This book kicked my ass. Maybe 'cause of personal experience, but at the time i read it, its fractured, perspective-by-creative-impulse structure spokThis book kicked my ass. Maybe 'cause of personal experience, but at the time i read it, its fractured, perspective-by-creative-impulse structure spoke to me biggee timee. It's a beautiful example of intuitive composition, of poetry integrated with prose, a raw, guttural illustration of Ondaatje's imaginative response to an all-but-forgotten personal history. Occasional sentences that take your breath away. Read it when it's hot outside....more
If you want to read a great Russian novel, but your wrists are to weak for Karenina or Brothers K, this is your jam. It's almost allegorical in its deIf you want to read a great Russian novel, but your wrists are to weak for Karenina or Brothers K, this is your jam. It's almost allegorical in its deployment of the characters' various philosophies, but they're so human it's like watching Chekhov play across the page. For a book written in the mid-late 19th century, it's amazingly relevant: a pithy study of conservativism, liberalism, radicalism, quietism, and filial love and rebellion. The bad-tempered anarchist, Bazarov, is a character for the ages. I bought copies for my dad and both my brothers....more
That dude Pozdnischeff is straight crazy...although he makes some good points about sex ed.
(If you read The Kreuzer Sonata, you should listen to the That dude Pozdnischeff is straight crazy...although he makes some good points about sex ed.
(If you read The Kreuzer Sonata, you should listen to the eponymous Beethoven work. It won't particularly enrich the story for you, but it's a remarkable piece...I think Hilary Hahn has recorded it, and her sensible vibrato and laser-like high notes serve it extraordinarily well.)...more
This is a terriffic book, perhaps the best of James's early novels. The American is a delight, a beach read: funny and occasionally touching, as well This is a terriffic book, perhaps the best of James's early novels. The American is a delight, a beach read: funny and occasionally touching, as well as an excellent introduction James' novels of American innocence versus European experience. Although it's more romance than realism, as James himself acknowledged, the high-tone characters and parisian milieu foreshadow the themes he'd later explore in his infinitely more sophisticated Ambassadors. The book is chock-a-block with intrigue, set-pieces, and fabulous french names (Claire de Cintre, Valentin de Bellegarde). The hero, Christopher Newman (new man, yuk yuk, we get it already) is a likeable blend of geniality and brash naivete...there's a bit of him in all us yanks....more
Though not my favorite Woolf (the honor goes to To the Lighthouse), it's a glorious read, and everyone who reads it will hopefully recognize the univeThough not my favorite Woolf (the honor goes to To the Lighthouse), it's a glorious read, and everyone who reads it will hopefully recognize the universiality of its impressions. (This what she loved: life, London, this moment of June.)
I finished this book on a train, entering or leaving NYC--from where? to where? why?--and the subdued intensity of its final paragraphs made me misty-eyed....more
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