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[aligreto]

Hesse: The Prodigy





This wonderfully told story is essentially a dissertation by Hesse on the unbalanced effect that the rigours of the education system has on the holistic well being of children.

This is the story of a young and academically gifted boy who is obliged to carry the weight of responsibility for academic success on his young shoulders not only for his ambitious father but also from all of the "elders" of his small town. He drives himself incessantly in his quest to be successful. However, in doing so, he isolates himself from his friends, peers and indeed from "normal" life for someone of his age. He is successful in his examinations and obtains a place in a celebrated seminary. There he comes under the influence of a disaffected and malcontent young man and through this connection he becomes further isolated from his peers and the quality of his study also begins to suffer. The young man eventually suffers a breakdown. He returns home and plunges deeper into despair and melancholy. He even picks the branch from which tree he contemplates hanging himself. He then comes into contact with a beautiful young woman and, momentarily, Life rejuvenates his soul. The tale essentially tracks which path he will actually choose to follow.

[milk]

Does anyone here strongly recommend any Rushdie? I was going to read Midnight's Children but I don't really like magical realism, if that's what it is. I just admire him as a person and feel for him in this moment. That's why I ask. I'd like to support him in some way.

[SimonNZ]

Does anyone here strongly recommend any Rushdie? I was going to read Midnight's Children but I don't really like magical realism, if that's what it is. I just admire him as a person and feel for him in this moment. That's why I ask. I'd like to support him in some way.

You might be interested in his memoir "Joseph Anton" (the name he was given by his protection detail). It's warts and all - you may not like the portrait that emerges, but it's an honest one.

[Spotted Horses]

Does anyone here strongly recommend any Rushdie? I was going to read Midnight's Children but I don't really like magical realism, if that's what it is. I just admire him as a person and feel for him in this moment. That's why I ask. I'd like to support him in some way.

I remember being impressed with Shalamar the Clown, and The Moor's Last Sigh. I also was put off by the magical aspects of Midnight's Children.

[vandermolen]

Just finished this fine and thought-provoking book:

[Artem]

Does anyone here strongly recommend any Rushdie? I was going to read Midnight's Children but I don't really like magical realism, if that's what it is. I just admire him as a person and feel for him in this moment. That's why I ask. I'd like to support him in some way.

Midnight's Children is very straightforward, easy to read book. It was the only Rushdie's book I read and it didn't make me want to explore his writing further. It's a kind of book you take on a holiday and leave at the hotel when your vacation is over.

[Spotted Horses]

It's a kind of book you take on a holiday and leave at the hotel when your vacation is over.

It is also the kind of book that wins the Booker Prize, and get voted to be the most significant book to have won the Booker Prize.

[Florestan]

It is also the kind of book that wins the Booker Prize, and get voted to be the most significant book to have won the Booker Prize.

The Nobel Prize for Literature has been heavily controversial and politicized during the last two or three decades. Am I wrong in inferring that the Booker Prize might be the same?

[Spotted Horses]

The Nobel Prize for Literature has been heavily controversial and politicized during the last two or three decades. Am I wrong in inferring that the Booker Prize might be the same?

Everything is political. The booker prize is widely respected in the literary world and represents that mindset. The final selection is made by a small panel so of course there is nothing definitive about it. However, I can't recall a Booker Prize winner that was not widely recognized as having literary merit.

I read Midnight's Children, only vaguely remember it, except that the "magical realism" genre didn't appeal to me. That doesn't change the fact that it is widely respected as a great book.

[Florestan]

Everything is political.

Sad but true.

The booker prize is widely respected in the literary world and represents that mindset. The final selection is made by a small panel so of course there is nothing definitive about it. However, I can't recall a Booker Prize winner that was not widely recognized as having literary merit.

Thanks.

I haven't read any Rushdie yet but my understanding is that he's a major contemporary writer.

[Florestan]

the "magical realism" genre didn't appeal to me.

Like in Gabriel Garcia Marquez?

[Spotted Horses]

Like in Gabriel Garcia Marquez?

Midnight's Children "magical" elements are of a different nature. The main conceit of the novel is that all children born in the hour that India/Pakistan achieved independence have telepathic powers and communicate with each other. The "magical" element is the foundation of the story I don't recall anything so explicitly magical in Garcia Marquez, although I have not read all of his works. Love in the time of Cholera and Chronicle of a Death Foretold are the works I have most recently read.

[Brian]

A lot of ghosts come back to have conversations in One Hundred Years of Solitude, but overall in Garcia Marquez the "magic" elements of the story provide color, commentary, and a Greek chorus-like element, rather than being absolutely essential to the basic plot.

[KevinP]

[Florestan]

Midnight's Children "magical" elements are of a different nature. The main conceit of the novel is that all children born in the hour that India/Pakistan achieved independence have telepathic powers and communicate with each other. The "magical" element is the foundation of the story I don't recall anything so explicitly magical in Garcia Marquez, although I have not read all of his works. Love in the time of Cholera and Chronicle of a Death Foretold are the works I have most recently read.

I see, thanks. Yes, quite different from Marquez.

[Artem]

It is also the kind of book that wins the Booker Prize, and get voted to be the most significant book to have won the Booker Prize.

The Booker prize is an odd one for me. Almost everything I read with the Booker sticker left me dissatisfied. Interesting storytelling but without any lasting impression. Perfect reading for a beach vacation. International Booker prize may be a bit more engaging.

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

Anton Chekhov: Uncle Vanya. 

[milk]

Thanks everyone for the comments on Rushdie.

[Mandryka]

Austrian humour is very very dark! Anyone here explored this author?

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

The Conquest of Happiness, Bertrand Russell.