Love the cadence of his prose, the imagery that flashes like lightning, the subject matter. Though not his best work by a long shot, it's still Good--
Love the cadence of his prose, the imagery that flashes like lightning, the subject matter. Though not his best work by a long shot, it's still strangely compelling. I mean you'd think, a rumbling confession of a Jesuit priest on a deathbed? BORING. And there isn't any traditional conflict or much of a narrative arc, and the story meanders from one topic to another. BUT STILL. WHY WHY WHY is it compelling? I don't know. Reading Bolano makes me throw my hands up in the air and say "Fuck story telling rules." One thing I learned, though, is that historical figures in fiction are COMPELLING. I don't know what about them, but when Pinochet the dictator makes his appearance, I was really pulled in, even though it was about the priest giving lessons to him and his minions on Marxism, nothing all that exciting in itself.
Anyways, Bolano did not disappoint. Looking forward to reading his shorts next....more
This meticulously researched book about North Korea reads like a dystopian novel with surreal, nightmarish undertone, all told in the typical MFAGood!
This meticulously researched book about North Korea reads like a dystopian novel with surreal, nightmarish undertone, all told in the typical MFA/American fiction fashion: lyrical, relentlessly realistic, with a gripping storyline. What's unique about this is that the realism serves a kind of absurd surrealism of the setting (North Korea), and some of the details really blew me away (e.g. how prisoners found sources of food at a prison mine). But this remains, as the author seems to admit in the interview at the back of the book, an American novel. Or more precisely, an MFA book. Which isn't to belittle the book—I enjoyed it, and didn't really want to leave the world of DPRK, and was sad when the story was over—I'm just pointing it out, especially since I've read so much American fiction and while it's got its strengths, it's creatively limiting (or crippling I must say) to read only American fiction and believe it's the way to write novels nowadays. One complaint I had with this book is that some of the dialogue makes suspension of disbelief difficult: why does Jun Do talk so eloquently, almost poetically, like a poet even, and in his second language at that, and this without any sort of language immersion? Other characters, too, exhibit this lyrical tendency in dialogue, which was hard to buy, and the first-person narrator who shows up in Part II—given what happens to him at the end, it's only natural to ask how is that first-person account/biography being written? Who is recording his thoughts as he climbs onto the autopilot? Anyways, they weren't a deal breaker for me, and so willingly suspended disbelief and forged on because the story was good and the setting so interesting. All in all, flawed in places but a GOOD American novel. ...more
I wasn't a fan of the translation, really. It might be more faithful to the original (whatever that means), but it was hard to read/understand, and poI wasn't a fan of the translation, really. It might be more faithful to the original (whatever that means), but it was hard to read/understand, and positively did not read like a poem, which the work is supposed to be. Though to be fair, the authors admit their translation isn't poetic—but that doesn't excuse them from their clunky rendering despite their claim that they took some liberty to make the English readable. Also, the penultimate chapter which goes into metaphysics, though I'm pretty comfortable with the Mahayana view of emptiness, dependent origination, and no self, was very, very hard to follow, especially what with all the objections from different schools. Some footnotes clarify things, but not nearly enough. Overall, this translation might be for scholars than for lay readers, as it includes both the Tibetan and Sanskrit translations....more
Old Cantankerous, the only play we have almost all lines intact of, was a disappointment, as it felt like an immature work, but other plays, though frOld Cantankerous, the only play we have almost all lines intact of, was a disappointment, as it felt like an immature work, but other plays, though fragmented, presented a MUCh mature and master playwright in control of his craft. Quite frustrated that those really interesting plays (like The Girl from Samos, The Arbitration, The Rape of the Locks, and delightfully promising The Double Deceivers didn't survive the ravages of time in whole and are badly fragmented....more
Out of the four plays contained here, I liked Lysistrata the best. I might read other translations of that particular play too. The Clouds was meh, anOut of the four plays contained here, I liked Lysistrata the best. I might read other translations of that particular play too. The Clouds was meh, and The Birds was actually not as bad as I thought from reading the description of it. But The Frogs was lost to me, probably because it's mainly about the technical styles of Euripides and Aeschylus—both of whom I read, like YEARS ago. ...more
This book was really timely for me, as, against my better judgment, I was getting a bit frustrated with my progress. Good to know there's hard scientiThis book was really timely for me, as, against my better judgment, I was getting a bit frustrated with my progress. Good to know there's hard scientific evidence that progress in meditation roughly follows a dose-response curve (i.e. the more you do it, the better you get). It was instructive to know that different types of meditation have different benefits (and effects on the brain) and reassuring to learn that altered traits take a long time to set in, but they DO set in—it just takes time. Finally, it was simply inspiring to read about the neurophysiology of the "Olympic-level" meditators (Tibetan yogis) who have put in, on average, 27,000 hours of practice, the longest being 62,000 hours (that's 12 hours a day of practice for about 15 years!). Also informative was how Davidson and Goleman divided the expertise of the meditators according to 3 dose-response levels: beginner (up to 1,000h), long-term (between 1,000 and 10,000 hours), and world-class (12,000-62,000h). So my measly 900-1,000 hours of practice puts me on the cusp of the intermediate level, and because some books on meditation (like The Mind Illuminated, sometimes make it seem like a quicker journey than it really is, it was good to know I still have a LONG, LONG way to go (roughly 7-9 more years at the rate I'm practicing to get to the next level). Also good to know was the importance of retreats (the number of which correlated with certain altered traits, like slower breathing and reactivity to stress due to the increase in the prefrontal-amygdala connection).
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