Recently finished books? [Archive] - Page 7

Daniel del Real

14-Dec-2009, 22:07

There is only good dark about you Heidi.:D

The Tartars steppe-Dino Buzatti *****
I'll try to gather few things for the thread.

Have not enough words to praise this book. I read it like a year ago and it was captivating from the beggining to the end. The final two pages are some of the finest literature I've had the chance to read.
I want to read more Buzatti, but Spanish editions are so damn expensive!

Mirabell

14-Dec-2009, 22:09

Der Briefwechsel, Hans Magnus Enzensberger, Uwe Johnson

Daniel del Real

14-Dec-2009, 22:18

http://www.worldliteratureforum.com/forum/images/flags/cl.gif Alejandro Zambra, Bons?i ****0

http://www.worldliteratureforum.com/forum/images/flags/ve.gif Rafael Cadenas, Falsas Maniobras (False Maneuvers) ***00+

Daniel del Real

15-Dec-2009, 00:20

http://www.worldliteratureforum.com/forum/images/flags/de.gif Herta M?ller, Der Mensch ist ein gro?er Fasan auf der Welt ****0

Mirabell

15-Dec-2009, 00:30

http://www.worldliteratureforum.com/forum/images/flags/de.gif Herta M?ller, Der Mensch ist ein gro?er Fasan auf der Welt ****0
read it in German? excelkklent! I reread it last week, and wanted to write a review on like thursday.

that woman is not well served by her english titles...

Peeping Tom

15-Dec-2009, 03:48

A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller, Jr. *****

A re-read for me. A wonderful book. Much better the second time around.

saliotthomas

15-Dec-2009, 11:01

Americain Pastoral -Philipe Roth*****

Sibyl

15-Dec-2009, 12:40

read it in German? excelkklent! I reread it last week, and wanted to write a review on like thursday.

that woman is not well served by her english titles...
I finished that recently too, in German. First book I read in German in a long time. It took me a few weeks to finish it, but I was impressed, in particular with her style. The German title is excellent, why would anyone want to change it?

Mirabell

15-Dec-2009, 23:07

Der Abgrund des Endlichen, Hartmut Lange

all them 'translate this' posts and none mentions Hartmut Lange? I should do one myself. Jesus. A living master.

Daniel del Real

15-Dec-2009, 23:18

read it in German? excelkklent! I reread it last week, and wanted to write a review on like thursday.

that woman is not well served by her english titles...

Unfortunately no, my German is very poor. Read it in Spanish. However I love how the title sounds in German. The Spanish translation respects the title in German, contrary to the English one.

titania7

15-Dec-2009, 23:40

Analytical Psychology: Theory and Practice by Carl Jung

"This, surely, is the most lucid, simple and orderly introduction to the basic principles and methods of the Jungian science of the psyche that has yet been offered to the public." ~Joseph Campbell~

Basically, this book contains over 200 pages of lectures given by Carl Jung in front of 200 doctors at London's Tavistock Square Clinic in 1935. These lectures deal with two main subjects: the structure and content of the mind, and the methods used in its investigation. Thoroughly absorbing stuff, recommended to those who have an interest in psychology.

Happy holiidays!

Alexis

"Real knowledge is to know the extent of one's ignorance." ~Confucius~

Liam

15-Dec-2009, 23:53

Analytical Psychology: Theory and Practice by Carl JungJung's sumptuously illustrated, handpainted manuscript The Red Book has been on my wishlist for a couple of months now. I don't know why, but I've always thought his theories were a lot more poetic than Freud's (although I admire both).

Merry Christmas to you and yours, Alexis (I guess it is safe to say this from one Christian to another ;)).

Cheers,
L

Flower

16-Dec-2009, 00:01

titania7

16-Dec-2009, 00:28

Jung's sumptuously illustrated, handpainted manuscript The Red Book has been on my wishlist for a couple of months now. I don't know why, but I've always thought his theories were a lot more poetic than Freud's (although I admire both).

Merry Christmas to you and yours, Alexis (I guess it is safe to say this from one Christian to another ;)).

My dear Liam,
Anything written by Jung is on my wishlist, although that list always remains rather brief as I make use of Mother's credit card as often as I can ;).

Seriously, though, I share your admiration for Jung, and, although I had plenty of excitement psychoanalyzing myself according to Freud's theories at age 16, I do relate more deeply to Jung. Of course, I didn't know that until I read him, which was many years ago. . .but still, a little while after indulging my Freud addiction.

I appreciate your Christmas wishes, sweetheart. I just dashed off an e-mail to you; so, make sure you check your message box before going to bed. I hope you like the photo. I kind of think you will ;).

Love always,
Alexis

"Those who don't know how to weep with their whole heart, don't know how to laugh either." ~Golda Meir~

Liam

16-Dec-2009, 00:36

Seems like we are more people who reads JungYou bet!

I thought I was the only one! :)Don't worry, you can always find kindred-spirits out there, in the tempest, ;). I'm still looking for someone who loves the music of Arvo P?rt as deeply as I do (not counting my mother, :p).

"The red book" is also on my wishlist. Cannot way to read about Jung's own journey and to see his remarkable drawingsThe only thing that stops me from acquiring a copy is the fact that it's, like, $150 apiece! That's like, 10 or 15 cheaper books (i. e. paperbacks) right there. What can I say, unemployed graduate students have to prioritize--

A few images from the manuscript of The Red Book, for your delectation:

http://20.media.tumblr.com/O98B60FOop8pvjtxsQDKmlNuo1_400.png

http://blog.beliefnet.com/astrologicalmusings/images/Jung-red-book.jpg

http://cm1.theinsider.com/thumbnail/660/866/cm1.theinsider.com/media/0/553/76/b88q2Z77POa54DUDmMQJu1b0CVsH0AyfYHfs.jpg

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_xFWqL0yY8Ys/Ssef-1Pt_9I/AAAAAAAAADY/HSpr5rDLbmU/s800/jung_redbook1-full.png

http://aseekingspirit.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/izdubar_jung_folio_harpers_jpg_.jpg

http://www.angelarecommends.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/carl-jung-image.jpg

http://cm1.theinsider.com/thumbnail/660/866/cm1.theinsider.com/media/0/553/76/QE1th44.jpg

http://doctoromed.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/jung-red-book-twk1.jpg?w=500&h=211

Enlarged version of the last image (http://doctoromed.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/jung-red-book-twk1.jpg).

Cheers,
L

peter_d

16-Dec-2009, 07:36

Travels in the scriptorium, Paul Auster

Good read. Very interesting plot. Recommendable.

Platform, Michel Houellebecq

Disgusting and brilliant at the same time. This book is extreme in every sense of the word... and I mean this both positively and negatively. I haven?t made up my mind whether I liked it or not...

Sibyl

16-Dec-2009, 09:59

J. Slauerhoff - Het verboden rijk ***

Daniel del Real

16-Dec-2009, 20:29

Travels in the scriptorium, Paul Auster

Good read. Very interesting plot. Recommendable.

I had heard very bad reviews about this Auster book. Now that you tell me the opposite is good news since many other Auster books with bad reviews ended up linking them a lot. I've never found Auster an extraordinary writer but for some reasons I can't quite tell, I want to keep reading him. New York Trilogy is next.

peter_d

17-Dec-2009, 01:59

I had heard very bad reviews about this Auster book. Now that you tell me the opposite is good news since many other Auster books with bad reviews ended up linking them a lot. I've never found Auster an extraordinary writer but for some reasons I can't quite tell, I want to keep reading him. New York Trilogy is next.

To be honest I also liked it because it was quite a relaxed read. Only 130 pages and I read in between 2 more 'heavy' books. It was a nice snack between to heavy meals. I mean that positively.

e joseph

17-Dec-2009, 02:36

Call It Sleep - Henry Roth
I thought this one brilliant. I finished it a few days ago and it's been bouncing around in my skull since. Beautifully written.

peter_d

17-Dec-2009, 02:37

J. Slauerhoff - Het verboden rijk ***

'Larrios' is the best short story ever written in the Dutch language (in my humble opinion). It is one of the stories in the collection 'Schuim en As' by Slauerhoff. His prose ranges from rather mediocre to brilliant (it's never really bad). He is more famous for his poetry, but I don't know a lot of his poems. Except of course 'Woningloze' (homeless) of which the first lines are famous in Dutch literature:

'Alleen in mijn gedichten kan ik wonen
Only in my poems I can dwell
Nooit vond ik ergens anders onderdak
I never found another place for shelter

Het verboden rijk I read many many years ago, in highschool, when reading Dutch literature was mandatory. I remember I had problems understanding some of the archaic language.

kpjayan

17-Dec-2009, 04:08

Herta Muller - The Land of Green Plums ***00+

Very good book, not extra ordinary.

Clarissa

17-Dec-2009, 07:45

Herta Muller - The Land of Green Plums ***00+

Very good book, not extra ordinary.

Then it must be the translation that does not do it i justice. Believe me, in the original German, Herztier is outstanding.

Sibyl

17-Dec-2009, 11:07

'Larrios' is the best short story ever written in the Dutch language (in my humble opinion). It is one of the stories in the collection 'Schuim en As' by Slauerhoff. His prose ranges from rather mediocre to brilliant (it's never really bad). He is more famous for his poetry, but I don't know a lot of his poems. Except of course 'Woningloze' (homeless) of which the first lines are famous in Dutch literature:

'Alleen in mijn gedichten kan ik wonen
Only in my poems I can dwell
Nooit vond ik ergens anders onderdak
I never found another place for shelter

Het verboden rijk I read many many years ago, in highschool, when reading Dutch literature was mandatory. I remember I had problems understanding some of the archaic language.
I read Schuim & As earlier this year and gave it 4 stars. The problem I keep having with Slauerhoff is that I can't get into his books until about halfway. From that point on I really enjoy them, but before that I keep forgetting what has happened. When it comes to Slauerhoff I'm glad I always finish what I start. I've never read any of his poetry.

kpjayan

17-Dec-2009, 13:37

Then it must be the translation that does not do it i justice. Believe me, in the original German, Herztier is outstanding.

Or you guys have sold it to me in a big way, I was expecting some thing more :)

I am not undermining the book. It is very good and very poetic. But, beyond the beautiful language and the constant feeling of fear/eerie feeling, was it not in the expected line? From the fictional point of view, will this be considered her best ? I might be missing something otherwise.

Igu Soni

17-Dec-2009, 14:24

Or you guys have sold it to me in a big way, I was expecting some thing more :)

I am not undermining the book. It is very good and very poetic. But, beyond the beautiful language and the constant feeling of fear/eerie feeling, was it not in the expected line? From the fictional point of view, will this be considered her best ? I might be missing something otherwise.
Just bought it today. Hopefully, this will make me like it more.
Hate the too-stiff-cover binding style.

peter_d

17-Dec-2009, 15:54

I read Schuim & As earlier this year and gave it 4 stars. The problem I keep having with Slauerhoff is that I can't get into his books until about halfway. From that point on I really enjoy them, but before that I keep forgetting what has happened. When it comes to Slauerhoff I'm glad I always finish what I start. I've never read any of his poetry.

That's better than the other way around. I hate it when books bleed to death halfway the book, after you had a nice start...

Mirabell

17-Dec-2009, 17:48

[QUOTE=Clarissa;47790]Then it must be the translation that does not do it i justice. Believe me, in the original German, Herztier is outstanding.[/QUOTE

yup

DreamQueen

17-Dec-2009, 20:49

David Copperfield. My new favourite Dickens novel. :D

Sibyl

18-Dec-2009, 09:55

be Dimitri Verhulst - De helaasheid der dingen ****

kpjayan

18-Dec-2009, 14:31

Roberto Bola?o - By Night in Chile : My foray into Bola?o. Added my thoughts in the appropriate thread.****0

SlowRain

18-Dec-2009, 15:01

New York Trilogy is next.
That book really messed with my head when I was reading it. I quite enjoyed it. Unfortunately, my only other foray into his novels, The Book of Illusions, while being good, was not as weird as The New York Trilogy.

Sibyl

18-Dec-2009, 18:07

nl Hella S. Haasse - Oeroeg ***00

Daniel del Real

18-Dec-2009, 18:09

That book really messed with my head when I was reading it. I quite enjoyed it. Unfortunately, my only other foray into his novels, The Book of Illusions, while being good, was not as weird as The New York Trilogy.

I agree. I had a lot of expectations with The Book of Illusions and in many ways it let me down. The backcover from the book makes you think of a really promosory book with a thrilling story. However, I think the book is too long for the story. He takes too much time describing many Hector Mann's movies and this makes the book very slow when it finally is reaching a good pace. Not a bad book but maybe the worst Auster I've read.

Igu Soni

18-Dec-2009, 20:48

Sacred Games by Vikram Chandra
Just now. It's 2 in the morning here. I certainly like it, but the real question is how much.

Flower

19-Dec-2009, 01:30

You bet!
Don't worry, you can always find kindred-spirits out there, in the tempest, ;). I'm still looking for someone who loves the music of Arvo P?rt as deeply as I do (not counting my mother, :p).

The only thing that stops me from acquiring a copy is the fact that it's, like, $150 apiece! That's like, 10 or 15 cheaper books (i. e. paperbacks) right there. What can I say, unemployed graduate students have to prioritize--

A few images from the manuscript of The Red Book, for your delectation:

http://20.media.tumblr.com/O98B60FOop8pvjtxsQDKmlNuo1_400.png

http://blog.beliefnet.com/astrologicalmusings/images/Jung-red-book.jpg

http://cm1.theinsider.com/thumbnail/660/866/cm1.theinsider.com/media/0/553/76/b88q2Z77POa54DUDmMQJu1b0CVsH0AyfYHfs.jpg

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_xFWqL0yY8Ys/Ssef-1Pt_9I/AAAAAAAAADY/HSpr5rDLbmU/s800/jung_redbook1-full.png

http://aseekingspirit.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/izdubar_jung_folio_harpers_jpg_.jpg

http://www.angelarecommends.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/carl-jung-image.jpg

http://cm1.theinsider.com/thumbnail/660/866/cm1.theinsider.com/media/0/553/76/QE1th44.jpg

http://doctoromed.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/jung-red-book-twk1.jpg?w=500&h=211

Enlarged version of the last image (http://doctoromed.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/jung-red-book-twk1.jpg).

Cheers,
L

Wonderful photos of magnificent drawings!
-The Red Book is an absolutely MUST HAVE! :)

KathyNickleby

19-Dec-2009, 02:56

Hm. It seems to me I read more about literature than actual literature. The sad life of the literature student. But Wuthering Heights must have been the one latest finished. And before that Die Verwandlung by Kafka.

Bjorn

19-Dec-2009, 16:32

Paul Auster, Invisible (USA) ****0

Mirabell

19-Dec-2009, 19:52

Paul Auster, Invisible (USA) ****0

that's, like, 3 stars too much. ;)

Bjorn

19-Dec-2009, 20:25

that's, like, 3 stars too much. ;)
Yo mama is, like, 3 stars too much.

...OK, not the best comeback ever. Sorry.

saliotthomas

19-Dec-2009, 20:52

Halo: The Fall of Reach -Eric Nylund *****

hdw

19-Dec-2009, 23:17

Well, I've just finished The Magicians, by the appropriately-named Lev Grossman, and it has seriously weirded me out, man. This must be the most macho, most Amurrican novel I have ever read. It makes Hemingway look like Quentin Crisp or some other panty-hose (EM Forster?).

If you ever longed for a more adult, cynical, druggy, drinky, debauched version of the Harry Potter stories, this is it.

Speaking as someone with two degrees in languages and literatures, I feel I now need to urgently read something demanding and deeply boring (yes, I admit, it was a page-turner) to retrieve my intellectual self-respect.

I'll give him one thing - no other author I know has had the chutzpah to write the line/paragraph:

"The thick plottens" (p.481).

Harry

Mirabell

20-Dec-2009, 00:15

Halo: The Fall of Reach -Eric Nylund *****

you like these books?

Igu Soni

20-Dec-2009, 06:48

the appropriately-named Lev Grossman
Have you watched a movie called Tropic Thunder? One of the villains is called Lev Grossman.

saliotthomas

20-Dec-2009, 10:54

you like these books?

No i don't.:D

i just want to see your reaction since you have been shooting at books like wild ducks lately and you came in the deffence of those, i was curious.

hdw

20-Dec-2009, 13:54

Have you watched a movie called Tropic Thunder? One of the villains is called Lev Grossman.

No, don't know that one. The writerly Lev Grossman is the son of two professors, who studied at Harvard and Yale, and is obviously a very smart cookie. But I preferred his previous novel Codex, as I'm a sucker for stories about spooky libraries and magic books.

Harry

Mirabell

20-Dec-2009, 14:14

No i don't.:D

i just want to see your reaction since you have been shooting at books like wild ducks lately and you came in the deffence of those, i was curious.

in the defense of which?

so you didn't like it? didn't read it?

saliotthomas

20-Dec-2009, 14:30

in the defense of which?

so you didn't like it? didn't read it?

I didn't read it but i thought you had a book babble session about it.
I play halo on Xboxe but i don't read it.

I finshed Gomarrah -by Roberto Saviano ***00
Impressive about the Napolitan Mafia. A very interesting part is about the influance of movies on the young thugs. Like, in gunfight, they held there gun slightly crocked like in reservoire dogs, even though it's terrible for accuracy. Also the female boddygard of a Mafiosi woman boss dressed like Uma Turman in Kill bill.
The book give a very clear stituation of the state of the orgenize crime in Italie, moderne and deadly.
I thought the mafia was a bit of a thing of the past, a colorfull vision of banditisme with complexe codes of honor and retalition.
It is not.

Flower

20-Dec-2009, 14:49

The shadow of the wind by Carlos Ruiz Zaf?n.

I think this is much better than his second book "The angels game", it feels like its better edited somehow.

Mirabell

20-Dec-2009, 15:48

I didn't read it but i thought you had a book babble session about it.
I play halo on Xboxe but i don't read it.

.

no we planned to have one with Tobias Buckell who also wrote one of those, but is mainly known for having been shortlisted for the Nebula award for what I think is a very nice SF novel.

DB Cooper

21-Dec-2009, 07:08

The shadow of the wind by Carlos Ruiz Zaf?n.

I think this is much better than his second book "The angels game", it feels like its better edited somehow.

Is Zafron worthy of all the hype?

Clarissa

21-Dec-2009, 08:22

The Shadow of the Wind is certainly worth reading. Not yet read The Angel's Game but not the first time that I have read/heard it is not as good as the first. But the first was good.

DreamQueen

21-Dec-2009, 17:00

Is Zafron worthy of all the hype?

I suppose it depends on what kind of hype he's getting. If it's hype for a fun, wild yarn, yes; if it's hype for being great lit, definitely not.

Liam

21-Dec-2009, 17:37

I suppose it depends on what kind of hype he's getting.DQ, how is The Possibility of an Island going for you? I remember liking it mildly, esp. after a recommendation from a friend, but she and I had a little disagreement about the book. Basically, she adored all the "modern" chapters and hated the futuristic stuff, and I was the opposite, hating the antics of the modern protagonist yet loving his serene (if aimless) future self.

I also quite liked the poem. Sums up the human quest for peace and stasis quite nicely, doesn't it?

There exists in the midst of time
The possibility of an island.

L.

Flower

21-Dec-2009, 18:09

Is Zafron worthy of all the hype?

I havent read the hype, so I had no expectations.

e joseph

21-Dec-2009, 22:14

Brian Evenson's The Open Curtain, which was fantastic.

Mirabell

21-Dec-2009, 22:22

Brian Evenson's The Open Curtain, which was fantastic.

indeed it was! we have a thread on this
http://www.worldliteratureforum.com/forum/americas-literature/7399-brian-evenson-open-curtain.html

have you had a chance to listen to the bookbabble episode where we talked to Brian?

I'm very glad someone is following up on my incessant Evenson raves.

Liam

21-Dec-2009, 23:30

my incessant Evenson raves.
Or... just raves in general, :p. Don't worry, M., we're all following--

L.

Igu Soni

22-Dec-2009, 06:25

I'm very glad someone is following up on my incessant Evenson raves.
Even if it's someone whose name declares him to be an electronis entity?:p

Flower

22-Dec-2009, 11:16

Oranges are not the only fruit by Jeanette Winterson

It had a few good lines but not my kind of thing.

**000

e joseph

22-Dec-2009, 14:25

Even if it's someone whose name declares him to be an electronis entity?:p
Huh?
Color me confused.

Igu Soni

22-Dec-2009, 15:15

Huh?
Color me confused.
e-mail, e joseph.

Igu Soni

22-Dec-2009, 15:18

Sacred Games by Vikram Chandra
Just now. It's 2 in the morning here. I certainly like it, but the real question is how much.
Good, but worst Chandra.
?I am, he thought one day, part of the twentieth century.? Life as it ain't (http://ronakmsoni.wordpress.com/2009/12/22/%E2%80%9Ci-am-he-thought-one-day-part-of-the-twentieth-century-%E2%80%9D/)

saliotthomas

23-Dec-2009, 11:01

The promises of dawn-Romain Gary ****0

e joseph

23-Dec-2009, 11:52

e-mail, e joseph.
Thanks. That one soared right over my head.

Bjorn

23-Dec-2009, 14:00

Alicia Erian, Towelhead (USA) ***00, possibly ****0.

Clarissa

23-Dec-2009, 14:57

The promises of dawn-Romain Gary ****0

I've said before in this forum (maybe it was another...), Promesse ? l'aube is one of the most beautiful tributes to a mother that I have ever read.Those letters that Gary received from her in France to him in England all through the WWII - and even after she had died - unforgettable.

Another beautiful tribute to his mother, Albert Cohen's Le Livre de ma M?re.

Chapman

23-Dec-2009, 23:09

Roberto Bolano - 2666. Finished last night, still mulling it over.

Jayaprakash

24-Dec-2009, 02:38

Despair by Nabokov. Liked it a lot.

Stiffelio

24-Dec-2009, 21:52

Paolo Giordano - La Solitudine dei Numeri Primi (The Solitude of Prime Numbers). Quite impressive first novel ****0.

kpjayan

26-Dec-2009, 07:34

Arto Paasilinna - The year of the Hare : Beautifully written ****0

Daniel del Real

26-Dec-2009, 19:58

Paolo Giordano - La Solitudine dei Numeri Primi (The Solitude of Prime Numbers). Quite impressive first novel ****0.

Good news for me. I really wanted to read this one but I was discouraged by the terrible comments Mirabell threw upon it. I'll sure read your review about it

Is Zafron worthy of all the hype?

It depends. You can consider The Shadow of the Wind as an amazing thriller/bestseller or just an average good literary book. Haven't read the Angel's Game, but many comments like Flower's have reached my ears. Not that good as the first one.

DreamQueen

26-Dec-2009, 21:59

The Possibility of an Island, Michel Houellebecq. **000+

Sigh. I was so looking forward to this one.

Daniel del Real

29-Dec-2009, 00:05

Roberto Bola?o, 2666 *****++

Stiffelio

29-Dec-2009, 05:46

Roberto Bola?o, 2666 *****++

That was FAST reading. How can you read such a huge book in a week? I envy you for having so much time to read. :confused:

DB Cooper

29-Dec-2009, 07:42

Vineland-Thomas Pynchon****0

Bjorn

29-Dec-2009, 09:18

Dick Harrison, Mannen fr?n Barnsdale (Sweden) ***00. Fascinating attempt to get at the "historical" Robin Hood which ends up making me wish Harrison had taken a few literature classes along with the history ones.

Robert Crumb, The Book of Genesis Illustrated (USA) ***00. It's Robert Crumb drawing the Bible (or possibly the Torah) and sticking to every word of the text but often putting his images as counterpoint. Everyone's either a psycho, a harlot, or utterly horrified at having ended up in this really quite disturbing story. Brings out some aspects not usually covered, plays up the bizarreness of others.

Bjorn

29-Dec-2009, 09:28

That was FAST reading. How can you read such a huge book in a week? I envy you for having so much time to read. :confused:
Me too.

Now, Daniel, where's the review? ;)

saliotthomas

29-Dec-2009, 16:17

Daniel is The billion dollars man.

The power of the dog-Thomas Savage *****+
The power of the underdog author.
You guys should read that, you really should.
I'm sorry i have the unch i'll be preaching in the desert.

lenz

29-Dec-2009, 18:29

Terra Amata, J.M.G. Le Clezio

I liked and admired this very much.

Loki

30-Dec-2009, 22:24

As I said in the other thread, I've just finished Madame Bovary.
To be honest I started reading the book with a strong prejudice, and I was pretty sure I wasn't going to enjoy it. But I did, actually. I studied it when I was at school and we read the passage of Rodolphe and Emma in the woods... Anyway, I remember it was soooo boring... Probably the teacher was boring, I don't remember clearly!
I'm not keen on long descriptions and on details, and Flaubert, with his realism, was sometimes frustrating to read!
Apart form that, it's a wonderful book in my opinion and I would recommend it to everybody. The descriptions were sometimes too detailed, it's true, but Flaubert has achieved to literally give life to some characters: I would have liked to enter the novel and talk with Emma, and to Charles too!

JTolle

30-Dec-2009, 23:57

Kinda been on a poetry kick lately...

John Ashbery, A Worldly Country: Expectedly strong stuff from a great poet. ****0
Where Shall I Wander: Again, great stuff but not like Self-Portrait in a Convex Mirror was.***00

Anne Carson, Men in the Off Hours: My first introduction to Carson and, despite taking a break after reading the first couple poems, something that I now recognize as untouchably phenomenal.*****
The Beauty of the Husband: Stunning, deceiving, pure Carson genius.*****
Autobiography of Red: Totally overwhelming, gorgeous, establishes Carson as among the top five poets writing in English.*****+

David St. John, The Red Leaves of Night: I'll acknowledge that this may not be his best work, but aside from a couple poems (including a truly exceptional one), very blah, boring and weak.**000

A.R. Ammons, Brink Road: A man with, at least in his later years (from which time this book largely sprouts), the most absolute and precise control over language. The last poem "Summer Place" is a real crown, long and showing Ammons at his best.*****

Tomas Transtromer, The Great Enigma: Collected Poems: Wow! I think The Enigma collects most of the poems written up to that point and their combined effect, read one after the other, after the other is staggering. The man has some unbeatable lines of verse, and, admittedly, some poems which must be born along by their better brothers, thankfully few of these. The Baltics poems are unbelievable, my favorite for sure and highly recommended.*****

Mirabell

31-Dec-2009, 16:50

Mirabell

31-Dec-2009, 16:50

Meine Preise, Thomas Bernhard

DreamQueen

31-Dec-2009, 21:05

Something's really wrong with a list when a mediocre poet like Ammons, or Carson (Jesusfuckingchrist) is rated more highly than Ashbery.

You're drinking, right?

Don't sugar-coat or anything now, Mirabell. ;)

Stiffelio

01-Jan-2010, 07:14

The Woman in the Dunes by Kobo Abe. Last book of year 2009. Intense. Claustrophobic. Not easy reading. Kafkaesque. Quite impressed ****0.

Bjorn

01-Jan-2010, 18:15

A E Moorat, Queen Victoria: Demon Hunter (UK) *0000

Very quickly and badly written attempt to cash in on the success of Pride And Prejudice And Zombies. Nowhere near as fun - in fact, the one thing that makes me smile is when the Queen's bodyguards turn out to be named Hudson, Hicks and Vasquez - and a silly comedy that's not even funny really has very little to recommend it.

Daniel del Real

01-Jan-2010, 20:46

That was FAST reading. How can you read such a huge book in a week? I envy you for having so much time to read. :confused:

That's why I waited til late December as I knew I had my two week vacation and it was a long book. Well planned after all, the wait was all worth.

Me too.

Now, Daniel, where's the review? ;)

Hold on guys, I'm still at the beach, so my free reading period it's still on ;) .I'll try to do a review next week, but I don't know where to start with such a long and magnific novel. I guess I'll go by parts.

Daniel del Real

01-Jan-2010, 20:50

V.S. Naipaul, Miguel Street ****0+
Almost at five, an excellent vision of Port Spain and its reality.

Jos? Saramago, Ca?n **000+
I'm huge Saramago fan, but maybe he should stop writing now. Good funny moments at times, but no structure or real purpose in the brief novel.

peter_d

02-Jan-2010, 15:56

Ernest Hemingway - Men without women ****0

Collection of wonderful stories. Although of some I couldn't figure out what they were really about... Anybody ever read it and knows what actually happens in the story titled 'Hills like white elephants'?

Just discovered I left my copy in the hotelroom in Ho Chi Minh City, the day before yesterday :mad:

DouglasM

04-Jan-2010, 02:17

Last books I finished were Fear And Trembling, by Am?lie Nothomb and The Rat In The Wall, by Hilda Hilst.

Am?lie managed to write a short and light novel, without many ambitions. It has a nice sense of humor, though, which made me enjoy the reading.

Hilda Hilst is a brazilian writer, poet and playwright. I don't think any of her books have ever been translated into english or other languages, but this one's good. It's a play about a congregation of religious women trapped inside a church by a huge wall and they receive visitors 'from the other side', which they spend time trying to figure out the meaning of their appearences while trying to discover a way to get out. Quite a clich?, but a nice reading.

saliotthomas

04-Jan-2010, 16:25

Richard Yates-Easter Parade *****
Great, the man is an expert in humain failure.

Clarissa

04-Jan-2010, 17:10

Anne MIchaels - The Winter Vault ***00

Not as good as her Fugitive Pieces

Bjorn

04-Jan-2010, 19:15

Amadou Korouma, Allah Is Not Obliged (CIV), ***00

titania7

04-Jan-2010, 20:27

Richard Yates-Easter Parade *****
Great, the man is an expert in humain failure.

Thomas, that was a great book. I agree with what you say about Yates being an expert when it comes to human failure. You might want to give Young Hearts Are Crying a try sometime soon. It's my personal favorite of all the works by Yates that I've read thus far. I found that Yates connected with the plot of Young Hearts Are Crying in a more intense way than he did in his other books. It was clearly written from a deeply personal perspective.

Best,
~Alexis

"If you don't try at anything, you can't fail. It takes back bone to lead the life you want." ~Richard Yates

Daniel del Real

04-Jan-2010, 20:40

Luis Leante, La Luna Roja (The Red Moon) ***00+
Really entertaining plot, but it doesn't sail away from the thriller category. In that scenario, similar to the The Shadow of the Wind.

Mirabell

05-Jan-2010, 00:00

A Single Man, Christopher Isherwood

Liam

05-Jan-2010, 00:53

A Single Man, Christopher Isherwood
I just added the DVD of that to my queue.

How did you like it, M?

L.

Jayaprakash

05-Jan-2010, 09:35

V.S. Naipaul, Miguel Street ****0+
Almost at five, an excellent vision of Port Spain and its reality.

I thought it was an ultimately self-serving parade of human grotesques.

kpjayan

05-Jan-2010, 12:24

The Gift of Rain - Tan Twan Eng : Inner conflict of a half-chinese / half-british young man during the Japanese occupation of Penang during the WW II. I have seen a thread on this book, will add few lines later.****0

kadare

05-Jan-2010, 18:46

I've just finished death and the dervish by Mesa Selimovic and I liked it a lot. :D

Bjorn

05-Jan-2010, 23:06

Han Shaogong, A Dictionary of Maqiao (China) ****0 +

Both a soulmate and an absolute flipside of Herta M?ller, in some way. Hilariously and quietly subversive.

Bjorn

06-Jan-2010, 15:50

Taichi Yamada, Strangers (Japan) ***00. Fairly ordinary psychological Japanese ghost story; not bad, but nothing special either. But if you like Koji Suzuki you'll probably like this too.

saliotthomas

07-Jan-2010, 10:42

Waow a reading rush Bjorn or the weather?

John Cheever audio collection ****0
Good but deffenetly short stories are not my cup.
Like buffet in a party, there good but i'd rather sit for a real meal.

saliotthomas

07-Jan-2010, 10:48

Waow a reading rush Bjorn or the weather?

John Cheever audio collection ****0
Very good but deffenetly short stories are not my cup.
Like buffet in a party, there good but i'd rather sit for a real meal.

Galatea92

07-Jan-2010, 12:58

Bjorn

07-Jan-2010, 13:14

Waow a reading rush Bjorn or the weather?
It's been 20 below for three days straight and I've had a week off from work. My reading chair starts looking really good.

Igu Soni

07-Jan-2010, 15:43

Ramayana, Valmiki (retold by William Buck) *****+

I was bowled over by this. A marvellous combination of wildly imaginative storytelling and philosophical musing. I'll write a longer review in another thread. Next: The Mahabharata, I guess :).

Is this a translation or a retelling? I've been wondering about looking for a good translation, but never actually got down to it.
For Mahabharata, do not read the Rajagopalachari. It's a fraction of how long it's supposed to be.

Galatea92

07-Jan-2010, 16:47

Is this a translation or a retelling? I've been wondering about looking for a good translation, but never actually got down to it.
For Mahabharata, do not read the Rajagopalachari. It's a fraction of how long it's supposed to be.

The translator is a bit of a mystery. According to the one story I can find on the web (he doesn't have a Wikipedia page, bizarrely), he spent his whole adult life writing his "translations" of the Ramayana and the Mahabharata - apparently he based his retellings on existing translations, and also learnt Sanskrit to read the originals. He died in 1970 at the age of 37. Apart from that potted history, I can't find any other information about the guy, despite the fact that his English versions of the Ramayana and the Mahabharata generally seem to get the highest ratings, even from Indian posters. Go figure!

It's obviously not the whole Ramayana - it's only 450 pages - but, from what I can gather, it's a pretty faithful retelling. It's also pretty funny, and beautifully, if eccentrically, written.

Do you have any recommendations for complete translations of the Ramayana and the Mahabharata? What about graphic versions for kids (I think my daughters would love the stories - especially the ones about Hanuman)?

Igu Soni

07-Jan-2010, 16:54

Do you have any recommendations for complete translations of the Ramayana and the Mahabharata? What about graphic versions for kids (I think my daughters would love the stories - especially the ones about Hanuman)?

First question: no. Second question: the stuff I grew up on (http://www.amarchitrakatha.com/india/index.php). They have them in varying lengths, so you should look carefully.

Galatea92

07-Jan-2010, 17:00

First question: no. Second question: the stuff I grew up on (http://www.amarchitrakatha.com/india/index.php). They have them in varying lengths, so you should look carefully.

The important question: Do you have good memories of them?

Igu Soni

07-Jan-2010, 17:05

The important question: Do you have good memories of them?
Yup. Otherwise, I would have mentioned the fact rather than give you buying advice.

titania7

07-Jan-2010, 17:38

Essays and Aphorisms: by Arthur Schopenhauer
(translated and with an Introduction by R. J. Hollingdale)

If you can get past Schopenhauer's opinionated tone and his antiquated ideas about women, you'll find this to be a brilliant, thoroughly impressive read. A lot of what he says makes sense. He was already sensing the decline in critical thinking and the tendency to conform to the opinons and views of the "herd." An original thinker with a thoroughly pessimistic vantage point, every now and then Schophenhauer offers a glimpse of dry wit, but one has the feeling it's unintentional humor rather than any sort of conscious attempt to entertain the reader.

The part of this text that centers around "Philosophy and the Intellect" is particularly profound, and Schophenhauer is even a bit poetic when he demonstrates what he perceives to be the difference between a poet and a philosopher by saying that the former is like "one who presents flowers" while the latter is representative of "the one who presents their essence."

Schophenhauer is a genius who is immodest about the quality of his own intellect, and I find this quality to be refreshing, even though I feel like gritting my teeth when I come upon passages about women existing solely for the purpose of procreation. Of course, you cannot allow that which you do not agree with a writer's work to color your experience of the text itself, and there is no questioning Schopenhauer's profundity or the validity of much of his philosophy.

Best,
Alexis

". . .most people have in their heart even if not consciously--as the supreme guide and maxim of their conduct the resolve to get by with the least possible expenditure of thought, because to them thinking is hard and burdensome." ~Arthur Schopenhauer~

learna

08-Jan-2010, 09:06

The collection of short stories "Another man" by Bernhard Sсhlink.
***00

Daniel del Real

08-Jan-2010, 18:02

Roberto Bola?o, Nocturno de Chile ****0
Barely four, not a bad book, but one of the less good I've read from him.

kadare

08-Jan-2010, 18:18

The palace of dreams - Ismail kadare ( 5 stars )

one of his best books I've ever read

Omo

08-Jan-2010, 19:13

Uwe Tellkamp - Der Eisvogel (literally "The Kingfisher", but there doesn't seem to be translation yet)
It's very unusual for me to read thrillers, but this book is also quite unusual. I disliked it for its coldness in many parts, but there are passages where we get to see the poet Tellkamp, and these are quite wonderful. It offered some good thoughts and observations of our current society.

Jayaprakash

09-Jan-2010, 01:58

The Amar Chitra Katha Ramayana, the comic book version mentioned above, leaves out things like Rama's repeatedly churlish behaviour towards Sita. I also find it interesting how Rama's cynical, mercenary intervention in the vanara power struggle has set the standards for Indian political conduct ever since. It's a beguiling fantasy tale but the titular protagonist is morally reprehensible in nearly every way.

Some of the best current translations of Indian epics are by Ramesh Menon for Harper Collins.

I've just finished The Place Called Dagon by Herbert Gorman, a somewhat Hawthornesque tale of a backwoods Satanic revival. It has some wonderful atmosphere-building and one can see why Lovecraft both admired the story for these aspects and dismissed parts of it as 'puerile'.

e joseph

09-Jan-2010, 02:39

The Tin Drum by G?nter Grass (Breon Mitchell translation)

Holy shit that was awesome! Truly one of my favorite reading experiences. I can't read German and haven't read the Ralph Manheim translation, but Mitchell's translation felt like a good one. Dunno if it really was, but I definitely enjoyed it.

Also, somewhere in there I finished Ludmilla Petrushevskaya's The Once Was a Woman Who Tried to Kill Her Neighbor's Baby. Enjoyable. Cool little allegories and fables from Russia.

Igu Soni

09-Jan-2010, 04:48

The Amar Chitra Katha Ramayana, the comic book version mentioned above, leaves out things like Rama's repeatedly churlish behaviour towards Sita. I also find it interesting how Rama's cynical, mercenary intervention in the vanara power struggle has set the standards for Indian political conduct ever since. It's a beguiling fantasy tale but the titular protagonist is morally reprehensible in nearly every way.

Some of the best current translations of Indian epics are by Ramesh Menon for Harper Collins.

No wonder I found Sita Sings the Blues odd.
Thanks for the reco.
Nice cat.
Have you watched the French staging of Mahabharata? It's in English with actors from all over the world, for example Bhima is played a black dude. I remember its main point was that you should read the original because it has great and deep philosophy.

Jayaprakash

09-Jan-2010, 05:17

Have you watched the French staging of Mahabharata? It's in English with actors from all over the world, for example Bhima is played a black dude. I remember its main point was that you should read the original because it has great and deep philosophy.

That sounds fascinating. The Mahabharatha still defeats me; I am the only Indian in the world, perhaps, who still has only the vaguest idea of what it is all about. You may find Yugantha, a collection of essays on the Mahabharatha by the anthropologist Irawati Karve (published by Orient Longman) interesting; my wife who is much more well-versed in the epics says it is quite brilliant.

The cat thanks you for your appreciation. Her name is Chrysoberyl and she is a very vain little creature, although she has good taste in music.

Igu Soni

09-Jan-2010, 06:24

That sounds fascinating. The Mahabharatha still defeats me; I am the only Indian in the world, perhaps, who still has only the vaguest idea of what it is all about. You may find Yugantha, a collection of essays on the Mahabharatha by the anthropologist Irawati Karve (published by Orient Longman) interesting; my wife who is much more well-versed in the epics says it is quite brilliant.

The cat thanks you for your appreciation. Her name is Chrysoberyl and she is a very vain little creature, although she has good taste in music.
If the French play is to be believed, very few Indians (including the dumbasses who watched the play) know what it is about; they just know the plot.
Recommendation noted. Your wife have an opinion of Wendy Doniger? Been in the news lately.

And to be honest, I've never yet met a cat with bad taste in music.;)

beelzebubbles

09-Jan-2010, 07:03

No wonder I found Sita Sings the Blues odd.
Thanks for the reco.
Nice cat.
Have you watched the French staging of Mahabharata? It's in English with actors from all over the world, for example Bhima is played a black dude. I remember its main point was that you should read the original because it has great and deep philosophy.

I thought it was an English production. At least, I remember that it was directed by Peter Brook. The Mahabarata reminds me of what you might get if you put all the Greek myths in one story. Kind of a mishegoss.

By the way, lovely kitty.

Igu Soni

09-Jan-2010, 09:03

I thought it was an English production. At least, I remember that it was directed by Peter Brook. The Mahabarata reminds me of what you might get if you put all the Greek myths in one story. Kind of a mishegoss.

By the way, lovely kitty.
You seem to be right. My teacher told us it was a French production when he showed it to us (back in eighth class), and I remember wondering why French would play it in English.

Flower

09-Jan-2010, 09:11

Alchemy: An introduction to the symbolism and the psychology by Marie-Louise von Franz.

An excellent book if you want to know about alchemy. The book is lectures Marie-Louise did and it only makes the book even greater and you read questions from the audience as well. She was a student and a friend with Carl Gustav Jung, and worked with him for many years.

Clarissa

09-Jan-2010, 13:00

You seem to be right. My teacher told us it was a French production when he showed it to us (back in eighth class), and I remember wondering why French would play it in English.Mahabarata - it was in fact adapted by Jean-Claude Carri?re and first produced at Th??tre des Bouffes du Nord in Paris, where Peter Brook has been working for a very long time. I guess the production was Franco-English!

BouffesDuNord.com (http://www.bouffesdunord.com/)
Le Thtre (http://www.bouffesdunord.com/letheatre_reouverture.cfm)

saliotthomas

09-Jan-2010, 13:22

I loved Jean Claude Carri?re adaptation, i read it a good few time.
He also wrote a "Dictionaire amoureux de l'Inde"

learna

09-Jan-2010, 18:09

I have just finished reading "The length of the point" by Andrew Baldin, Readers' Choice Award Winner, Big Book. He is not a professional writer. A painter and an architect offers his theory to look at Russian literature and its evolution through a space, geography and time finding their correlations.

DreamQueen

09-Jan-2010, 20:33

The Woman in the Dunes by Kobo Abe. Last book of year 2009. Intense. Claustrophobic. Not easy reading. Kafkaesque.

Exactly. Reading this book gave me headaches!

DreamQueen

09-Jan-2010, 20:36

The Adolescent, Fyodor Dostoevsky. All the elements that should make this a reliably brilliant Dostoevsky novel but none of the cohesion somehow. Sigh.

Igu Soni

10-Jan-2010, 06:02

The Woman in the Dunes by Kobo Abe. Last book of year 2009. Intense. Claustrophobic. Not easy reading. Kafkaesque. Quite impressed ****0.
Is it the same thing as this (http://smrana.blogspot.com/2009/10/woman-dunes.html) movie?

Bjorn

10-Jan-2010, 22:56

Jack Mathews, The Battle Of Brazil: Terry Gilliam v. Universal Pictures (USA), ****0.

If you're interested in what happens when a headstrong, somewhat naive and possibly slightly mad (in the best way) director meets a studio executive who takes a personal interest in not releasing the film as it is, it's a really interesting read. If you're a fan of the movie, it's a must.

My name is red

11-Jan-2010, 18:01

A severed head -Iris Murdoch*****

saliotthomas

12-Jan-2010, 10:08

Jonathan Lethem-Chronic City ***00+
I liked it until the end spoiled it for me. Don't try to legitimate weirdness.

Daniel del Real

12-Jan-2010, 18:32

Sibyl

12-Jan-2010, 18:47

it Italo Calvino - Invisible Cities ****0
Really liked the different descriptions of cities, great miniatures.

Mirabell

14-Jan-2010, 02:13

I just added the DVD of that to my queue.

How did you like it, M?

L.

http://www.worldliteratureforum.com/forum/european-literature/26360-christopher-isherwood-single-man.html#post50367

nice.

Jayaprakash

14-Jan-2010, 04:02

Chatterton by Peter Ackroyd which is rather overshadowed by Hawksmoor which does some similar things, and much better, but is a fine little novel in its own right, exploring the notions of truth and originality as they apply to literature by re-telling the story of Thomas Chatterton, the 18th-century boy-poet who stirred up the literary world with the discovery of wonderful medieval poetry that later turned out to be fakes from his own pen, the painting of Henry Wallis' 'Death of Chatterton' in parallel with the tale of modern-day poet who stumbles upon documents that seem to reveal a very different end to Chatterton's story.

The Book Of Dead Philosophers by Simon Critchley. A very, very uneven book which could have benefited greatly had Critchley refrained from any attempt at humour, and marred by several entries that would do better as sensational pieces in sort of philsophical Ripley's Believe It Or Not rather than the rather fine overview of philosophical history with a special focus in philosophical attitudes to death which this book actually is.

saliotthomas

14-Jan-2010, 12:04

Lothar Gunther Buchheim - Das Boot ***00

DreamQueen

14-Jan-2010, 16:22

Lady Audley's Secret, Mary Elizabeth Braddon ****0

Blutiful

14-Jan-2010, 17:39

I've recently finished reading The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown.

lenz

14-Jan-2010, 17:52

The Dogs and the Wolves by Irene Nemirovsky. Quite a different view of Paris and Parisians than seen in her Suite Francaise. I'm working on a review which will appear here soon.

Igu Soni

15-Jan-2010, 03:59

I've recently finished reading The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown.
Which gives rise to the question: why?:confused: I mean, do you have problems loving yourself or something?

kpjayan

15-Jan-2010, 10:28

A Disaffection - James Kelman : ***00+
Extremely testing and tiring read for me. While I can sympathize with Patrick, 330+ pages were very slow moving.

saliotthomas

15-Jan-2010, 11:37

Frans Gunnar Bentgsson-long ship *****
As far as i can remember, 'have always wanted to be a vicking...

Daniel del Real

16-Jan-2010, 00:04

Which gives rise to the question: why?:confused: I mean, do you have problems loving yourself or something?

Give him a break, maybe this is our charity work this year to keep him away from this read into something more beneficial. I feel like a kind man sometimes :cool:

Mirabell

16-Jan-2010, 00:08

I've recently finished reading The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown.

finished that one months ago, and was quite disappointed. it's his worst book by quite a wide margin, isn't it?

asocial

16-Jan-2010, 06:49

Vladimir Nabokov - Pnin *****

Ha Jin - War Trash ***00+

Alaa Al Aswany - The Yacoubian Building ***00+
(Very readable but I found it quite pessimistic and unsympathetic really).

learna

16-Jan-2010, 10:10

"Menuet" by Louis Paul Boon.

"Menuet" is written in an interesting manner divided into three parts every of them is a narration of the same events by each characters. Boon raised the philosophical question - every person has own world and own perseption of it, and our worlds only cut each other from time to time.
Moreover, there is a forth text like a forth dimension.
As for a man, I see him, first of all, as a sick person who hides himself in the tiny room like an ill animal. And his disease has an influence on his mind.
His wife uses her work like a shield from thoughts and from life in some way.
As for girl... She is the strondest one among them, with a powerful theory for surviving.
Style of "Menuet" is very laconic, every word is weighted and selected.

Igu Soni

16-Jan-2010, 10:33

Ishmael by Daniel Quinn *****
Of Talking Gorillas and Deep and Subtle Points Life as it ain't (http://ronakmsoni.wordpress.com/2010/01/16/of-talking-gorillas-and-deep-and-subtle-points/)

learna

16-Jan-2010, 18:00

About Nikola Tesla, one of the most mysterious physicist.
Tesla is in the labaratory. It's impressive.

[URL=http://www.radikal.ru]http://s11.radikal.ru/i183/1001/22/db31c8bc0345.jpg[/URLd

DreamQueen

16-Jan-2010, 23:31

Botchan: A Modern Classic, Soseki Natsume. Rather disappointing.

saliotthomas

17-Jan-2010, 14:07

Patrick McGrath-Asylium *****
Classic !

Mirabell

17-Jan-2010, 15:52

The Interrogative Mood, Padgett Powell

lenz

17-Jan-2010, 17:19

Thanks for the Tesla photo, Learna. It makes him look like Dr. Frankenstein.

Loki

17-Jan-2010, 18:32

I've finished reading Dangerous Liaisons. I've found it a good epistolary novel (I seem to like every epistolary novel I read), sometimes even funny. The changing of style is really interesting, and I think it was traslated well; we can tell the difference, for instance, when the letters written by Cecile are actually dictated by Valmont.
The ending let me down a little, but as a whole I've enjoyed it, and that's what matters I think.

Bjorn

18-Jan-2010, 07:16

Neil Gaiman, Absolute Sandman vol 2 (UK) ****0
Johanna Nilsson, Jag ?r leopardpojkens dotter (Sweden) ***00

Igu Soni

18-Jan-2010, 08:30

Neil Gaiman, Absolute Sandman vol 2 (UK) ****0
Where did it lose the star? For me it was *****+

Bjorn

18-Jan-2010, 08:59

Where did it lose the star? For me it was *****+
I dunno, I just didn't think the stories in this volume were quite up there with the best ones from vol 1. Don't get me wrong, it's very good stuff, but it starts to repeat ideas a little and it's not quite on the level of The Doll's House or A Midsummer Night's Dream. Though I really love the continuity, the recurring characters you thought were just one-shots, the way he's constantly sneaking in references to things to come...

Igu Soni

18-Jan-2010, 09:02

I dunno, I just didn't think the stories in this volume were quite up there with the best ones from vol 1. Don't get me wrong, it's very good stuff, but it starts to repeat ideas a little and it's not quite on the level of The Doll's House or A Midsummer Night's Dream. Though I really love the continuity, the recurring characters you thought were just one-shots, the way he's constantly sneaking in references to things to come...
a) we are on different volumes 2.
b) I haven't read one, or anything except two.

Bjorn

18-Jan-2010, 09:04

a) we are on different volumes 2.
Quite possible. Mine are the big leather-bound ones.

Igu Soni

18-Jan-2010, 09:06

Quite possible. Mine are the big leather-bound ones.
And mine are the little paperback ones.
So, there.

saliotthomas

18-Jan-2010, 11:22

Loki

18-Jan-2010, 18:44

Erri de Luca -Montedidio ***00
Well written , beautifull, poetic, it reminded me of Le Clezio,he would be a good nobel material in this vagueness and strangness that seem to characterise them.
But i'll be honest, sliglty boring too. After McGrath and current Isherwood.
I think he must be very well known in Italie, Loki ?

I don't know, as far as I'm concerned he is not. But don't rely on my opinion, as I'm not into contemporary writers.
I'm sorry I can't help you much.

Stevie B

18-Jan-2010, 21:22

Only have a few pages to go in Call Me By Your Name by Andre Aciman. ***** (writing) + ***00 (plot) divided by 2 = ****0 . The novel feels so authentic that it reads more like a memoir at times. The only issue I have with the book is that it takes a while for the story to get moving. By the end of the first half of the book I kept thinking, "Okay, I get it. You're infatuated with this guy. Stop rehashing every little interaction with him in your mind and go take some action!" That being said, Call Me By Your Name is a story of first love AND coming to terms with one's sexuality. It's a book that will stay with me for a long time.

Next up is Doctor Glas by Hjalmar Soderberg, a novel I had not heard of prior to joining the forum. I trusted a WLF recommendation (possibly Harry's or Eric's) and bought a first edition of the book (which was actually cheaper than a new paperback copy). Hopefully, it will be a keeper.

Mirabell

18-Jan-2010, 22:33

Batman: The Black Glove, Grant Morrison, Tony S. Daniel et al.

Stiffelio

19-Jan-2010, 06:13

Gon?alo M. Tavares, Jerusalem.
I'm still doubting between the ****0+ or *****, but it goes more to the later. This novel is almost perfect. A great work dealing with insanity and evil.

P.S. Re-reading some parts of it. Definitely a 5 stars. Awesome book!

I'm glad you read this book. I guess we are the only two people here who have read Tavares. I found Jerusalem quite disturbing. I kept short of a 5 star rating for him, maybe because I didn't fully understand it's dark metaphors. It is definitely a book that grows on you long after you put it down and that needs a second reading, which I'll undertake sooner or later. I'd be curious if you could elaborate on your interpretation of this novel in the Tavares thread that I opened a while ago.

saliotthomas

19-Jan-2010, 14:47

Christopher Isherwood-A single man ****0

Alan Sillitoe-The loneliness of the long distance runner****0
Saturday afternoon****0

Daniel del Real

20-Jan-2010, 03:44

Botchan: A Modern Classic, Soseki Natsume. Rather disappointing.

Really? I've heard marvelous things about this novel. Please tell me why you didn't like it.

I'm glad you read this book. I guess we are the only two people here who have read Tavares. I found Jerusalem quite disturbing. I kept short of a 5 star rating for him, maybe because I didn't fully understand it's dark metaphors. It is definitely a book that grows on you long after you put it down and that needs a second reading, which I'll undertake sooner or later. I'd be curious if you could elaborate on your interpretation of this novel in the Tavares thread that I opened a while ago.

Actually I liked it that much that I already read it twice. Right now I'm letting rest a little into my mind to write a full review. Sure you'll see it in your thread Stiffelio.

Daniel del Real

20-Jan-2010, 03:49

Per Petterson, Out Stealing Horses **000
Most of the times, recommendations from the forum are great. Don't know what happened this time, it never captured me into the story.

Stevie B

20-Jan-2010, 04:22

Per Petterson, Out Stealing Horses **000
Most of the times, recommendations from the forum are great. Don't know what happened this time, it never captured me into the story.

I felt the same way. In the end, I finished the book just to finish it. I have a copy of In the Wake, an earlier novel by Petterson, but I've been hesitant to give it a go with the disappointment of Out Stealing Horses still fresh in my mind.

LAreader

20-Jan-2010, 05:22

Just finished A Map of Home by Randa Jarrar about growing up in Kuwait with a Palestinian father and Egyptian mother. The family is forced to leave Kuwait during the Gulf War and eventually fetches up in Texas. Despite the political turmoil that is the backdrop, the book is first and last about the members of an extended family - each one of them with an exaggerated sense of entitlement, which is often laugh-out-loud funny. A bittersweet farce that's a quick read, but well written and entertaining. ****0

peter_d

20-Jan-2010, 05:52

Midnight's Children by Rushdie *****

You give it 5 stars. Why is it so good? I have it on my shelf, but I didn't touch it yet.

Flower

20-Jan-2010, 10:55

Per Petterson, Out Stealing Horses **000
Most of the times, recommendations from the forum are great. Don't know what happened this time, it never captured me into the story.

I have seen that some people after talking about this novel, go back and read it and then it captures them and they get into the story. Maybe Petterson take some getting used to.

Flower

20-Jan-2010, 10:58

Just finished Janet Winston Woolf's To the Lighthouse.

Very good for students and people who wants to dig deeper into the story.

****0

Daniel del Real

20-Jan-2010, 19:42

I have seen that some people after talking about this novel, go back and read it and then it captures them and they get into the story. Maybe Petterson take some getting used to.

Probably. There were some moments at the beggining of the story, when he goes to the town's store and to put gas where I started to feel identified with the man. Then he goes telling his past stories and that where I got disconnected. For me it would've been better if he continues with his tale focusing more in the present than into to the past.

DreamQueen

20-Jan-2010, 20:02

Really? I've heard marvelous things about this novel. Please tell me why you didn't like it.

It was just so immature and pedestrian, especially compared to works like Kokoro, I Am A Cat, and The Three-Cornered World. Yet, all were written around the same time, save Kokoro, which came around 7 years later. I can't explain it. I just didn't think it was Soseki-level work!

My name is red

20-Jan-2010, 20:09

The Bell Jar-Sylvia Plath*****

e joseph

21-Jan-2010, 02:32

The Exquisite - Laird Hunt
Meh. Kind of a fun read but I already barely remember it a few days later. Thank god the incidence of fragmented personalities is lower in real life than in fiction. Solidly written metafiction; if I'd ever read Auster I'd probably note the similarity about...now.

peter_d

21-Jan-2010, 03:43

Get it off your shelf, sit down in a well lit place and dig in. It's historical prose with many creative characters - magical and odd, depending on how far they were born after the clock struck midnight. I will reread it (again) in the future. The writing is supreme and the flow, wow. Check it out peter. You have to read it soon. :D

All right, I think I must give it a try. It's just that I didn't have very good experiences with The ground beneath her feet.

Stiffelio

21-Jan-2010, 05:38

Life of Pi by Yann Martel ****0+

Daniel del Real

21-Jan-2010, 20:27

Jos? Emilio Pacheco, El Principio del Placer (short stories) ***00+

Igu Soni

23-Jan-2010, 20:23

Unruly Times by Prashant Bhawalkar****0
A good parody of post-colonial Indian literature focusing on identity, but the end was a bit too preachy. Fuller review (http://wp.me/pEyin-5r).

Igu Soni

23-Jan-2010, 22:25

Does it hurt anyone else that someone low-voted this thread? (There was one 5 and one 1 before I voted another 5.)

saliotthomas

24-Jan-2010, 11:50

Guy Gavriel kay-Ysabel http://palimpsest.org.uk/images/smilies/icon_turd.gif

oh no !

Igu Soni

24-Jan-2010, 11:52

Guy Gavriel kay-Ysabel http://palimpsest.org.uk/images/smilies/icon_turd.gif

oh no !
My condolences.

Bjorn

24-Jan-2010, 19:55

Salman Rushdie, The Enchantress of Florence (UK) ***00 and only barely that. Disappointing; some really interesting themes, some beautiful prose, but far too much filler.

kidvisions

24-Jan-2010, 22:29

The last book I read was Ayn Rand's Anthem.
I have heard a lot about the author_negative comments mainly_ until I read an article somewhere on the web that was actually praising her.
The next day I went to the library and found her book there ( we don't find many books like that in Tunisia!)
I read it in no time and was surprised to see that it was not that bad after all! I'm not saying that I like her or anything, but I just think she isn't as bad as people said! Maybe because that book is not as much criticized as the others.

Stevie B

24-Jan-2010, 23:43

The last book I read was Ayn Rand's Anthem.
I have heard a lot about the author_negative comment mainly_ until I read an article somewhere on the web that was actually praising her.
The next day I went to the library and found her book there ( we don't find many books like that in Tunisia!)
I read it in no time and was surprised to see that it was not that bad after all! I'm not saying that I like her or anything, but I just think she isn't as bad as people said! Maybe because it was not a book as much criticized as the others.

The criticism I've heard of Ayn Rand centers, not on her writing, but on her philosophy that advocates greed and derides altruism (though characters in her books tend to reflect her beliefs). I've only read ANTHEM, but my wife, coincidentally, is about halfway through ATLAS SHRUGGED. I'm considering giving ATLAS a go after she's done, though I figure I could read at least four other books in my growing to-be-read pile before I finished that tome.

Mirabell

24-Jan-2010, 23:55

I have heard a lot of criticism of her language/writing and have myself engaged in that act. Anthem is one of her best books. That's a relative statement. It's not a good book, but it's heads and shoulders above Fountainhead or Atlas Shrugged. Actually, without her, um, 'philosophy', her books would be read by far fewer people. Their icky, inept sentimental hogwash needs the thinking to propel it forward, its the energy of her little mousy brain that drives the book. The books run on righteousness, there is zero artistic merit to them. She's a better writer than Coelho, but a worse one than Dan Brown (pre-Lost Symbol).

titania7

25-Jan-2010, 00:46

I. She's (Ayn Rand's) a worse one than Dan Brown (pre-Lost Symbol).

Hahaha. You are kidding, right? I mean that's like comparing Jonathan Kellerman with Edgar Allan Poe ;).

You know, this comment has made my evening. I've laughed for the first time tonight! You're entitled to your opinion, of course. . .and you know I'm the first encourage everyone to think for themselves. I'm just hoping you were trying to be humorous when you said Rand is a worse writer than . . ahhem. . .Dan Brown.

And how would you be able to judge the quality of Rand's brain simply from her writing? Perhaps, she was simply misguided and/or inept when it came to both creating and promoting her philosophies. We cannot always judge someone's intellect based upon the books they write and publish.
Have you factual evidence that you are basing your opinions on when you classify her brain as "little" and "mousy"?

I am actually not a fan of Rand's work. . .I'm simply attempting to determine how you reason things out, M. I've known you for over a year, but I continue to be most curious indeed about your thought processes and how your mind works.

Inquisitively,
~Alexis

"True knowledge exists in knowing that you know nothing."
~Socrates~

titania7

25-Jan-2010, 01:23

Just thought I would share a couple of quotations, one by Ayn Rand and one by Dan Brown.

Personally, I think that Rand's quotation has more substance to it. . .but, that's just my opinion ;).

"The truth is not for all men, but only for those who seek it."
~Ayn Rand~

"I spend my life essentially alone at a computer. That doesn't change. I have the same challenges every day." ~Dan Brown~

Please understand. . .I am not trying to "pick the chicken," to borrow a phrase from one of my former beaus (with I could remember his name, but I cannot possibly expected to remember all of them). I'm just curious about the reasons someone would have for thinking that Dan Brown would have more to say as an author than Ayn Rand. I would prefer not to spend my valuable time reading either one. . .but, you see, I tend to subscribe to the quotation below:

"There are too many mediocre books which exist just to entertain your mind. Therefore, read only books which are accepted without a doubt as good."

Now, there are those who will debaet the issue of what constistues the word "good". . .we can say the word is relative and we can also accuse Seneca of being judgemental and/or thinking he has the capacity to always ascertain that which is "good" from that which is "bad."

But. . all in all, I feel that such arguments merely detract from the essential truth that is contained in Seneca's sagacious words, and I do not think that we have such. .. ahhem. ."deep" thinkers at this forum that they will actually imagine themselves to be wiser men than Seneca and Thoreau (see the quotation below).

~Alexis

"Read the best books first, otherwise, you'll find you do not have time."
~Henry David Thoreau~

DreamQueen

25-Jan-2010, 02:56

Guy Gavriel kay-Ysabel http://palimpsest.org.uk/images/smilies/icon_turd.gif

oh no !

I agree. What a horrible book!

DreamQueen

25-Jan-2010, 02:59

I've been under the weather this weekend and so took a detour away from Zola, Blake, and Marguerite de Navarre to read Terry Pratchett's Equal Rites. It was a nice light snack, and an enjoyable one. ****0

Mirabell

25-Jan-2010, 07:23

I agree. What a horrible book!

what do you hate about it?

saliotthomas

25-Jan-2010, 11:12

what do you hate about it?

Have you read it ?
I know you didn't ask me but i'd say you might like it if you are so keen on pre-Lost symbole Dan Brown (jesus !). Same light footed style as say Digital forteresse or Deception point.

Hawk

25-Jan-2010, 18:49

This is a book not yet on mainstream and to those enjoying reading new books I will leave the free e-book link....I could not get it before, but I see now the author is giving it for free for the time being.....http://www.ilafund.co.za/index_files/image446.jpg

LINK: http://www.ilafund.co.za/ebook.doc

Enjoy the novel!

saliotthomas

25-Jan-2010, 19:21

Christopher Isherwood-Prater Violet ****0

DreamQueen

25-Jan-2010, 19:43

what do you hate about it?

Uh, everything? Well, almost everything. What saliotthomas said plus this: Bookphilia.com: Dear Guy, this is an intervention (http://www.bookphilia.com/2009/09/dear-guy-this-is-intervention.html)

Mirabell

25-Jan-2010, 21:07

Salman Rushdie, The Enchantress of Florence (UK) ***00 and only barely that. Disappointing; some really interesting themes, some beautiful prose, but far too much filler.

I liked it

(we also have a wlf thread on it
http://www.worldliteratureforum.com/forum/european-literature/2042-salman-rushdie-enchantress-florence.html)

but that might be because I have been a long-suffering fan, ever since having had to wade through the unbearably terrible FUry and the long stretches of terrible in the other books he published that decade.

kpjayan

26-Jan-2010, 04:07

ever since having had to wade through the unbearably terrible FUry.

Yes. And that is why Enchantress of florence, and shalimar the crown remain untouched in my shelf.

Bjorn

26-Jan-2010, 09:25

I liked it

(we also have a wlf thread on it
http://www.worldliteratureforum.com/forum/european-literature/2042-salman-rushdie-enchantress-florence.html)

but that might be because I have been a long-suffering fan, ever since having had to wade through the unbearably terrible FUry and the long stretches of terrible in the other books he published that decade.
I know, I'm trying to jot down some thoughts on it. But at least Fury had the good sense to be short.

kpjayan

27-Jan-2010, 13:31

The Girls of Riyadh - Rajaa Alsanea : *0000

Not sure why this book had all the attention. Apart from the controversy ( in the native country) it caused, and the curiosity there of , I did not find this a good read. At best it is a teenage fiction of love and despair.

Interestingly, the translator Marylin Booth caused another controversy, saying the author and the publisher meddled with her work and the end result was not what was originally translated.

lenz

27-Jan-2010, 14:24

Quote:
Originally Posted by Mirabell http://www.worldliteratureforum.com/forum/images/buttons/viewpost.gif (http://www.worldliteratureforum.com/forum/european-literature/27032-gustave-flaubert-madame-bovary.html#post51913)
It is amazing, right? I reread Flaubert's works last spring and was stunned. Bovary, especially, in how skillfully it's constructed, how scenes are arranged, and we are shunted through this story. It's one of the few books I've ever read that'd almost call perfect. Weirdly, it's not my favorite Flaubert, but the perfection of its construction gave me the shivers

I just finished Henri Troyat's biography of Flaubert. It took F. years of obsessive attention to detail and form in order to reach what he could call perfection in everything he wrote. It was as if he thought he could deflect criticism in this way - of course, he was almost ruined by vicious criticism. He wanted, in Bovary, in particular, to appear completely objective, to remove any hint of the personality of the writer by straightforward observation of "reality". This was revolutionary at the time and, of course, influenced most writers of fiction after him.
He was a very complex personality, full of contradictions, determined to live for art at all cost, and in art to expose social hypocrisies, especially of the disgusting bourgeoisie, and yet he was very conservative as to the social class system, lived in a comfortable bourgeois home in the stuffy town of Rouen. For bohemian pleasures of the flesh he went to Paris, Marseilles, or North Africa.
A very strange habit he had, when writing, was to speak what he wrote aloud in a booming declamatory voice to hear the sound of it! He loved to do this in company too, to the irritation of his listeners.
But, I urge you to read the bio. He knew everyone in the French literary scene of the day and you get a good picture of all that.
By the way, "shivers" is exactly the word for effect Madame Bovary has on me, too.
Last edited by lenz (http://www.worldliteratureforum.com/forum/posthistory.php?p=51929); Today at 09:19..

Loki

27-Jan-2010, 18:06

Bjorn

27-Jan-2010, 22:51

Willy Vlautin, Northline (USA) ***00+

Not quite as good as the fantastic debut The Motel Life; starts out great, then sort of ticks along with no great development. But Vlautin still writes sort of like how Townes Van Zandt might have if he'd been a novelist instead, and it's a very enjoyable read. In a cut-your-wrists-in-the-back-of-the-truck kind of way.

titania7

27-Jan-2010, 23:34

I've finally finished reading Scott's The Bride of Lammermoor.
Well, all things considered the book was not bad although the plot was basically the same as Romeo and Juliet. Here Edgar, master of Ravenswood, falls for Lucy, daughter of Lord Ashton, enemy of the Ravenswoods.
The narration is generally rather slow and some parts are boring and complicated.
Anyway, I enjoyed it, especially at the end, although I hoped it would have ended differently. Another element I liked was the superstition interspesed in the whole narration, with misterious stories and apparition, and even deaths.

It's the first Scott's book I've read: what should I read next? His works are said to be not really interesting. Still, I would like to read more Scott's books.

Hello, Loki. I was just curious about this comment:

"His (Scott's) works are said to be not really interesting"

I was wondering what source you base this observation on. A lot of authors who are among my favorites have cited Sir Walter Scott's novels as having a pivotal influence upon their own work.

In terms of which book by Scott you might wish to read next, I would recommend Waverly.

Warmly,
Alexis

"For every minute, the future is becoming the past."
~Thor Heyerdahl~

Daniel del Real

28-Jan-2010, 00:00

It's the first Scott's book I've read: what should I read next? His works are said to be not really interesting. Still, I would like to read more Scott's books.

When I was a teenager I read and totally enjoyed Ivanhoe. Right now I barely can remember anything, but what I remember is that at the time I was really happy for picking up that book. Haven't read any from Scott since then. Don't know what would happen if I read it right now, but I have the feeling this is not literature for young people.

lenz

28-Jan-2010, 00:14

Hello, Loki. I was just curious about this comment:

"His (Scott's) works are said to be not really interesting"

I was wondering what source you base this observation on. A lot of authors who are among my favorites have cited Sir Walter Scott's novels as having a pivotal influence upon their own work.

Scott was certainly very influential on 19th c. writers in Europe as well as Britain and America but even those who admired him or, at least enjoyed the romantic tales, like George Eliot and Gustave Flaubert, Alexander Pushkin, the Brontes, far surpassed him in style and substance. By the time modernism came along he was dismissed as being naive, lacking in intellect and having nothing to say to adults of the modern world. I've read very little of him but agree with that assessment - I think he's a noisy, sentimental bore.

titania7

28-Jan-2010, 00:53

Scott was certainly very influential on 19th c. writers in Europe as well as Britain and America but even those who admired him or, at least enjoyed the romantic tales, like George Eliot and Gustave Flaubert, Alexander Pushkin, the Brontes, far surpassed him in style and substance. By the time modernism came along he was dismissed as being naive, lacking in intellect and having nothing to say to adults of the modern world. I've read very little of him but agree with that assessment - I think he's a noisy, sentimental bore.

I have not read very much of Scott's work, either, which is why I would never make such an assessment. Speaking from a personal perspective, I have not ever been overly inquisitive about Scott's work, but I always strive towards familiarizing myself with at least two or three of an author's books before abandoning him/her completely.

I am suspecting that what Scott was striving for in his work was not mastery of style. To compare him to Flaubert or Pushkin would be akin to comparing Dostoevsky with Maupassant (I speak from a strictly stylistic perspective, immaterial of substance). At the same time, what Scott did achieve was the invention of the modern historical novel. Thus, regardless of his many shortcomings, he is widely respected as an innovative figure of Scottish and world literature. This being taken into consideration, it would seem that his work is worth giving at least a moderate amount of attention to.

~Alexis

"Intelligence is the ability to adapt to change." ~Stephen Hawking~

lenz

28-Jan-2010, 01:17

At the same time, what Scott did achieve was the invention of the modern historical novel. Thus, regardless of his many shortcomings, he is widely respected as an innovative figure of Scottish and world literature. This being taken into consideration, it would seem that his work is worth giving at least a moderate amount of attention to.

~Alexis

"Intelligence is the ability to adapt to change." ~Stephen Hawking~

Moderate, yes.

SlowRain

28-Jan-2010, 04:02

...but that might be because I have been a long-suffering fan, ever since having had to wade through the unbearably terrible FUry...
It was really only the ending that I thought got carried away. I enjoyed the first 3/4 or so of that novel.

Loki

28-Jan-2010, 14:10

Hello, Loki. I was just curious about this comment:

"His (Scott's) works are said to be not really interesting"

I was wondering what source you base this observation on. A lot of authors who are among my favorites have cited Sir Walter Scott's novels as having a pivotal influence upon their own work.

I probably expressed myself wrongly. My observation sounded rather generic; I wanted to say that some university-mates have told me that his novels are rather boring, and they have reccommended none of his books. Now, I'm capable of judging for myself and I will read Scott's novels no matter what they say. I just wanted a second (and more sensible) opinion.

It wasn't my intention to minimalize the influence of Scott in the history of literature. Scott has been also very important for one of the most famous Italian novels, I Promessi Sposi (The Betrothed).

In terms of which book by Scott you might wish to read next, I would recommend Waverly.

Thanks a lot, I'll immediately write it down and add it to my list of books to read in the summer. :)

hdw

28-Jan-2010, 15:30

When I was a teenager I read and totally enjoyed Ivanhoe. Right now I barely can remember anything, but what I remember is that at the time I was really happy for picking up that book. Haven't read any from Scott since then. Don't know what would happen if I read it right now, but I have the feeling this is not literature for young people.

You're in good(??) company. Tony Blair claims that Ivanhoe is his favourite book.

I seem to remember an ancient Hollywood movie ...?

A new book award for historical fiction was announced yesterday in Scotland, subsidised by the head of the Scott "clan", the Duke of Buccleuch, in memory of Sir Walter, who was friendly with some of the Duke's ancestors. Scott was intensely proud of his Borders ancestry and, as a rabid High Tory, was inclined to fawn on the aristocracy. He looked on the Duke of Buccleuch he knew as his "chief".

Harry

Liam

28-Jan-2010, 15:41

I think he's a noisy, sentimental bore.
I don't know, I always liked his historical novels, and I think they're considered classics for a reason. But then again, we can't like everything. Mirabell enjoys making fun of me for my alleged disregard for much of the postmodern literary establishment, :o.

Loki, my recommendation to you, in regards to Scott, would be Ivanhoe (1819). Medieval England at its best. In this edition, the novel runs up to about 440 pages; the rest are the Introduction and Explanatory Notes:

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41ANG-MnqqL._SS500_.jpg

Medieval England. King Richard the Lion-hearted, coming home from the Crusades, has been captured and imprisoned in Austria. His wicked brother, John, has seized the throne and refuses to pay Richard?s ransom. Meanwhile the conflict between Saxon and Norman threatens to turn into civil war.

Standing above it all is Wilfred of Ivanhoe, the disinherited son of Cedric, a Saxon noble. Ivanhoe enraged his father by following the Norman Richard to the Crusades. Now back in England, he wants to help rescue Richard?and marry Cedric?s ward, Rowena. But Cedric has pledged her to a highborn Saxon in hopes of creating a new Saxon royal line.

To this mix Walter Scott adds several ferocious Norman villains, the legendary Robin Hood, a Shakespearean ?wise fool? who constantly offers wryly sardonic comments on the action, and a sidelong look at English anti-Semitism, as a pair of Jewish characters, the beautiful Rebecca and her father, Isaac of York, alternately protect and garner protection from Ivanhoe.

With its clanging swords, burning castles, damsels in distress, and kings in disguise, Ivanhoe remains Scott?s best-loved novel of historical romance.

Hope you like--

L.

miercuri

28-Jan-2010, 16:27

hdw

28-Jan-2010, 18:37

I've always thought that Walter Scott is to English/Scottish literature what Alexandre Dumas p?re is to French literature, although I never read very much by Walter Scott. I started reading Rob Roy and Ivanhoe sometime in the fourth grade but dismissed them after a few chapters, for being too boyish. :rolleyes: At the same time, I used to devour Alexandre Dumas, whom I found a lot more appealing. They weren't exactly contemporaries but thematically, I find them rather similar.

Scott has been deeply unfashionable in the UK for many years, and his language is difficult for most Brits to read, just as I imagine early 19th-century writers in most European languages would be rather inaccessible to modern readers, even native-speakers. (I can't speak for non-European languages).

His first readers read his books almost as potboilers, but only the most highly-educated and sophisticated strata of society were literate to the point of being able to read demanding literary fiction.

As public taste for Scott has diminished, so academic interest in him has grown, and some literary scholars have devoted their working lives to studying him and bringing out new scholarly editions of his books. Edinburgh is of course the city most associated with his name, the Scott Monument towering over Princes Street is a tribute to the fame he once enjoyed, and for 22 years I worked in an office a few yards from the house his family once lived in.

Ivanhoe is a bit of an exception in his oeuvre, being concerned with English history. Most of his novels are concerned with Scottish history, and although I'm not a big fan, I have enjoyed reading The Antiquary and Heart of Midlothian.

One of the biggest football teams in Edinburgh and Scotland is called after the latter novel. Where else would you get a Premier football team called after a historical novel?

Harry

Loki

28-Jan-2010, 22:01

Thank you Liam, really. Now, I don't think I'll be able to read both Waverly and Ivanhoe, so I'll have to decide, but there's some time for it!
I've read the summary you've posted: the plot sounds somewhat complicated, and considering it's early 19th century English, I'm not sure whether I'll be capable of understanding it right. Anyway, thanks again for the advice, to all of you.

Stevie B

29-Jan-2010, 05:16

Many thanks to Saliotthomas for introducing me to Thomas Savage, a countryman of mine I had never heard of prior to joining WLF. The main character in Savage's 1967 Western novel The Power of the Dog has to be one of the most interesting, well-drawn, and diabolical antagonists in modern fiction. In his study of Phil, a 40-year-old rancher (who brings to mind images of the Marlboro man), Savage examines how machismo and homophobia serve as coping mechanisms for repressing one's own homosexuality. He also illustrates the intense anger and self-loathing that can result when a key aspect of one's identity is denied.

Although The Power of the Dog and two other Savage novels were recently reprinted (thanks in part to the support of Annie Proulx), the author appears to be an overlooked master storyteller, perhaps no more neglected than in his own country. I will now join Saliotthomas in helping to spread the word of this great novel and author.

saliotthomas

29-Jan-2010, 10:11

Now You made may day Stevie B, if it's good to find a great book, it's even better to share it with others.
I like your interpretation of the identity denied which i was not sure of due to a deep suspicion of the Freudian all-psycholgical-problemes-guide-book, but it sure stand as a good explenation of his venimous charact?re.

And you guys should get to too, Oh people of little faith...

learna

29-Jan-2010, 10:19

Pavel Sanaev, "Похороните меня за плинтусом"(Bury me behind a skirting board?)*****
Marina Tsvetaeva, "The Swain" *****

saliotthomas

29-Jan-2010, 18:11

Jayne Anne Phillips - Lark & Termite ***00+

Dunno, good but a bit John Irving from the south types, clever and crafty but somehow artificial. Maybe i just read to much stuff in that line.

Igu Soni

29-Jan-2010, 18:17

e joseph

30-Jan-2010, 12:46

Jayne Anne Phillips - Lark & Termite ***00+

Dunno, good but a bit John Irving from the south types, clever and crafty but somehow artificial. Maybe i just read to much stuff in that line.
Minus the John Irving bit (haven't read him), this is exactly how I felt about Lark and Termite. It wasn't bad by any stretch, but felt somehow lacking. Well put saliotthomas.

lenz

30-Jan-2010, 17:25

Been meaning to post this since yesterday:
The Homecoming by Harold Pinter
Completely baffled. I've read his The Birthday Party, which had a simple emotional arc, but this has nothing of the sort. Also, seems to be an alarming hotchpotch of themes. Need to read it again.

Everybody is somewhat baffled by The Homecoming, as well as most of his absurdist plays. Pinter would never say exactly what he meant - "The weasel under the cocktail cabinet." - was his ironic answer to the question. With Pinter, as with Samuel Beckett, there is always the unnamed fear.
The Homecoming, when well-performed, is a powerful experience - there is a film if you can find it The Homecoming (1973) (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070188/) . I think it's in the anxiety of your own uncertainty that the meaning lies.

I'm in the middle of half a dozen books, so haven't finished anything.

Igu Soni

30-Jan-2010, 19:57

Everybody is somewhat baffled by The Homecoming, as well as most of his absurdist plays. Pinter would never say exactly what he meant - "The weasel under the cocktail cabinet." - was his ironic answer to the question. With Pinter, as with Samuel Beckett, there is always the unnamed fear.
The Homecoming, when well-performed, is a powerful experience - there is a film if you can find it The Homecoming (1973) (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070188/) . I think it's in the anxiety of your own uncertainty that the meaning lies.

I'm in the middle of half a dozen books, so haven't finished anything.
Thanks, Lenz. This helps.
A little clicking from your link gives: http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19731030/REVIEWS/310300301/1023

DB Cooper

31-Jan-2010, 03:36

Going Native-Stephen Wright ****0

Twisted, dark, haunting, evocative, just an amazing book. Surprised that I havent heard of Wright until recently, and I believe he is an author that really deserves a larger audience. He really walks a tightrope with his prose, some of it is overwritten, but that in no way detracts from the amazing parts, which are many. If you are in the mood for the themes I mentioned above I would recommend you check this book out.

miercuri

31-Jan-2010, 17:45

I reread Alice in Wonderland in preparation for my Victorian literature exam yesterday. It turned out I should have read more Victorian poetry for this exam. :(

learna

01-Feb-2010, 06:52

"Roses in the credit" by Elsa Triolet.

learna

01-Feb-2010, 07:29

I reread Alice in Wonderland in preparation for my Victorian literature exam yesterday. It turned out I should have read more Victorian poetry for this exam. :(

Miercuri, once I read "Alice in Wonderland" with interpritation of Carroll's puzzles(matematical, logicial and philosophical) at the bottom of the each page. Sometimes explanation occupied more place than the original. I remember that Alice was falling down into the hole for a long time because Carroll did not know what to write next. And when the idea came the story continued.

e joseph

01-Feb-2010, 12:42

Clarissa

01-Feb-2010, 15:33

Albert Einstein
Sigmund Freud
Warum Krieg?
Ein Briefwechsel
Mit einem Essay von Isaac Asimov

Pre-war WWII (1932) correspondence between two outstanding minds, both pacifists. Fascinating.
*****

Mirabell

01-Feb-2010, 15:39

Drinking Coffee Elsewhere - ZZ Packer
A really enjoyable short story collection. Packer has a warm and engaging voice. Likable characters - often thoughtful outsiders trying to find their way in groupthink environments.

I thought the first ones were better than the ones at the back of the book tho. What'd you think?

e joseph

01-Feb-2010, 22:40

I thought the first ones were better than the ones at the back of the book tho. What'd you think?
Yup. The back half of the book though was dominated by the longest story (Speaking in Tongues), which felt like the weakest of the bunch, then the following story (Geese) was kinda more of the same. I think those were the only two that bothered me. "Brownies" was a hell of a way to start off the book, so maybe it had to come down from there.

Stiffelio

02-Feb-2010, 05:03

Isma?l Kadar?:

Chronicle in Stone ****0+
The Palace of Dreams ****0+
The Niche of Shame ****0
The Black Year ****0

I read them all in Spanish translation. The last two are not yet translated into English. Further comments in the Kadar? thread.

Igu Soni

02-Feb-2010, 17:28

The first Tintin, Tintin in the Soviet Union *****
I read all the Tintins except the first two a long time ago, and this reads like either a bad parody or the pinnacle of the Tintin style. Either way, immensely enjoyable, from when Tintin and Snowy survive a bomb that blows up the rest of the train to every time someone explains what he's doing (no female characters).

I'll be reading Tintin in Congo now.

Raphael Lambach

02-Feb-2010, 18:18

Well I've just finished Capote's The Dogs Bark.

Mirabell

02-Feb-2010, 23:12

quite forgot:

Point Omega, Don DeLillo

Liam

02-Feb-2010, 23:22

Point Omega, Don DeLillo
How was it?

I had to read Mao II for school once upon a time and found DeLillo's prose tired and trite (his prose, mind you, not his concepts). And I don't buy into the whole "Well-he's-writing-about-a-tired-and-trite-era-so-of-course-his-language-is-tired-and-trite" bullshit. If I wanted realism I would have stuck to everyday journalism, thank you.

L.

Mirabell

02-Feb-2010, 23:25

How was it?

I had to read Mao II for school once upon a time and found DeLillo's prose tired and trite (his prose, mind you, not his concepts). And I don't buy into the whole "Well-he's-writing-about-a-tired-and-trite-era-so-of-course-his-language-is-tired-and-trite" bullshit. If I wanted realism I would have stuck to everyday journalism, thank you.

L.

I uh actually like his language in Mao II. *duck*

and I also liked the new un. Odd Triple: Don DeLillo’s “Point Omega” shigekuni. (http://shigekuni.wordpress.com/2010/02/02/odd-triple-don-delillos-point-omega/)

Liam

03-Feb-2010, 00:09

I uh actually like his language in Mao II.Like what, in particular? "American sunlight..."

*duck*Why not *goose*??? [Don't worry, I got you!] :p

and I also liked the new unA beautiful review, as always.

the insufferable B.R. MeyersWho's he? I like James Wood well enough, but I've never even heard of this here feller.

There is a blandness to some of his late workAgreed. :D Which is why he should just... stop.

[pulling your leg here, in case you're wondering...]

the maudlin tone of Philip RothAnd yet again, we're in agreement! Roth will soon overshadow Dame Danielle Steel herself for sheer productivity (if not for quality, :p).

L.