Quote from: Muenchener on June 05, 2014, 07:18:29 amMe too. Didn't get far with Midnight's Children either. Evidently not cut out for classic contemporary lit.I love both Midnight's Children and 100 Years...Quick question, to see if a theory of mine holds: have any of you guys who disliked these novels been to a non-western country? (I'm thinking more than a quick business trip or working on a Nigerian oil rig...)
Me too. Didn't get far with Midnight's Children either. Evidently not cut out for classic contemporary lit.
Another recent read that left me speechless "Stoner" written in the late sixties (but not what you'd think from the title and the times). A quiet reflection on an average life, in an average place, struggling to achieve and maintain mediocrity. A bit like my climbing career really.
I've not read Rushdie. In fact I can come up with a long list of people I 'should' but haven't read ... Don Delillo,
Quote from: andy popp on June 06, 2014, 10:49:48 amI've not read Rushdie. In fact I can come up with a long list of people I 'should' but haven't read ... Don Delillo, I fought my way through Underworld on the recommendation of a friend whose opinion I respected, desperately hoping the whole way that something I could give a shit about was going to happen at some point. Spoiler Alert: it didn't.
I just read the passage about Remedios the Beautiful levitating away last night. My question was rhetorical really. I get (presume) it's meant to be allegorical but find it banal.
Quote from: andy popp on June 06, 2014, 10:49:48 amI just read the passage about Remedios the Beautiful levitating away last night. My question was rhetorical really. I get (presume) it's meant to be allegorical but find it banal.I loved Garcia Marquez, Murakami and their ilk when I was younger. I think that, as I've gotten older, my cynicism has grown and limited my ability to appreciate magic realism, to the point where I will refuse to read almost anything with a magic realist bent.
I just read the passage about Remedios the Beautiful levitating away last night. My question was rhetorical really. I get (presume) it's meant to be allegorical but find it banal.I've not read Rushdie. In fact I can come up with a long list of people I 'should' but haven't read; Mario Vargas Llosa, Don Delillo, Thomas Pynchon, Philip Roth, John Updike, Martin Amis, Joseph Heller, Gunter Grass. I've decided that basically life is too short.
Is Animal Farm better?
Fourth: Trainspotting I've seen the film a few times but never read the book before. I'm sure it's a challenge for non-sots to read, but I think it's much better than the film in many ways. I sometimes find it hard to figure out who the main character is at any point though...
Quote from: Fultonius on June 23, 2014, 07:42:35 amIs Animal Farm better?All Orwell books are equal, but some are more equal than others.
Quote from: slackline on June 23, 2014, 07:52:02 amQuote from: Fultonius on June 23, 2014, 07:42:35 amIs Animal Farm better?All Orwell books are equal, but some are more equal than others. I much, much prefer his 'realist' fiction, especially 'Coming Up for Air,' which is really worth reading. Burmese Days and Keep the Aspidistra Flying are also good.