Sudacafan
Bionic Poster
Bolaño is one of the greatest. Too bad he died young at 50.
Los detectives salvajes is another of his best novels. Don’t know the English translation of that title.
What book are you reading?
- Thread starter Morpheus
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Los detectives salvajes is another of his best novels. Don’t know the English translation of that title.
Azure
G.O.A.T.
2666 is my first from Bolano. I don't know if I am going to like his style. If I do, I will check out his other books. Thanks for the recco. I will check it out
Vcore89
Talk Tennis Guru
Northern
Hall of Fame
I haven't even watched the film (that one or the Kubrick one.) Interesting that the actress's name is Swain, I first encountered that word ("swain") while reading Lolita a few days ago.Done with the film which stars Ralph Fiennes and Dominique Swain?
The second still is outlandish, nowhere in the novel does it suggest Lolita is lying in the grass with a wet dress. But it's hard to translate a novel like it to the screen, so I guess some licenses can be taken.
By the way, I think that's Jeremy Irons, not Ralph Fiennes.
Vcore89
Talk Tennis Guru
Indeed, it is.
Northern
Hall of Fame
I quit reading last year
Northern
Hall of Fame
I'm in the middle of reading "The War of the Worlds," I should be done tomorrow. I am really surprised at the level (from a literary point of view) of H.G. Welles. I had never sought to read anything of his because I had a misplaced notion that he was just a writer of popular fiction stories without much in the way of literary talent, but how wrong I was!
And how was I dissuaded? Yep. Nabokov.
But I should have known earlier. Many years ago when that movie came out in the theaters with Tom Cruise I went with some school friends to see it in a weekend matinee session, and I vaguely remember the narrated introduction and recall thinking it was very well done, well, it turns out that it's taken from the novel itself (maybe adapted.)
And how was I dissuaded? Yep. Nabokov.
But I should have known earlier. Many years ago when that movie came out in the theaters with Tom Cruise I went with some school friends to see it in a weekend matinee session, and I vaguely remember the narrated introduction and recall thinking it was very well done, well, it turns out that it's taken from the novel itself (maybe adapted.)
TennisHound
Legend
Just finished “the Memory Man” by David Baldacci. Excellent, couldn’t put it down.
Genious at Work
G.O.A.T.
I just finished Heart of Darkness. It is very good, but I found it a little overbearing. The style is elegant but... yeah, overbearing is the word for me. Some people say that because Joseph Conrad only learned English in his 20s this lends some strange quality to his writing, but I'm not sure I understand that point in a way which I can quantify. It's elegant writing, and his descriptions are amazing. The way he drives descriptions based on light and sound to create tension is surreal at points, and some characterizations are very disquieting. But still I found it overbearing (yes, I said that a few times already.) The meaning of the book is a little muddled for me also. Is Kurtz supposed to be a metaphor for Colonial Europe, is Marlow's character supposed to be an alter ego for Conrad? Hard to not see the obvious similarities.
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Sudacafan
Bionic Poster
So you did a Fahrenheit 451?
LordGoolbis
New User
Brief update about the last month and a half:
-Diamond Square by Mercè Rodoreda: solid book, somewhat reminiscent of Clarice Lispector's early work
-Les dones de la Principal by Lluis Llach: i had zero expectations so it surprised me a lot, a decent crime novel with loads of irony
-Mecanoscrit del segon origen by Manuel de Pedrolo: not a fan
-L'automobile, la nostalgia e l'infinito by Antonio Tabucchi: a brief and enjoyable essay collection about Fernando Pessoa. Great stuff
-Romantic lie & romanesque truth by René Girard: quite interesting, i don't share some of Girard views but whatever
-The Theory of The Novel by Gyorgy Lukacs: ditto
Currently reading:
-Quaresma, Decifrador by Fernando Pessoa
-The Murders in the Rue Morgue: The Dupin Tales by Edgar Allan Poe
Genious at Work
G.O.A.T.
I'm in the middle of reading The Turn of the Screw by Henry James, and I am not enjoying the writing style very much. It has overly long sentences with multiple parts and lots of commas. The way ideas are expressed is convoluted sometimes, and often there are superfluous things added in for no apparent reason (thinks like "should I say," "that was plainly apparent to me," and stuff like that.) I liked Conrad style much more, it was much more elegant. I feel the style is too ponderous and gets in the way, although I can see the artistry. It's not appealing to me I guess. James also uses adjectives very, very sparsely
Azure
G.O.A.T.
I have read the book and I like the story but I share your sentiment about Henry James. Extremely long and convoluted sentences.
Genious at Work
G.O.A.T.
Thank you for confirming that Henry James doesn't have universal appeal. It shouldn't be a chore to extricate meaning from a sentence. Conrad also can write in long sentences and it can also get tiring after a while, but in comparison his style is much more fluid and elegant. James's use of commas is driving me insane. Also, I don't see the beauty in the language itself I saw in Conrad.
Sudacafan
Bionic Poster
Agree with your 2666 opinion. I read it like 10 years ago. Strangely engaging. Many good books need not be page turners.
Azure
G.O.A.T.
One of my favs. Enjoy!
Dedans Penthouse
Legend
"Sureshs Confidential"
https://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/ind...-tribute-thread.527002/page-521#post-13451538
I'm devouring this book - can't put it down..
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https://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/ind...-tribute-thread.527002/page-521#post-13451538
I'm devouring this book - can't put it down..
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Sysyphus
Talk Tennis Guru
stumbled across this one in the library yesterday. A captivating story that raises some mystifying questions by way of thought-experiment. And of course, Bioy manages a very poetic tragic effect toward the end (of which I won't say more). The kinship with Borges shines through in terms of both form and content. Thank you for the heads-up
***
Earlier I read the Ian Fleming short story collection For Your Eyes Only. The James Bond films have charmed me since I was a kid, so I wanted to see what the source material was like. The stories are only tangentially related to the movies by the same name, and it's hardly high literature. Still, a few of the stories are entertaining enough. More than anything, it serves as an amusing time-capsule of the last days of British colonialism and the general attitudes and outlook of the time (e.g., a certain pinch of misogyny).
Genious at Work
G.O.A.T.
I finally finished The Turn of the Screw the other day and it was a huge relief. I'm not saying that Henry James didn't have talent. He obviously does, but his style can be (to me) completely disgusting. Sometimes he forgets his style and he gifts you with a beautiful image or something like that, but he is encumbered in such a way by his style that reading him has been a challenge. I sought some opinions online, and even some notorious critics in the past have mentioned that his writing is devoid of life. I wouldn't say it is absolutely devoid of life, but rather that it is removed from the freshness of life, that because the life contained within is trammeled in an inaccessible, convoluted style, and because it revolves around obsessive accounts of the main characters' inner thoughts, the whole thing feel like a collection of thought specimens floating in formaldehyde.
To wash that bad taste I am re-reading The Great Gatsby (which I already read last year) and I am appreciating it much more the second time around.
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Genious at Work
G.O.A.T.
For a few reasons. First, because The Great Gatsby is about as different a style as I can think of from Henry James. Second, because it is a very quick read. I am a slow reader, but it will take me two leisurely days to read it. And third, because it is worth it. You can't possibly retain or even appreciate a novel (at least one like The Great Gastby) with one read.Read the former as an undergrad. Buried in the archives at this point.
Read the latter in hs. Enjoy Fitzgerald's writing. The mystique of Jay Gatsby remains strong for me.
Curious about your re-read of the second title. With nearly infinite options, why go back to the well? Is this something you do regularly with your reads for a fuller take? Part of why I'm interested in your approach is because for quite some time I've made a conscious effort to avoid duplication with books and movies, alike.
To your objection, I'll say that I see no issue with multiple readings as long as they are not done too close together or lead to obsessive hashing. Reading a good novel multiple times is something I don't have any problem doing, just as I have no problem listening to music more than once or watching a good movie multiple times. As long as you are getting something fruitful out of it, it is worth it for me.
I forgot to mention that depending on what state of mind you are in, or what things are going on in your life, or even the season of the year you read a book, it might resonate differently with you also. For example, the first time reading The Great Gatsby I remember thinking that it was superficial and overrated, but for whatever reason (whether the fact that I am being more watchful of elements in the novel that defy my former idea of it, or because I'm simply getting more out of it this second time) I don't quite feel that way this time. I don't see Gatsby's wealth and his aspirations as the result of materialistic goals, but rather seem to me now as the side effect of an idealistic pursuit. In any case, I'm getting much more out of it now. It's beautifully written also.
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Genious at Work
G.O.A.T.
Yes, I understand not doing that if it's just for efficiency's sake. But I don't read for efficiency, just for pleasure. The fact I am deriving much more pleasure from reading the book the second time vindicates my approach as it regards my intention. Also, reading a book is a much more reflective process than listening to a song, and it demands more from the reader, which means that the reader also gets more (hopefully a good reader will at least.)
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Genious at Work
G.O.A.T.
But what you want to get from a book for the purpose of improving your craft is not superficial stuff, it is things that require multiple readings and reflection. Unless you are able to grasp an author's subtleties in one reading, which I can't.
For your purpose, when dealing with particularly challenging books I guess you can also use critical editions, but something about that bothers me (like watching a magic trick with someone dissecting and commenting it on the side.) Though some books may require that approach due to obscure allusions and things like that.
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Sysyphus
Talk Tennis Guru
"Would you rather read Henry James or be crushed to death by a great weight?"
— Lawrence Durrell
Gatsby should definitely help you reset your literary palate to more pleasant notes. Fitzgerald writes some of the best English prose I've read, so lusciously lyrical with his pen. While it's less tight and not as unanimously revered as Gatsby, I personally found Tender is the Night to be powerful as well. (Fitzgerald himself deemed it his strongest effort.) Reading it while traveling the French Riviera added an extra layer to the experience as the story took place in many of the same locations.
Mike Bulgakov
G.O.A.T.
As a young man, Hunter S. Thompson typed out "The Great Gatsby" in its entirety to see what it feels like to write like F. Scott Fitzgerald.
Azure
G.O.A.T.
Cool, do you know which beach the second pic is from? Looks beautiful!As a young man, Hunter S. Thompson typed out "The Great Gatsby" in its entirety to see what it feels like to write like F. Scott Fitzgerald.
Mike Bulgakov
G.O.A.T.
It's from Big Sur, which is just south of Carmel. If you keep driving south down the coast, you'll pass the Tennis Warehouse realms in a few hours, then L.A., and eventually reach the Mira Mesa Maestro for a tennis lesson.
Azure
G.O.A.T.
Beautiful. Haven't had the fortune to explore that bit of the world. Are the beaches here calm? I mean are these surf beaches? It looks a bit- a teeny bit like the Mediterranean coastline.It's from Big Sur, which is just south of Carmel. If you keep driving south down the coast, you'll pass the Tennis Warehouse realms in a few hours, then L.A., and eventually reach the Mira Mesa Maestro for a tennis lesson.
Sysyphus
Talk Tennis Guru
Finished George Saunders' Lincoln in the Bardo, which I started a while back but let rest for a while during exam time and so on. So, what to say about this strange book?
"Lincoln in the Bardo is part-historical novel, part-carnivalesque phantasmagoria."
"… a divisively odd book bound either to dazzle or alienate readers ... This is a book that confounds our expectations of what a novel should look and sound like. It seems at first a clever clip-job, an extended series of brief quotations from letters, diaries, newspaper articles, personal testimonies and later scholars, each one meticulously attributed."
"But before long, these biographical and historical sources – some of which appear genuine, others fictional – are overcrowded by a choir of ghosts, who form a mosaic of delirious voices. These are the residents of the Bardo, an assemblage of dead people who, for various reasons that are illuminated in the story, are unwilling to complete their journeys into the afterlife, choosing instead to linger in this limbo, near their physical remains in the cemetery."
"Not dead, merely ill, having per the advice of my physician retreated for a period of convalescence in my ... sick-box."
"The Vajrayana (Tantric) Buddhism that emerged in Central Asia and particularly in Tibet developed the concept of the bardos, the intermediate or transitional states that mark an individual’s life from birth to death and rebirth."
"[Saunders' Bardo] is not a straightforwardly Tibetan bardo, in which souls are destined for release or rebirth. It is a sort of syncretic limbo which has much in common with the Catholic purgatory."
"The Lincoln who finds himself in the Bardo is Willie, the beloved 11-year-old son of president Abraham Lincoln. Willie, struck by illness, dies in the midst of the American Civil war, and the novel chronicles the president's grief over this loss."
"On at least two occasions – and this is the germ of historical fact from which Saunders has spun his extraordinary story – the president visits the crypt at night, where he sits over the body and mourns."
"In the midst of the Civil War, saying farewell to one son foreshadows all those impending farewells to sons, the hundreds of thousands of those who will fall in the battlefields. The stakes grow, from our heavenly vantage, for we are talking about not just the ghostly residents of a few acres, but the citizens of a nation — in the graveyard’s slaves and slavers, drunkards and priests, soldiers of doomed regiments, suicides and virgins, are assembled a country."
"At a time when his office is held by a monstrous buffoon, there’s enormous power in this image of the noble, broken, moral president, who wrests such a brave message from his son’s life and death: 'Love, love, I know what you are.'"
"The sum of all of this has been enough to elicit rapturous praise from the critics and garner a Man Booker Prize. Nonetheless, the experimental, fragmented form has ineluctably led to a divided popular opinion as pertains to the book's merits. In its best moments, Saunders unfolds a haunting poetic fervor when he lets his tormented spirits lament the worldly wonders they have left behind, a reminder for us readers to cherish those gifts while we still may."
"… a wondrous gift, the gift of being allowed, every day, to wander this vast sensual paradise, this grand marketplace lovingly stocked with every sublime thing: swarms of insects dancing in slant-rays of August sun; a trio of black horses standing hock-deep and head-to-head in a field of snow; a waft of beef broth arriving breeze-borne from an orange-hued window on a chill autumn—"
"[But] the supernatural chatter can grow tedious at times — the novel would have benefited immensely from some judicious pruning."
"Nonetheless, a book which one is happy to have read, if for nothing more than to expand the boundaries of one's perception of what a novel can be."
"Lincoln in the Bardo is part-historical novel, part-carnivalesque phantasmagoria."
– A. Preston, The Financial Times
"… a divisively odd book bound either to dazzle or alienate readers ... This is a book that confounds our expectations of what a novel should look and sound like. It seems at first a clever clip-job, an extended series of brief quotations from letters, diaries, newspaper articles, personal testimonies and later scholars, each one meticulously attributed."
– R. Charles, The Washington Post
"But before long, these biographical and historical sources – some of which appear genuine, others fictional – are overcrowded by a choir of ghosts, who form a mosaic of delirious voices. These are the residents of the Bardo, an assemblage of dead people who, for various reasons that are illuminated in the story, are unwilling to complete their journeys into the afterlife, choosing instead to linger in this limbo, near their physical remains in the cemetery."
– Apocryphal account of a TTW poster
"Not dead, merely ill, having per the advice of my physician retreated for a period of convalescence in my ... sick-box."
– hans vollman
"The Vajrayana (Tantric) Buddhism that emerged in Central Asia and particularly in Tibet developed the concept of the bardos, the intermediate or transitional states that mark an individual’s life from birth to death and rebirth."
– M. Stefon, Britannica
"[Saunders' Bardo] is not a straightforwardly Tibetan bardo, in which souls are destined for release or rebirth. It is a sort of syncretic limbo which has much in common with the Catholic purgatory."
– H. Kunzru, The Guardian
"The Lincoln who finds himself in the Bardo is Willie, the beloved 11-year-old son of president Abraham Lincoln. Willie, struck by illness, dies in the midst of the American Civil war, and the novel chronicles the president's grief over this loss."
– Apocryphal account of a TTW poster
"On at least two occasions – and this is the germ of historical fact from which Saunders has spun his extraordinary story – the president visits the crypt at night, where he sits over the body and mourns."
– Kunzru, op. cit.
"In the midst of the Civil War, saying farewell to one son foreshadows all those impending farewells to sons, the hundreds of thousands of those who will fall in the battlefields. The stakes grow, from our heavenly vantage, for we are talking about not just the ghostly residents of a few acres, but the citizens of a nation — in the graveyard’s slaves and slavers, drunkards and priests, soldiers of doomed regiments, suicides and virgins, are assembled a country."
– C. Whitehead, The New York Times Book Review
"At a time when his office is held by a monstrous buffoon, there’s enormous power in this image of the noble, broken, moral president, who wrests such a brave message from his son’s life and death: 'Love, love, I know what you are.'"
– A. Preston, op. cit.
"The sum of all of this has been enough to elicit rapturous praise from the critics and garner a Man Booker Prize. Nonetheless, the experimental, fragmented form has ineluctably led to a divided popular opinion as pertains to the book's merits. In its best moments, Saunders unfolds a haunting poetic fervor when he lets his tormented spirits lament the worldly wonders they have left behind, a reminder for us readers to cherish those gifts while we still may."
– Apocryphal account of a TTW poster
"… a wondrous gift, the gift of being allowed, every day, to wander this vast sensual paradise, this grand marketplace lovingly stocked with every sublime thing: swarms of insects dancing in slant-rays of August sun; a trio of black horses standing hock-deep and head-to-head in a field of snow; a waft of beef broth arriving breeze-borne from an orange-hued window on a chill autumn—"
– roger bevins iii
"[But] the supernatural chatter can grow tedious at times — the novel would have benefited immensely from some judicious pruning."
– M. Kakutani, The New York Times
"Nonetheless, a book which one is happy to have read, if for nothing more than to expand the boundaries of one's perception of what a novel can be."
– Apocryphal account of a TTW poster
Mike Bulgakov
G.O.A.T.
The photo is deceptive as it's from quite high. The size of waves in California can vary greatly even at nearby beaches, depending on the terrain near the break. Mavericks is less than 150 miles north of Big Sur if you want truly big waves.
In San Diego, Del Mar has very gentle waves compared to Black's Beach a few miles south.
To stay on topic, here's a book on California surfing that I have never read:
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Azure
G.O.A.T.
And that's where this forum's greatest poster is from
Thanks for the share.
Genious at Work
G.O.A.T.
I think I remember that quote from Durrell. I don't think I will attack James ("attack" in the sense of "undertake") again any time soon. I wonder if there is any benefit in reading a writer whose style seems to be so discordant with my sensibilities. While there are some good qualities even I can appreciate, I don't see the purpose of going through the ordeal, but maybe I'm wrong? Is there a reasoning in art equivalent to the notion that while broccoli might not be tasteful it is actually good for you?
Thank you for your recommendation of Tender is the Night, I will put it in my list. I imagine reading it "on location" surely added an additional sheen to the experience!
I just finished The Great Gatsby and it is hard to understand how it's possible to feel so differently about it than I felt upon the first reading. It is a beautiful and poignant book. The superficiality that I couldn't get through in my first reading basically disolved or transfigured into something else. An observation is that I realized in the second reading that in the framed narrative structure (Nick Carraway) being the first person narrator with some omniscient narrator overtones at different points often seems to anticipate that same objection from the reader, and he even identifies with that attitude sporadically (even saying that he hadn't felt anything but contempt for Gatsby up to some point in the novel.)
As far as the writing itself there is so much skill and beauty in it. I had to go back after reading some passages and read them a few more times simply because of the beautiful way they are written. It is unfortunate that Fitzgerald died alcoholic and without enjoying the recognition of his work, and so young. I wonder what masterpieces were left unwritten by his early departure.
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Genious at Work
G.O.A.T.
The size of waves in California depends a lot on Sureshsian activity, yes. You moistly want to avoid Surinamis at all cost.The photo is deceptive as it's from quite high. The size of waves in California can vary greatly even at nearby beaches, depending on the terrain near the break. Mavericks is less than 150 miles north of Big Sur if you want truly big waves.
In San Diego, Del Mar has very gentle waves compared to Black's Beach a few miles south.
To stay on topic, here's a book on California surfing that I have never read:
Genious at Work
G.O.A.T.
I don't know. I guess I'm just a slow reader. I like to savor what I read and go back and re-read parts that I like, and stuff like that. I also like to pause a little and think. I don't believe I would be able to read a book very fast and then analyze it. I figure that if it takes an author 2 years to write a relatively short novel like The Great Gatsby and it takes me 2 days to read it at a leisurely pace it's not too bad. I'm not interested in reading a vast amount of books, just in picking a number of books I can get things out of and try to get as much as I can from them.
But it sounds like maybe you are in the field of literature and a writer yourself, and if you are I can understand that your reading will have a more analytical slant and you will be able to comprehend things faster.
Anyway, next I'm either going to read Faherenheit 451 or Blood Meridian.
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