I've thought about getting that, AdC, mainly because I read a collection of DFW non-fiction essays recently ("Consider the Lobster") and thought most of them were absolutely brilliant. But liking someone's NF is hardly a guarantee of liking their fiction, so I've been a little hesitant to take on something so big and innovative, especially as my literary taste is mainly very conservative (nothing I like more than a good 19th century realist novel). But I was in a second hand bookshop a few days ago (the excellent Cambridge Amnesty one) and bought his short story collection "Oblivion" as a toe in the water. If I like those, I'll try Infinite Jest.
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I'm enjoying it more than I expected so far. TBH I didn't realise it was 1100 pages long, otherwise I might have had second thoughts. Genuine, rather than contrived, eccentricity if done well is always appealing. Québec separatists (or something) trying to subvert and take over the US government, is just silly on it's face. As is the family-run academic tennis college. I restrict myself to about ten pages a day, anymore and I might feel overwhelmed.
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I think it’s one of the grimmest books I’ve ever read. It’s incredibly well written but it felt like I was being smashed around the head with the shitness of life. I still don’t know if I could actually recommend it to anyone.
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Currently reading 'The Flag & The Cross' by Gorski and Perry, about the rise of Christian Nationalism in the USA - god almighty it's a tough read. These people really do want to bring the Handmaiden's Tale to life, some of them will openly admit that.
On similar ground and if anything even more depressing is 'Men Who Hate Women' by Laura Bates. It's about the manosphere - Incels, Pick-up artists, Migtows etc etc. Their views are much much much more mainstream that you could possibly imagine.
If reading those two doesn't leave you wanting to slash your wrists, there's something seriously wrong with you.
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Originally posted by E10 Rifle View PostJust finished Shuggie Bain - dear Lord it's grim, but there's something a bit uplifting about how it ends. A novel that stays with you though, even reminded me of Zola's L'Assamoir a bit.
Speaking of works not exactly of the light variety, I've just started another attempt at A Modern Utopia by H.G. Wells. I was supposed to read it on my uni course 20-odd years ago but gave up after about a page and a half as it just seemed old and boring, and it's been sitting accusingly on my bookshelf ever since. Made it a bit further last night at least, but have no idea what's supposed to be going on. I'm sure (or I hope) all will eventually become clear.
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Just finished Paul Prestons updated “The Spanish Civil War”.
I don’t think I’ve taken so long to finish a book ever. I’ve always struggled with foreign names, ie remembering who is who etc. Preston must expect this as there’s an index of the major players with a couple of lines devoted to each in the back PLUS a separate anagram index as well as the to be expected general index.
Im sure one of the Pythons must’ve been reading it when filming The Life Of Brian……..splitters!
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Originally posted by Evariste Euler Gauss View PostI've thought about getting that, AdC, mainly because I read a collection of DFW non-fiction essays recently ("Consider the Lobster") and thought most of them were absolutely brilliant. But liking someone's NF is hardly a guarantee of liking their fiction, so I've been a little hesitant to take on something so big and innovative, especially as my literary taste is mainly very conservative (nothing I like more than a good 19th century realist novel). But I was in a second hand bookshop a few days ago (the excellent Cambridge Amnesty one) and bought his short story collection "Oblivion" as a toe in the water. If I like those, I'll try Infinite Jest.
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Intriguing thanks AdC.
Has John le Carre’s “The Pigeon Tunnel” been mentioned on here yet? I’m about 3/4 of the way through and it is absolutely fantastic. It’s a collection of anecdotes from his life, and what a life that was. Meetings with prime ministers and presidents, ex-KGB chiefs, great actors (Burton and Guinness), warlords and self-sacrificing humanitarians in war-torn Congo, Lebanon and Southeast Asia, all recounted with utterly brilliant observational skill, empathy, humour and warmth. My book of the year so far.
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To keep DFW company I'm also reading Un Lun Dun by China Miéville, and Children's Games in Street and Playground by Iona and Peter Opie. I've wanted a copy of the latter for years but never got round to buying one, a recent conversation here on Kingy kicked me into gear. It's a nostalgia ride you can get lost in. The Miéville fantasy I picked up from a local book bin. What's called Young Adult Fiction by people who parse such things these days. It's a blast and I immediately sent copies to the Grandkids. It's full of brilliant puns, many life in London references and an intriguing but non-essential backstory that goes back to the early 50s. Lots of Miéville's own illustrations too.
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Not reading yet, but I've just received London Feeds Itself ed. J. Nunn.
It looks fantastic, Nunn is one of the founders Of Vittles and has a nearly unbelievable list of contributors. Included a chapter on allotments by a former Labour party leader.
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I'm currently reading My Happy Days in Hell, the memoirs of Hungarian poet György Faludy. It's brilliantly written, very funny, and yet often very dark (it covers him fleeing the Nazis in the late 30s, first from Hungary, then France) and among other things spending 3 years in a Labour camp under the communists. It's one of those books you pick up and think "why is this not more famous?"
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Is part of that the fact that it (and Faludy's work generally) was suppressed by the post war regime (it was published in English, French and German decades before it appeared in Hungarian)?
I think that Central European writers of that era needed the support of a critical mass of writers and critics, and that Hungarian never had the numbers of such people (at least in the US) that, say, Polish , Czech or Serbo-Croatian did.
And the dominant role of the Church among that limited diaspora here would almost certainly not have helped him.
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Finished One Long Night earlier. It's really good, albeit really bleak for long stretches, given the subject matter. It mixes in the overarching historical chronology of concentration camps in each location/period with survivors' personal stories, sourced from autobiographies and interviews. Pitzer's a very good writer indeed, and her third book (so, the follow-up to this), Icebound, about William Barents's three voyages in search of the Northwest Passage, is currently 99p on the Amazon UK Kindle store, so I treated myself to that earlier.
Having read books about the history of Kabul and the history of concentration camps back to back, I need something a bit lighter now, so tonight I'll be starting a short one called If Cats Disappeared from the World by Genki Kawamura (translated by Eric Selland).
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Originally posted by ursus arctos View PostIs part of that the fact that it (and Faludy's work generally) was suppressed by the post war regime (it was published in English, French and German decades before it appeared in Hungarian)?
I think that Central European writers of that era needed the support of a critical mass of writers and critics, and that Hungarian never had the numbers of such people (at least in the US) that, say, Polish , Czech or Serbo-Croatian did.
And the dominant role of the Church among that limited diaspora here would almost certainly not have helped him.
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