What are you currently reading?

[Iota]

Just finished Kazuo Ishiguro's The Unconsoled. I'm sorry I don't quite recall who here recently urged me to read it (I think it was Iota) but whoever it was, thank you for the recommendation. As I ought to have expected by now, having read some three or four of Ishiguro's other books, The Unconsoled was absolutely devastating–especially the last few chapters–and profoundly unsettling throughout. A good read, and not as challenging as I expected it to be. The whole thing felt like a disturbing dream.

Glad you liked it. A book like no other imo. 

[vers la flamme]

Glad you liked it. A book like no other imo. 

Forgive me if maybe we've already had this chat but have you read any of his other books? An Artist of the Floating World, which I reread earlier in the month, as well as The Remains of the Day are favorites of mine.

[Iota]

Forgive me if maybe we've already had this chat but have you read any of his other books? An Artist of the Floating World, which I reread earlier in the month, as well as The Remains of the Day are favorites of mine.

Yes, I loved The Remains of the Day too, and found Never Let me Go pretty moving/disturbing as well. I haven't read An Artist of the Floating World but have heard good things about it, a handy reminder, thanks.

[vers la flamme]

Rereading Faulkner's As I Lay Dying, which makes marginally more sense than it did the first time around a couple of years back. While I still find some aspects of the book quite confusing, it is, for me, a hugely enjoyable read, filled with great characters. Some parts of it, like Addie Bundren's chapter, are unquestionably masterful. If any of the Faulknerians here are reading this post and feel like discussing some of the finer points about this book feel free to shoot me a PM. 

[Mandryka]

Rereading Faulkner's As I Lay Dying, which makes marginally more sense than it did the first time around a couple of years back. While I still find some aspects of the book quite confusing, it is, for me, a hugely enjoyable read, filled with great characters. Some parts of it, like Addie Bundren's chapter, are unquestionably masterful. If any of the Faulknerians here are reading this post and feel like discussing some of the finer points about this book feel free to shoot me a PM. 

The Faulkner (white) women are interesting -- shame Caddie never speaks. You would enjoy meeting meet Rosa., she's . . . strange.

[DaveF]

Just finished Kazuo Ishiguro's The Unconsoled.

Yeah, that's the masterpiece, I would say.  Others are good/great (I especially admire the way the whole of The Remains of the Day is a preparation for one sentence ["At that moment, my heart was breaking", or however it goes]), but The Unconsoled is surely the best Kafka novel that isn't actually by Kafka.  Sadly, I feel that Sir Kazuo is now becoming a rather faint shadow of himself - Klara and the Sun I found terribly disappointing.

[Florestan]

The History of Ancient Egypt.

[vers la flamme]

The Faulkner (white) women are interesting -- shame Caddie never speaks. You would enjoy meeting meet Rosa., she's . . . strange.

After finishing AILD I went straight into The Sound & the Fury. I managed to finish it this time after at least two abortive attempts in the past. I was always able to make it through Benji's section before; it was Quentin's section that tripped me up. But this time around Quentin's section was my favorite. Agreed re: Caddy, she is a fascinating character who we never really get to see. It almost reminded me of Dulcinea from Don Quixote which I read for the first time recently, a woman character who (presumably) exists and means very much to other characters, but we really never get to see or hear from her. (The whole bit about Quentin's chivalrous notions about the purity of his sister being shattered drew me back to Quixote as well. Their names even both start with Q.) Jason seemed to be a really wicked character. Maybe even more despicable than Popeye in Sanctuary.

Yeah, that's the masterpiece, I would say.  Others are good/great (I especially admire the way the whole of The Remains of the Day is a preparation for one sentence ["At that moment, my heart was breaking", or however it goes]), but The Unconsoled is surely the best Kafka novel that isn't actually by Kafka.  Sadly, I feel that Sir Kazuo is now becoming a rather faint shadow of himself - Klara and the Sun I found terribly disappointing.

Sad to hear that. I haven't read Klara yet but I had high hopes for it. I'll have to reread Remains asap to see what you're on about with that connection. That book impacted me deeply when I first read it a few years ago.

[T. D.]

The Faulkner (white) women are interesting -- shame Caddie never speaks. You would enjoy meeting meet Rosa., she's . . . strange.

Re. interesting and strange Southern (US) women, have you ever read Flannery O'Connor? Strange and brilliant writer, though her work is not cheerful.  Any short story collection recommended.

[Mandryka]

After finishing AILD I went straight into The Sound & the Fury. I managed to finish it this time after at least two abortive attempts in the past. I was always able to make it through Benji's section before; it was Quentin's section that tripped me up. But this time around Quentin's section was my favorite. Agreed re: Caddy, she is a fascinating character who we never really get to see. It almost reminded me of Dulcinea from Don Quixote which I read for the first time recently, a woman character who (presumably) exists and means very much to other characters, but we really never get to see or hear from her. (The whole bit about Quentin's chivalrous notions about the purity of his sister being shattered drew me back to Quixote as well. Their names even both start with Q.) Jason seemed to be a really wicked character. Maybe even more despicable than Popeye in Sanctuary.

You probably know that Quentin is resurrected in Absalom Absalom, which is a prequel to Sound and Fury. We see him before going up to Harvard for the first time and in the second part, we see him in a Harvard dorm chatting with his Canadian friend Shrieve. I think Faulkner wanted to say something about why he went on to kill himself - but like everything else in Faulkner, the answer isn't black and white.

He's such a wimp. I mean he couldn't even whack Dalton Ames!

Jason  junior is for me an American stereotype - I can imagine him doing very well and appearing as a shark on Shark Tank. I liked Jason senior in Sound and Fury - I like bumbling drunks. But in Absalom Absalom I thought he was insufferable, like Polonius in Hamlet.


I think I said this before, but for me all the difficulties with the style in both Absalom and Sound and Fury vanish as soon as it's read aloud. Other difficulties remain of course!

[Ganondorf]

I started re-reading Henry James's The Golden Bowl and still loving it as much. The Assingham couple, Fanny especially, are still my favorite characters. Fanny's predicament is such a human one. I think everyone of us can relate to the feeling when one knows she/he has screwed up. Fanny's remorse, panic, desperate lies, conflicted feelings, are very effectively portrayed. It also helps that Fanny's and her husband's marriage is the healthiest one in the book.

[Mandryka]

I started re-reading Henry James's The Golden Bowl and still loving it as much. The Assingham couple, Fanny especially, are still my favorite characters. Fanny's predicament is such a human one. I think everyone of us can relate to the feeling when one knows she/he has screwed up. Fanny's remorse, panic, desperate lies, conflicted feelings, are very effectively portrayed. It also helps that Fanny's and her husband's marriage is the healthiest one in the book.

I just noticed this youtube upload of the BBC adaptation - it was quite well received at the time, though I missed it. I may watch it now actually

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__N7iRygDXU


There's a comment on that upload saying that the characters aren't sexual, but I don't see it like that at all. There's a tremendous scene of sexuality held back when Amerigo goes to visit Charlotte after the marriage to Maggie's father (I think - it's been a while!)

That antique dealer who sells them the bowl is spooky!

One aspect of the novel which I really didn't enjoy was Fanny Assingham and her  husband.

[Ganondorf]

I watched relatively recently from Youtube The Golden Bowl adaptation with Anjelica Huston, the daughter of legendary director John Huston, as Fanny. I enjoyed it even though condensed adaptation necessarily can't catch every single nuance of James's extraordinarily subtle and complex tale. I have always seen James as a kind of proto-feminist. His female characters feel extraordinarily modern. I know Mark Twain supported women's suffrage back when it was considered odd. I wonder if James did too?

[Mandryka]

I watched relatively recently from Youtube The Golden Bowl adaptation with Anjelica Huston, the daughter of legendary director John Huston, as Fanny. I enjoyed it even though condensed adaptation necessarily can't catch every single nuance of James's extraordinarily subtle and complex tale. I have always seen James as a kind of proto-feminist. His female characters feel extraordinarily modern. I know Mark Twain supported women's suffrage back when it was considered odd. I wonder if James did too?

I've just watched the first two episodes of the BBC series. I loved it -- at least once I'd overcome my prejudices about all the Edwardiana in the set. Of course it doesn't capture all the nuances of the novel, but I think for anyone who wants to get a feel for why the last three Henry James novels are so special but who feels a bit intimidated by his prose, this BBC series is an excellent entry point.

[SimonNZ]

Finally found a copy of this essay collection, so will be picking away at this along with the Ballanchine bio.

[LKB]

Re-re-re-reading my favorite book concerning my now second-favorite film ( Peter Jackson's LotR Trilogy has finally moved into the top spot ), Michael Benson's Space Odyssey.

Every time I've returned to this tremendous chronicle of Stanley Kubrick's masterpiece, I'm newly awed at Mr. Benson's achievement, which seems nearly as impressive as its subject.

Recommended not only for fans of the specific film in question, but for anyone interested in the motivations, collaborations and perseverance which can result in unparalleled artistry.

https://www.amazon.com/Space-Odyssey-Stanley-Kubrick-Masterpiece-ebook/dp/B074ZP9S44/ref=mp_s_a_1_4?crid=ID5EI49PU6T1&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.M-NmxCFhf6BUg8oNBLyEXU7cEc96Q7QyCvodrmheCE-H67cc3ZVNZmF09Pj0YJudrmk-gueVhDSg-xdpPi7lsUjsseHAIodV-2joNNUHIkIJlw7Q8ylSkS-oSQFJ2ZYnhzkACXjLOvfRDgBNlsdQxo32y74qogZiyW6A9EVTKzj3URH_mkWkWd2ZCfFQDZ3pD0cAxGE0-gXiyO4SVkwSIQ.kIKKpI7B5qlUa9iKABiR83c5k4_yfw5wpYE4wrH5J_s&dib_tag=se&keywords=space+odyssey+book&qid=1712501012&sprefix=space+Odyssey%2Caps%2C163&sr=8-4

[vers la flamme]

Re-re-re-reading my favorite book concerning my now second-favorite film ( Peter Jackson's LotR Trilogy has finally moved into the top spot ), Michael Benson's Space Odyssey.

Every time I've returned to this tremendous chronicle of Stanley Kubrick's masterpiece, I'm newly awed at Mr. Benson's achievement, which seems nearly as impressive as its subject.

Recommended not only for fans of the specific film in question, but for anyone interested in the motivations, collaborations and perseverance which can result in unparalleled artistry.

https://www.amazon.com/Space-Odyssey-Stanley-Kubrick-Masterpiece-ebook/dp/B074ZP9S44/ref=mp_s_a_1_4?crid=ID5EI49PU6T1&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.M-NmxCFhf6BUg8oNBLyEXU7cEc96Q7QyCvodrmheCE-H67cc3ZVNZmF09Pj0YJudrmk-gueVhDSg-xdpPi7lsUjsseHAIodV-2joNNUHIkIJlw7Q8ylSkS-oSQFJ2ZYnhzkACXjLOvfRDgBNlsdQxo32y74qogZiyW6A9EVTKzj3URH_mkWkWd2ZCfFQDZ3pD0cAxGE0-gXiyO4SVkwSIQ.kIKKpI7B5qlUa9iKABiR83c5k4_yfw5wpYE4wrH5J_s&dib_tag=se&keywords=space+odyssey+book&qid=1712501012&sprefix=space+Odyssey%2Caps%2C163&sr=8-4

Did you ever read the Arthur C. Clarke book that it was based on? I'm thinking about checking that one out soon.

[LKB]

The Sentinel is actually a short story, first published in a Sci-Fi/ Fantasy pulp magazine in, iirc, 1953. I read it decades ago, as soon as l became aware of its role in the film's genesis.

( I had already read much of Clarke's work beforehand, starting with Childhood's End. From the early '70's up to around 1990, Sci-Fi comprised the bulk of my recreational reading. )

[ritter]

Reading this biography of Italo-Argentinian composer-conductor Héctor (Ettore) Panizza, who is now largely forgotten, but was quite highly regarded in Europe (mainly at La Scala in Milan) and America (at the Met in New York, and in his native Buenos Aires) in the first half of the 20th century.

[Florestan]

Italo-Argentinian composer-conductor Héctor (Ettore) Panizza, who is now largely forgotten

I'll never forget him, you featured him in the Composers Quiz thread.