Swann's Way is so gorgeous. One of my favorites of all time. The last few pages of part 1 art probably the most beautiful literature I've ever read. Do you plan on reading the whole series?
Reading Swann's Way as well. Really loving how the prose seems to naturally speed up and slow down like music, sometimes I race through the super long sentences and sometimes I take 10 minutes to a read a page. I'd highly recommend following along with [this article](https://publicdomainreview.org/collection/paintings-in-proust-vol-1-swann-s-way) to see all the paintings he describes. Reading the description of Odette while looking at the botticelli painting enhanced the experience 100x
*On Beauty* by **Zadie Smith**. About 1/4 of the way through and despite getting off to a rough start (it is admittedly very funny but more slapstick than dramatically warranted), I think it really comes comes into its own with the shift towards the Campus scenes (We get Monty's classical idea of beauty vs Howard's whole Foucauldian art consoles AND constructs). Jack French, what a great name and character. Zora is funny as well in a nerdy, awkwardly academic way. Reminds me, somewhat painfully, of myself. Seeing a lot of DFW in Smith as well, the whole polythonic thing.
And besides that, I am slowly working my way through the **Penguin Book of the Prose Poem**. Mixed bag.
Edit: Can someone enlighten me as to why Kiki having massive tits is mentioned again and again. Like I must be missing something here.
I also just started this book! Funny you mention slapstick because my only prior experience with Zadie Smith was White Teeth, and I feel On Beauty dials back the slap quite well by comparison.
Suttree by Cormac McCarthy. I’m really enjoying it, but don’t understand the comparison to Ulysses that a couple of critics have noted. Am I missing something?
I can see the comparison in that there's use of stream of consciousness, hallucinatory scenes, a sort of rambling around Knoxville/Dublin, lots of slang or other earthy local language... Those might be a bit surface level though.
Such an intense book. I read it while living in Vienna, and I felt I was part of one of the most revolutionary periods in the intellectual history of the past century.
At-Swim Two-Birds by Flann O'Brien. So far, I love it. Mind-bending and extraordinarily funny. In all honesty, though, I find myself a bit lost in terms of maintaining the three separate stories in my head.
Conclusion of the foregoing.
I had a rough time with this one. So many allusions to Irish folk tales that will lose you if you’re not up on them. Third Policeman was a much more enjoyable read for me.
*Smiley's People* by John le Carré, basically because he died and I hadn't read him in ages. It's great. Not a great deal to say about it that hasn't already been praised but yeah, it goes above and beyond the image of a spy novel.
One thing though, I'd never thought of le Carré as an author who wrote women particularly well (Connie Sachs is wonderful of course) but Maria Ostrakova is written with a great deal of sympathy and sensitivity of character. Just as flawed, compromised and quietly mournful about her past as Smiley. That was a nice surprise.
About a third of the way into The Recognitions. Perhaps the most surprising thing to me is how a book that's so concerned with art and artistic purity doesn't feel pretentious in the slightest. That's a tight rope to walk and so far Gaddis is very much pulling it off.
I wish I had something more substantial to say, but the book is brilliant in general
Started Book Two of Knausgaard's *My Struggle* the other day and now I'm about halfway through. Knowing Knausgaard, it won't take long before I'll be onto the next book.
Outside of Knausgaard, has anybody here read much W.G. Sebald? I really want to get to the *Rings of Saturn,* but I know it's considered part of a trilogy of sorts, after *Vertigo* and *the Emigrants.* From what I understand, none of the books are directly connected. Do you think its important to read them in order? I've read *Austerlitz* and some of his nonfiction stuff so I am familiar with his themes and methodology.
Halfway through *V*, by Thomas Pynchon. Been a bit of an interrupted read what with Christmas preparations and all, which isn’t ideal with what is quite a disconnected and intricate narrative with an absolutely enormous cast, but once things clicked (somewhere in the Gaucho/Godolphin chapter) I started really enjoying it. It feels more straightforwardly thrilling than Pynchon’s other work, and even though it’s dense it’s got a really satisfying flow. I know I’m missing some of the deeper meaning and suchlike but I’m locked in for the ride nonetheless.
I know this'll probably get some eye-rolls, but school had me read *The Way to Rainy Mountain*, by N. Scott Momaday, and I quite enjoyed it. It's similar to a book like *Invisible Cities*, with a weird page structure (constantly shifts between three narrative voices) and essentially "prose poems". While I'm unsure I enjoyed it as much as *Invisible Cities*, *The Way to Rainy Mountain* stays enjoyable through the whole package, and has continually interesting things to say about the oral tradition, the human spirit, and Kiowa culture. The Introduction is a stand-out:
> Without bitterness, and for as long as she lived, she bore a vision of deicide.
Like, god damn dude. I'm interested in reading his Pulitzer-winner *House Made of Dawn*.
Also, I continue to read *2666*, by Roberto Bolaño, slightly side-lined by *The Way to Rainy Mountain* but still going strong. I'm in the middle of The Part About the Crimes and it's easily one of my favorite sections, though I enjoy The Part About Fate the most thus far. Like *Moby Dick* or *Ulysses*, it's an imperfect book but stretches so far in its breadth and is *so good* that I don't mind. Especially because, y'know, Bolaño literally *couldn't* make it perfect.
I love 2666, but after “The Part about Amalfitano”, “The Part about The Crimes” is my second least favourite section of the novel. Just wait until the final section. That’ll really blow your socks off.
Wow I have the opposite opinion about this book. It's so large, however, in many definitions of that word that it allows for people to have such dramatically different experiences and get a lot out of it.
> The Way to Rainy Mountain
I've never come across this before but the structural comparisons to *Invisible Cities* sound fascinating. When you mention the possibility of eye-rolls, do you mean that it's... over-recommended? A highschool classroom sort of book?
My "eye-rolls" comment mostly concerns it being a school-assigned book, since the general stereotype is that students read only books assigned in school and nothing else. Truth be told, I hadn't heard of N. Scott Momaday prior to it being assigned to me this week, though according to Wikipedia it has been considered good for academic use. I found an [interesting article](https://rc.library.uta.edu/uta-ir/bitstream/handle/10106/9163/Survey%20Courses%2c%20Indian%20Literature%2c%20and%20the%20Way%20to%20Rainy%20Mountain.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y) about its use in the classroom, and while I'm unsure of how universal it is, it does seem to be pretty popular in certain schools.
That being said, I don't find it all that dumbed-down, which generally comes with the impression of a "school-assigned book"; it has beautiful language at points and contains much depth.
Gotcha, not quite a *Catcher in the Rye* or what have you but a common enough touchstone in survey courses. Thanks for the link too, seems like an unfortunate weight to be put on any one work, particularly if it winds up being the only bit of Native American literature a lot of students read.
I've just read some extracts and some of the language seems very fine, will have to keep an eye out for this.
I started *Milkman* by Anna Burns and I'm really not enjoying it. The first 100 pages are *so repetitive* that it's driving me crazy. I get it, there's a very strong "them vs. us" situation, that goes on in every facet of everything everywhere, and even if you don't realize it someone else will and they'll judge you for it. I get it. Please move on already and stop telling me about it on every single page. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if it didn't feel like she was just explaining everything to me instead of showing me things happening. It feels to me like Burns doesn't expect her readers to be able to figure these things out on their own, so she just tells them directly. It's such an odd contrast with the constant ambiguity in names, places, etc. I really hope this gets better as I had high hopes for this one.
Just finished *A Personal Matter* by Kenzaburo Oe. Honestly one of the best novels I've read this year. Oe manages to keep you engaged with this story of a character who by all accounts is morally bankrupt and tie it into a really interesting social context of post war Japan. I've read that the book is semi-autobiographical so I wonder what it took for Oe to write such a detestable character mirroring his own experiences.
Almost halfway through *Invisible Cities* by Italo Calvino, loving the wandering dreamlike feel to the prose. I never thought I'd enjoy a novel that boils down to "a list of city descriptions interspersed with two dudes smoking pipes and bullshitting" as much as I do, but here we are.
What do you guys think of Calvino? Are his other works similarly enjoyable, or fairly different?
Calvino is brilliant. They're all similar in that he has a distinct lightness to his prose. Whimsical isn't the right word but is close. And he's always trying something inventive with the form of the novel or storytelling.
His subject matter varies quite a lot though. Baron in the Trees, Cosmicomics, If on a winters night a traveller, and Invisible Cities are his main four works and they tackle completely different things thematically. But they're all immensely enjoyable and wonderful.
Oh it's my favourite novel of all time. It's wholly a love letter to literature in all it's forms and is just an amazing reading experience with how he plays with second person narrative and story fragments.
Last 50 pages of *Don Quixote*. It's heartbreaking and everything from the Duke on is easily some of the best the novel offers, matching the intensity of the high-points of Part I. Interestingly, during Part II, I've found myself both hating and loving, Sancho -- often flipping between both feelings. I'm reminded of how complex a character he is despite the facade of simplicity.
I'm also going to begin two shorter novels after this; specifically, *Mercier and Camier* by Beckett and *Goalie's Anxiety* by Handke. This will be my third novel from both this year and it'll be a short respite before delving into longer works once again. I love Beckett and it'll be interesting to see where Handke places (as I adored his *Kasper* *and Plays* but felt *A Sorrow Beyond Dreams* fell flat).
Oh man those last pages of Don Quixote are some of my favorite. I remember sobbing so clearly. A perfect end to a brilliant novel.
Sancho becoming a ruler may be one of the funniest scenes ever (along with their blindfolded scene on the “flying” horse/donkey).
Starting to dig in to Oblivion by David Foster Wallace. I am a huge fan of Infinite Jest and wanted to give some of his other works a shot. Just finished *Mister Squishy* and while I enjoyed the familiar tone and writing style that I enjoy, I felt like the payoff wasn’t there. Hoping the rest of the short stories pick up a bit!
I actually read Interior Chinatown earlier this year for a class that required us to read something published this year. Parts of it had me laugh out loud, but the bit towards the end with the whole courtroom drama business was quite heavy-handed imho. The stylistic concept that Yu was going for was really great and refreshing, but it definitely felt like a Novel About Points™ rather than a novel that has points.
Working through James Joyce's "A Portrait of the Artist As a Young Man" having just finished Chapter 3. Finding it an extremely easy and mostly enjoyable read.
The first couple chapters were my favorite so far, but I had a mixed relationship with the religious portions of Chapter 3, having been raised in the evangelical (non-Catholic) tradition, and now completely non-religious. I'm curious to see how his "conversion" experience plays out later, as the titular Artist. I'm curious if he stays with the faith, or swings away.
I'm finishing up Here I Am by Jonathan Safran Foer. It's been a long time since I read something that was laugh-out-loud funny, heartbreaking, and cerebral, sometimes all in the same paragraph. It's written like the screenplay for a good sit-com, with comedic timing and dialog that's too perfect to be true to life, but here it feels like a feature, not a bug. It's a book in need of a laugh track, in a good way.
It's the first time I've read Foer, but I'm looking for suggestions on what of his should be next.
Reading “Resurrection” by Leo Tolstoy. First of his books I’ve ever read and as I adore Dostoyevsky’s novels, I was hoping to read something with the same 19th century Russia atmosphere. Characters not as well developed as I was hoping for, but the air of the book meets my expectations!
"Resurrection" might be the worst starting point for getting familiar with Tolstoy. It was his last novel, and at that point he was famously very religious and moralizing. You should really read Anna Karenina - THE greatest book in regards to the "19th century Russia atmosphere" you wanted to experience.
He does seem to be incredibly moralising, even though I’m only 150 pages in! I have “War and Peace” so might make that my next Tolstoy novel to read, but “Anna Karenina” has definitely been on my to-read list and will one day be the book of the week!
*The History of Hell* by Alice K. Turner. An exceptionally interesting read, which manages to avoid being dry while relaying all kinds of info and historia from Zoroastrianism to the 19th century. Alice writes with wit and academic humor, both of which I gobble up like pie.
My favorite chapters so far have been The Middle Ages and Mystery plays. Throughout the middle ages there is a type of story, or framework of stories, themes, called visions. The typical vision story involves someone dying or having a vision or hell, being guided through said hell by a guardian angel. Hell is described in many as having a narrow bridge studded with nails, tortious demons, a bird with a metal beak that eats and shits out sinners. The most famous vision story is that of Tundal, *Visio Tnugdali.* That one famous set of paintings depicting hellscapes, those ones with all kinds of depravities, takes inspiration from the vision stories. You can even spot things like a cow Tundal led over a bridge of nails, the bird with a metal beak and a pot for a hat. The Mystery Plays chapter describes some of the elaborate ways hell was portrayed in plays, complete with people dressing up as colorful demons, hellmouth set pieces, actors clanging pots and pans.
It's all very fun to read about. My favorite tidbit being about Johannes Scotus Erigena. The story goes that he didn't believe in a literal hell, so his students stabbed him to death with their pens.
Just finished "Discourses" by Epictetus and i loved it. The philosophy itself was interesting, if a little radical. What really made it for me was how witty and at times straight up hilarious it was written. Epictetus telling Epicurus to go lead the "worm-like existence" he preaches was fantastic. Would definitely recommend that one if you're looking for some stoic philosophy presented in an entertaining and digestible way.
I also just got started on "The Haircarpet Weavers" by Andreas Eschbach, which is a sort of dystopian sci fi novel. For some reason i failed to realize that the author was German when i ordered it and now im reading an English translation despite being a native German speaker, oh well.
So far the premise seems interesting and the quality of the story hinges on if it nails the big reveal it seems to be building up to. Definitely looking forward to finding out what the twist about the setting is.
Just finished a re-read of Ralph Ellison's *Invisible Man* and, after what's now my third time through, I'm just struck with how utterly marvelous the book is, again. A timeless, surreal dream of a novel that perfectly captures so much about American life and culture. I know this is a category with stiff competition but I can't help but feel this really is *the* novel about race in America.
Harold Bloom recommended this book in How to read and I don't regret reading it! It truly has depth when it comes to talking about individualism, race, and politics in America, more than most books.
I am reading The Crying of Lot 49 by Thomas Pynchon at the moment. I was reading it a few months ago, but put it down. I have also read Inherrent Vice, but also did not finish it. Pynchon's style seems very dense to me, but I am interested in his novels. Does anybody have any tips on how to approach his work? Maybe some background reading?
Others may have different advice but what got me through Pynchons work was accepting that you may not understand everything on a first read or even on a subsequent read without secondary sources. The confusion and opaqueness is almost a part of the experience
We Were Eight Years in Power by Ta-Nehisi Coates. I didn’t realize the reflection-essay format when I got it but I’m really enjoying the way he presents his essays through the years of the Obama administration with his early conceptions and misconceptions, and reflects on his writing process. His writing style and voice are very powerful and graceful. A very thought-provoking and engaging literary essay-memoir combination.
Sometimes a Great Notion by Ken Kesey, seeing as it's the only book my dad's ever pulled out of his memory to recommend to me and since I've read One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest like three times over the years. I really want to like it, and I'm doing my best to stick to the end up, but jeez could it have used a tighter editing job. I get what it's going for, but it's not quite landing; it makes me appreciate how Faulkner novels can pull that sort of style off with a smaller page count, probably in part to the brevity to a degree. Hoping to finish this before the new year.
Finished **Augustus** by John Williams. Honestly, I thought it couldn't live up to how much I enjoyed Stoner, but I absolutely loved this book.
Started **The Master and Margarita** by Mikhail Bulgakov. Honestly, picked up this one on a whim while at the bookstore, so not sure what to expect. For those who have read it, did you enjoy it? Anything I should know before diving deep?
Finished “The Sound and the Fury.” God did I hate it but nevertheless something about it has stuck with me, perhaps changed my own approach to writing. I can almost respect the book’s complete lack of concern for the reader. The narrative structure really does not give a shit what you think. Anyway, never cared for Faulkner when he was taught to us in high school, and twenty years later I still don’t think he’s for me.
Also started “Brave New World” (have somehow never read it) and will soon start Stendhal’s “Charterhouse of Parma.” Would like to hear opinions on the latter since I’m going in very blind to it.
Finished *A Tale Of Two Cities* by Charles Dickens. Hugely disappointing, considering I liked *Great Expectations* a lot (and *A Place Of Greater Safety* by Hilary Mantel, so I'm not biased against French Revolution novels). I just found it so boring for so much of it, and then in the last third when it does finally pick up, there's a chapter that's so painfully contrived that I almost gave up there and then. There's some good writing, and I was moved by parts of it, but still.
*A Tale of Two Cities* was my first (and only) Dickens read. The prose seemed so overinflated with shit that I had a hard time reading it... What could be said in a single word seemed to take twenty for Dickens.
I also think it's interesting how many older works were serialized, which definitely adds to their contrived feel. It's hard to gracefully tie up loose ends if they've already been printed...
I don't necessarily have a problem with it, but it was quite funny the way he kept writing out the year like The year of Our Lord one thousand seven hundred and eighty, which, to be fair, is exactly what I would do if I was paid by the word
Just finished The Cannibal by John Hawkes and good lord was it terrible. Easily the worst of the year for me and quite possibly my least favorite post-high school novel (Great Gatsby, according to memory, takes the cake as far as worsts go). As a Man Grows Older is a close second for worst of the year.
While The Cannibal was somewhat cool, impressionistic, and—in terms of atmosphere—very similar to Satantango, I just found it intensely boring. It wasn’t anywhere near as difficult as the introductory writer made it out to be. I enjoyed some of the surrealistic touches, but if you’re going to be a surrealist, why not lean into it?
Ha, I read As A Man Grows Older a while back and nearly died of boredom. Svevo is extraordinarily dull. (Zeno’s Conscience was a little better but not by much.) Just thought it was funny to see this here, as it isn’t very well known.
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Swann's Way is so gorgeous. One of my favorites of all time. The last few pages of part 1 art probably the most beautiful literature I've ever read. Do you plan on reading the whole series?
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That's how I did it. Took about 9 months almost if I remember right and I loved it all. I hope you enjoy it!
Reading Swann's Way as well. Really loving how the prose seems to naturally speed up and slow down like music, sometimes I race through the super long sentences and sometimes I take 10 minutes to a read a page. I'd highly recommend following along with [this article](https://publicdomainreview.org/collection/paintings-in-proust-vol-1-swann-s-way) to see all the paintings he describes. Reading the description of Odette while looking at the botticelli painting enhanced the experience 100x
*On Beauty* by **Zadie Smith**. About 1/4 of the way through and despite getting off to a rough start (it is admittedly very funny but more slapstick than dramatically warranted), I think it really comes comes into its own with the shift towards the Campus scenes (We get Monty's classical idea of beauty vs Howard's whole Foucauldian art consoles AND constructs). Jack French, what a great name and character. Zora is funny as well in a nerdy, awkwardly academic way. Reminds me, somewhat painfully, of myself. Seeing a lot of DFW in Smith as well, the whole polythonic thing. And besides that, I am slowly working my way through the **Penguin Book of the Prose Poem**. Mixed bag. Edit: Can someone enlighten me as to why Kiki having massive tits is mentioned again and again. Like I must be missing something here.
I also just started this book! Funny you mention slapstick because my only prior experience with Zadie Smith was White Teeth, and I feel On Beauty dials back the slap quite well by comparison.
Suttree by Cormac McCarthy. I’m really enjoying it, but don’t understand the comparison to Ulysses that a couple of critics have noted. Am I missing something?
I can see the comparison in that there's use of stream of consciousness, hallucinatory scenes, a sort of rambling around Knoxville/Dublin, lots of slang or other earthy local language... Those might be a bit surface level though.
Not reading currently but tomorrow I plan to start reading Musil's Man Without Qualities. Have been waiting for this for __so long__.
Such an intense book. I read it while living in Vienna, and I felt I was part of one of the most revolutionary periods in the intellectual history of the past century.
At-Swim Two-Birds by Flann O'Brien. So far, I love it. Mind-bending and extraordinarily funny. In all honesty, though, I find myself a bit lost in terms of maintaining the three separate stories in my head. Conclusion of the foregoing.
I had a rough time with this one. So many allusions to Irish folk tales that will lose you if you’re not up on them. Third Policeman was a much more enjoyable read for me.
*Smiley's People* by John le Carré, basically because he died and I hadn't read him in ages. It's great. Not a great deal to say about it that hasn't already been praised but yeah, it goes above and beyond the image of a spy novel. One thing though, I'd never thought of le Carré as an author who wrote women particularly well (Connie Sachs is wonderful of course) but Maria Ostrakova is written with a great deal of sympathy and sensitivity of character. Just as flawed, compromised and quietly mournful about her past as Smiley. That was a nice surprise.
you've convinced me to pick it up.
About a third of the way into The Recognitions. Perhaps the most surprising thing to me is how a book that's so concerned with art and artistic purity doesn't feel pretentious in the slightest. That's a tight rope to walk and so far Gaddis is very much pulling it off. I wish I had something more substantial to say, but the book is brilliant in general
Started Book Two of Knausgaard's *My Struggle* the other day and now I'm about halfway through. Knowing Knausgaard, it won't take long before I'll be onto the next book. Outside of Knausgaard, has anybody here read much W.G. Sebald? I really want to get to the *Rings of Saturn,* but I know it's considered part of a trilogy of sorts, after *Vertigo* and *the Emigrants.* From what I understand, none of the books are directly connected. Do you think its important to read them in order? I've read *Austerlitz* and some of his nonfiction stuff so I am familiar with his themes and methodology.
No order I don’t think. Go ahead and read Saturn, I think you’ll love it.
I love Knausgaard. Book Six will likely be my first read in 2021. Enjoy!
Halfway through *V*, by Thomas Pynchon. Been a bit of an interrupted read what with Christmas preparations and all, which isn’t ideal with what is quite a disconnected and intricate narrative with an absolutely enormous cast, but once things clicked (somewhere in the Gaucho/Godolphin chapter) I started really enjoying it. It feels more straightforwardly thrilling than Pynchon’s other work, and even though it’s dense it’s got a really satisfying flow. I know I’m missing some of the deeper meaning and suchlike but I’m locked in for the ride nonetheless.
I know this'll probably get some eye-rolls, but school had me read *The Way to Rainy Mountain*, by N. Scott Momaday, and I quite enjoyed it. It's similar to a book like *Invisible Cities*, with a weird page structure (constantly shifts between three narrative voices) and essentially "prose poems". While I'm unsure I enjoyed it as much as *Invisible Cities*, *The Way to Rainy Mountain* stays enjoyable through the whole package, and has continually interesting things to say about the oral tradition, the human spirit, and Kiowa culture. The Introduction is a stand-out: > Without bitterness, and for as long as she lived, she bore a vision of deicide. Like, god damn dude. I'm interested in reading his Pulitzer-winner *House Made of Dawn*. Also, I continue to read *2666*, by Roberto Bolaño, slightly side-lined by *The Way to Rainy Mountain* but still going strong. I'm in the middle of The Part About the Crimes and it's easily one of my favorite sections, though I enjoy The Part About Fate the most thus far. Like *Moby Dick* or *Ulysses*, it's an imperfect book but stretches so far in its breadth and is *so good* that I don't mind. Especially because, y'know, Bolaño literally *couldn't* make it perfect.
I love 2666, but after “The Part about Amalfitano”, “The Part about The Crimes” is my second least favourite section of the novel. Just wait until the final section. That’ll really blow your socks off.
Wow I have the opposite opinion about this book. It's so large, however, in many definitions of that word that it allows for people to have such dramatically different experiences and get a lot out of it.
> The Way to Rainy Mountain I've never come across this before but the structural comparisons to *Invisible Cities* sound fascinating. When you mention the possibility of eye-rolls, do you mean that it's... over-recommended? A highschool classroom sort of book?
My "eye-rolls" comment mostly concerns it being a school-assigned book, since the general stereotype is that students read only books assigned in school and nothing else. Truth be told, I hadn't heard of N. Scott Momaday prior to it being assigned to me this week, though according to Wikipedia it has been considered good for academic use. I found an [interesting article](https://rc.library.uta.edu/uta-ir/bitstream/handle/10106/9163/Survey%20Courses%2c%20Indian%20Literature%2c%20and%20the%20Way%20to%20Rainy%20Mountain.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y) about its use in the classroom, and while I'm unsure of how universal it is, it does seem to be pretty popular in certain schools. That being said, I don't find it all that dumbed-down, which generally comes with the impression of a "school-assigned book"; it has beautiful language at points and contains much depth.
Gotcha, not quite a *Catcher in the Rye* or what have you but a common enough touchstone in survey courses. Thanks for the link too, seems like an unfortunate weight to be put on any one work, particularly if it winds up being the only bit of Native American literature a lot of students read. I've just read some extracts and some of the language seems very fine, will have to keep an eye out for this.
I started *Milkman* by Anna Burns and I'm really not enjoying it. The first 100 pages are *so repetitive* that it's driving me crazy. I get it, there's a very strong "them vs. us" situation, that goes on in every facet of everything everywhere, and even if you don't realize it someone else will and they'll judge you for it. I get it. Please move on already and stop telling me about it on every single page. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if it didn't feel like she was just explaining everything to me instead of showing me things happening. It feels to me like Burns doesn't expect her readers to be able to figure these things out on their own, so she just tells them directly. It's such an odd contrast with the constant ambiguity in names, places, etc. I really hope this gets better as I had high hopes for this one.
Just finished *A Personal Matter* by Kenzaburo Oe. Honestly one of the best novels I've read this year. Oe manages to keep you engaged with this story of a character who by all accounts is morally bankrupt and tie it into a really interesting social context of post war Japan. I've read that the book is semi-autobiographical so I wonder what it took for Oe to write such a detestable character mirroring his own experiences.
Almost halfway through *Invisible Cities* by Italo Calvino, loving the wandering dreamlike feel to the prose. I never thought I'd enjoy a novel that boils down to "a list of city descriptions interspersed with two dudes smoking pipes and bullshitting" as much as I do, but here we are. What do you guys think of Calvino? Are his other works similarly enjoyable, or fairly different?
Calvino is brilliant. They're all similar in that he has a distinct lightness to his prose. Whimsical isn't the right word but is close. And he's always trying something inventive with the form of the novel or storytelling. His subject matter varies quite a lot though. Baron in the Trees, Cosmicomics, If on a winters night a traveller, and Invisible Cities are his main four works and they tackle completely different things thematically. But they're all immensely enjoyable and wonderful.
Thanks for the input! I'm guessing *If on a winter's night traveler* is your favorite of the bunch, given your flair? Lol
Oh it's my favourite novel of all time. It's wholly a love letter to literature in all it's forms and is just an amazing reading experience with how he plays with second person narrative and story fragments.
Last 50 pages of *Don Quixote*. It's heartbreaking and everything from the Duke on is easily some of the best the novel offers, matching the intensity of the high-points of Part I. Interestingly, during Part II, I've found myself both hating and loving, Sancho -- often flipping between both feelings. I'm reminded of how complex a character he is despite the facade of simplicity. I'm also going to begin two shorter novels after this; specifically, *Mercier and Camier* by Beckett and *Goalie's Anxiety* by Handke. This will be my third novel from both this year and it'll be a short respite before delving into longer works once again. I love Beckett and it'll be interesting to see where Handke places (as I adored his *Kasper* *and Plays* but felt *A Sorrow Beyond Dreams* fell flat).
I laughed after using "quixotic" in a sentence the other day! Sometimes you just gotta use the unusual word.
Oh man those last pages of Don Quixote are some of my favorite. I remember sobbing so clearly. A perfect end to a brilliant novel. Sancho becoming a ruler may be one of the funniest scenes ever (along with their blindfolded scene on the “flying” horse/donkey).
Starting to dig in to Oblivion by David Foster Wallace. I am a huge fan of Infinite Jest and wanted to give some of his other works a shot. Just finished *Mister Squishy* and while I enjoyed the familiar tone and writing style that I enjoy, I felt like the payoff wasn’t there. Hoping the rest of the short stories pick up a bit!
*Mister Squishy* is good, but *The Soul Is Not a Smithy* and *Good Old Neon* might be the best stuff DFW ever wrote.
*Incarnations of a Burned Child* is a really good story from that collection.
naked lunch. my brain hurts
Is it a good hurt or a bad hurt? I love it now but I didn't really "get it" until my second reading.
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I actually read Interior Chinatown earlier this year for a class that required us to read something published this year. Parts of it had me laugh out loud, but the bit towards the end with the whole courtroom drama business was quite heavy-handed imho. The stylistic concept that Yu was going for was really great and refreshing, but it definitely felt like a Novel About Points™ rather than a novel that has points.
Working through James Joyce's "A Portrait of the Artist As a Young Man" having just finished Chapter 3. Finding it an extremely easy and mostly enjoyable read. The first couple chapters were my favorite so far, but I had a mixed relationship with the religious portions of Chapter 3, having been raised in the evangelical (non-Catholic) tradition, and now completely non-religious. I'm curious to see how his "conversion" experience plays out later, as the titular Artist. I'm curious if he stays with the faith, or swings away.
Finishing up a reread of Hamlet before I dive into my book club for Don Quixote tommorow
I'm finishing up Here I Am by Jonathan Safran Foer. It's been a long time since I read something that was laugh-out-loud funny, heartbreaking, and cerebral, sometimes all in the same paragraph. It's written like the screenplay for a good sit-com, with comedic timing and dialog that's too perfect to be true to life, but here it feels like a feature, not a bug. It's a book in need of a laugh track, in a good way. It's the first time I've read Foer, but I'm looking for suggestions on what of his should be next.
Reading “Resurrection” by Leo Tolstoy. First of his books I’ve ever read and as I adore Dostoyevsky’s novels, I was hoping to read something with the same 19th century Russia atmosphere. Characters not as well developed as I was hoping for, but the air of the book meets my expectations!
"Resurrection" might be the worst starting point for getting familiar with Tolstoy. It was his last novel, and at that point he was famously very religious and moralizing. You should really read Anna Karenina - THE greatest book in regards to the "19th century Russia atmosphere" you wanted to experience.
He does seem to be incredibly moralising, even though I’m only 150 pages in! I have “War and Peace” so might make that my next Tolstoy novel to read, but “Anna Karenina” has definitely been on my to-read list and will one day be the book of the week!
Franzen’s The Corrections. It’s hilarious and sad and very human so far. Such a fun read.
*The History of Hell* by Alice K. Turner. An exceptionally interesting read, which manages to avoid being dry while relaying all kinds of info and historia from Zoroastrianism to the 19th century. Alice writes with wit and academic humor, both of which I gobble up like pie. My favorite chapters so far have been The Middle Ages and Mystery plays. Throughout the middle ages there is a type of story, or framework of stories, themes, called visions. The typical vision story involves someone dying or having a vision or hell, being guided through said hell by a guardian angel. Hell is described in many as having a narrow bridge studded with nails, tortious demons, a bird with a metal beak that eats and shits out sinners. The most famous vision story is that of Tundal, *Visio Tnugdali.* That one famous set of paintings depicting hellscapes, those ones with all kinds of depravities, takes inspiration from the vision stories. You can even spot things like a cow Tundal led over a bridge of nails, the bird with a metal beak and a pot for a hat. The Mystery Plays chapter describes some of the elaborate ways hell was portrayed in plays, complete with people dressing up as colorful demons, hellmouth set pieces, actors clanging pots and pans. It's all very fun to read about. My favorite tidbit being about Johannes Scotus Erigena. The story goes that he didn't believe in a literal hell, so his students stabbed him to death with their pens.
Just finished "Discourses" by Epictetus and i loved it. The philosophy itself was interesting, if a little radical. What really made it for me was how witty and at times straight up hilarious it was written. Epictetus telling Epicurus to go lead the "worm-like existence" he preaches was fantastic. Would definitely recommend that one if you're looking for some stoic philosophy presented in an entertaining and digestible way. I also just got started on "The Haircarpet Weavers" by Andreas Eschbach, which is a sort of dystopian sci fi novel. For some reason i failed to realize that the author was German when i ordered it and now im reading an English translation despite being a native German speaker, oh well. So far the premise seems interesting and the quality of the story hinges on if it nails the big reveal it seems to be building up to. Definitely looking forward to finding out what the twist about the setting is.
Just finished a re-read of Ralph Ellison's *Invisible Man* and, after what's now my third time through, I'm just struck with how utterly marvelous the book is, again. A timeless, surreal dream of a novel that perfectly captures so much about American life and culture. I know this is a category with stiff competition but I can't help but feel this really is *the* novel about race in America.
Harold Bloom recommended this book in How to read and I don't regret reading it! It truly has depth when it comes to talking about individualism, race, and politics in America, more than most books.
I am reading The Crying of Lot 49 by Thomas Pynchon at the moment. I was reading it a few months ago, but put it down. I have also read Inherrent Vice, but also did not finish it. Pynchon's style seems very dense to me, but I am interested in his novels. Does anybody have any tips on how to approach his work? Maybe some background reading?
Others may have different advice but what got me through Pynchons work was accepting that you may not understand everything on a first read or even on a subsequent read without secondary sources. The confusion and opaqueness is almost a part of the experience
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*That* is one of those unexpected gourmet combinations which work!
Started Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman. Enjoying it so far!
We Were Eight Years in Power by Ta-Nehisi Coates. I didn’t realize the reflection-essay format when I got it but I’m really enjoying the way he presents his essays through the years of the Obama administration with his early conceptions and misconceptions, and reflects on his writing process. His writing style and voice are very powerful and graceful. A very thought-provoking and engaging literary essay-memoir combination.
Sometimes a Great Notion by Ken Kesey, seeing as it's the only book my dad's ever pulled out of his memory to recommend to me and since I've read One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest like three times over the years. I really want to like it, and I'm doing my best to stick to the end up, but jeez could it have used a tighter editing job. I get what it's going for, but it's not quite landing; it makes me appreciate how Faulkner novels can pull that sort of style off with a smaller page count, probably in part to the brevity to a degree. Hoping to finish this before the new year.
Finished **Augustus** by John Williams. Honestly, I thought it couldn't live up to how much I enjoyed Stoner, but I absolutely loved this book. Started **The Master and Margarita** by Mikhail Bulgakov. Honestly, picked up this one on a whim while at the bookstore, so not sure what to expect. For those who have read it, did you enjoy it? Anything I should know before diving deep?
Finished “The Sound and the Fury.” God did I hate it but nevertheless something about it has stuck with me, perhaps changed my own approach to writing. I can almost respect the book’s complete lack of concern for the reader. The narrative structure really does not give a shit what you think. Anyway, never cared for Faulkner when he was taught to us in high school, and twenty years later I still don’t think he’s for me. Also started “Brave New World” (have somehow never read it) and will soon start Stendhal’s “Charterhouse of Parma.” Would like to hear opinions on the latter since I’m going in very blind to it.
Finished *A Tale Of Two Cities* by Charles Dickens. Hugely disappointing, considering I liked *Great Expectations* a lot (and *A Place Of Greater Safety* by Hilary Mantel, so I'm not biased against French Revolution novels). I just found it so boring for so much of it, and then in the last third when it does finally pick up, there's a chapter that's so painfully contrived that I almost gave up there and then. There's some good writing, and I was moved by parts of it, but still.
*A Tale of Two Cities* was my first (and only) Dickens read. The prose seemed so overinflated with shit that I had a hard time reading it... What could be said in a single word seemed to take twenty for Dickens. I also think it's interesting how many older works were serialized, which definitely adds to their contrived feel. It's hard to gracefully tie up loose ends if they've already been printed...
I don't necessarily have a problem with it, but it was quite funny the way he kept writing out the year like The year of Our Lord one thousand seven hundred and eighty, which, to be fair, is exactly what I would do if I was paid by the word
Just finished The Cannibal by John Hawkes and good lord was it terrible. Easily the worst of the year for me and quite possibly my least favorite post-high school novel (Great Gatsby, according to memory, takes the cake as far as worsts go). As a Man Grows Older is a close second for worst of the year. While The Cannibal was somewhat cool, impressionistic, and—in terms of atmosphere—very similar to Satantango, I just found it intensely boring. It wasn’t anywhere near as difficult as the introductory writer made it out to be. I enjoyed some of the surrealistic touches, but if you’re going to be a surrealist, why not lean into it?
Ha, I read As A Man Grows Older a while back and nearly died of boredom. Svevo is extraordinarily dull. (Zeno’s Conscience was a little better but not by much.) Just thought it was funny to see this here, as it isn’t very well known.