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1readeron
My first 50 Book Challenge thread can be found here:
http://www.librarything.com/topic/42186
And this was my second thread:
http://www.librarything.com/topic/70518
#1 Jane and Prudence by Barbara Pym
256 pages
5 stars
"Middle-aged Jane is the well-intentioned but far from perfect clergyman's wife and mother. Prudence, who at 29 is teetering at the edge of spinsterhood, is an attractive, educated working girl. The two best friends share memories of their carefree days at Oxford, leisurely lunches, and gossip, but their ultimate goal is to find a suitable mate for Prudence." /goodreads/
"Another delightful glimpse of 1950s England, full of Pym's gentle but subversive little insights into the way the world (or at least this very middle-English bit of it) works. There ought to be a timeless quality about this story of vicars, spinsters and tea-parties on the lawn, but we are forever being reminded that this is a changing world. The village is on the fringe of the city; the local tradesmen are as involved in running the church as the more middle-class residents; everyone is affected by post-war shortages; there are no servants any more, but women from the village "oblige" with cooking and cleaning.
Above all, it's a women's world. Men exist only on the fringes of the community. They are vain, impractical, in constant need of food and reassurance, and mostly have no very clear occupation (Dr Grampian is "some kind of economist or historian"; Fabian does something or other in the City). They can be ornamental and nice to have around the place, but on the whole they are a bit of a nuisance. Women are focussed, competent and organised, and are the only people in the book we ever see doing anything useful. The exception to this rule is Jane, who is clever, a whizz when it comes to 17th century poetry, but hilariously absent-minded when it comes to her adopted role in life. She can imagine very clearly, in terms of Trollope, Jane Austen, and Miss Charlotte M. Yonge what a clergyman's wife should be, but she always somehow loses track of what she means to do about it herself. Fortunately, Mrs Glaze (who obliges at the vicarage) and Jane's teenage daughter are on hand to treat her as a sort of honorary male to be fed and tidied-up-after, and her husband is a new man avant la lettre who doesn't complain about the non-appearance of food at mealtimes.
The text teams with little in-jokes: (...) Jane Austen's Emma is mentioned several times (Prudence's name was obviously picked to allow her to be annoyed by colleagues calling her "Miss Bates")(...) And there are some lovely lines - not least concerning the old battleaxe, Miss Doggett, who looks as though she "had heard that men only want one thing, but had forgotten for the moment what it was."
Great fun, and as usual in Pym there is no neatly contrived ending to force closure on the characters: a few little rearrangements, everyone capable of doing so has learned a little bit about themselves, but not much has really changed." /thorold, Librarything/
"Pym writes loneliness, the urban/modern condition, and humanity’s oft mistaken attempts at communication and companionship very well. Given that her characters are generally overlooked middle-aged people clinging quietly but desperately to a pretense of gentility, one might assume her stories are unhappy. Of course parts of them are, but I get the feeling that her characters are happier by the end of her novels than at the start. They definitely progress, toward intimacy with another person(s) or toward an inner understanding. This book is no exception. Jane is the dreamy, highly educated wife of a vicar; her friend Prudence is an equally highly educated younger woman searching for love. I loved Jane dearly. She’s forever quoting ancient poetry and not setting up for tea and wearing the wrong kind of dress, and she isn’t unhappy about her lapses from femininity one bit. She’s just the sort of person who fuels her mind and heart and lets the rest of the world go to blazes through inattention." /Wealhtheow Wylfing, goodreads/
"Brilliant.
Quotations:
“The lump in Prudence’s throat made it difficult for her to speak, but she managed to offer to change places so that the man and woman could be at the same table. They thanked her and the change was made. Prudence sat for the rest of the meal, listening to her neighbors’ conversation, her eyes full of tears. Disliking humanity in general, she was one of those excessively tender-hearted people who are greatly moved by the troubles of complete strangers, in which she sometimes imagined herself playing a noble part. The man sitting at her table, who had at first appeared to be a bore or even a menace, was now proved to be an object of interest. There was both nobility and pathos about him.”
“Jane was sitting on the other side of the fire with her feet up on a pouffe; there was a book open on her lap and the Sunday papers were spread out at her side, but she was not reading; she had ‘dropped off’, as she frequently did on a Sunday afternoon, and her head was drooping over against the back of her chair; her mouth was slightly open too. She had just been reading the review of a novel where a character was said to emerge ‘triumphantly in the round’, and somehow this had set her nodding. ... After that all was blessed oblivion until the cruel shrilling of the front-door bell startled her into uttering a cry and sitting bolt upright in her chair.” /Ann-Marie, goodreads/
"I kept thinking that the novel could be summarized by: “Recipe: 2 parts Jane Austin + 1 part P.G. Wodehouse, blend to a fine froth, chill and serve.” Will I remember much about this novel two months from now? Probably not. Am I glad that I read it? Oh yes!" /Bruce Nagle, goodreads/
A short, fun read. I loved it.
http://www.librarything.com/topic/42186
And this was my second thread:
http://www.librarything.com/topic/70518
#1 Jane and Prudence by Barbara Pym
256 pages
5 stars
"Middle-aged Jane is the well-intentioned but far from perfect clergyman's wife and mother. Prudence, who at 29 is teetering at the edge of spinsterhood, is an attractive, educated working girl. The two best friends share memories of their carefree days at Oxford, leisurely lunches, and gossip, but their ultimate goal is to find a suitable mate for Prudence." /goodreads/
"Another delightful glimpse of 1950s England, full of Pym's gentle but subversive little insights into the way the world (or at least this very middle-English bit of it) works. There ought to be a timeless quality about this story of vicars, spinsters and tea-parties on the lawn, but we are forever being reminded that this is a changing world. The village is on the fringe of the city; the local tradesmen are as involved in running the church as the more middle-class residents; everyone is affected by post-war shortages; there are no servants any more, but women from the village "oblige" with cooking and cleaning.
Above all, it's a women's world. Men exist only on the fringes of the community. They are vain, impractical, in constant need of food and reassurance, and mostly have no very clear occupation (Dr Grampian is "some kind of economist or historian"; Fabian does something or other in the City). They can be ornamental and nice to have around the place, but on the whole they are a bit of a nuisance. Women are focussed, competent and organised, and are the only people in the book we ever see doing anything useful. The exception to this rule is Jane, who is clever, a whizz when it comes to 17th century poetry, but hilariously absent-minded when it comes to her adopted role in life. She can imagine very clearly, in terms of Trollope, Jane Austen, and Miss Charlotte M. Yonge what a clergyman's wife should be, but she always somehow loses track of what she means to do about it herself. Fortunately, Mrs Glaze (who obliges at the vicarage) and Jane's teenage daughter are on hand to treat her as a sort of honorary male to be fed and tidied-up-after, and her husband is a new man avant la lettre who doesn't complain about the non-appearance of food at mealtimes.
The text teams with little in-jokes: (...) Jane Austen's Emma is mentioned several times (Prudence's name was obviously picked to allow her to be annoyed by colleagues calling her "Miss Bates")(...) And there are some lovely lines - not least concerning the old battleaxe, Miss Doggett, who looks as though she "had heard that men only want one thing, but had forgotten for the moment what it was."
Great fun, and as usual in Pym there is no neatly contrived ending to force closure on the characters: a few little rearrangements, everyone capable of doing so has learned a little bit about themselves, but not much has really changed." /thorold, Librarything/
"Pym writes loneliness, the urban/modern condition, and humanity’s oft mistaken attempts at communication and companionship very well. Given that her characters are generally overlooked middle-aged people clinging quietly but desperately to a pretense of gentility, one might assume her stories are unhappy. Of course parts of them are, but I get the feeling that her characters are happier by the end of her novels than at the start. They definitely progress, toward intimacy with another person(s) or toward an inner understanding. This book is no exception. Jane is the dreamy, highly educated wife of a vicar; her friend Prudence is an equally highly educated younger woman searching for love. I loved Jane dearly. She’s forever quoting ancient poetry and not setting up for tea and wearing the wrong kind of dress, and she isn’t unhappy about her lapses from femininity one bit. She’s just the sort of person who fuels her mind and heart and lets the rest of the world go to blazes through inattention." /Wealhtheow Wylfing, goodreads/
"Brilliant.
Quotations:
“The lump in Prudence’s throat made it difficult for her to speak, but she managed to offer to change places so that the man and woman could be at the same table. They thanked her and the change was made. Prudence sat for the rest of the meal, listening to her neighbors’ conversation, her eyes full of tears. Disliking humanity in general, she was one of those excessively tender-hearted people who are greatly moved by the troubles of complete strangers, in which she sometimes imagined herself playing a noble part. The man sitting at her table, who had at first appeared to be a bore or even a menace, was now proved to be an object of interest. There was both nobility and pathos about him.”
“Jane was sitting on the other side of the fire with her feet up on a pouffe; there was a book open on her lap and the Sunday papers were spread out at her side, but she was not reading; she had ‘dropped off’, as she frequently did on a Sunday afternoon, and her head was drooping over against the back of her chair; her mouth was slightly open too. She had just been reading the review of a novel where a character was said to emerge ‘triumphantly in the round’, and somehow this had set her nodding. ... After that all was blessed oblivion until the cruel shrilling of the front-door bell startled her into uttering a cry and sitting bolt upright in her chair.” /Ann-Marie, goodreads/
"I kept thinking that the novel could be summarized by: “Recipe: 2 parts Jane Austin + 1 part P.G. Wodehouse, blend to a fine froth, chill and serve.” Will I remember much about this novel two months from now? Probably not. Am I glad that I read it? Oh yes!" /Bruce Nagle, goodreads/
A short, fun read. I loved it.
2readeron
#2 Women's Lies by Ljudmila Ulitzkaja (in Hungarian)
147 pages
2 stars
Now I had to start a Wodehouse (Quick Service:) to get over the disappointment I felt after reading these short stories. Ulitzkaja is a highly popular author in my country, so I really wanted to like this book, but it just didn't grab me at all, actually it left me quite irritated. I didn't like the characters, I couldn't find any mentionable plot-twists, and I kept ending up feeling 'meh' about the endings. On the positive side, the style is concise and the whole book is quite a fast read. Two stars because I'm feeling charitable, and because I think the author has the ability to write well. I'll give Ulitzkaya another try in the near future.
147 pages
2 stars
Now I had to start a Wodehouse (Quick Service:) to get over the disappointment I felt after reading these short stories. Ulitzkaja is a highly popular author in my country, so I really wanted to like this book, but it just didn't grab me at all, actually it left me quite irritated. I didn't like the characters, I couldn't find any mentionable plot-twists, and I kept ending up feeling 'meh' about the endings. On the positive side, the style is concise and the whole book is quite a fast read. Two stars because I'm feeling charitable, and because I think the author has the ability to write well. I'll give Ulitzkaya another try in the near future.
3readeron
#3 Quick Service by P. G. Wodehouse
5 stars
240 pages
"A complicated chain of events is set into motion after Mrs. Chavender takes a bite of breakfast ham, declares it inedible, and sets out to complain to Duf and Trotter, one of London's most exclusive merchants." /fantasticfiction/
"Another dose of P. G. Wodehouse, this time outside the realm of Jeeves and Wooster. The story centers around a young artist of cheerful self-regard named Joss Weatherby, who takes a job as a valet in order to win the girl of his dreams (who's already engaged to a Wooster-style doofus) and steal a portrait he himself painted. Henpecked husbands, poor relations, gossiping servants, airy badinage, an intricate comic plot -- all the PGW trademarks are here. His language is just as nimble as his storytelling." /subbobmail, Librarything/
"Young love will triumph only if Lord Holbeton (George) wangles sufficient money from his tightfisted trustee to marry Sally Fairmile. They’re both guests in the English manor home, Claines Hall, of American industrialist Howard Steptoe and his wife Mabel. Sally is the much put-upon poor relation of the Steptoes and George a milquetoast given to crooning “Trees.” It’s not likely George will approach J. Buchanan “Jimmy” Duff, said trustee, and assert himself. That’s up to Sally.
While in Duff’s London office to intercede for George, Sally encounters Joss Weatherby, an artist who sees Sally and immediately falls in love. Sally’s second task while away from Loose Chippings is to find a new valet for Howard Steptoe, a coarse man given to shooting craps and pursuing a career as a Hollywood actor, much to the chagrin of his upwardly mobile (or so she hopes) wife. Joss convinces Sally he can fit the bill as a gentleman’s gentleman. Then Duff decides he must acquire a painting (by Joss) that hangs in Claines Hall of another guest, Mabel’s sister-in-law Beatrice Chavender; the widow was once Duff’s lady love. Duff wishes to use her painting to illustrate an advertisement for his premium hams.
As in much of P.G. Wodehouse’s writing, most male characters in Quick Service are bumblers, the women strong and assertive. But the bumbling and scurrying, the ability to take a simple task and hopelessly complicate it are at the heart of the fun. (...)
But for readers who enjoy fine comedic writing, and who appreciate an author who gets the most out of the English language, there’s no better than P.G. Wodehouse." /cozylibrary/
"At her sister's house party, Mrs. Chavender unwisely chooses ham for breakfast, thus setting off a chain of events affecting everyone at the house party as well as ham king J.B. Duff and his artist employee Joss Weatherby, who painted a portrait of Mrs. Chavender once which Duff would like to have. This non-series Wodehouse uses one of his most common plot devices (house party, item in house which multiple guests and other people would like to steal, midnight encounters), to very good effect. Joss is rather like Psmith in his resilience and quick thinking (...), and the plot is quick moving and fun." /lonelymountain/
A fast, fun read. Wodehouse never disappoints me.:)
5 stars
240 pages
"A complicated chain of events is set into motion after Mrs. Chavender takes a bite of breakfast ham, declares it inedible, and sets out to complain to Duf and Trotter, one of London's most exclusive merchants." /fantasticfiction/
"Another dose of P. G. Wodehouse, this time outside the realm of Jeeves and Wooster. The story centers around a young artist of cheerful self-regard named Joss Weatherby, who takes a job as a valet in order to win the girl of his dreams (who's already engaged to a Wooster-style doofus) and steal a portrait he himself painted. Henpecked husbands, poor relations, gossiping servants, airy badinage, an intricate comic plot -- all the PGW trademarks are here. His language is just as nimble as his storytelling." /subbobmail, Librarything/
"Young love will triumph only if Lord Holbeton (George) wangles sufficient money from his tightfisted trustee to marry Sally Fairmile. They’re both guests in the English manor home, Claines Hall, of American industrialist Howard Steptoe and his wife Mabel. Sally is the much put-upon poor relation of the Steptoes and George a milquetoast given to crooning “Trees.” It’s not likely George will approach J. Buchanan “Jimmy” Duff, said trustee, and assert himself. That’s up to Sally.
While in Duff’s London office to intercede for George, Sally encounters Joss Weatherby, an artist who sees Sally and immediately falls in love. Sally’s second task while away from Loose Chippings is to find a new valet for Howard Steptoe, a coarse man given to shooting craps and pursuing a career as a Hollywood actor, much to the chagrin of his upwardly mobile (or so she hopes) wife. Joss convinces Sally he can fit the bill as a gentleman’s gentleman. Then Duff decides he must acquire a painting (by Joss) that hangs in Claines Hall of another guest, Mabel’s sister-in-law Beatrice Chavender; the widow was once Duff’s lady love. Duff wishes to use her painting to illustrate an advertisement for his premium hams.
As in much of P.G. Wodehouse’s writing, most male characters in Quick Service are bumblers, the women strong and assertive. But the bumbling and scurrying, the ability to take a simple task and hopelessly complicate it are at the heart of the fun. (...)
But for readers who enjoy fine comedic writing, and who appreciate an author who gets the most out of the English language, there’s no better than P.G. Wodehouse." /cozylibrary/
"At her sister's house party, Mrs. Chavender unwisely chooses ham for breakfast, thus setting off a chain of events affecting everyone at the house party as well as ham king J.B. Duff and his artist employee Joss Weatherby, who painted a portrait of Mrs. Chavender once which Duff would like to have. This non-series Wodehouse uses one of his most common plot devices (house party, item in house which multiple guests and other people would like to steal, midnight encounters), to very good effect. Joss is rather like Psmith in his resilience and quick thinking (...), and the plot is quick moving and fun." /lonelymountain/
A fast, fun read. Wodehouse never disappoints me.:)
4readeron
#4 The Funeral Party by Ludmila Ulitskaya
5 stars
160 pages
Surprise! Surprise! I loved this short, well-written, truly entertaining book, it made me an Ulitskaya convert.:) I felt for the quirky characters all the time and I must admit that I loved the setting, as well: for me, New York is probably the most exotic place on Earth. Russian immigrants in New York - the theme in itself would've sold me.
"August 1991. In a sweltering New York City apartment, a group of Russian émigrés gathers round the deathbed of an artist named Alik, a charismatic character beloved by them all, especially the women who take turns nursing him as he fades from this world. Their reminiscences of the dying man and of their lives in Russia are punctuated by debates and squabbles: Whom did Alik love most? Should he be baptized before he dies, as his alcoholic wife, Nina, desperately wishes, or be reconciled to the faith of his birth by a rabbi who happens to be on hand? And what will be the meaning for them of the Yeltsin putsch, which is happening across the world in their long-lost Moscow but also right before their eyes on CNN?
This marvelous group of individuals inhabits the first novel by Ludmila Ulitskaya to be published in English, a book that was shortlisted for the Russian Booker Prize and has been praised wherever translated editions have appeared. Simultaneously funny and sad, lyrical in its Russian sorrow and devastatingly keen in its observation of character, The Funeral Party introduces to our shores a wonderful writer who captures, wryly and tenderly, our complex thoughts and emotions confronting life and death, love and loss, homeland and exile." /amazon, product description/
"In a New York City loft on the eve of the second Russian revolution (1991), a group of friends, mostly former Russians, gather to watch over their friend, an artist named Alik, who is dying. If this sounds like a plot of gloom, you're wrong. As the title suggests, it's a celebration, during which the Russian emigre experience late 20th century style, is rehashed with equal doses of humor and pathos, and colorfully told in a way that only a Russian author could do justice to. " /Lynn Adler, Amazon/
"Ludmila Ulitskaya has written an insightful novel on human behavior, and an amusing tale as well. The title put me in mind of what many would first think of when it came to an Irish Wake. However these émigrés from Russia begin their reminiscing, their grieving, and their personal battles well before the death of the man who is the center of their attention.
Ms. Ulitskaya brings a wide range of characters to her tale, from a young girl who seems almost selectively Autistic, to the dying subject who has lead the life of a Greenwich Village Don Juan, to the woman who adore him and revile their challengers for his affection. If this is not enough the poor invalid is hounded to become a Christian, however he also wishes to see a Rabbi, and thus the Author begins a conflict between religious positions that are represented by men who will never agree and will eventually be usurped in their function. Their final comedy takes place graveside when competing methods for the burial of the dead ring the grave for prominence of voice and position.
The Author spent time on a subject that I wish occupied more of her writing. She explored the need of émigrés to constantly seek affirmation that their Mother Country that they left behind was indeed not worthy of their citizenship. They must constantly reassure each other and themselves, with current events in Moscow is possible, that they indeed did not run away but moved on to a better life.
(...)
Well worth the allocation of some of your reading time." /taking a rest, amazon/
"This little novel (just 160 pages) is the story of the last days of Alik, a Russian Jewish emigre wasting away of an unknown ailment. An artist, he lives with wife Nina in a bare-bones apartment paid for by someone else, with a steady stream of friends, well-wishers and lovers both past and present flowing through the building and the narrative. The drama of this very laid-back novel concerns Nina's efforts to get Alik baptized before he dies, so they can be together in the afterlife; a Russian Orthodox Christian, she is apoplectic that they might be separated forever when he dies. To this end, she enlists a priest, and, at his request, a rabbi as well, to help convince him to go through with it. This plot in particular provides a bit of the bittersweet farce which actually characterizes the novel as a whole.
Meanwhile Alik is the center of the emotional lives of his lovers Vera and Valentina as well, and each woman jockeys for the central position in his life, viewing the others with a mixture of pity and scorn. The novel goes back and forth through time as each woman's story is told, with Alik always an engima at the center of their lives. His apartment is portrayed as a kind of way-station for misfits, friends, and hangers-on, a microcosm of his life. Ulitskaya is a very skilled literary writer who populates his world with eccentric, vivid characters - even the minor characters are drawn with a skilled eye and economical use of detail. She writes in a style both matter-of-fact- "The landlord of the building was a louse," she states flatly at the opening one chapter- and wholly readable.
Character-driven and meticulous, I won't say The Funeral Party is page-turner but you'll want to know how these characters end up, how Alik ends up, and how his community deals with the loss of this charismatic man. It's a literary story of the modern European immigrant experience and of relations between men and women, and I think readers who like Ulitskaya's fellow Man Booker International nominees will enjoy it." /bostonbibliophile/
""The Funeral Party" is a delightful novella that offers readers an intimate look into the lives of a select few characters who are as different as night and day. All of these colorful characters are connected to one another for two reasons; they are immigrants from Russia and they have all known and loved a dying man by the name of Alik. In his last days of life in August of 1991, they gather to say their goodbyes, and reflect on their own lives.
The prospect of death is a natural occasion for people to analyze their life - its triumphs and mistakes. And that is exactly what Ulitskaya's characters do. They ponder over their pasts and presents, and we progressively learn what their connection to the dying man was. We discover their passions and their fears, their frustrations and their hopes, their dreams and their realities. All are beautifully written and played out by believable, vivid characters.
(...) overall Ulitskaya offers a wonderful and odd portrait of a wonderfully odd familiy of Russian immigrants. " /Amazon/
"Alik, a Russian emigre is slowly dying of a mysterious, degenerative disease. The novella takes place over his final days, as people from his past drift in and out of the apartment while Alik himself drifts in and out of consciousness. The story is really about the people in Alik's life and not about Alik, a dynamic artist who has surrounded himself with an entertaining cast of characters. Alik's visitors contemplate love, life, death, the afterlife without a word being wasted. The characters are fully drawn and the dialogue is smart and snappy." /Elizabeth Hendry, Amazon/
One of the best books by Ulitskaya, strongly recommend it to anyone interested in modern Russian literature. /OZ, Amazon/
Well, I'm afraid I quoted here all the reviews I could get my hands on because I'm so glad I've "discovered" a new author I really like after all.:) I also plan to read Sincerely Yours, Shurik by her soon.
5 stars
160 pages
Surprise! Surprise! I loved this short, well-written, truly entertaining book, it made me an Ulitskaya convert.:) I felt for the quirky characters all the time and I must admit that I loved the setting, as well: for me, New York is probably the most exotic place on Earth. Russian immigrants in New York - the theme in itself would've sold me.
"August 1991. In a sweltering New York City apartment, a group of Russian émigrés gathers round the deathbed of an artist named Alik, a charismatic character beloved by them all, especially the women who take turns nursing him as he fades from this world. Their reminiscences of the dying man and of their lives in Russia are punctuated by debates and squabbles: Whom did Alik love most? Should he be baptized before he dies, as his alcoholic wife, Nina, desperately wishes, or be reconciled to the faith of his birth by a rabbi who happens to be on hand? And what will be the meaning for them of the Yeltsin putsch, which is happening across the world in their long-lost Moscow but also right before their eyes on CNN?
This marvelous group of individuals inhabits the first novel by Ludmila Ulitskaya to be published in English, a book that was shortlisted for the Russian Booker Prize and has been praised wherever translated editions have appeared. Simultaneously funny and sad, lyrical in its Russian sorrow and devastatingly keen in its observation of character, The Funeral Party introduces to our shores a wonderful writer who captures, wryly and tenderly, our complex thoughts and emotions confronting life and death, love and loss, homeland and exile." /amazon, product description/
"In a New York City loft on the eve of the second Russian revolution (1991), a group of friends, mostly former Russians, gather to watch over their friend, an artist named Alik, who is dying. If this sounds like a plot of gloom, you're wrong. As the title suggests, it's a celebration, during which the Russian emigre experience late 20th century style, is rehashed with equal doses of humor and pathos, and colorfully told in a way that only a Russian author could do justice to. " /Lynn Adler, Amazon/
"Ludmila Ulitskaya has written an insightful novel on human behavior, and an amusing tale as well. The title put me in mind of what many would first think of when it came to an Irish Wake. However these émigrés from Russia begin their reminiscing, their grieving, and their personal battles well before the death of the man who is the center of their attention.
Ms. Ulitskaya brings a wide range of characters to her tale, from a young girl who seems almost selectively Autistic, to the dying subject who has lead the life of a Greenwich Village Don Juan, to the woman who adore him and revile their challengers for his affection. If this is not enough the poor invalid is hounded to become a Christian, however he also wishes to see a Rabbi, and thus the Author begins a conflict between religious positions that are represented by men who will never agree and will eventually be usurped in their function. Their final comedy takes place graveside when competing methods for the burial of the dead ring the grave for prominence of voice and position.
The Author spent time on a subject that I wish occupied more of her writing. She explored the need of émigrés to constantly seek affirmation that their Mother Country that they left behind was indeed not worthy of their citizenship. They must constantly reassure each other and themselves, with current events in Moscow is possible, that they indeed did not run away but moved on to a better life.
(...)
Well worth the allocation of some of your reading time." /taking a rest, amazon/
"This little novel (just 160 pages) is the story of the last days of Alik, a Russian Jewish emigre wasting away of an unknown ailment. An artist, he lives with wife Nina in a bare-bones apartment paid for by someone else, with a steady stream of friends, well-wishers and lovers both past and present flowing through the building and the narrative. The drama of this very laid-back novel concerns Nina's efforts to get Alik baptized before he dies, so they can be together in the afterlife; a Russian Orthodox Christian, she is apoplectic that they might be separated forever when he dies. To this end, she enlists a priest, and, at his request, a rabbi as well, to help convince him to go through with it. This plot in particular provides a bit of the bittersweet farce which actually characterizes the novel as a whole.
Meanwhile Alik is the center of the emotional lives of his lovers Vera and Valentina as well, and each woman jockeys for the central position in his life, viewing the others with a mixture of pity and scorn. The novel goes back and forth through time as each woman's story is told, with Alik always an engima at the center of their lives. His apartment is portrayed as a kind of way-station for misfits, friends, and hangers-on, a microcosm of his life. Ulitskaya is a very skilled literary writer who populates his world with eccentric, vivid characters - even the minor characters are drawn with a skilled eye and economical use of detail. She writes in a style both matter-of-fact- "The landlord of the building was a louse," she states flatly at the opening one chapter- and wholly readable.
Character-driven and meticulous, I won't say The Funeral Party is page-turner but you'll want to know how these characters end up, how Alik ends up, and how his community deals with the loss of this charismatic man. It's a literary story of the modern European immigrant experience and of relations between men and women, and I think readers who like Ulitskaya's fellow Man Booker International nominees will enjoy it." /bostonbibliophile/
""The Funeral Party" is a delightful novella that offers readers an intimate look into the lives of a select few characters who are as different as night and day. All of these colorful characters are connected to one another for two reasons; they are immigrants from Russia and they have all known and loved a dying man by the name of Alik. In his last days of life in August of 1991, they gather to say their goodbyes, and reflect on their own lives.
The prospect of death is a natural occasion for people to analyze their life - its triumphs and mistakes. And that is exactly what Ulitskaya's characters do. They ponder over their pasts and presents, and we progressively learn what their connection to the dying man was. We discover their passions and their fears, their frustrations and their hopes, their dreams and their realities. All are beautifully written and played out by believable, vivid characters.
(...) overall Ulitskaya offers a wonderful and odd portrait of a wonderfully odd familiy of Russian immigrants. " /Amazon/
"Alik, a Russian emigre is slowly dying of a mysterious, degenerative disease. The novella takes place over his final days, as people from his past drift in and out of the apartment while Alik himself drifts in and out of consciousness. The story is really about the people in Alik's life and not about Alik, a dynamic artist who has surrounded himself with an entertaining cast of characters. Alik's visitors contemplate love, life, death, the afterlife without a word being wasted. The characters are fully drawn and the dialogue is smart and snappy." /Elizabeth Hendry, Amazon/
One of the best books by Ulitskaya, strongly recommend it to anyone interested in modern Russian literature. /OZ, Amazon/
Well, I'm afraid I quoted here all the reviews I could get my hands on because I'm so glad I've "discovered" a new author I really like after all.:) I also plan to read Sincerely Yours, Shurik by her soon.
5readeron
#5 Murphy's Law: Doctors by Arthur Bloch
4 stars
240 pages
"Guaranteed to have you in stitches! Murphy's twists on medical mishaps.
From malpractice to measles - anything that can go wrong in the medical world will!
Stettner's Law for Surgeons
Never say "oops" while your patient is conscious.
Campbell's Law of Medicine
The less you do, the less can go wrong." /Amazon/
It was amusing in places, but on the whole I expected a lot more. More medical details would've made the book more interesting. A book like this should have a lot more humor, too. (For example, I found Ms. Murphy's Law
by Faith Hines far more hilarious.) It felt a bit like the author was recycling parts of his other books.
4 stars
240 pages
"Guaranteed to have you in stitches! Murphy's twists on medical mishaps.
From malpractice to measles - anything that can go wrong in the medical world will!
Stettner's Law for Surgeons
Never say "oops" while your patient is conscious.
Campbell's Law of Medicine
The less you do, the less can go wrong." /Amazon/
It was amusing in places, but on the whole I expected a lot more. More medical details would've made the book more interesting. A book like this should have a lot more humor, too. (For example, I found Ms. Murphy's Law
by Faith Hines far more hilarious.) It felt a bit like the author was recycling parts of his other books.
6readeron
#6 Pesti kínálat by Kata Tisza
159 pages
5 stars
Well, I've decided to read more Hungarian authors this year. (I know, I know, me and my plans...)
21st century stories about awkward situations in women's lives (mostly), some prose poetry and something more. Insightful, intelligent voice, partly autobiographical themes. A sceptical, ironic approach to the Hungarian dating scene. (I quite liked the author's sly sense of humor.:)
Overall, I liked the author's style, and read her short stories (and poems) at one sitting, which is not typical for me. (It's my first book by her, so maybe I'm only too enthusiastic about it all, but well...:)
159 pages
5 stars
Well, I've decided to read more Hungarian authors this year. (I know, I know, me and my plans...)
21st century stories about awkward situations in women's lives (mostly), some prose poetry and something more. Insightful, intelligent voice, partly autobiographical themes. A sceptical, ironic approach to the Hungarian dating scene. (I quite liked the author's sly sense of humor.:)
Overall, I liked the author's style, and read her short stories (and poems) at one sitting, which is not typical for me. (It's my first book by her, so maybe I'm only too enthusiastic about it all, but well...:)
7readeron
#7 The Codex by Douglas Preston
5 stars
416 pages
"Terrific! Even on his own, Douglas Preston really crafts a wonderful tale of mystery and suspense. A little less gorey than his books with Lincoln Child, which is not a bad thing. Set in the jungles of Honduras." /seasweetie, goodreads/
"'Greetings from the dead,' declares Maxwell Broadbent in the videotape he left behind after his mysterious disappearance. A notorious treasure hunter and tomb robber, Broadbent accumulated over half and a billion dollars' worth of priceless art, gems, and artefacts before vanishing - along with his entire collection - from his mansion in New Mexico. At first, robbery is suspected, but the truth proves far stranger: as a final challenge to his three sons, Broadbent has buried himself and his treasure somewhere in the world, hidden away like an ancient Egyptian pharaoh. If the sons wish to claim their fabulous inheritance, they must find their father's carefully concealed tomb. The race is on, but the three brothers are not the only ones competing for the treasure. With half a billion dollars at stake, as well as an ancient Mayan codex that may hold cure for cancer and other deadly diseases, others soon join the hunt and some of them will stop at nothing to claim the grave goods." /Amazon/
"Fascinating characters, exotic jungle scenery, and surprising twists make this nonstop thrill ride well worth deciphering. For all fiction collections."--Library Journal on The Codex
"Together Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child have written --- in my opinion --- some of the best thrillers of our time. Preston's solo effort THE CODEX earns that same praise. And if you are a fan of quest stories, you will enjoy this unique twist on a popular theme.
Aging and ill, Maxwell Broadbent has devised a highly unusual plan for the distribution of his impressive estate. An archaeologist-tomb robber, Broadbent has spent his life amassing an unparalleled collection of art and artifacts. His three grown sons are disappointments to him, but he can change that by sending them on the greatest adventure of their lives.
When the boys arrive at Broadbent's mansion to find it ransacked and virtually emptied out, they think their father has not only been robbed but kidnapped as well --- until they find the tape that begins with Broadbent himself saying, "Greetings from the dead." The eccentric millionaire has taken all his prized possessions and buried them in a crypt in Central America, and left instructions that the son (or sons) who find the treasure will inherit it. Oh, and Broadbent has buried himself with the goods!
The adventure begins. Vernon, the hippie spiritualist in the group, enlists his questionable guru for help. Philip, a professor, tracks down his father's former expedition partner, now a P.I., thinking who better to find Broadbent than the man who knew his past quests best. And Tom, a vet, declines to search until a beautiful young doctor convinces him that amongst the treasures is an item vital to the future of medicine and the future of mankind: the Codex.
The Codex is a Mayan book that contains the medical applications of the indigenous plants of Central America. When a failing pharmaceutical company learns of its existence, the race to feed greed and find Broadbent is on.
Thrilling, fast-paced and chock full of unexpected surprises --- including one Honduran who has claims on the inheritance as well --- THE CODEX is all that and more.
Reviewed by Roberta O'Hara" /Amazon/
"Reading this book was so much fun I could hardly put it down! The characters were well developed, the relationships are interesting, the action is great fun, and I loved the understated humor. Codex is light, fun reading which manages to remind us of a few essentials in human relationships. The characters also "grow" into better persons by book's end. Highly recommend this book especially if you have been reading "heavy stuff." This is a refreshing break! " /JGK, Amazon/
5 stars
416 pages
"Terrific! Even on his own, Douglas Preston really crafts a wonderful tale of mystery and suspense. A little less gorey than his books with Lincoln Child, which is not a bad thing. Set in the jungles of Honduras." /seasweetie, goodreads/
"'Greetings from the dead,' declares Maxwell Broadbent in the videotape he left behind after his mysterious disappearance. A notorious treasure hunter and tomb robber, Broadbent accumulated over half and a billion dollars' worth of priceless art, gems, and artefacts before vanishing - along with his entire collection - from his mansion in New Mexico. At first, robbery is suspected, but the truth proves far stranger: as a final challenge to his three sons, Broadbent has buried himself and his treasure somewhere in the world, hidden away like an ancient Egyptian pharaoh. If the sons wish to claim their fabulous inheritance, they must find their father's carefully concealed tomb. The race is on, but the three brothers are not the only ones competing for the treasure. With half a billion dollars at stake, as well as an ancient Mayan codex that may hold cure for cancer and other deadly diseases, others soon join the hunt and some of them will stop at nothing to claim the grave goods." /Amazon/
"Fascinating characters, exotic jungle scenery, and surprising twists make this nonstop thrill ride well worth deciphering. For all fiction collections."--Library Journal on The Codex
"Together Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child have written --- in my opinion --- some of the best thrillers of our time. Preston's solo effort THE CODEX earns that same praise. And if you are a fan of quest stories, you will enjoy this unique twist on a popular theme.
Aging and ill, Maxwell Broadbent has devised a highly unusual plan for the distribution of his impressive estate. An archaeologist-tomb robber, Broadbent has spent his life amassing an unparalleled collection of art and artifacts. His three grown sons are disappointments to him, but he can change that by sending them on the greatest adventure of their lives.
When the boys arrive at Broadbent's mansion to find it ransacked and virtually emptied out, they think their father has not only been robbed but kidnapped as well --- until they find the tape that begins with Broadbent himself saying, "Greetings from the dead." The eccentric millionaire has taken all his prized possessions and buried them in a crypt in Central America, and left instructions that the son (or sons) who find the treasure will inherit it. Oh, and Broadbent has buried himself with the goods!
The adventure begins. Vernon, the hippie spiritualist in the group, enlists his questionable guru for help. Philip, a professor, tracks down his father's former expedition partner, now a P.I., thinking who better to find Broadbent than the man who knew his past quests best. And Tom, a vet, declines to search until a beautiful young doctor convinces him that amongst the treasures is an item vital to the future of medicine and the future of mankind: the Codex.
The Codex is a Mayan book that contains the medical applications of the indigenous plants of Central America. When a failing pharmaceutical company learns of its existence, the race to feed greed and find Broadbent is on.
Thrilling, fast-paced and chock full of unexpected surprises --- including one Honduran who has claims on the inheritance as well --- THE CODEX is all that and more.
Reviewed by Roberta O'Hara" /Amazon/
"Reading this book was so much fun I could hardly put it down! The characters were well developed, the relationships are interesting, the action is great fun, and I loved the understated humor. Codex is light, fun reading which manages to remind us of a few essentials in human relationships. The characters also "grow" into better persons by book's end. Highly recommend this book especially if you have been reading "heavy stuff." This is a refreshing break! " /JGK, Amazon/
8readeron
#8 The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger
220 pages
5 stars
reread
I couldn't tell how many times I've read this book. It always says something new. Now I sort of "diagnosed" Holden with clinical depression and PTSD. Right now, for me, he is anything but an average teenager, or a simple loser. An Amazon user "diagnosed" him with depression (and a touch of the bipolar). To my greatest surprise, after some googling I found someone else who came up with my PTSD theory some years ago (in 2002). Interesting. You can read her essay about the topic here: http://www.exploringcitr.org/ptsd.htm (I truly hope that the site won't disappear, but I saved the essay just in case....)
At the same time, I can accept that other interpretations can be valid, as well.
Like this:
"Often, people like to rationalize what happened in this book, by saying, "Holden is sick, he is unusual, nobody else goes through this" this is not the case. True, Holden did move to California, apparently to seek some type of counseling, but he is far from unusual, he is truthful to himself, he is telling about the world the way it is, not the way he wants it to be.
In the book, Salinger is communicating to two types of people. On one hand he is telling the people whose lives have been like Holden's that someone understands them. Someone else has been though what you've been through, it's a normal thing. And he is telling the Brady Bunch people "WAKE UP! Take off your rosy colored glasses, the world is NOT one big happy place, at least not for everyone. Yes, somewhere in the distance, there is war and hunger, but there is something more, and it's right next to you. There are people who can't find the most basic human need, the need to be loved and accepted." Holden feels lost and alone, he feels like nobody cares about him, he feels rejected by his family, and he feels hopeless because he everyone and everything he knows either lets him down, or lies to him. This is real life, this is what it's like to have everything not go your way. If you are looking for fairy tale or soap opera, this is the wrong book. You also shouldn't read this book if you are going to use a holier-than-thou attitude and judge everything that is wrong. To read this book, you need to be realistic, and empathetic. This book is about the bad side of life, it can sometimes be hard to follow, and you may reach the end and wonder what happens next. Read it a few times in that case, you may learn that this kind of writing is not about what happens next, it's about what already happened, and most importantly; why?" /jessupb, Amazon/
Or this:
"Readers tend to fall into two camps regarding Holden. One camp, the majority, holds him as an endearing rebel with a regrettable depression problem that grows as the novel unwinds. The other camp, an admittedly sizable minority, holds him as an annoying whiner who complains about everything and gets nowhere in life (as you'd expect). Clearly Salinger intended readers to tune into the former, and if you embrace Holden in that spirit, you will personally gain something from his travels through New York and realize that, deep down beneath all his cynicism and sarcasm, Holden really does care -- too much, in fact -- and has a code he not only lives by but judges others by.
While there are no end to the characters Holden criticizes, take note of those he respects as well. Old Jane Gallagher with her kings in the back row (checkers). The nuns at the sandwich bar. The little girl with the loose ice skates. Phoebe and Allie. For readers feeling hostile to Holden (...), I suggest going out of your way to look for these positives. You'll see that Holden is incredibly sensitive and ethical, can be sentimental about others, cares about women and girls, and understands right from wrong.
Read in that spirit, the book can't help but be viewed as a modern classic saying as much about the world as it does about teenagers." /Ken C, Amazon/
Or this:
"I was very impressed and entralled by the style throughout the book. I loved the conversational writing and feel that's at least 50% of the charm of the book. It's very engrossing and very true-to-life. I don't want to read a literary work that reads like a Medical report. Conversations have real language, descriptions, tangents etc --- and "Catcher" is Holden's story of depression." /A Customer, Amazon/
Even the interpretation of an elderly ex-Catcher-virgin:
(I loved this review, really:))
"Holden's is a simple voice, a voice full of angst and self-pity and frustration and depression. And yeah, profanity. That stuff kills me. Not to get on a soapbox or anything, but Holden Caulfield swears because, as John Lee Hooker said, "it's in him and it's got to come out." His profanity is not there for shock effect; it's an expression of his rage against the system--the mindless, do-as-they're-told masses. Those slump-shouldered gobs of humanity (like you and me) tend to get all squirmish around Holden and his fierce independent spirit. Four-letter words are both his sword and shield against their conformity--Holden uses "goddam" to slash and protect.
So maybe you're out there in cyberspace, mouth-breathing all over your monitor, and you're wondering what exactly I'm talking about because you, like the former me, are a Catcher virgin. It's okay. Nothing to be afraid of. Stay calm and everything will be all right. We'll get through this, you and I.
The first thing you need to know about the book's plot is this: nothing happens...and yet everything happens. It's that simple. Salinger takes us on a journey through 48 hours of one boy's life as he gets kicked out of Pencey Preparatory School ("molding boys into splendid, clear-thinking young men"). He's flunking every class but English. This is just before Christmas, so you can just imagine what this must do to his peace-on-earth-goodwill-to-men spirit. He decides to ditch the last couple days of school and heads for home where he hopes to say good-bye to his much-loved younger sister Phoebe before he heads out West where it's pretty and sunny and nobody'd know him and he could pretend to be a deaf-mute.
That's it. That's the "action." Over the course of those 48 hours, the sixteen-year-old Holden fights, smokes, drinks, hires a prostitute (unconsummated) and writes an English composition about a baseball glove.
Through it all, there's his voice. Oh, what a voice. Salinger builds the book based on the cadences of language. Every "anyway," every "boy," is carefully calculated according to the Principle Law of Staccato and Repetition. Holden is a drumbeat on our ears. pocketa-pocketa-pocketa
Holden reminds us of every anguished teen we've ever seen. James Dean. Go Ask Alice. The Breakfast Club. Young Elvis. Ponyboy and the Outsiders. Those snap-fingered kids from West Side Story. Maybe--no, probably--Holden reminds us of the slightly-confused person who used to stare back at us from the mirror years ago. Holden's just trying to find his place in the world. Aren't we all? Isn't there just a little bit of Caulfield in each of our spleens even now?
"Did you ever get fed up?" Holden asks a girl he's taken out on a date. "I mean, did you ever get scared that everything was going to go lousy unless you did something?"
The funny thing is--or the sad thing, if you want the truth--Holden, for all his talk and bravado, never does strike out West, but ends up taking his sister Phoebe to the park where he watches her ride the carousel--a ride that goes around and around but never gets anywhere. But yet there's always the promise of the prize.
The thing with kids is, if they want to grab for the gold ring, you have to let them do it, and not say anything. If they fall off, they fall off, but it's bad if you say anything to them.
And so, on the one hand at least Holden is a bit more self-aware by page 275. On the other, he's not the most perfect of travel guides through the razor edge of life. His reliability is called into question early in the book. Chapter Three begins:
I'm the most terrible liar you ever saw in your life. It's awful. If I'm on my way to the store to buy a magazine, even, and somebody asks me where I'm going, I'm liable to say I'm going to the opera. It's terrible.
But we stick with him anyway (if nothing else, to find out what is real and what is conjured from the thicket of his mind). It's impossible to resist the pull of his voice. He is the moon, we are the tide.
So, now you've come this far with me. I hope you're not expecting a goddam medal or anything. If you're anything like me, you're drippy with sweat and you have to pee really badly. Well, tie a knot in it Junior, 'cause I've got just a little more to say to you. Yeah, you, the mouth-breather who's leaning too close to the computer monitor. (That kills me. It really does.)
Listen, I can't say this any other way: If you read only one book this year, read The Catcher in the Rye. If you were lucky enough to have someone force it down your pink quivering throat back in the Acne Years, fine. Fine and jim-dandy. But if it's been years (decades, even) since you sat down with your tatter-covered, dog-eared copy, well then you know what you need to do.
And if you're one of those poor schmucks who's managed to make it this far in life without your eyeballs rolling across Salinger's pocketa-pocketa prose...
Well then,
it's about time. " /David Abrams, Amazon/
220 pages
5 stars
reread
I couldn't tell how many times I've read this book. It always says something new. Now I sort of "diagnosed" Holden with clinical depression and PTSD. Right now, for me, he is anything but an average teenager, or a simple loser. An Amazon user "diagnosed" him with depression (and a touch of the bipolar). To my greatest surprise, after some googling I found someone else who came up with my PTSD theory some years ago (in 2002). Interesting. You can read her essay about the topic here: http://www.exploringcitr.org/ptsd.htm (I truly hope that the site won't disappear, but I saved the essay just in case....)
At the same time, I can accept that other interpretations can be valid, as well.
Like this:
"Often, people like to rationalize what happened in this book, by saying, "Holden is sick, he is unusual, nobody else goes through this" this is not the case. True, Holden did move to California, apparently to seek some type of counseling, but he is far from unusual, he is truthful to himself, he is telling about the world the way it is, not the way he wants it to be.
In the book, Salinger is communicating to two types of people. On one hand he is telling the people whose lives have been like Holden's that someone understands them. Someone else has been though what you've been through, it's a normal thing. And he is telling the Brady Bunch people "WAKE UP! Take off your rosy colored glasses, the world is NOT one big happy place, at least not for everyone. Yes, somewhere in the distance, there is war and hunger, but there is something more, and it's right next to you. There are people who can't find the most basic human need, the need to be loved and accepted." Holden feels lost and alone, he feels like nobody cares about him, he feels rejected by his family, and he feels hopeless because he everyone and everything he knows either lets him down, or lies to him. This is real life, this is what it's like to have everything not go your way. If you are looking for fairy tale or soap opera, this is the wrong book. You also shouldn't read this book if you are going to use a holier-than-thou attitude and judge everything that is wrong. To read this book, you need to be realistic, and empathetic. This book is about the bad side of life, it can sometimes be hard to follow, and you may reach the end and wonder what happens next. Read it a few times in that case, you may learn that this kind of writing is not about what happens next, it's about what already happened, and most importantly; why?" /jessupb, Amazon/
Or this:
"Readers tend to fall into two camps regarding Holden. One camp, the majority, holds him as an endearing rebel with a regrettable depression problem that grows as the novel unwinds. The other camp, an admittedly sizable minority, holds him as an annoying whiner who complains about everything and gets nowhere in life (as you'd expect). Clearly Salinger intended readers to tune into the former, and if you embrace Holden in that spirit, you will personally gain something from his travels through New York and realize that, deep down beneath all his cynicism and sarcasm, Holden really does care -- too much, in fact -- and has a code he not only lives by but judges others by.
While there are no end to the characters Holden criticizes, take note of those he respects as well. Old Jane Gallagher with her kings in the back row (checkers). The nuns at the sandwich bar. The little girl with the loose ice skates. Phoebe and Allie. For readers feeling hostile to Holden (...), I suggest going out of your way to look for these positives. You'll see that Holden is incredibly sensitive and ethical, can be sentimental about others, cares about women and girls, and understands right from wrong.
Read in that spirit, the book can't help but be viewed as a modern classic saying as much about the world as it does about teenagers." /Ken C, Amazon/
Or this:
"I was very impressed and entralled by the style throughout the book. I loved the conversational writing and feel that's at least 50% of the charm of the book. It's very engrossing and very true-to-life. I don't want to read a literary work that reads like a Medical report. Conversations have real language, descriptions, tangents etc --- and "Catcher" is Holden's story of depression." /A Customer, Amazon/
Even the interpretation of an elderly ex-Catcher-virgin:
(I loved this review, really:))
"Holden's is a simple voice, a voice full of angst and self-pity and frustration and depression. And yeah, profanity. That stuff kills me. Not to get on a soapbox or anything, but Holden Caulfield swears because, as John Lee Hooker said, "it's in him and it's got to come out." His profanity is not there for shock effect; it's an expression of his rage against the system--the mindless, do-as-they're-told masses. Those slump-shouldered gobs of humanity (like you and me) tend to get all squirmish around Holden and his fierce independent spirit. Four-letter words are both his sword and shield against their conformity--Holden uses "goddam" to slash and protect.
So maybe you're out there in cyberspace, mouth-breathing all over your monitor, and you're wondering what exactly I'm talking about because you, like the former me, are a Catcher virgin. It's okay. Nothing to be afraid of. Stay calm and everything will be all right. We'll get through this, you and I.
The first thing you need to know about the book's plot is this: nothing happens...and yet everything happens. It's that simple. Salinger takes us on a journey through 48 hours of one boy's life as he gets kicked out of Pencey Preparatory School ("molding boys into splendid, clear-thinking young men"). He's flunking every class but English. This is just before Christmas, so you can just imagine what this must do to his peace-on-earth-goodwill-to-men spirit. He decides to ditch the last couple days of school and heads for home where he hopes to say good-bye to his much-loved younger sister Phoebe before he heads out West where it's pretty and sunny and nobody'd know him and he could pretend to be a deaf-mute.
That's it. That's the "action." Over the course of those 48 hours, the sixteen-year-old Holden fights, smokes, drinks, hires a prostitute (unconsummated) and writes an English composition about a baseball glove.
Through it all, there's his voice. Oh, what a voice. Salinger builds the book based on the cadences of language. Every "anyway," every "boy," is carefully calculated according to the Principle Law of Staccato and Repetition. Holden is a drumbeat on our ears. pocketa-pocketa-pocketa
Holden reminds us of every anguished teen we've ever seen. James Dean. Go Ask Alice. The Breakfast Club. Young Elvis. Ponyboy and the Outsiders. Those snap-fingered kids from West Side Story. Maybe--no, probably--Holden reminds us of the slightly-confused person who used to stare back at us from the mirror years ago. Holden's just trying to find his place in the world. Aren't we all? Isn't there just a little bit of Caulfield in each of our spleens even now?
"Did you ever get fed up?" Holden asks a girl he's taken out on a date. "I mean, did you ever get scared that everything was going to go lousy unless you did something?"
The funny thing is--or the sad thing, if you want the truth--Holden, for all his talk and bravado, never does strike out West, but ends up taking his sister Phoebe to the park where he watches her ride the carousel--a ride that goes around and around but never gets anywhere. But yet there's always the promise of the prize.
The thing with kids is, if they want to grab for the gold ring, you have to let them do it, and not say anything. If they fall off, they fall off, but it's bad if you say anything to them.
And so, on the one hand at least Holden is a bit more self-aware by page 275. On the other, he's not the most perfect of travel guides through the razor edge of life. His reliability is called into question early in the book. Chapter Three begins:
I'm the most terrible liar you ever saw in your life. It's awful. If I'm on my way to the store to buy a magazine, even, and somebody asks me where I'm going, I'm liable to say I'm going to the opera. It's terrible.
But we stick with him anyway (if nothing else, to find out what is real and what is conjured from the thicket of his mind). It's impossible to resist the pull of his voice. He is the moon, we are the tide.
So, now you've come this far with me. I hope you're not expecting a goddam medal or anything. If you're anything like me, you're drippy with sweat and you have to pee really badly. Well, tie a knot in it Junior, 'cause I've got just a little more to say to you. Yeah, you, the mouth-breather who's leaning too close to the computer monitor. (That kills me. It really does.)
Listen, I can't say this any other way: If you read only one book this year, read The Catcher in the Rye. If you were lucky enough to have someone force it down your pink quivering throat back in the Acne Years, fine. Fine and jim-dandy. But if it's been years (decades, even) since you sat down with your tatter-covered, dog-eared copy, well then you know what you need to do.
And if you're one of those poor schmucks who's managed to make it this far in life without your eyeballs rolling across Salinger's pocketa-pocketa prose...
Well then,
it's about time. " /David Abrams, Amazon/
9readeron
#9 Üvegkisasszony arcképe: Modern amerikai elbeszélések
(Portrait of a Girl in Glass)
3 stars
302 pages
It's a library book, a collection of 13 modern American short stories. Namely:
1. The Smile at the Foot of the Ladder by Henry Miller
2. Red Leaves by William Faulkner
3. The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber by Ernest Hemingway
4. Flight by John Steinbeck
5. The Five-Forty-Eight by John Cheever
6. Rembrandt’s Hat by Bernard Malamud
7. Portrait of a Girl in Glass by Tennesse Williams
8. Sucker by Carson McCullers
9. The Thanksgiving Visitor by Truman Capote
10. Lost in the Funhouse by John Barth
11. My True Story (from My Life as a Man) by Philip Roth
12. Blackbird Pie by Raymond Carver
13. Blood-Swollen Landscape by Joyce Carol Oates
Great stories that are of unquestionable literary merit, but as a collection, the book itself is quite depressing. I had a hard time struggling through this anthology.
(Portrait of a Girl in Glass)
3 stars
302 pages
It's a library book, a collection of 13 modern American short stories. Namely:
1. The Smile at the Foot of the Ladder by Henry Miller
2. Red Leaves by William Faulkner
3. The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber by Ernest Hemingway
4. Flight by John Steinbeck
5. The Five-Forty-Eight by John Cheever
6. Rembrandt’s Hat by Bernard Malamud
7. Portrait of a Girl in Glass by Tennesse Williams
8. Sucker by Carson McCullers
9. The Thanksgiving Visitor by Truman Capote
10. Lost in the Funhouse by John Barth
11. My True Story (from My Life as a Man) by Philip Roth
12. Blackbird Pie by Raymond Carver
13. Blood-Swollen Landscape by Joyce Carol Oates
Great stories that are of unquestionable literary merit, but as a collection, the book itself is quite depressing. I had a hard time struggling through this anthology.
10readeron
#10 The Wilderness Years (aka The Lost Years) by Sue Townsend
240 pages
5 stars
"Mole is back. The fourth novel in the massively popular Adrian Mole series, from internationally bestselling author Sue Townsend. Once again she lets us delve into the hilarious and touching life of a character adored by millions everywhere. Adrian Mole has at last reached physical maturity, but he can't help roaming the pages of his diary like an untamed adolescent. Finally given the heave-ho by Pandora, he seeks solace in the arms of Bianca, a qualified hydraulic engineer masquerading as a waitress. Between his dishwashing job and completing his epic novel, 'Lo! The Flat Hills of My Homeland', Adrian hopes that fame and fortune will not keep him waiting much longer." /fantasticfiction/
"This might be my favourite one. Hilarious as per usual, and even when Adrian is at his lowest, the book still cheers you up." /Jake B, goodreads/
"A british nerd's diary. what more can I say." /Kimberly O'Meara, goodreads/
"To see what's going on, readers have to go deep in this book, beyond Townsend's admirable wit, to see the growth of Adrian into a writer and adult. The stages are measured in the women Adrian loves and the excerpts of his writing, which end when he begins a novel with no language." /Amazon, review/
"Honestly, in my opinion, this is the best book in the series. Townsend is at her biting, satirical best here, and because Adrian is older, I feel that what he goes through is more relatable to most readers. Townsend paints a perfect picture of the 90s through our naive, disenchanted hero-through his eyes, we get a hilarious, sometimes troubling account of how angsty life was in the pre-millenium-the fear of AIDS, the introduction of political correctness, the Gulf War, fall of the Berlin Wall, etc. etc. (...) The stories are HILARIOUS!!! My favorite is when Adrian goes on a "cruise" to Moscow and finds out that he actually has to canoe through treacherous gales, lol! Also love his accounts with his stunning shrink Leonara, meeting his extremely PC landlord's wife, Cassandra (who corrects him when he calls someone fat, saying he's 'vetically challenged'), and his book "Lo-the FlatLands of the Hills" which seems to lack "narrative thrust" (it does Adrian). Absolutely loved this book" /Diversemusicfan, amazon/
"This book is what all Adrian Mole books should be - funny, touching and surprisingly perceptive on behalf of the author, while Adrian himself still displays his usual signs of self-delusion. Very enjoyable indeed." /Book_Junkie, librarything/
A brilliant gem again!:) (I actually finished it on August 25.) I plan to read the Lost Diaries next.
240 pages
5 stars
"Mole is back. The fourth novel in the massively popular Adrian Mole series, from internationally bestselling author Sue Townsend. Once again she lets us delve into the hilarious and touching life of a character adored by millions everywhere. Adrian Mole has at last reached physical maturity, but he can't help roaming the pages of his diary like an untamed adolescent. Finally given the heave-ho by Pandora, he seeks solace in the arms of Bianca, a qualified hydraulic engineer masquerading as a waitress. Between his dishwashing job and completing his epic novel, 'Lo! The Flat Hills of My Homeland', Adrian hopes that fame and fortune will not keep him waiting much longer." /fantasticfiction/
"This might be my favourite one. Hilarious as per usual, and even when Adrian is at his lowest, the book still cheers you up." /Jake B, goodreads/
"A british nerd's diary. what more can I say." /Kimberly O'Meara, goodreads/
"To see what's going on, readers have to go deep in this book, beyond Townsend's admirable wit, to see the growth of Adrian into a writer and adult. The stages are measured in the women Adrian loves and the excerpts of his writing, which end when he begins a novel with no language." /Amazon, review/
"Honestly, in my opinion, this is the best book in the series. Townsend is at her biting, satirical best here, and because Adrian is older, I feel that what he goes through is more relatable to most readers. Townsend paints a perfect picture of the 90s through our naive, disenchanted hero-through his eyes, we get a hilarious, sometimes troubling account of how angsty life was in the pre-millenium-the fear of AIDS, the introduction of political correctness, the Gulf War, fall of the Berlin Wall, etc. etc. (...) The stories are HILARIOUS!!! My favorite is when Adrian goes on a "cruise" to Moscow and finds out that he actually has to canoe through treacherous gales, lol! Also love his accounts with his stunning shrink Leonara, meeting his extremely PC landlord's wife, Cassandra (who corrects him when he calls someone fat, saying he's 'vetically challenged'), and his book "Lo-the FlatLands of the Hills" which seems to lack "narrative thrust" (it does Adrian). Absolutely loved this book" /Diversemusicfan, amazon/
"This book is what all Adrian Mole books should be - funny, touching and surprisingly perceptive on behalf of the author, while Adrian himself still displays his usual signs of self-delusion. Very enjoyable indeed." /Book_Junkie, librarything/
A brilliant gem again!:) (I actually finished it on August 25.) I plan to read the Lost Diaries next.
11readeron
#11 Persuasion by Jane Austen
168 pages
5 stars
reread
"Certainly one of the greatest literary minds of all time is that of Jane Austen, an author who has been much-maligned by her unfair modern association with "chick-lit" (it's nice that "Bridget Jones' Diary" was based on "Pride and Prejudice," but that should not reflect unduly on Austen's work). The trick is that while Austen's novels do tend to center on a romantic plot they are imbued with many other facets that make them so much more than trifling entertainments. Sharp social commentary is particularly prevalent in all of her novels, perhaps none more-so than her final work, "Persuasion" -- with its deft handling of a woman's place in society and of the difficulties imposed by class barriers. Its focus is on Anne Elliot, middle child of the pretentious Sir Walter, who has no use for her in his life -- choosing to favor his eldest daughter Elizabeth (who, truly, takes after her father in all selfish respects) and to offer regard to his youngest, Mary, at least as a woman who has fulfilled her purpose by marrying satisfactorily. Years earlier Lady Russell, a family friend who became a sort of surrogate parent to Anne after her mother's death, persuaded Anne to break her engagement to her beloved Frederick Wentworth, believing him to be an inferior sort of person who would only make Anne miserable in time. Now, eight years later, Wentworth is a successful captain in the British navy who has proven that he would have been a more than worthy match for Anne in situation as well as affection. But when he comes back into her life, Anne must live with the consequences of her earlier decision as Wentworth appears to have moved on -- actively seeking a wife right under Anne's nose. Anne also finds herself being courted by her cousin William, who would be a perfectly sensible match for her, but since her heart still belongs to Captain Wentworth she cannot bear to consider it. The plot conventions will be familiar to fans of Austen, but that does not detract from the sharpness and enjoyability of the tale in the slightest. The keen observations are on target, and "Persuasion" has the added benefit of having some of the best characters in the Austen canon this side of "Pride and Prejudice". Anne proves to be a heroine worthy of Elizabeth Bennet's approval, and Captain Wentworth an amiable counterpoint to the steelier Mr. Darcy. Mary's histrionics are reminiscent of the wailings of Mrs. Bennet, providing blissful comic relief without becoming too overbearing. Best of all, naturally, is the omnipresent Austen wit -- an incomparable achievement in all of her novels, on fine display here in "Persuasion". Anyone who has not yet experienced Jane Austen is missing out on some enjoyable and delightfully thought-provoking reading, and should get started as soon as possible. " /Gregory Baird, Amazon/
"Set in the fashionable societies of Lyme Regis and Bath, "Persuasion" is a brilliant satire of vanity and pretension, but, above all, it is a love story tinged with the heartache of missed opportunities." /Amazon/
"While Jane Austen is here as quick as ever to ridicule self-importance, self-interest and cold-heartedness, while she tellingly contrasts the icy snobbery of the Elliots with the openness and warmth of Wentworth's naval friends, this novel has a tenderness and gravity which makes it unique among her works." /Librarything/
"'She had been forced into prudence in her youth, she learned romance as she grew older - the natural sequel of an unnatural beginning.' Anne Elliot seems to have given up on present happiness and has resigned herself to living off her memories. More than seven years earlier she complied with duty: persuaded to view the match as imprudent and improper, she broke off her engagement to a naval captain with neither fortune, ancestry, nor prospects. However, when peacetime arrives and brings the Navy home, and Anne encounters Captain Wentworth once more, she starts to believe in second chances. Persuasion celebrates romantic constancy in an era of turbulent change. Written as the Napoleonic Wars were ending, the novel examines how a woman can at once remain faithful to her past and still move forward into the future." /goodreads/
168 pages
5 stars
reread
"Certainly one of the greatest literary minds of all time is that of Jane Austen, an author who has been much-maligned by her unfair modern association with "chick-lit" (it's nice that "Bridget Jones' Diary" was based on "Pride and Prejudice," but that should not reflect unduly on Austen's work). The trick is that while Austen's novels do tend to center on a romantic plot they are imbued with many other facets that make them so much more than trifling entertainments. Sharp social commentary is particularly prevalent in all of her novels, perhaps none more-so than her final work, "Persuasion" -- with its deft handling of a woman's place in society and of the difficulties imposed by class barriers. Its focus is on Anne Elliot, middle child of the pretentious Sir Walter, who has no use for her in his life -- choosing to favor his eldest daughter Elizabeth (who, truly, takes after her father in all selfish respects) and to offer regard to his youngest, Mary, at least as a woman who has fulfilled her purpose by marrying satisfactorily. Years earlier Lady Russell, a family friend who became a sort of surrogate parent to Anne after her mother's death, persuaded Anne to break her engagement to her beloved Frederick Wentworth, believing him to be an inferior sort of person who would only make Anne miserable in time. Now, eight years later, Wentworth is a successful captain in the British navy who has proven that he would have been a more than worthy match for Anne in situation as well as affection. But when he comes back into her life, Anne must live with the consequences of her earlier decision as Wentworth appears to have moved on -- actively seeking a wife right under Anne's nose. Anne also finds herself being courted by her cousin William, who would be a perfectly sensible match for her, but since her heart still belongs to Captain Wentworth she cannot bear to consider it. The plot conventions will be familiar to fans of Austen, but that does not detract from the sharpness and enjoyability of the tale in the slightest. The keen observations are on target, and "Persuasion" has the added benefit of having some of the best characters in the Austen canon this side of "Pride and Prejudice". Anne proves to be a heroine worthy of Elizabeth Bennet's approval, and Captain Wentworth an amiable counterpoint to the steelier Mr. Darcy. Mary's histrionics are reminiscent of the wailings of Mrs. Bennet, providing blissful comic relief without becoming too overbearing. Best of all, naturally, is the omnipresent Austen wit -- an incomparable achievement in all of her novels, on fine display here in "Persuasion". Anyone who has not yet experienced Jane Austen is missing out on some enjoyable and delightfully thought-provoking reading, and should get started as soon as possible. " /Gregory Baird, Amazon/
"Set in the fashionable societies of Lyme Regis and Bath, "Persuasion" is a brilliant satire of vanity and pretension, but, above all, it is a love story tinged with the heartache of missed opportunities." /Amazon/
"While Jane Austen is here as quick as ever to ridicule self-importance, self-interest and cold-heartedness, while she tellingly contrasts the icy snobbery of the Elliots with the openness and warmth of Wentworth's naval friends, this novel has a tenderness and gravity which makes it unique among her works." /Librarything/
"'She had been forced into prudence in her youth, she learned romance as she grew older - the natural sequel of an unnatural beginning.' Anne Elliot seems to have given up on present happiness and has resigned herself to living off her memories. More than seven years earlier she complied with duty: persuaded to view the match as imprudent and improper, she broke off her engagement to a naval captain with neither fortune, ancestry, nor prospects. However, when peacetime arrives and brings the Navy home, and Anne encounters Captain Wentworth once more, she starts to believe in second chances. Persuasion celebrates romantic constancy in an era of turbulent change. Written as the Napoleonic Wars were ending, the novel examines how a woman can at once remain faithful to her past and still move forward into the future." /goodreads/
12readeron
#12 Lady Catherine's Necklace by Joan Aiken
230 pages
5 stars
finished it on September 4.
"Joan Aiken, one of Jane Austens most sparkling successors, takes up Austens pen yet again, this time continuing where Pride and Prejudice left off. In Austens classic novel, the arrogant Lady Catherine de Bourgh tries vehemently to prevent the betrothal of her nephew Mr. Darcy, whom she had intended for her daughter Anne, to the less socially connected Elizabeth Bennet. Defeated, she retreats to her grand estate - Rosings Park. This enchanting sequel tells the story of what happens one balmy April day when a sudden blizzard disrupts the weather, causes a carriage accident, and affects the lives of all those involved in a most amazing way." /fantasticfiction/
Heavy spoiler alert!!!:
"Kidnapping! Stolen diamonds! Suicide! Secret bastards! Secrets in attics! And yet, terribly dull. There is absolutely no point to this book, which supposedly continues the story of Catherine de Bourgh and her relations and hangers-on. I say supposedly because not only was this book dull, but *none* of the characters match their namesakes in Pride and Prejudice. Maria Lucas, who was last a shy girl overawed by Rosings, is now a sparkling wit akin to Elizabeth Bennet. Anne de Bourgh, latterly an ill, silent enigma, runs around befriending gay painters and doing heavy garden work with her illegitimate half-brother--wait, no, half-sister! Oh the unnecessary plot twists. The new characters are even worse, because they serve no purpose at all. Why does Aiken pay so much attention to the Delaval siblings (carbon copies of the Crawfords in Mansfield Park) if absolutely nothing happens due to them? Catherine's brother has Lady Catherine kidnapped so he can search Rosings' attic--and finds his old poems. Idiocy!
There is no emotional weight to this story. The various revelations and shocking events go by without any of the characters appearing in the least surprised, let alone affected. A frustrating novel" /Wealhtheow Wylfing, goodreads/
The funny thing is I agree with all that the reviewer wrote and still I loved the novel. The explanation? I don't expect Aiken to write like Jane Austen anymore. She writes like Joan Aiken, using Austen's world as a springboard that catapults her to a perfectly different universe. Here, in Aiken's world the adventures abound, there are no moral problems, and domestic happiness can't be abrupted by the most outrageous events. The domestic happiness soothed my nerves. The lack of emotional weight ditto. The whole story was so nonsensical that I couldn't help enjoying it. I wouldn't go so far as to call it absurd or grotesque, though I really feel tempted to.:) If it is grotesque, I'm afraid it's a perfectly unintentional effect on the part of the author, which is a pity, but it doesn't keep me from truly enjoying the said effect. Plus: the novel is written in beautifully-worded prose and I loved it's imagery, as well.
"It was not without flaws, and it was not something Jane Austen would have written--a lot of twists are more keyed toward modern sensibilities. Still, I found it to be a fun exploration of the characters and a pleasing read." /Sharon, goodreads/
"My other complaint is that Joan Aiken uses characters from other novels in this sequel. Maria Lucas corresponds with Mrs. Jennings from Sense and Sensibility and Longbourn is rented out Captain Price from Mansfield Park." /Amazon/
That's another thing that makes me wonder: if all these tricks are intentional, Aiken is quite an original author and really shouldn't be expected to write like Austen. Let's her write like Aiken and enjoy the results because they are fun! Not classics, but unquestionably entertaining stories. (Overall: Isn't she using simply some deadpen humour, when we think she is writing dull?:) Recommended for Austen fans with a twisted sense of humour and a flexible mind.
230 pages
5 stars
finished it on September 4.
"Joan Aiken, one of Jane Austens most sparkling successors, takes up Austens pen yet again, this time continuing where Pride and Prejudice left off. In Austens classic novel, the arrogant Lady Catherine de Bourgh tries vehemently to prevent the betrothal of her nephew Mr. Darcy, whom she had intended for her daughter Anne, to the less socially connected Elizabeth Bennet. Defeated, she retreats to her grand estate - Rosings Park. This enchanting sequel tells the story of what happens one balmy April day when a sudden blizzard disrupts the weather, causes a carriage accident, and affects the lives of all those involved in a most amazing way." /fantasticfiction/
Heavy spoiler alert!!!:
"Kidnapping! Stolen diamonds! Suicide! Secret bastards! Secrets in attics! And yet, terribly dull. There is absolutely no point to this book, which supposedly continues the story of Catherine de Bourgh and her relations and hangers-on. I say supposedly because not only was this book dull, but *none* of the characters match their namesakes in Pride and Prejudice. Maria Lucas, who was last a shy girl overawed by Rosings, is now a sparkling wit akin to Elizabeth Bennet. Anne de Bourgh, latterly an ill, silent enigma, runs around befriending gay painters and doing heavy garden work with her illegitimate half-brother--wait, no, half-sister! Oh the unnecessary plot twists. The new characters are even worse, because they serve no purpose at all. Why does Aiken pay so much attention to the Delaval siblings (carbon copies of the Crawfords in Mansfield Park) if absolutely nothing happens due to them? Catherine's brother has Lady Catherine kidnapped so he can search Rosings' attic--and finds his old poems. Idiocy!
There is no emotional weight to this story. The various revelations and shocking events go by without any of the characters appearing in the least surprised, let alone affected. A frustrating novel" /Wealhtheow Wylfing, goodreads/
The funny thing is I agree with all that the reviewer wrote and still I loved the novel. The explanation? I don't expect Aiken to write like Jane Austen anymore. She writes like Joan Aiken, using Austen's world as a springboard that catapults her to a perfectly different universe. Here, in Aiken's world the adventures abound, there are no moral problems, and domestic happiness can't be abrupted by the most outrageous events. The domestic happiness soothed my nerves. The lack of emotional weight ditto. The whole story was so nonsensical that I couldn't help enjoying it. I wouldn't go so far as to call it absurd or grotesque, though I really feel tempted to.:) If it is grotesque, I'm afraid it's a perfectly unintentional effect on the part of the author, which is a pity, but it doesn't keep me from truly enjoying the said effect. Plus: the novel is written in beautifully-worded prose and I loved it's imagery, as well.
"It was not without flaws, and it was not something Jane Austen would have written--a lot of twists are more keyed toward modern sensibilities. Still, I found it to be a fun exploration of the characters and a pleasing read." /Sharon, goodreads/
"My other complaint is that Joan Aiken uses characters from other novels in this sequel. Maria Lucas corresponds with Mrs. Jennings from Sense and Sensibility and Longbourn is rented out Captain Price from Mansfield Park." /Amazon/
That's another thing that makes me wonder: if all these tricks are intentional, Aiken is quite an original author and really shouldn't be expected to write like Austen. Let's her write like Aiken and enjoy the results because they are fun! Not classics, but unquestionably entertaining stories. (Overall: Isn't she using simply some deadpen humour, when we think she is writing dull?:) Recommended for Austen fans with a twisted sense of humour and a flexible mind.
13readeron
#13 The Dark Labyrinth by Lawrence Durrell
276 pages
5 stars
"Set on Crete just after World War II, an odd assortment of English travellers come ashore from a cruise ship to explore the island, and in particular to examine a dangerous, local labyrinth. They include an extrovert painter, a spiritualist, a Protestant spinster and a peer and minor poet." /fantasticfiction/
"Philosophical and character-driven, with spots of surrealism. It's a weird book, but I loved it and immediately wanted to read it again." /wunderkind, Librarything/
It (this second quote) is so true. Thursday morning, right after finishing the novel for the first time, I turned to the first page and started to reread it immediately.
It made me google the author's life (found it on Wikipedia:), and I also found an interesting essay on Durrell's fiction, in general, here:
http://www.lawrencedurrell.org/analysis.htm
276 pages
5 stars
"Set on Crete just after World War II, an odd assortment of English travellers come ashore from a cruise ship to explore the island, and in particular to examine a dangerous, local labyrinth. They include an extrovert painter, a spiritualist, a Protestant spinster and a peer and minor poet." /fantasticfiction/
"Philosophical and character-driven, with spots of surrealism. It's a weird book, but I loved it and immediately wanted to read it again." /wunderkind, Librarything/
It (this second quote) is so true. Thursday morning, right after finishing the novel for the first time, I turned to the first page and started to reread it immediately.
It made me google the author's life (found it on Wikipedia:), and I also found an interesting essay on Durrell's fiction, in general, here:
http://www.lawrencedurrell.org/analysis.htm
14readeron
#14 Hardboiled Wonderland and the End of the World by Haruki Murakami
416 pages
5 stars
"This is a narrative particle accelerator that zooms between Wild Turkey Whiskey and Bob Dylan, unicorn skulls and voracious librarians, John Coltrane and Lord Jim." /goodreads/
"The narrator, like the narrator of A Wild Sheep Chase, is a mensch--an ordinary fellow aspiring to decency and self-respect, an individual laboring under the illusion of free will. Information is the key to this society in this unnerving tale of technological espionage, brain-wave tampering, and science-fictional fear and loathing." /goodreads/
"The last surviving victim of an experiment that implanted the subjects' heads with electrodes that decipher coded messages is the unnamed narrator of this excellent book by Murakami, one of Japan's best-selling novelists and winner of the prestigious Tanizaki prize. Half the chapters are set in Tokyo, where the narrator negotiates underground worlds populated by INKlings, dodges opponents of both sides of a raging high-tech infowar, and engages in an affair with a beautiful librarian with a gargantuan appetite. In alternating chapters he tries to reunite with his mind and his shadow, from which he has been severed by the grim, dark "replacement" consciousness implanted in him by a dotty neurophysiologist. Both worlds share the unearthly theme of unicorn skulls that moan and glow. Murakami's fast-paced style, full of hip internationalism, slangy allegory, and intrigue, has been adroitly translated."
- D.E. Perushek, Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville
"I was immediately intrigued by the main character of the "hard-boiled wonderland" and his situation. Less so by the "end of the world" protagonist, but well enough. The writing is superb. I loved the little touches in the printing, like using separate fonts for alternating chapters and indicating the setting in the header of the page. However, the story occasionally suffered from too much techno-babble (one chapter in particular) and I found the overall story lacking something indefinable." /The_Kat_Cache, LibraryThing/
"This is a story set in a semi-cyberpunk, near future, during an information technology cold war. Our main character is a well-read loner (he makes reference to a shelf of books I've never read) detective-type who is "put on a case." From the onset, it is a realistic world but where advanced technology makes impossible things happen, basically, it's Japan, present day.
This is a story of a man dropped in a dream-like world of bureaucratic obligations, but no employee manual. What is everyone doing here and how does anything work? Slowly, through our main character's conversations and investigations, that which is wholly opaque becomes only somewhat brackish.
It's a good fun ride, of geniuses and villains, competing corporations and shady alliances. There are scary monsters that lurk in sub-subway caverns, a parallel society of creatures that prey on humans.
It's a (...) mystery that is trying to solve not whodunit, but whatsgoinon?
Tired yet? Wish I would stay with one storyline and not flip back-and-forth between two different stories? Me too, a little. Hard-Boiled Wonderland alternates between two different stories that rub against each other thematically. I found myself more intrigued by the first story, so I would regularly stop reading before I had to browse through the next chapter of the other, dream-like world that had less direction and urgency.
Don't worry though, this isn't some frustrating, avant-garde experiment, the two stories do come together, and there is enough cross-over content to keep you guessing, if you are prone to that sort of inquisition, but I kind of latched onto one story and was not drawn in as much by the other.
Murakami does well to keep both balls in the air with two different styles and tones, and for that the book is noteworthy and interesting. I don't think the book suffers from this invention, but I did feel that my interest was uneven, and so it lost me, a little, at times." /roy, goodreads/
"I can't help but shake the feeling that a great portion of Haruki Murakami is weird for the sake of being weird. That isn't to say that some of it doesn't resonate wonderfully, pulling me into his strange world where I legitimately never know what's around the next corner. But I get exhausted reading it sometimes.
This book really lags in the middle. It's like watching The X-files or Lost and waiting for the enlightening explanation of what the hell is going on. And then it comes, and you're like, "Oh, that's it, huh?"
(...)
Match that with the usual charged sexuality, and horror-filled escapes, and there are some moments definitely worth reading.
I don't know how quickly I'll go leaping into the next Murakami world. He's a lot of build up, without the appropriate explosion at the end." /Shivering William, goodreads/
I think it's practically a great thriller. The atmosphere is gripping, and I loved the author's sense of humour. At the same time, I just didn't like the ending. All the sufferings and efforts of the protagonist finally lead him simply nowhere (or somewhere worse).
I still gave the book five stars because I found it unputdownable.
"I can't get enough of Murakami's moods and humor." /anru, Librarything/
416 pages
5 stars
"This is a narrative particle accelerator that zooms between Wild Turkey Whiskey and Bob Dylan, unicorn skulls and voracious librarians, John Coltrane and Lord Jim." /goodreads/
"The narrator, like the narrator of A Wild Sheep Chase, is a mensch--an ordinary fellow aspiring to decency and self-respect, an individual laboring under the illusion of free will. Information is the key to this society in this unnerving tale of technological espionage, brain-wave tampering, and science-fictional fear and loathing." /goodreads/
"The last surviving victim of an experiment that implanted the subjects' heads with electrodes that decipher coded messages is the unnamed narrator of this excellent book by Murakami, one of Japan's best-selling novelists and winner of the prestigious Tanizaki prize. Half the chapters are set in Tokyo, where the narrator negotiates underground worlds populated by INKlings, dodges opponents of both sides of a raging high-tech infowar, and engages in an affair with a beautiful librarian with a gargantuan appetite. In alternating chapters he tries to reunite with his mind and his shadow, from which he has been severed by the grim, dark "replacement" consciousness implanted in him by a dotty neurophysiologist. Both worlds share the unearthly theme of unicorn skulls that moan and glow. Murakami's fast-paced style, full of hip internationalism, slangy allegory, and intrigue, has been adroitly translated."
- D.E. Perushek, Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville
"I was immediately intrigued by the main character of the "hard-boiled wonderland" and his situation. Less so by the "end of the world" protagonist, but well enough. The writing is superb. I loved the little touches in the printing, like using separate fonts for alternating chapters and indicating the setting in the header of the page. However, the story occasionally suffered from too much techno-babble (one chapter in particular) and I found the overall story lacking something indefinable." /The_Kat_Cache, LibraryThing/
"This is a story set in a semi-cyberpunk, near future, during an information technology cold war. Our main character is a well-read loner (he makes reference to a shelf of books I've never read) detective-type who is "put on a case." From the onset, it is a realistic world but where advanced technology makes impossible things happen, basically, it's Japan, present day.
This is a story of a man dropped in a dream-like world of bureaucratic obligations, but no employee manual. What is everyone doing here and how does anything work? Slowly, through our main character's conversations and investigations, that which is wholly opaque becomes only somewhat brackish.
It's a good fun ride, of geniuses and villains, competing corporations and shady alliances. There are scary monsters that lurk in sub-subway caverns, a parallel society of creatures that prey on humans.
It's a (...) mystery that is trying to solve not whodunit, but whatsgoinon?
Tired yet? Wish I would stay with one storyline and not flip back-and-forth between two different stories? Me too, a little. Hard-Boiled Wonderland alternates between two different stories that rub against each other thematically. I found myself more intrigued by the first story, so I would regularly stop reading before I had to browse through the next chapter of the other, dream-like world that had less direction and urgency.
Don't worry though, this isn't some frustrating, avant-garde experiment, the two stories do come together, and there is enough cross-over content to keep you guessing, if you are prone to that sort of inquisition, but I kind of latched onto one story and was not drawn in as much by the other.
Murakami does well to keep both balls in the air with two different styles and tones, and for that the book is noteworthy and interesting. I don't think the book suffers from this invention, but I did feel that my interest was uneven, and so it lost me, a little, at times." /roy, goodreads/
"I can't help but shake the feeling that a great portion of Haruki Murakami is weird for the sake of being weird. That isn't to say that some of it doesn't resonate wonderfully, pulling me into his strange world where I legitimately never know what's around the next corner. But I get exhausted reading it sometimes.
This book really lags in the middle. It's like watching The X-files or Lost and waiting for the enlightening explanation of what the hell is going on. And then it comes, and you're like, "Oh, that's it, huh?"
(...)
Match that with the usual charged sexuality, and horror-filled escapes, and there are some moments definitely worth reading.
I don't know how quickly I'll go leaping into the next Murakami world. He's a lot of build up, without the appropriate explosion at the end." /Shivering William, goodreads/
I think it's practically a great thriller. The atmosphere is gripping, and I loved the author's sense of humour. At the same time, I just didn't like the ending. All the sufferings and efforts of the protagonist finally lead him simply nowhere (or somewhere worse).
I still gave the book five stars because I found it unputdownable.
"I can't get enough of Murakami's moods and humor." /anru, Librarything/
15readeron
#15 Stalkers: 19 Original Tales by the Masters of Terror
reread
4 stars
400 pages
"Darkness falls quickly when you're being stalked....but it is always dark when you are a stalker. In this compelling, all-original anthology, the masters of suspense take you into the, darkest depths of terror as they explore both sides of the human hunt. These 19 chilling tales of horror and suspense will leave pulses pounding long after the last page has been turned." /goodreads/
The contents:
- Dean R. Koontz: Trapped ****
(About giant, intelligent, mutant rats, - horror authors seem to love labrats.)
- John Coyne: Flight *****
(Shocking and surreal, truly scary.)
- F. Paul wilson: A Day in the Life *****
(It made me get almost the whole Repairman Jack series. I especially loved the scene in the laundry.)
- Robert R McCammon: Lizardman *****
(Lizarman is an alligator hunter, who meets a real scary creature. A touching, beautiful story.)
- Joe R. Lansdale, Dan Lowry: Pilots ****
(That's what I call a page-turner.)
- Ed Gorman: Stalker ****
(Good story with some twisted character development.)
- Rick Hautala: Getting the Job Done ****
(Swift, suspenseful story, with a touch of fantasy.)
- Al Sarrantonio: Children of Cain *
(A disturbing story, I didn't like it at all.)
- Max Allan Collins: A Matter of Principle ****
(About an insomniac kidnapper. Funny and witty.)
- Rex Miller: Miss December ***
(About a psychopatic cop.)
- John Maclay: A Matter of Firing *****
(Shows why bosses shouldn't fire young, intelligent people. Just kidding, it's actually a ghost story.)
- Charles de Lint: The Sacred Fire *****
(A good old-fashioned horror story.)
- Edward D. Hoch: The Stalker of Souls ****
(About a bunch of middle-aged people who made a pact with the devil when they were younger.)
- Barry N. Malzberg: Darwinian Facts **
(I prefer Libra by Don DeLillo.)
- Richard Laymon: The Hunt ****
(A well-written story full of suspense, still, it's not my favorite one.)
- James Kisner: Mother Tucker *****
(Enjoyed it, would consider reading more stories by the author.)
- J. N. Williamson: Jezebel **
(It is a really creepy story, but somehow it couldn't grab me.
- Michael Seidman: What Chelsea Said ****
(Ingenious.)
- Trish Janeshutz: Rivereños ***
(A bit of folklore and a pinch of romance, resulting in loads of spiders. Mediocre.)
"This anthology was all right - but no great stand-out gems here, (...) Also have to mention that I think TWO stories about truckers getting killed off for revenge is one too many for one book...
The Rex Miller story is rather clever, but more a detective tale than horror. " /althea, paperbackswap/
"So far so good. As with any short fiction collection, it has it's ups and downs, but overall these are really good tales about stalkers in all their forms... the things that go bump in the night, hit men, etc. The stories are ranging from those set in our world to those set in somewhere that is slightly off. I'd definitely recommend. More later. -- Overall level of writing in most stories is quite high. Definitely recommend this one!" /Rae Fritzinger, Goodreads/
reread
4 stars
400 pages
"Darkness falls quickly when you're being stalked....but it is always dark when you are a stalker. In this compelling, all-original anthology, the masters of suspense take you into the, darkest depths of terror as they explore both sides of the human hunt. These 19 chilling tales of horror and suspense will leave pulses pounding long after the last page has been turned." /goodreads/
The contents:
- Dean R. Koontz: Trapped ****
(About giant, intelligent, mutant rats, - horror authors seem to love labrats.)
- John Coyne: Flight *****
(Shocking and surreal, truly scary.)
- F. Paul wilson: A Day in the Life *****
(It made me get almost the whole Repairman Jack series. I especially loved the scene in the laundry.)
- Robert R McCammon: Lizardman *****
(Lizarman is an alligator hunter, who meets a real scary creature. A touching, beautiful story.)
- Joe R. Lansdale, Dan Lowry: Pilots ****
(That's what I call a page-turner.)
- Ed Gorman: Stalker ****
(Good story with some twisted character development.)
- Rick Hautala: Getting the Job Done ****
(Swift, suspenseful story, with a touch of fantasy.)
- Al Sarrantonio: Children of Cain *
(A disturbing story, I didn't like it at all.)
- Max Allan Collins: A Matter of Principle ****
(About an insomniac kidnapper. Funny and witty.)
- Rex Miller: Miss December ***
(About a psychopatic cop.)
- John Maclay: A Matter of Firing *****
(Shows why bosses shouldn't fire young, intelligent people. Just kidding, it's actually a ghost story.)
- Charles de Lint: The Sacred Fire *****
(A good old-fashioned horror story.)
- Edward D. Hoch: The Stalker of Souls ****
(About a bunch of middle-aged people who made a pact with the devil when they were younger.)
- Barry N. Malzberg: Darwinian Facts **
(I prefer Libra by Don DeLillo.)
- Richard Laymon: The Hunt ****
(A well-written story full of suspense, still, it's not my favorite one.)
- James Kisner: Mother Tucker *****
(Enjoyed it, would consider reading more stories by the author.)
- J. N. Williamson: Jezebel **
(It is a really creepy story, but somehow it couldn't grab me.
- Michael Seidman: What Chelsea Said ****
(Ingenious.)
- Trish Janeshutz: Rivereños ***
(A bit of folklore and a pinch of romance, resulting in loads of spiders. Mediocre.)
"This anthology was all right - but no great stand-out gems here, (...) Also have to mention that I think TWO stories about truckers getting killed off for revenge is one too many for one book...
The Rex Miller story is rather clever, but more a detective tale than horror. " /althea, paperbackswap/
"So far so good. As with any short fiction collection, it has it's ups and downs, but overall these are really good tales about stalkers in all their forms... the things that go bump in the night, hit men, etc. The stories are ranging from those set in our world to those set in somewhere that is slightly off. I'd definitely recommend. More later. -- Overall level of writing in most stories is quite high. Definitely recommend this one!" /Rae Fritzinger, Goodreads/
16readeron
#16 Sonetschka by Ljudmila Ulitzkaja (in Hungarian)
92 pages
2 stars
Unfortunately, the Hungarian edition doesn't include any other stories, so my copy is a rather slim volume. As such, it's a fast and easy read. That said, I was left a bit disappointed with it - perhaps it was because my expectations were so high. I felt it unfinished and a bit dull. The narrative wasn't freeflowing and natural enough, either. I can't see why so many people like this book. Probably because it has quite an original plot? I would've loved to get to know more about the characters' feelings and thoughts, as well.
"The Russian Author Ludmila Ulitskaya is a master of description. Her physical descriptions of characters—especially females—are particularly potent in the novella, Sonechka. Sonechka is a story about a bookish woman who marries an ex-convict. Ulitskaya is a character-driven author, and thus chooses pertinent details to describe them, adds a simile, and creates an unusual sketch of a person. These sketches, however, are not merely interesting, they are meaningful. With few words, without the reader even registering the tact, she’s given a very significant bit of information under the guise of a vivid image.
Sonechka’s Pear-Shaped Nose
Sonechka provides a description of Sonechka on the opening page: "Her nose really was pear-shaped, and lank broad-shouldered Sonechka, with her skinny legs and flat unmemorable rear end, had only one indisputable physical asset: large womanly breasts, which ballooned at an early age but seemed out of proportion with the rest of her thin body". The pear-shaped nose is palpable, vivid, sweet but awkward. Above all, it is out of proportion, as Sonechka is with her life. She has a flat behind, a tribute to her insignificant past, which is particularly awkward in comparison with her large breasts, predicting something significant ahead. In these tiny details, we sense the odd shape of this woman’s life, the surprises in store, the strange pattern that will occur. Later, Ulitskaya writes: “Her hair turned gray and she had filled out markedly”, indicated the balance. Meanwhile, though, Sonechka’s cloaked in loose dresses, hiding her unbalanced figure in the haven of the library." / Clarissa Caldwell, suite101/
I wonder why I find all the reviews of this book a lot more interesting (or funny, as the case may be) than the book itself? Some say that it's based on Crime and Punishment, (Another classic that I haven't yet read!) and thus I surely missed some important references.
92 pages
2 stars
Unfortunately, the Hungarian edition doesn't include any other stories, so my copy is a rather slim volume. As such, it's a fast and easy read. That said, I was left a bit disappointed with it - perhaps it was because my expectations were so high. I felt it unfinished and a bit dull. The narrative wasn't freeflowing and natural enough, either. I can't see why so many people like this book. Probably because it has quite an original plot? I would've loved to get to know more about the characters' feelings and thoughts, as well.
"The Russian Author Ludmila Ulitskaya is a master of description. Her physical descriptions of characters—especially females—are particularly potent in the novella, Sonechka. Sonechka is a story about a bookish woman who marries an ex-convict. Ulitskaya is a character-driven author, and thus chooses pertinent details to describe them, adds a simile, and creates an unusual sketch of a person. These sketches, however, are not merely interesting, they are meaningful. With few words, without the reader even registering the tact, she’s given a very significant bit of information under the guise of a vivid image.
Sonechka’s Pear-Shaped Nose
Sonechka provides a description of Sonechka on the opening page: "Her nose really was pear-shaped, and lank broad-shouldered Sonechka, with her skinny legs and flat unmemorable rear end, had only one indisputable physical asset: large womanly breasts, which ballooned at an early age but seemed out of proportion with the rest of her thin body". The pear-shaped nose is palpable, vivid, sweet but awkward. Above all, it is out of proportion, as Sonechka is with her life. She has a flat behind, a tribute to her insignificant past, which is particularly awkward in comparison with her large breasts, predicting something significant ahead. In these tiny details, we sense the odd shape of this woman’s life, the surprises in store, the strange pattern that will occur. Later, Ulitskaya writes: “Her hair turned gray and she had filled out markedly”, indicated the balance. Meanwhile, though, Sonechka’s cloaked in loose dresses, hiding her unbalanced figure in the haven of the library." / Clarissa Caldwell, suite101/
I wonder why I find all the reviews of this book a lot more interesting (or funny, as the case may be) than the book itself? Some say that it's based on Crime and Punishment, (Another classic that I haven't yet read!) and thus I surely missed some important references.
17readeron
#17 Flaubert's Parrot by Julian Barnes
216 pages
5 stars
"Geoffrey Braithwaite is a retired doctor haunted by an obsession with the great French literary genius, Gustave Flaubert. As Geoffrey investigates the mystery of the stuffed parrot Flaubert borrowed from the Museum of Rouen to help research one of his novels, we learn an enormous amount about the writer's work, family, lovers, thought processes, health and obsessions. But we also gradually come to learn some important and shocking details about Geoffrey and his own life." /Librarything/
"I really don't understand the comments in others' reviews. There's nothing perplexing about this beautifully-crafted little book: it's a novel about someone who wonders about what it means to be "the author of a book", and about the differences between fictional reality and what I suppose I'd have to call "real" reality. Which parrot is Flaubert's? The one about which he wrote? either of the two that rival establishments claim as the true parrot? Or no parrot at all?
Anyone who doesn't wonder at such things probably doesn't deserve to be allowed to read novels." /KAyDekker, LibraryThing./
"Flaubert's Parrot is a kind of post-modern meta-novel that mostly discusses the life, work, and critical reception of Gustave Flaubert (who wrote Madame Bovary, among other things). But that isn't really what it is about. It is sort of about a retired doctor / amateur Flaubert historian. It is sort of about the doctor's wife. It is sort of about reading and writing and criticism. A lot of it is about adultery and marriage and being with someone and being alone. And some of it is about the identification of stuffed parrots and the exact color of red current jam in the 19th century. That Barnes manages to fit all this and more into 216 pages on the life of Flaubert (and to make those pages conversational, readable, and fun) is quite a feat.
If you have never read any Flaubert, hate Flaubert, or rankle at fiction that breaks the fourth wall and employs post-moderny conceits, then this is probably not the book for you. But I really liked it." /KristyKay22. LibraryThing/
I absolutely loved this book. It's not a thriller, don't expect too many twists and turns. Forget about the plot. (There is some plot, but who cares? Let's get lost in the details. I did.) You don't need to know any details about Flaubert or his books to thoroughly enjoy the wonderfully funny and witty, thought-provoking and entertaining musings of Geoffrey Braithwaite, your not so typical but absolutely English doctor. He willingly tells you everything (as far as it is possible in this chaotic world, through the medium of language which more often than not postmodernists feel inadequate for the purpose of communication) about Flaubert's life, his works, his thoughts and feelings (and a lot more). The book also reads a bit like a Flaubert fan nerd's blog because it's partly a firework of trivia. Forget the traditional novel form, the chapters here are really unorthodox!:)
A playful, witty, exciting page-turner, one of my absolute favourite ones at the moment.
(Why does my "review" sound as if I wanted to sell my old car? I didn't mean it. *headscratch*)
Julian Barnes writes about the creation of Flaubert's Parrot in The Guardian (5 March 2005):
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2005/mar/05/fiction.julianbarnes
216 pages
5 stars
"Geoffrey Braithwaite is a retired doctor haunted by an obsession with the great French literary genius, Gustave Flaubert. As Geoffrey investigates the mystery of the stuffed parrot Flaubert borrowed from the Museum of Rouen to help research one of his novels, we learn an enormous amount about the writer's work, family, lovers, thought processes, health and obsessions. But we also gradually come to learn some important and shocking details about Geoffrey and his own life." /Librarything/
"I really don't understand the comments in others' reviews. There's nothing perplexing about this beautifully-crafted little book: it's a novel about someone who wonders about what it means to be "the author of a book", and about the differences between fictional reality and what I suppose I'd have to call "real" reality. Which parrot is Flaubert's? The one about which he wrote? either of the two that rival establishments claim as the true parrot? Or no parrot at all?
Anyone who doesn't wonder at such things probably doesn't deserve to be allowed to read novels." /KAyDekker, LibraryThing./
"Flaubert's Parrot is a kind of post-modern meta-novel that mostly discusses the life, work, and critical reception of Gustave Flaubert (who wrote Madame Bovary, among other things). But that isn't really what it is about. It is sort of about a retired doctor / amateur Flaubert historian. It is sort of about the doctor's wife. It is sort of about reading and writing and criticism. A lot of it is about adultery and marriage and being with someone and being alone. And some of it is about the identification of stuffed parrots and the exact color of red current jam in the 19th century. That Barnes manages to fit all this and more into 216 pages on the life of Flaubert (and to make those pages conversational, readable, and fun) is quite a feat.
If you have never read any Flaubert, hate Flaubert, or rankle at fiction that breaks the fourth wall and employs post-moderny conceits, then this is probably not the book for you. But I really liked it." /KristyKay22. LibraryThing/
I absolutely loved this book. It's not a thriller, don't expect too many twists and turns. Forget about the plot. (There is some plot, but who cares? Let's get lost in the details. I did.) You don't need to know any details about Flaubert or his books to thoroughly enjoy the wonderfully funny and witty, thought-provoking and entertaining musings of Geoffrey Braithwaite, your not so typical but absolutely English doctor. He willingly tells you everything (as far as it is possible in this chaotic world, through the medium of language which more often than not postmodernists feel inadequate for the purpose of communication) about Flaubert's life, his works, his thoughts and feelings (and a lot more). The book also reads a bit like a Flaubert fan nerd's blog because it's partly a firework of trivia. Forget the traditional novel form, the chapters here are really unorthodox!:)
A playful, witty, exciting page-turner, one of my absolute favourite ones at the moment.
(Why does my "review" sound as if I wanted to sell my old car? I didn't mean it. *headscratch*)
Julian Barnes writes about the creation of Flaubert's Parrot in The Guardian (5 March 2005):
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2005/mar/05/fiction.julianbarnes
18readeron
#18 Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult
5 stars
464 pages
"In nineteen minutes, you can mow the front lawn, color your hair, watch a third of a hockey game. In nineteen minutes, you can bake scones or get a tooth filled by a dentist; you can fold laundry for a family of five.... In nineteen minutes, you can stop the world, or you can just jump off it.
In nineteen minutes, you can get revenge.
Sterling is a small, ordinary New Hampshire town where nothing ever happens -- until the day its complacency is shattered by a shocking act of violence. In the aftermath, the town's residents must not only seek justice in order to begin healing but also come to terms with the role they played in the tragedy. For them, the lines between truth and fiction, right and wrong, insider and outsider have been obscured forever. Josie Cormier, the teenage daughter of the judge sitting on the case, could be the state's best witness, but she can't remember what happened in front of her own eyes. And as the trial progresses, fault lines between the high school and the adult community begin to show, destroying the closest of friendships and families.
Nineteen Minutes is New York Times bestselling author Jodi Picoult's most raw, honest, and important novel yet. Told with the straightforward style for which she has become known, it asks simple questions that have no easy answers: Can your own child become a mystery to you? What does it mean to be different in our society? Is it ever okay for a victim to strike back? And who -- if anyone -- has the right to judge someone else?" /fantasticfiction/
"Best known for tackling controversial issues through richly told fictional accounts, Jodi Picoult's 14th novel, Nineteen Minutes, deals with the truth and consequences of a smalltown high-school shooting. Set in Sterling, New Hampshire, Picoult offers reads a glimpse of what would cause a 17-year-old to wake up one day, load his backpack with four guns, and kill nine students and one teacher in the span of nineteen minutes. As with any Picoult novel, the answers are never black and white, and it is her exceptional ability to blur the lines between right and wrong that make this author such a captivating storyteller.
On Peter Houghton's first day of kindergarten, he watched helplessly as an older boy ripped his lunch box out of his hands and threw it out the window. From that day on, his life was a series of humiliations, from having his pants pulled down in the cafeteria, to being called a freak at every turn. But can endless bullying justify murder? As Picoult attempts to answer this question, she shows us all sides of the equation, from the ruthless jock who loses his ability to speak after being shot in the head, to the mother who both blames and pities herself for producing what most would call a monster. Surrounding Peter's story is that of Josie Cormier, a former friend whose acceptance into the popular crowd hangs on a string that makes it impossible for her to reconcile her beliefs with her actions.
At times, Nineteen Minutes can seem tediously stereotypical-- jocks versus nerds, parent versus child, teacher versus student. Part of Picoult's gift is showing us the subtleties of these common dynamics, and the startling effects they often have on the moral landscape. As Peter's mother says at the end of this spellbinding novel, "Everyone would remember Peter for nineteen minutes of his life, but what about the other nine million?" --Gisele Toueg /Amazon, Review/
5 stars
464 pages
"In nineteen minutes, you can mow the front lawn, color your hair, watch a third of a hockey game. In nineteen minutes, you can bake scones or get a tooth filled by a dentist; you can fold laundry for a family of five.... In nineteen minutes, you can stop the world, or you can just jump off it.
In nineteen minutes, you can get revenge.
Sterling is a small, ordinary New Hampshire town where nothing ever happens -- until the day its complacency is shattered by a shocking act of violence. In the aftermath, the town's residents must not only seek justice in order to begin healing but also come to terms with the role they played in the tragedy. For them, the lines between truth and fiction, right and wrong, insider and outsider have been obscured forever. Josie Cormier, the teenage daughter of the judge sitting on the case, could be the state's best witness, but she can't remember what happened in front of her own eyes. And as the trial progresses, fault lines between the high school and the adult community begin to show, destroying the closest of friendships and families.
Nineteen Minutes is New York Times bestselling author Jodi Picoult's most raw, honest, and important novel yet. Told with the straightforward style for which she has become known, it asks simple questions that have no easy answers: Can your own child become a mystery to you? What does it mean to be different in our society? Is it ever okay for a victim to strike back? And who -- if anyone -- has the right to judge someone else?" /fantasticfiction/
"Best known for tackling controversial issues through richly told fictional accounts, Jodi Picoult's 14th novel, Nineteen Minutes, deals with the truth and consequences of a smalltown high-school shooting. Set in Sterling, New Hampshire, Picoult offers reads a glimpse of what would cause a 17-year-old to wake up one day, load his backpack with four guns, and kill nine students and one teacher in the span of nineteen minutes. As with any Picoult novel, the answers are never black and white, and it is her exceptional ability to blur the lines between right and wrong that make this author such a captivating storyteller.
On Peter Houghton's first day of kindergarten, he watched helplessly as an older boy ripped his lunch box out of his hands and threw it out the window. From that day on, his life was a series of humiliations, from having his pants pulled down in the cafeteria, to being called a freak at every turn. But can endless bullying justify murder? As Picoult attempts to answer this question, she shows us all sides of the equation, from the ruthless jock who loses his ability to speak after being shot in the head, to the mother who both blames and pities herself for producing what most would call a monster. Surrounding Peter's story is that of Josie Cormier, a former friend whose acceptance into the popular crowd hangs on a string that makes it impossible for her to reconcile her beliefs with her actions.
At times, Nineteen Minutes can seem tediously stereotypical-- jocks versus nerds, parent versus child, teacher versus student. Part of Picoult's gift is showing us the subtleties of these common dynamics, and the startling effects they often have on the moral landscape. As Peter's mother says at the end of this spellbinding novel, "Everyone would remember Peter for nineteen minutes of his life, but what about the other nine million?" --Gisele Toueg /Amazon, Review/
19readeron
#19 Him With His Foot In His Mouth and Other Stories by Saul Bellow
304 pages
5 stars
"There are five stories in all, and they all focus on someone musing about their life in light of recent events.
"Him With His Foot in His Mouth," the title story, is basically a letter of apology, thirty-five years late, to a librarian. The author, old and in bad health, is hiding out in Canada as a result of some vague legal troubles. Years ago, he made a rude remark to the librarian, and seemingly has never forgiven himself for it. He reflects on his lifelong tendency to say rude things to people, and what might make him do it, inspiring pity that peaks with the conclusion of the letter.
"What Kind of Day Did You Have?" comes next. It's written from the point of view of a recently divorced woman having an affair with a much older academic man. He calls her and asks her to fly with him to a lecture. She's involved in a custody battle with her ex-husband and, although she has an court-appointed interview with a psychiatrist the same day, she agrees. A snow storm strands them in the airport, and she starts thinking about their relationship.
"Zetland: By a Character Witness" is the shortest story in the book, and probably my least favorite. It didn't really seem complete. It's about a young man who moves to New York to become a philosopher and has a somewhat disastrous life in a rundown apartment with a gypsy wife.
"A Silver Dish" is a completely heartbreaking tale of a man dealing with the recent death of his father. He reflects back to an event from his childhood - his father stealing a silver dish from a philanthropic widow who was paying for his education at seminary. It's a story about making the best of an imperfect relationship, and I suspect most people will be able to relate to it, since it perfectly communicates the frustration of loving a less-than-perfect parent.
"Cousins" is the final story, and it centers on an older man who looks after all of his cousins. One of them is in some kind of trouble with the mob, one is a genius desperate for greatness before he dies, and one is quite ill. His tender thoughts about his family are beautiful, especially when tied in with the end, when he has a startling epiphany about himself.
There are so many truths in here about human nature and how we interact with each other. Reading it takes a little thought and a little time, but it's worth every bit of effort you put into it. "
/Emily Threlkeld, Amazon/
"The stories all concern the place of the intellectual and art in a society where intelligence is measured by wealth. In a country where the basic needs for living are met, 'phoney' needs are created; status symbols, pseudo intellectualism to create conversation at partys, where people spend all the time they have to pursue great art, philosophy and literature on seeking wealth; selling their souls for a career in some dead beat occupation or image of themselves that no one really believes in but themselves.
(...)
If you've never read Saul Bellow, ease in with this fabulous collection." /Amazon/
I'm reading it again because I just can't decide why I liked it so much.
304 pages
5 stars
"There are five stories in all, and they all focus on someone musing about their life in light of recent events.
"Him With His Foot in His Mouth," the title story, is basically a letter of apology, thirty-five years late, to a librarian. The author, old and in bad health, is hiding out in Canada as a result of some vague legal troubles. Years ago, he made a rude remark to the librarian, and seemingly has never forgiven himself for it. He reflects on his lifelong tendency to say rude things to people, and what might make him do it, inspiring pity that peaks with the conclusion of the letter.
"What Kind of Day Did You Have?" comes next. It's written from the point of view of a recently divorced woman having an affair with a much older academic man. He calls her and asks her to fly with him to a lecture. She's involved in a custody battle with her ex-husband and, although she has an court-appointed interview with a psychiatrist the same day, she agrees. A snow storm strands them in the airport, and she starts thinking about their relationship.
"Zetland: By a Character Witness" is the shortest story in the book, and probably my least favorite. It didn't really seem complete. It's about a young man who moves to New York to become a philosopher and has a somewhat disastrous life in a rundown apartment with a gypsy wife.
"A Silver Dish" is a completely heartbreaking tale of a man dealing with the recent death of his father. He reflects back to an event from his childhood - his father stealing a silver dish from a philanthropic widow who was paying for his education at seminary. It's a story about making the best of an imperfect relationship, and I suspect most people will be able to relate to it, since it perfectly communicates the frustration of loving a less-than-perfect parent.
"Cousins" is the final story, and it centers on an older man who looks after all of his cousins. One of them is in some kind of trouble with the mob, one is a genius desperate for greatness before he dies, and one is quite ill. His tender thoughts about his family are beautiful, especially when tied in with the end, when he has a startling epiphany about himself.
There are so many truths in here about human nature and how we interact with each other. Reading it takes a little thought and a little time, but it's worth every bit of effort you put into it. "
/Emily Threlkeld, Amazon/
"The stories all concern the place of the intellectual and art in a society where intelligence is measured by wealth. In a country where the basic needs for living are met, 'phoney' needs are created; status symbols, pseudo intellectualism to create conversation at partys, where people spend all the time they have to pursue great art, philosophy and literature on seeking wealth; selling their souls for a career in some dead beat occupation or image of themselves that no one really believes in but themselves.
(...)
If you've never read Saul Bellow, ease in with this fabulous collection." /Amazon/
I'm reading it again because I just can't decide why I liked it so much.
20readeron
#20 The Lost Diaries of Adrian Mole, 1999-2001 by Sue Townsend
283 pages
4 stars
"Adrian Mole has entered early middle age and is now "the same age as Jesus was when he died" (33). Father to the grammatically challenged Glenn, and William — who takes a "Big Boy Arouser" condom to nursery school as his innocent contribution to a hot-air balloon project — Adrian is a single parent who has an on/off relationship with his housing officer, Pamela Pigg. But will she help him to move from the notorious Gaitskell estate before little William joins the Mad Frankie Fraser fan club?
In the meantime, Adrian continues to be scandalized by his irresponsible mother and father, who are conducting a matrimonial square-dance with the Braithwaites—parents of the beautiful but unobtainable Pandora, who is ruthlessly pursuing her ambition to be New Labour's first woman PM — and to confide in his diary.
His current worries include: indestructible head-lice; his raging jealously when his accomplished half-brother Brett unexpectedly arrives on his doorstep; moral decline in The Archers; his desperate attachment to two therapists; his mild addiction to Starburst (formerly Opal Fruits); a small earthquake in Leicester; and, perhaps most significantly, the dawn of a new millennium." /goodreads/
"Adrian Mole is one of the funniest characters ever invented in literature. This volume of "lost diaries" covers the years in-between The Cappuccino Years and The Weapons of Mass Destruction. In this volume Adrian, on the cusp of the second millennium, is a single father bringing up his two boys, longing still for some kind of recognition from Pandora who is now an MP and trying to deal with his parents' sexual peccadillos, trying to find a job & still finding literary success as elusive as ever.
In Sue Townsend's capable hands, the irritating Adrian becomes a truly sympathetic character & the reader is constantly rooting for him even as he is laughing at his antics." /etxgardener, LibraryThing/
'Adrian Mole really is a brilliant comic creation' - The Times.
'Thank heavens for Sue Townsend ! She has an unrivalled claim to be this country's foremost practising comic novelist' - Mail on Sunday.
'A delight. Genuinly funny! Compassion shines through the unashamed ironic social commentary' - "Guardian".
'He will be remembered some day as one of England's great diarists. No matter what your troubles may be Adrian Mole is sure to make you feel better' - "Evening Standard".
'One of the great fictional creations of our time! A joy' - "Scotsman".
'Poignant, hilarious, heart-rending, devastating' - "New Statesman".
283 pages
4 stars
"Adrian Mole has entered early middle age and is now "the same age as Jesus was when he died" (33). Father to the grammatically challenged Glenn, and William — who takes a "Big Boy Arouser" condom to nursery school as his innocent contribution to a hot-air balloon project — Adrian is a single parent who has an on/off relationship with his housing officer, Pamela Pigg. But will she help him to move from the notorious Gaitskell estate before little William joins the Mad Frankie Fraser fan club?
In the meantime, Adrian continues to be scandalized by his irresponsible mother and father, who are conducting a matrimonial square-dance with the Braithwaites—parents of the beautiful but unobtainable Pandora, who is ruthlessly pursuing her ambition to be New Labour's first woman PM — and to confide in his diary.
His current worries include: indestructible head-lice; his raging jealously when his accomplished half-brother Brett unexpectedly arrives on his doorstep; moral decline in The Archers; his desperate attachment to two therapists; his mild addiction to Starburst (formerly Opal Fruits); a small earthquake in Leicester; and, perhaps most significantly, the dawn of a new millennium." /goodreads/
"Adrian Mole is one of the funniest characters ever invented in literature. This volume of "lost diaries" covers the years in-between The Cappuccino Years and The Weapons of Mass Destruction. In this volume Adrian, on the cusp of the second millennium, is a single father bringing up his two boys, longing still for some kind of recognition from Pandora who is now an MP and trying to deal with his parents' sexual peccadillos, trying to find a job & still finding literary success as elusive as ever.
In Sue Townsend's capable hands, the irritating Adrian becomes a truly sympathetic character & the reader is constantly rooting for him even as he is laughing at his antics." /etxgardener, LibraryThing/
'Adrian Mole really is a brilliant comic creation' - The Times.
'Thank heavens for Sue Townsend ! She has an unrivalled claim to be this country's foremost practising comic novelist' - Mail on Sunday.
'A delight. Genuinly funny! Compassion shines through the unashamed ironic social commentary' - "Guardian".
'He will be remembered some day as one of England's great diarists. No matter what your troubles may be Adrian Mole is sure to make you feel better' - "Evening Standard".
'One of the great fictional creations of our time! A joy' - "Scotsman".
'Poignant, hilarious, heart-rending, devastating' - "New Statesman".
21readeron
#21 Dancing Lessons for the Advanced in Age by Bohumil Hrabal
128 pages
4 stars
"An old man, a shoemaker who once wore a pince-nez and carried a stick with a silver mounting because he wanted to look like a composer, tells the story of his life to six young, beautiful women basking in the sun. One drunken thought triggers another. Amorous conquests alternate with sundry mishaps and in the exuberant telling acquire the same weight and substance as earth-shattering events. To say nothing of the historical perspective, which the self-styled "engineer of human feet" bends at random to suit his mood. Dancing Lessons for the Advanced in Age displays the inimitable Czech master at his playful best." /Producd Description, Amazon/
"Czech chatterbox and cathouse lothario breathlessly reminisces about his mishaps with young mistresses, music, his military service, and just about anything else he can think of in a novella that reads rather like rollerskating down a flight of stairs."
/Lazarus P Badpenny Esq, goodreads/
"this may not be for everyone, its sort of like that old man at the country store, who starts to tell a story, and 3 hours later, he's STILL telling it, with asides, genealogies, history lessons, lies, partial lies, whole truths, and maybe even a conclusion." /Tuck, Goodreads/
"Hrabal, one of the foremost contemporary Czech writers, has devised a provocative little novel for special readers. In a breathless monologue--in fact, in one unbroken sentence--an old shoemaker spouts off to a captive audience of young women about his life and ideas. From political history ("his son, the crown prince, was forced to marry Princess Stephanie of Belgium, but he was wild for Vetsera's body, she had these gigantic breasts and eyes" ) to morality ("Christ wanted us to love our neighbors, he wanted discipline, not love on the sofa the way some mealy-brained idiots would have it" ), the old man perambulates over a wide range of territory, spreading recollections and opinions far and wide. For readers who appreciate language for its own sake, this short book is fertile ground; for those who need a firm plot as anchorage, they had best turn elsewhere." - Brad Hooper /Amazon/
"Read this book, and teach your mind how to dance... " /Kai Weber, Amazon/
"Jirka the shoemaker, I mean, who's the narrator of this pocket-sized little book of just 117 pages, though judging by his photo Bohumil Hrabal was a raunchy old coot himself by the time he wrote "Dancing Lessons for the Advanced in Age" in 1964 not long before he fell or jumped from a fifth-floor window but he'd always had a reputation as a bohemian and womanizer first-class which made him fascinating for his fellow Czechs, but I doubt he was ever as platitudinous or boastful of his exploits or prone to maunder about the 'good old days' of the Austro-Hungarian Empire as Jirka, no, Hrabal was too artful a writer to pawn that garrulous old fart off on the reader as a representation of himself except as maybe sardonic self-parody, with Jirka leaning on the fence around the village churchyard and gabbling about the past to the six beautiful young sun-bathers on the grass, telling them slyly what a ladies' man he'd been in his time along with wry gossip about the follies of people long dead including the composer Strauss and the last Habsburg Emperor himself, all his reminiscences intertangled like snagged fishing line but once in a while a remark about post-war conditions will squirt out of his senile babble like a squirt of lemon juice in the reader's eye, so you better find yourself a chair and a length of time sufficient to read this quirky tour de force all in one sitting because it's all one long run-on sentence and there's no place to take a potty break or even catch a breath, but if you wonder what's it's all about, other than a facsimile of an old coot's rambling, you can take a look at page 46 where Jirka has just been spinning anecdotes about goofy suicides he's witnessed, and suddenly he exclaims "Mother of God, isn't life breathtakingly beautiful!" /Giordano Bruno, Amazon/
"Hrabal writes with such passion, wit, humour and compassion that it is hard to imagine anyone not enjoying this book" /Amazon/
“. . . what Hrabal has created is an informal history of the indomitable Czech spirit. And perhaps. . . the human spirit.”
-The Times (London)
128 pages
4 stars
"An old man, a shoemaker who once wore a pince-nez and carried a stick with a silver mounting because he wanted to look like a composer, tells the story of his life to six young, beautiful women basking in the sun. One drunken thought triggers another. Amorous conquests alternate with sundry mishaps and in the exuberant telling acquire the same weight and substance as earth-shattering events. To say nothing of the historical perspective, which the self-styled "engineer of human feet" bends at random to suit his mood. Dancing Lessons for the Advanced in Age displays the inimitable Czech master at his playful best." /Producd Description, Amazon/
"Czech chatterbox and cathouse lothario breathlessly reminisces about his mishaps with young mistresses, music, his military service, and just about anything else he can think of in a novella that reads rather like rollerskating down a flight of stairs."
/Lazarus P Badpenny Esq, goodreads/
"this may not be for everyone, its sort of like that old man at the country store, who starts to tell a story, and 3 hours later, he's STILL telling it, with asides, genealogies, history lessons, lies, partial lies, whole truths, and maybe even a conclusion." /Tuck, Goodreads/
"Hrabal, one of the foremost contemporary Czech writers, has devised a provocative little novel for special readers. In a breathless monologue--in fact, in one unbroken sentence--an old shoemaker spouts off to a captive audience of young women about his life and ideas. From political history ("his son, the crown prince, was forced to marry Princess Stephanie of Belgium, but he was wild for Vetsera's body, she had these gigantic breasts and eyes" ) to morality ("Christ wanted us to love our neighbors, he wanted discipline, not love on the sofa the way some mealy-brained idiots would have it" ), the old man perambulates over a wide range of territory, spreading recollections and opinions far and wide. For readers who appreciate language for its own sake, this short book is fertile ground; for those who need a firm plot as anchorage, they had best turn elsewhere." - Brad Hooper /Amazon/
"Read this book, and teach your mind how to dance... " /Kai Weber, Amazon/
"Jirka the shoemaker, I mean, who's the narrator of this pocket-sized little book of just 117 pages, though judging by his photo Bohumil Hrabal was a raunchy old coot himself by the time he wrote "Dancing Lessons for the Advanced in Age" in 1964 not long before he fell or jumped from a fifth-floor window but he'd always had a reputation as a bohemian and womanizer first-class which made him fascinating for his fellow Czechs, but I doubt he was ever as platitudinous or boastful of his exploits or prone to maunder about the 'good old days' of the Austro-Hungarian Empire as Jirka, no, Hrabal was too artful a writer to pawn that garrulous old fart off on the reader as a representation of himself except as maybe sardonic self-parody, with Jirka leaning on the fence around the village churchyard and gabbling about the past to the six beautiful young sun-bathers on the grass, telling them slyly what a ladies' man he'd been in his time along with wry gossip about the follies of people long dead including the composer Strauss and the last Habsburg Emperor himself, all his reminiscences intertangled like snagged fishing line but once in a while a remark about post-war conditions will squirt out of his senile babble like a squirt of lemon juice in the reader's eye, so you better find yourself a chair and a length of time sufficient to read this quirky tour de force all in one sitting because it's all one long run-on sentence and there's no place to take a potty break or even catch a breath, but if you wonder what's it's all about, other than a facsimile of an old coot's rambling, you can take a look at page 46 where Jirka has just been spinning anecdotes about goofy suicides he's witnessed, and suddenly he exclaims "Mother of God, isn't life breathtakingly beautiful!" /Giordano Bruno, Amazon/
"Hrabal writes with such passion, wit, humour and compassion that it is hard to imagine anyone not enjoying this book" /Amazon/
“. . . what Hrabal has created is an informal history of the indomitable Czech spirit. And perhaps. . . the human spirit.”
-The Times (London)
22readeron
#22 Bambini di Praga 1947 by Bohumil Hrabal (in Hungarian only)
190 pages
5 stars
Overall this was a pretty good book, witty and fast-paced. Not my new favorite thing, but well worth the read.
190 pages
5 stars
Overall this was a pretty good book, witty and fast-paced. Not my new favorite thing, but well worth the read.
23readeron
#23 Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
48 pages
4 stars
"The book tells the story of Max, who one evening plays around his home making "mischief" in a wolf costume. As punishment, his mother sends him to bed without supper. In his room, a mysterious, wild forest and sea grows out of his imagination, and Max sails to the land of the Wild Things. The Wild Things are fearsome-looking monsters, but Max conquers them by "staring into all their yellow eyes without blinking once", and he is made "the king of all wild things", dancing with the monsters in a "wild rumpus". However, he soon finds himself lonely and homesick and returns home to his bedroom where he finds his supper waiting for him still hot." /Wikipedia, Plot/
"It's about a child learning to manage his emotions and the unconditional love a child needs in order to learn this tricky skill." /Cb, goodreads/
"Being a beast and a wild thing is tiresome to those around you. That is the lesson. Also, no matter how much trouble you have caused, those that truly love you will always love you." /L&D, goodreads/
"Sendak has always been a "controversial" author. Where the Wild Things Are was intensely criticized at the time of its publication (and was banned in many places) for its "angry" little boy and its absent parents. /.../ Sendak openly admits he may not be the best artist. But he does something that was revolutionary at the time Where the Wild Things Are was published (and, frankly, is still revolutionary today): he doesn't romanticize or sentimentalize childhood. His children are pudgy and awkward-looking — not "cute" with upturned noses, the way they're drawn by many artists (he claims, probably accurately, to have never seen an actual child with an upturned nose!). /.../ According to this terrific documentary, Sendak's willingness to tell children the truth, to feature life as it really is, is the secret to his lasting success.
"I think I was more honest than anybody, because I don't believe in childhood," the author/illustrator says. "Tell (children) anything you want, as long as it's true." /Brent Hartinger, Afterelton/
"Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak has become a classic. Winner of the 1964 Caldecott Medal as the "Most Distinguished Picture Book of the Year," it was first published by HarperCollins in 1963. When the book was written, the theme of dealing with dark emotions was rare in children's literature, especially in picture book format for young children.
However, after more the 40 years, what keeps Where the Wild Things Are popular is not the impact of the book on the field of children's literature, it is the impact of the story and the illustrations on young readers. The plot of the book is based on the fantasy (and real) consequences of a little boy's mischief. One night Max dresses up in his wolf suit and does all kinds of things he shouldn't, like chasing the dog with a fork. His mother scolds him and calls him a "WILD THING!" Max is so mad he shouts back, "I'LL EAT YOU UP!" As a result, his mother sends him to his bedroom without any supper.
Max's imagination transforms his bedroom into an extraordinary setting, with a forest and an ocean and a little boat that Max sails in until he comes to a land full of "wild things." Although they look and sound very fierce, Max is able to tame them with a single glance. They all realize Max is "..the most wild thing of all" and make him their king. Max and the wild things have a fine time creating a rumpus until Max begins to want to be "…where someone loved him best of all." Max's fantasy ends when he smells his dinner. Despite the wild things' protests, Max sails back to his own room where he finds his supper waiting for him.
The Book's Appeal
This is a particularly appealing story because Max is in conflict with both his mother and his own anger. Despite the fact that he is still angry when he is sent to his room, Max does not continue his mischief. Instead, he gives free rein to his angry emotions through his fantasy, and then, comes to a decision that he will no longer let his anger separate him from those whom he loves and who love him.
Max is an engaging character. His actions, from chasing the dog to talking back to his mother are realistic. His emotions are also realistic. It's quite common for children to get angry and fantasize about what they could do if they ruled the world and then calm down and consider the consequences. Max is a child with whom most 3-6 year olds readily identify.
To sum up, Where the Wild Things Are is an excellent book. What makes it such an extraordinary book is the creative imagination of both Maurice Sendak the writer and Maurice Sendak the artist. The text and the artwork complement one another, moving the story along seamlessly. The transformation of Max's bedroom into a forest is a visual delight. Sendak's colored pen and ink illustrations in muted colors are both humorous and sometimes a little scary, reflecting both Max's imagination and his anger. The theme, conflict, and characters are ones with which readers of all ages can identify. I also know from personal experience that it is a book that children enjoy hearing again and again." /childrensbooks.about.com/
"An angry boy, talking monsters and a six-page, wordless wild rumpus: When Maurice Sendak sat down to write what would become "Where the Wild Things Are," he didn't quite know what he was getting into.
"I didn't have a social conscience that I was doing anything different," Sendak, 81, says from his Connecticut home. Mostly, the Brooklyn-born illustrator, then in his early 30s, was excited to tackle his first full picture book. "It was all my own and in full color. It's hard to imagine now, with everyone doing them. But emancipating children was far from my mind."
He certainly didn't aim to rewrite the history of children's literature. But those 10 sentences -- which tell of an unruly boy who is sent to bed without supper and sails to a magical land where he's worshiped by an odd cast of animal-inspired creatures -- turned Sendak into more than just a famous writer.
"I became," Sendak reflects, "a troublesome person: They expected something from me that would be trouble." /.../
Cultural revolution
Six years before "Wild Things," Dr. Seuss' similarly anarchic "The Cat in the Hat" was released; the year after Sendak's book, a group of long-haired Englishmen crashed the U.S. pop music charts. The same forces that reshaped American culture in the postwar era were redrawing books for children as well.
Sendak, who spent much of the '50s illustrating the works of others, including the "Little Bear" series, describes typical postwar kids books as "training manuals. How to behave, what was acceptable and not acceptable. In other words, boring. And a complete misunderstanding of the nature of children."
"Those years saw people new to college, new to the suburbs, new to the middle class," says Seth Lerer, author of the National Book Critics Circle Award-winning "Children's Literature: A Readers' History From Aesop to Harry Potter." Mainstream kids stories, then, helped orient these new arrivals, whether immigrants or veterans getting a boost from the GI Bill.
Sendak's books differed even from the more serious writers of the '40s and '50s, such as Robert McCloskey and E.B. White, Lerer says. Their stories -- in such books as "Blueberries for Sal" and "Stuart Little," respectively -- take place in cozy small towns or a wilderness very different from Sendak's isle of grotesques. "Their characters escape into a pastoral, American Puritan wilderness," Lerer says. McCloskey's "Make Way for Ducklings" even finds a serene pastoral setting in the center of Boston.
Lerer, who was once called "wild thing" in Yiddish after he put a stickball through a Brooklyn neighbor's window, thinks Sendak's urban, ethnic roots are crucial to understanding his work. In contrast to a trip to seaside Maine, "The real place of safety is an escape to the apartment or the house for dinner." Sendak, he says, is as Jewish a writer as Philip Roth.
Sendak himself, who describes his childhood as lonely and alienated, shadowed by poverty and haunted by the loss of relatives to the Nazis, concurs. "I was born and raised in Brooklyn, where things were difficult. You made your own way, and no one told you what was going on. But if you observe children, you see they are uncanny at figuring things out." /.../
Indeed, Sendak's books weren't just groundbreaking for their darker stories, their more torrid families, their less sentimentalized protagonists. It was also their innovative relationship between words and pictures.
In "Wild Things," a single sentence can take pages to unfold, its meaning changing slightly with each image. And this book with numerous wordless pages ends with a half-sentence and no accompanying image. Sendak works similarly to the directors of the French New Wave, who used jump cuts and other techniques to dislocate their editing. /.../
/Maurice Sendak rewrote the rules with 'Wild Things', Scott Timberg/
"What makes a good kids' story?
Sendak: How would I know? I just write the books. But I do know that my parents were immigrants and they didn't know that they should clean the stories up for us. So we heard horrible, horrible stories, and we loved them, we absolutely loved them. But the three of us — my sister, my brother, and myself — grew up very depressed people." /Newsweek/
"Sendak, M. (1963). Where the wild things are. HarperCollins Publishers.
In Where the Wild Things Are, Max, a mischievous boy in a wolf suit, imagines that he sails off to far away land. On this island, he encounters ferocious creatures with sharp teeth, terrible roars, and yellow eyes. However, Max is able to subdue them by “(taming) them with the magic trick of staring into all their yellow eyes without blinking once.” Eventually, Max gets lonely and decides to sail back home.
Where the Wild Things Are is well-deserving of the 1964 Caldecott Medal. The soft, muted watercolors balance the detailed line drawings. The illustrations correspond well to the plot. In the beginning, the drawing of Max is small. As the story progresses, the illustrations get larger. The effect creates suspense and tension. Soon there are three double-paged illustrations when the “wild rumpus” starts. This symbolizes the climax of the story. Once Max decides to return home, the illustrations gradually get smaller.
This story is great for young children with a sense of imagination. Sendak takes readers to whole new place where the wild things are." /ewang109, LibraryThing/
Haven't seen the movie. For me, the picture book says it all.
Update:
"Most reviews of Where the Wild Things Are do not focus on Maurice Sendak’s sexual orientation. And why should they? Max’s story is not about being gay or being straight. It’s about being little and feeling angry, then feeling big with the power of your anger. It’s about how that power eventually feels scary and exhausting and you want to be welcomed back and loved for being, once again, small. Sendak gives Max the chance to act out the wildness inside in a way that is not at all cute or kid-sized, but is actually wild. He could have been afraid of the wild things as they “roared their terrible roars and gnashed their terrible teeth” but instead he commands them to “BE STILL!” and they “called him the most wild thing of all.” In contrast to the frenetic energy of Max’s “wild rumpus” with the monsters Sendak describes Max’s homecoming simply and reverently. Max sails “back over a year/and in and out of weeks/and through a day/and into the night of his very own room/where he found his supper/waiting for him/and it was still hot.
Sendak has said several times that the book is about family, and specifically that the wild things were a take on the loud, cheek-pinching relatives that would descend on his house. But Where the Wild Things Are may be more about the relatives you never see at all - the parents. As novelist Brent Hartinger points out in his review of the recent documentary “Tell Them Anything You Want – A Portrait of Maurice Sendak” Sendak did not come out as gay until he was eighty. “His parents’ inability to accept his being gay — not to mention his being an artist — is part of why Sendak says in the documentary that he ‘hated’ them. He says they never wanted to have kids in the first place and were terrible at parenting, giving him a miserable childhood…Sendak told the Times that he lived with the same man, psychoanalyst Eugene Glynn, for 50 years, until Glynn's death in 2007. But he never told his parents he is gay and, while they were living, was terrified that they might find out. ‘I don't think I ever stopped beating myself up about (being gay),’ he says in the documentary.” The loneliness that Max feels, the longing to be at home may have been very real to Sendak, not just during his childhood but throughout a lifetime of hiding his personal life from his parents. But the absolution summed up so neatly in Max’s still hot supper, that - more than any monster or voyage - may be the real fantasy behind this classic book.(...)
Sendak, Maurice. Where the Wild Things Are. New York: Harper & Row, 1963. Print.
Hartinger, Brent. “’Where the Wild Things’ Author Maurice Sendak Revisits Monsters in New HBO Documentary.” AfterElton. Logo, Oct. 13 2009. Web. Mar 21 2010." /limeminearia, LibraryThing/ - This review made me google more info about the book and the author.
I still prefer cute picture books though.
48 pages
4 stars
"The book tells the story of Max, who one evening plays around his home making "mischief" in a wolf costume. As punishment, his mother sends him to bed without supper. In his room, a mysterious, wild forest and sea grows out of his imagination, and Max sails to the land of the Wild Things. The Wild Things are fearsome-looking monsters, but Max conquers them by "staring into all their yellow eyes without blinking once", and he is made "the king of all wild things", dancing with the monsters in a "wild rumpus". However, he soon finds himself lonely and homesick and returns home to his bedroom where he finds his supper waiting for him still hot." /Wikipedia, Plot/
"It's about a child learning to manage his emotions and the unconditional love a child needs in order to learn this tricky skill." /Cb, goodreads/
"Being a beast and a wild thing is tiresome to those around you. That is the lesson. Also, no matter how much trouble you have caused, those that truly love you will always love you." /L&D, goodreads/
"Sendak has always been a "controversial" author. Where the Wild Things Are was intensely criticized at the time of its publication (and was banned in many places) for its "angry" little boy and its absent parents. /.../ Sendak openly admits he may not be the best artist. But he does something that was revolutionary at the time Where the Wild Things Are was published (and, frankly, is still revolutionary today): he doesn't romanticize or sentimentalize childhood. His children are pudgy and awkward-looking — not "cute" with upturned noses, the way they're drawn by many artists (he claims, probably accurately, to have never seen an actual child with an upturned nose!). /.../ According to this terrific documentary, Sendak's willingness to tell children the truth, to feature life as it really is, is the secret to his lasting success.
"I think I was more honest than anybody, because I don't believe in childhood," the author/illustrator says. "Tell (children) anything you want, as long as it's true." /Brent Hartinger, Afterelton/
"Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak has become a classic. Winner of the 1964 Caldecott Medal as the "Most Distinguished Picture Book of the Year," it was first published by HarperCollins in 1963. When the book was written, the theme of dealing with dark emotions was rare in children's literature, especially in picture book format for young children.
However, after more the 40 years, what keeps Where the Wild Things Are popular is not the impact of the book on the field of children's literature, it is the impact of the story and the illustrations on young readers. The plot of the book is based on the fantasy (and real) consequences of a little boy's mischief. One night Max dresses up in his wolf suit and does all kinds of things he shouldn't, like chasing the dog with a fork. His mother scolds him and calls him a "WILD THING!" Max is so mad he shouts back, "I'LL EAT YOU UP!" As a result, his mother sends him to his bedroom without any supper.
Max's imagination transforms his bedroom into an extraordinary setting, with a forest and an ocean and a little boat that Max sails in until he comes to a land full of "wild things." Although they look and sound very fierce, Max is able to tame them with a single glance. They all realize Max is "..the most wild thing of all" and make him their king. Max and the wild things have a fine time creating a rumpus until Max begins to want to be "…where someone loved him best of all." Max's fantasy ends when he smells his dinner. Despite the wild things' protests, Max sails back to his own room where he finds his supper waiting for him.
The Book's Appeal
This is a particularly appealing story because Max is in conflict with both his mother and his own anger. Despite the fact that he is still angry when he is sent to his room, Max does not continue his mischief. Instead, he gives free rein to his angry emotions through his fantasy, and then, comes to a decision that he will no longer let his anger separate him from those whom he loves and who love him.
Max is an engaging character. His actions, from chasing the dog to talking back to his mother are realistic. His emotions are also realistic. It's quite common for children to get angry and fantasize about what they could do if they ruled the world and then calm down and consider the consequences. Max is a child with whom most 3-6 year olds readily identify.
To sum up, Where the Wild Things Are is an excellent book. What makes it such an extraordinary book is the creative imagination of both Maurice Sendak the writer and Maurice Sendak the artist. The text and the artwork complement one another, moving the story along seamlessly. The transformation of Max's bedroom into a forest is a visual delight. Sendak's colored pen and ink illustrations in muted colors are both humorous and sometimes a little scary, reflecting both Max's imagination and his anger. The theme, conflict, and characters are ones with which readers of all ages can identify. I also know from personal experience that it is a book that children enjoy hearing again and again." /childrensbooks.about.com/
"An angry boy, talking monsters and a six-page, wordless wild rumpus: When Maurice Sendak sat down to write what would become "Where the Wild Things Are," he didn't quite know what he was getting into.
"I didn't have a social conscience that I was doing anything different," Sendak, 81, says from his Connecticut home. Mostly, the Brooklyn-born illustrator, then in his early 30s, was excited to tackle his first full picture book. "It was all my own and in full color. It's hard to imagine now, with everyone doing them. But emancipating children was far from my mind."
He certainly didn't aim to rewrite the history of children's literature. But those 10 sentences -- which tell of an unruly boy who is sent to bed without supper and sails to a magical land where he's worshiped by an odd cast of animal-inspired creatures -- turned Sendak into more than just a famous writer.
"I became," Sendak reflects, "a troublesome person: They expected something from me that would be trouble." /.../
Cultural revolution
Six years before "Wild Things," Dr. Seuss' similarly anarchic "The Cat in the Hat" was released; the year after Sendak's book, a group of long-haired Englishmen crashed the U.S. pop music charts. The same forces that reshaped American culture in the postwar era were redrawing books for children as well.
Sendak, who spent much of the '50s illustrating the works of others, including the "Little Bear" series, describes typical postwar kids books as "training manuals. How to behave, what was acceptable and not acceptable. In other words, boring. And a complete misunderstanding of the nature of children."
"Those years saw people new to college, new to the suburbs, new to the middle class," says Seth Lerer, author of the National Book Critics Circle Award-winning "Children's Literature: A Readers' History From Aesop to Harry Potter." Mainstream kids stories, then, helped orient these new arrivals, whether immigrants or veterans getting a boost from the GI Bill.
Sendak's books differed even from the more serious writers of the '40s and '50s, such as Robert McCloskey and E.B. White, Lerer says. Their stories -- in such books as "Blueberries for Sal" and "Stuart Little," respectively -- take place in cozy small towns or a wilderness very different from Sendak's isle of grotesques. "Their characters escape into a pastoral, American Puritan wilderness," Lerer says. McCloskey's "Make Way for Ducklings" even finds a serene pastoral setting in the center of Boston.
Lerer, who was once called "wild thing" in Yiddish after he put a stickball through a Brooklyn neighbor's window, thinks Sendak's urban, ethnic roots are crucial to understanding his work. In contrast to a trip to seaside Maine, "The real place of safety is an escape to the apartment or the house for dinner." Sendak, he says, is as Jewish a writer as Philip Roth.
Sendak himself, who describes his childhood as lonely and alienated, shadowed by poverty and haunted by the loss of relatives to the Nazis, concurs. "I was born and raised in Brooklyn, where things were difficult. You made your own way, and no one told you what was going on. But if you observe children, you see they are uncanny at figuring things out." /.../
Indeed, Sendak's books weren't just groundbreaking for their darker stories, their more torrid families, their less sentimentalized protagonists. It was also their innovative relationship between words and pictures.
In "Wild Things," a single sentence can take pages to unfold, its meaning changing slightly with each image. And this book with numerous wordless pages ends with a half-sentence and no accompanying image. Sendak works similarly to the directors of the French New Wave, who used jump cuts and other techniques to dislocate their editing. /.../
/Maurice Sendak rewrote the rules with 'Wild Things', Scott Timberg/
"What makes a good kids' story?
Sendak: How would I know? I just write the books. But I do know that my parents were immigrants and they didn't know that they should clean the stories up for us. So we heard horrible, horrible stories, and we loved them, we absolutely loved them. But the three of us — my sister, my brother, and myself — grew up very depressed people." /Newsweek/
"Sendak, M. (1963). Where the wild things are. HarperCollins Publishers.
In Where the Wild Things Are, Max, a mischievous boy in a wolf suit, imagines that he sails off to far away land. On this island, he encounters ferocious creatures with sharp teeth, terrible roars, and yellow eyes. However, Max is able to subdue them by “(taming) them with the magic trick of staring into all their yellow eyes without blinking once.” Eventually, Max gets lonely and decides to sail back home.
Where the Wild Things Are is well-deserving of the 1964 Caldecott Medal. The soft, muted watercolors balance the detailed line drawings. The illustrations correspond well to the plot. In the beginning, the drawing of Max is small. As the story progresses, the illustrations get larger. The effect creates suspense and tension. Soon there are three double-paged illustrations when the “wild rumpus” starts. This symbolizes the climax of the story. Once Max decides to return home, the illustrations gradually get smaller.
This story is great for young children with a sense of imagination. Sendak takes readers to whole new place where the wild things are." /ewang109, LibraryThing/
Haven't seen the movie. For me, the picture book says it all.
Update:
"Most reviews of Where the Wild Things Are do not focus on Maurice Sendak’s sexual orientation. And why should they? Max’s story is not about being gay or being straight. It’s about being little and feeling angry, then feeling big with the power of your anger. It’s about how that power eventually feels scary and exhausting and you want to be welcomed back and loved for being, once again, small. Sendak gives Max the chance to act out the wildness inside in a way that is not at all cute or kid-sized, but is actually wild. He could have been afraid of the wild things as they “roared their terrible roars and gnashed their terrible teeth” but instead he commands them to “BE STILL!” and they “called him the most wild thing of all.” In contrast to the frenetic energy of Max’s “wild rumpus” with the monsters Sendak describes Max’s homecoming simply and reverently. Max sails “back over a year/and in and out of weeks/and through a day/and into the night of his very own room/where he found his supper/waiting for him/and it was still hot.
Sendak has said several times that the book is about family, and specifically that the wild things were a take on the loud, cheek-pinching relatives that would descend on his house. But Where the Wild Things Are may be more about the relatives you never see at all - the parents. As novelist Brent Hartinger points out in his review of the recent documentary “Tell Them Anything You Want – A Portrait of Maurice Sendak” Sendak did not come out as gay until he was eighty. “His parents’ inability to accept his being gay — not to mention his being an artist — is part of why Sendak says in the documentary that he ‘hated’ them. He says they never wanted to have kids in the first place and were terrible at parenting, giving him a miserable childhood…Sendak told the Times that he lived with the same man, psychoanalyst Eugene Glynn, for 50 years, until Glynn's death in 2007. But he never told his parents he is gay and, while they were living, was terrified that they might find out. ‘I don't think I ever stopped beating myself up about (being gay),’ he says in the documentary.” The loneliness that Max feels, the longing to be at home may have been very real to Sendak, not just during his childhood but throughout a lifetime of hiding his personal life from his parents. But the absolution summed up so neatly in Max’s still hot supper, that - more than any monster or voyage - may be the real fantasy behind this classic book.(...)
Sendak, Maurice. Where the Wild Things Are. New York: Harper & Row, 1963. Print.
Hartinger, Brent. “’Where the Wild Things’ Author Maurice Sendak Revisits Monsters in New HBO Documentary.” AfterElton. Logo, Oct. 13 2009. Web. Mar 21 2010." /limeminearia, LibraryThing/ - This review made me google more info about the book and the author.
I still prefer cute picture books though.
24readeron
#24 Closely Observed Trains by Bohumil Hrabal
(a.k.a. Closely Watched Trains)
96 pages
4 stars
"For gauche young apprentice Milos Hrma, life at the small but strategic railway station in Bohemia in 1945 is full of complex preoccupations. There is the exacting business of dispatching German troop trains to and from the toppling Eastern front; the problem of ridding himself of his burdensome innocence; and the awesome scandal of Dispatcher Hubicka's gross misuse of the station's official stamps upon the telegraphist's anatomy. Beside these, Milos's part in the plan for the ammunition train seems a simple affair. CLOSELY OBSERVED TRAINS, which became the award-winning Jiri Menzel film of the 'Prague Spring', is a classic of postwar literature, a small masterpiece of humour, humanity and heroism which fully justifies Hrabal's reputation as one of the best Czech writers of today." /fantasticfiction/
"It's probably stating the obvious, but there's a Svejkian feel to this novella: the contrast between mischievous, physical humour and the death and destruction of the closing stages of World War II make the comparison inevitable. And a railway is a world of hierarchies, procedures and subtle subversions very like the army." /thororld, LibraryThing/
"This is a novella set in Bohemia during World War Two and focused on Milos, a young man who works in a station through which trains pass to and from the front (the trains of the title) carrying German soldiers, arms and ammunition, and so on. The background is worn lightly - the overall tone of the book is light and slightly surreal. And the book is packed with very vivid images - for example, after a German plane crashes near the village, Milos meets the villagers on their way back from stripping it of anything useable or saleable. But the serious underlying issues - both personal and political - gradually become impossible to ignore. A short book, but a thought-provoking one." /wandering_star, LibraryThing/
"A short novella set during WWII tells the story of a few people from a small town in Czechoslovakia through which ‘closely watched trains’- German trains with troops and ammunition pass through. The main character, Milos Hrma, is trying to regain his self-image after his first – devastating– sexual experience.
Intelligent and satirical, and alternately high and low-brow, funny and poignant, it is a beautifully told story about the bravery and courage of common people.
Highly recommended. /Niecierpek, LibraryThing/
"Hrabal is a master of juxtaposing humorous anecdotes with some seriously tragic stuff. He also captures the reality of Czech civilians who, in spite of a war going on around them and being closely monitored by the German military, still find time to laugh, share stories, and, in one instance, discuss the romantic affairs of the train dispatcher. So, yeah, read this, laugh a little, cry a little, and just enjoy the read." /Chris, goodreads/
"Hrabal is an excellent comic writer. There were moments in this novella that had me laughing aloud, yet his material is almost unflinchingly dark and heavy. There is one suicide attempt, the main character is almost killed by the Gestapo, and Dresden goes up in flames in the distance, but none of this detracts from the humor Hrabal finds in human interaction. /.../ I'm looking forward to reading more Hrabal. /will, goodreads/
"Pretty short, so you can easily read it all the way through in one sitting, and that's probably the best way to experience this story. It's World War II and the only one who tried to stop the Germans was the town's fool trying to hypnotise them into going away. Well at least he tried. It's full of funny and true observations. Closely Watched Trains actually keeps getting better as the story unfolds, the ending being especially memorable. Hrabal has a very unique writing style that can serve up a headache or two, but it's rewarding if you stick with it." /Stefan Kuschnig, goodreads/
(a.k.a. Closely Watched Trains)
96 pages
4 stars
"For gauche young apprentice Milos Hrma, life at the small but strategic railway station in Bohemia in 1945 is full of complex preoccupations. There is the exacting business of dispatching German troop trains to and from the toppling Eastern front; the problem of ridding himself of his burdensome innocence; and the awesome scandal of Dispatcher Hubicka's gross misuse of the station's official stamps upon the telegraphist's anatomy. Beside these, Milos's part in the plan for the ammunition train seems a simple affair. CLOSELY OBSERVED TRAINS, which became the award-winning Jiri Menzel film of the 'Prague Spring', is a classic of postwar literature, a small masterpiece of humour, humanity and heroism which fully justifies Hrabal's reputation as one of the best Czech writers of today." /fantasticfiction/
"It's probably stating the obvious, but there's a Svejkian feel to this novella: the contrast between mischievous, physical humour and the death and destruction of the closing stages of World War II make the comparison inevitable. And a railway is a world of hierarchies, procedures and subtle subversions very like the army." /thororld, LibraryThing/
"This is a novella set in Bohemia during World War Two and focused on Milos, a young man who works in a station through which trains pass to and from the front (the trains of the title) carrying German soldiers, arms and ammunition, and so on. The background is worn lightly - the overall tone of the book is light and slightly surreal. And the book is packed with very vivid images - for example, after a German plane crashes near the village, Milos meets the villagers on their way back from stripping it of anything useable or saleable. But the serious underlying issues - both personal and political - gradually become impossible to ignore. A short book, but a thought-provoking one." /wandering_star, LibraryThing/
"A short novella set during WWII tells the story of a few people from a small town in Czechoslovakia through which ‘closely watched trains’- German trains with troops and ammunition pass through. The main character, Milos Hrma, is trying to regain his self-image after his first – devastating– sexual experience.
Intelligent and satirical, and alternately high and low-brow, funny and poignant, it is a beautifully told story about the bravery and courage of common people.
Highly recommended. /Niecierpek, LibraryThing/
"Hrabal is a master of juxtaposing humorous anecdotes with some seriously tragic stuff. He also captures the reality of Czech civilians who, in spite of a war going on around them and being closely monitored by the German military, still find time to laugh, share stories, and, in one instance, discuss the romantic affairs of the train dispatcher. So, yeah, read this, laugh a little, cry a little, and just enjoy the read." /Chris, goodreads/
"Hrabal is an excellent comic writer. There were moments in this novella that had me laughing aloud, yet his material is almost unflinchingly dark and heavy. There is one suicide attempt, the main character is almost killed by the Gestapo, and Dresden goes up in flames in the distance, but none of this detracts from the humor Hrabal finds in human interaction. /.../ I'm looking forward to reading more Hrabal. /will, goodreads/
"Pretty short, so you can easily read it all the way through in one sitting, and that's probably the best way to experience this story. It's World War II and the only one who tried to stop the Germans was the town's fool trying to hypnotise them into going away. Well at least he tried. It's full of funny and true observations. Closely Watched Trains actually keeps getting better as the story unfolds, the ending being especially memorable. Hrabal has a very unique writing style that can serve up a headache or two, but it's rewarding if you stick with it." /Stefan Kuschnig, goodreads/
25readeron
#25 Aki bújt, aki nem by R. Székely Julianna
242 pages
4 stars
A collection of 24 interviews by the author with people from every walk of life. The interviews were made in the late '70s and the early 80's. Some stories are simply heart-wrenching, others depict in details all the challenges these people were facing personally and professionally. The book, as a whole, reads like a critique of society and Communism of 20th-Century Hungary. An intriguing, informative and thought-provoking read. I liked it.
The "cover art" isn't fit to look at (honestly, it's just hideous).
(Can't find a touchstone for the book.)
242 pages
4 stars
A collection of 24 interviews by the author with people from every walk of life. The interviews were made in the late '70s and the early 80's. Some stories are simply heart-wrenching, others depict in details all the challenges these people were facing personally and professionally. The book, as a whole, reads like a critique of society and Communism of 20th-Century Hungary. An intriguing, informative and thought-provoking read. I liked it.
The "cover art" isn't fit to look at (honestly, it's just hideous).
(Can't find a touchstone for the book.)
26readeron
#26 The Door by Magda Szabó
272 pages
4 stars
"Well written. I especially like the discussion/portayal of what is betrayal and how the most important or damagig events in a relationship can seem minor, or justified, from the outside. /Ricky, goodreads/
"A stunning read. Part psychological thriller, part feminist critique of society and Communism (set in 20th-Century Hungary), centred on the mysterious but disturbing old lady, Emerence. A haunting story that gives the impression of being in black and white." /Georgina Thyne, goodreads/
"I found this book hard to assess. While I was reading it I found that, a lot of the time, I was really irritated by the two main characters. I found it hard to relate to, or even vaguely like, any character in the book.
However, since finishing it the whole feel of the book has lingered on in my mind - for me the underlying theme is that of a Greek Tragedy with very flawed heroines." /mary, goodreads/
"Exasperating, preposterous and chockful of eye-rolling melodrama.
The Door: DO NOT ENTER." /S., goodreads/
I partly agree with S. On the other hand, I think if you like melodrama, if you are sucker for psychological thrillers and gothic novels, it's a must read.
Why does the novel remind me of a gothic novel (set in 20th century Budapest)?
The following stylistic elements can be found in the story and can be blamed:
- nightmares
- storm
- dark secrets
- persecuted maiden (the heroine used to be one, sort of)
- the madwoman in the attic (here: nine cats in a room locked up, kept in secret)
- grotesqueness (for example, the scene when Emerenc makes Viola eat the food she made and served for the unknown guest is depicted in a pretty grotesque style)
- morbid obsession with mourning rituals, Mementos, and mortality in general (one of the heroine's main obsessions is to get a huge crypt built for her whole family after her death)
- gloomy atmosphere and melodrama
- grotesque
- burden of the past
- Some of the themes of Gothic fiction include: (...), subversion of authority or convention (check), parent/child relationships (check, it slowly becomes a pseudo mother-daughter relationship), nobility and servitude (check, sort of), rationality and nightmare (check).
- terror (both psychological and physical)
- The vocabulary of the gothic. The constant use of the appropriate vocabulary set creates the atmosphere of the gothic. Categories: mystery (check), fear, terror or sorrow (check), surprize (check), haste (check), anger (check), largeness (check, actually mythic proportions)
- The metonymy of gloom and horror. Metonymy is a subtype of metaphor, in which something (like rain) is used to stand for something else (like sorrow). (In this particular novel these were: wind, footsteps approaching, thunder and lightning, gusts of wind blowing out lights, crazed laughter, etc.)
- strong moral closure
all in all, I don't say that it IS a gothic novel. I say it reads for me like some gothic fiction set in 20th century Hungary. I don't want to convince anyone, I simply felt like this while reading. I just tried to find out for myself why I felt so.
And if we go one step further and call it a gothic parody, the novel gets more interesting (for me).
- "Even though she parodies and mocks the Gothic novel, she still retains part of the genre's overarching themes: "the individual is something so precious that society must never be allowed to violate it" (Morse 29). (About Austen's Northanger Abbey)
- "In American history there have been a few who wish to make the Gothic novel into a political parody," (What if in Hungarian history there were some too?)
That's how I see it now. I'm probably mistaken. As a layperson, I can be mistaken easily. Professional literary critics surely know it better.
------------
I also loved the review by Peter Humphreys on LibraryThing. (Actually this review convinced me that the book is worth a read. I used to have ambiguous feelings about the novel, for several reasons.) Here it is:
"The plot of this profoundly moving novel is very simple. Magda, an aspiring writer, decides that she can no longer cope with everyday domestic chores. A friend recommends that she contact an elderly housekeeper named Emerence, who lives nearby in an apartment that no one else is allowed to enter. Emerence arrives for the interview, but it is she who asks the questions and lays down the rules. The young novelist and her husband agree to Emerence's terms. She will only work when it suits her. Thus begins a relationship that survives for 20 years, and The Door is the story of Magda's involvement with the acutely intelligent, but virtually illiterate, woman.
Emerence is an unforgettable character, as rich and varied as anyone in Balzac or Dostoyevsky. The narrator never quite knows where she stands with her and is often reduced to tears of rage and frustration. Emerence is a tyrant, even though she despises those in authority, whether politicians, doctors or priests.
The reader occasionally shares Magda's exasperation with the bossy old peasant, but is soon charmed again. Emerence has had a tough life, in a country taken over by Fascists and Communists, working as a servant from 13, enduring hunger, deprivation and the pain of loving a man who made her wary of intellectuals. She scoffs at Magda's insistence that writing is hard work, this woman who sweeps the street, takes in washing and ironing, and prepares superb meals for her lonely neighbours.
As the friendship blossoms, Magda comes to be party to some of Emerence's secrets. Among her former employers were a Jewish couple who left everything behind them, including their daughter, Eva, whom she brought up in Budapest. It becomes clear that she has always helped people in distress: Germans and Jews alike, whoever has fallen victim to the inhuman dictates of the men in power. She has an instinctive way with animals, especially with the mongrel dog, Viola, that Magda and her husband reluctantly adopt. Viola is beautifully delineated, in all his canine moods.
The Door tells a great deal about the sufferings of 20th-century Hungary through the heart and mind of a single fearless woman, as Magda is taught by example to consider her own inadequacies." /Peter Humphreys, LibraryThing/
Also liked this review: http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/the-door-by-magda-...
And I think it's time to add: This novel is fun, a wild romp and the grotesque humour involved makes it an even more enjoyable read. (Noone ever told me that this novel involves some wicked humour. Shame on them!:)
272 pages
4 stars
"Well written. I especially like the discussion/portayal of what is betrayal and how the most important or damagig events in a relationship can seem minor, or justified, from the outside. /Ricky, goodreads/
"A stunning read. Part psychological thriller, part feminist critique of society and Communism (set in 20th-Century Hungary), centred on the mysterious but disturbing old lady, Emerence. A haunting story that gives the impression of being in black and white." /Georgina Thyne, goodreads/
"I found this book hard to assess. While I was reading it I found that, a lot of the time, I was really irritated by the two main characters. I found it hard to relate to, or even vaguely like, any character in the book.
However, since finishing it the whole feel of the book has lingered on in my mind - for me the underlying theme is that of a Greek Tragedy with very flawed heroines." /mary, goodreads/
"Exasperating, preposterous and chockful of eye-rolling melodrama.
The Door: DO NOT ENTER." /S., goodreads/
I partly agree with S. On the other hand, I think if you like melodrama, if you are sucker for psychological thrillers and gothic novels, it's a must read.
Why does the novel remind me of a gothic novel (set in 20th century Budapest)?
The following stylistic elements can be found in the story and can be blamed:
- nightmares
- storm
- dark secrets
- persecuted maiden (the heroine used to be one, sort of)
- the madwoman in the attic (here: nine cats in a room locked up, kept in secret)
- grotesqueness (for example, the scene when Emerenc makes Viola eat the food she made and served for the unknown guest is depicted in a pretty grotesque style)
- morbid obsession with mourning rituals, Mementos, and mortality in general (one of the heroine's main obsessions is to get a huge crypt built for her whole family after her death)
- gloomy atmosphere and melodrama
- grotesque
- burden of the past
- Some of the themes of Gothic fiction include: (...), subversion of authority or convention (check), parent/child relationships (check, it slowly becomes a pseudo mother-daughter relationship), nobility and servitude (check, sort of), rationality and nightmare (check).
- terror (both psychological and physical)
- The vocabulary of the gothic. The constant use of the appropriate vocabulary set creates the atmosphere of the gothic. Categories: mystery (check), fear, terror or sorrow (check), surprize (check), haste (check), anger (check), largeness (check, actually mythic proportions)
- The metonymy of gloom and horror. Metonymy is a subtype of metaphor, in which something (like rain) is used to stand for something else (like sorrow). (In this particular novel these were: wind, footsteps approaching, thunder and lightning, gusts of wind blowing out lights, crazed laughter, etc.)
- strong moral closure
all in all, I don't say that it IS a gothic novel. I say it reads for me like some gothic fiction set in 20th century Hungary. I don't want to convince anyone, I simply felt like this while reading. I just tried to find out for myself why I felt so.
And if we go one step further and call it a gothic parody, the novel gets more interesting (for me).
- "Even though she parodies and mocks the Gothic novel, she still retains part of the genre's overarching themes: "the individual is something so precious that society must never be allowed to violate it" (Morse 29). (About Austen's Northanger Abbey)
- "In American history there have been a few who wish to make the Gothic novel into a political parody," (What if in Hungarian history there were some too?)
That's how I see it now. I'm probably mistaken. As a layperson, I can be mistaken easily. Professional literary critics surely know it better.
------------
I also loved the review by Peter Humphreys on LibraryThing. (Actually this review convinced me that the book is worth a read. I used to have ambiguous feelings about the novel, for several reasons.) Here it is:
"The plot of this profoundly moving novel is very simple. Magda, an aspiring writer, decides that she can no longer cope with everyday domestic chores. A friend recommends that she contact an elderly housekeeper named Emerence, who lives nearby in an apartment that no one else is allowed to enter. Emerence arrives for the interview, but it is she who asks the questions and lays down the rules. The young novelist and her husband agree to Emerence's terms. She will only work when it suits her. Thus begins a relationship that survives for 20 years, and The Door is the story of Magda's involvement with the acutely intelligent, but virtually illiterate, woman.
Emerence is an unforgettable character, as rich and varied as anyone in Balzac or Dostoyevsky. The narrator never quite knows where she stands with her and is often reduced to tears of rage and frustration. Emerence is a tyrant, even though she despises those in authority, whether politicians, doctors or priests.
The reader occasionally shares Magda's exasperation with the bossy old peasant, but is soon charmed again. Emerence has had a tough life, in a country taken over by Fascists and Communists, working as a servant from 13, enduring hunger, deprivation and the pain of loving a man who made her wary of intellectuals. She scoffs at Magda's insistence that writing is hard work, this woman who sweeps the street, takes in washing and ironing, and prepares superb meals for her lonely neighbours.
As the friendship blossoms, Magda comes to be party to some of Emerence's secrets. Among her former employers were a Jewish couple who left everything behind them, including their daughter, Eva, whom she brought up in Budapest. It becomes clear that she has always helped people in distress: Germans and Jews alike, whoever has fallen victim to the inhuman dictates of the men in power. She has an instinctive way with animals, especially with the mongrel dog, Viola, that Magda and her husband reluctantly adopt. Viola is beautifully delineated, in all his canine moods.
The Door tells a great deal about the sufferings of 20th-century Hungary through the heart and mind of a single fearless woman, as Magda is taught by example to consider her own inadequacies." /Peter Humphreys, LibraryThing/
Also liked this review: http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/the-door-by-magda-...
And I think it's time to add: This novel is fun, a wild romp and the grotesque humour involved makes it an even more enjoyable read. (Noone ever told me that this novel involves some wicked humour. Shame on them!:)
27readeron
#27 The Time Machine by H. G. Wells
144 pages
4 stars
"(Wells) contrives to give over humanity into the clutches of the Impossible and yet manages to keep it down (or up) to its humanity, to its flesh, blood, sorrow, folly."
Joseph Conrad
"This visionary and imaginative story held me in suspense from page one. A gloomy and dystopian view of the future. Forget 1984 or 2000-whatever. Here we are in the future with a capital F. In the year 802,700 - and later in the novel in the words of Buzz Lightyear: To infinity and beyond.
I kept thinking of the teletubbies when The Time Traveller described the upper-class Elois. I had a hard time imagining the Morlocks - but creepy creatures they were no doubt.
I liked the way he slowly discovers the horrifying truth. That the happy-care-free-dreamlike existence with no work, no illness is not what it seems. I was reminded of the soma in Brave New World." /ctpress, LibraryThing/
"Very well written. Recommended to any one who loves adventure and time traveling." /aklauseiuns, LibraryThing/
"The Time Machine is more than cool, classic sci-fi. It's more than just THE original story to include a scientific rationale to time travel. It's a story that delves into the differences and injustices of class relations. It's a story that considers a burgeoning scientific revolution. And it's a story that explores evolution and the fate of mankind (at the same time as the World is still grapples with Darwin's theory).
The story is quite simple. The Time Traveller (TTT - no name is given) creates a machine that's able to travel through time. TTT demonstrates, in miniature, how the machine works and then travels himself, in full scale, 800,000 years into the future. The narration is handled by The Writer (also no name is given) who witnesses the miniature demonstration and is present when TTT returns from his trip to the future.
TTT finds himself in a future inhabitated by the child-like Eloi living a vegetarian (...) existence. The Eloi are innocent, fun-loving, sympathetic simpletons. When his time machine disappears, TTT explores this future land and ultimately discovers the Eloi's underground-dwelling symbiotic cousins - the Morlocks. Symbollically, the Eloi serve the role of aristocracy, patrician, or white collar; while the Morlocks serve the role as commoner, plebian, proletariat or blue collar. The Morlocks are carnivores (you can guess where they get their meat), and industrial, who can only see in the dark and are afraid of fire and the light.
After battle the Morlocks and losing his one Eloi friend, Weena, TTT recovers his Time Machine and launches himself further into the future.
The image of a desolate, grim far-future inhabited only by large crab-like creatures is (...) haunting and memorable (...). The Signet edition of The Time Machine includes one additional future vignette that was edited out of the definitive edition of the story. This additional scene precedes TTT's visit to the crab-beach. He finds what he believes to be the last vestiges of humanity having taken the shape of large grey formless rabbits who are hunted by enormous caterpillars. These few additional pages evoke the same creepiness as the beach crabs and are a nice complement to the original story.
TTT relates his journey at a dinner party at his home. We view his adventure and discourse through The Writer's detailed account of TTT's return. English society is represented at the dinner party and, naturally, nobody quite believes the tale.
Modern scifi stalwart Greg Bear writes an introduction to the Signet addition and provides informative context to the story, it's place in writing history, and background on H.G. Wells as well as his place in the authorial pantheon.
If you've never read The Time Machine before, I strongly recommend you jump into this turn of the 19th Century classic. It's a little soft by modern comparison, but it's the original upon which so much contemporary scifi is based." /JGolomb, LibraryThing/
"The description of the process of time travel itself is wonderful, even if it disregards science altogether. I was captivated by the image of the time machine, with its levers and crystals, standing stationary in space while hurtling forward through time, so quickly that the sun rising and setting was a continuous streak in the sky.
Wells takes his time traveler an unimaginable distance into the future: 800,000 years. The world he describes is lush and beautiful, but also melancholy, like an endless Sunday afternoon. The two descendants of mankind — the child-like, passive, above-ground Eloi and the animal-like, cannibalistic, below-ground Morlocks — are just a shade too literal, if we are to accept them as the natural (d)evolution resulting from the widening gap between the wealthy, idle elite and the working classes. But that is incidental to his dying, depleted Earth, which of course poses the question of what exactly the point of everything is, if this is how we end up.
Wells takes us even further into the future, to Earth’s ultimate demise, where a bloated, red sun fills the sky over a lifeless beach. His descriptions are vivid enough to make the reader feel as if we have accompanied the Time Traveler to our planet’s inevitable end." /sturlington, LibraryThing/
"I loved Wells' vision of the future of humanity. Looking at society today it's easy to see how Wells came to his conclusions. This book seems even more relevant today, and I think Wells knew that. He knew we would continue our quest for contentedness and thus wrote a book that will remain timeless so long as we remain clueless." /phaga, LibraryThing/
"I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I loved Wells descriptions of the future people and lands, and the discoveries the time traveler makes while in the future." nielch, LibraryThing/
"A great, almost haunting novel. Wells does not get nearly enough credit for The Time Machine. There is much more here than meets the eye." /Radaghast, LibraryThing/
"It's a story about the evolution of humankind. And a story about the end of time. But more than all of that with The Time Machine, H. G. Wells managed to redefine what a science fiction story is. The Time Machine is not a classic because of immaculate storytelling. The novel is uneven in pacing and style. It is a classic because the common ideas, themes, and mythos of time-travel and time machines originate within these pages, and have continued to influence and captivated ever since." /Alera, LibraryThing/
"This is a very short book (91 pages) which I read in one sitting, and which is perfect for a lazy afternoon (which was when I read it).
The book tells the story of a man, who is always referred to simply as The Time Traveler, who invents a time machine, which takes him to the year 802,701. There, he finds that the human race has evolved into two species' - the Eloi and the Morlocks. On the face of it, the Eloi seem to live a wonderful existence, filled with pleasure. However, the time traveler discovers that, as they want for nothing, and therefore have nothing to strive for, the Eloi have also seemingly lost the ability for intelligent thought. (Without goals, there is no need for strategy and forethought). However, there is a darker reality lurking underneath the surface (both literally and figuratively), in the Morlocks - a species who only come out in the darkness, and who inspire fear in the Eloi. To say more would be to give away too much of the plot, although it is at this point that the story really began to take root. Suffice to say that I ended up feeling more sympathy with the Morlocks than the Eloi; I have no idea if that is what the author originally intended.
It's hard to describe how I felt about this book. It is of course a classic, and with good reason. Yet, I found it very difficult to engage with any of the characters. However, I did enjoy it and would definitely recommend it to others. It is one that I have kept, and will almost certainly reread at some point in the future, as I think it could well be a book that becomes more enjoyable with each reading." /Book_Junkie, LibraryThing/
"The first use of the time machine, this is a wonderful story. It is fairly short, more novella than novel, detailing how a traveler goes into the future only to be trapped there searching for his lost machine. A true classic of science fiction with good pacing throughout. It is also a critique of the evils of capitalism as taken from the perspective of its time which is almost as interesting as the story." /kronos999, LibraryThing/
"Transported through the fourth dimension by the Time Machine, the traveller finds the human race in a state of weakness and decay. To escape, he must discover who has stolen the Time Machine.
The year is 802,701. The planet is Earth. Only two races of people now exist -- the Morlocks and the Eloi. The former are degenerate and prey upon the latter who are meek and beautiful. It is a world of horror and madness. The Time Machine is a fantasy of the future. It is a thrilling story of a contemporary man stranded thousands of years in the future." /rajendran, LibraryThing/
"The Time Machine reflects the socialistic views of Wells and other Fabian Society members. The complete split between the upper and lower classes some 800,000 years in the future results from the inequality wrought by the great evil of Capitalism. Whether modern readers agree or not, that is the premise of the book.
In my opinion, The Time Machine is a success because it can be read on these many different levels - as pure science fiction, adventure, or social commentary. Its enduring power testifies to the skill and ingenuity of the author." /biomap, LibraryThing/
"About a time traveler who ventures 8000 years into futurity and the adventures that result. What he finds there is unexpected, as humanity has evolved into two very different species – the child-like Eloi and gollum-like Morlocks. That bit was quite fun. A short piece, quickly read, well written and enjoyable." /thierry, LibraryThing/
"Wonderful and focused exposition, exploring humankind's possible futures with steely, horror-tinged realism. Not only an entertaining read, but visionary in scope. A science-fiction masterpiece." /DavidGraves, LibraryThing/
Haven't seen the movies.
144 pages
4 stars
"(Wells) contrives to give over humanity into the clutches of the Impossible and yet manages to keep it down (or up) to its humanity, to its flesh, blood, sorrow, folly."
Joseph Conrad
"This visionary and imaginative story held me in suspense from page one. A gloomy and dystopian view of the future. Forget 1984 or 2000-whatever. Here we are in the future with a capital F. In the year 802,700 - and later in the novel in the words of Buzz Lightyear: To infinity and beyond.
I kept thinking of the teletubbies when The Time Traveller described the upper-class Elois. I had a hard time imagining the Morlocks - but creepy creatures they were no doubt.
I liked the way he slowly discovers the horrifying truth. That the happy-care-free-dreamlike existence with no work, no illness is not what it seems. I was reminded of the soma in Brave New World." /ctpress, LibraryThing/
"Very well written. Recommended to any one who loves adventure and time traveling." /aklauseiuns, LibraryThing/
"The Time Machine is more than cool, classic sci-fi. It's more than just THE original story to include a scientific rationale to time travel. It's a story that delves into the differences and injustices of class relations. It's a story that considers a burgeoning scientific revolution. And it's a story that explores evolution and the fate of mankind (at the same time as the World is still grapples with Darwin's theory).
The story is quite simple. The Time Traveller (TTT - no name is given) creates a machine that's able to travel through time. TTT demonstrates, in miniature, how the machine works and then travels himself, in full scale, 800,000 years into the future. The narration is handled by The Writer (also no name is given) who witnesses the miniature demonstration and is present when TTT returns from his trip to the future.
TTT finds himself in a future inhabitated by the child-like Eloi living a vegetarian (...) existence. The Eloi are innocent, fun-loving, sympathetic simpletons. When his time machine disappears, TTT explores this future land and ultimately discovers the Eloi's underground-dwelling symbiotic cousins - the Morlocks. Symbollically, the Eloi serve the role of aristocracy, patrician, or white collar; while the Morlocks serve the role as commoner, plebian, proletariat or blue collar. The Morlocks are carnivores (you can guess where they get their meat), and industrial, who can only see in the dark and are afraid of fire and the light.
After battle the Morlocks and losing his one Eloi friend, Weena, TTT recovers his Time Machine and launches himself further into the future.
The image of a desolate, grim far-future inhabited only by large crab-like creatures is (...) haunting and memorable (...). The Signet edition of The Time Machine includes one additional future vignette that was edited out of the definitive edition of the story. This additional scene precedes TTT's visit to the crab-beach. He finds what he believes to be the last vestiges of humanity having taken the shape of large grey formless rabbits who are hunted by enormous caterpillars. These few additional pages evoke the same creepiness as the beach crabs and are a nice complement to the original story.
TTT relates his journey at a dinner party at his home. We view his adventure and discourse through The Writer's detailed account of TTT's return. English society is represented at the dinner party and, naturally, nobody quite believes the tale.
Modern scifi stalwart Greg Bear writes an introduction to the Signet addition and provides informative context to the story, it's place in writing history, and background on H.G. Wells as well as his place in the authorial pantheon.
If you've never read The Time Machine before, I strongly recommend you jump into this turn of the 19th Century classic. It's a little soft by modern comparison, but it's the original upon which so much contemporary scifi is based." /JGolomb, LibraryThing/
"The description of the process of time travel itself is wonderful, even if it disregards science altogether. I was captivated by the image of the time machine, with its levers and crystals, standing stationary in space while hurtling forward through time, so quickly that the sun rising and setting was a continuous streak in the sky.
Wells takes his time traveler an unimaginable distance into the future: 800,000 years. The world he describes is lush and beautiful, but also melancholy, like an endless Sunday afternoon. The two descendants of mankind — the child-like, passive, above-ground Eloi and the animal-like, cannibalistic, below-ground Morlocks — are just a shade too literal, if we are to accept them as the natural (d)evolution resulting from the widening gap between the wealthy, idle elite and the working classes. But that is incidental to his dying, depleted Earth, which of course poses the question of what exactly the point of everything is, if this is how we end up.
Wells takes us even further into the future, to Earth’s ultimate demise, where a bloated, red sun fills the sky over a lifeless beach. His descriptions are vivid enough to make the reader feel as if we have accompanied the Time Traveler to our planet’s inevitable end." /sturlington, LibraryThing/
"I loved Wells' vision of the future of humanity. Looking at society today it's easy to see how Wells came to his conclusions. This book seems even more relevant today, and I think Wells knew that. He knew we would continue our quest for contentedness and thus wrote a book that will remain timeless so long as we remain clueless." /phaga, LibraryThing/
"I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I loved Wells descriptions of the future people and lands, and the discoveries the time traveler makes while in the future." nielch, LibraryThing/
"A great, almost haunting novel. Wells does not get nearly enough credit for The Time Machine. There is much more here than meets the eye." /Radaghast, LibraryThing/
"It's a story about the evolution of humankind. And a story about the end of time. But more than all of that with The Time Machine, H. G. Wells managed to redefine what a science fiction story is. The Time Machine is not a classic because of immaculate storytelling. The novel is uneven in pacing and style. It is a classic because the common ideas, themes, and mythos of time-travel and time machines originate within these pages, and have continued to influence and captivated ever since." /Alera, LibraryThing/
"This is a very short book (91 pages) which I read in one sitting, and which is perfect for a lazy afternoon (which was when I read it).
The book tells the story of a man, who is always referred to simply as The Time Traveler, who invents a time machine, which takes him to the year 802,701. There, he finds that the human race has evolved into two species' - the Eloi and the Morlocks. On the face of it, the Eloi seem to live a wonderful existence, filled with pleasure. However, the time traveler discovers that, as they want for nothing, and therefore have nothing to strive for, the Eloi have also seemingly lost the ability for intelligent thought. (Without goals, there is no need for strategy and forethought). However, there is a darker reality lurking underneath the surface (both literally and figuratively), in the Morlocks - a species who only come out in the darkness, and who inspire fear in the Eloi. To say more would be to give away too much of the plot, although it is at this point that the story really began to take root. Suffice to say that I ended up feeling more sympathy with the Morlocks than the Eloi; I have no idea if that is what the author originally intended.
It's hard to describe how I felt about this book. It is of course a classic, and with good reason. Yet, I found it very difficult to engage with any of the characters. However, I did enjoy it and would definitely recommend it to others. It is one that I have kept, and will almost certainly reread at some point in the future, as I think it could well be a book that becomes more enjoyable with each reading." /Book_Junkie, LibraryThing/
"The first use of the time machine, this is a wonderful story. It is fairly short, more novella than novel, detailing how a traveler goes into the future only to be trapped there searching for his lost machine. A true classic of science fiction with good pacing throughout. It is also a critique of the evils of capitalism as taken from the perspective of its time which is almost as interesting as the story." /kronos999, LibraryThing/
"Transported through the fourth dimension by the Time Machine, the traveller finds the human race in a state of weakness and decay. To escape, he must discover who has stolen the Time Machine.
The year is 802,701. The planet is Earth. Only two races of people now exist -- the Morlocks and the Eloi. The former are degenerate and prey upon the latter who are meek and beautiful. It is a world of horror and madness. The Time Machine is a fantasy of the future. It is a thrilling story of a contemporary man stranded thousands of years in the future." /rajendran, LibraryThing/
"The Time Machine reflects the socialistic views of Wells and other Fabian Society members. The complete split between the upper and lower classes some 800,000 years in the future results from the inequality wrought by the great evil of Capitalism. Whether modern readers agree or not, that is the premise of the book.
In my opinion, The Time Machine is a success because it can be read on these many different levels - as pure science fiction, adventure, or social commentary. Its enduring power testifies to the skill and ingenuity of the author." /biomap, LibraryThing/
"About a time traveler who ventures 8000 years into futurity and the adventures that result. What he finds there is unexpected, as humanity has evolved into two very different species – the child-like Eloi and gollum-like Morlocks. That bit was quite fun. A short piece, quickly read, well written and enjoyable." /thierry, LibraryThing/
"Wonderful and focused exposition, exploring humankind's possible futures with steely, horror-tinged realism. Not only an entertaining read, but visionary in scope. A science-fiction masterpiece." /DavidGraves, LibraryThing/
Haven't seen the movies.
28rocketjk
Excellent reading list to scroll through! I read Hrabal's I Served the King of England several year's back and enjoyed it a lot.
29readeron
Thanks! I plan to read I Served the King of England some day, too. I just love Hrabal's playful writing style. ( I already have two other novels by him checked out from the library. I don't think they've been published in English though.)
30readeron
#28 The Poet by Michael Connelly
434 pages
4 stars
"I am a big fan of Michael Connelly's Harry Bosch character, and so I was interested to try out one of his other creations. The story of 'The Poet', an apparent serial killer and the newspaper reporter Jack McEvoy was fast paced and had a couple of good twists at the end. A couple of the 'love interest' scenes were a bit hammy, but overall, a good detective thriller on par with Connelly's best." /PIER50, Librarything/
"Death is reporter Jack McEvoy's beat: his calling, his obsession. But this time, death brings McEvoy the story he never wanted to write - and the mystery he desperately needs to solve. A serial killer of unprecedented savagery and cunning is at large. His targets: homicide cops, each haunted by a murder case he couldn't crack. The killer's calling card: a quotation from the works of Edgar Allan Poe. His latest victim is McEvoys's own brother. And his last....may be McEvoy himself." /marient, Librarything/
"Jack McEvoy is a Denver crime reporter with the stickiest assignment of his career. His twin brother, homicide detective Sean McEvoy, was found dead in his car from a self-inflicted bullet wound to the head--an Edgar Allen Poe quote smeared on the windshield. Jack is going to write the story. The problem is that Jack doesn't believe that his brother killed himself, and the more information he uncovers, the more it looks like Sean's death was the work of a serial killer. Jack's research turns up similar cases in cities across the country, and within days, he's sucked into an intense FBI investigation of an Internet pedophile who may also be a cop killer nicknamed the Poet. It's only a matter of time before the Poet kills again, and as Jack and the FBI team struggle to stay ahead of him, the killer moves in, dangerously close." /Mara Friedman, goodreads/
"This is undeniably an efficient thriller, albeit one that uses far too many huge red herrings. Thrillers are of course supposed to use red herrings to confuse and distract, but the ones in this novel stand on top of a piano, dressing in neon lights, singing “Red Herrings are here again!” Okay, they don’t give away who actually dunnit, but it’s perfectly clear that they are not the answer to the puzzle." /F.R., goodreads/
"On a side note, it’s interesting to read “The Poet” from a historical perspective. It takes place at the dawn of the Internet age, when digital cameras were expensive novelties, cellular phones were confined to automobiles, and the Internet was taking baby-steps through cumbersome and noisy dial-up modems." /Narboink, LibraryThing//
"I picked this up because I was in the mood for a good, scary book, and Steven King wrote the introduction, singing its praises. (If it's good enough for Steven King, it's got to be good enough for me, right?) Well, it wasn't quite what I expected from the start, but it turned out to be an interesting read. Truthfully, I was bothered by the antagonist being a child predator. The little synopsis on the back of the book didn't mention that, and if it had, I would have passed it by. (...) But I was already engaged with the protagonist by the time that information came about, so I decided to stick it out and see where the story went. It held my attention all the way through, so I'll give it a good rating overall." /Gillian, Goodreads/
"If you like details of crime investigations you will like this book. The main character, Jack, is not a super-hero, but a believable and likeable good guy, who's persistence and determination one has to admire." /mzglorybe, Amazon/
"The final quarter of the book is best read at night, or better yet, like 3:00 or 4:00 in the morning, with only a lamp illuminating the page. It's a bit thrilling when the pieces fit together so unexpectedly yet neatly. There's a satisfying click to each piece of the puzzle as it fits into place." /Dr. Mo., Amazon/
434 pages
4 stars
"I am a big fan of Michael Connelly's Harry Bosch character, and so I was interested to try out one of his other creations. The story of 'The Poet', an apparent serial killer and the newspaper reporter Jack McEvoy was fast paced and had a couple of good twists at the end. A couple of the 'love interest' scenes were a bit hammy, but overall, a good detective thriller on par with Connelly's best." /PIER50, Librarything/
"Death is reporter Jack McEvoy's beat: his calling, his obsession. But this time, death brings McEvoy the story he never wanted to write - and the mystery he desperately needs to solve. A serial killer of unprecedented savagery and cunning is at large. His targets: homicide cops, each haunted by a murder case he couldn't crack. The killer's calling card: a quotation from the works of Edgar Allan Poe. His latest victim is McEvoys's own brother. And his last....may be McEvoy himself." /marient, Librarything/
"Jack McEvoy is a Denver crime reporter with the stickiest assignment of his career. His twin brother, homicide detective Sean McEvoy, was found dead in his car from a self-inflicted bullet wound to the head--an Edgar Allen Poe quote smeared on the windshield. Jack is going to write the story. The problem is that Jack doesn't believe that his brother killed himself, and the more information he uncovers, the more it looks like Sean's death was the work of a serial killer. Jack's research turns up similar cases in cities across the country, and within days, he's sucked into an intense FBI investigation of an Internet pedophile who may also be a cop killer nicknamed the Poet. It's only a matter of time before the Poet kills again, and as Jack and the FBI team struggle to stay ahead of him, the killer moves in, dangerously close." /Mara Friedman, goodreads/
"This is undeniably an efficient thriller, albeit one that uses far too many huge red herrings. Thrillers are of course supposed to use red herrings to confuse and distract, but the ones in this novel stand on top of a piano, dressing in neon lights, singing “Red Herrings are here again!” Okay, they don’t give away who actually dunnit, but it’s perfectly clear that they are not the answer to the puzzle." /F.R., goodreads/
"On a side note, it’s interesting to read “The Poet” from a historical perspective. It takes place at the dawn of the Internet age, when digital cameras were expensive novelties, cellular phones were confined to automobiles, and the Internet was taking baby-steps through cumbersome and noisy dial-up modems." /Narboink, LibraryThing//
"I picked this up because I was in the mood for a good, scary book, and Steven King wrote the introduction, singing its praises. (If it's good enough for Steven King, it's got to be good enough for me, right?) Well, it wasn't quite what I expected from the start, but it turned out to be an interesting read. Truthfully, I was bothered by the antagonist being a child predator. The little synopsis on the back of the book didn't mention that, and if it had, I would have passed it by. (...) But I was already engaged with the protagonist by the time that information came about, so I decided to stick it out and see where the story went. It held my attention all the way through, so I'll give it a good rating overall." /Gillian, Goodreads/
"If you like details of crime investigations you will like this book. The main character, Jack, is not a super-hero, but a believable and likeable good guy, who's persistence and determination one has to admire." /mzglorybe, Amazon/
"The final quarter of the book is best read at night, or better yet, like 3:00 or 4:00 in the morning, with only a lamp illuminating the page. It's a bit thrilling when the pieces fit together so unexpectedly yet neatly. There's a satisfying click to each piece of the puzzle as it fits into place." /Dr. Mo., Amazon/
31readeron
#29 Földfaló (Devouring of Earth) by Anthony Sheenard (Szélesi Sándor) (read it in Hungarian, of course)
4 stars
247 pages
Sci-fi crossed with thriller by definition. A fast read.
A UFO arrives on Earth. At a holiday resort situated on a small peninsula somewhere in America, people suddenly start disappearing or being chased by some strange and seemingly unnatural forces. Who knows if anyone comes out alive?
Though the characters are a bit cliched, the plot moves forward fast enough to keep you involved while still allowing you time to speculate on where you are headed. I would recommend this book to younger kids into the horror things, but it's about adults and teenagers, plus there are some disturbing scenes which make me wonder. Probably it's a teen horror after all and probably best read with your brain in the off position. Or: probably I simply wasn't in the right mood for the book. It didn't really scare me, I didn't find it funny or exciting, though I think it's suspenseful, action-packed and well-written enough. Still, I just found it mind-numbing like Novocaine for the brain. Strange. (Luckily, it was just what I needed at the time.)
All in all, I think I still prefer reading fiction in English, - for me, it's pure escapism taken to a higher level. Probably I'm just too old to read teen horror in my own language for pleasure. (Plus, if I want to read stories set in America, it would be wiser to stick to American authors. And I know, I know: I shouldn't complain. It was my choice, and nobody forced me to read on. What a hypocrite one can get? Or let's just call it a mistake instead.:)
(Can't find touchstones for this novel.)
4 stars
247 pages
Sci-fi crossed with thriller by definition. A fast read.
A UFO arrives on Earth. At a holiday resort situated on a small peninsula somewhere in America, people suddenly start disappearing or being chased by some strange and seemingly unnatural forces. Who knows if anyone comes out alive?
Though the characters are a bit cliched, the plot moves forward fast enough to keep you involved while still allowing you time to speculate on where you are headed. I would recommend this book to younger kids into the horror things, but it's about adults and teenagers, plus there are some disturbing scenes which make me wonder. Probably it's a teen horror after all and probably best read with your brain in the off position. Or: probably I simply wasn't in the right mood for the book. It didn't really scare me, I didn't find it funny or exciting, though I think it's suspenseful, action-packed and well-written enough. Still, I just found it mind-numbing like Novocaine for the brain. Strange. (Luckily, it was just what I needed at the time.)
All in all, I think I still prefer reading fiction in English, - for me, it's pure escapism taken to a higher level. Probably I'm just too old to read teen horror in my own language for pleasure. (Plus, if I want to read stories set in America, it would be wiser to stick to American authors. And I know, I know: I shouldn't complain. It was my choice, and nobody forced me to read on. What a hypocrite one can get? Or let's just call it a mistake instead.:)
(Can't find touchstones for this novel.)
32readeron
#30 Three Men on the Bummel by Jerome K. Jerome
208 pages
5 stars
reread
"Set ten years later than Three Men in a Boat it tells of a cycling expedition through the Black Forest." /LT/
"Immensely witty - a natural successor to "Three Men In a Boat". Funny throughout, there are some scenes (such as the visit to a London boot shop using a German- English phrase book) that are now comedy classics" /eyejaybee, LT/
"A "bummel" is a journey without end. Whether we want to or not, most of us have to settle with a return to our regular exertions.
So do these heroes of THREE MEN IN A BOAT, only on this occasion, a cycling trip through the Black Forest, it seems they may cycle on forever, such are their problems. Whether it's George attempting to buy a cushion for his aunt or Harris's harrowing experience with a road-waterer, not to mention the routine problems with language and directions, things get very confused indeed!" /goodreads/
"A delightful excursion in a world which, alas, exists no longer--and indeed may only have been found in the author's lively imagination." (B-O-T Editorial Review Board)
"This was, for the most part, a witty and hilarious light read. I haven't read anything as funny for some time. It was full of stereotypes of the British, the Germans, the Americans, the French, and anybody else they could think of, but it was all in good fun.
The last two chapters were more serious, and oddly prescient given that World War I broke out little more than a decade after it was written." /John, Goodreads/
"It was interesting to read an Englishman's positive descriptions of Germany not long before World War I. Much of the book consists of national stereotypes, so beware.
Jerome indulges in endless digression to comic effect. I haven't read anyone else with his style of humor, so I gave this a high rating." /Thomas, goodreads/
"Although less popular than Three Men on a Boat (...), Bummel is much much better. More compact and less rambling, it actually seemed more like a travelogue instead of a stream of consciousness rendering of Jerome Jerome's mind. Portions were laugh-out-loud funny, and the slow bits were fewer and further between than Boat. Gun to my head, if I had to recommend one to read to say you've read it, go for Boat... but if I had to recommend one to read because it's more fun, read Bummel. /Kay, Goodreads/
After rereading (for the umpteenth time), I'm still loving it.
208 pages
5 stars
reread
"Set ten years later than Three Men in a Boat it tells of a cycling expedition through the Black Forest." /LT/
"Immensely witty - a natural successor to "Three Men In a Boat". Funny throughout, there are some scenes (such as the visit to a London boot shop using a German- English phrase book) that are now comedy classics" /eyejaybee, LT/
"A "bummel" is a journey without end. Whether we want to or not, most of us have to settle with a return to our regular exertions.
So do these heroes of THREE MEN IN A BOAT, only on this occasion, a cycling trip through the Black Forest, it seems they may cycle on forever, such are their problems. Whether it's George attempting to buy a cushion for his aunt or Harris's harrowing experience with a road-waterer, not to mention the routine problems with language and directions, things get very confused indeed!" /goodreads/
"A delightful excursion in a world which, alas, exists no longer--and indeed may only have been found in the author's lively imagination." (B-O-T Editorial Review Board)
"This was, for the most part, a witty and hilarious light read. I haven't read anything as funny for some time. It was full of stereotypes of the British, the Germans, the Americans, the French, and anybody else they could think of, but it was all in good fun.
The last two chapters were more serious, and oddly prescient given that World War I broke out little more than a decade after it was written." /John, Goodreads/
"It was interesting to read an Englishman's positive descriptions of Germany not long before World War I. Much of the book consists of national stereotypes, so beware.
Jerome indulges in endless digression to comic effect. I haven't read anyone else with his style of humor, so I gave this a high rating." /Thomas, goodreads/
"Although less popular than Three Men on a Boat (...), Bummel is much much better. More compact and less rambling, it actually seemed more like a travelogue instead of a stream of consciousness rendering of Jerome Jerome's mind. Portions were laugh-out-loud funny, and the slow bits were fewer and further between than Boat. Gun to my head, if I had to recommend one to read to say you've read it, go for Boat... but if I had to recommend one to read because it's more fun, read Bummel. /Kay, Goodreads/
After rereading (for the umpteenth time), I'm still loving it.
33readeron
#31 Them by Joyce Carol Oates
3 stars
576 pages
reread
Awards: National Book Award for Fiction (1970)
"The members of the Wendall family struggle for thirty years to understand the obscure forces constantly tearing at their lives and happiness." /fantasticfiction/
"As a stranger in the World According to Joyce Carol Oates, I established one essential fact in reading them: The woman is indeed a superb writer. From page one, this novel (published when Oates was 31), pulls you in with its confident rhythms, sharp dialogue, and natural storytelling ease. It's the sordid and surreal chronicle of a "white trash" family in Detroit, spanning the years 1937 to 1967. Loretta Wendall is the family's crude, optimistic matriarch; her children Maureen and Jules struggle to fashion lives for themselves, against the odds, in a rapidly changing America.
them is not a for readers seeking warm, sympathetic characters or spiritual uplift; it's quite an ugly book, though a fascinating and compelling one. You never exactly care for Loretta, Maureen, or Jules, but you sure want to see what happens to them.
And oh the things that happen. In the first 60 pages Loretta loses her virginity, wakes up to find her boyfriend shot by her brother, and marries a policeman who helps cover up the crime. There are plane crashes, fires, prostitution, rapes, throat-slittings, mental breakdowns, shootings, and, in a bravura set-piece finale, the ’67 Detroit race riots. It's a catalogue of modern Gothic horrors that grows increasingly bizarre as the story progresses.
Not all of it works. A sequence where Jules drives to Texas with Nadine, an upper-middle-class teenager from the suburb of Grosse Pointe, bogs down in the psychodynamics of their twisted relationship. The portrait of ’60s campus revolutionaries feels like social parody long past its expiry date. But Oates taps into so many highly charged currents—the violence of American life, the powerlessness of women in society, the inevitable disillusionments of growing up—that the reader can never quite write them off as just a crackpot soap opera. The book is disturbing, and it's unforgettable. " /Tom Beer, goodreads/
"I honestly don't get it.
This is a book in which every character, all the time, is confused. At first, I thought maybe Ms Oates was not quite so sympathetic an observer as she thinks she is and that she may just think that her poor characters are poor because they're dumb. But no! The non-poor characters are just as befuddled. I have no idea how they get through their days. These people are constantly surrounded by a world that mystifies them, and they seem unable to remember things like where they were earlier in the day, who they are talking to, or (hilariously) how to park a car (as we see Jules "manage" to park a car a dozen or more times, each time referred to with the verb "manage"). I have no idea how they get through the day. Can they remember to brush their teeth? Do they remember that they HAVE teeth?
This is the kind of book that has passages (my own, invented) like this: "She heard him saying something to her and strained to listen, listening through the hazy shapes she saw surrounding him. 'What were you doing today,' he was asking. 'I don't remember,' she said, dully. 'I don't remember anything.'"
If only a single damn character could remember anything he'd been doing the day before, or could just muster up the energy to grab a strong cup of coffee or a decent nap, we could have cut the whole book down to a short story." /emily, goodreads/
3 stars
576 pages
reread
Awards: National Book Award for Fiction (1970)
"The members of the Wendall family struggle for thirty years to understand the obscure forces constantly tearing at their lives and happiness." /fantasticfiction/
"As a stranger in the World According to Joyce Carol Oates, I established one essential fact in reading them: The woman is indeed a superb writer. From page one, this novel (published when Oates was 31), pulls you in with its confident rhythms, sharp dialogue, and natural storytelling ease. It's the sordid and surreal chronicle of a "white trash" family in Detroit, spanning the years 1937 to 1967. Loretta Wendall is the family's crude, optimistic matriarch; her children Maureen and Jules struggle to fashion lives for themselves, against the odds, in a rapidly changing America.
them is not a for readers seeking warm, sympathetic characters or spiritual uplift; it's quite an ugly book, though a fascinating and compelling one. You never exactly care for Loretta, Maureen, or Jules, but you sure want to see what happens to them.
And oh the things that happen. In the first 60 pages Loretta loses her virginity, wakes up to find her boyfriend shot by her brother, and marries a policeman who helps cover up the crime. There are plane crashes, fires, prostitution, rapes, throat-slittings, mental breakdowns, shootings, and, in a bravura set-piece finale, the ’67 Detroit race riots. It's a catalogue of modern Gothic horrors that grows increasingly bizarre as the story progresses.
Not all of it works. A sequence where Jules drives to Texas with Nadine, an upper-middle-class teenager from the suburb of Grosse Pointe, bogs down in the psychodynamics of their twisted relationship. The portrait of ’60s campus revolutionaries feels like social parody long past its expiry date. But Oates taps into so many highly charged currents—the violence of American life, the powerlessness of women in society, the inevitable disillusionments of growing up—that the reader can never quite write them off as just a crackpot soap opera. The book is disturbing, and it's unforgettable. " /Tom Beer, goodreads/
"I honestly don't get it.
This is a book in which every character, all the time, is confused. At first, I thought maybe Ms Oates was not quite so sympathetic an observer as she thinks she is and that she may just think that her poor characters are poor because they're dumb. But no! The non-poor characters are just as befuddled. I have no idea how they get through their days. These people are constantly surrounded by a world that mystifies them, and they seem unable to remember things like where they were earlier in the day, who they are talking to, or (hilariously) how to park a car (as we see Jules "manage" to park a car a dozen or more times, each time referred to with the verb "manage"). I have no idea how they get through the day. Can they remember to brush their teeth? Do they remember that they HAVE teeth?
This is the kind of book that has passages (my own, invented) like this: "She heard him saying something to her and strained to listen, listening through the hazy shapes she saw surrounding him. 'What were you doing today,' he was asking. 'I don't remember,' she said, dully. 'I don't remember anything.'"
If only a single damn character could remember anything he'd been doing the day before, or could just muster up the energy to grab a strong cup of coffee or a decent nap, we could have cut the whole book down to a short story." /emily, goodreads/
34billiejean
Hi, readeron!
I had lost track of your thread! I can't wait to read through all that you have been reading since the last thread, but I wanted to go ahead and say "Hi!" first.
--BJ
I had lost track of your thread! I can't wait to read through all that you have been reading since the last thread, but I wanted to go ahead and say "Hi!" first.
--BJ
35readeron
Hi, billiejean! Good to see you here! :)
I don't often comment on threads nowadays, but I do lurk! I think I really should remember to delurk and say 'Hi' more often again.
I don't often comment on threads nowadays, but I do lurk! I think I really should remember to delurk and say 'Hi' more often again.
36readeron
#32 Ljudmila Ulickaja: Daniel Stein, tolmács
(read in Hungarian)
(Daniel Stein, Translator by Ljudmila Ulitzkaja)
576 pages
4 stars
A bit too much history, a tad too much religion for my taste. Otherwise, it's a well-written book.
My personal experience:
The title says the story is about an interpreter (oh, yeah, the funny thing is that the Hungarian copy calls him an interpreter, but I, somehow instinctively, expected him to be a translator). Well, it didn't really matter. Daniel is an interpreter, but not really in the usual sense of the word. It's all symbolic! (He's actually a monk!) Which means I was expecting a perfectly different story, with perfectly different themes. I must admit, I didn't read the blurb. Or any reviews. The result: I ended up reading a book about the Jewish Question, Eastern Europe, the WWII, the former Soviet Union and the Post-Soviet states, The Middle East, the history of all these areas, the hundred million conflicts between the religions and the religious sects in these areas. While I was expecting some peaceful story about some young academic man trying to cope with the challenges of both his career and his everyday life, the story of someone like a cross between Adrian Mole and Lucky Jim (James Dixon). Like the song says, 'you can't always get what you want', but when it comes to Ulitzkaya, I always seem to have false expectations. Which can be pretty frustrating after a while. I know, I know: it's obviously not the author's fault. I must read next at least the blurb.
(read in Hungarian)
(Daniel Stein, Translator by Ljudmila Ulitzkaja)
576 pages
4 stars
A bit too much history, a tad too much religion for my taste. Otherwise, it's a well-written book.
My personal experience:
The title says the story is about an interpreter (oh, yeah, the funny thing is that the Hungarian copy calls him an interpreter, but I, somehow instinctively, expected him to be a translator). Well, it didn't really matter. Daniel is an interpreter, but not really in the usual sense of the word. It's all symbolic! (He's actually a monk!) Which means I was expecting a perfectly different story, with perfectly different themes. I must admit, I didn't read the blurb. Or any reviews. The result: I ended up reading a book about the Jewish Question, Eastern Europe, the WWII, the former Soviet Union and the Post-Soviet states, The Middle East, the history of all these areas, the hundred million conflicts between the religions and the religious sects in these areas. While I was expecting some peaceful story about some young academic man trying to cope with the challenges of both his career and his everyday life, the story of someone like a cross between Adrian Mole and Lucky Jim (James Dixon). Like the song says, 'you can't always get what you want', but when it comes to Ulitzkaya, I always seem to have false expectations. Which can be pretty frustrating after a while. I know, I know: it's obviously not the author's fault. I must read next at least the blurb.
37readeron
#33 The Nightmare (A gólyakalifa) by Mihály Babits
(read/listened to it in Hungarian)
136 pages
3 stars
The rich and good-looking protagonist has nightmares. A bit of a horror story because in his dreams he lives in a parallel universe, where he is ugly, poor and suffers a lot. He gets obsessed with this dream world, plus he feels he can't share his thoughts about it with noone else, which is driving him mad. The story has quite a fantastic ending. (It reads a bit like the story about Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, but we have here a person with two bodies and one mind.) A bit of a Freudian story as well, where the protagonist's subconscious mind seems to have a life of its own in his dreams (or in this parallel universe, or both). Quite a creepy story, would've been a great read for Halloween. (The Hungarian title comes from W. Hauff's fairy tale 'The Caliph Turned Stork'. In the tale the Caliph finds himself trapped in the body of a stork, and forgets the magic word that will restore him to his human form. The protagonist of this book gets trapped in this dream world, and can't get rid of his other personality, - if I got it right.)
About the author: "MIHÁLY BABITS was a Hungarian poet, writer and translator, member of the first generation of the literary journal Nyugat. He is best known for his lyric poetry, novels, essays and as the translator of Dante's Divine Comedy." /goodreads/
Can read about the book more here:
http://babelguideslegacysite.co.uk/view/work/10207.html
or here:
http://vulpeslibris.wordpress.com/2010/03/12/the-nightmare-by-mihaly-babits/
It was actually the first audiobook I could suffer through almost till its end, but finally (at the last but one chapter) I just gave it up and read it at my normal reading speed. Audiobooks are simply too slow for my taste. Plus, when the reader gets exited about the texts and starts reading like an actor in a play, well, it sort of makes me cringe.
(read/listened to it in Hungarian)
136 pages
3 stars
The rich and good-looking protagonist has nightmares. A bit of a horror story because in his dreams he lives in a parallel universe, where he is ugly, poor and suffers a lot. He gets obsessed with this dream world, plus he feels he can't share his thoughts about it with noone else, which is driving him mad. The story has quite a fantastic ending. (It reads a bit like the story about Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, but we have here a person with two bodies and one mind.) A bit of a Freudian story as well, where the protagonist's subconscious mind seems to have a life of its own in his dreams (or in this parallel universe, or both). Quite a creepy story, would've been a great read for Halloween. (The Hungarian title comes from W. Hauff's fairy tale 'The Caliph Turned Stork'. In the tale the Caliph finds himself trapped in the body of a stork, and forgets the magic word that will restore him to his human form. The protagonist of this book gets trapped in this dream world, and can't get rid of his other personality, - if I got it right.)
About the author: "MIHÁLY BABITS was a Hungarian poet, writer and translator, member of the first generation of the literary journal Nyugat. He is best known for his lyric poetry, novels, essays and as the translator of Dante's Divine Comedy." /goodreads/
Can read about the book more here:
http://babelguideslegacysite.co.uk/view/work/10207.html
or here:
http://vulpeslibris.wordpress.com/2010/03/12/the-nightmare-by-mihaly-babits/
It was actually the first audiobook I could suffer through almost till its end, but finally (at the last but one chapter) I just gave it up and read it at my normal reading speed. Audiobooks are simply too slow for my taste. Plus, when the reader gets exited about the texts and starts reading like an actor in a play, well, it sort of makes me cringe.
38billiejean
I haven't tried any audio books yet. Not sure if I would like them or not. Most people seem to like them, but I love holding the book in my hand and rereading passages if I like them.
Hope you have a nice weekend!
--BJ
Hope you have a nice weekend!
--BJ
39readeron
I see what you mean! I tried this audiobook only because I had some problems with my eyes for a week or so, and wanted to relax them. Otherwise I prefer real, paper books, too. Sometimes ebooks can be useful: it's easier to find certain passages, if you want to quote something, etc. But nothing compares to real, paper books, I agree with that.:)
Happy reading! Have a great weekend!
Happy reading! Have a great weekend!
40readeron
#34 The Box Man by Kobo Abe
5 stars
192 pages
"I'd like to walk a mile in Kobo Abe's... brain. This book is complex, relatable, beautifully written, and its protagonist just happens to be part of a subculture of men who roam Tokyo with cardboard refrigerator boxes covering their heads and torsos. "/Rachel Carter, Goodreads/
"This was my first Abe book, but I can see how he has a reputation as a Japanese Kafka." /Dave, goodreads/
"I would have to put this book down after every few chapters or so, just to sit and mull over everything that I had just read. It had pictures in it, which I love, and a very complex plot. Excellent work. :) " /Mariana, goodreads/
"Novel as Historical Document: The Box Man and Kobo Abe’s Tokyo
(...)
Born in Tokyo, 1924, Kobo Abe grew up in the Japanese colony of Manchuria. In 1948, he received a medical degree from Tokyo Imperial University, but instead, went on to become one of Japan’s best known modern novelists. His novel The Box Man (...), one of his most famous works, is a powerful metaphor about the high-speed economic growth in 1960s Tokyo, and the problems arising from it. The novel begins with the first of many images, a photographic negative showing the figure of a man. Beside this image is what appears to be a newspaper clipping with the headline, “CLEAN SWEEP OF UENO HOBOS- Check This Morning-180 Arrests”. The clipping relates a police round-up of hobos caught ironically, “behind the Tokyo Institute of Culture.” After processing by the police, they were “released after signing an agreement not to relapse into vagrancy. An hour later there was every indication that almost all had returned to their former haunts,” (page 3). (...)
The beginning is a commentary on what Abe sees as the hypocritical governmental response to poverty and suffering. Abe explains that “since (a box man) is not especially uncommon, there is every opportunity of seeing one. Surely, even you have, at least once. But I also realize full well that you don’t want to admit it. You’re not the only one,” (page 8). The box man is a metaphor for the downtrodden. The averting of gaze can be read in this context as a commentary on society’s apathy, and government lip-service.
But the box metaphor has a clever double meaning. As the protagonist explains, he is a box man by choice. Why would anyone choose to live in a box? The box is a metaphor for the capitalist dream. As unappealing as living in a box may seem, someone is always trying to buy or steal the box from the protagonist, through overt force, cunning, and seduction, the contest over the box is a theme throughout the novel. The protagonist writes, “Just as there are almost no more people who are afraid of shots, contrary to times past, now there are few who shrink from installment buying. But with installment buying one mortgages everything, one exposes oneself, one’s work, one’s house to securing the money borrowed,” (page 141). Here we see Abe combine the several themes, sight and vulnerability, with a commentary on capitalism.
(...)
The book is a historical document. In the late 60s and early 70s, Japanese government officials and elites debated the course Japan’s economic recovery should take. Leftist, elites like Arisawa, Ouchi, and Minobe struggled with ways to alleviate the so-called “dual structure”, pockets of poverty existing alongside pockets of affluence. Also in this period, Japan and especially Tokyo began to confront the effects of its high-speed economic growth. City officials, like mayor Minobe - elected in 1968 on a populist platform, addressed “quality of life” issues like pollution, garbage, and water treatment. While Tokyo, refurbished for its world-debut during the 1964 Olympics, appeared modern and developed, uneven development and problems caused by fast-paced growth remained hidden. Abe highlights these contradictions in The Box Man. His protagonist sits alongside a dirty canal, spanned by the “Prefectural Highway Three,” (page 14). While new Japanese-made cars (a sign of Japan’s growing economic power) zip overhead on the modern, elevated highway, the faceless box man huddles underneath.
The story Abe tells in The Box Man is the story of the contradictions of his times, high-economic growth, amidst the lingering effects of the dual structure, emerging quality of life issues, made more poignant by the questioning of capitalism itself. Finally, it relates the complex relationship the state had with the poor. Abe through the box metaphor is able to dwell on all these issues, so evident to anyone who has walked beneath the shiny, new superhighways, and seen the homeless huddling below." /Neo-Literati/
"So this book is weird, and I have to confess that I wasn't always exactly sure what was going on...
Mainly the story reads like a journal of a "Box Man" or basically someone who has decided to drop out of society in favor of wearing a cardboard box at all times. However, you can also tell that Abe has a background in science (medicine), because we are given detailed directions at the beginning regarding the construction of the box and specific details about survival methods, as though we were reading a manual on "How to be a Box Man." The story can be viewed as an examination of the intentionally homeless, existentialists, or a comment on the nature of identity. There's also a lot concerning the act of seeing and being seen. Also, sexual frustration or deviancy seems to have a correlation with choosing the "box".
There isn't a very concrete plotline, but we know that a box man is shot a by an air rifle and also offered 50,000 yen to discard his box. Tension is great between box men and the rest of society. Later, he has interactions with a fake box man and a woman who seems to be perpetually nude. Overall, I enjoyed the format and the issues the story examines. An unconventional read." /araridan, LibraryThing/
"The Box Man is an engrossing exploration on identity and the dimensions of perception. The self, the self as defined by society, as defined by the parameters imposed by the self. Intellectual vision, constraint and desire are all thrown into a box and shaken vigorously so that reality and fantasy are dizzily blended into a surreal cocktail of experience." /CKS, goodreads/
"One of the strangest books I have read, with its non linear time line and convoluted narrative,yet there is a dark tenderness underlining its rather wet cardboard melancholy " /christopher leibow , goodreads/
"If you like Kafka, Pynchon, Beckett, or Burroughs you will probably like this novel. This is a work that will occupy your mind long after you have finished the last page. Its greatness lies in Abe's keen ability to personify the darkest dreams and innermost desires of modern humanity. The main character, the Box Man, could be anyone. He is merely an anonymous person who yearns for escape from the dehumanizing conditions of modern life. The plot is interesting, alluring, and above all puzzling, without being inaccessible to the average reader. This is a work to be read and reread, and for those who take the time there will be few who are disappointed. /mrgrieves08, Amazon/
"The Box Man' is a psychotic tale of disassociation in a world that echoes that of the medical nightmares in William S. Burrough's 'Blade Runner: A Movie'.
You really don't want to know more about 'The Box Man' at this moment, deciding what is going on is one of the main pleasures of reading the book, Abe's wacked style is another.
I'd never read any of Kobo Abe's work before and found 'The Box Man' fascinatingly disturbed. If you want it weird, get this book. I'm definitely going to read more of his works." /a customer, Amazon/
"A mystery-filled riff on the nature of identity, the significance of the gaze, the nature of looking and being looked upon and how this defines who we are.
The story is told primarily in the first person but we never know exactly who is doing the telling. Is it the box man (a man who, no surprise, lives in a box he has strapped on over his body so he cannot be seen), the fake box man (a doctor who tries on a box for himself and is a wannabe box man) or someone else - perhaps Kobo Abe who is obsessively scribbling this story on the inside of his own box?
There is a murder, or a suicide or an assisted suicide but we're never sure who the victim is or exactly what goes down.
There is a menage à trois between the box man, the fake box man and a seductive nurse who allows these men to gaze upon her in various states of undress.
There are questions about what it means to be looked upon. How does it define who we are? If you're hidden in a box and nobody looks at you, what are you? Like the proverbial falling tree in the forest, if you're not seen, do you exist? Or does the box become a kind of coffin?" /Kimley, goodreads/
"This novel messes with your head. Really.
(...)
Who is the Box Man? Is he one? Two? Three? Everyone? You could read this book a thousand times and still not unravel the mystery. I, of course, have my own opinion, but the beauty of this book is that you just can't stop trying to figure things out. I definitely recommend a read. I can't guarantee you'll enjoy it, but I can guarantee that you'll be either completely befuddled or completely obsessed. And befuddled." /Marielle, goodreads/
Etc., etc.:)
5 stars
192 pages
"I'd like to walk a mile in Kobo Abe's... brain. This book is complex, relatable, beautifully written, and its protagonist just happens to be part of a subculture of men who roam Tokyo with cardboard refrigerator boxes covering their heads and torsos. "/Rachel Carter, Goodreads/
"This was my first Abe book, but I can see how he has a reputation as a Japanese Kafka." /Dave, goodreads/
"I would have to put this book down after every few chapters or so, just to sit and mull over everything that I had just read. It had pictures in it, which I love, and a very complex plot. Excellent work. :) " /Mariana, goodreads/
"Novel as Historical Document: The Box Man and Kobo Abe’s Tokyo
(...)
Born in Tokyo, 1924, Kobo Abe grew up in the Japanese colony of Manchuria. In 1948, he received a medical degree from Tokyo Imperial University, but instead, went on to become one of Japan’s best known modern novelists. His novel The Box Man (...), one of his most famous works, is a powerful metaphor about the high-speed economic growth in 1960s Tokyo, and the problems arising from it. The novel begins with the first of many images, a photographic negative showing the figure of a man. Beside this image is what appears to be a newspaper clipping with the headline, “CLEAN SWEEP OF UENO HOBOS- Check This Morning-180 Arrests”. The clipping relates a police round-up of hobos caught ironically, “behind the Tokyo Institute of Culture.” After processing by the police, they were “released after signing an agreement not to relapse into vagrancy. An hour later there was every indication that almost all had returned to their former haunts,” (page 3). (...)
The beginning is a commentary on what Abe sees as the hypocritical governmental response to poverty and suffering. Abe explains that “since (a box man) is not especially uncommon, there is every opportunity of seeing one. Surely, even you have, at least once. But I also realize full well that you don’t want to admit it. You’re not the only one,” (page 8). The box man is a metaphor for the downtrodden. The averting of gaze can be read in this context as a commentary on society’s apathy, and government lip-service.
But the box metaphor has a clever double meaning. As the protagonist explains, he is a box man by choice. Why would anyone choose to live in a box? The box is a metaphor for the capitalist dream. As unappealing as living in a box may seem, someone is always trying to buy or steal the box from the protagonist, through overt force, cunning, and seduction, the contest over the box is a theme throughout the novel. The protagonist writes, “Just as there are almost no more people who are afraid of shots, contrary to times past, now there are few who shrink from installment buying. But with installment buying one mortgages everything, one exposes oneself, one’s work, one’s house to securing the money borrowed,” (page 141). Here we see Abe combine the several themes, sight and vulnerability, with a commentary on capitalism.
(...)
The book is a historical document. In the late 60s and early 70s, Japanese government officials and elites debated the course Japan’s economic recovery should take. Leftist, elites like Arisawa, Ouchi, and Minobe struggled with ways to alleviate the so-called “dual structure”, pockets of poverty existing alongside pockets of affluence. Also in this period, Japan and especially Tokyo began to confront the effects of its high-speed economic growth. City officials, like mayor Minobe - elected in 1968 on a populist platform, addressed “quality of life” issues like pollution, garbage, and water treatment. While Tokyo, refurbished for its world-debut during the 1964 Olympics, appeared modern and developed, uneven development and problems caused by fast-paced growth remained hidden. Abe highlights these contradictions in The Box Man. His protagonist sits alongside a dirty canal, spanned by the “Prefectural Highway Three,” (page 14). While new Japanese-made cars (a sign of Japan’s growing economic power) zip overhead on the modern, elevated highway, the faceless box man huddles underneath.
The story Abe tells in The Box Man is the story of the contradictions of his times, high-economic growth, amidst the lingering effects of the dual structure, emerging quality of life issues, made more poignant by the questioning of capitalism itself. Finally, it relates the complex relationship the state had with the poor. Abe through the box metaphor is able to dwell on all these issues, so evident to anyone who has walked beneath the shiny, new superhighways, and seen the homeless huddling below." /Neo-Literati/
"So this book is weird, and I have to confess that I wasn't always exactly sure what was going on...
Mainly the story reads like a journal of a "Box Man" or basically someone who has decided to drop out of society in favor of wearing a cardboard box at all times. However, you can also tell that Abe has a background in science (medicine), because we are given detailed directions at the beginning regarding the construction of the box and specific details about survival methods, as though we were reading a manual on "How to be a Box Man." The story can be viewed as an examination of the intentionally homeless, existentialists, or a comment on the nature of identity. There's also a lot concerning the act of seeing and being seen. Also, sexual frustration or deviancy seems to have a correlation with choosing the "box".
There isn't a very concrete plotline, but we know that a box man is shot a by an air rifle and also offered 50,000 yen to discard his box. Tension is great between box men and the rest of society. Later, he has interactions with a fake box man and a woman who seems to be perpetually nude. Overall, I enjoyed the format and the issues the story examines. An unconventional read." /araridan, LibraryThing/
"The Box Man is an engrossing exploration on identity and the dimensions of perception. The self, the self as defined by society, as defined by the parameters imposed by the self. Intellectual vision, constraint and desire are all thrown into a box and shaken vigorously so that reality and fantasy are dizzily blended into a surreal cocktail of experience." /CKS, goodreads/
"One of the strangest books I have read, with its non linear time line and convoluted narrative,yet there is a dark tenderness underlining its rather wet cardboard melancholy " /christopher leibow , goodreads/
"If you like Kafka, Pynchon, Beckett, or Burroughs you will probably like this novel. This is a work that will occupy your mind long after you have finished the last page. Its greatness lies in Abe's keen ability to personify the darkest dreams and innermost desires of modern humanity. The main character, the Box Man, could be anyone. He is merely an anonymous person who yearns for escape from the dehumanizing conditions of modern life. The plot is interesting, alluring, and above all puzzling, without being inaccessible to the average reader. This is a work to be read and reread, and for those who take the time there will be few who are disappointed. /mrgrieves08, Amazon/
"The Box Man' is a psychotic tale of disassociation in a world that echoes that of the medical nightmares in William S. Burrough's 'Blade Runner: A Movie'.
You really don't want to know more about 'The Box Man' at this moment, deciding what is going on is one of the main pleasures of reading the book, Abe's wacked style is another.
I'd never read any of Kobo Abe's work before and found 'The Box Man' fascinatingly disturbed. If you want it weird, get this book. I'm definitely going to read more of his works." /a customer, Amazon/
"A mystery-filled riff on the nature of identity, the significance of the gaze, the nature of looking and being looked upon and how this defines who we are.
The story is told primarily in the first person but we never know exactly who is doing the telling. Is it the box man (a man who, no surprise, lives in a box he has strapped on over his body so he cannot be seen), the fake box man (a doctor who tries on a box for himself and is a wannabe box man) or someone else - perhaps Kobo Abe who is obsessively scribbling this story on the inside of his own box?
There is a murder, or a suicide or an assisted suicide but we're never sure who the victim is or exactly what goes down.
There is a menage à trois between the box man, the fake box man and a seductive nurse who allows these men to gaze upon her in various states of undress.
There are questions about what it means to be looked upon. How does it define who we are? If you're hidden in a box and nobody looks at you, what are you? Like the proverbial falling tree in the forest, if you're not seen, do you exist? Or does the box become a kind of coffin?" /Kimley, goodreads/
"This novel messes with your head. Really.
(...)
Who is the Box Man? Is he one? Two? Three? Everyone? You could read this book a thousand times and still not unravel the mystery. I, of course, have my own opinion, but the beauty of this book is that you just can't stop trying to figure things out. I definitely recommend a read. I can't guarantee you'll enjoy it, but I can guarantee that you'll be either completely befuddled or completely obsessed. And befuddled." /Marielle, goodreads/
Etc., etc.:)
41readeron
#35 Lady Susan by Jane Austen
112 pages
3 stars
"Lady Susan is a selfish, attractive woman, who tries to trap the best possible husband while maintaining a relationship with a married man. She subverts all the standards of the romantic novel: she has an active role, she's not only beautiful but intelligent and witty, and her suitors are significantly younger than she is. Although the ending includes a traditional reward for morality, Lady Susan herself is treated much more mildly than the adulteress in Mansfield Park, from Jane Austen's novel Sense and Sensibility, who is severely punished."/goodreads/
"Susan Vernon was a beautiful, quick-witted widow, but we soon learn through the letters exchanged by the characters in this clever little gem that she was manipulative and conniving, especially when it came to men. It was easy to laugh at the gossip and scandals that follow Lady Susan until her schemes border on cruelty toward her innocent daughter.
Lady Susan was written early in Austen's career; however, it wasn't published until fifty-plus years after her death." /Donna828, librarything/
"This is a very short story written by Jane Austen at least a decade before her major novels. It is not a novel nor is it even a novella. It is a series of letters less than 80 pages total length. They are written between four or five people that describe a visit and the actions of Lady Susan. The structure is similar to Dostoevsky's "Poor Folk" but much shorter. Many people like Lady Susan. I thought it was okay, not great. For those interested there is a similar book called Love and Friendship which is a diversified collection of early writings by Austen.
As background information, I have read all of Austen's novels and I have read various analyses of Austen's work. Jane Austen's formula for success was to write a novel about of a financially disadvantaged young woman who meets and marries a wealthier man. The exception is her novel "Emma" where the protagonist has her own means. There are no axe murderers in an Austen novel or any nasty elements. Her stories take place in small English towns and they all have a variety of characters including a few willful women and usually one male rogue.
"Pride and Prejudice" is Jane Austen's finest novel. That book is the perfect balance of story, prose, structure, and interesting characters. It evokes many emotional responses in the reader. That novel is among the greatest novels of all time on par with for example Flaubert's "Madame Bovary" or Tolstoy's "Anna Karenina." From a strictly literary point of view, "Mansfield Park" is the most complicated and sophisticated literary work penned by Austen. Many like "Emma" as well.
So, where does that leave "Lady Susan" among her works? All of her five mature novels share a certain fixed writing style and a common structure, or the Austen formula as mentioned above. She uses the early pages to introduce the families, and other characters, and give start the story. She moves characters around from place to place in part for time shifting. She does a wrap up in the last few chapters.
All of that is missing here. This is a warm up or practice piece where Austen practices her writing skills. All of the signature elements to her later works are missing. This is only about the visit of Lady Susan to Churchill, where she visits her brother and her in-laws. It is a visit to just one place one time and it describes how she interacts with various family members and the in-laws. There are no rogues and few interesting characters.
Most Austen fans will think the piece interesting but too short, and it is a sort of warm up piece. Some like the character herself, Lady Susan, because she is a strong character and that is the attraction of the work." /J.E. Robinson, Amazon/
"Outrageously fun and artfully melodramatic, Lady Susan is the sleeper novel of Jane Austen’s oeuvre whose greatest fault lies in its comparison to its young sisters. Since few novels can surpass or equal Miss Austen’s masterpieces, Lady Susan should be accepted for what it is – a charming, highly amusing piece by an author in the making who not only presents us with interesting and provocative characters, but reveals her early understanding of social machinations and exquisite language. Its biggest challenge appears to be in the limitations of the epistolary format where the narrative is revealed through one person’s perspective and then the other’s reaction and reply, not allowing for the energy of direct dialogue or much description of the scene or surroundings. Given its shortcomings it is still a glistening jewel; smart, funny, and intriguing wicked." /Laurell Ann, goodreads/
112 pages
3 stars
"Lady Susan is a selfish, attractive woman, who tries to trap the best possible husband while maintaining a relationship with a married man. She subverts all the standards of the romantic novel: she has an active role, she's not only beautiful but intelligent and witty, and her suitors are significantly younger than she is. Although the ending includes a traditional reward for morality, Lady Susan herself is treated much more mildly than the adulteress in Mansfield Park, from Jane Austen's novel Sense and Sensibility, who is severely punished."/goodreads/
"Susan Vernon was a beautiful, quick-witted widow, but we soon learn through the letters exchanged by the characters in this clever little gem that she was manipulative and conniving, especially when it came to men. It was easy to laugh at the gossip and scandals that follow Lady Susan until her schemes border on cruelty toward her innocent daughter.
Lady Susan was written early in Austen's career; however, it wasn't published until fifty-plus years after her death." /Donna828, librarything/
"This is a very short story written by Jane Austen at least a decade before her major novels. It is not a novel nor is it even a novella. It is a series of letters less than 80 pages total length. They are written between four or five people that describe a visit and the actions of Lady Susan. The structure is similar to Dostoevsky's "Poor Folk" but much shorter. Many people like Lady Susan. I thought it was okay, not great. For those interested there is a similar book called Love and Friendship which is a diversified collection of early writings by Austen.
As background information, I have read all of Austen's novels and I have read various analyses of Austen's work. Jane Austen's formula for success was to write a novel about of a financially disadvantaged young woman who meets and marries a wealthier man. The exception is her novel "Emma" where the protagonist has her own means. There are no axe murderers in an Austen novel or any nasty elements. Her stories take place in small English towns and they all have a variety of characters including a few willful women and usually one male rogue.
"Pride and Prejudice" is Jane Austen's finest novel. That book is the perfect balance of story, prose, structure, and interesting characters. It evokes many emotional responses in the reader. That novel is among the greatest novels of all time on par with for example Flaubert's "Madame Bovary" or Tolstoy's "Anna Karenina." From a strictly literary point of view, "Mansfield Park" is the most complicated and sophisticated literary work penned by Austen. Many like "Emma" as well.
So, where does that leave "Lady Susan" among her works? All of her five mature novels share a certain fixed writing style and a common structure, or the Austen formula as mentioned above. She uses the early pages to introduce the families, and other characters, and give start the story. She moves characters around from place to place in part for time shifting. She does a wrap up in the last few chapters.
All of that is missing here. This is a warm up or practice piece where Austen practices her writing skills. All of the signature elements to her later works are missing. This is only about the visit of Lady Susan to Churchill, where she visits her brother and her in-laws. It is a visit to just one place one time and it describes how she interacts with various family members and the in-laws. There are no rogues and few interesting characters.
Most Austen fans will think the piece interesting but too short, and it is a sort of warm up piece. Some like the character herself, Lady Susan, because she is a strong character and that is the attraction of the work." /J.E. Robinson, Amazon/
"Outrageously fun and artfully melodramatic, Lady Susan is the sleeper novel of Jane Austen’s oeuvre whose greatest fault lies in its comparison to its young sisters. Since few novels can surpass or equal Miss Austen’s masterpieces, Lady Susan should be accepted for what it is – a charming, highly amusing piece by an author in the making who not only presents us with interesting and provocative characters, but reveals her early understanding of social machinations and exquisite language. Its biggest challenge appears to be in the limitations of the epistolary format where the narrative is revealed through one person’s perspective and then the other’s reaction and reply, not allowing for the energy of direct dialogue or much description of the scene or surroundings. Given its shortcomings it is still a glistening jewel; smart, funny, and intriguing wicked." /Laurell Ann, goodreads/
42readeron
#36 Díszgyász by Bohumil Hrabal (in Hungarian)
(Original title: Krasosmutneni)
209 pages
5 stars
reread
A collection of 23 closely connected short stories set in a small provincial town in Bohemia told from the point of view of Hrabal himself as a young boy.
It's practically a sequel to "The Little Town Where Time Stood Still".
Lots of warmth and humour included. It definitely should be translated to English, if you ask me.:)
As the book is about the same little town, and the same family, I think the comments written about "The Little Town Where Time Stood Still" can be applied here, as well.
"It’s like a painting. This book is a saturated, sensuous and earthy contemplation of the joys and rewards of being bad; also a detailed examination of familiar but ecstatic notions, small machines, breakage and accidents, human toil and skill, food and drink, suffering animals, and quirky personalities through a lusty Bohumil Hrabal lens. Every now and then he slips in something so profound it makes you stop in mid-sentence and stare straight ahead or some extreme fatalism so shocking you have to hee haw for several minutes.
Reading paragraphs here is like dusting objects in a cabinet of curiosities—It’s wise to take it slow and admire the colors and gently fondle each strange shape.
This is also a humorous view of the collision of completely opposite personalities existing side by side within families. Ever wonder how you can have the same DNA as the rest of your family? Or what planet the stork brought you in from? Aside from all the tension and comedic fatalism, it is a loving tale of two brothers and a tender tale of growing old.
(...)
Needless to say I am pissed off that more of this man’s novels have not been translated into English." /Judy, goodreads, about "The Little Town Where Time Stood Still"/
"The characters are based on Hrabal's own family, with the narrator in the first novella being Maryska, the rebellious young woman apparently modeled on Hrabal's mother. Other characters include Francin, the father, and the hilarious Uncle Pepin, who comes to visit Francin and Maryska for two weeks and stays for the remainder of time. (...) Mr. Hrabal does a masterful job of portraying the devastation wrought in the transition, and the censors must have been shaking in their boots when reading this stuff. Hrabal's writing style was odd in that he could easily go two or three pages at a time without a paragraph break. His punctuation consisted primarily of comma, but it's not distracting at all once you get used to it. Of course, I was reading the English translation by James Naughton, so I have no idea whether these apparent oddness of writing style appears in the original Czech or not. In any event, I will seek out more of the writing of Mr. Hrabal as soon as possible.
/ninefivepeak, Librarything, about "The Little Town Where Time Stood Still/
The writing style is the same in the Hungarian translation, so I think the original must be very similar. Hrabalian.:)
I've read this little gem for the first time when I was a young kid because the book cover made me think that it is a children book (and I found it unputdownable since the first page).
(Finished rereading it yesterday.)
(Original title: Krasosmutneni)
209 pages
5 stars
reread
A collection of 23 closely connected short stories set in a small provincial town in Bohemia told from the point of view of Hrabal himself as a young boy.
It's practically a sequel to "The Little Town Where Time Stood Still".
Lots of warmth and humour included. It definitely should be translated to English, if you ask me.:)
As the book is about the same little town, and the same family, I think the comments written about "The Little Town Where Time Stood Still" can be applied here, as well.
"It’s like a painting. This book is a saturated, sensuous and earthy contemplation of the joys and rewards of being bad; also a detailed examination of familiar but ecstatic notions, small machines, breakage and accidents, human toil and skill, food and drink, suffering animals, and quirky personalities through a lusty Bohumil Hrabal lens. Every now and then he slips in something so profound it makes you stop in mid-sentence and stare straight ahead or some extreme fatalism so shocking you have to hee haw for several minutes.
Reading paragraphs here is like dusting objects in a cabinet of curiosities—It’s wise to take it slow and admire the colors and gently fondle each strange shape.
This is also a humorous view of the collision of completely opposite personalities existing side by side within families. Ever wonder how you can have the same DNA as the rest of your family? Or what planet the stork brought you in from? Aside from all the tension and comedic fatalism, it is a loving tale of two brothers and a tender tale of growing old.
(...)
Needless to say I am pissed off that more of this man’s novels have not been translated into English." /Judy, goodreads, about "The Little Town Where Time Stood Still"/
"The characters are based on Hrabal's own family, with the narrator in the first novella being Maryska, the rebellious young woman apparently modeled on Hrabal's mother. Other characters include Francin, the father, and the hilarious Uncle Pepin, who comes to visit Francin and Maryska for two weeks and stays for the remainder of time. (...) Mr. Hrabal does a masterful job of portraying the devastation wrought in the transition, and the censors must have been shaking in their boots when reading this stuff. Hrabal's writing style was odd in that he could easily go two or three pages at a time without a paragraph break. His punctuation consisted primarily of comma, but it's not distracting at all once you get used to it. Of course, I was reading the English translation by James Naughton, so I have no idea whether these apparent oddness of writing style appears in the original Czech or not. In any event, I will seek out more of the writing of Mr. Hrabal as soon as possible.
/ninefivepeak, Librarything, about "The Little Town Where Time Stood Still/
The writing style is the same in the Hungarian translation, so I think the original must be very similar. Hrabalian.:)
I've read this little gem for the first time when I was a young kid because the book cover made me think that it is a children book (and I found it unputdownable since the first page).
(Finished rereading it yesterday.)
43readeron
#37 Reváns by Kata Tisza
167 pages
3 stars
I've already read the second collection of short stories by the same author about the same themes in the past four months. It proved to be too much. I expected more variety now. Reading two books by the same author about bad relationships and self-destructive love life, tons of bitter, semiautobiographical short stories about the same person over and over again in such a short period of time - it simply pissed me off. Still, I really like the author's irony, and I do hope that she isn't only a one trick pony (especially because her third book is already waiting for me on my bookshelf...) But why can't contemporary writers use their imagination a bit more often? Another possibility: I simply don't really care for 'erotic fiction'. (Some call these stories vulgar, but I wouldn't go that far, IMHO, Joseph Heller's style IS pretty vulgar, still, his novels are simply brilliant. These short stories are only tiresome and monotonous after a while. Harlequin romances for the cynical?) I really wanted to like the book a lot more, but just couldn't.
167 pages
3 stars
I've already read the second collection of short stories by the same author about the same themes in the past four months. It proved to be too much. I expected more variety now. Reading two books by the same author about bad relationships and self-destructive love life, tons of bitter, semiautobiographical short stories about the same person over and over again in such a short period of time - it simply pissed me off. Still, I really like the author's irony, and I do hope that she isn't only a one trick pony (especially because her third book is already waiting for me on my bookshelf...) But why can't contemporary writers use their imagination a bit more often? Another possibility: I simply don't really care for 'erotic fiction'. (Some call these stories vulgar, but I wouldn't go that far, IMHO, Joseph Heller's style IS pretty vulgar, still, his novels are simply brilliant. These short stories are only tiresome and monotonous after a while. Harlequin romances for the cynical?) I really wanted to like the book a lot more, but just couldn't.
44readeron
#38 Autóbusz és iguána - Mai amerikai elbeszélők
(a collection of American short stories, published in Hungarian in 1968)
408 pages
4 stars
reread
(in Hungarian, of course)
Spoiler alert!
- Henry Miller: Soirée in Hollywood ****
(Histerically funny)
Tomorrow I will discover Sunset Boulevard. Eurhythmic dancing, ball-room dancing, tap dancing, artistic photography, ordinary photography, lousy photography, electro-fever treatment, internal douche treatment, ultra-violet treatment, elocution lessons, psychic readings, institutes of religion, astrological demonstrations, hands read, feet manicured, elbows massaged, faces lifted, warts removed, fat reduced, insteps raised, corsets fitted, busts vibrated, corns removed, hair dyed, glasses fitted, soda jerked, hangovers cured, headaches driven away, flatulence dissipated, limousines rented, the future made clear, the war made comprehensible, octane made higher and butane lower, drive in and get indigestion, flush the kidneys, get a cheap car-wash, stay-awake pills and go-to-sleep pills, Chinese herbs are very good for you and without a Coca-Cola life is unthinkable."
- Edmund Wilson: The Man Who Shot Snapping Turtles ***** (Simply great, could've been written today. I want read more by this author.)
- Vladimir Nabokov: An Affair of Honour *****
(Perfect. Creepy and hilarious. Hilarious and creepy.)
- Kay Boyle: Anschluss *****
"“Anschluss” was regarded by many readers as one of Boyle's best stories about the effects of the rise of Nazism before World War II. Boyle's so-called war stories never take place on the battlefield. Instead, she shows how individuals’ lives are touched by the events leading up to and during the larger conflicts."
(Brilliant.)
- Christopher Isherwood: I Am Waiting *****
(Absurd time travel, I loved it. Perfectly realistic approach.)
- Robert Penn Warren: The Blackburry Winter ****
"One of the reasons for the story’s popularity is the universal appeal of the narrator, whose boyhood innocence is as convincing as his adult ambivalence and restlessness."
(A found it a bit Faulknerian in style.)
More info: http://www.enotes.com/short-story-criticism/blackberry-winter-robert-penn-warren
- Delmore Schwartz: In Dreams Begin Responsibilities *****
"The title story was about this kid who wakes up in a movie theater in 1909 and watches an awkward silent picture of his parent's courtship on the screen. (...) The kid is now a product of divorced parents and as he watches their courtship which he feels was a mistake and ultimately led to their divorce and his shattered ideals, he can't help his anger and keeps yelling at the screen. The people next to him in the theater don't understand whats going on and want him to shut up. Finally he gets thrown out of the theater just as his father proposes to his mother. Really creative and very emotional. It has that watching a trainwreck but being unable to look away feel to it and turned out to be Delmore Shwartz's first and most influential short story." /Baiocco, goodreads/
(A creepy and wise story)
"The brilliant device of having the main character watching a movie of his parents courtship, was way ahead of its time. The end of the story will linger in your mind. It's heartbreaking and scary and funny." /Neil Roseman, Amazon/
- Tennesse Williams: The Night of the Iguana ****
(It's not the play! It's a short story taken from Three Players of a Summer Game and Other Stories. Original and a bit weird.)
- Bernard Malamud: The First Seven Years *****
I like Malamud. The story reads a bit like The Assistant.)
More info:
http://www.bookrags.com/studyguide-firstsevenyears/intro.html
- R. V. Cassill: The Hot Girl ****
(Effective, but not really my favorite style. Girl gets beaten up in the end.)
- Shirley Jackson: The Bus ****
(And yes, I've seen the movie. Pretty weird stuff, a great, dark, psychological horror story, in fact.)
- Jack Kerouac: Slobs of the Kitchen Sea (Can't assess this story, some vandal left only the last two pages in the library book. Just my luck.)
- Mark Harris: The Self-Made Brain Surgeon *****
"Told with black humor, the title story concerns a crackpot grocer who moonlights as a self-styled "brain surgeon" by dispensing impromptu psychotherapy to stifled individuals. The narrative speaks of the enormous emotional hole in people's lives, and of the human propensity to indulge hypocrisy and to trust charlatans promising instant cures." /Amazon/
(Don't expect anything gory, the story is witty and entertaining though. I loved it.)
- James Purdy: Home by Dark ****
"“Home by Dark” focuses on an old man who has taken custody of his orphaned grandson. Composed almost entirely of dialogue between the two characters, the story explores the subtle tensions between the boy's inquisitive precocity and the old man's guarded hopefulness. The old man insists that every individual needs to believe in something that gives meaning to his or her life. But the boy wonders repeatedly why the old man is reluctant to go back “home” to the South, just as the birds travel south and back north with the cycle of the seasons. The birds become a symbol of the options that the characters no longer have because of the old man's age and the family's unspecified but clearly tragic history." /LitEncycl/
(A cute story, cute in its own peculiar way.)
- Herbert Gold: Love and Like *****
(Divorced couple keeps on fighting.)
- Truman Capote: Shut a Final Door *****
"for which he won the O. Henry Award at the age of 24" /wikipedia/
(Walter learns the lesson, hopefully it serves him right.)
- Flannery O'Connor: Parker's Back *****
"O'Connor repeatedly provides characters who exhibit such extreme confidence in their moral prerogatives that they act upon these convictions, only to discover that they were sadly mistaken. The protagonist of "Parker's Back" clearly demonstrates this human fault. To gain respect in his wife's eyes, Parker decides to hire a tattoo artist to engrave an image of Christ upon his back, to accompany all the other body art he has been collecting since his time in the service." /enotes/
(Great story, go and read it now. Parker gets beaten up in the end by her wife though.)
- Keith Botsford: Marriage ***
(Forgettable. Taken from manuscript.)
- Shirley Ann Grau: The Beach Party *****
(Young girl feels lonely on a beach party. When left alone she feels better. Stuff about alienaton, I guess. I remembered only this story from my previous reading.)
- Bruce Jay Friedman: Far From the City of Class *****
(Want to read more by this author, possibly in English. Great sense of humour.)
About Friedman: "Friedman, Bruce Jay (1930–), New York City author, whose first novel, Stern (1962), presents a neurotic Jewish man with black humor, characteristic of later novels including A Mother's Kisses (1964), comically portraying a Jewish mother who not only chaperons her son Joseph at college but is an erotic figure in her own right; The Dick (1970), dealing with a Jewish public relations man in police headquarters; and About Harry Towns (1974), portraying a middle aged screenwriter. His other works include the plays Scuba Duba (1968), Steambath (1970), and Foot in the Door (1979); stories collected in Far from the City of Class (1963), Black Angels (1966), and Let's Hear It for a Beautiful Guy (1984), short fiction; a comic self‐help manual, The Lonely Guy's Book of Life (1978); and Tokyo Woes (1985)."
"Bruce Jay Friedman, (b. April 26, 1930, New York, N.Y., U.S.), American comic author whose dark, mocking humour and social criticism was directed at the concerns and behaviour of American Jews." /from the Encyclopaedia Britannica/
- John Updike: The Music School **
(Honestly, I didn't get 80 percent of this one. Should I reread it?)
- Donald Barthelme: A Shower of Gold ***
"Desperate for cash, Peterson, a self-declared minor artist whose welded sculptures are not selling, signs on as a contestant for the television game show Who Am I? The title of the program is apt, for its producers purport to entertain their audience with probes into the futility, alienation, anonymity, and despair of modern life." /enotes/
(Great story, great author.)
- Michael Rumaker: The Truck ****
(Poor beginning, so-so middle, great ending. Reminded me of Them by Oates.)
Authors' names in bold letters = new to me authors, I want to read by them more
I especially like that the anthology includes short biographical notes at its end.
(a collection of American short stories, published in Hungarian in 1968)
408 pages
4 stars
reread
(in Hungarian, of course)
Spoiler alert!
- Henry Miller: Soirée in Hollywood ****
(Histerically funny)
Tomorrow I will discover Sunset Boulevard. Eurhythmic dancing, ball-room dancing, tap dancing, artistic photography, ordinary photography, lousy photography, electro-fever treatment, internal douche treatment, ultra-violet treatment, elocution lessons, psychic readings, institutes of religion, astrological demonstrations, hands read, feet manicured, elbows massaged, faces lifted, warts removed, fat reduced, insteps raised, corsets fitted, busts vibrated, corns removed, hair dyed, glasses fitted, soda jerked, hangovers cured, headaches driven away, flatulence dissipated, limousines rented, the future made clear, the war made comprehensible, octane made higher and butane lower, drive in and get indigestion, flush the kidneys, get a cheap car-wash, stay-awake pills and go-to-sleep pills, Chinese herbs are very good for you and without a Coca-Cola life is unthinkable."
- Edmund Wilson: The Man Who Shot Snapping Turtles ***** (Simply great, could've been written today. I want read more by this author.)
- Vladimir Nabokov: An Affair of Honour *****
(Perfect. Creepy and hilarious. Hilarious and creepy.)
- Kay Boyle: Anschluss *****
"“Anschluss” was regarded by many readers as one of Boyle's best stories about the effects of the rise of Nazism before World War II. Boyle's so-called war stories never take place on the battlefield. Instead, she shows how individuals’ lives are touched by the events leading up to and during the larger conflicts."
(Brilliant.)
- Christopher Isherwood: I Am Waiting *****
(Absurd time travel, I loved it. Perfectly realistic approach.)
- Robert Penn Warren: The Blackburry Winter ****
"One of the reasons for the story’s popularity is the universal appeal of the narrator, whose boyhood innocence is as convincing as his adult ambivalence and restlessness."
(A found it a bit Faulknerian in style.)
More info: http://www.enotes.com/short-story-criticism/blackberry-winter-robert-penn-warren
- Delmore Schwartz: In Dreams Begin Responsibilities *****
"The title story was about this kid who wakes up in a movie theater in 1909 and watches an awkward silent picture of his parent's courtship on the screen. (...) The kid is now a product of divorced parents and as he watches their courtship which he feels was a mistake and ultimately led to their divorce and his shattered ideals, he can't help his anger and keeps yelling at the screen. The people next to him in the theater don't understand whats going on and want him to shut up. Finally he gets thrown out of the theater just as his father proposes to his mother. Really creative and very emotional. It has that watching a trainwreck but being unable to look away feel to it and turned out to be Delmore Shwartz's first and most influential short story." /Baiocco, goodreads/
(A creepy and wise story)
"The brilliant device of having the main character watching a movie of his parents courtship, was way ahead of its time. The end of the story will linger in your mind. It's heartbreaking and scary and funny." /Neil Roseman, Amazon/
- Tennesse Williams: The Night of the Iguana ****
(It's not the play! It's a short story taken from Three Players of a Summer Game and Other Stories. Original and a bit weird.)
- Bernard Malamud: The First Seven Years *****
I like Malamud. The story reads a bit like The Assistant.)
More info:
http://www.bookrags.com/studyguide-firstsevenyears/intro.html
- R. V. Cassill: The Hot Girl ****
(Effective, but not really my favorite style. Girl gets beaten up in the end.)
- Shirley Jackson: The Bus ****
(And yes, I've seen the movie. Pretty weird stuff, a great, dark, psychological horror story, in fact.)
- Jack Kerouac: Slobs of the Kitchen Sea (Can't assess this story, some vandal left only the last two pages in the library book. Just my luck.)
- Mark Harris: The Self-Made Brain Surgeon *****
"Told with black humor, the title story concerns a crackpot grocer who moonlights as a self-styled "brain surgeon" by dispensing impromptu psychotherapy to stifled individuals. The narrative speaks of the enormous emotional hole in people's lives, and of the human propensity to indulge hypocrisy and to trust charlatans promising instant cures." /Amazon/
(Don't expect anything gory, the story is witty and entertaining though. I loved it.)
- James Purdy: Home by Dark ****
"“Home by Dark” focuses on an old man who has taken custody of his orphaned grandson. Composed almost entirely of dialogue between the two characters, the story explores the subtle tensions between the boy's inquisitive precocity and the old man's guarded hopefulness. The old man insists that every individual needs to believe in something that gives meaning to his or her life. But the boy wonders repeatedly why the old man is reluctant to go back “home” to the South, just as the birds travel south and back north with the cycle of the seasons. The birds become a symbol of the options that the characters no longer have because of the old man's age and the family's unspecified but clearly tragic history." /LitEncycl/
(A cute story, cute in its own peculiar way.)
- Herbert Gold: Love and Like *****
(Divorced couple keeps on fighting.)
- Truman Capote: Shut a Final Door *****
"for which he won the O. Henry Award at the age of 24" /wikipedia/
(Walter learns the lesson, hopefully it serves him right.)
- Flannery O'Connor: Parker's Back *****
"O'Connor repeatedly provides characters who exhibit such extreme confidence in their moral prerogatives that they act upon these convictions, only to discover that they were sadly mistaken. The protagonist of "Parker's Back" clearly demonstrates this human fault. To gain respect in his wife's eyes, Parker decides to hire a tattoo artist to engrave an image of Christ upon his back, to accompany all the other body art he has been collecting since his time in the service." /enotes/
(Great story, go and read it now. Parker gets beaten up in the end by her wife though.)
- Keith Botsford: Marriage ***
(Forgettable. Taken from manuscript.)
- Shirley Ann Grau: The Beach Party *****
(Young girl feels lonely on a beach party. When left alone she feels better. Stuff about alienaton, I guess. I remembered only this story from my previous reading.)
- Bruce Jay Friedman: Far From the City of Class *****
(Want to read more by this author, possibly in English. Great sense of humour.)
About Friedman: "Friedman, Bruce Jay (1930–), New York City author, whose first novel, Stern (1962), presents a neurotic Jewish man with black humor, characteristic of later novels including A Mother's Kisses (1964), comically portraying a Jewish mother who not only chaperons her son Joseph at college but is an erotic figure in her own right; The Dick (1970), dealing with a Jewish public relations man in police headquarters; and About Harry Towns (1974), portraying a middle aged screenwriter. His other works include the plays Scuba Duba (1968), Steambath (1970), and Foot in the Door (1979); stories collected in Far from the City of Class (1963), Black Angels (1966), and Let's Hear It for a Beautiful Guy (1984), short fiction; a comic self‐help manual, The Lonely Guy's Book of Life (1978); and Tokyo Woes (1985)."
"Bruce Jay Friedman, (b. April 26, 1930, New York, N.Y., U.S.), American comic author whose dark, mocking humour and social criticism was directed at the concerns and behaviour of American Jews." /from the Encyclopaedia Britannica/
- John Updike: The Music School **
(Honestly, I didn't get 80 percent of this one. Should I reread it?)
- Donald Barthelme: A Shower of Gold ***
"Desperate for cash, Peterson, a self-declared minor artist whose welded sculptures are not selling, signs on as a contestant for the television game show Who Am I? The title of the program is apt, for its producers purport to entertain their audience with probes into the futility, alienation, anonymity, and despair of modern life." /enotes/
(Great story, great author.)
- Michael Rumaker: The Truck ****
(Poor beginning, so-so middle, great ending. Reminded me of Them by Oates.)
Authors' names in bold letters = new to me authors, I want to read by them more
I especially like that the anthology includes short biographical notes at its end.
45billiejean
Hi, readeron!
Just catching up again! I keep going out of town and getting all behind on LT.
I added Box Man to my wishlist; it just sounds too interesting to pass up. I may have already mentioned this, but there is going to be a yearlong group read of Jane Austen's major novels next year on the 75 Book Challenge Group.
Loved seeing about all the short stories. I was reminded that I have one or two books by Edmund Wilson that I have not read sitting around here. Now I really want to check them out. I read The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson this year, and I thought it was a wonderfully creepy read. Finally, years ago I borrowed a book by John Updike and I felt the exact same way about it that you did the short story, except that the ending was spectacular. One thing about the book, though, was that it was 3rd or 4th in a series and I had not read any of the previous books. Maybe if I had it would have made more sense to me.
The temperatures are really dropping here in the middle of the US, but no snow in the forecast. I am hoping for white Christmas. Have a great weekend!
--BJ
Just catching up again! I keep going out of town and getting all behind on LT.
I added Box Man to my wishlist; it just sounds too interesting to pass up. I may have already mentioned this, but there is going to be a yearlong group read of Jane Austen's major novels next year on the 75 Book Challenge Group.
Loved seeing about all the short stories. I was reminded that I have one or two books by Edmund Wilson that I have not read sitting around here. Now I really want to check them out. I read The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson this year, and I thought it was a wonderfully creepy read. Finally, years ago I borrowed a book by John Updike and I felt the exact same way about it that you did the short story, except that the ending was spectacular. One thing about the book, though, was that it was 3rd or 4th in a series and I had not read any of the previous books. Maybe if I had it would have made more sense to me.
The temperatures are really dropping here in the middle of the US, but no snow in the forecast. I am hoping for white Christmas. Have a great weekend!
--BJ
46readeron
Hi billiejean!:)
First of all, congratulations on reading 100 books in a year! It sounds so great! I always plan to spend more time reading, too, but I usually end up reading during meals and before going to sleep only.:)
Thanks for mentioning the Austen group read, I'll consider joining it. It sounds great, and I have copies of each book, so probably I could complete this goal. (Though my several unfinished challenges are pointing the finger at me while I'm typing this, and they make me feel less sure of myself.)
I never heard of Edmund Wilson before, and was quite surprised to read that he was learning languages for fun, he even started to learn Hungarian seriously, which is awesome, he must have been my real soulmate.:) (Except for the fact that I do start learning languages but usually lose courage/interest halfway through while he never did.) I'm sure it will be fun to read his writings if they are all so enjoyable as this story was!
I loved the The Haunting of Hill House, too, and I'm glad you enjoyed it. I'm usually a sucker for any kind of ghost stories, - haunted houses, haunted cars, haunted starships, I just love them all.:)
The Box Man is probably the weirdest story I've read this year, and I hope you will like it, though one can never be sure. Pretty weird story, but it's certainly worth a try.
Regarding Updike, I can never foretell if I'll like his books and stories or not. For example, his novel "S" is perfectly enjoyable (one of my all-time favourites), I just loved the wicked humor making fun of self-made gurus (this one pretended to be a Hindu religious leader) and their followers, while in The Centaur he depicts a teacher's life so grimly that I promised myself never to touch that novel again.:) I couldn't get in "Roger's Version" ages ago (probably I was too young) and I would've given only 3 stars for "The Witches of Eastwick" if LT had existed back then. My parents used to have a short story collection by Updike, and I read that in my early teens. Some of the stories really grabbed me (like A&P), some of them I've just forgot. This same short story (Music School) is somewhere about the end of that volume, still, I can't remember not getting any of those stories at the time. Strange.:) I also was unlucky enough to check out from the library the last volume of the Rabbit series in my late teens (I guess it was the series you mentioned too), felt pretty disappointed that it's about "an old man", and I really can't tell what I expected, but I'm sure that I didnt read the blur, as usual. Had I been luckier, I could've picked the book about a 22 years old Rabbit first, - I could've related to a younger character a lot more easily at the time.:) I won't give it up though, I plan to read more Updike in the future. (Must read that short story once more, too.:)
We have had a little snow today, I hope it will snow there soon too! Have a nice weekend and thanks so much for dropping by! Happy reading!:)
First of all, congratulations on reading 100 books in a year! It sounds so great! I always plan to spend more time reading, too, but I usually end up reading during meals and before going to sleep only.:)
Thanks for mentioning the Austen group read, I'll consider joining it. It sounds great, and I have copies of each book, so probably I could complete this goal. (Though my several unfinished challenges are pointing the finger at me while I'm typing this, and they make me feel less sure of myself.)
I never heard of Edmund Wilson before, and was quite surprised to read that he was learning languages for fun, he even started to learn Hungarian seriously, which is awesome, he must have been my real soulmate.:) (Except for the fact that I do start learning languages but usually lose courage/interest halfway through while he never did.) I'm sure it will be fun to read his writings if they are all so enjoyable as this story was!
I loved the The Haunting of Hill House, too, and I'm glad you enjoyed it. I'm usually a sucker for any kind of ghost stories, - haunted houses, haunted cars, haunted starships, I just love them all.:)
The Box Man is probably the weirdest story I've read this year, and I hope you will like it, though one can never be sure. Pretty weird story, but it's certainly worth a try.
Regarding Updike, I can never foretell if I'll like his books and stories or not. For example, his novel "S" is perfectly enjoyable (one of my all-time favourites), I just loved the wicked humor making fun of self-made gurus (this one pretended to be a Hindu religious leader) and their followers, while in The Centaur he depicts a teacher's life so grimly that I promised myself never to touch that novel again.:) I couldn't get in "Roger's Version" ages ago (probably I was too young) and I would've given only 3 stars for "The Witches of Eastwick" if LT had existed back then. My parents used to have a short story collection by Updike, and I read that in my early teens. Some of the stories really grabbed me (like A&P), some of them I've just forgot. This same short story (Music School) is somewhere about the end of that volume, still, I can't remember not getting any of those stories at the time. Strange.:) I also was unlucky enough to check out from the library the last volume of the Rabbit series in my late teens (I guess it was the series you mentioned too), felt pretty disappointed that it's about "an old man", and I really can't tell what I expected, but I'm sure that I didnt read the blur, as usual. Had I been luckier, I could've picked the book about a 22 years old Rabbit first, - I could've related to a younger character a lot more easily at the time.:) I won't give it up though, I plan to read more Updike in the future. (Must read that short story once more, too.:)
We have had a little snow today, I hope it will snow there soon too! Have a nice weekend and thanks so much for dropping by! Happy reading!:)
47readeron
#39. Darvak (Cranes) by Békés Pál
208 pages
2 stars
This was a hard one to put down. It really kept me guessing as to what was going on and how it would all turn out. (Unfortunately, all my guesses were right though).
Seven high school friends decide to meet up five years after finishing school and spend together the New Year's Eve, no spouses or guests allowed. As it can be expected, the evening becomes a disaster. Disillusioned youngsters end up playing Russian roulette using a blank gun, sinking deeper and deeper into self-hatred (or self-pity?). The next day, waking up from their drunken stupor, they leave the party despising both themselves and their old friends. It was hard to care about the characters who weren't much more than cliches (I actually made a list of them on a piece of paper to be able to tell who is who) and the plot was rather predictable while the premise was simply unconvincing.
All in all, it's a pretty depressing first novel written back in the 1970's.
208 pages
2 stars
This was a hard one to put down. It really kept me guessing as to what was going on and how it would all turn out. (Unfortunately, all my guesses were right though).
Seven high school friends decide to meet up five years after finishing school and spend together the New Year's Eve, no spouses or guests allowed. As it can be expected, the evening becomes a disaster. Disillusioned youngsters end up playing Russian roulette using a blank gun, sinking deeper and deeper into self-hatred (or self-pity?). The next day, waking up from their drunken stupor, they leave the party despising both themselves and their old friends. It was hard to care about the characters who weren't much more than cliches (I actually made a list of them on a piece of paper to be able to tell who is who) and the plot was rather predictable while the premise was simply unconvincing.
All in all, it's a pretty depressing first novel written back in the 1970's.
48readeron
#40 Sörgyári capriccio by Bohumil Hrabal (in Hungarian)
(Postřižiny, Prague: Petlice, 1974)
(Cutting It Short)
4 stars
162 pages
"Cutting it Short" tells the story of Maryska, an irrepressible young woman who had the habit as a child of nearly drowning. (...) Although it is not a major work, it is very satisfying to read and manages to be both moving and funny at the same time." /frumiosb, Amazon/
I did see the move and I'll quote reviews about it here, too, because it's one of the rare cases when I loved both the novel and the movie equally.
Update: Found out after some googling that this novel has been published in English, as well!:)
"Set in a small town in Czechoslovakia at the end of the War, this is the story of the wayward wife of a brewery manager. Maryska is wild and exurberant and almost impossible to control - like a charming but devilish child. The author also wrote "Closely Observed Tales" and "Too Loud a Solitude". /goodreads/
"'Glorious . . . Hrabal combines good humour and hilarity with tenderness and a tragic sense of his country's history' OBSERVER 'There are pages of queer magic unlike anything else currently being done with words' GUARDIAN 'Hrabal is a most sophisticated novelist, with a gusting humour and a hushed tenderness of detail' Julian Barnes 'Czechoslovakia's greatest living writer' Milan Kundera 'Hrabal fills his pages with humanity and enchantment.' THE TIMES (...) 'This vivid and hilarious portrait of Czech villagers between the Wars, beery, eccentric and bursting with life, puts one in mind both of Czechoslovakia's greatest novel, Hasek's THE GOOD SOLDIER SCHWEIK and one of our own classics, Sterne's TRISTAM SHANDY.' VOGUE 'Funny and sad by turns, an enchanting book which records the passing of an age in a small rural community.' WHAT'S ON IN BIRMINGHAM 'This book offers a series of charming, richly descriptive vignettes set in a small town.' SCOTLAND ON SUNDAY" /Amazon/
"The story is about a country-side brewery somewhere in Czech republic, at the beginning of the 20th century (maybe right after WWI). We get a very good picture of the nature of czech people influenced by the rigurous Germans (represented by the manager of the brewery) and the cheerful slavic nature of men who like good food and lots of beer. We get also a glimpse of the beauty of the Czech women in the person of the wife of the manager. The movie shows also very well the change of the society in those times. At the beginning everything is happening slowly, everybody is calm, and gradually things quicken up, distances shorten and the world is changing radically." /Bodola Zsolt, imdb, about the movie/
"A favorite that is so comforting. Pleasing in every way. The film displays a lush world and conveys an atmosphere of nostalgia. Here is a balance of serenity, humor, and gravity that is nuanced and intelligent. Czechs and those who love Czech films and literature will of course cherish this film, but anyone with a heart and an eye for beauty will appreciate it too." /Eliza, imdb, about the movie/
"Bored? Buy a raccoon! - Too bad that Bohumil Hrabal, the writer of Menzel's best movies is practically unknown for the "Western" audience, they apparently ignore these gems from behind the former "iron curtain". Menzel is one of those great Czech New Wave directors (along Milos Forman, who managed to get into the spotlight by moving to the USA) who established this very special Czech style of movie-making: sensitive while humorous, joyful while tragic, with very intimate and thought-provoking stories. I just love the style of Menzel who can put this unreal, incredibly funny character of uncle Pepin to the screen so well that it actually works better than in the novels of Hrabal. Don't miss it." /Guczo, imdb, about the movie/
Basically, it's another semi-autobiographical novel, told from the point of view of Hrabal's mother. The story is set in the same town and it is about the same people that appear in The Little Town Where Time Stood Still or in Díszgyász/Krasosmutneni (see #36). (It has been published in a volume together with The Little Town Where Time Stood Still, too, if I got it right - I just can't follow all these titles and editions anymore.:)
"The narrator of Cutting It Short, Maryska, is "not a decent wife" but a wild woman, untamed and untamable, whose ankle-length sunshine hair is the glory of the town, unfurling like a banner of freedom behind her as she pedals her bicycle recklessly here and there. Her husband Francin can no more manage her than he could drive Apollo's chariot, but he loves her with intense fidelity. Francin above all aspires to be 'decent', to do his job and advance his family's station, but his wife, his brother Pepin, and eventually his son have too much joie de vivre to submit to his respectability. Maryska certainly never "stands still." She's the tidal wave of change, the first village woman to cut her skirt short and show her knees, and her model of style is Josephine Baker...!
It can't have been easy for a guy who looked like Hrabal, distinctly weather-beaten, ugly as a boot, to project the voice of a gorgeous woman narrator, and especially such a hoyden, but he did it. His Maryska is completely convincing. / Giordano Bruno, Amazon/
A great novel, a great movie, don't miss them!
(Postřižiny, Prague: Petlice, 1974)
(Cutting It Short)
4 stars
162 pages
"Cutting it Short" tells the story of Maryska, an irrepressible young woman who had the habit as a child of nearly drowning. (...) Although it is not a major work, it is very satisfying to read and manages to be both moving and funny at the same time." /frumiosb, Amazon/
I did see the move and I'll quote reviews about it here, too, because it's one of the rare cases when I loved both the novel and the movie equally.
Update: Found out after some googling that this novel has been published in English, as well!:)
"Set in a small town in Czechoslovakia at the end of the War, this is the story of the wayward wife of a brewery manager. Maryska is wild and exurberant and almost impossible to control - like a charming but devilish child. The author also wrote "Closely Observed Tales" and "Too Loud a Solitude". /goodreads/
"'Glorious . . . Hrabal combines good humour and hilarity with tenderness and a tragic sense of his country's history' OBSERVER 'There are pages of queer magic unlike anything else currently being done with words' GUARDIAN 'Hrabal is a most sophisticated novelist, with a gusting humour and a hushed tenderness of detail' Julian Barnes 'Czechoslovakia's greatest living writer' Milan Kundera 'Hrabal fills his pages with humanity and enchantment.' THE TIMES (...) 'This vivid and hilarious portrait of Czech villagers between the Wars, beery, eccentric and bursting with life, puts one in mind both of Czechoslovakia's greatest novel, Hasek's THE GOOD SOLDIER SCHWEIK and one of our own classics, Sterne's TRISTAM SHANDY.' VOGUE 'Funny and sad by turns, an enchanting book which records the passing of an age in a small rural community.' WHAT'S ON IN BIRMINGHAM 'This book offers a series of charming, richly descriptive vignettes set in a small town.' SCOTLAND ON SUNDAY" /Amazon/
"The story is about a country-side brewery somewhere in Czech republic, at the beginning of the 20th century (maybe right after WWI). We get a very good picture of the nature of czech people influenced by the rigurous Germans (represented by the manager of the brewery) and the cheerful slavic nature of men who like good food and lots of beer. We get also a glimpse of the beauty of the Czech women in the person of the wife of the manager. The movie shows also very well the change of the society in those times. At the beginning everything is happening slowly, everybody is calm, and gradually things quicken up, distances shorten and the world is changing radically." /Bodola Zsolt, imdb, about the movie/
"A favorite that is so comforting. Pleasing in every way. The film displays a lush world and conveys an atmosphere of nostalgia. Here is a balance of serenity, humor, and gravity that is nuanced and intelligent. Czechs and those who love Czech films and literature will of course cherish this film, but anyone with a heart and an eye for beauty will appreciate it too." /Eliza, imdb, about the movie/
"Bored? Buy a raccoon! - Too bad that Bohumil Hrabal, the writer of Menzel's best movies is practically unknown for the "Western" audience, they apparently ignore these gems from behind the former "iron curtain". Menzel is one of those great Czech New Wave directors (along Milos Forman, who managed to get into the spotlight by moving to the USA) who established this very special Czech style of movie-making: sensitive while humorous, joyful while tragic, with very intimate and thought-provoking stories. I just love the style of Menzel who can put this unreal, incredibly funny character of uncle Pepin to the screen so well that it actually works better than in the novels of Hrabal. Don't miss it." /Guczo, imdb, about the movie/
Basically, it's another semi-autobiographical novel, told from the point of view of Hrabal's mother. The story is set in the same town and it is about the same people that appear in The Little Town Where Time Stood Still or in Díszgyász/Krasosmutneni (see #36). (It has been published in a volume together with The Little Town Where Time Stood Still, too, if I got it right - I just can't follow all these titles and editions anymore.:)
"The narrator of Cutting It Short, Maryska, is "not a decent wife" but a wild woman, untamed and untamable, whose ankle-length sunshine hair is the glory of the town, unfurling like a banner of freedom behind her as she pedals her bicycle recklessly here and there. Her husband Francin can no more manage her than he could drive Apollo's chariot, but he loves her with intense fidelity. Francin above all aspires to be 'decent', to do his job and advance his family's station, but his wife, his brother Pepin, and eventually his son have too much joie de vivre to submit to his respectability. Maryska certainly never "stands still." She's the tidal wave of change, the first village woman to cut her skirt short and show her knees, and her model of style is Josephine Baker...!
It can't have been easy for a guy who looked like Hrabal, distinctly weather-beaten, ugly as a boot, to project the voice of a gorgeous woman narrator, and especially such a hoyden, but he did it. His Maryska is completely convincing. / Giordano Bruno, Amazon/
A great novel, a great movie, don't miss them!
49billiejean
Hi, readeron!
Thanks for the congrats! You are right, it was the book Rabbit at Rest that I read. You have read lots more Updike than I have. The first three books all made the 2006 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die, and I read the one not on the list!
Hrabal looks pretty interesting. I will have to check one of his books out.
All the snow went farther North. Pretty cold here, but not one snowflake. Some places up North got way more snow than they wanted, however.
--BJ
Thanks for the congrats! You are right, it was the book Rabbit at Rest that I read. You have read lots more Updike than I have. The first three books all made the 2006 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die, and I read the one not on the list!
Hrabal looks pretty interesting. I will have to check one of his books out.
All the snow went farther North. Pretty cold here, but not one snowflake. Some places up North got way more snow than they wanted, however.
--BJ
50readeron
Hi billiejean!:)
It's not so many, really. I've read 4 and abandoned 2. I think, it looks a lot because I must have messed up the grammar. I read them in high school when in the first 3 years we didn't hear a word about 20th century lit. I still have no idea why was literature taught in chronological order instead of- let's say - around certain themes. One just craved for more variety.
Hrabal certainly worth a try, his books are really both moving and funny. Yesterday I started The Little Town Where Time Stood Still, - I had no idea I've had a copy for months. Hopefully I can borrow I Served the King of England from the local library, too. I also have Harlekýnovy milióny/Harlekins millioner (Gyöngéd barbárok) on my shelves about the same family, and the same little town again. Looks like I'm immersing myself this year in whatever is available from Hrabal's ouvre in Hungary.:) Quite a great experience to read his books one after the other, it's almost like reading a series (somehow he keeps rewriting the same ideas and experiences again and again).
Here it often snows, but unfortunately the snow keeps melting. But there's a long time till Christmas, anything may happen by then!:)
Have a great day!
It's not so many, really. I've read 4 and abandoned 2. I think, it looks a lot because I must have messed up the grammar. I read them in high school when in the first 3 years we didn't hear a word about 20th century lit. I still have no idea why was literature taught in chronological order instead of- let's say - around certain themes. One just craved for more variety.
Hrabal certainly worth a try, his books are really both moving and funny. Yesterday I started The Little Town Where Time Stood Still, - I had no idea I've had a copy for months. Hopefully I can borrow I Served the King of England from the local library, too. I also have Harlekýnovy milióny/Harlekins millioner (Gyöngéd barbárok) on my shelves about the same family, and the same little town again. Looks like I'm immersing myself this year in whatever is available from Hrabal's ouvre in Hungary.:) Quite a great experience to read his books one after the other, it's almost like reading a series (somehow he keeps rewriting the same ideas and experiences again and again).
Here it often snows, but unfortunately the snow keeps melting. But there's a long time till Christmas, anything may happen by then!:)
Have a great day!
51readeron
#41 Tündértemető by Zsolt Bayer
(Fairy Cemetery?)
227 pages
3 stars
A collection of very, very short stories, mainly autobiographical. It left me with ambiguous feelings.
The author uses the whole arsenal of postmodern fiction (which I usually love), he knows all the tools of his craft, still, he fails to combine them effectively or achieve some cohesion more often than not. The book certainly has its moments, and the irony involved sometimes is really cutting. Other times the language seems to turn into vulgar for no apprehensible reason, and some characters I'd rather feel sorry for get mocked mercilessly. How shall I put it? I'm not glad about it.
In some writings, the author's style succesfully manages to become cynical and syrupy at the same time, which makes them quite unappealing to me. Some other writings are really touching though.
All in all, it wasn't really my kind of book, but since I was also reading a Böll and a Malamud at the same time (and the heavy, tense atmosphere of these masterpieces often felt almost stifling), this little book provided some stress relief for me being a lighter read, and ocasionally tickling my funny bone a bit. IMHO, it's a forgettable, mediocre read, though really prominent authors I appreciate a lot do love it. I quite enjoyed reading it once, but I don't think I'll reread it.
Some afterthoughts: Next time I need stress relief, I'll read some genre fiction or some old new-to-me classics (or children's book, or Wodehouse, or chick lit or a good thriller). I'm also reconsidering my previous plans to read more contemporary Hungarian authors. (At least I'll be more careful not to pick such a controversial author again. I'm pretty fed up with politics at the moment, and it's not the book's fault.) Plus, reading in English is somehow more fun (challenge?).
(Fairy Cemetery?)
227 pages
3 stars
A collection of very, very short stories, mainly autobiographical. It left me with ambiguous feelings.
The author uses the whole arsenal of postmodern fiction (which I usually love), he knows all the tools of his craft, still, he fails to combine them effectively or achieve some cohesion more often than not. The book certainly has its moments, and the irony involved sometimes is really cutting. Other times the language seems to turn into vulgar for no apprehensible reason, and some characters I'd rather feel sorry for get mocked mercilessly. How shall I put it? I'm not glad about it.
In some writings, the author's style succesfully manages to become cynical and syrupy at the same time, which makes them quite unappealing to me. Some other writings are really touching though.
All in all, it wasn't really my kind of book, but since I was also reading a Böll and a Malamud at the same time (and the heavy, tense atmosphere of these masterpieces often felt almost stifling), this little book provided some stress relief for me being a lighter read, and ocasionally tickling my funny bone a bit. IMHO, it's a forgettable, mediocre read, though really prominent authors I appreciate a lot do love it. I quite enjoyed reading it once, but I don't think I'll reread it.
Some afterthoughts: Next time I need stress relief, I'll read some genre fiction or some old new-to-me classics (or children's book, or Wodehouse, or chick lit or a good thriller). I'm also reconsidering my previous plans to read more contemporary Hungarian authors. (At least I'll be more careful not to pick such a controversial author again. I'm pretty fed up with politics at the moment, and it's not the book's fault.) Plus, reading in English is somehow more fun (challenge?).
52readeron
#42 The Tenants by Bernard Malamud
4 stars
248 pages
"In The Tenants (1971), Bernard Malamud brought his unerring sense of modern urban life to bear on the conflict between blacks and Jews then inflaming his native Brooklyn. The sole tenant in a rundown tenement, Henry Lesser is struggling to finish a novel, but his solitary pursuit of the sublime grows complicated when Willie Spearmint, a black writer ambivalent toward Jews, moves into the building. Henry and Willie are artistic rivals and unwilling neighbors, and their uneasy peace is disturbed by the presence of Willie's white girlfriend Irene and the landlord Levenspiel's attempts to evict both men and demolish the building. This novel's conflict, current then, is perennial now; it reveals the slippery nature of the human condition, and the human capacity for violence and undoing." /Amazon/
"Two writers. One Jew - Harry - one black - Willie - live in an abandoned tenamant block and have an antagonistic relationship.
Malamud wrote this at the height of the black-jew tensions of the late 60's early 70's and it explores the link between identity and racism - Willie is seeking a definition of blackness that excludes and dominates, whilst Harry seeks love but doesn't know either how to find it or give it, and neither can escape from their never to be finished books.
This is typical Malamud fayre;at times bleak, at times humourous and with characters that only destroy themselves or their ambitions." /Life a la Malamud!,, Amazon/
"New York here suffers, above all, the perturbation of two races who spent most of the century suffering & then began taking out their pain on each other: the Jews & the African Americans. In an apartment building that may be condemned any moment, two all-but-failed artists: the black Bill or Willie, the Jewish Lesser, both thoroughly Noo Yawk. They first reach out to each other, in part to fend off a landlord who wants them gone, but then before long, given the spur of unequal artistic success & a woman whose discernment & decisions provides yet another measure of that success, these brothers in twinned struggles (for shelter, for expression) stumble into a tragic spiral of hurting each other." /goodreads, John/
"The reputation of The Tentants as a novel of Afro-Semitic race relations gave me low, low expectations. (...) The Tenants surprised me by unfolding as a novel just as much - or more - about writing and the creative process as a novel about race. Racial tension figures prominently, I can't deny, but it seems to be more a narrative tool than a central focus.
The two writers who dominate the novel, Harry Lesser and Willie Spearmint, serve as starkly contrasting foils. Lesser has written one good novel, one bad, and is working in his tenth year on a third. He creates slowly and meticulously, as Malamud himself famously did. As such, the ending of his novel eludes him. Ideas for lesser come with great effort, but once they do he crafts them expertly. Willie Spearmint (later simply Bill Spear, wink wink) writes unceasingly, ideas coming faster than he can transcribe them at times. But his writing style, as far as Lesser is concerned, stinks.
Ultimately, Willie's blackness is less about race specifically and more about identity and culture broadly. Willie is immersed in his ethnic identity, while Lesser feels awkward saying "shalom" to another Jew. Their differing approaches to writing parallel their differing approaches to heritage and life in general. Malamud explores these two seemingly polar approaches to creativity and the world at large by bouncing the two men of each other violently. /Cody, Amazon/
4 stars
248 pages
"In The Tenants (1971), Bernard Malamud brought his unerring sense of modern urban life to bear on the conflict between blacks and Jews then inflaming his native Brooklyn. The sole tenant in a rundown tenement, Henry Lesser is struggling to finish a novel, but his solitary pursuit of the sublime grows complicated when Willie Spearmint, a black writer ambivalent toward Jews, moves into the building. Henry and Willie are artistic rivals and unwilling neighbors, and their uneasy peace is disturbed by the presence of Willie's white girlfriend Irene and the landlord Levenspiel's attempts to evict both men and demolish the building. This novel's conflict, current then, is perennial now; it reveals the slippery nature of the human condition, and the human capacity for violence and undoing." /Amazon/
"Two writers. One Jew - Harry - one black - Willie - live in an abandoned tenamant block and have an antagonistic relationship.
Malamud wrote this at the height of the black-jew tensions of the late 60's early 70's and it explores the link between identity and racism - Willie is seeking a definition of blackness that excludes and dominates, whilst Harry seeks love but doesn't know either how to find it or give it, and neither can escape from their never to be finished books.
This is typical Malamud fayre;at times bleak, at times humourous and with characters that only destroy themselves or their ambitions." /Life a la Malamud!,, Amazon/
"New York here suffers, above all, the perturbation of two races who spent most of the century suffering & then began taking out their pain on each other: the Jews & the African Americans. In an apartment building that may be condemned any moment, two all-but-failed artists: the black Bill or Willie, the Jewish Lesser, both thoroughly Noo Yawk. They first reach out to each other, in part to fend off a landlord who wants them gone, but then before long, given the spur of unequal artistic success & a woman whose discernment & decisions provides yet another measure of that success, these brothers in twinned struggles (for shelter, for expression) stumble into a tragic spiral of hurting each other." /goodreads, John/
"The reputation of The Tentants as a novel of Afro-Semitic race relations gave me low, low expectations. (...) The Tenants surprised me by unfolding as a novel just as much - or more - about writing and the creative process as a novel about race. Racial tension figures prominently, I can't deny, but it seems to be more a narrative tool than a central focus.
The two writers who dominate the novel, Harry Lesser and Willie Spearmint, serve as starkly contrasting foils. Lesser has written one good novel, one bad, and is working in his tenth year on a third. He creates slowly and meticulously, as Malamud himself famously did. As such, the ending of his novel eludes him. Ideas for lesser come with great effort, but once they do he crafts them expertly. Willie Spearmint (later simply Bill Spear, wink wink) writes unceasingly, ideas coming faster than he can transcribe them at times. But his writing style, as far as Lesser is concerned, stinks.
Ultimately, Willie's blackness is less about race specifically and more about identity and culture broadly. Willie is immersed in his ethnic identity, while Lesser feels awkward saying "shalom" to another Jew. Their differing approaches to writing parallel their differing approaches to heritage and life in general. Malamud explores these two seemingly polar approaches to creativity and the world at large by bouncing the two men of each other violently. /Cody, Amazon/
53readeron
# 43 God's Grace by Bernard Malamud
5 stars
240 pages
"God's Grace (1982), Bernard Malamud's last novel, is a modern-day dystopian fantasy, set in a time after a thermonuclear war prompts a second flood - a radical departure from Malamud's previous fiction.
The novel's protagonist is paleolosist Calvin Cohn, who had been attending to his work at the bottom of the ocean when the Devastation struck, and who alone survived. This rabbi's son - a "marginal error" - finds himself shipwrecked with an experimental chimpanzee capable of speech, to whom he gives the name Buz. Soon other creatures appear on their island - baboons, chimps, five apes, and a lone gorilla. Cohn works hard to make it possible for God to love His creation again, and his hopes increase as he encounters the unknown and the unforeseen in this strange new world.
With God's Grace, Malamud took a great risk, and it paid off. The novel's fresh and pervasive humor, narrative ingenuity, and tragic sense of the human condition make it one of Malamud's most extraordinary books." /LibraryThing, Amazon, Goodreads/
"In a thermonuclear war, the "Djanks" and "Druzhkies" destroy themselves, and all other inhabitants of the earth. Calvin Cohn, a paleologist who is in a diving bell off a research vessel at the time of the disaster, miraculously survives.
He finds that another being is aboard the research ship-a chimpanzee whom he calls "Buz." The two of them end up on a tropical island, where Cohn finds that Buz has a couple of electric wires protruding from his throat-and when Cohn connects them, the chimp is able to speak.
Cohn and Buz have a father-son sort of relationship, which gets complicated when they eventually find that a few other apes have also survived. Amazingly, the other chimpanzees on the island also acquire the power of speech, and Cohn becomes their teacher. They also receive periodic and enigmatic visits form "George," a gorilla, who is drawn to the sound of Cohn's father's cantorial recordings, which Cohn saved from the ship, along with a wind-up record player. The chimps are afraid of and dislike George, but Cohn sees something in him that keeps him trying to communicate with the ape, despite his lack of verbal skills.
Cohn tries to get the chimps to learn from the mistakes of mankind, to see themselves as capable of repopulating the earth with a race that does not make the same mistakes as Man. However, despite their relative sophistication, the chimps exhibit many of the same unpleasant characteristics found in humans. One of the chimpanzees is a female, Mary Madelyn, and she, of all the chimps, is the one who seems most capable of moral evolution. However, her insistence on being treated as a being with rights, who makes her own sexual choices, creates a crisis within the community.
This book has some very funny moments and is written in a wry, deadpan style." /Carole Barkley, Amazon/
"Extraordinary in it's humor, and provoking thought about God's involvement in the world order and everyday matters." /K. Chandley, Amazon/
"Some of the developments are certainly uncomfortable (if you bristle at the thought of inter-species mating, as I and I am sure most of us do, you might have to suppress your imagination in parts). But the developments are necessary to the concepts that Malamud is putting forth. This was a rewarding story on many levels. Recommended to anyone who wants to be challenged to think about the meaning of life beyond mere convention." /Reader Col, Amazon/
'Calvin Cohn, a Jewish paleontologist, son of a rabbi, is the only human survivor of a thermonuclear disaster. He has to content himself with the company of a few chimps and baboons. God is responsible for this second flood and He blames humans for destroying nature; Cohn has survived due to an error and he is let to live and make the best he can. In this scenario of desolation, Cohn becomes a god-like creature, he believes he can recreate the world, impose a new social order based on high moral and spiritual values, hard working, order, aiming to turn his fellow chimps into a better lot than humans. Amongst the chimps there is "Buz", a Christian who has been taught how to speak, sweet "Mary Madelyn" the only reproductive female of the group, "Esau" the nonconformist, a mysterious albino ape, and the cast-out gorilla "George" who is enchanted by the cantor's singing...
This a novel heavy in meanings, in the use of parables, fables and allegories. Following Malamud's pessimistic outlook on human nature, Cohn is just one more of his characters standing in a long line of losers, an individual who fears his fate and becomes the object of ridicule and pity. (...) In a metaphorical language and fantastic-like "Chagall" prose, Malamud creates a thought-disturbing novel, an account of human nature fragile standing, and a celebration to its strenghts as well as a lament to its weaknesses." /Esther Nebenzahl, Amazon/
"There's a staggering range of emotion here: from apocalyptic doom, to fearful survival, to irascible and choleric comedy, to wrenching simplicity of striving towards good, and bringing about a cataclysm. Humanity or, better still, human history personified... God's Grace is like Swift's Gulliver's travels: simple enough to captivate a casual reader, deep enough to drown a philosopher. A moving masterpiece." /A Customer, Amazon/
"Yes, the subject matter is non-believable; but what about suspension of disbelief? The storyline is shocking, and really is best read for fun. I've always remembered this story, simply because of the "what-if?" scenario. Don't take it too seriously, but enjoy its STORY..." /A Customer, Amazon/
"An allegory, a fairy story, another end of the world drama where the only question is does the human screw up paradise yet again?
Malamud's writing is so excellent, his characterisation so real, that whether or not the plot is quite 'all there', the book is thoroughly enjoyable to read. " /Petra X, goodreads/
"Calvin Cohn resurfaces from a deep sea dive to find the world destroyed by nuclear war and a subsequent flood, and then God appears to tell him that his survival was an oversight and that he is the last human on the earth. Before long, Cohn finds himself in the company of a group of chimpanzees on a tropical island. (...) Cohn sets about to recreate a better world since they've all been given a second chance. But there's only one young female chimp, and everything goes to hell.
From beginning to end, I really enjoyed this book. I relished Malamud's meditations on faith and the absurdity of existence, and particularly liked the scene in which Cohn is leading the chimps through a seder. By the end, the story broke my heart and chilled me to the bone in a way that few books have done.
This was Malamud's final novel. What an astonishing finish." /Lisa, goodreads/
5 stars
240 pages
"God's Grace (1982), Bernard Malamud's last novel, is a modern-day dystopian fantasy, set in a time after a thermonuclear war prompts a second flood - a radical departure from Malamud's previous fiction.
The novel's protagonist is paleolosist Calvin Cohn, who had been attending to his work at the bottom of the ocean when the Devastation struck, and who alone survived. This rabbi's son - a "marginal error" - finds himself shipwrecked with an experimental chimpanzee capable of speech, to whom he gives the name Buz. Soon other creatures appear on their island - baboons, chimps, five apes, and a lone gorilla. Cohn works hard to make it possible for God to love His creation again, and his hopes increase as he encounters the unknown and the unforeseen in this strange new world.
With God's Grace, Malamud took a great risk, and it paid off. The novel's fresh and pervasive humor, narrative ingenuity, and tragic sense of the human condition make it one of Malamud's most extraordinary books." /LibraryThing, Amazon, Goodreads/
"In a thermonuclear war, the "Djanks" and "Druzhkies" destroy themselves, and all other inhabitants of the earth. Calvin Cohn, a paleologist who is in a diving bell off a research vessel at the time of the disaster, miraculously survives.
He finds that another being is aboard the research ship-a chimpanzee whom he calls "Buz." The two of them end up on a tropical island, where Cohn finds that Buz has a couple of electric wires protruding from his throat-and when Cohn connects them, the chimp is able to speak.
Cohn and Buz have a father-son sort of relationship, which gets complicated when they eventually find that a few other apes have also survived. Amazingly, the other chimpanzees on the island also acquire the power of speech, and Cohn becomes their teacher. They also receive periodic and enigmatic visits form "George," a gorilla, who is drawn to the sound of Cohn's father's cantorial recordings, which Cohn saved from the ship, along with a wind-up record player. The chimps are afraid of and dislike George, but Cohn sees something in him that keeps him trying to communicate with the ape, despite his lack of verbal skills.
Cohn tries to get the chimps to learn from the mistakes of mankind, to see themselves as capable of repopulating the earth with a race that does not make the same mistakes as Man. However, despite their relative sophistication, the chimps exhibit many of the same unpleasant characteristics found in humans. One of the chimpanzees is a female, Mary Madelyn, and she, of all the chimps, is the one who seems most capable of moral evolution. However, her insistence on being treated as a being with rights, who makes her own sexual choices, creates a crisis within the community.
This book has some very funny moments and is written in a wry, deadpan style." /Carole Barkley, Amazon/
"Extraordinary in it's humor, and provoking thought about God's involvement in the world order and everyday matters." /K. Chandley, Amazon/
"Some of the developments are certainly uncomfortable (if you bristle at the thought of inter-species mating, as I and I am sure most of us do, you might have to suppress your imagination in parts). But the developments are necessary to the concepts that Malamud is putting forth. This was a rewarding story on many levels. Recommended to anyone who wants to be challenged to think about the meaning of life beyond mere convention." /Reader Col, Amazon/
'Calvin Cohn, a Jewish paleontologist, son of a rabbi, is the only human survivor of a thermonuclear disaster. He has to content himself with the company of a few chimps and baboons. God is responsible for this second flood and He blames humans for destroying nature; Cohn has survived due to an error and he is let to live and make the best he can. In this scenario of desolation, Cohn becomes a god-like creature, he believes he can recreate the world, impose a new social order based on high moral and spiritual values, hard working, order, aiming to turn his fellow chimps into a better lot than humans. Amongst the chimps there is "Buz", a Christian who has been taught how to speak, sweet "Mary Madelyn" the only reproductive female of the group, "Esau" the nonconformist, a mysterious albino ape, and the cast-out gorilla "George" who is enchanted by the cantor's singing...
This a novel heavy in meanings, in the use of parables, fables and allegories. Following Malamud's pessimistic outlook on human nature, Cohn is just one more of his characters standing in a long line of losers, an individual who fears his fate and becomes the object of ridicule and pity. (...) In a metaphorical language and fantastic-like "Chagall" prose, Malamud creates a thought-disturbing novel, an account of human nature fragile standing, and a celebration to its strenghts as well as a lament to its weaknesses." /Esther Nebenzahl, Amazon/
"There's a staggering range of emotion here: from apocalyptic doom, to fearful survival, to irascible and choleric comedy, to wrenching simplicity of striving towards good, and bringing about a cataclysm. Humanity or, better still, human history personified... God's Grace is like Swift's Gulliver's travels: simple enough to captivate a casual reader, deep enough to drown a philosopher. A moving masterpiece." /A Customer, Amazon/
"Yes, the subject matter is non-believable; but what about suspension of disbelief? The storyline is shocking, and really is best read for fun. I've always remembered this story, simply because of the "what-if?" scenario. Don't take it too seriously, but enjoy its STORY..." /A Customer, Amazon/
"An allegory, a fairy story, another end of the world drama where the only question is does the human screw up paradise yet again?
Malamud's writing is so excellent, his characterisation so real, that whether or not the plot is quite 'all there', the book is thoroughly enjoyable to read. " /Petra X, goodreads/
"Calvin Cohn resurfaces from a deep sea dive to find the world destroyed by nuclear war and a subsequent flood, and then God appears to tell him that his survival was an oversight and that he is the last human on the earth. Before long, Cohn finds himself in the company of a group of chimpanzees on a tropical island. (...) Cohn sets about to recreate a better world since they've all been given a second chance. But there's only one young female chimp, and everything goes to hell.
From beginning to end, I really enjoyed this book. I relished Malamud's meditations on faith and the absurdity of existence, and particularly liked the scene in which Cohn is leading the chimps through a seder. By the end, the story broke my heart and chilled me to the bone in a way that few books have done.
This was Malamud's final novel. What an astonishing finish." /Lisa, goodreads/
54readeron
#44 The Stupidest Angel: A Heartwarming Tale of Christmas Terror by Christopher Moore
320 pages
5 stars
"'Twas the night (okay, more like the week) before Christmas, and all through the tiny community of Pine Cove, California, people are busy buying, wrapping, packing, and generally getting into the holiday spirit.
But not everybody is feeling the joy. Little Joshua Barker is in desperate need of a holiday miracle. No, he's not on his deathbed; no, his dog hasn't run away from home. But Josh is sure that he saw Santa take a shovel to the head, and now the seven-year-old has only one prayer: Please, Santa, come back from the dead.
But hold on! There's an angel waiting in the wings. (Wings, get it?) It's none other than the Archangel Raziel come to Earth seeking a small child with a wish that needs granting. Unfortunately, our angel's not sporting the brightest halo in the bunch, and before you can say "Kris Kringle," he's botched his sacred mission and sent the residents of Pine Cove headlong into Christmas chaos, culminating in the most hilarious and horrifying holiday party the town has ever seen." /goodreads/
"What's not to love about Christmas and zombie mayhem? " /booksandwine, Librarything/
"Christopher Moore has written a Christmas book like no other. Bringing characters from several of his past novels together in Pine Cove, CA, the site of his first hilarious book of terror, "Practical Demonkeeping," he tells a story that will have you rolling on the floor with laughter. When a child who's just seen "Santa" killed meets up with the angel Raziel, (...) who's been selected to perform a most-important Christmas Eve task, a series of misunderstandings culminate in a hilarious, horrific send-up of your favorite so-bad-they're-good horror movies.
Moore's twisted sense of humor shines in the odd pairings he cooks up -- the biologist Gabe and his dog, whose ruminations will have you laughing out loud; the pilot Tucker Case and the talking fruit bat he got as part of his divorce settlement; sheriff and former pot-head Theo Crowe and his wife, Molly Michon, the former scream queen who's gone off her meds and thinks she really is the warrior babe from her movies. The action starts on page one and doesn't let up until the final word on the last page. For devoted fans, this is a long-awaited delight. For those who've not yet experienced one of the Author Guy's hilarious terror trains, prepare to be hooked. There's always a surprise when you least expect it." /Sara Leigh, Amazon/
"What is not to love about a book that has a pot smoking law official married to a crazy woman who runs around naked with a broad sword, brain sucking zombies lead by Santa who want to go shopping at IKEA, incompetent arc angel who likes snickers, and a talking fruit bat? I found the story to be very entertaining with several laugh out loud points (...). I’d recommend this book to anyone who can just let go of reality and enjoy a tale." /John, goodreads/
"Christopher Moore is the greatest at twisted, dark humor :)" /Leslie, goodreads/
320 pages
5 stars
"'Twas the night (okay, more like the week) before Christmas, and all through the tiny community of Pine Cove, California, people are busy buying, wrapping, packing, and generally getting into the holiday spirit.
But not everybody is feeling the joy. Little Joshua Barker is in desperate need of a holiday miracle. No, he's not on his deathbed; no, his dog hasn't run away from home. But Josh is sure that he saw Santa take a shovel to the head, and now the seven-year-old has only one prayer: Please, Santa, come back from the dead.
But hold on! There's an angel waiting in the wings. (Wings, get it?) It's none other than the Archangel Raziel come to Earth seeking a small child with a wish that needs granting. Unfortunately, our angel's not sporting the brightest halo in the bunch, and before you can say "Kris Kringle," he's botched his sacred mission and sent the residents of Pine Cove headlong into Christmas chaos, culminating in the most hilarious and horrifying holiday party the town has ever seen." /goodreads/
"What's not to love about Christmas and zombie mayhem? " /booksandwine, Librarything/
"Christopher Moore has written a Christmas book like no other. Bringing characters from several of his past novels together in Pine Cove, CA, the site of his first hilarious book of terror, "Practical Demonkeeping," he tells a story that will have you rolling on the floor with laughter. When a child who's just seen "Santa" killed meets up with the angel Raziel, (...) who's been selected to perform a most-important Christmas Eve task, a series of misunderstandings culminate in a hilarious, horrific send-up of your favorite so-bad-they're-good horror movies.
Moore's twisted sense of humor shines in the odd pairings he cooks up -- the biologist Gabe and his dog, whose ruminations will have you laughing out loud; the pilot Tucker Case and the talking fruit bat he got as part of his divorce settlement; sheriff and former pot-head Theo Crowe and his wife, Molly Michon, the former scream queen who's gone off her meds and thinks she really is the warrior babe from her movies. The action starts on page one and doesn't let up until the final word on the last page. For devoted fans, this is a long-awaited delight. For those who've not yet experienced one of the Author Guy's hilarious terror trains, prepare to be hooked. There's always a surprise when you least expect it." /Sara Leigh, Amazon/
"What is not to love about a book that has a pot smoking law official married to a crazy woman who runs around naked with a broad sword, brain sucking zombies lead by Santa who want to go shopping at IKEA, incompetent arc angel who likes snickers, and a talking fruit bat? I found the story to be very entertaining with several laugh out loud points (...). I’d recommend this book to anyone who can just let go of reality and enjoy a tale." /John, goodreads/
"Christopher Moore is the greatest at twisted, dark humor :)" /Leslie, goodreads/
55readeron
#45 Szennyből az Angyal by Vavyan Fable (Éva Molnár)
409 pages
5 stars
reread
One of my favourite Christmas books. I reread it every second year or so since about 1995 when it was first published. It's a christmas-themed romantic comedy with loads of black humour and wordplay. I just love it!
409 pages
5 stars
reread
One of my favourite Christmas books. I reread it every second year or so since about 1995 when it was first published. It's a christmas-themed romantic comedy with loads of black humour and wordplay. I just love it!
56billiejean
I really enjoy reading your reviews. You read so broadly and have brought so many different books to my attention. I added God's Grace to my wishlist.
Merry Christmas!
--BJ
Merry Christmas!
--BJ
57readeron
Thanks for the kind words, billiejean!:)
This year I got caught in the webs of two very tempting libraries (though they never seemed to have what I was looking for), plus there was this promise (I made to myself) that I'll read more Hungarian authors. The result was a bit of a chaos, but I don't complain: the circumstances got me to read the most obsure volumes sometimes. It was fun and I'm really glad if the thread gave book ideas to others, as well, because I've already found so many great recommendations while lurking around on your and other fellow LT-ers' threads. Hope you will enjoy God's Grace, it's really well-written, but take care: it's so totally quirky.:) I just had no idea that Malamud wrote even fantasy/sci-fi. Thanks again for dropping by!
Merry Christmas and Happy Reading!
This year I got caught in the webs of two very tempting libraries (though they never seemed to have what I was looking for), plus there was this promise (I made to myself) that I'll read more Hungarian authors. The result was a bit of a chaos, but I don't complain: the circumstances got me to read the most obsure volumes sometimes. It was fun and I'm really glad if the thread gave book ideas to others, as well, because I've already found so many great recommendations while lurking around on your and other fellow LT-ers' threads. Hope you will enjoy God's Grace, it's really well-written, but take care: it's so totally quirky.:) I just had no idea that Malamud wrote even fantasy/sci-fi. Thanks again for dropping by!
Merry Christmas and Happy Reading!
58readeron
#46 The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum by Heinrich Böll
140 pages
4 stars
"A deceptively simple plot which allows the author to succinctly demonstrate that personal honor is cherished, and when it is destroyed, the consequences may be enormous. The humble and honorable people can be the most vulnerable, and in many ways the strongest of individuals. Boll also manages to fit in a few jabs at the telephone monitoring which was still commonplace in 1974, in Germany, when this book was written. Excellent read!" /hemlokgang, librarything/
"This book pissed me off!! Not Mr Heinrich Böll... not his language... not the story. The damn press that is the central 'bad guy' in this book! Böll did an excellent job presenting his case. I could feel his anger, his disdain. It was tangible. And did I mention... it pissed me off? I think I would have done the exact same thing if I were wearing her heels.
One thing i found evident, Böll did hold contempt for the press, for politics, for religion (but thought highly of art). It came out in this forensic-like detailed tale of an innocent victim of these powers. And like the plague, her relations and friends, those around her, were infected with it also and suffered.
Sad thing is this stuff really does go on and on and on... I'm not talking about the feeding frenzy around the Spears and Lohans who seem to invite such press, but the truly innocent ones who become unknowingly players in a game that is too big for them.
Good read, but it should make you angry." /Banoo, Librarything/
"It tells the story of Katharina Blum, a domestic in 1970s Germany. She goes to a party at her godmother's house, where she meets a man, spends the evening dancing with him, then goes back to her apartment with him. The next morning, police break into her flat to demand his whereabouts - turns out he is a wanted criminal. Blum is taken in for interrogation as the police believe she must have helped him to escape her apartment block, which has been under surveillance all night.
The rest of the story tells of the interrogation, the ensuing press reporting of the case that is horrible flawed and utterly smears Blum, and Blum herself, who finally murders the reporter writing all the slurs about her.
But the plot isn't the point of this novel - indeed you are told all of the above on the back cover of the book. It's the narrator that makes this book special. It can only be assumed that the narrator is Boll - there is no reason to think otherwise. He tells the story in a completely clinical way and seems to remain emotionless, in juxtaposition to the frenzied, sensational reporting of the newspapers. But there is a certain anger bubbling below the surface, just detectable, that carries the reader along." /otherstories, librarything/
"Katharina is a remarkably sympathetic character, her dignified life ripped up just as love gives her the hope of happiness. The blinkered police and self-serving tabloid press give the novel further resonance, but it is Katharina's intensely sad story that lingers." /depressaholic, Librarything/
"She is a victim par excellence. She is unobtrusive but highly valued by her employers. She is a model of model citizens, a manifold pillar of society. Then the small but understandable slip, associating with a suspicious character. Even the help she renders him is innocent, almost reasonable. The tabloid press destroy her for a headline - systematic, ruthless. Some of the recurring metaphor is good but the execution is clumsy and irritating: for instance, the apology by the writer that the report is 'fluid', and the image of linking up puddles of dirty water during the course of the investigation. But, if read with the necessary concentration and forbearance, this adds to the authenticity of the style. The flashes of hard humour and ironic observation add to the atmosphere." /MaR é...SoLeLuNa, goodreads/
Yes, the puddle images oftentimes made me cringe, too, otherwise I would give the book 5 stars. Loved the flashes of hard humour, though.
"The prose was very structured, frank and "that's-the-way-it-is". Katharina worked roughly three jobs (soooo German of her) and apparently only went out dancing 1-2 times a year (again, so very Deutsch-y of her). She didn't do much in regards to her own defense but the whole point of the book was how the media and a law enforcement organization, who was so overly focussed on something so minor, blew up the lives of so many people in regards to their futures, their relationships, their reputations and their careers. The book did well to show the strange trickle down effect of negativity. Well done, Boll, you German you. Prost!" /KJ Luepke, goodreads/
Exactly.:)
"This was a quick read, and it was actually quite interesting. Heinrich Böll wrote the book originally in German in 1974 when tabloid obsession with the Red Army Faction was in full swing in Germany. His novel is a character study of an innocent woman as she is investigated for a crime and subsequently ruined through tabloid media. I kept trying to think of the book as it may have been read in the 1970s when it was more controversial and shocking. For the contemporary reader, however, it is better to look at the writing style. Böll won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1972 and was one of the most prolific writers of the post-World War II era. It is unique and worth the read, though you can't read it as a modern novel since the subject matter is less pertinent and tabloid journalism is no longer surprising. If you want to read a classic, and a quick one, this is the book." /Ernie, goodreads/
Funny, the book sometimes reminded me of the McCarthy era in the US, and I often wished that I'd know more about German history. Did West Germany have some sort of red scare, too?
Looks like the answer is yes. *headscratch*
"this book gives one a glimpse into the 1970's in west germany, when the country is dealing with small groups of terrorists, socialists and communists and the paranoia that these situations created. the government, police and some of the media outlets were largely responsible for invoking this paranoia." /rachael, goodreads/
I'm also reading a collection of 28 short stories and satires by Böll, in Hungarian. Excellent writings! So far I think he will be my first favourite German author.
140 pages
4 stars
"A deceptively simple plot which allows the author to succinctly demonstrate that personal honor is cherished, and when it is destroyed, the consequences may be enormous. The humble and honorable people can be the most vulnerable, and in many ways the strongest of individuals. Boll also manages to fit in a few jabs at the telephone monitoring which was still commonplace in 1974, in Germany, when this book was written. Excellent read!" /hemlokgang, librarything/
"This book pissed me off!! Not Mr Heinrich Böll... not his language... not the story. The damn press that is the central 'bad guy' in this book! Böll did an excellent job presenting his case. I could feel his anger, his disdain. It was tangible. And did I mention... it pissed me off? I think I would have done the exact same thing if I were wearing her heels.
One thing i found evident, Böll did hold contempt for the press, for politics, for religion (but thought highly of art). It came out in this forensic-like detailed tale of an innocent victim of these powers. And like the plague, her relations and friends, those around her, were infected with it also and suffered.
Sad thing is this stuff really does go on and on and on... I'm not talking about the feeding frenzy around the Spears and Lohans who seem to invite such press, but the truly innocent ones who become unknowingly players in a game that is too big for them.
Good read, but it should make you angry." /Banoo, Librarything/
"It tells the story of Katharina Blum, a domestic in 1970s Germany. She goes to a party at her godmother's house, where she meets a man, spends the evening dancing with him, then goes back to her apartment with him. The next morning, police break into her flat to demand his whereabouts - turns out he is a wanted criminal. Blum is taken in for interrogation as the police believe she must have helped him to escape her apartment block, which has been under surveillance all night.
The rest of the story tells of the interrogation, the ensuing press reporting of the case that is horrible flawed and utterly smears Blum, and Blum herself, who finally murders the reporter writing all the slurs about her.
But the plot isn't the point of this novel - indeed you are told all of the above on the back cover of the book. It's the narrator that makes this book special. It can only be assumed that the narrator is Boll - there is no reason to think otherwise. He tells the story in a completely clinical way and seems to remain emotionless, in juxtaposition to the frenzied, sensational reporting of the newspapers. But there is a certain anger bubbling below the surface, just detectable, that carries the reader along." /otherstories, librarything/
"Katharina is a remarkably sympathetic character, her dignified life ripped up just as love gives her the hope of happiness. The blinkered police and self-serving tabloid press give the novel further resonance, but it is Katharina's intensely sad story that lingers." /depressaholic, Librarything/
"She is a victim par excellence. She is unobtrusive but highly valued by her employers. She is a model of model citizens, a manifold pillar of society. Then the small but understandable slip, associating with a suspicious character. Even the help she renders him is innocent, almost reasonable. The tabloid press destroy her for a headline - systematic, ruthless. Some of the recurring metaphor is good but the execution is clumsy and irritating: for instance, the apology by the writer that the report is 'fluid', and the image of linking up puddles of dirty water during the course of the investigation. But, if read with the necessary concentration and forbearance, this adds to the authenticity of the style. The flashes of hard humour and ironic observation add to the atmosphere." /MaR é...SoLeLuNa, goodreads/
Yes, the puddle images oftentimes made me cringe, too, otherwise I would give the book 5 stars. Loved the flashes of hard humour, though.
"The prose was very structured, frank and "that's-the-way-it-is". Katharina worked roughly three jobs (soooo German of her) and apparently only went out dancing 1-2 times a year (again, so very Deutsch-y of her). She didn't do much in regards to her own defense but the whole point of the book was how the media and a law enforcement organization, who was so overly focussed on something so minor, blew up the lives of so many people in regards to their futures, their relationships, their reputations and their careers. The book did well to show the strange trickle down effect of negativity. Well done, Boll, you German you. Prost!" /KJ Luepke, goodreads/
Exactly.:)
"This was a quick read, and it was actually quite interesting. Heinrich Böll wrote the book originally in German in 1974 when tabloid obsession with the Red Army Faction was in full swing in Germany. His novel is a character study of an innocent woman as she is investigated for a crime and subsequently ruined through tabloid media. I kept trying to think of the book as it may have been read in the 1970s when it was more controversial and shocking. For the contemporary reader, however, it is better to look at the writing style. Böll won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1972 and was one of the most prolific writers of the post-World War II era. It is unique and worth the read, though you can't read it as a modern novel since the subject matter is less pertinent and tabloid journalism is no longer surprising. If you want to read a classic, and a quick one, this is the book." /Ernie, goodreads/
Funny, the book sometimes reminded me of the McCarthy era in the US, and I often wished that I'd know more about German history. Did West Germany have some sort of red scare, too?
Looks like the answer is yes. *headscratch*
"this book gives one a glimpse into the 1970's in west germany, when the country is dealing with small groups of terrorists, socialists and communists and the paranoia that these situations created. the government, police and some of the media outlets were largely responsible for invoking this paranoia." /rachael, goodreads/
I'm also reading a collection of 28 short stories and satires by Böll, in Hungarian. Excellent writings! So far I think he will be my first favourite German author.
59readeron
#47 After Supper Ghost Stories (aka Told After Supper) by Jerome K. Jerome
48 pages
5 stars
reread
"Jerome K. Jerome was born in 1859. He was an English humorist best known for this travelogue Three Men in A Boat. (...)
Told After Supper are stories all taking place on Christmas Eve. The Introduction says 'All these things happen on Christmas Eve, they are all told of on Christmas Eve. For ghost stories to be told on any other evening than the evening of the twenty-fourth of December would be impossible in English society as at present regulated. Therefore, in introducing the sad but authentic ghost stories that follow hereafter, I feel that it is unnecessary to inform the student of Anglo-Saxon literature that the date on which they were told and on which the incidents took place was--Christmas Eve." Stories included in this collection are How the Stories came to be told, Teddy Biffles' Story--Johnson and Emily; or, the Faithful Ghost, The Doctor's Story, Mr. Coombe's Story--The Haunted Mill; or, the Ruined Home, My Uncle's Story--The Ghost of the Blue Chamber, A Personal Explanation, and My Own Story." /flipkart/
It's not as good as Three Men in a Boat, and my favourite by the author is still Three Men on the Bummel, but this slim volume is a witty and hilarious light read, too.
He does love prophesying a misfortune, does the average British ghost. Send him out to prognosticate trouble to somebody, and he is happy. Let him force his way into a peaceful home, and turn the whole house upside down by foretelling a funeral, or predicting a bankruptcy, or hinting at a coming disgrace, or some other terrible disaster, about which nobody in their senses want to know sooner they could possibly help, and the prior knowledge of which can serve no useful purpose whatsoever, and he feels that he is combining duty with pleasure. He would never forgive himself if anybody in his family had a trouble and he had not been there for a couple of months beforehand, doing silly tricks on the lawn, or balancing himself on somebody's bed-rail.
Then there are, besides, the very young, or very conscientious ghosts with a lost will or an undiscovered number weighing heavy on their minds, who will haunt steadily all the year round; and also the fussy ghost, who is indignant at having been buried in the dust-bin or in the village pond, and who never gives the parish a single night's quiet until somebody has paid for a first-class funeral for him.
But these are the exceptions. As I have said, the average orthodox ghost does his one turn a year, on Christmas Eve, and is satisfied.
Why on Christmas Eve, of all nights in the year, I never could myself understand. It is invariably one of the most dismal of nights to be out in—cold, muddy, and wet. And besides, at Christmas time, everybody has quite enough to put up with in the way of a houseful of living relations, without wanting the ghosts of any dead ones mooning about the place, I am sure.
There must be something ghostly in the air of Christmas—something about the close, muggy atmosphere that draws up the ghosts, like the dampness of the summer rains brings out the frogs and snails.
And not only do the ghosts themselves always walk on Christmas Eve, but live people always sit and talk about them on Christmas Eve. Whenever five or six English-speaking people meet round a fire on Christmas Eve, they start telling each other ghost stories. Nothing satisfies us on Christmas Eve but to hear each other tell authentic anecdotes about spectres. It is a genial, festive season, and we love to muse upon graves, and dead bodies, and murders, and blood.
48 pages
5 stars
reread
"Jerome K. Jerome was born in 1859. He was an English humorist best known for this travelogue Three Men in A Boat. (...)
Told After Supper are stories all taking place on Christmas Eve. The Introduction says 'All these things happen on Christmas Eve, they are all told of on Christmas Eve. For ghost stories to be told on any other evening than the evening of the twenty-fourth of December would be impossible in English society as at present regulated. Therefore, in introducing the sad but authentic ghost stories that follow hereafter, I feel that it is unnecessary to inform the student of Anglo-Saxon literature that the date on which they were told and on which the incidents took place was--Christmas Eve." Stories included in this collection are How the Stories came to be told, Teddy Biffles' Story--Johnson and Emily; or, the Faithful Ghost, The Doctor's Story, Mr. Coombe's Story--The Haunted Mill; or, the Ruined Home, My Uncle's Story--The Ghost of the Blue Chamber, A Personal Explanation, and My Own Story." /flipkart/
It's not as good as Three Men in a Boat, and my favourite by the author is still Three Men on the Bummel, but this slim volume is a witty and hilarious light read, too.
He does love prophesying a misfortune, does the average British ghost. Send him out to prognosticate trouble to somebody, and he is happy. Let him force his way into a peaceful home, and turn the whole house upside down by foretelling a funeral, or predicting a bankruptcy, or hinting at a coming disgrace, or some other terrible disaster, about which nobody in their senses want to know sooner they could possibly help, and the prior knowledge of which can serve no useful purpose whatsoever, and he feels that he is combining duty with pleasure. He would never forgive himself if anybody in his family had a trouble and he had not been there for a couple of months beforehand, doing silly tricks on the lawn, or balancing himself on somebody's bed-rail.
Then there are, besides, the very young, or very conscientious ghosts with a lost will or an undiscovered number weighing heavy on their minds, who will haunt steadily all the year round; and also the fussy ghost, who is indignant at having been buried in the dust-bin or in the village pond, and who never gives the parish a single night's quiet until somebody has paid for a first-class funeral for him.
But these are the exceptions. As I have said, the average orthodox ghost does his one turn a year, on Christmas Eve, and is satisfied.
Why on Christmas Eve, of all nights in the year, I never could myself understand. It is invariably one of the most dismal of nights to be out in—cold, muddy, and wet. And besides, at Christmas time, everybody has quite enough to put up with in the way of a houseful of living relations, without wanting the ghosts of any dead ones mooning about the place, I am sure.
There must be something ghostly in the air of Christmas—something about the close, muggy atmosphere that draws up the ghosts, like the dampness of the summer rains brings out the frogs and snails.
And not only do the ghosts themselves always walk on Christmas Eve, but live people always sit and talk about them on Christmas Eve. Whenever five or six English-speaking people meet round a fire on Christmas Eve, they start telling each other ghost stories. Nothing satisfies us on Christmas Eve but to hear each other tell authentic anecdotes about spectres. It is a genial, festive season, and we love to muse upon graves, and dead bodies, and murders, and blood.
60readeron
48. Murphy by Samuel Beckett
3 stars
282 pages
"Murphy, Samuel Beckett’s first published novel, is set in London and Dublin, during the first decades of the Irish Republic. (...) While grounded in the comedy and absurdity of much of daily life, Beckett’s work is also an early exploration of themes that recur throughout his entire body of work including sanity and insanity and the very meaning of life." /Amazon/
"Murphy is not my favorite book by Samuel Beckett, but it does contain some unforgettable scenes—like the opening one, in which Murphy has strapped himself to his rocking chair and sets to disappearing into his mind and leaving his body and the outside world behind.
I couldn’t escape the feeling as I read this book that it is an elaborate and subtle satire of intellectualism. The opening scene is simultaneously hilarious and compelling. Murphy’s desire for escape is genuine and important while his methods and his convoluted thinking about it (as about everything) frequently seems downright silly. This silliness, though, as in many of Beckett’s other writings, is full of dark irony. Very serious things (like existential despair) are driving people like Murphy to silliness, but the people who mock them only increase the horribleness of the world." /the_darling_copilots , LibraryThing/
"This--Beckett's first novel to be published in 1938 follows the wanderings of one 'Murphy' a solipsist in the finest sense. Murphy born and raised in Dublin and living in London cannot see a meaning beyond his own meaning and is not even sure about that. What other people might do with their time and their lives striking him as senseless--he is one day picked up by Celia Kelly--a prostitute and another Irish emigre. Celia would push him out into the flotsam and mainstream of life--something that Murphy objects to--but eventually reluctantly gives in on. As many other of Murphy's friends from Ireland are trying to reconnect with him he is wandering the streets of London--almost a lost puppy until a former acquaintance of his bumps into him and hooks him up at his workplace--a lunatic asylum out in the suburbs. Almost immediately upon beginning his first job ever he finds an affinity for the inmates of this institution that he doesn't feel from the world outside. His connection and love affair with Celia ends abruptly and shortly thereafter as Celia and his other friends finally track him down--they find only his burnt corpse--a victim of accident or suicide--a do-it yourself gas line to his room having exploded. All ends with Celia wheeling her wheelchair bound kite-obsessed grandfather out of a London park at closing time.
The prose here is definitely indebted in part to his friendship with James Joyce. In some ways it is more conventional--not nearly stripped as bare as much of his later work will be--which is not to say it is not experimental--because it definitely is. In another respect one can see a connection of Beckett to his main character--musing about the meaning(lessness) of existence. It definitely belongs on a short list of most important existential works. Anyway like all of Beckett's work--at least for this reader you can't go wrong and this is an important one since it was his first published novel and it is highly recommended from this source." /lriley, Librarything/
Can read more about the book here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murphy_%28novel%29
"Murphy is a novel unlike any other. Quite deliberately, Beckett's characters are not portrayed with realistic fullness, and the plot is fragmented and incomplete. Nevertheless, this is an enjoyable read if conventional expectations are suspended. Beckett's early work is often compared to Joyce, but they are actually very different. Beckett's works are essentially tragic-comic.
(...)
Murphy, the protagonist of this novel, realizes in effect that desire can never be satisfied, and so he simply withdraws from life, attempting to reach a state of catatonic stupor. His girlfriend tries with tragic pathos to draw him back into life, but her attempts are doomed to failure. Murphy's friends are all similar to himself, fragmented and incomplete. The novel's vision is absurdist, tragic, and existentialist--humans are "windowless monads," doomed to isolation and misunderstanding. (...) Like Shakespeare or any great poet, his work cannot be summarized but must be experienced." /Q, Amazon/
3 stars
282 pages
"Murphy, Samuel Beckett’s first published novel, is set in London and Dublin, during the first decades of the Irish Republic. (...) While grounded in the comedy and absurdity of much of daily life, Beckett’s work is also an early exploration of themes that recur throughout his entire body of work including sanity and insanity and the very meaning of life." /Amazon/
"Murphy is not my favorite book by Samuel Beckett, but it does contain some unforgettable scenes—like the opening one, in which Murphy has strapped himself to his rocking chair and sets to disappearing into his mind and leaving his body and the outside world behind.
I couldn’t escape the feeling as I read this book that it is an elaborate and subtle satire of intellectualism. The opening scene is simultaneously hilarious and compelling. Murphy’s desire for escape is genuine and important while his methods and his convoluted thinking about it (as about everything) frequently seems downright silly. This silliness, though, as in many of Beckett’s other writings, is full of dark irony. Very serious things (like existential despair) are driving people like Murphy to silliness, but the people who mock them only increase the horribleness of the world." /the_darling_copilots , LibraryThing/
"This--Beckett's first novel to be published in 1938 follows the wanderings of one 'Murphy' a solipsist in the finest sense. Murphy born and raised in Dublin and living in London cannot see a meaning beyond his own meaning and is not even sure about that. What other people might do with their time and their lives striking him as senseless--he is one day picked up by Celia Kelly--a prostitute and another Irish emigre. Celia would push him out into the flotsam and mainstream of life--something that Murphy objects to--but eventually reluctantly gives in on. As many other of Murphy's friends from Ireland are trying to reconnect with him he is wandering the streets of London--almost a lost puppy until a former acquaintance of his bumps into him and hooks him up at his workplace--a lunatic asylum out in the suburbs. Almost immediately upon beginning his first job ever he finds an affinity for the inmates of this institution that he doesn't feel from the world outside. His connection and love affair with Celia ends abruptly and shortly thereafter as Celia and his other friends finally track him down--they find only his burnt corpse--a victim of accident or suicide--a do-it yourself gas line to his room having exploded. All ends with Celia wheeling her wheelchair bound kite-obsessed grandfather out of a London park at closing time.
The prose here is definitely indebted in part to his friendship with James Joyce. In some ways it is more conventional--not nearly stripped as bare as much of his later work will be--which is not to say it is not experimental--because it definitely is. In another respect one can see a connection of Beckett to his main character--musing about the meaning(lessness) of existence. It definitely belongs on a short list of most important existential works. Anyway like all of Beckett's work--at least for this reader you can't go wrong and this is an important one since it was his first published novel and it is highly recommended from this source." /lriley, Librarything/
Can read more about the book here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murphy_%28novel%29
"Murphy is a novel unlike any other. Quite deliberately, Beckett's characters are not portrayed with realistic fullness, and the plot is fragmented and incomplete. Nevertheless, this is an enjoyable read if conventional expectations are suspended. Beckett's early work is often compared to Joyce, but they are actually very different. Beckett's works are essentially tragic-comic.
(...)
Murphy, the protagonist of this novel, realizes in effect that desire can never be satisfied, and so he simply withdraws from life, attempting to reach a state of catatonic stupor. His girlfriend tries with tragic pathos to draw him back into life, but her attempts are doomed to failure. Murphy's friends are all similar to himself, fragmented and incomplete. The novel's vision is absurdist, tragic, and existentialist--humans are "windowless monads," doomed to isolation and misunderstanding. (...) Like Shakespeare or any great poet, his work cannot be summarized but must be experienced." /Q, Amazon/
61readeron
Memo to self:
Also read some children books this year. I didn't want to list and number them here, because reading children books in my own language is really not such a big deal, so I'll only mention them here, after all they were also part of my reading year, 2010 (since August, 2010, actually):
Czeslaw Janczarski: Fülesmackó az óvodában
Czeslaw Janczarski: Fülesmackó kalandjai és vándorlásai
Farkas László: Sárkányvadászok kézikönyve
Fazekas Anna: Hercsula
Irene Geiling: A gesztenyefa
Nathan Kravetz: A más színű ló
Szepes Mária: Pöttyös Panni
Szepes Mária: Pöttyös Panni az óvodában
Szepes Mária: Pöttyös Panni és Kockás Peti naplója
Szepes Mária: Pöttyös Panni Hetedhétországban
Szepes Mária: Pöttyös Panni naplója
Janikovszky Éva: Felelj szépen, ha kérdeznek!
Nemes Nagy Ágnes: Ki ette meg a málnát? (reread)
Walter Crumbach: Sünöcske sétál (reread)
Günter Schmitt – Hanna Künzel: Fognyűvő Manócska
Some were really very short, some were even shorter, but I liked them anyway.:)
Also read some children books this year. I didn't want to list and number them here, because reading children books in my own language is really not such a big deal, so I'll only mention them here, after all they were also part of my reading year, 2010 (since August, 2010, actually):
Czeslaw Janczarski: Fülesmackó az óvodában
Czeslaw Janczarski: Fülesmackó kalandjai és vándorlásai
Farkas László: Sárkányvadászok kézikönyve
Fazekas Anna: Hercsula
Irene Geiling: A gesztenyefa
Nathan Kravetz: A más színű ló
Szepes Mária: Pöttyös Panni
Szepes Mária: Pöttyös Panni az óvodában
Szepes Mária: Pöttyös Panni és Kockás Peti naplója
Szepes Mária: Pöttyös Panni Hetedhétországban
Szepes Mária: Pöttyös Panni naplója
Janikovszky Éva: Felelj szépen, ha kérdeznek!
Nemes Nagy Ágnes: Ki ette meg a málnát? (reread)
Walter Crumbach: Sünöcske sétál (reread)
Günter Schmitt – Hanna Künzel: Fognyűvő Manócska
Some were really very short, some were even shorter, but I liked them anyway.:)
62billiejean
Three more really interesting book choices! I was especially interested to read about The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum as I had seen it on the 1001 list from 2006.
Are you going to start a new thread for 2011? I will start one in the 2011 75 Book Challenge Group. I will link it to my old thread. I definitely want to keep up with all the terrific books you are reading!
Happy New Year!
--BJ
Are you going to start a new thread for 2011? I will start one in the 2011 75 Book Challenge Group. I will link it to my old thread. I definitely want to keep up with all the terrific books you are reading!
Happy New Year!
--BJ
63readeron
Thanks for the good words, billiejean!
I think it's a good idea and I'll start a new thread for the new year now, because this was the first time I could achive my goal and finish 50 books by January, instead of reading them from August to August.:) Now I'm tryin to work out which challeng(es) to join this year,- somehow I wasn't too good at setting realistic goals so far in my several challenges.:) Hopefully I'll have more luck this year. I'll post a link to my 2011 thread once it's up and running. (I still have a book to write a post about as I just finished the collection of short stories by Böll on 31th Dec.)
I've found your new thread too and starred it! Can't wait to see what you read in 2011, too!:)
Happy New Year, BJ!
I think it's a good idea and I'll start a new thread for the new year now, because this was the first time I could achive my goal and finish 50 books by January, instead of reading them from August to August.:) Now I'm tryin to work out which challeng(es) to join this year,- somehow I wasn't too good at setting realistic goals so far in my several challenges.:) Hopefully I'll have more luck this year. I'll post a link to my 2011 thread once it's up and running. (I still have a book to write a post about as I just finished the collection of short stories by Böll on 31th Dec.)
I've found your new thread too and starred it! Can't wait to see what you read in 2011, too!:)
Happy New Year, BJ!
64readeron
#49 Szabad-ötletek jegyzéke by József Attila
97 pages
rating: How am I supposed to rate someone's therapy?
Ok, let's say it's 3 stars
I'm cheating a bit, actually I read this short piece of writing in October online, but didn't feel like commenting on it then. The poet wrote it all as a part of his therapy, but occasionally the fact that he was in love with his therapists shines through. The book also shows that J.A. lost his faith in the method he was being treated by (which is no wonder, the therapist admittedly also gave up on curing him by then, though unfortunately she didnt't tell it to the patient himself, I guess she considered their sessions some sort of mental placebo, which doesn't seem really ethical to me). Basically the book includes one of the greatest Hungarian poet's free associations. It's a very fast read but not for the faint hearted.
(The touchstones are messed up somehow, they don't work if I want to link the post only to the authors.)
#50 Doktor Murke összegyűjtött hallgatásai (Dr. Murke's Collected Silences) by Heinrich Böll (read in Hungarian)
335 pages
5 stars
A collection of 27 short stories and satires.
Contents:
- ("About myself"? - Some autobiographical stuff)
- Breaking the News ****
- The Man with the Knives *****
- Reunion on the Avenue ****
- The Train Was on Time ****
- That Time We Were in Odessa ***
- Stranger Bear Word to the Spartans We... ****
(aka Traveller, If You Come to Spa)
- At the Bridge *****
- Lohengrin's Death *****
- Business Is Business *****
- My Sad Face *****
- Adventures of a Haversack ***
- Black Sheep *****
- My Uncle Fred *****
- Christmas Not Just Once a Year *****
(a.k.a. Christmas Every Day)
- The Postcard ***
- The Laugher **** (reread)
- The Balek Scales *****
- Die unsterbliche Theodora *****
(Can't find this one in English anywhere)
- In the Land of the Rujuks *****
- This Is Tibten *****
- Unexpected Guests ****
- Like a Bad Dream *****
- In the Valley of the Thundering Hoofs *****
- The Railway Station of Zimpren *****
- Murke's Collected Silences *****
- Action Will Be Taken *****
- Bonn Diary *****
I plan to read more stories by the author. The majority of these stories and satires can be found in The Stories of Heinrich Böll. (It can be found by Google Book Search.) Probably, my favourite stories are The Railway Station of Zimpren and In the Land of the Rujuks.
"In choosing a representative story from Heinrich Böll's work, one is confronted with an embarrassment of wealth. There are various categories: tragic war stories, sketches of contemporary life, many and varied character studies, and much satire. For Böll's short stories belong to his earlier period, when the satirical strain was strong in him. It therefore seemed right to reprint one of his satirical pieces which shows his delightful sense of humor alive at a time when he felt deeply distressed by the state of his country and the world. (from Deutsche Erzählungen / German stories about The Railway Station of Zimpren)
"Heinrich Boll was a German soldier in WWII, and I presume these stories are based in parts on what he experienced. Mainly they deal with a sense of confusion, nostalgia and various forms of escapism during the war and the economic devastation that followed in Germany. Though you know Germans were the "bad guys" these stories are powerful and sometimes harrowing, and you find it hard not to feel for the characters, and be glad you're not in their shoes.
*Might add: there's certainly no sympathy for the Reich coming from this ex-soldier. When the NSPD is mentioned, usually the characters seem incapable and helpless to understand or describe why they're in war." /Andrew, goodreads, about The stories of Heinrich Böll/
"Böll's earliest works—such as his novella The Train Was on Time and his first short story collection, Wanderer, kommst du nach Spa . . . (Traveller, If You Come to Spa, 1950) — are set during World War II and focus on individuals who are confronted with an awareness of their own mortality and the senselessness of war. Although Böll's first published story "Breaking the News," is also set during the war, this piece introduces themes that would preoccupy Böll in his later works, particularly the sense of loss and guilt experienced by the German people following the war. "Nicht nur zur Weihnachzeit" ("Christmas Every Day," 1952), a satirical story often considered a classic work of postwar literature, similarly focuses on the problem of guilt in the postwar era, specifically the attempts of many Germans to deny that atrocities were committed during World War II. Much of Böll's short fiction also chronicles Germany's attempts to rebuild in the years after the war. In such stories as "Der Wegwerfer" ("The Thrower-Away") and "An der Brücke"—which lampoon capitalism, the work ethic, and Germany's Wirtschaftwunder, or economic miracle—the government creates inane jobs for its citizens in order to curb unemployment. Through his stark depiction of the economic hardships of postwar Germany Böll implies that individuals who are accustomed to being deprived of food, drink, and shelter are unable to move beyond their physical needs and engage in meaningful relationships.
Critical Reception
Because Böll was of Catholic ancestry and his fiction advocates individual rights and a return to Christian ethics, some critics have described him as a Catholic writer. Others have compared Böll to Hemingway and Kafka, referring favorably to his vivid but economical evocations of scenes and characters and to his sometimes nightmarish sense of satire. When Böll's writing is faulted, it is for the occasional clichéd story ending, or for being overly sentimental or reductive." /enotes/
"This book is an excellent introduction to Heinrich Boll's writing. It contains many excellent short stories, some of which reveal a delightfully humorous side of Boll, and several novellas, including 'The Train was on Time' and 'A Soldier's Legacy'. If you buy just one book by Heinrich Boll, make it this one. You will be well rewarded by the rich and varied collection found within." /A Costumer, Amazon, about The Stories of Heinrich Böll/
Can read more about Böll and his works in Deutsche Erzählungen / German stories. Found this bilingual anthology by Google Book Search, too.
Happy New Year, Everyone!
97 pages
rating: How am I supposed to rate someone's therapy?
Ok, let's say it's 3 stars
I'm cheating a bit, actually I read this short piece of writing in October online, but didn't feel like commenting on it then. The poet wrote it all as a part of his therapy, but occasionally the fact that he was in love with his therapists shines through. The book also shows that J.A. lost his faith in the method he was being treated by (which is no wonder, the therapist admittedly also gave up on curing him by then, though unfortunately she didnt't tell it to the patient himself, I guess she considered their sessions some sort of mental placebo, which doesn't seem really ethical to me). Basically the book includes one of the greatest Hungarian poet's free associations. It's a very fast read but not for the faint hearted.
(The touchstones are messed up somehow, they don't work if I want to link the post only to the authors.)
#50 Doktor Murke összegyűjtött hallgatásai (Dr. Murke's Collected Silences) by Heinrich Böll (read in Hungarian)
335 pages
5 stars
A collection of 27 short stories and satires.
Contents:
- ("About myself"? - Some autobiographical stuff)
- Breaking the News ****
- The Man with the Knives *****
- Reunion on the Avenue ****
- The Train Was on Time ****
- That Time We Were in Odessa ***
- Stranger Bear Word to the Spartans We... ****
(aka Traveller, If You Come to Spa)
- At the Bridge *****
- Lohengrin's Death *****
- Business Is Business *****
- My Sad Face *****
- Adventures of a Haversack ***
- Black Sheep *****
- My Uncle Fred *****
- Christmas Not Just Once a Year *****
(a.k.a. Christmas Every Day)
- The Postcard ***
- The Laugher **** (reread)
- The Balek Scales *****
- Die unsterbliche Theodora *****
(Can't find this one in English anywhere)
- In the Land of the Rujuks *****
- This Is Tibten *****
- Unexpected Guests ****
- Like a Bad Dream *****
- In the Valley of the Thundering Hoofs *****
- The Railway Station of Zimpren *****
- Murke's Collected Silences *****
- Action Will Be Taken *****
- Bonn Diary *****
I plan to read more stories by the author. The majority of these stories and satires can be found in The Stories of Heinrich Böll. (It can be found by Google Book Search.) Probably, my favourite stories are The Railway Station of Zimpren and In the Land of the Rujuks.
"In choosing a representative story from Heinrich Böll's work, one is confronted with an embarrassment of wealth. There are various categories: tragic war stories, sketches of contemporary life, many and varied character studies, and much satire. For Böll's short stories belong to his earlier period, when the satirical strain was strong in him. It therefore seemed right to reprint one of his satirical pieces which shows his delightful sense of humor alive at a time when he felt deeply distressed by the state of his country and the world. (from Deutsche Erzählungen / German stories about The Railway Station of Zimpren)
"Heinrich Boll was a German soldier in WWII, and I presume these stories are based in parts on what he experienced. Mainly they deal with a sense of confusion, nostalgia and various forms of escapism during the war and the economic devastation that followed in Germany. Though you know Germans were the "bad guys" these stories are powerful and sometimes harrowing, and you find it hard not to feel for the characters, and be glad you're not in their shoes.
*Might add: there's certainly no sympathy for the Reich coming from this ex-soldier. When the NSPD is mentioned, usually the characters seem incapable and helpless to understand or describe why they're in war." /Andrew, goodreads, about The stories of Heinrich Böll/
"Böll's earliest works—such as his novella The Train Was on Time and his first short story collection, Wanderer, kommst du nach Spa . . . (Traveller, If You Come to Spa, 1950) — are set during World War II and focus on individuals who are confronted with an awareness of their own mortality and the senselessness of war. Although Böll's first published story "Breaking the News," is also set during the war, this piece introduces themes that would preoccupy Böll in his later works, particularly the sense of loss and guilt experienced by the German people following the war. "Nicht nur zur Weihnachzeit" ("Christmas Every Day," 1952), a satirical story often considered a classic work of postwar literature, similarly focuses on the problem of guilt in the postwar era, specifically the attempts of many Germans to deny that atrocities were committed during World War II. Much of Böll's short fiction also chronicles Germany's attempts to rebuild in the years after the war. In such stories as "Der Wegwerfer" ("The Thrower-Away") and "An der Brücke"—which lampoon capitalism, the work ethic, and Germany's Wirtschaftwunder, or economic miracle—the government creates inane jobs for its citizens in order to curb unemployment. Through his stark depiction of the economic hardships of postwar Germany Böll implies that individuals who are accustomed to being deprived of food, drink, and shelter are unable to move beyond their physical needs and engage in meaningful relationships.
Critical Reception
Because Böll was of Catholic ancestry and his fiction advocates individual rights and a return to Christian ethics, some critics have described him as a Catholic writer. Others have compared Böll to Hemingway and Kafka, referring favorably to his vivid but economical evocations of scenes and characters and to his sometimes nightmarish sense of satire. When Böll's writing is faulted, it is for the occasional clichéd story ending, or for being overly sentimental or reductive." /enotes/
"This book is an excellent introduction to Heinrich Boll's writing. It contains many excellent short stories, some of which reveal a delightfully humorous side of Boll, and several novellas, including 'The Train was on Time' and 'A Soldier's Legacy'. If you buy just one book by Heinrich Boll, make it this one. You will be well rewarded by the rich and varied collection found within." /A Costumer, Amazon, about The Stories of Heinrich Böll/
Can read more about Böll and his works in Deutsche Erzählungen / German stories. Found this bilingual anthology by Google Book Search, too.
Happy New Year, Everyone!
65billiejean
I will be watching for your new thread. Happy Reading in 2011!
--BJ
--BJ
66readeron
Thanks, billiejean! Same wishes for You and everyone!:)
I've been reading real slowly these weeks, plus I kept having problems with my computer, so it took quite a lot of time to make up my mind and start the new thread. Finally, I've finished a book (or two) and, in the meantime, hopefully finished fixing my computer as well, so I can breathe easy again.:)
To put it briefly, here comes the link to my new thread:
http://www.librarything.com/topic/107834
I've been reading real slowly these weeks, plus I kept having problems with my computer, so it took quite a lot of time to make up my mind and start the new thread. Finally, I've finished a book (or two) and, in the meantime, hopefully finished fixing my computer as well, so I can breathe easy again.:)
To put it briefly, here comes the link to my new thread:
http://www.librarything.com/topic/107834
