Recently finished books?

[miercuri]

Sons and Lovers by D. H. Lawrence

+++

Wow, wow, OMG fucking wow, .

This is one of the most powerfully written books I have ever read. The last couple of chapters had me enthralled. Definitely a favorite, from now on.



L.

Yay! I had the same reaction when I read it about a year and a bit ago. I still need to read more Lawrence though.

[Loki]

El Lazarillo de Tormes, anonimous. I must admit I've enjoyed it, although I had several prejudices when I started it. I should think that I liked it also because it was explained so well by my lecturer.
Still, I would recommend it anyway to everybody. It is also funny sometimes, and there's a lot of criticism too, especially of the church (considering it was probably written in the first half of the XVI century), in a way that I think anticipates Leopoldo Alas's criticism of the church in La Regenta.

[Manuel76]

El Lazarillo de Tormes, anonimous. I must admit I've enjoyed it, although I had several prejudices when I started it. I should think that I liked it also because it was explained so well by my lecturer.
Still, I would recommend it anyway to everybody. It is also funny sometimes, and there's a lot of criticism too, especially of the church (considering it was probably written in the first half of the XVI century), in a way that I think anticipates Leopoldo Alas's criticism of the church in La Regenta.

Lazarillo de Tormes, besides being one of the miracles of Spanish prose, is a fundamental work in the history of the novel. While most narrative in those days was written in verse (Orlando furioso) and had a definitely imaginary and fantastic character (spanish chivalry novels like Amadis de Gaula, the first european best-seller, or the catalan Tirant lo Blanch) or were dialogued prose ( La celestina, La lozana andaluza); with Lazarillo a new genre is born, one which will define novel in the following centuries.

There appears a hero against society, the criticism is not purely humorous but a subtle and cruel analysis of the problems and flaws of a modern society. Sometimes description of ambiances and characters are meticulous . And besides all, the narrator wanted to create for the first time the illusion in the reader that the story was not really a fiction, but a true story. As it was published as an anonymous work the illusion was reinforced (being anonymous the writer could avoid inquisition, as the novel was inmediately banned).

Of course lots of moments from Lazarillo comes from folklore and the old fabliaux, but the efect is definitely modern. At the same time the structure is very original and elaborated.

Loki, I'm glad you liked it. But with some clasic old works it's important as you say a good explanation, at least to know why it was revolutionary at the time or why it's important for the History of Literature.

[learna]

"The Town of N" by Leonid Dobychin.
Lenz wrote wonderfully about it. I would add only some words about his style. Dobychin wrote in very short sentences and I have an impression that each word was weighed and if it could be not used he did not do it.

[miercuri]

William Burroughs - The Cat Inside - 80 pages of loving cats in prose, I would recommend this to any cat lover.
Roald Dahl - Matilda - I am discovering Roald Dahl a bit late maybe, but he is such a joy to read.

[Bottle Rocket]

Roald Dahl - Matilda - I am discovering Roald Dahl a bit late maybe, but he is such a joy to read.

Dahl is hilarious. My very young nieces and nephews turned my on to Matllda and I enjoyed it a great deal; it's very refreshing when a "children's" author explores beyond the saccharine and the cautionary and gets down to treating kids the way they really feel.

I also love James and The Giant Peach, which you must read if you haven't already. And do you know Maurice Sendak's work?? Where the Wild Things Are is one of my all-time favorite books ever.


BRocket

[lenz]

"The Town of N" by Leonid Dobychin.
Lenz wrote wonderfully about it. I would add only some words about his style. Dobychin wrote in very short sentences and I have an impression that each word was weighed and if it could be not used he did not do it.

Thank you, Learna, I agree that Dobychin didn't waste words.There is a sense of time passing quickly, or memories being recalled briefly - not quite in a "stream of consciousness" - but with significant details recurring to build a whole picture of a young man's personality. No wonder Stalin didn't like him - such a book could encourage the spread of truth through memory.

[miercuri]

Dahl is hilarious. My very young nieces and nephews turned my on to Matllda and I enjoyed it a great deal; it's very refreshing when a "children's" author explores beyond the saccharine and the cautionary and gets down to treating kids the way they really feel.

I also love James and The Giant Peach, which you must read if you haven't already. And do you know Maurice Sendak's work?? Where the Wild Things Are is one of my all-time favorite books ever.


BRocket

I've read James and The Giant Peach in French in an attempt to boost up my reading skills in French a few years ago. Although I enjoyed it, I didn't exactly stir my interest for Dahl the same way Matilda did, maybe I should have read it in the original. I also have a rather embarrassing tiny issue with it: I am absolutely terrified of centipedes. Even though the one in the peach was rather sympathetic, it still made me feel a little uncomfortable. I can say I am glad I didn't read that one as a kid.
I'm looking forward to reading The Fantastic Mr Fox sometime soon because I loved the film so much, but I still feel I should have read the book first.
I read Where the Wild Things Are only recently, I hadn't been aware of its existence before seeing the trailer for the film. I'd love to own a copy because it seems like a book one should return to from time to time.

[Igu Soni]

Roald Dahl - Matilda - I am discovering Roald Dahl a bit late maybe, but he is such a joy to read.

I recommend My Uncle Oswald as an exemplification of Dahl's versatility.


Personally, I finally finished Old Times, by Harold Pinter. I was ready to be baffled, after my recent reading of The Homecoming, but I don't think this worked quite as well. I could at least glimpse where the climax of the earlier play was coming from, whereas in this one it felt completely random, and not in a good way. Despite my lack of conscious understanding, I feel confident enough to rate it , the three stars because everything preceding was beautiful.
Now that it is my third Pinter (the first being The Birthday Party), I notice a recurring theme of the past haunting you; in every play, a character (or more) goes into this trance-like monologue in the middle of a general frenzy narrating some experience that haunts them till now.

[e joseph]

Roald Dahl - Matilda - I am discovering Roald Dahl a bit late maybe, but he is such a joy to read.

I second Bottle Rocket's nod to James and the Giant Peach, terrifying centipede be damned. One of my favorite books ever. And he's totally fun to return to; The Witches is up soon for me.

[Daniel del Real]

Lazarillo de Tormes, besides being one of the miracles of Spanish prose, is a fundamental work in the history of the novel. While most narrative in those days was written in verse (Orlando furioso) and had a definitely imaginary and fantastic character (spanish chivalry novels like Amadis de Gaula, the first european best-seller, or the catalan Tirant lo Blanch) or were dialogued prose ( La celestina, La lozana andaluza); with Lazarillo a new genre is born, one which will define novel in the following centuries.

There appears a hero against society, the criticism is not purely humorous but a subtle and cruel analysis of the problems and flaws of a modern society. Sometimes description of ambiances and characters are meticulous . And besides all, the narrator wanted to create for the first time the illusion in the reader that the story was not really a fiction, but a true story. As it was published as an anonymous work the illusion was reinforced (being anonymous the writer could avoid inquisition, as the novel was inmediately banned).

Of course lots of moments from Lazarillo comes from folklore and the old fabliaux, but the efect is definitely modern. At the same time the structure is very original and elaborated.

Loki, I'm glad you liked it. But with some clasic old works it's important as you say a good explanation, at least to know why it was revolutionary at the time or why it's important for the History of Literature.

This novel created the picaresque novel and it's by far the funniest read I've ever had!

[Stiffelio]

Annie Proulx: Close Range: Wyoming Stories. A very good collection by this gifter American writer .

[kpjayan]

Go Tell it on the Mountain - James Baldwin : beautiful..

[Loki]

This novel created the picaresque novel and it's by far the funniest read I've ever had!

Along with Guzman de Alfarache maybe.
What has interested most of this work is the mystery around it. I like all the speculations about all the possible authors, the problem of the 4 editions (all from the same year, and one even from Belgium)...

[slim jenkins]

William Burroughs - The Cat Inside - 80 pages of loving cats in prose, I would recommend this to any cat lover.

One thing I can't forgive Bill for...and the only book of his I'll never read....cats...huh. Big ones, yes, but those that crap in your garden and predate on our birds - gggrrrrrrr

Just finished The Hustler - Walter Tevis - superb novel, better than I expected.
Review here: Include Me Out

[learna]

Thank you, Learna, I agree that Dobychin didn't waste words.There is a sense of time passing quickly, or memories being recalled briefly - not quite in a "stream of consciousness" - but with significant details recurring to build a whole picture of a young man's personality. No wonder Stalin didn't like him - such a book could encourage the spread of truth through memory.

Now it is understandable why he became unremembered. I read his "The Town of N" in the book which has a subtitle:" The forgotten book".
Lenz, have you read his short stories? There are a lot of wonderful literary expressions in them which are very significant as usual for Dobychin.

[Galatea92]

Roald Dahl - Matilda - I am discovering Roald Dahl a bit late maybe, but he is such a joy to read.

I've just finished reading it to my daughters. I think it's my favourite Roald Dahl (and it has a lot of competition).

Reading out to children really gives you a feel for how good a book is. If it's rubbish and preachy, like most children's books are, my daughters start doing other things, singing, rolling backwards and forwards, trying to do headstands, anything rather than listen. But as soon as I start reading a Roald Dahl they become still and serious, listening intently until I've finished the chapter.

And his novels just feel wonderful to read out loud - I almost became hoarse doing all Miss Trunchbull's sneering and shouting .

[lionel]

One thing I can't forgive Bill for...and the only book of his I'll never read....cats...huh. Big ones, yes, but those that crap in your garden and predate on our birds - gggrrrrrrr

I'll set this bugger on you. Cats bury their shit, unlike smelly dogs.

blog

[Bottle Rocket]

I've just finished reading it to my daughters. I think it's my favourite Roald Dahl (and it has a lot of competition).

Reading out to children really gives you a feel for how good a book is. If it's rubbish and preachy, like most children's books are, my daughters start doing other things, singing, rolling backwards and forwards, trying to do headstands, anything rather than listen. But as soon as I start reading a Roald Dahl they become still and serious, listening intently until I've finished the chapter.

And his novels just feel wonderful to read out loud - I almost became hoarse doing all Miss Trunchbull's sneering and shouting .

I agree 100% ... not being a parent, I don't know how common reading aloud is nowadays once kids can read for themselves, but it certainly was always a favorite for me when I was a child. And as you say, some books lend themselves to it much more than others; the Milne books are also among them, IMHO. (Our Third Grade teacher taught us to recite "James James Morrison Morrison Weatherby George Dupree ..." and I can still do it fifty years later.)

Let me recommend to you Wolf Story by William McLeery (ill. Warren Chappell), a book I rarely see included on the lists of books ideal for reading aloud. Maybe it's better known than I realize, but in any event it is simply fabulous to share with kids from about age five or six on, and IMO just as much fun for adults. Rather than spoil it for you, I'll just say: great book!!

Another less well known family read-aloud book is Farley Mowat's The Dog Who Wouldn't Be, which contains passages that will have everyone in the room ROFL(T)AO.

And on the subject of dogs, E.B. White's Essays has several laugh-out-loud pieces about the family dachsund which are superb examples of the form (as indeed are all the others included.)


BRocket

3 x

[Daniel del Real]

Along with Guzman de Alfarache maybe.
What has interested most of this work is the mystery around it. I like all the speculations about all the possible authors, the problem of the 4 editions (all from the same year, and one even from Belgium)...

You're right, despite Lazarillo de Tormes was written approx 50 years before Guzm?n de Alfarache. By the way I haven't read that one. Is it as good as the Lazarillo?

By the way we might already have an author for the Lazarillo de Tormes. I think you can read Spanish so here's the note.

El Lazarillo de Tormes ya no es an?nimo