What are you currently reading?

[André]

I haven't read Joseph and His Brothers. Is it enjoyable read even for atheist readers?

I don't know if I'll get into trouble with the Wall Street Journal, but here is an extract of an article I found on the book:

Anyone with the least literary pretensions has read one or another work by Thomas Mann. Some will have read "Buddenbrooks," his saga about a Baltic German mercantile family as its energy peters out; others, "The Magic Mountain," that most philosophical of novels, set in a tuberculosis sanitarium in Switzerland. One is likely to have encountered the novella "Death in Venice," or one of his many splendid short stories. But not many people, I suspect, will have read "Joseph and His Brothers," his 1,207-page tetralogy of rich and rewarding complexity.

I, a man of extravagant literary pretensions, had not read it until recently. Fifteen or so years ago, I made a run at it, but hit the wall roughly at page 60. What goaded me to take another shot was finding a clean copy at a used-book store. What I discovered is a true masterpiece of a most extraordinary kind. Not the least unusual thing about this vastly ambitious work is that Mann chose to tell a story that everyone already knows (...)

(the rest: https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10000872396390443343704577551340231008030)

I think it's a fine description of what can happen if you attempt to read it: block or enter its uniquely alluring archaeological-historical-biblical world and get hooked. There is nothing religious about the tone or subject matter. It's a tale of human relations, from envy to lust, from deception to cunning, from vanity to keeping the moral high ground - all through a series of loosely interrelated stories. The very definition of a human saga.

God is never mentioned in the book. Monotheism was but a mere concept in those far away times, confusingly glimpsed by the main actors - from Abraham to Isaac, Jacob and Joseph - but they all relied more on their own cunning and intelligence to get through tough situations. In the case of Joseph, a combination of unabashed vanity to sheer luck and striking good looks served him well in his adventures.

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

I don't know if I'll get into trouble with the Wall Street Journal, but here is an extract of an article I found on the book:

(the rest: https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10000872396390443343704577551340231008030)

I think it's a fine description of what can happen if you attempt to read it: block or enter its uniquely alluring archaeological-historical-biblical world and get hooked. There is nothing religious about the tone or subject matter. It's a tale of human relations, from envy to lust, from deception to cunning, from vanity to keeping the moral high ground - all through a series of loosely interrelated stories. The very definition of a human saga.

God is never mentioned in the book. Monotheism was but a mere concept in those far away times, confusingly glimpsed by the main actors - from Abraham to Isaac, Jacob and Joseph - but they all relied more on their own cunning and intelligence to get through tough situations. In the case of Joseph, a combination of unabashed vanity to sheer luck and striking good looks served him well in his adventures.

Andre, I appreciate your characteristically clear and insightful explanation. Sounds like I should look for a copy. I have read Quo Vadis a few times, and I liked it. Probably I will like this book as well. Thank you very much for your suggestion.

P.s. I read 5 paragraphs of the article, which is good as well.

[Ganondorf]

Fine, thanks. Well, welcome back, even if you never totally left  .

Thanks!  I actually really was a few months off because at the start of the year I moved To a new apartment and bought a new computer and had once again troubles signing in here so I spent a couple of months at least offline before creating a New nickname. 😀

[Ganondorf]

I don't know if I'll get into trouble with the Wall Street Journal, but here is an extract of an article I found on the book:

(the rest: https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10000872396390443343704577551340231008030)

I think it's a fine description of what can happen if you attempt to read it: block or enter its uniquely alluring archaeological-historical-biblical world and get hooked. There is nothing religious about the tone or subject matter. It's a tale of human relations, from envy to lust, from deception to cunning, from vanity to keeping the moral high ground - all through a series of loosely interrelated stories. The very definition of a human saga.

God is never mentioned in the book. Monotheism was but a mere concept in those far away times, confusingly glimpsed by the main actors - from Abraham to Isaac, Jacob and Joseph - but they all relied more on their own cunning and intelligence to get through tough situations. In the case of Joseph, a combination of unabashed vanity to sheer luck and striking good looks served him well in his adventures.

Exceptionally finely written, my friend! 

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

For those who are interested, Tower Records Japan discloses (and sells) the 72 available recordings specifically mentioned in Haruki Murakami's "Old and Wonderful Classical Records."  I "think" this means that 414 LP records mentioned by Murakami are not available in CD format. https://tower.jp/article/campaign/2021/07/07/03

Accordingly, at the bottom of the page, there are lists of all the 100 works mentioned in the book, followed by the "relevant" discs. So you will know what works he talked about. I think that these discs feature the recorded works specifically discussed in the book, rather than the discussed compositions played by somebody else. But the text on the web site is vague, confusing, and misleading. If I misunderstood, I apologize. Anyway, these 100 works are Murakami's favorites discussed in the book, I assume.

The customer rating on the book at Amazon jp is currently 4.1. Many customers say that the selection of records in the book is very biased and they like it. Some say that the pictures of records are too small. If you want to read the reviews, please use the Google translate (60-70% accuracy) for the link below. Have a great weekend!

https://www.amazon.co.jp/%E5%8F%A4%E3%81%8F%E3%81%A6%E7%B4%A0%E6%95%B5%E3%81%AA%E3%82%AF%E3%83%A9%E3%82%B7%E3%83%83%E3%82%AF%E3%83%BB%E3%83%AC%E3%82%B3%E3%83%BC%E3%83%89%E3%81%9F%E3%81%A1-%E6%9D%91%E4%B8%8A-%E6%98%A5%E6%A8%B9/dp/4163913831

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

Thanks!  I actually really was a few months off because at the start of the year I moved To a new apartment and bought a new computer and had once again troubles signing in here so I spent a couple of months at least offline before creating a New nickname. 😀

Welcome back!! 

[Ganondorf]

Welcome back!! 

Thank you!

[SonicMan46]

Drunk: How We Sipped, Danced, and Stumbled Our Way to Civilization (2021) by Edward Slingerland - fascinating story of alcohol and civilization - brief description quoted below (check link for more and also Amazon comments) - Dave

Drunk elegantly cuts through the tangle of urban legends and anecdotal impressions that surround our notions of intoxication to provide the first rigorous, scientifically-grounded explanation for our love of alcohol. Drawing on evidence from archaeology, history, cognitive neuroscience, psychopharmacology, social psychology, literature, and genetics, Slingerland shows that our taste for chemical intoxicants is not an evolutionary mistake, as we are so often told. In fact, intoxication helps solve a number of distinctively human challenges: enhancing creativity, alleviating stress, building trust, and pulling off the miracle of getting fiercely tribal primates to cooperate with strangers. Our desire to get drunk, along with the individual and social benefits provided by drunkenness, played a crucial role in sparking the rise of the first large-scale societies. We would not have civilization without intoxication (Source).

 

[aligreto]

Drunk: How We Sipped, Danced, and Stumbled Our Way to Civilization (2021) by Edward Slingerland - fascinating story of alcohol and civilization - brief description quoted below (check link for more and also Amazon comments) - Dave

 

I have not seen it, Dave, but I would think that "Primitive and Uncivilized" societies were well acquainted with alcohol 

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

I have not seen it, Dave, but I would think that "Primitive and Uncivilized" societies were well acquainted with alcohol 

I heard that even some monkeys make alcoholic drink and drink it. Maybe some other animals too.

The book looks very interesting.

[aligreto]

I heard that even some monkeys make alcoholic drink and drink it. Maybe some other animals too.

We are supposedly related genetically so I am not too surprised by that. Good for them 
Perhaps we could all mingle together, somewhere, sometime sharing their drinks. I think that would be a very interesting and fruitful experience for us 
I would certainly volunteer for that assignment. I think that it certainly would be beneficial for "Humanity". 

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

We are supposedly related genetically so I am not too surprised by that. Good for them 
Perhaps we could all mingle together, somewhere, sometime sharing their drinks. I think that would be a very interesting and fruitful experience for us 
I would certainly volunteer for that assignment. I think that it certainly would be beneficial for "Humanity". 

I only know Churchill and Boris Yeltsin as for the examples of great/competent individuals who were also heavy drinkers. Do you happen to know any others? Any composers/conductors who were heavy drinkers?
I was just curious about the qualification of the author, and I googled him. The guy is a real deal. He published several academic books from Oxford and Cambridge University Presses. This book must be authentic and very good.

[aligreto]

I only know Churchill and Boris Yeltsin as for the examples of great/competent individuals who were also heavy drinkers. Do you happen to know any others? Any composers/conductors who were heavy drinkers?
I was just curious about the qualification of the author, and I googled him. The guy is a real deal. He published several academic books from Oxford and Cambridge University Presses. This book must be authentic and very good.

Three well known names occur to me immediately, i.e. the great Sibelius, the Irish genius that was Seán O'Riada and the Welsh poet Dylan Thomas.

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

Three well known names occur to me immediately, i.e. the great Sibelius, the Irish genius that was Seán O'Riada and the Welsh poet Dylan Thomas.

I didn't know that they were drinkers. I apologize my ignorance, but I must check out the music by Seán O'Riada. Thank you for the info.

[Brian]

Drunk: How We Sipped, Danced, and Stumbled Our Way to Civilization (2021) by Edward Slingerland - fascinating story of alcohol and civilization - brief description quoted below (check link for more and also Amazon comments) - Dave

I take it you recommend? I read a favorable review somewhere recently (perhaps the NY Times) and am definitely very interested.

[SonicMan46]

I take it you recommend? I read a favorable review somewhere recently (perhaps the NY Times) and am definitely very interested.

Hi Guys - did not think that my post would get SUCH a response, but Slingerland knows his field and has done a lot of research - quote below from Amazon.  The book is fascinating and looks at alcohol, i.e. ethanol (and other mind changing intoxicants) from both a human and non-human perspective - if the descriptions in my links and the topic is of interest, then a strong recommendation from me.  Dave

Edward Slingerland is Distinguished University Scholar and Professor of Asian Studies at the University of British Columbia, with adjunct appointments in Psychology and Philosophy, as well as Co-Director of the Centre for the Study of Human Evolution, Cognition and Culture and Director of the Database of Religious History. Slingerland is the author of Trying Not to Try, which was named one of the best books of 2014 by The Guardian and Brain Pickings and was the subject of a piece by John Tierney in the New York Times. He has given talks on the science and power of spontaneity at a variety of venues across the world, including TEDx Maastricht and two Google campuses, and has done numerous interviews on TV, radio, blogs, and podcasts, including NPR, the BBC World Service and the CBC.

[Jo498]

There were too many heavy drinkers or borderline alcoholics among artists to keep track of. Of course, in many cases the historical record is not so clear. E.g. apparently we have information about Goethe (and also Beethoven) drinking around 1-2 bottles of wine everyday but Goethe certainly enjoyed a long healthy life for his age and was incredibly productive.
Mussorgsky drank himself to an early death, E.T.A. Hoffmann likewise, Schumann was probably at least a borderline alcoholic in some phases of his life, maybe also Friedemann Bach (although his life is so shrouded in rumours it is hard to tell). I have read the hypothesis that Mozart composed that introduction to a symphony and violin/viola duets to cover up that Michael Haydn had been too drunk to get the work, and although this has probably been debunked in the meanwhile there was also the hypothesis that Mozart's financial problems were related to drinking and gambling. Glasunov (some credit the failure of the Rachmaninoff symphony conducted by Glasunov to him having been drunk)

Of moderately famous dipsomaniac conductors: Franz Konwitschny, Wyn Morris (and probably lots of Russians... SCNR)

I have no statistics but I do think that alcoholism (or borderline sub-clinical abuse of alcohol) was worse in the 19th and until the mid-20th century than it is today (at least in the West, probably developing nations have more than made up the deficit).

[Brian]

Of moderately famous dipsomaniac conductors: Franz Konwitschny, Wyn Morris (and probably lots of Russians... SCNR)

I have no statistics but I do think that alcoholism (or borderline sub-clinical abuse of alcohol) was worse in the 19th and until the mid-20th century than it is today (at least in the West, probably developing nations have more than made up the deficit).

Alexander Gibson, Antonio de Almeida.

Alcoholism in the United States peaked in the 1820s-1850s, when, generally speaking, frankly everyone was constantly drunk. Six gallons of pure alcohol per person per year (or around 10ish gallons of whiskey, rotgut, and other distilled spirits), three times our rate today. And well before that, in 1758, George Washington ran for the Virginia House of Burgesses and gave away booze to voters (he won, of course). He included in his campaign expenses approx. 1 pint of beer, 1 glass of wine, and 1 PINT of rum - per eligible voter in his district!
(Source on that: Susan Cheever's Drinking in America)

[vers la flamme]

I've heard Fritz Wunderlich was something of a notorious drunk, possibly contributing to his tragic early death.

[Artem]

And Jackson Pollock too.