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OscarDiggs
Jun 1, 2011

Those sure are words on pages which are given in a sequential order!
Hello. I am OscarDiggs and I like reading, although I'm not very good at it. Mostly I like to read Sci-Fi and Fantasy stuff, although in the last few years I've tried my hand at some “serious” works. Most of the time it doesn't go to well.

For example, I only recently learned (within the last few months) that you can have protagonists in books that lie to the reader! Unreliable narrators they're called. Shocking stuff!

Anyway, it's very easy to give up and lose motivation when you're confronted again and again with how little you know and just how far you have to go, but I want to persevere. Because about a year back I read “Lincoln in the Bardo” and it was fantastic.

It took me about 3 months to get through, where I would only read a few pages a week because the weird way the characters spoke put me off and the strange digressions into things like the White House party kept interrupting the flow. That was until I got about a third of the way in and at that point I finished the book straight up in about 3 hours. I was more invested with what happened to the characters here then any other dragon/elf war book I had ever read before. And if I can catch that high again? Well that would just be grand.

That was last year though and since then I've read... very few books you could actually call literature. Because motivation is a thing that I lack. That is the point of this thread. With the blessing of Hieronymous Alloy, I am going to document my experiences with Literature for the masses, in an effort to self-improve. Hopefully, sharing my fumbling attempts will help keep me motivated. That's the plan anyway.

Feel free to read along, to ignore, to recommend, to offer advice or to mock me in my journey forwards.

Books I have read before, in order

Animal Farm – I read this years ago for school. It was... alright. I can't remember much except for the pigs being smart and manipulative and everyone else being as dumb as, well, animals. Apparently an anti-socialist thing but I can't remember anyone or anything mentioning “Marx” or “Socialism” throughout the whole book. But then again, we're talking like 14 years ago now.

Of Mice and Men – Again a book from school. A bit boring from what I remember?

I, Claudius – I liked it in spite of itself. The fact it spoiled itself really obviously in the first couple pages did put me off, but despite knowing from that how everything was basically going to work out, I still liked it.

Catch – 22 – A really funny book all in all, had me cackling all the way through. There were some sad and serious elements but the whole thing read mostly as a comedy.

Mother Night – Another darkly comic book I enjoyed quite a bit. More serious then Catch – 22 by a bit, a bit more interesting to.

Lincoln in the Bardo – Took a while to get me hooked, but when it did I couldn't put it down. I read the last two thirds in about 3 hours.

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer – A nice, fun easy to read book. A little pointless? Like with the big bad just dying up like he did? But I enjoyed it nonetheless. Tom is a pretty interesting character, and I liked the little snap shot into the life of a young boy and the town he lives in.

And that's it, at least all the ones I can actually remember. There is an untold number of fiction books that could be in that list but they probably don't count as literature.

Books I am planning on reading next

Rudyard Kipling's Kim – I was recommended this by Alloy in the Recommendation thread based on what I liked about Tom Sawyer. It's also the cheapest option out of them on Amazon.

Pickwick Papers/David Copperfield by Charles Dickins – Also recommended, and I can get my hands on a copy of his complete works so it won't be any bother.

On the Road by Kerouac and Gentlemen of the Road by Michael Chabon – The final set of recommendations from Alloy. Look interesting but I'd rather focus on the easier to get a hold of options first.

Huckleberry Finn – As a sequel to Tom Sawyer it's natural to continue here. However, I remember someone saying you should read from many authors, so I'd prefer to not continue with Twain right away.

A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court – I've seen the movie(s)! The actual description someone bought up make it sound really interesting, and I actually have a physical copy. But again, looking to vary authors.

The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga – I saw this on sale on Amazon and I got quite intrigued by the description. Ended up picking it up, but never got anywhere with it. Perhaps now is the time?

A Darkhorse Candidate by Who Knows? – Think any of the above will be a bit to difficult for me? Got a suggestion that might be a bit more my speed? Want to try and trick me into reading Babyfucker? Go ahead and make a suggestion. I reserve the right to ignore you, though.

Augustus by John Williams - Suggested by Alhazred because I liked I, Claudius.

Pale Fire by Nobakov - Suggested by my bony fealty because it's the most accessible of Nobakovs books. Also a ton of fun.

I will settle on a book sometime next week (probably around Wednesday) and then start recording my experiences in thread.

How this will work

When I settle on a book, I shall read it, and then record my experiences. That might be a play by play of various chapters and pages, or it might just be a review when I finish. It depends on how much it grabs me. Books also occasionally have things called “Themes”. If I notice any I'll let the thread know. I may take a break here or there to read something light and easy, especially if a particular book was quite difficult, but I'll try to keep that to a minimum.

Oh and NO SPOILERS FOR BOOKS I AM READING THROUGH OR HAVN'T READ YET.

EDIT:

An interesting find from Khizan, at the behest of Franchescanado. A mod-challenge and a bunch of essays about subtext.

Khizan posted:

It's a bit late, but I remember this.

GonSmithe's challenge to Baron Bifford.

The OP of that thread has links to the challenge and the submitted essays.

OscarDiggs fucked around with this message at 15:33 on Dec 10, 2018

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Ccs
Feb 25, 2011


Good luck on your reading journey! If you want books that are considered good literature and also very entertaining to read anything by Nabokov is a safe bet.

I really should read Lincoln in the Bardo.

Alhazred
Feb 16, 2011




If you liked I. Claudius then you should try Augustus by John Williams.

OscarDiggs
Jun 1, 2011

Those sure are words on pages which are given in a sequential order!

Ccs posted:

Good luck on your reading journey! If you want books that are considered good literature and also very entertaining to read anything by Nabokov is a safe bet.

I really should read Lincoln in the Bardo.

Thanks! I have been told by others that Nabakov is good, but I get the feeling that it's a bit to high level for me to "get" properly. Maybe when I'm a few books in. Like I said in the OP, I liked Lincoln. But if you read the OP then you should know my opinion isn't one with a lot of weight.

Alhazred posted:

If you liked I. Claudius then you should try Augustus by John Williams.

And we have our first dark horse candidate!

my bony fealty
Oct 1, 2008

Did I, Claudius spoil itself by revealing that Claudius becomes Emperor after Caligula gets shanked? I forget but I mean, that's kinda been known for 2000 years. The sequel is pretty good too.

Re: Nabakov - read Pale Fire first imo, it's only "hard to get" in that what happens is open to interpretation but it's mostly just a ton of fun.

Spoilers: Augustus becomes Emperor too :D

OscarDiggs
Jun 1, 2011

Those sure are words on pages which are given in a sequential order!

my bony fealty posted:

Did I, Claudius spoil itself by revealing that Claudius becomes Emperor after Caligula gets shanked? I forget but I mean, that's kinda been known for 2000 years. The sequel is pretty good too.

Re: Nabakov - read Pale Fire first imo, it's only "hard to get" in that what happens is open to interpretation but it's mostly just a ton of fun.

... I was actually referring to the prophecy from the Sibyl but I'm a moron who only just got that it's historical fiction about the actual Roman Emperors. Well no; like I knew it was about the emperors but I didn't find it relavent at the time? I guess if I knew anything about Roman history I would have pegged that way faster and not revealed myself to be a loving moron. Maybe I should go back to grade school books.

But anyway, Pale Fire can be dark horse number 2.

my bony fealty posted:

Spoilers: Augustus becomes Emperor too :D

:argh:

Mel Mudkiper
Jan 19, 2012

At this point, Mudman abruptly ends the conversation. He usually insists on the last word.
Spoilers for I, Claudius

He's Claudius

Alhazred
Feb 16, 2011




my bony fealty posted:


Spoilers: Augustus becomes Emperor too :D

Also, Caesar dies.

incredible flesh
Oct 6, 2018

by Nyc_Tattoo
read my rear end. it has a twist! fart

Sham bam bamina!
Nov 6, 2012

ƨtupid cat
I hope you're reading the real versions of those Twain books, with the illustrations. It's disgusting that they're so often left out.

OscarDiggs
Jun 1, 2011

Those sure are words on pages which are given in a sequential order!

Sham bam bamina! posted:

I hope you're reading the real versions of those Twain books, with the illustrations. It's disgusting that they're so often left out.

Alas no, I have yet to see a single illustration. I'll be on the lookout for versions with them specifically!

Also, unless someone comes up with a brilliant suggestion, or an argument otherwise I will either settle on The White Tiger, because if this is about self-improvement then surely the first thing to do is to start finishing what I start, and The White Tiger has been sitting in my library longest, or A Connecticut Yankee because it seems the most fun apart from Huckleberry, but the goal is to expand my reading habits not to read adventures of young boys over and over.

xcheopis
Jul 23, 2003


Robert Graves has written other historical fiction, as well. The ones I've read, I've liked:
Homer's Daughter
Hercules My Shipmate
Count Belisarius
King Jesus, and, of course, the sequel to I, Claudius.

It is my opinion that Orwell's essays, reviews, and the 'As I Please' columns are superior to his fiction. They're available online for free and you might like to read his essay on Dickens just before or after reading Dickens himself.

If you find you like that sort of period piece (so to speak), Thackeray's Vanity Fair is chock-full of assholes and dimwits. It's also a hefty book, good for long bus rides and weekends or clocking someone who won't shut the gently caress up and let you read.

e: Twain's The Innocents Abroad had me crying from laughter during the Europe portion.

xcheopis fucked around with this message at 15:59 on Oct 14, 2018

Punished Chuck
Dec 27, 2010

OscarDiggs posted:

Alas no, I have yet to see a single illustration. I'll be on the lookout for versions with them specifically!

Also, unless someone comes up with a brilliant suggestion, or an argument otherwise I will either settle on The White Tiger, because if this is about self-improvement then surely the first thing to do is to start finishing what I start, and The White Tiger has been sitting in my library longest, or A Connecticut Yankee because it seems the most fun apart from Huckleberry, but the goal is to expand my reading habits not to read adventures of young boys over and over.

The White Tiger is great. I think it’s the last time I read a whole novel in one sitting because I couldn’t put it down.

Sham bam bamina!
Nov 6, 2012

ƨtupid cat

OscarDiggs posted:

A Connecticut Yankee because it seems the most fun apart from Huckleberry
Hoo boy.

OscarDiggs
Jun 1, 2011

Those sure are words on pages which are given in a sequential order!

Alas, we will have to wait to see how wrong I am because starting now I am reading The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga.

Over the next few days I will read the book and note down any thoughts and feelings I have about it. Depending on how thought provoking it is, I will either share them with the thread during the read at set intervals (Every chapter, every 50 pages etc. Whatever works) or at the very end of the book. Then I'll take a quick break while deciding on the next book, and maybe discuss it with people in the thread that want to partake in that sort of thing.

Bear in mind I am slow and very bad at reading in general, so it may take a bit.

OscarDiggs
Jun 1, 2011

Those sure are words on pages which are given in a sequential order!
I like the way the story is presenting itself. Reading it as a letter to someone is pretty novel way of experiencing a book, at least for me.

I don't know if the author is trying to do something funny or clever with the China bits. Like the character mentions “great respect for the ancient nation of China” and these bit's like, how freedom loving China is and how they were never made servants. Technically speaking I suppose being forced to buy drugs from another nation, twice, isn't by definition servitude. But the guy also seems pretty sincere in all this? So I don't know.

Also, random homophobia in the first few pages. Is the writer the rear end in a top hat here or is the character? I know that sometimes an author who isn't, say, a misogynist can write characters who are misogynists, but how do you tell which is which?

This really does get the feel across of a sleazy used car salesman.

Now I don't know the first thing about books, but it sort of feels like the book is over explaining? “My mothers body had been wrapped from head to toe in saffron silk cloth... her death was so grand that I knew, all at once, that her life must have been miserable.” Isn't that telling, not showing?

“The man with the notebook was not the Buffalo; he was the assistant”. Okay, I like these little comebacks and word plays.

Maybe all the Islamophobia is different for India?

It's very easy to put what I don't like into words but very difficult to find words of praise. Not that it doesn't deserve praise; I'm enjoying it quite a bit but find a way to say that other the "it good" is difficult.

It's bleak and depressing, but not in a “Now this a video wherein you can see the exact moment someone dies” sorta way. I'm disgusted and ashamed (perhaps these words are to strong) but I want to continue.

“Like eunuchs discussing the Kama Sutra, the voters discuss the elections in Laxmangarh.” These little bits are great.

Okay, that's it for the first 100 or so pages. Not quite half way through, but getting through the rest should be a tad faster.

Noticeable themes; corruption, the gap between rich and poor (I especially liked a bit when one of the rich masters and his wife are being driven around and are amazed at how “religious” Belram is being), rural vs urban, moving forward and getting left behind in an advancing world, ignorance and naïvety

Docetic Mountain
Jul 5, 2012

OscarDiggs posted:

Isn't that telling, not showing?


No.

Sham bam bamina!
Nov 6, 2012

ƨtupid cat
I was hoping that the guy who's read the book would respond, but I guess not (yet?).

OscarDiggs posted:

Now I don't know the first thing about books, but it sort of feels like the book is over explaining? “My mothers body had been wrapped from head to toe in saffron silk cloth... her death was so grand that I knew, all at once, that her life must have been miserable.” Isn't that telling, not showing?
First, "show, don't tell" is an idea that kids are taught in school as a rule of thumb to mitigate their worst tendencies, not an axiom of Good Writing. (The same goes for things like always using the active voice, never using adverbs, etc.)

But, more importantly, to say that this unduly "tells" is to completely miss its point. Even though I have no context for the sentence, I know that Aravind Adiga didn't write it to explain to me that this woman had a miserable life. He is using that information to make a statement. Now, not having read the book, I can't say what that statement would be, but here are some things that, in a vacuum, it could say:

• The lavish funeral is some kind of karmic reward for the mother's long-suffering in life.
• Her funeral is a hollow compensation for a life without fulfillment.
• The funeral is a symbol of a just afterlife for those who are unfortunate.
• It doesn't actually mean anything, but Balram wants it to, either for an emotional reason or simply because he projects grand patterns onto whatever he sees.

It could mean any of these things. It could mean something else entirely. It could "mean" one but end up saying another. It could have multiple meanings depending on how you connect it to the rest of the book or its social context or the author's life or whatever you want. I don't know, but whatever it might happen to be is irrelevant, because all of these examples and ideas are information beyond the simple facts of the funeral and even beyond the idea (not fact) of the miserable life. If you want to apply "show, don't tell" here, Adiga is actually "showing", rather than "telling", because he's trusting his readers to understand the significance of how Balram thinks about his mother's funeral instead of just spelling everything out for them. Heck, writing a novel at all instead of a monograph on modern India's economic development is "showing", not "telling". (See how vague and unenforcable this rule can get when you try to hold serious writing to it?)

All of this is to say that literature is not written for a school assignment. It has bigger things on its mind.

Sham bam bamina! fucked around with this message at 23:53 on Oct 24, 2018

OscarDiggs
Jun 1, 2011

Those sure are words on pages which are given in a sequential order!

Sham bam bamina! posted:

Adiga is actually "showing", rather than "telling", because he's trusting his readers to understand the significance of how Balram thinks about his mother's funeral instead of just spelling everything out for them.

Misplaced trust when it comes to me then. :downs:

But in all seriousness, thank you very much for the explanation. Learning this sort of thing is the exact reason for this thread, because there's no way I'm going to be able to learn this stuff organically. It also highlights just how far I have to go, so, thank you very much friend!

That being said I have now finished the book. Some more thoughts.

- - - -

““If all of us were like that, we'd rule India, and they would be polishing our boots.” Then the drivers got back into their circle. The reading of the story resumed.”

This servility stuff runs deep. Belram is constantly going on about how Mr Ashok was a good master but he's constantly being belittled by him. The sad thing is Ashok is in fact mostly better.

Rooster Coop; powerful stuff.

Belram is a bit like a classical hero. He's not necessarily the good guy, yet he is nevertheless “heroic” in his skill and ability.

The death of Mr Ashok is almost... anti-climatic? For how much most of Belrams life before the letters and after revolved around it? But in a way, that is also on it's own powerful. He was just a man, in the end.

All in all, Belram is a little intoxicating. Even though he's a self-confessed murderer, I can't help but sympathise and even like him. Does that say something bad about me, that the only thing a murderer needs to keep me on side is a degree of charm? And that's even on top of the casual homophobia, sexism, Islamophobia and all the rest of it.

Some more themes

Powerlessness. Fighting back. I'm not sure how to say this next one snappily; acknowledging and not being as bad as others have been in the past?

And done! First book for the thread, hopefully the first of many. I really did enjoy The White Tiger and it's a drat shame I waited so long before I actually read it. Unlike with a lot of stories I really enjoy where I want more, to see and read more of the characters life, in a way I am happy this has ended. Like a really engaging conversation I had on the train, I have nevertheless reached my destination, and it's time to say goodbye and get off. I'm happy to have read this book, very happy in fact; engaging and witty throughout, I have nevertheless reached my destination.

Books I am planning on reading soonish

All the previous mentions still apply, but we are joined by a few new ones.

The Day Lasts More Then A Hundred Years Recommended a while back by someone on the basis of my enjoyment of Lincoln in the Bardo. I can't remember who did sorry, but it was in the main lit thread.

Something by Jhumpa Lahiri A recommendation by Sham bam bamina! in fact. Not looked much into it at this point, but I am sort of in the mood for more.

One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Márquez There was a bit of a hoo hah in the recomendation thread about this, but I also remember this one is pretty popular with the book crowd.

And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini Another one from the recomendation thread. The others looked either slightly to difficult for me or not quite in keeping with what I'm looking for at the moment. This one however caught my eye,

Gonna take a break for a day or two, and then proceed with another book.

Right now the next book I'm settling on will be one of these:
Pale Fire
The Day Lasts More Then A Hundred Years
One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Márquez
Kim

Feel free to also come up with more suggestions. If there is a serious interest and people want to vote or something, I guess I can be swayed by public opinion.

vyelkin
Jan 2, 2011
You should read some Russian literature. Here are my suggestions:

You can read the real, full-on Russian Novel-style X and Y Russian novels. Tolstoy's War and Peace, Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment, Grossman's Life and Fate. Those are great but they will take you a while.

Maybe start with something a little shorter and easier to digest, and work your way up to the giant tomes. I highly recommend Mikhail Bulgakov's The Master and Margarita, which is still fairly lengthy but goes by quick. If you want something even shorter, his novella Heart of a Dog is also excellent.

But there's more to Russian literature than lengthy novels, the famous Russian writers are also famous for their great short stories. One easy place to start with Tolstoy is his Sevastopol Sketches, three short stories based on his experiences fighting in the Crimean War, where you see him trying out some of the literary techniques he would later use to great effect in War and Peace. Chekhov is most famous for his plays, but he was also a prolific writer of short stories. If you want some proper depressing late imperial stuff, read his short stories Peasants or In the Ravine. And for a left-field suggestion that I'm going to bet you've never heard of, Vsevolod Garshin's short story Four Days, based on the author's experiences fighting in the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-78, is a powerful story about war. Garshin died young and never wrote any lengthy novels to shake the world, but he was a huge talent and his short stories are proper literature worth reading.



e: oh and I can't believe I forgot this until now, another absolute classic short novel: Pushkin's The Captain's Daughter.

vyelkin fucked around with this message at 19:33 on Oct 26, 2018

Ccs
Feb 25, 2011


Master and Margarita is real great.

Sham bam bamina!
Nov 6, 2012

ƨtupid cat
I will refrain from commenting on Russian literature because I blather on about it in every other book thread, so instead I'll take the opportunity to recommend the most beautifully written book I've ever read, The Gold Bug Variations, by Richard Powers.

Read The Brothers Karamazov and Anna Karenina before the "and" books, especially the molasses swamp that is War and Peace.

OscarDiggs
Jun 1, 2011

Those sure are words on pages which are given in a sequential order!
As it happens I am being briefly distracted by some Nabokov short stories, but when I'm finished with those and have appraised the thread of my thoughts, I can take a turn into some longer Russian Lit.

Mel Mudkiper
Jan 19, 2012

At this point, Mudman abruptly ends the conversation. He usually insists on the last word.

Sham bam bamina! posted:

I will refrain from commenting on Russian literature because I blather on about it in every other book thread, so instead I'll take the opportunity to recommend the most beautifully written book I've ever read, The Gold Bug Variations, by Richard Powers.

Read The Brothers Karamazov and Anna Karenina before the "and" books, especially the molasses swamp that is War and Peace.

That's a good one

ulvir
Jan 2, 2005

OscarDiggs posted:

As it happens I am being briefly distracted by some Nabokov short stories, but when I'm finished with those and have appraised the thread of my thoughts, I can take a turn into some longer Russian Lit.

if you want a short intro first, those mentioned earlier plus Death of Ivan Illyitch (Tolstoy) and Faust (Turgenev) are some good places to start out

OscarDiggs
Jun 1, 2011

Those sure are words on pages which are given in a sequential order!
So, The Vane Sisters by Nabokov.

It was a bit hard to swallow; I regularly found myself going back and re-reading sentences and paragraphs because it was a bit hard to fully grasp what was actually there on the first time around. Particulary embarassing for how short it was.

It wasn't like reading poetry (not that I do that l lot either). More like, the lyrics to a song I know really well, where the beat slowly intrudes in, and this came up even when going back to re-read passages.

He really does write pretty. Like, really pretty. There's just so much there, packed in tight. Not even the up front, description type of stuff, but the imagery and what it invokes and other words I would know to use to describe his writing if I knew them. Fake Edit: Kaleidoscopic is a word I want to use here. Nary a wasted word and all of it building toward a specific goal. At least thats what it seemed like.

I think it did a fantastic job of showing us the main narrators personality. In comparison to The White Tiger, in that work even though we're being conveyed Belrams thoughts and feelings directly, via his writing of a letter, there are still... dark spots as it were. Or maybe, he's generic until something is revealed that makes him not generic? I don't have the words to say it. But anyway, The Vane Sisters. In about 10 pages or so, I felt like I learnt more or the same amount about the narrator here, then I did about Belram throughout the entirety of The White Tiger. Chalk that up to the difference in narrative or first/third person or whatever, but that's what it seemed like from where I'm sitting.

So, yes. Quite enjoyable, and for being so short it didn't become a chore.

Now though, it seems the consensus for next book is some sort of Russian Literature Book, of which there are loads of recomendations. A few notables.

Lermontov's A Hero of Our Time, in the Marian Schwartz translation

Death of Ivan Illyitch (Tolstoy) and Faust (Turgenev)

The Brothers Karamazov and Anna Karenina (especially before any AND books).

Special mention to The Gold Bug Variations, by Richard Powers, which isn't Russian Lit, but is rather, the most beautifully written book ever.

Because there are already a load of recomendations (thank you very much people!) I will settle ooooon... A Hero of Our Time. Illyitch and Faust are also supposedly pretty short, so I'll see about making it into a trifecta. From there, we will see where we go.

Sham bam bamina!
Nov 6, 2012

ƨtupid cat

OscarDiggs posted:

Because there are already a load of recomendations (thank you very much people!) I will settle ooooon... A Hero of Our Time.
:toot:

If you're also going to read The Death of Ivan Ilyich, Kirsten Lodge's translation is the best. Her version of Notes from the Underground is also superb, although she has strong competition there from Ralph Matlaw's revision of Constance Garnett's translation. (A rule of thumb: Garnett translations themselves are hit-and-miss, but revised Garnett is almost always excellent.)

Sham bam bamina! fucked around with this message at 23:52 on Oct 29, 2018

vyelkin
Jan 2, 2011
Hero of Our Time is good, though it's been years and years since I've read it.

I would actually recommend avoiding any Garnett or Maude translations, I've found they tend to be horribly dated and hard to read for a 21st-century reader. There's a translation team, Pevear and Volokhonsky, who have made a career out of translating Russian literature over the last two decades or so and their work tends to be really good, so I would angle for their translations if you can.

A human heart
Oct 10, 2012

vyelkin posted:

Hero of Our Time is good, though it's been years and years since I've read it.

I would actually recommend avoiding any Garnett or Maude translations, I've found they tend to be horribly dated and hard to read for a 21st-century reader. There's a translation team, Pevear and Volokhonsky, who have made a career out of translating Russian literature over the last two decades or so and their work tends to be really good, so I would angle for their translations if you can.

the dude above you is a russian translation expert smart man and he's going to come back in here and obliterate you with wrestling moves for recommending the p&v trans, fyi

Sham bam bamina!
Nov 6, 2012

ƨtupid cat
He's basically right about Garnett and the Maudes. But that's where a good revision makes all the difference.

vyelkin
Jan 2, 2011
^^ yeah, fair enough.

A human heart posted:

the dude above you is a russian translation expert smart man and he's going to come back in here and obliterate you with wrestling moves for recommending the p&v trans, fyi

Yeah, some people who are really into translation don't like Pevear and Volokhonsky, and I get that. I've generally found them to be decently accessible for new readers, though, whereas older translations are often really thick with dated prose.

Ras Het
May 23, 2007

when I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child - but now I am a man.
A Hero of Our Time is good as hell and it's incredible that a shithole like Imperial Russia produced, like, a significant percentage of all truly great world literature in like 15 years between 1827 and 1842

incredible flesh
Oct 6, 2018

by Nyc_Tattoo
imperial russia was a beautiful shithole for people at the top, and they produced most of the literature

Sham bam bamina!
Nov 6, 2012

ƨtupid cat
The opening line of Dead Souls describes Chichikov as the kind of middling gentleman who has a hundred serfs.

Sham bam bamina! fucked around with this message at 12:09 on Nov 1, 2018

RatEarth
Aug 7, 2017

I didn't say that.
but it'd be funny if I did
Poe is always a fun read, and a good foundation to move on to other horror/Gothic literature (fitting, since it's Halloween). The Pit and the Pendulum, The Telltale Heart, and The Masque of the Red Death are all very influential and fairly easy to read. Lovecraft is good, but don't be a completionist and try to read his entire body of work (a lot of it isn't very good), just stick with the more popular stories like The Call of Cthulhu or Cool Air, and remember that Lovecraft was racist even by 1920s standards. Dracula by Bram Stoker and Frankenstein are also classics, but if you don't like Gothic literature, you probably won't be too into them.

I also want to stress how helpful it can be to have some sort of reading companion, whether it be a full separate book or even just Sparknotes. My ADD rear end sometimes misses pretty important poo poo in books, and it's helpful to have something to consult when I don't know what's going on. And more advanced examinations of the story are useful just because it helps me grasp and appreciate stories I might not otherwise enjoy.

A human heart
Oct 10, 2012

ScolopaxMinor posted:

Poe is always a fun read, and a good foundation to move on to other horror/Gothic literature (fitting, since it's Halloween). The Pit and the Pendulum, The Telltale Heart, and The Masque of the Red Death are all very influential and fairly easy to read. Lovecraft is good, but don't be a completionist and try to read his entire body of work (a lot of it isn't very good), just stick with the more popular stories like The Call of Cthulhu or Cool Air, and remember that Lovecraft was racist even by 1920s standards. Dracula by Bram Stoker and Frankenstein are also classics, but if you don't like Gothic literature, you probably won't be too into them.

I also want to stress how helpful it can be to have some sort of reading companion, whether it be a full separate book or even just Sparknotes. My ADD rear end sometimes misses pretty important poo poo in books, and it's helpful to have something to consult when I don't know what's going on. And more advanced examinations of the story are useful just because it helps me grasp and appreciate stories I might not otherwise enjoy.

Lovecraft and poe both suck and this thread is supposed to be about a guy not reading genre fiction! :blastu: :blastu::blastu::blastu:

rvm
May 6, 2013

A human heart posted:

Lovecraft and poe both suck and this thread is supposed to be about a guy not reading genre fiction! :blastu: :blastu::blastu::blastu:

Instead of reading Lovecraft or Poe, OP should read Perkins' "The Yellow Wallpaper" and Andreyev's "Silence".

derp
Jan 21, 2010

when i get up all i want to do is go to bed again

Lipstick Apathy
So is this the new literature thread or what

OscarDiggs
Jun 1, 2011

Those sure are words on pages which are given in a sequential order!

derp posted:

So is this the new literature thread or what

Probably not, the old one is doing fine as in.

I've read A Hero of Our Time in one go a few days ago. I'm almost done reading it through a second time a bit slower. I will have my thoughts up by tommorow.

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Sham bam bamina!
Nov 6, 2012

ƨtupid cat

OscarDiggs posted:

Probably not, the old one is doing fine as in.
It was randomly locked for a while until Hieronymous Alloy reopened it. My guess is that the OP just wanted to gently caress with people a bit.

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