mess; I.B. Singer's intro too high in register, it's not Dostoevsky but Gogol who's relevant, very interesting but short of timelessness, ****0 (more at book thread)

and ...
A.S. Byatt, The Matisse Stories: three shorts, the middle half overtelegraphed though well-executed, the bracketing ones excellent, overall ****0

saliotthomas

02-Feb-2009, 11:14

Henry James-The siege of London****0,elegant writing,a light story of ambition and society.

Andrei Makine-The crime fo Olga Arbelina
Maybe the most unsettleing book i read since Lolita.It is terrible to have the private hell of our fellow humain discribe with tenderness and mastery so has to make us living and understanding it.
The contruction of the book is amazing.For anyone interest in writing technic,it is school material.
I do not recomand this book,it has nothing of a pleasant read.

titania7

03-Feb-2009, 18:12

The Posthumous Memoirs of Bras Cubas by Machado de Assis *****+ A landmark novel that has had a potent influence on Brazilian literature.

For my full review, see the link below.

An excerpt:

"At a period when Romanticism was at its peak, Machado de Assis' naturalistic, sardonic style is refreshing. Unlike Eca De Queiroz, whom he has been compared to on more than one occasion, Machado tends to parody the melodramatic genre, making light of romance, and treating love scenes with as much sincerity as if they were part of a theatrical skit. The humor that underlies every sentence of the book is almost macabre. Machado is the first to give us a look into the petty side of human nature, yet he never expects us to feel any genuine empathy....

The key to why this book works to well is that it's a parody of everything it represents. In spite of all the subtexts and literary allusions, it's worth reading strictly for its satire, as well as its exceptional prose..."

http://www.worldliteratureforum.com/forum/americas-literature/10589-machado-de-assis-posthumous-memoirs-bras-cubas.html

~Titania

DreamQueen

03-Feb-2009, 18:54

Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens - ****0

I'm too tired to tell you much about why I can't give this a perfect score. Hopefully next time!

DeadAsDreams

04-Feb-2009, 15:16

Life of Pi by Yann Martel ****0

Mirabell

04-Feb-2009, 15:21

Harriet Said..., Beryl Bainbridge. Perfect.

abecedarian

04-Feb-2009, 15:32

Things I've Been Silent About-Azar Nafisi***00

saliotthomas

05-Feb-2009, 13:08

Knut Hamsun-In country of Tales(au pays des contes)***00
It is some sort of carnet de voyage in the Caucase.I find in the writing of Hamsun something of the candide de Voltaire,a pretence of seriousness denied by the folie of the charactere.
Gabriel Garcias marquez-Of love and other demon***00
Typical,good but sans surprise.

kpjayan

05-Feb-2009, 13:19

Gabriel Garcias marquez-Of love and other demon***00
Typical,good but sans surprise.

Agree with you. To me, everything he has written after this (in fiction) has been in predictable lines, not taking away the the writing style. May be we are comparing everything to '100 years..' and 'Love in the Time ....'

Max Cairnduff

05-Feb-2009, 14:25

Revolutionary Road, by Richard Yates.

Tremendous book, truly excellent, there's an existing thread on it which I shall post to later today.

nnyhav

05-Feb-2009, 18:39

Musical offerings:
Manuel Puig, Heartbreak Tango (Suzanne Jill Levine) Who leads the dance, and with whom? Made up of many monologues, interior to epistolatory to forensic, with the music and the movies in the background. At best, ****0
Dumitru Tsepenaug, Vain Art of the Fugue (Patrick Camiller): comments in Romanian Lit thread (http://www.worldliteratureforum.com/forum/general-discussion/7553-romanian-literature.html#post20374).

saliotthomas

07-Feb-2009, 19:16

Jacques Spitz-l'oeil du purgatoire(the purgatory eye)*****
An amazing book,a Parisian painter is injected with a microbe that make him vision ahead of time,first slighlty them exponancialy.He walk the streets full of sceletons and dead,with old rags instead of clothes,is serve chewed food in restaurant.He does not see the future,but a aging world.Come to witness his own death in his mirror.
This is perfectly writen,with efficent and sometime funny prose.A big surprise,next i shall try the War of the fies
Robert van Gulik - The Phantom of the Temple ***00
Sweet charming little book.

titania7

08-Feb-2009, 21:09

The Gambler by Fyodor Dostoevsky ***** A small Dostoevsky novel with a lot to say. He's my favorite author, which means I haven't any viable excuse for why I didn't read this sooner. There have been conflicting views about Constance Garnett's translations, but on this occasion I was far from displeased.

My review is full of passion...but pretty much off-the-cuff.

http://www.worldliteratureforum.com/forum/european-literature/10772-fyodor-dostoevsky-gambler.html#post20537

An excerpt:

"...I'll be honest. I did not expect The Gambler to be a masterpiece. Dostoevsky is a writer whose oeuvre of work is formidable, and his "big" novels are in a class all to themselves. To have high expectations of a small novel that is not generally associated with Dostoevsky's work would be naive. However, The Gambler is a diamond in the rough--a gem that ought to be appreciated in all its unpolished glory. It's smart, witty, and in many ways a work of genius. And it surely gives you a clear-cut idea of why Dostoevsky went on to become one of the most renowned and respected writers in the history of world literature."

Ok. I'm out of everyone's hair now. Me and my 19th century novels,
eh? ;).

~Titania

Sybarite

09-Feb-2009, 13:17

Royal Highness by Thomas Mann ? now I have to get my thoughts into order and add to the thread.

saliotthomas

09-Feb-2009, 14:40

Steven Millhauser - Martin Dressler***00
I could not gather much interest for the life of Martin.

Mohamed Nedali-Morceaux de choix****0
This got the Prix du grand atlas in 2005 presided by Le Cleziot.
The life of a lubricous young butcher in the medina of Marrakech.Coming from a good and educate family,Thami develope very early a passion for meat and women(and flesh) to the despaire of his pompous father.Not perfect in writting or style but the story is good and unteraining(specialy for a resident)

johnr60

09-Feb-2009, 17:35

Hesse--Narcissus and Goldmund

Saturday Review says its as cllse to music as words can come...a melancholy melody...full of wanderlust for a trip to the id.

I cant improve on that. I can say that Hesse gives us a fable in sonata form and the simplest of language that dares to answer the toughest questions of a strong German philosophic tradition. Goethe to Jung: apollo-dionysos, evil, the goddess, the meaning of art, anima, the reality of generals--it's all there in what might be the most rewarding 300 pages I've stumbled upon.

Mirabell

09-Feb-2009, 20:06

SilverSeason

09-Feb-2009, 21:27

***** by Michael Chabon. This novel, which imagines a Jewish/Yiddish refuge in Sitka, Alaska, is not for everyone, but I enjoyed it. Unfortunately I heard it on my MP3 player, so could put in book marks for some of the best passages.

kpjayan

10-Feb-2009, 13:43

Land of Five rivers - Edited and Translated by Khushwant Singh: A compilation of 21 short stories from Punjab. Stories written over a preiod spanning 40s and 70s, includes stories by some prominent writers such as Sadat Hasan Manto ( Toba Tek Singh , about which nnyhav had started the Pakistan Literature (http://www.worldliteratureforum.com/forum/general-discussion/5493-pakistani-literature.html) thread ), Amrita Pritam ( winner of Jnanpith award - highest Literary honour in India) , Yashpal and Khushwant Sing.

Punjab ( which translated as "Land of Five Rivers" ) is very interesting place. Spread across 2 countries ( India and Pakistan) , with 3 languages spoken - Urdu , Punjabi and Hindi ( to a lesser extent) , and population split into 3 religion ( Hindu , Muslim and Sikh) is one of the most suffered region during the painful separation of India and Pakistan. Many of the stories in this book with this as the main theme.

As in a case of any compilation, this too have some superb , some mediocre stories.

nnyhav

11-Feb-2009, 19:45

Walter Abish, Minds Meet: Unexpectedly this fit in with the Tsepenaug (http://www.worldliteratureforum.com/forum/general-discussion/7553-romanian-literature.html#post20374) I just read. Taken individually the stories are sort of not quite Don Barthelme, but combination raises the collection, perhaps, including epigraph, as 13 ways of looking at a blank sheet of paper. ***00+

(more: on Abish, revisited (http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2004/02/16/040216crbo_books?currentPage=all), 5 yrs ago at the NYer)

A Common Reader

11-Feb-2009, 22:52

Timothy W Ryback - Hitler's Private Library

A fascinating read.

"despite his deficiencies in formal education, Hitler was possessed of a voracious appetite for reading"

"by the time he died at the age of 56 he owned an estimated 16000 volumes"

(But you really wouldn't want to read most of them)

Mirabell

13-Feb-2009, 03:53

Shining at the Bottom of the Sea, Stephen Marche

http://www.worldliteratureforum.com/forum/americas-literature/10974-stephen-marche-shining-bottom-sea.html#post20828

saliotthomas

14-Feb-2009, 12:45

Rainer Maria Rilke-The notebook of Malte Laurids Brigge
Sometime it feel wrong to give note in stars to books but it is a way of vaguely showing our appreciation of the quality and pleasure taken from the book.
With Rilke i found it impossible.
It might well be the most difficult book i read in a very long time.It is rich in reference,open and hidden,utterly baroque,poetic,a bit mad at times then back to normal.I gave it up twice in the middle and near the end,but after starting something else ,came back to it sheepishly.One with my brain capacity barely brush it with a read,i spent it feeling peaces escaping in all direction.Now that i understood the nature of the beast i might be able to come back to it in later times.
A sobering experience.
Georges Sand-The devil's Pool***00--
A re-read i should have avoided for i had a very good memorie of this book.Not any more.

kpjayan

15-Feb-2009, 03:04

Rainer Maria Rilke-
It might well be the most difficult book i read in a very long time.It is rich in reference,open and hidden,utterly baroque,poetic,a bit mad at times then back to normal.I gave it up twice in the middle and near the end,but after starting something else ,came back to it sheepishly.

I found it exactly the same. I have read this a couple of years back and this is what I have noted then..

The lack of flowing storyline and the predominant negative mood of life through out, this book makes it a slow and hard read. Rilke maintains that this is not autobiographical, however the characters and places makes one to believe it otherwise.Death is a constant companion through out the pages. May be there is an underlying necessity for Rilke to tell this story of his childhood, family and upbringing, as if he is searching something within.

saliotthomas

15-Feb-2009, 11:23

I liked the childhood parts best,the ghosts and the strong characteres.They were easier to follow.All the time spend in Paris,wich might well be autobiographical(Modiano seem's to think so in the preface)were made difficult by the mental sickness,the quick association of ideas and images it generate.
Some beautifull paragraphes about solitude,isolation,and neighbours.

Eric

15-Feb-2009, 20:47

Over the past year I've been reading 1930s novels by the very English author Anthony Powell.

Just today I finished one called "From a View to a Death" (1933), which is a rather ironic comedy, involving, in part fox hunting, hence the title, taken from the British hunting song "D'ye Ken John Peel".

Funny most of the way through, it does have a few surprises towards the end. Basically, it deals with a rather self-centred bearded London artist who ends up chasing two women, both out in some rather well-off (-awf?) country village, probably in Surrey. A comedy of manners, involving the moneyed classes of the time.

*

By way of utter contrast, I've just finished reading a poetry collection by the Finland-Swedish author Eva-Stina Byggm?star (born 1967) called "Men hur sm? poeter finns det egentligen?" (i.e. "But How Many Little Poets Are There?"; 2008).

The "little poets" of this collection are mysterious beings. Not quite leprechauns, or elves, but there is a feeling there of such beings. These small beings tend to be slightly anarchistic, introducing poetry where they feel fit.

Byggm?star is one of the best Finnish experimental poets writing in Swedish today. She combines an intriguing mixture of childlike description and sensibility with radical syntactical experiments, full of neologisms. Her background is interesting. She comes from a fairly working-class environment, has a Christian mysticist leanings, is lesbian and has been living in a long-term relationship with another writer. The Salvation Army and the L?stadian Christian sect have also influenced the lives of her forebears.

The range of experience presented in her poetry tends to involve attitudes to love and nature, which are blent in her poems. She tends to write her poetry in suites. So you can't merely soundbite out a couple of poems. They often "lean against" one another.

American publisher Johannes G?ransson of "Action Books" has the following to say about her:

Exoskeleton: Eva-Stina Byggm?star (http://exoskeleton-johannes.blogspot.com/2007/09/eva-stina-byggmstar.html)

I hope, one day, to pick a few dozen poems from her seven (?) collections of poetry and try to put together a volume in English. But some of her puns remain untranslatable.

I'll start a thread for Byggm?star sometime. She is part of a whole tradition of experimental Finland-Swedish poetry, which stretches back to, for instance, Gunnar Bj?rling in the early 20th century.

Mirabell

16-Feb-2009, 01:32

The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne (reread)

Excellent. Will need some thinking.

liehtzu

16-Feb-2009, 06:52

Joseph Roth - A String of Pearls (aka 1002nd Arabian Night)

William Gerhardie - Futility

Richard Hughes - A Fox in the Attic

The Opposing Shore - Julien Gracq

The Roth was fine - a sweet confection designed to live a mildly bitter aftertaste, a comedy about despair - but not something one goes raving to one's friends about. The Hughes, I'm amazed to report, did absolutely nothing for me, not a lick. I can imagine this sort of thing, the grand historical epic given a loose and not particularly interesting fictional framework, has its appeal for some, but I could hardly have been more bored. It took me ages to finish this. The Gracq was tough, too, but I disliked it for more complicated reasons than the Hughes. I have never encountered a book so smitten with metaphor. There are even, at times, metaphors for the metaphors. The Gerhardie as a wonderful little book - I dislike the term "minor classic" but if I were to apply it to anything I've read recently it would be to this forgotten gem written by a forgotten man. I have a feeling I may give The Opposing Shore and Futility their own threads down the line.

DeadAsDreams

16-Feb-2009, 16:27

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury ****0
Overall I really enjoyed this book, the story was excellent, but the characterization was lacking in my opinion and the writing was sub par.

titania7

17-Feb-2009, 03:39

Mysteries by Knut Hamsun *****++ This book, which is certainly the most impressive of Hamsun's achievements that I've read this far, undoubtedly ranks in my top 10-15 favorite books of all-time. I've read it twice in three weeks. Brilliant, enigmatic, and so much more.

I'm delighted to announce that my review of Mysteries has been published in the fabulous independent on-line literary journal, Spinoza Blue. Many, many thanks, Doug! It's an honor.

http://www.spinozablue.com/2009/02/1781/

~Titania

nnyhav

17-Feb-2009, 03:50

cool, titania.

I was a bit cooler than I expected to Virginia Woolf's Orlando (http://www.worldliteratureforum.com/forum/writers/2991-virginia-woolf-2.html#post21063).

saliotthomas

17-Feb-2009, 13:24

I just finished Brideshead revisited by Evelyn Waugh read by jeremy Irons.The writing is classic and lyrical not as funny as people so often point out.
The story is about lives in English society at a turning point and is interesting in the lenght of time on wich it occure.Not as long as 100 years of solitude but long enough to grasp the change and desilusion of teenagers turning to adulthood and old age.The disparition of a grand way of life and of a certain high bourgoisie,a bit comparable to Scott Fitzgerald in that.
A beautifull book http://www.bookandreader.com/forums/images/smilies/stars4.gif+++,i look forward reading more Waugh for his mastery in the use of English language.

Ramblingsid

17-Feb-2009, 17:19

Just finished Gilbert Adair's The Death of the Author and, I must say, I was completely enthralled by it. Very much a ***** in my view and I will certainly be looking out for more of his output. Clever, witty and totally brill! And I doubt I would have stumbled across his work were it not for this forum. So thanks for that Stewart :)

I am have now moved optimistically forward to Johan Borgen's Lillelord :)

Mirabell

18-Feb-2009, 02:06

The Intuitionist, Colson Whitehead

very nice.

Mirabell

20-Feb-2009, 05:39

Der Gr?ne Heinrich, Gottfried Keller. One of the Great Novels of World Literature and whoa. I've read it ages ago, and this reread was exhausting but deeply satisfying. An extraordinary novel.

promtbr

20-Feb-2009, 16:42

Der Gr?ne Heinrich, Gottfried Keller. One of the Great Novels of World Literature and whoa. I've read it ages ago, and this reread was exhausting but deeply satisfying. An extraordinary novel.

I recently purchased the Holt Eng. translation of this based on your previous posts. Also, my mother-in-law who was born and raised in Switzerland mentioned that Keller was required reading in school in the 40's. I am looking forward to reading this in the coming year (or next)

I had an English translated (Penguin Classic?) novel by Raabe back in the day, but I can't find it. Any recomendations on his works (in translation?)

saliotthomas

21-Feb-2009, 18:01

Richard Stark-The green eagle score ***00++
Super leathal Parker.

Patrick Rambaud-The exil ****0+
The third book on Napoleon after La bataille and Il neigait,lively and spiritual writing,classic but not stiff,an excellent book.

Honor? de Balzac-The country doctor***00
Good but a bit 'sawn in white thread',a pictoresque gallery of characteres,and lot's of reference to the Napoleonic war(fitting my previous read).And much political and social discourse,but maybe i should take a break with Balzac.
I hope i didn't outgrew him???:D

DreamQueen

22-Feb-2009, 02:40

The Waves by Kang Shin-jae. Pretty uneven but that may have been the translation.***00

Max Cairnduff

23-Feb-2009, 13:20

A few actually.

Good Morning, Midnight, by Jean Rhys.

A Sport and a Pastime, by James Salter.

Closely Observed Trains, by Bohumil Hrabal, translated by Edith Pargeter, and the best of the above trio though they were all good.

I'll write them up over the next couple of days.

Titania, is there a thread on your Hamsun?

Bjorn

23-Feb-2009, 13:28

Siri Hustvedt's The Sorrows of an American. Will try to write it up, but in short, I enjoyed it a lot if not quite as much as What I Loved. ****0

Igu Soni

23-Feb-2009, 13:56

Moth Smoke by Mohsin Hamid ***00
Insightful in places, rather observant, but not too well written. Very nicly paralleled with the story of the Mughals but too much Urdu and Hindi without even thoughts of translation.

In The Heart of the Country by J. M. Coetzee *****
I'm kinda partial to Coetzee and this was as good as anything else he's written.

Ramblingsid

23-Feb-2009, 14:18

I have just finished Johan Borgen's Lillelord and have to say that I have found it to be a much easier and satisfying read than I had anticipated. The main thrust of the story seems to be the gradual decay and degradation of the character of the novel's protagonist, Wilfred but called Lillelord by his mother, as he passes into and through adolescence.

Very much a ****0 maybe even a *****.

saliotthomas

23-Feb-2009, 18:33

Yasunari Kawabata-Les servantes de l'auberge*****1926
Three short stories,completly differente in prose and style,great.(not translated in English)

johnr60

24-Feb-2009, 18:37

The Sheltering Sky, Paul Bowles

An unlikely pair searches for beginnings in the deepest Sahara. One finds the ultimate, for the other:

"Life was suddenly there, she was in it, not looking through the window at it."

Beautiful or terrible (Tennessee William's words) Bowles' understudy of consciousness, love and death shouldn't be missed.

Jayaprakash

25-Feb-2009, 02:43

I still read books. Most recently: Camp Concentration by Thomas M Disch, which is just a bit by way of Burgess' Enderby in a near-future (at the time of writing the novel) dystopia where America is locked into an unpopular war similar to the Vietnam war and dissidents are imprisoned. There's a lot of virtuosic writing and biting political commentary, but the story is a bit undermined by both its own literary ambitions and its genre roots. The Confessions of St Augustine which frankly often read like an exercise-book in circular reasoning but can be hauntingly febrile at times.

saliotthomas

25-Feb-2009, 11:09

Hey Jayaprakash,long time no see!

Driss Chraibi-Le mond a cot?(the world beside)****0
A little autobigraphie freely written,about his exile and his life as a Moroccain writing in French.I'll write a small thing because it was very clear and interesting about the fact that one can belong to two countries without having to choose a flag.Chraibi's would be a French with the Morocco star.
His last wife Sheena was Scottish from Edimbourg and became excellent a making tagine's and an expert of Arabian music.

Mirabell

25-Feb-2009, 18:27

Autopol, Ilija Trojanow

kpjayan

26-Feb-2009, 07:03

Revelutionary Road - Richard Yates : Finished reading this last week. I liked this book for its 'closeness to reality' and for its contemporary value. But, once you move out of the reality and the beautiful prose, is it not another standard story ?

Allah is not Obliged - Ahmadou Kourouma : Another story of the tribal war affected Western African countries of Liberia/ Sierra Leon/Ivory Cost. Birahima, "the fearless , blameless street kid" , narrates his experience through the war ravaged countries as a "child soldier , boy soldier, soldier kid", under multiple war loads in his raw, foul mouthed , unsympathetic narrative, using various dictionaries for help. The real ( various war-leaders of Liberia , SierraLeon and other heads of states) and the fictional characters comes alive in his story . Very political, tragic novel about the human crisis in Africa. The the author does not mince any words literally abusing the war lords, the international agencies, the peace keeping force and the people with all his strong conviction. The full, final, completely complete title of my bullshit story is :"Allah is not obliged to be fair about all the things he does on earth".

Fascinating novel by this Ivorycost writer. What come to my mind is the memoir " A Long Way Gone" by Ismael Beah, but this being a fictional work, we see a master story teller. Interesting use of languages and style , at times getting into a political commentary ( where the author takes over from the kid who is narrating - which is one of the shortcoming of the novel) , some nice poetic repetitive use of phrases ( you see this in many places) makes it a good read.

Max Cairnduff

26-Feb-2009, 20:26

I took Revolutionary Road in large part to be about the gulf between people's dream of self and their actuality, and what happened when that gulf could no longer be avoided.

I appreciate it can be put in the "the suburbs are hell" school, but I do think there's more going on than that.

We have a Revolutionary Road thread don't we? I'll post a link when I track it down again. Edit: Here we go:http://www.worldliteratureforum.com/forum/americas-literature/9317-richard-yates-revolutionary-road.html

Mirabell

27-Feb-2009, 04:47

The Wings of the Dove, Henry James.

Mirabell

28-Feb-2009, 02:11

Mrs. Caliban, Rachel Ingalls

rabbitfast

01-Mar-2009, 03:43

Romola by George Eliot. It's good...but not quite on the level of Middlemarch or Daniel Deronda. ***00

saliotthomas

01-Mar-2009, 10:44

Graham Green-Stamboul train****0
Like with all i read from Green,i'm left with mixt impressions.The remotness of the characteres,the feeling of failures,of a luckwarm life in extraordinary conditions does not make the read a very positive and stilulating expience.It's a bit like a glass of guiness,their no life in it and it's bitter but very nurishing.On has to be in the mood for Graham Green and somehow i always come back to him unprepared.
It's one of the author the more one read the more one seem a gerenal logic and pattern,all his stories could be part of a large one.Like the Balzac.
Witi Ihimaera - The Whale Rider***00but*****has a children story.
If someday i have kids(in'challa)it's a story i would gladly read to them.The fight betwin the grand parents is hilarious.
Ted Chiang - The Merchant and the Alchemists Gate*****
A great short story in the 1001 night style.Perfect.
(The only probleme was that reader been a petulant scottish with a thick accents,it gave the story in Bagdad and Cairo a weird flavor)

rabbitfast

01-Mar-2009, 21:53

I just finished or, more accurately, gobbled up, The Road by Cormac McCarthy. All I can say is...wow. *****

miercuri

01-Mar-2009, 22:13

I just finished or, more accurately, gobbled up, The Road by Cormac McCarthy. All I can say is...wow. *****
Same happened to me, I couldn't put the book down after the first ten pages. Intriguingly, there's a film adaptation coming out later this year.

I've just finished Pale Fire, probably the most bedazzling literary experience of my life and definitely the strangest novel I have come across. Never before have I read a book in which the author manipulates his characters through the reader's perspective and toys with the reader's innocent impressions so cunningly. Well, Nabokov can certainly pull it off. I can picture him rubbing his palms, sniggering the moment he was done writing it.
And I keep flipping through the book in search of something, because somehow I have the feeling that it does not end with the final page. :)
I guess it's a *****

Mirabell

02-Mar-2009, 02:01

Omoo, Herman Melville

Bjorn

02-Mar-2009, 08:53

Stewart

02-Mar-2009, 09:07

Two books, which I'll get round to writing up soon:

Machine, Peter Adolphsen
The Blue Fox, Sjon

Enjoyed them both.

Max Cairnduff

02-Mar-2009, 13:58

We by Yevgeny Zamyatin. Honestly not sure what to make of it. On one level, the setup and when it was written (1921) make it one of the most intriguing dystopias I've read, anticipating both 1984 and The Glass Bead Game (as well as Stalinism) and setting it all in a world where the immutable power structures extend everywhere, including the language of the novel - modernist architecture as literature. On the other, the narrator quite frankly gets on my nerves and I find myself wishing he'd just speak his lack of mind already. ***00 for now; I've a feeling it deserves more, but...

I rather like We, I thought it huge fun in part and it does pretty much create the dystopian genre.

I loved the transparent buildings, the allotted hour for sex with your selected mate, the new machine with the promise of freedom through the surgical excision of imagination, and then it all goes rather crazy and I liked that too.

It has, for me anyway, a certain freshness born of being the first to do what it's doing. I wouldn't go to five stars I grant, but I'd probably personally go to four.

Nice to see it getting read anyway.

DreamQueen

02-Mar-2009, 19:17

I rather like We, I thought it huge fun in part and it does pretty much create the dystopian genre.

I loved the transparent buildings, the allotted hour for sex with your selected mate, the new machine with the promise of freedom through the surgical excision of imagination, and then it all goes rather crazy and I liked that too.

It has, for me anyway, a certain freshness born of being the first to do what it's doing. I wouldn't go to five stars I grant, but I'd probably personally go to four.

I agree and couldn't have said it better!

DreamQueen

02-Mar-2009, 19:20

I recently finished Natsuo Kirino's Grotesque which was incredibly disappointing. Kirino's Out was an amazing example of chillingly effective feminist noir; I can hardly believe the same person wrote both books, for Grotesque was both boring and plagued by an exceedingly irritating and in no way sympathetic narrator. I'd planned on reading Kirino's third novel, Real World, but I think I may skip it now. *0000

Bjorn

03-Mar-2009, 00:28

I'm not saying I disliked We. I can definitely see why people love it, there was just something off about it for me.

@DreamQueen - sorry to hear that about Kirino. I thought Out showed promise even if she still had some way to go, a pity if she's headed in the other direction.

However, I really liked V?ronique Tadjo's Reine Pokou. A short novella that's not out in English AFAIK, but I'm going to write a review tomorrow anyway. ****0

titania7

04-Mar-2009, 18:44

We by Yevgeny Zamyatin. Honestly not sure what to make of it. On one level, the setup and when it was written (1921) make it one of the most intriguing dystopias I've read, anticipating both 1984 and The Glass Bead Game (as well as Stalinism) and setting it all in a world where the immutable power structures extend everywhere, including the language of the novel - modernist architecture as literature. On the other, the narrator quite frankly gets on my nerves and I find myself wishing he'd just speak his lack of mind already. ***00 for now; I've a feeling it deserves more, but...

Bjorn,
I am quite fond of We, though it's been about ten years since I read it.
I thought it was far superior to Huxley's Brave New World. I don't know what sort of impression it would make on me at this point. I've read
a vast amount of literature during the past decade. I would probably give it ****0 if I were ranking it. You may prompt me to dig it of one of my boxes of books in the basement as I honestly can't remember that much about it. I devour books so rapidly that without reading one at least two times they are little more than a dream in a matter of months. This is why I'm not reviewing as many books at the forum. I'm reading all of the ones I want to review twice, aiming for quality rather than quantity.

~Titania

Max Cairnduff

04-Mar-2009, 18:56

[quote=Bjorn;21952]I'm not saying I disliked We. I can definitely see why people love it, there was just something off about it for me./quote]

I didn't think you were, sorry if I gave that impression, I was just adding another voice to the commentary on it.

Mirabell

05-Mar-2009, 02:06

Pierre, or The Ambiguities, Herman Melville

titania7

05-Mar-2009, 02:09

Completed in January, but must be re-read:

Ursule Mirouet by Honore de Balzac ****0++

Finished last month, but waiting to be re-read:

The Withered Root by Rhys Davies ****0+
The Conformist by Alberto Moravia ****0+
The Life and Adventures of Trobadora Beatrice by Irmtraud Morgner *****
Greed by Elfriede Jelinek ***00++
Quincas Borba by Machado de Assis *****
Desire by Hugo Claus ***00+
Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates *****
Easter Parade by Richard Yates ***00+

Please note: my ratings will probably change after re-reading
these books. Reviews will follow within the next several weeks.

~Titania

"Events are never absolute: their outcome depends entirely
on individuals." ~Honore de Balzac, Cesar Birotteau

titania7

05-Mar-2009, 02:33

Also finished last month (how could I forget?):

Naomi by Tanizaki Junichiro *****

I cannot wait to re-read this and write a review. Although Quicksand
was magnificent, this is the best Junichiro novel I've read thus far. Mesmerizing fiction.

~Titania

Liam

05-Mar-2009, 13:05

Finished last month, but waiting to be re-read:

The Withered Root by Rhys Davies ****0+
The Conformist by Alberto Moravia ****0+
The Life and Adventures of Trobadora Beatrice by Irmtraud Morgner *****
Greed by Elfriede Jelinek ***00++
Quincas Borba by Machado de Assis *****
Desire by Hugo Claus ***00+
Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates *****
Easter Parade by Richard Yates ***00+

Please note: my ratings will probably change after re-reading
these books. Reviews will follow within the next several weeks.

Hey, T!

As always, an impressive list. I'm particularly eager to hear what you think of Jelinek, whom I would also give 3 stars, and Richard Yates. Could you please review those first, ;)???

Talk to you soon,
Liam

titania7

05-Mar-2009, 13:44

Liam,
Will do, darling, as soon as I finish my review of Hugo Claus's Desire. I just finished my second reading of that this morning. Rating is still ***00+,
by the way.

Jelinek is next on the plate. A greedy lass is she ;).

Thanks for the compliments about the list. I just decided to be audacious and post my list of books I'd read during the past month or so, even though I knew I wasn't ready to write reviews of all the books yet.

It goes without saying that Yates will follow Jelinek. Don't I always do what you tell me to, Liam? ;)

~Titania

Mirabell

05-Mar-2009, 16:24

The Armies of the Night, Norman Mailer

saliotthomas

05-Mar-2009, 16:33

The Armies of the Night, Norman Mailer

How was it?
I would like to read more Mailer.

Mirabell

05-Mar-2009, 16:38

How was it?
I would like to read more Mailer.

what have you read? and how'd you like it? I'm guessing this one's not typical Mailer. Very good. Will write a review tonight, depending on the amount of vodka I can chase down here.

saliotthomas

05-Mar-2009, 17:16

Tough guy don't dance,The naked and the dead,Marilyn,and looking forward to When we were in Vietnam.

DreamQueen

08-Mar-2009, 18:19

and the phantom tollbooth!!! incredible writing! the verbal exuberance! the inventiveness!

what was yr phd on?

good luck with the bookstore. how do they say? everytime someone opens a bookstore, an angel gets his wings.

Mirabell, sorry for not answering your question sooner - I somehow missed that you'd asked!

My PhD was in English literature, specifically on representations of letter-writing in English Renaissance drama (and some poetry and prose). It's still too soon for me to say any more about it.:o

saliotthomas

10-Mar-2009, 12:18

Mika Waltari-Jean the Pilgrim((nuori johannes)*****

Jonathan Coe-The closed circle**000--
Bloody British sitcom material if you ask me.Really upset i finished it.Facking "Fair city" with so called modern spirit and smart ass socio-psychologie.Reading as close as watching telly as it gets.Grrrr...

Mirabell

10-Mar-2009, 22:06

Inherit the Wind, Jerome Lawrence/Robert E. Lee

saliotthomas

12-Mar-2009, 12:00

Julien Green-Le voyageur sur terre**000++
They were short stories,quite well written but very depressing.I could not find any interest or purpose in it.Maybe a real novel....but not in my emergency list,even remotly.

DreamQueen

12-Mar-2009, 23:35

The Lions of Al-Rassan by Guy Gavriel Kay. ****0

miercuri

14-Mar-2009, 01:49

Jonathan Coe-The closed circle**000--
Bloody British sitcom material if you ask me.Really upset i finished it.Facking "Fair city" with so called modern spirit and smart ass socio-psychologie.Reading as close as watching telly as it gets.Grrrr...
I feel with you. I know The Closed Circle is a sequel to The Rotter's Club, a book which I have tried reading at some point two years ago but gave up somewhere half-way through. It still is, however, on my "to-be-given-another-chance" list, along with What A Carve Up!, a more acclaimed book of Coe's. I thoroughly enjoyed The House of Sleep by him and that instantly granted him many potential second chances, yet I doubt I will ever venture as far as picking up The Closed Circle, since its precursor felt unsatisfactory enough already.

saliotthomas

14-Mar-2009, 14:03

Richard Stark-The black ice score****0
I noticed that in the 12 or so Parker novel i read so far,the man did'nt laught once,and i can't remenber him smiling ether.

Cees Nooteboom-Lost Paradise***00
Well written but a bit pointless.His style is easy and simple,i liked it but the all idea of the book felt artificial,"pulled by the hairs" we say in French.

Beth

14-Mar-2009, 16:56

Inherit the Wind, Jerome Lawrence/Robert E. Lee

What do you think, Mirabell? My paternal grandfather attended the non-fictional trial as an interested citizen/attorney and supporter of Scopes. The courtroom is preserved, right down to the very same spittoons.

cuchulain

15-Mar-2009, 00:37

saliotthomas

15-Mar-2009, 10:47

I know I'm a bit late to the party, but recently finished the wonderful The Elegance of the Hedgehog. I have two blog posts about the book, here (http://www.spinozablue.com/2009/03/1908/) and here (http://www.spinozablue.com/2009/03/1910/).

Delighted you liked it.I don't know for you but i keep looking for "mouvement du monde",got a good one last week.Listening to James Brown funky drummer in the car a guy with a limp walking fast was exactly in rythm.Perfect.
You should read Paul Auster-Man in the dark where he as similar reflexion about cinema.

Penelope Fitzerald-The blue flower****0+
To quote Beth Wow

cuchulain

15-Mar-2009, 18:51

Delighted you liked it.I don't know for you but i keep looking for "mouvement du monde",got a good one last week.Listening to James Brown funky drummer in the car a guy with a limp walking fast was exactly in rythm.Perfect.
You should read Paul Auster-Man in the dark where he as similar reflexion about cinema.

Penelope Fitzerald-The blue flower****0+
To quote Beth Wow

Thanks, ST. Paloma is like a young James Joyce with his epiphanies. Updated. I think her precious moments/movements/moments of flowing grace . . . have been influenced by film to weight toward the kinetic. Your example and your recommendation point to that. Joyce's Dubliners would have been remarkably different if written this decade, obviously . . .

I was also reminded of Simone Weil, while reading the novel. I don't recall her name ever being mentioned, but one of her key philosophical points was "attention". An intense concentration on moments of grace as well, primarily directed toward the divine. Neither Paloma nor Madame Michel appear to have been religious. I think their view was roughly secular humanist. But the attention part is similar. The process, perhaps. To borrow a stereotype, it seems eastern in that sense and fits in well with the Japanese flavor of the novel.

I am looking forward to reading her first novel when it comes out later this year . . . and many more in the future.

P.S. Have read Auster, but not that title. Thank you again for the recommendation.

DreamQueen

16-Mar-2009, 01:28

Jeffrey Eugenides' The Virgin Suicides ***00

matt.todd

16-Mar-2009, 03:59

Jeffrey Eugenides' The Virgin Suicides ***00

DreamQueen, have you read Middlesex, Eugenides' other novel? If not, go and buy it now! 'Cause I think it's much, much better than The Virgin Suicides.

DreamQueen

16-Mar-2009, 17:54

DreamQueen, have you read Middlesex, Eugenides' other novel? If not, go and buy it now! 'Cause I think it's much, much better than The Virgin Suicides.

No, I haven't read Middlesex. I think it's too soon after The Virgin Suicides but I might give it a read later.

promtbr

16-Mar-2009, 19:09

Having left Proust and Dante I actually thought I had better read a couple of more contemporary novels to remember what that is like..

Cees Nootebom--- The Following Story ****0 +

Fascinating story and excellent writing, the second part works dependent on how willing you are to go along w/ the central conceit. I was feverish when I read this and this little gem didn't help. I would read Ovid's Metamorphosis before I read this again.

Cormac McCarthy--- Blood Meridian *****

Never having read any of his novels, I had no particular expectations going in. Wow, and wow... I am no fan of graphic violence in fiction or movies (bloodn'gore etc...), but through the lens of McCarthy's narative, its palatable enough to be almost appetizing, and to me, that's the beauty of the novel, that he was able to pull that off.
I WILL re-read this at some point.

Now back to The Oresteia

Mirabell

16-Mar-2009, 19:28

Cormac McCarthy--- Blood Meridian *****

Never having read any of his novels, I had no particular expectations going in. Wow, and wow... I am no fan of graphic violence in fiction or movies (bloodn'gore etc...), but through the lens of McCarthy's narative, its palatable enough to be almost appetizing, and to me, that's the beauty of the novel, that he was able to pull that off.
I WILL re-read this at some point.

This is such an incredible, incredible book. I frankly think, and I know I am quite alone with that opinion, that it's head and shoulders above The Road which is often seen as McCarthy's best. Blood Meridian spoiled me for other novels for a week.

Galatea92

16-Mar-2009, 21:09

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, Junot Diaz ***00+

e joseph

16-Mar-2009, 22:13

This is such an incredible, incredible book. I frankly think, and I know I am quite alone with that opinion, that it's head and shoulders above The Road which is often seen as McCarthy's best. Blood Meridian spoiled me for other novels for a week.

Blood Meridian spoiled me for all other Cormac McCarthy novels for much longer than a week. The Road was certainly good, but didn't impact me nearly as much as Blood Meridian. Don't expect it to be on Oprah's reading list anytime soon though...

nnyhav

17-Mar-2009, 03:32

recent readings:

F.Scott Fitzgerald, The Crack-Up
Heinrich Heine, Travel Pictures (http://www.archipelagobooks.org/bk.php?id=42) (Peter Wortsman)
Virginia Hamilton Adair (http://faculty.vassar.edu/kawaugh/), Ants on the Melon: A Collection of Poems
V.S. Naipaul, In a Free State
Thornton Wilder, The Bridge of San Luis Rey
Robert Penn Warren, All the King's Men
Yasunari Kawabata, The Lake (Reiko Tsukimura)
Gilbert Adair, The Death of the Author
Mario Vargas Llosa, The Time of the Hero (Lysander Kemp)

miercuri

17-Mar-2009, 12:03

Having left Proust and Dante I actually thought I had better read a couple of more contemporary novels to remember what that is like..

Cees Nootebom--- The Following Story ****0 +

Fascinating story and excellent writing, the second part works dependent on how willing you are to go along w/ the central conceit. I was feverish when I read this and this little gem didn't help. I would read Ovid's Metamorphosis before I read this again.
Indeed, one litte gem and so dense for a 100p mininovel.

Cormac McCarthy--- Blood Meridian *****

Never having read any of his novels, I had no particular expectations going in. Wow, and wow... I am no fan of graphic violence in fiction or movies (bloodn'gore etc...), but through the lens of McCarthy's narative, its palatable enough to be almost appetizing, and to me, that's the beauty of the novel, that he was able to pull that off.
I WILL re-read this at some point.
I really have to get my hands on this, if it is better than The Road as others have said around here then it might as well make it to my favourite books list!

e joseph

17-Mar-2009, 13:39

I really have to get my hands on this, if it is better than The Road as others have said around here then it might as well make it to my favourite books list!

Blood Meridian is a very different book than The Road, but still in McCarthy's sparse style. And without pushing too hard, I would definitely suggest picking a copy. And it's one of my favorites, so it certainly has the potential to sneak on to your list as well.

Flower

17-Mar-2009, 14:05

I have just finished reading "The jealous hairdresser" by Lars Saabye Christensen. Its a book with 4 shortstories and it took me by surprice.

I have read "The halfbrother" + "The model" and thought I would try out some of his earlier work.

The stories are hilarious and I did not know the author had it in him to have such a dark and twisted sense of humour.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Reading the posts about McCarthy?s Blood Meridan has made me very curious!

e joseph

17-Mar-2009, 22:49

Blindness - Jose Saramago (translated by Giovanni Pontiero)
This was my first Saramago and I was very impressed. I'm looking forward to moving onto more of his novels.

Invitation to a Beheading - Vladimir Nabokov (translated by Dmitri Nabokov)
This one sort of surprised me. I've read Lolita, but wasn't really struck by it like many others are. I picked this one up after reading about it in Reading Lolita in Tehran as it sounded interesting (Kafkaesque always gets me). I really enjoyed it. Good story and everything I DID like about Lolita, namely the prose; I'd recommend it to everyone I've seen here that remarked that while they enjoyed Lolita's prose, they were put off by the book in general.

The Crying of Lot 49 - Thomas Pynchon
Well this was a weird (but enjoyable) one. I should recommend it to everyone that tells me how "great" the DaVinci Code was with it's intrigue and conspiracy of old organizations. After reading this, I feel much better about picking up Gravity's Rainbow in the near future.

Daniel del Real

18-Mar-2009, 01:00

Blood Meridian spoiled me for all other Cormac McCarthy novels for much longer than a week. The Road was certainly good, but didn't impact me nearly as much as Blood Meridian. Don't expect it to be on Oprah's reading list anytime soon though...

I've been planning to read Blood Meridian for a year I guess. I've read The Road and No Country for Old Men, and even the second one seemed better for me than the Road. I have no doubt Blood Meridian should be the best.

Daniel del Real

18-Mar-2009, 01:03

Blindness - Jose Saramago (translated by Giovanni Pontiero)
This was my first Saramago and I was very impressed. I'm looking forward to moving onto more of his novels.

If you liked Blindness I would recommend you to continue with the so-called trilogy. The second one would be All the Names, followed by the Cave. It's not exactly a Trilogy, but the three books talk about the decay of modern world to the eyes of a humanist as Saramago.

Beth

18-Mar-2009, 01:30

My take (http://coldtoast.wordpress.com/2008/02/25/13/)on Blood Meridian. I recently finished The Crimson Petal and the White by Michel Faber. A very raunchy, heartbreaking *****.

Mirabell

18-Mar-2009, 02:29

84, Charing Cross Road, Helene Hanff

e joseph

18-Mar-2009, 21:38

Daniel,
Thank you for the Saramago suggestions; I like a little break between authors, but shall be returning to him before too long.

And I might be with you on McCarthy's The Road and No Country for Old Men. I'm not sure which I enjoyed more. Irregardless, I think you're in for a real treat when you launch into Blood Meridian. For me, "Road" and "Old Men" were enjoyable reads, and both kind of quick ones. Blood Meridian is much less sparse, and a lot more Old Testament (this makes no sense, but is perfectly apt if you've read it). It drops you off into its own suffocating landscape that you can only read your way out of. Enjoy!

And nice review Beth. For as little as he is in the book, I agree that the Judge is quite the character.

Beth

19-Mar-2009, 00:57

Thanks, e joseph; it's really interesting that you found not much of the Judge in the novel and I found him everywhere, as much a suffocating force as the landscape. You and promtbr are very brave to consider a re-read. I almost couldn't take it, giving it five stars nonetheless for power and imagery which it has in spades, eh?

Let's see, back on topic, almost finished with Quicksand by Emmanuel Bove. Very tightly constructed novel with a "little man" caught in a terrifying spiral.

Max Cairnduff

19-Mar-2009, 14:08

What I saw, a book of reportage by Joseph Roth regarding his time spent in 1920s and early 1930s Berlin, really very good indeed, well worth reading.

Marthe, by J.-K. Huysmans, his first novel and an entertaining treatment of what later became a common theme in 19th Century French literature - the life of a licenced prostitute. Very skilfully translated by Brendan King.

Oh, and The Polish Officer, accomplished Le Carre-esque espionage fiction by Alan Furst set during the second world war. Well worth reading if you have any interest in the period or in espionage fiction.

I've also just finished volume Six of A Dance to the Music of Time, by Anthony Powell, The Kindly Ones.

I've written them all up (except the Powell) here as usual: Pechorin's Journal (http://pechorinsjournal.wordpress.com/). I'll write the Powell up in a day or so and I'll post here about the Huysmans (and the Furst, if there's any interest in that). The Roth isn't fiction, for all Roth is now most famous of course as an author.

Eric

19-Mar-2009, 15:41

Max Cairnduff mentions Anthony Powell. I read three of his 1930s novels, in quick succession, a couple of months ago. Even his work from that earlier, pre-Dance period is intriguing. Powell mixes light comedy with the sudden stab of tragedy. This is also the case in his much later, post-Dance novel "O, How the Wheel Becomes It!".

I read the Dance suite some years ago. I am thinking of re-reading it. But I have so much else to read.

Funny how Littell nicked this Powell title for his Holocaust splurge. And the English translation, surely, has the identical title. Aue! You're hurting me! Ah, for originality. One of these days, the Eumenides will get that Littell bounder.

Never read that Flemish author. Not sure whether to call him [H??SS-manss] or [weess-MAWNSS]. Depends on whether you regard him as a Fleming, or a writer in French.