What are you currently reading?

[steve ridgway]

In Gorbachev's time, 3 or 4 of de Sade's Russian translations were published. I tried reading, and probably even read something in its entirety. Most likely, simply because a year or two before that such publications were unthinkable. I also read Solzhenitsyn or Hitler then simply because they had not been published before. I wouldn't reread any of the above now. Well, maybe Mein Kampf, the parts where he talks about the Russians seem to be quite accurate.

Apparently one of the legal requirements for a wedding in Nazi Germany was that a copy of Mein Kampf be presented to the happy couple. For which Adolf got the royalties 🤑.

[pjme]

, I've gotten myself very curious to read Sade's works after reading some of Camille Paglia's Sexual Personae

I read several  - Juliette, Justine, les 120 journées ....I remember throwing away Les 120 journées in real disgust. I never felt inclined to do more research on sadism or coprophilia....

Some of the short stories did make me smile, however.

the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historiettes,_Contes_et_Fabliaux

Back to Canetti ( autobiographical, his youth in Bulgaria, Zürich, Manchester, Vienna) and some short stories by Pirandello. My sister, who reads italian, suggested Grazia Deledda (Nobel prize 1929). I hope to find a translation.

[Brian]

It seems to me that the question of what is better, a book or a film based on a book, is not quite correct. Each format has its own advantages that are not available to the other format. Rather, we can talk about great films that have eclipsed books. For example, The Godfather, Metropolis, The Shawshank Redemption. Hitchcock's films - Rear Window, Vertigo, Psycho, etc.

I recently read an insightful comment on the book/film divide. The comment was that the best film adaptations are of books where you are not allowed an especially detailed glimpse in the characters' innermost thoughts and feelings, and the reader instead is held at arm's length. The film is then able to achieve depth of characterization through other means.

[T. D.]

I read several  - Juliette, Justine, les 120 journées ....I remember throwing away Les 120 journées in real disgust. I never felt inclined to do more research on sadism or coprophilia....Some of the short stories did make me smile.

the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historiettes,_Contes_et_Fabliaux

Back to Canetti ( autobiographical, his youth in Bulgaria, Zürich, Manchester, Vienna) and some short stories by Pirandello. My sister, who reads italian, suggested Grazia Deledda (Nobel prize 1929). I hope to find a translation.

Canetti! I very much enjoyed Auto-da-Fé and Crowds and Power.
Do you recommend his memoirs? They run to three volumes, so I'm a bit hesitant.

[pjme]

I greatly enjoyed part one of his auto biography "Die gerettete Zunge" / "The tongue set free". I was amazed at the amount of detail he was able to remind, the complexity of his relationship with his (widowed) mother... the "turbulations" of an all to clever pupil.
I definitely hope to find part 2 & 3 .
Crowds and power is lying next to my bed and looks increasingly forbidding....

Two composers turn up very briefly in The tongue set free:

Busoni, in Zürich
"He had a very lovely white head of hair, walked erect and absent-mindedly; he walked a short piece, halted, looked around for something, and changed his direction. He had a St. Bernard dog, which he often called to: 'Dschoddo, come to Papa!'  Sometimes the St. Bernard came, sometimes it ran further away; that was what Papa was looking for. But no sooner had he found it than he forgot it again and was as absent-minded as before.  His frequent call made children laugh, but they didn't laugh in his presence for he had something commanding respect as he peered straight ahead, tall and proud and not noticing anyone.  It was Busoni.  And his dog, as I found out only much later, was named Giotto.  All the children in the neighborhood talked about him, but not as Busoni, for they knew nothing about him, they called him 'Dschoddo-come-to-Papa!'"
 
Karl Goldmark, in Vienna:
 "Einen Stock tiefer, genau unter uns, wohnte der Komponist Karl Goldmark, ein kleiner, zarter Mann mit schöngescheitelten, weißen Haaren zu beiden Seiten seines dunklen Gesichts. (...)"

One floor down, right below us, lived the composer Karl Goldmark, a small, delicate man with beautifully parted white hair on either side of his dark face. (...)

[T. D.]

Thanks. I never know with memoirs, as they can sometimes be overly wordy.
I noticed there's a large English book with all three volumes.

I had Crowds and Power unread on the shelf for years because I found it intimidating. But once I started, it was not as difficult a read as expected.

[Florestan]

If well-written, cultural history can be as exciting and page-turning as a well-written adventure novel or whodunit.

[Brian]

If well-written, cultural history can be as exciting and page-turning as a well-written adventure novel or whodunit.

Jacques Barzun had a farewell to public life that all of us can aspire to someday enjoy. Shortly before his death at age 104, the local symphony orchestra staged a special public concert in his honor, featuring his favorite works by the composer on whom he was an expert, Berlioz.

https://www.mysanantonio.com/entertainment/music-stage/article/in-the-spotlight-honoring-expert-on-berlioz-3557449.php

[vers la flamme]

If well-written, cultural history can be as exciting and page-turning as a well-written adventure novel or whodunit.

There's been a copy of this book at my local thrift shop for months. Maybe I'll pick it up.

[SimonNZ]

If well-written, cultural history can be as exciting and page-turning as a well-written adventure novel or whodunit.

And I've had that sitting on the shelves unread for far too long. Will try to get to it soon.

[vers la flamme]

This relatively brief Beethoven bio:



... by Edmund Morris, better known as a biographer of US presidents. So far so good, though I really want to read a more substantial biography. Going through a rather obsessive Beethoven phase right now.

[pjme]

You could try Jan Caeyers biography



"This biography of a musician, written by a musician, becomes music itself. It literally resonates. And it is enjoyable and moving to listen to--as informative as it is entertaining."--Gerhard Stadelmaier, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung

"In a pleasantly analytical way, Caeyers questions many of the clichés of the commercial literature on Beethoven."--Wolfram Goertz, Die Zeit

"An extremely readable study, composed in the present for the present . . . . It is amazing how in a much-grazed field like Beethoven, a biography can come along and bring completely new insights into its topic through clarity, lack of prejudice, and rigor."--Kai Luehrs-Kaiser, Die Welt

"Jan Caeyers has written a major book on Beethoven . . . that doesn't require any specialist historical or musical knowledge. In addition, the author, a highly regarded performer of Beethoven, is able to create a particular closeness with his subject. He achieves a vibrant portrait of the composer, his contemporaries, and society in provincial Bonn and the metropolis of Vienna."--Tobias Schwartz, Märkische Allgemeine

"With both profound knowledge and a lively narrative, Caeyers has achieved a comprehensive biography that captivates emotionally."--A. Gerth, Operapoint

"Caeyers's command of the vast scholarship on this iconic composer is impressive."--Stephen Hinton, Stanford University