Assuming you read it in English you have to give props to the translator as well, really tough job they have to capture the original flow and atmosphere.
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Assuming you read it in English you have to give props to the translator as well, really tough job they have to capture the original flow and atmosphere.
Absolutely.
Is that the one with subtitle "The Power of Introverts in a World that Can't Stop Talking"? I forgot the author name but remember the subtitle. Finished it in 2015 and found it a pretty good read.
Very much so, especially when getting a paragraph or two wrong could change the flow of the whole story considering years/generations can sort of pass by within a few lines.
Yeah, I loved it too. Such an enjoyable read.
Yup that's the one.
Loved Dubliners too! Its mandatory reading for English courses in Ireland!
yeah exactly, sometimes I just want to be entertained rather than having to appreciate the craft.
Opening line of One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez:
"Many years later, as he faced the firing squad, Colonel Aureliano Buendía was to remember that distant afternoon when his father took him to discover ice."
And the closing:
"Before reaching the final line, however, he had already understood that he would never leave that room, for it was foreseen that the city of mirrors (or mirages) would be wiped out by the wind and exiled from the memory of men at the precise moment when Aureliano Babilonia would finish deciphering the parchments, and that everything written on them was unrepeatable since time immemorial and forever more, because lineages condemned to one hundred years of solitude did not have a second opportunity on earth."
"Many years later, as he faced the firing squad, Colonel Aureliano Buendía was to remember that distant afternoon when his father took him to discover ice."
And the closing:
"Before reaching the final line, however, he had already understood that he would never leave that room, for it was foreseen that the city of mirrors (or mirages) would be wiped out by the wind and exiled from the memory of men at the precise moment when Aureliano Babilonia would finish deciphering the parchments, and that everything written on them was unrepeatable since time immemorial and forever more, because lineages condemned to one hundred years of solitude did not have a second opportunity on earth."
1) This makes me happy. US English curriculum basically skips over him unfortunately.
2) Also on my list of great short novels... Old Man and the Sea, A Moveable Feast (nonfiction), Things Fall Apart, and A Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy
3) Finally, if you wanna read a miniature version of a Joyce Ulysses style work, read The Mezzanine by Nicholson Baker.
Has anyone read Amsterdam by Ian McEwan?
I recently read "Big Little Lies" which is now being shown on Sky Atlantic and was a good read. Also just finished "No Turning Back" which i thought was good, although took a bit to get in to.
Currently reading "Until You're Mine" which I'm enjoying.
Currently reading "Until You're Mine" which I'm enjoying.
Yes. I read five or six McEwan books when I was about eighteen and Amsterdam was my favourite. Like all his work it's beautifully written and has a thorny moral question at its core. Without trying to spoil anything I'll say the ending is definitely odd.
Finished The Idiot the other day and thought it was great. Probably not quite as focused as Crime and Punishment in a sense but a fantastic novel in its own right - actually funnier than I'd have expected in a certain respect, with plenty of pathos too. The Prince was a great protagonist.
Right afterwards read The Stranger by Camus. Was superb - not sure I've ever read something which kind of felt so moving but so empty at the same time, if that makes. Simplicity of the style is very deceiving.
Right afterwards read The Stranger by Camus. Was superb - not sure I've ever read something which kind of felt so moving but so empty at the same time, if that makes. Simplicity of the style is very deceiving.
Love The Stranger.
How long is The Idiot? Looking for a quick (<200 pages) read right now.
It's quite long. Not War and Peace long or anything, but a similar length to Crime and Punishment at around 200,000 words or so, and since it's Dostoyevsky it's not a quick read as such either.
Cool, thanks.
Have you ever read Go Tell it on the Mountain? I know it's a classic and arguably his best known work, but I've had it on my book shelf for years and have never gotten around to it. I'd like the incentive of someone insisting that I read it so I can finally get started on it.
I just finished Going to Meet the Man, a collection of short stories and have Another Country, which I'll start soon. Go Tell it on the Mountain is his most famous work and I'll get to it.
It's now officially the next one on my list.
Just finished 'On the Road' and I'm in a state of pure awe and excitement. Never before have I read something that would make me feel as much sympathy with a character as I did hear with Dean Moriarty. Reading up on the autobiographical background only increases this feeling. Might be my new favorite book.
DFW's Brief Interviews with Hideous Men.
Collection of his short stories; some hit, some miss. 'The Depressed Person' was probably my favourite. Think I'm hitting post-modernism fatigue.
Collection of his short stories; some hit, some miss. 'The Depressed Person' was probably my favourite. Think I'm hitting post-modernism fatigue.
Reading "By Way Of Deception" by Victor Ostrovsky currently. It is about his years in the Mossad and all the shady shit they got up to. These guys don't mess around, makes the CIA seem above water and semi-legit by comparison.
One Hundred Years of Solitude
Finally gotten around to completing this, and to be honest I did not enjoy it as much as the acclaim it receives. It started out well, and I was pretty much hooked to it for the first 150 pages or so. But then it just became slightly boring and I found myself struggling to complete it. The way some of it is written just annoys me - long sentences with difficult words. There were too many characters as well. I'm just glad to have completed it and can now move on to something else.
Finally gotten around to completing this, and to be honest I did not enjoy it as much as the acclaim it receives. It started out well, and I was pretty much hooked to it for the first 150 pages or so. But then it just became slightly boring and I found myself struggling to complete it. The way some of it is written just annoys me - long sentences with difficult words. There were too many characters as well. I'm just glad to have completed it and can now move on to something else.
Histoire de la violence - Édouard Louis
A fantastic novel from a 24 year old, painfully relevant. Makes me feel awfully inadequate.
Piece in the New Yorker on him today:
http://nyer.cm/IDT02d6
A fantastic novel from a 24 year old, painfully relevant. Makes me feel awfully inadequate.
Piece in the New Yorker on him today:
http://nyer.cm/IDT02d6
I finished A Little Life by Hanya Yanigahara a couple of weeks back. It's 800 pages and weirdly compelling, whilst also being completely ridiculous and poorly written at times. I don't know if I recommend it or not. I've also just finished Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto which, perhaps through poor translation, came across as the scribbles of a dull sixteen year old girl.
That book is still only out in French is it not?
I'm not sure, was released over a year ago. I know his first novel was translated pretty extensively, so I'd wager it has been.
EDIT: Quick google says it hasn't been translated yet
What's everyone reading at the moment? I'm currently reading the Pogba thread, been on it for a few days now.
Hocus Pocus by Kurt Vonnegut.
The man was brilliant.
The man was brilliant.
Currently reading Alasdair Gray's Lanark. About a quarter of the way through so far, unsure what to make of it except that I think it's kind of brilliant.
Neuromancer, decent so far.
Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari.
I picked it up a while back but only reading it now, and I'm finding it really good. Looking forward to starting Deus after.
I picked it up a while back but only reading it now, and I'm finding it really good. Looking forward to starting Deus after.
Finished Gray's Lanark. Probably one of the greatest pieces of Scottish literature (or literature in general) I'll ever read; sprawling, bizarre, thought-provoking and entertaining. Can see why it took him two decades to write.
Denis Johnson died. I liked Train Dreams a lot.
Peter Hennessy - nice pair these, political & social history
Never Again: Britain 1945-51
Having It So Good: Britain in the Fifties
just finishing the 2nd which has gotten a bit stodgy toward the end but very interesting to show the background of the UK role in stuff & background to - EEC & Brexit, Foreign policy
also the 1st one especially, is just an interesting read about how we used to live & social change
Never Again: Britain 1945-51
Having It So Good: Britain in the Fifties
just finishing the 2nd which has gotten a bit stodgy toward the end but very interesting to show the background of the UK role in stuff & background to - EEC & Brexit, Foreign policy
also the 1st one especially, is just an interesting read about how we used to live & social change
Finished it the other day. It's interesting, very well-written, and the central conflict is quite intriguing, but I can't help but feel it increasingly starts to jump the shark as it goes on.
Thanks! So would you say it's worth a summer read then at least?
Oh yeah, it's very, very short; I read most of it in one or two sittings. Granted, I'm a relatively quick reader...but even then it's something you'll work your way through quite quickly.
Also, now reading Sinclair Lewis' It Can't Happen Here, a novel which details a hypothetical American descent into fascism during the 1930s. It's gained some traction recently because of certain parallels with America's current state (albeit with some major differences naturally). About a third of the through it, and it's a fantastic read for anyone interested in US history, US politics, or political theory/thought in general, especially due to its perception.
I'll see if I can find that one as well!