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Heath posted:I read that as "RUFF PLAY :3" and now I'm sad >w<;;;;;;
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May 28, 2020 18:55
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drat nobody even tried to take my Dostoevsky bait. I'm disappointed.
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May 28, 2020 19:15
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mdemone posted:My dudes, I am re-reading The Bros Karamazov, and I think the Grand Inquisitor bit might be the best thing anyone's ever written, but you can change my mind if you want Bro, no one caredmazov
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May 28, 2020 19:41
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I deserved that.
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May 28, 2020 19:44
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I recently read Juan Benet's Return to Region, after having read The Meditation a few months ago. They are both excellent. It seems that these are the only two Benet novels translated to english, both by Gregory Rabassa who also did Garcia Marquez, Cortazar, Lispector and others. Are people here familiar with him? Do I have to learn Spanish if I want to read more? Benet is often compared to Faulkner, who I haven't read, so I guess I should start there. Both novels deal with the development of and fallout from the Spanish civil war in a fictional rural region of Spain. The region is depicted as slowly decaying, having never quite made the jump from antiquity to modernity. The war comes along as sort of a final nail in the coffin, an event that ends any hope for a future for Region and the people who live there. Time, memory, and the formation of self and society are themes in both novels, and both are pessimistic about the future and wary of the past. He depicts people who have given up hope for the future, or maybe never really had any. Return to Region is more directly connected to the civil war, while A Meditation is one persons perspective on the decay of the region, and his family in particular, over a long time period which includes the war. His sentences and paragraphs are long, often with many digressions. A Meditation is one ~300 page paragraph. His narratives also have many digressions. One of the best portions of Return to Region is a 20 page digression into the geology and formation of the mountains encircling Region, and the patterns of settlement on the mountains throughout their history.
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May 28, 2020 23:08
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I've been reading the Dictionary of the Khazars and am happy to report that it is the Neon Genesis Evangelion of Literature.
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May 28, 2020 23:29
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The Belgian posted:I've been reading the Dictionary of the Khazars and am happy to report that it is the Neon Genesis Evangelion of Literature. i haven't seen a second impact misinterpreted this much since the zapruder film
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May 29, 2020 01:49
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I read a review of Otessa Moshfegh's forthcoming book (this one by Lauren Oyler) and it got me curious about Moshfegh's other novels. I've heard of My Year of Rest and Relaxation and was wondering if anyone has thoughts about it or her debut novel. Seems potentially cool but I've been burned before getting recommendations from outside this thread.
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May 29, 2020 02:27
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Duck Rodgers posted:I recently read Juan Benet's Return to Region, after having read The Meditation a few months ago. They are both excellent. It seems that these are the only two Benet novels translated to english, both by Gregory Rabassa who also did Garcia Marquez, Cortazar, Lispector and others. Are people here familiar with him? Do I have to learn Spanish if I want to read more? Benet is often compared to Faulkner, who I haven't read, so I guess I should start there. A Meditation is on my to read list because I am obligated to read all cool long sentence European writers but i've not read it just yet. There is a book of his called 'The Construction of the Tower of Babel' published a few years back by Wakefield press that sounded cool as well, it's essays though rather than fiction.
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May 29, 2020 11:18
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A human heart posted:A Meditation is on my to read list because I am obligated to read all cool long sentence European writers but i've not read it just yet. There is a book of his called 'The Construction of the Tower of Babel' published a few years back by Wakefield press that sounded cool as well, it's essays though rather than fiction. I read Construction as well. I would recommend reading it after A Meditation. In critiquing the painting he is also discussing his own philosophical stance, which is most visible in A Meditation. It is also interesting because he is an engineer and his critique includes a discussion of the architectural features of the painting. Benet apparently made a type writer to write A Meditation that would feed a spool of paper so he could write it all without stopping to change the paper.
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May 29, 2020 22:00
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I’m gonna need to grab me some Juan Benet, his books sounds dope
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May 29, 2020 22:06
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ulvir posted:I’m gonna need to grab me some Juan Benet, his books sounds dope poo poo, same
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May 29, 2020 22:37
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Vineland was a slog through the middle but it ultimately came together nicely and now I feel that it is, in fact, quite good. This and GR are my experience with Pynchon. I'd pick Bleeding Edge next but I'll probably check out some other authors for awhile. In Vineland, as in GR, Weber's charismatic authority concept is brought up: Vineland posted:"About the only thing'll get a fascist through's his charm. The newsfolks love it." Also, lol: Vineland posted:"Ol' Raygun? No way he'll ever make president."
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May 30, 2020 03:44
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Would strongly recommend V. before Bleeding Edge
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May 30, 2020 04:43
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Mokelumne Trekka posted:Vineland was a slog through the middle but it ultimately came together nicely and now I feel that it is, in fact, quite good. This and GR are my experience with Pynchon. I'd pick Bleeding Edge next but I'll probably check out some other authors for awhile. why gr to vineland to bleeding edge? that is an odd path through his work. Heath posted:Would strongly recommend V. before Bleeding Edge absolutely. v. or inherent vice for "shorter pynchons once you've finished gr" over bleeding edge and vineland any day Tree Goat fucked around with this message at 04:50 on May 30, 2020 |
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May 30, 2020 04:43
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No no no, don't read Bleeding Edge next. You've got through GR, now work on one of the other major novels. His mimicry works are wonderful and on-point, but it's not where his big interests are. Maybe try starting Against The Day. If you pushed through GR, you can handle it; the same rules apply.
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May 30, 2020 04:43
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Lol everybody had the same immediate reaction
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May 30, 2020 04:44
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My reasons are flimsy. GR because it's GR. Then Vineland because "Pynchon in the redwoods, neat!. Bleeding Edge because "Pynchon and 9/11, woah" I will take the advice ITT though.
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May 30, 2020 07:16
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I read lot 49 and didn't feel any urge to read any other pynchon. Should I try anyway
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May 30, 2020 07:17
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Mokelumne Trekka posted:My reasons are flimsy. GR because it's GR. Then Vineland because "Pynchon in the redwoods, neat!. Bleeding Edge because "Pynchon and 9/11, woah" I love him to death but he doesn't have a lot to say about the 21st century. We already hosed this world up during the 20th, and delving into that is where he shines. I kind of pity him, in a way. The forces he so boldly stands against have won, and how can he reckon with that?
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May 30, 2020 07:21
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derp posted:I read lot 49 and didn't feel any urge to read any other pynchon. Should I try anyway Read GR with Weisenburger and be awed. That's all I can say.
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May 30, 2020 07:22
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derp posted:I read lot 49 and didn't feel any urge to read any other pynchon. Should I try anyway 49 is widely considered a tier apart from the rest. Not a bad book but it's too thin to capture what makes him appealing
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May 30, 2020 07:38
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Heath posted:49 is widely considered a tier apart from the rest. Not a bad book but it's too thin to capture what makes him appealing It feels like the rest of his juvenilia, which is sort of a weird thing to say because it's a drat sight better than anything most authors have achieved. But you're right. It's like he was poking at the issues he wanted to grapple with.
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May 30, 2020 07:50
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derp posted:I read lot 49 and didn't feel any urge to read any other pynchon. Should I try anyway "The gaudy names Mr. Pynchon gives his characters are like pink slips, announcing their dismissal from the realm of human sympathy and concern."
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May 30, 2020 13:18
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My Pynchon journey so far has been Mason & Dixon, Lot 49, and now I just finished part two of GR
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May 30, 2020 15:22
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The Belgian posted:I've been reading the Dictionary of the Khazars and am happy to report that it is the Neon Genesis Evangelion of Literature. how have you been reading it? front to back or jumping between dictionaries? I've been sitting on the male version for a while and maybe lockdown is the push I need to go for it.
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May 31, 2020 12:55
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nut posted:how have you been reading it? front to back or jumping between dictionaries? I've been sitting on the male version for a while and maybe lockdown is the push I need to go for it. I read it by jumping around. Either following the references between entries and dictionaries or just picking one that seemed interesting. Reading it front to back is certainly one way to do it but part of the experience would be lost, I think.
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May 31, 2020 15:11
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apophenium posted:I read it by jumping around. Either following the references between entries and dictionaries or just picking one that seemed interesting. Reading it front to back is certainly one way to do it but part of the experience would be lost, I think. This sounds really cool, but how will you know when you've finished it?
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May 31, 2020 16:07
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Ficconies probably my fave book ever so bought the Aleph and found it very meh. Anyone else find it disappointing?
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May 31, 2020 16:36
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I’ve been on a tear of making myself read contemporary Canadian fiction but it’s been so hit or miss I need something else for a while. One of my favourite books is Life and Death are Wearing me Out by Mo Yan. I just think it’s a very fun and memorable multigenerational story. I’ve heard the comedic parts of it are comparable to Tristram Shandy but if anyone has a better rec than that I’d love to hear it. Edit: I should mention I have read and love 100 years of solitude because that comes to mind when I think of it nut fucked around with this message at 18:27 on May 31, 2020 |
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May 31, 2020 18:08
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[smug chuckling at the idea of 'Canadian literature']
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May 31, 2020 18:43
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Someone should write a Joycean epic entirely in Newfie
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May 31, 2020 18:45
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Eugene V. Dubstep posted:[smug chuckling at the idea of 'Canadian literature'] I said fiction very on purpose lol
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May 31, 2020 19:15
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Mel Mudkiper posted:Someone should write a Joycean epic entirely in Newfie They already did https://www.amazon.ca/Gaff-Topsails-Patrick-Kavanagh/dp/1896951848
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May 31, 2020 19:26
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Mel Mudkiper posted:Someone should write a Joycean epic entirely in Newfie Ulysses what i sees
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May 31, 2020 19:28
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loving sick
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May 31, 2020 19:30
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nut posted:I’ve been on a tear of making myself read contemporary Canadian fiction but it’s been so hit or miss I need something else for a while. I don't really have any good multigenerational sort of recommendation, but if the animal perspective was endearing/entertaining enough then give Elephant's Journey by Saramago a try, and if you liked it for the lolling out loud parts, try Flight of Icarus by Queneau.
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May 31, 2020 19:42
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if you want good multigenerational stories Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides A Reunion of Ghosts by Judith Claire Mitchell The Stone Diaries by Carol Shields
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May 31, 2020 19:48
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I think one of my fiance's book clubs are doing Middlesex next actually, I'll ask her how it was after they're done
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May 31, 2020 19:51
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ulvir posted:I think one of my fiance's book clubs are doing Middlesex next actually, I'll ask her how it was after they're done Its kind of fun because its about a person with horrible genetic deformities going through their family history of secret incest that lead to their birth
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May 31, 2020 19:56
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