What are you currently reading?

Started by facehugger, April 07, 2007, 12:36:10 AM

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SimonNZ and 9 Guests are viewing this topic.

j winter

First time reading Anna Kerenina, after tackling War and Peace last year.  I am continually amazed at how good Tolstoy is at fully rendering his characters in just a few quick strokes, and at the sheer writerly craft of it, which is doubly impressive considering that I'm reading it in translation.  Part of me is sorry that I've waited so long to tackle Tolstoy, but another part of me thinks that I probably wouldn't have appreciated it back in college, at least not in the same way.



The man that hath no music in himself,
Nor is not moved with concord of sweet sounds,
Is fit for treasons, stratagems, and spoils.
The motions of his spirit are dull as night,
And his affections dark as Erebus.
Let no such man be trusted.

-- William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice

Florestan

Quote from: j winter on September 27, 2022, 10:18:36 AM
Part of me is sorry that I've waited so long to tackle Tolstoy, but another part of me thinks that I probably wouldn't have appreciated it back in college, at least not in the same way.

Agreed. There are certain writers who cannot be fully appreciated until one lives through certain life experiences which are naturally not accessible to teenagers and young adults.
Every kind of music is good, except the boring kind. — Rossini

Mandryka



Sometimes it's just obvious that you are reading a major masterpiece of world literature. That's the case with The Bear. Falkner's got style, and he's got idea.
Wovon man nicht sprechen kann, darüber muss man schweigen

Dry Brett Kavanaugh


Mandryka

#12124
Quote from: Mandryka on September 27, 2022, 01:51:04 PM


Sometimes it's just obvious that you are reading a major masterpiece of world literature. That's the case with The Bear. Falkner's got style, and he's got idea.

I just think, having now finished it, including the difficult last part, that it's probably impossible for a Brit to understand Faulkner -- the North/South, White/Black/Indian, untamed wilderness/railroad and town is just so different here. But there is one thing which seems at the heart of the matter and which seems shared in the cultures -- the challenge of breaking free from the past, from ghosts, from traditions.

What should I read next -- the rest of Go Down Moses or should I start on The Hamlet? What about Light in August? I've Read The Sound and The Fury, Absolom, Absolom and As I lay Dying.

For those who know it, there's a particularly memorable moment for me when Ike, aged about 10, divests himself of all the accoutrements of civilisation -- no gun, no compass, no knife etc -- and goes deep into the forest to try to see the bear, Old Ben.

Anyway I think a great author, even if a bit politically incorrect -- and an author very little known here.
Wovon man nicht sprechen kann, darüber muss man schweigen

vers la flamme

Quote from: Mandryka on October 03, 2022, 10:05:29 AM
I just think, having now finished it, including the difficult last part, that it's probably impossible for a Brit to understand Faulkner -- the North/South, White/Black/Indian, untamed wilderness/railroad and town is just so different here. But there is one thing which seems at the heart of the matter and which seems shared in the cultures -- the challenge of breaking free from the past, from ghosts, from traditions.

What should I read next -- the rest of Go Down Moses or should I start on The Hamlet? What about Light in August? I've Read The Sound and The Fury, Absolom, Absolom and As I lay Dying.

Anyway I think a great author, even if a bit politically incorrect -- and an author very little known here.

My vote is definitely for Light in August. That book blew me away when I read it last year (in August, in fact). You've piqued my interest about The Bear.

Mandryka

#12126
Quote from: vers la flamme on October 03, 2022, 10:09:24 AM
My vote is definitely for Light in August. That book blew me away when I read it last year (in August, in fact). You've piqued my interest about The Bear.

Well The Bear is part of Go Down Moses, and maybe should be read in that context. It is a tremendous thing though! I'd be interested to know whether you get a good intuitive sympathetic understanding about what's going on in the hunt, the ritual of it.

Are you a southerner? Have you ever been hunting bears?
Wovon man nicht sprechen kann, darüber muss man schweigen

vers la flamme

Quote from: Mandryka on October 03, 2022, 10:11:25 AM
Well The Bear is part of Go Down Moses, and maybe should be read in that context. It is a tremendous thing though! I'd be interested to know whether you get a good intuitive sympathetic understanding about what's going on in the hunt, the ritual of it.

Are you a southerner? Have you ever been hunting bears?

Yep I'm a southern boy from Florida. We only hunt gators.

The Bear seems to have had a life outside of Go Down Moses, and was also published as part of this thing:



... but maybe I'll just read Go Down Moses.

Mandryka

My advice is to just buy the cheapest Bear you can find, and if it whets your appetite to delve a bit more into what this hunt and wilderness and ritual and railroad can possibly mean for Faulkner, and what Chapter 4 is about, then I guess explore the other stories in Go Down Moses.
Wovon man nicht sprechen kann, darüber muss man schweigen

Spotted Horses

I am a big admirer of Faulkner and Go Down Moses and particularly The Bear is something I need to return to. I read it very early in my exploration of Faulkner and found it impenetrable.
There are simply two kinds of music, good music and the other kind. - Duke Ellington

The new erato

I have read a couple of novels by Jenny Erpenbeck recently. Very powerful stuff with a strong connection to central European history.

Dry Brett Kavanaugh

Michel de Montaigne: Accidental Philosopher. Ann Hartle. Fun read!




Mirror Image

Currently reading through some of this book:


aligreto

Anhalzer: Ecuador Panoramas





This book contains wonderfully atmospheric panoramic photographs of the highlands of Ecuador. The texts also explain how the images were taken along with a lot of other illuminating information.

aligreto

Quote from: SimonNZ on September 25, 2022, 06:18:31 PM



Does it say inside on the copyright page if that slim Penguin 60s selection is taken from the larger Italian Journey? Or are the letters something separate?



Yes, it says that these selections are taken from Italian Journey. This in turn would make me curious to read Italian Journey. Thank you for pointing that out.

Ganondorf



aligreto

Kiely: A Cow In The House & Other Stories





This collection of short stories tells of everyday life, young love and lust and all of this with the backdrop of the historical Northern Ireland conflict in the background. It tells all of this, however, with quick wit and quirky Irish humour. The various characters are very human, readily understandable and one can easily relate to them. The writing style is very easy to read; it is almost of the storyteller ilk. One can almost hear Kiely sitting beside you recounting, in his mellifluous tones, a host of stories and tales to you.

Mandryka

#12138


The Bear is written in what people call Faulkner's Stream of Eloquence style, where an anonymous voice takes control. I read that Red Leaves is the summit of this style so . . . .
Wovon man nicht sprechen kann, darüber muss man schweigen

Dry Brett Kavanaugh