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  <name><![CDATA[Fabian]]></name>
  <user_name><![CDATA[Heph4istion]]></user_name>
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    <about><![CDATA[]]></about>
    <gender>male</gender>
    <location>El Paso, TX</location>
    <website><![CDATA[]]></website>
    <joined>03/2008</joined>
    <last_active>12/2009</last_active>
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    <favorite_books><![CDATA[Confederacy of Dunces, Middlesex, Great Expectations and Dictionary of the Khazars]]></favorite_books>
    
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          <updates type="array">
        <update type="review">
    <action_text><![CDATA[is currently reading: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6149.Beloved">Beloved (Paperback)</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3534.Toni_Morrison">Toni Morrison</a>]]></action_text>
    <link>http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/81674948</link>
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  <id type="integer">1036893</id>
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    <updated_at>Mon, 21 Dec 2009 12:47:14 -0800</updated_at>
        
      
        
    
  </update>  
      <update type="review">
    <action_text><![CDATA[gave 4 stars to: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5137911.Revolutionary_Road">Revolutionary Road (Paperback)</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/27069.Richard_Yates">Richard Yates</a>]]></action_text>
    <link>http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/80652677</link>
    <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255702215s/5137911.jpg</image_url>
    <actor>
  <id type="integer">1036893</id>
  <name>Fabian</name>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1226606063p2/1036893.jpg</image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1036893-fabian</link>
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    <updated_at>Mon, 21 Dec 2009 12:45:19 -0800</updated_at>
        
      
          <body><![CDATA[Imagine my surprise when I came across Stephen King's Best Books of 2009 List (one not condescending to include solely those published this year), and saw that second place belonged to &quot;Revolutionary Road.&quot; Glad I am not alone in feeling a deep sad empathy for this book. The story is extem...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/Imagine%20my%20surprise%20when%20I%20came%20across%20Stephen%20King's%20Best%20Books%20of%202009%20List%20(one%20not%20condescending%20to%20include%20solely%20those%20published%20this%20year),%20and%20saw%20that%20second%20place%20belonged%20to%20%22Revolutionary%20Road.%22%20Glad%20I%20am%20not%20alone%20in%20feeling%20a%20deep%20sad%20empathy%20for%20this%20book.%20The%20story%20is%20extemely%20well%20told.%20The%20story,%20about%20young%20%22revolutionaries%22%20who%20end%20up%20doing%20exactly%20what%20they%20don't%20set%20out%20to,%20is%20simple%20and%20rich.%20It%20has%20different%20POVs,%20which%20deviates%20from%20the%20outstanding%20film,%20and%20the%20ending%20is%20more%20shattering%20and%20bitter%20than%20the%20one%20on%20the%20silver%20screen.%0D%0A%0D%0AAcademy-Award%20winning%20director%20Sam%20Mendes%20made%20a%20wise%20decision%20in%20giving%20April%20Wheeler%20a%20brighter%20limelight%20to%20contend%20with%20Frank,%20the%20husband%20and%20sole%20protagonist%20of%20the%20novel.%20In%20the%20film,%20there%20is%20a%20constant%20wrestling%20match%20which%20is%20underlined%20by%20the%20fact%20that%20THESE%20ARE%20JACK%20AND%20ROSE%20from%20'Titanic'%20and%20we%20must%20instantly%20feel%20for%20them.%20Mendes%20is%20wise,%20too,%20in%20the%20casting%20of%20his%20wife%20Kate%20Winslet,%20who%20is%20arguably%20the%20best%20actress%20of%20our%20generation.%20So%20while%20Mendes%20has%20the%20ability%20to%20play%20sly%20film%20director,%20almost-auteur,%20Richard%20Yates%20has%20much%20more%20to%20contend%20with.%20His%20meditation%20on%20the%20cost%20of%20real%20freedom%20is%20almost%20flawless.%20He%20plays%20with%20dialogue%20in%20the%20same%20awesome%20way%20that%20a%20dedicated%20playwright%20like%20Edward%20Albee%20does.%20He%20describes%20in%20simple%20ways%20just%20how%20awful%20the%20everyday%20can%20be%20for%20a%20bright,%20dedicated%20yet%20frail%20American%20in%20the%2050's.%20Makes%20a%20stark%20contrast%20with%20today's%20impediments%20on%20a%20marriage.%20After%20so%20many%20years%20it%20seems%20sometimes%20people%20make%20jails%20for%20themselves%20with%20as%20little%20ease%20as%20they%20dream%20big%20dreams.">more...</a>]]></body>
        
    
  </update>  
      <update type="review">
    <action_text><![CDATA[gave 4 stars to: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/297673.The_Brief_Wondrous_Life_of_Oscar_Wao">The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao (Hardcover)</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/55215.Junot_D_az">Junot Díaz</a>]]></action_text>
    <link>http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/80543143</link>
    <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255571633s/297673.jpg</image_url>
    <actor>
  <id type="integer">1036893</id>
  <name>Fabian</name>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1226606063p2/1036893.jpg</image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1036893-fabian</link>
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    <updated_at>Fri, 11 Dec 2009 07:55:54 -0800</updated_at>
        
      
          <body><![CDATA[Because in my brain there is a sharp-edge precise hierarchy of the MODERN CLASSICS, and because this book is newly minted therein:<br/><br/>1ST...........MIDDLESEX<br/>2ND...........THE CORRECTIONS<br/>3RD...........WORLD'S END<br/>4TH (TIE).....ON BEAUTY and THE BRIEF WONDROUS LIFE<br/><br/>...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/Because%20in%20my%20brain%20there%20is%20a%20sharp-edge%20precise%20hierarchy%20of%20the%20MODERN%20CLASSICS,%20and%20because%20this%20book%20is%20newly%20minted%20therein:%0D%0A%0D%0A1ST...........MIDDLESEX%0D%0A2ND...........THE%20CORRECTIONS%0D%0A3RD...........WORLD'S%20END%0D%0A4TH%20(TIE).....ON%20BEAUTY%20and%20THE%20BRIEF%20WONDROUS%20LIFE%0D%0A%0D%0AI%20mean,%20surely%20this%20is%20a%20book%20to%20join%20the%20others.%20It%20is%20about%20pretty%20much%20the%20same%20thing%20as%20the%20others:%20it%20deals%20with%20the%20Family%20Odyssey.%20Theme%20of%20the%20decade..%3F%20Half%20century%3F%20I%20subscribe%20to%20the%20belief%20that%20nowadays%20the%20family%20chronicle,%20the%20history%20that%20lives%20within%20a%20single%20human,%20event,%20thing...%20well,%20all%20that%20is%20what%20readers%20wanna%20read%20and%20Pulitzer%20givers%20prize.%0D%0A%0D%0AOscar%20Wao%20is%20about%20several%20things,%20but%20the%20main%20family%20curse,%20that%20which%20honors%20the%20BRIEF%20part(SPOILER%20ALERT%20this%20ain't)%20in%20the%20title,%20is%20the%20centerpiece.%20Golly%20how%20I%20love%20family%20curses%20(duh:%20American%20gothic%20is%20about%20as%20cool,%20to%20me,%20as%20the%20French%20New%20Wave).%20Anyway,%20it%20all%20amounts%20to%20this:%20Oscar%20is%20unique%20not%20because%20he%20is%20a%20social%20pariah%20in%20many%20many%20many%20ways.%20He%20is%20unique%20becuase%20his%20family%20history%20is%20unique,%20rich,%20relevant.%20This%20would%20be%20a%20mixed%20media%20piece%20were%20it%20in%20an%20art%20gallery.%20This%20very%20dextrous%20Dominican-american%20author%20talks%20about%20the%20DR%20like%20Arenas%20talks%20about%20Cuba%20in%20%22Antes%20que%20anochezca.%22%20%0D%0A%0D%0AThe%20sass,%20the%20voice,%20the%20whimsical%20style...%20this%20is%20what%20won%20the%20novel%20its%20many%20awards.%20People%20are%20impressed%20by%20this%20exciting%20work%20and%20to%20them%20all%20I%20say%20please%20read%20those%20on%20my%20list%20(mmm...places%201-3)%20before%20you%20hail%20this%20a%20masterpiece.%20It%20is%20almost%20one,%20and%20I%20will%20even%20say%20that%20it%20is%20way%20more%20readable,%20and%20yes,%20much%20more%20relevant%20to%20Mexico%20(and%20me)%20than%20the%20other%20aforementioned%20novels.%20That%20I%20read%20it%20in%20two%20days,%20only%20because%20I%20had%20to%20sleep...%20well,%20that%20says%20more%20about%20it%20than%20I%20can%20try%20to%20describe.">more...</a>]]></body>
        
    
  </update>  
      <update type="review">
    <action_text><![CDATA[gave 3 stars to: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/685382.The_Times_Are_Never_So_Bad_A_Novella_and_Eight_Short_Stories">The Times Are Never So Bad: A Novella and Eight Short Stories (Paperback)</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1425903.Andre_Dubus">Andre Dubus</a>]]></action_text>
    <link>http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/79889040</link>
    <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1177178527s/685382.jpg</image_url>
    <actor>
  <id type="integer">1036893</id>
  <name>Fabian</name>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1226606063p2/1036893.jpg</image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1036893-fabian</link>
</actor>

    <updated_at>Fri, 11 Dec 2009 07:35:20 -0800</updated_at>
        
      
          <body><![CDATA[Chosen because of the title. I am familiar with the Dubuses (both I and III) and I love the fatalism both writers evoke... it translates superbly unto screen (...&quot;House of Sand and Fog&quot; [Dubus III:], &quot;In the Bedroom,&quot; &quot;We Don't Live Here Anymore&quot;...). This collection of...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/Chosen%20because%20of%20the%20title.%20I%20am%20familiar%20with%20the%20Dubuses%20(both%20I%20and%20III)%20and%20I%20love%20the%20fatalism%20both%20writers%20evoke...%20it%20translates%20superbly%20unto%20screen%20(...%22House%20of%20Sand%20and%20Fog%22%20%5BDubus%20III:%5D,%20%22In%20the%20Bedroom,%22%20%22We%20Don't%20Live%20Here%20Anymore%22...).%20This%20collection%20of%20shorties%20does%20everything%20possible%20to%20dispell%20the%20thesis:%20%22The%20Times%20Are%20Never%20So%20Bad.%22%20Yeah-%20the%20times%20are%20bareable...barely.%20What%20makes%20these%20so%20%3Ewell%20written%3C%20is%20the%20fact%20that%20saddness%20is%20never%20given%20a%20name...%20everything%20is%20found%20on%20the%20edges%20and%20periphery%20of%20the%20concise%20vignettes%20of%20drama.%20These%20people%20are%20living%20sad%20existences!%20Not%20because%20of%20death%20or%20violence%20(though%20there%20is%20sufficient%20of%20these%20both),%20but%20because%20of%20circumstances%20and%20daily%20life.%20">more...</a>]]></body>
        
    
  </update>  
      <update type="review">
    <action_text><![CDATA[gave 4 stars to: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/386412.Hocus_Pocus">Hocus Pocus (Hardcover)</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2778055.Kurt_Vonnegut">Kurt Vonnegut</a>]]></action_text>
    <link>http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/79645307</link>
    <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1186082213s/386412.jpg</image_url>
    <actor>
  <id type="integer">1036893</id>
  <name>Fabian</name>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1226606063p2/1036893.jpg</image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1036893-fabian</link>
</actor>

    <updated_at>Fri, 04 Dec 2009 11:12:57 -0800</updated_at>
        
      
          <body><![CDATA[There are a couple of authors who aimlessly write, sometimes attaching all the drivel to one profound, emblematic theme. None of that with Vonnegut, who writes about the Vietnam War like no one else: with the courage to mix in futuristic and antiquarian events, fictional but lifelike, as well as mer...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/There%20are%20a%20couple%20of%20authors%20who%20aimlessly%20write,%20sometimes%20attaching%20all%20the%20drivel%20to%20one%20profound,%20emblematic%20theme.%20None%20of%20that%20with%20Vonnegut,%20who%20writes%20about%20the%20Vietnam%20War%20like%20no%20one%20else:%20with%20the%20courage%20to%20mix%20in%20futuristic%20and%20antiquarian%20events,%20fictional%20but%20lifelike,%20as%20well%20as%20merging%20composite%20psyches%20with%20personal%20histories.%20He%20has%20a%20beating%20heart,%20and%20it%20beats%20louder%20and%20faster,%20even%20with%20warlike%20violence%20and%20even%20more%20often%20with%20human%20tenderness,%20as%20he%20attempts%20to%20externalize%20all%20of%20his%20thoughts%20on%20this%20most%20miserable%20stage%20in%20American%20history.%0D%0A%0D%0AHe%20writes%20about%20politics,%20and%20sex,%20and%20human%20ties.%20He%20is%20a%20master%20at%20making%20the%20protagonist%20both%20blatant%20observer%20and%20Man%20of%20Action.%20%22Hocus%20Pocus%22%20is%20a%20gallow's%20song.%0D%0A%0D%0AVonnegut%20has%20taken%20the%20war%20and%20made%20it%20his%20so%20that%20every%20single%20plot%20or%20narrative%20arc%20(because%20indeed,%20even%20with%20the%20masterful%20scatterplot-logic%20of%20this%20novel%20%5Bthe%20plot%20was%20written%20on%20pieces%20of%20paper%20later%20decoupaged%20to%20make%20better%20sense%20in%20a%20somewhat%20linear%20fashion:%5D,%20there%20is%20much%20calculated%20thought%20mingled%20in%20with%20raw%20emotion)%20comes%20back%20to%20Vietnam.%20Every%20conflict%20mirrors%20that%20one.">more...</a>]]></body>
        
    
  </update>  
      <update type="review">
    <action_text><![CDATA[gave 4 stars to: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/228567.The_Secret_History_A_Novel">The Secret History : A Novel (Mass Market Paperback)</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8719.Donna_Tartt">Donna Tartt</a>]]></action_text>
    <link>http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/78094488</link>
    <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172888705s/228567.jpg</image_url>
    <actor>
  <id type="integer">1036893</id>
  <name>Fabian</name>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1226606063p2/1036893.jpg</image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1036893-fabian</link>
</actor>

    <updated_at>Wed, 02 Dec 2009 09:27:34 -0800</updated_at>
        
      
          <body><![CDATA[This was one of those books that formed my inclinations toward the masterful dominions of the modern author. Yes- let me begin and say that I did not think this a masterpiece now, and before (circa 2001) I did. This was once, like, in my top ten !!! Tartt writes like any writer wanting to sell copie...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/This%20was%20one%20of%20those%20books%20that%20formed%20my%20inclinations%20toward%20the%20masterful%20dominions%20of%20the%20modern%20author.%20Yes-%20let%20me%20begin%20and%20say%20that%20I%20did%20not%20think%20this%20a%20masterpiece%20now,%20and%20before%20(circa%202001)%20I%20did.%20This%20was%20once,%20like,%20in%20my%20top%20ten%20!!!%20Tartt%20writes%20like%20any%20writer%20wanting%20to%20sell%20copies%20(masterfully)--%20consicely,%20with%20a%20full-rounded%20voice%20and%20interesting%20historical%20insight%20along%20the%20way.%20There%20is%20something%20about%20reading%20this%20AFTER%20college,%20after%20the%20deed%20was%20done,%20that%20takes%20away%20from%20my%20more%20sophomoric%20reading%20of%20it,%20in%20which%20I%20can%20attest%20that%20my%20pupils%20dialated%20through%20and%20throughout.%0D%0A%0D%0AThere%20is%20a%20dilution%20of%20facts%20since%20most%20of%20them%20are%20told%20to%20the%20protagonist%20second-hand.%20It%20is%20this%20theme%20I%20found%20attractive%20this%20time%20around:%20what%20if%20it%20is%20all%20a%20figment%20of%20the%20narrator's%20imagination%3F%20(a-la%20%22One%20Flew%20Over%20a%20Cuckoos%20Nest%3F%22)%20What%20if%20the%20college%20student%20learns%20ALONG%20the%20way,%20does%20not%20disclose%20his%20ACTUAL%20feelings,%20but%20like%20a%20maestro,%20makes%20them%20add%20up%20to%20something%20like%20a%20musical%20piece.%20I%20remember%20me%20(also%20a%20Biology%20paraiah%20then%20entering%20an%20English%20program)%20at%20that%20time:%20trying%20to%20embelish%20the%20small,%20making%20the%20irrelevant%20relevant%20even.%20%0D%0A%0D%0AThe%20plot's%20a%20wee%20bit%20thin%20(but%20NOT%20HOPELESS,%20like%20%22The%20Little%20Friend%22).%20The%20characters%20may%20be%20interchangeable,%20and%20the%20secret%20history%20is%20but%20hinted%20at%20and%20never%20fully%20disclosed.%20That's%20what%20I%20appreciate%20in%20this.%20And%20there%20is%20always%20the%20omnipresent%20appreciation%20of%20having%20been%20changed%20by%20a%20masterwork%20earlier%20in%20life,%20when%20it%20actually%20sorta%20counted,%20than%20later.%20Melancholic%20because%20I%20am%20getting%20older*---that's%20indeed%20an%20accomplishment%20for%20a%20novel%20to%20impart,%20no%3F%0D%0A%0D%0A%0D%0A*which%20leads%20to%20less%20time%20for%20leasure%20and%20more%20time%20to%20NOT%20read,%20as%20is%20evident%20by%20my%20failed%20attempts%20at%20reading%20Henry%20James's%20%22The%20Ambassadors%22%20and%20%22The%20Rise%20of%20Silas%20Lapham.%22%20This%20is%20why%20Donna%20Tartt%20seemed%20like%20the%20perfect%20catalyst%20to%20disrupt%20the%20recent%20reading%20stagnation.%20Next:%20Kurt%20Vonnegut's%20%22Hocus%20Pocus.%22">more...</a>]]></body>
        
    
  </update>  
      <update type="review">
    <action_text><![CDATA[gave 5 stars to: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12298.The_Scarlet_Letter_and_Other_Writings">The Scarlet Letter and Other Writings (Norton Critical Editions)</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7799.Nathaniel_Hawthorne">Nathaniel Hawthorne</a>]]></action_text>
    <link>http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/75897067</link>
    <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1166495227s/12298.jpg</image_url>
    <actor>
  <id type="integer">1036893</id>
  <name>Fabian</name>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1226606063p2/1036893.jpg</image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1036893-fabian</link>
</actor>

    <updated_at>Mon, 02 Nov 2009 13:41:25 -0800</updated_at>
        
      
          <body><![CDATA[Once I took a Hawthorne class and I was hooked. Though I have not read all his short stories, all the novels I have and I've imagined them as being some of the best ever written. Maybe the stories themselves lack quicker plot/pace, but the writing is FLAWLESS. &quot;Scarlet Letter&quot;, &quot;House...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/Once%20I%20took%20a%20Hawthorne%20class%20and%20I%20was%20hooked.%20Though%20I%20have%20not%20read%20all%20his%20short%20stories,%20all%20the%20novels%20I%20have%20and%20I've%20imagined%20them%20as%20being%20some%20of%20the%20best%20ever%20written.%20Maybe%20the%20stories%20themselves%20lack%20quicker%20plot%2Fpace,%20but%20the%20writing%20is%20FLAWLESS.%20%22Scarlet%20Letter%22,%20%22House%20of%20the%20Seven%20Gables%22,%20%22The%20Blithedale%20Romance%22%20and%20%22The%20Marble%20Faun%22%20are%20all%20part%20of%20the%20literary%20canon%20because%20Mr.%20Hawthorne%20seems%20to%20touch%20upon%20very%20dark%20elements%20(sprites%20and%20devils...%20magical%20fauns...%20haunted%20houses...).%20There%20is%20suggestion,%20which%20totally%20works%20for%20horror%20films,%20as%20well%20as%20these%20semi-horror%20productions.%20%22The%20Scarlet%20Letter%22%20is%20a%20quick%20read,%20a%20very%20interesting%20exercise%20in%20symbolism%20and%20moods.%20It%20is%20absolutely%20a%20ROMANCE.%20It%20is%20undoubtedly%20a%20classic,%20since%20it%20relates%20to%20Salem's%20trials,%20early%20colonial%20tribulations,%20etc.%20Very%20relevant%20to%20U.S.%20history--%20AND%20one%20of%20the%20best%20documents%20of%20being%20TRUE%20to%20oneself,%20above%20all.%20Sometimes%20sins%20can%20take%20a%20life%20of%20their%20own.%20%0D%0A%0D%0AAlso,%20I%20must%20add%20that%20the%20moments%20of%20deux%20ex%20machina,%20here,%20with%20an%20enormous%20%22A%22%20ablaze%20in%20the%20middle%20of%20the%20sky,%20the%20searing%20of%20Dimmsdale's%20chest...%20all%20these%20may-have-beens,%20bordering%20on%20the%20impossible,%20make%20this%20a%20magical%20work.%20I%20feel%20accomplished---%20knowing%20Hawthorne%20well%20enough,%20and%20dizzy%20in%20awe.">more...</a>]]></body>
        
    
  </update>  
      <update type="review">
    <action_text><![CDATA[gave 5 stars to: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/84653.El_Ingenioso_Hidalgo_Don_Quijote_De_La_Mancha">El Ingenioso Hidalgo Don Quijote De La Mancha (Cervantes &amp; Co. Spanish Classics)</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2601.Miguel_de_Cervantes">Miguel de Cervantes</a>]]></action_text>
    <link>http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/72279279</link>
    <image_url>http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61iWRq8L0lL._SL75_.jpg</image_url>
    <actor>
  <id type="integer">1036893</id>
  <name>Fabian</name>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1226606063p2/1036893.jpg</image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1036893-fabian</link>
</actor>

    <updated_at>Tue, 27 Oct 2009 09:54:08 -0700</updated_at>
        
      
          <body><![CDATA[1050 pages-- and not once was I like, &quot;This ain't worth it.&quot; It is.<br/><br/>The novel about novels (my favorite motif of all lit is lit within lit... storytelling...you know...?) is actually a novel about love. The three voyages by Don Quixote are obvious metaphors for life and all the ...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1050%20pages--%20and%20not%20once%20was%20I%20like,%20%22This%20ain't%20worth%20it.%22%20It%20is.%0D%0A%0D%0AThe%20novel%20about%20novels%20(my%20favorite%20motif%20of%20all%20lit%20is%20lit%20within%20lit...%20storytelling...you%20know...%3F)%20is%20actually%20a%20novel%20about%20love.%20The%20three%20voyages%20by%20Don%20Quixote%20are%20obvious%20metaphors%20for%20life%20and%20all%20the%20characters%20he%20meets%20along%20the%20road%20are%20romantically%20inclined,%20bored%20and%20in%20want%20of%20change.%20Don%20Quixote%20and%20his%20squire,%20Sancho%20Panza,%20provide%20ample%20entertainment%20for%20them%20and%20for%20us,%20the%20reader.%0D%0A%0D%0AThis%20relationship%20lasted%20a%20month%20and%20I%20cannot%20recall%20a%20single%20detriment.%20It%20is%20structured%20like%20The%20Arabian%20Nights%20and%20The%20Canterbury%20Tales---%20that%20is,%20much%20is%20told%20of%20the%20character%20telling%20the%20story,%20and%20of%20his%20or%20her%20potential%20maddness%20or%20sanity.%20This%20dualism%20is%20explored%20to%20the%20fullest%20and%20characterized%20by%20moments%20of%20sheer%20happiness%20and%20almost-delirium.%20There%20is%20a%20world%20established%20here,%20and%20did%20it%20actually%20occur%3F%20The%20characters%20fall%20into%20apocrypha%20and%20then%20into%20stark%20reality.%20It%20is%20no%20mistake%20that%20Cervantes%20foretold%20what%20the%20two%20adventurers%20realize%20at%20about%20page%20900:%20they%20will%20be%20famous%20for%20all%20time%20and%20their%20images%20shall%20be%20ingrained%20everywhere.%20Don%20Quixote%20and%20Sancho%20Panza%20are%20immortal%20in%20Spain%20and%20can%20be%20seen%20pretty%20much%20in%20every%20town%20traversed.%20The%20self-sppointed%20prophecy%20lives%20to%20this%20VERY%20DAY!!!!%20That%20fiction%20merges%20with%20history,%20that%20the%20book%20is%20self%20consious%20and%20post%20modern...%20all%20these%20things%20and%20more%20are%20part%20of%20the%20Quixote%20legend.%0D%0A%0D%0AI%20say%20the%20book%20is%20about%20love%20because%20everyone%20suffers%20from%20the%20disease:%20Don%20Quixote%20loves%20his%20tales%20of%20knight-errantry,%20and%20his%20own%20views%20of%20chivalry%20clash%20with%20those%20of%20the%20folks%20he%20meets.%20He%20is%20progressively%20antiquarian.%20Sancho%20is%20in%20love%20with%20his%20master,%20has%20a%20very%20stable%20view%20on%20life%20(he%20attains%20the%20title%20of%20governor%20and%20insists,%20ten%20days%20later,%20to%20quit%20and%20continue%20his%20life%20with%20his%20knight)%20and%20talking%20in%20proverbs%20he%20displays,%20until%20Book%20II%20of%20course,%20a%20wisdom%20that%20has%20obviously%20evolved,%20like%20the%20story,%20like%20the%20character,%20like%20the%20reader.%20There%20are%20plenty%20of%20characters%20in%20love%20with%20damsels,%20there%20are%20peasants%20in%20love%20with%20a%20good%20laugh%20(even%20the%20ass%20and%20Rozinante,%20the%20%22Knight%20of%20the%20Rueful%20Figure%22's%20steed,%20find%20eternal%20companionship)%20and%20then%20there%20is%20the%20reader,%20an%20IMPORTANT%20FIGURE%20IN%20THIS%20ADVENTURE%20(also)%20who%20is%20sure%20to%20fall%20under%20the%20enchantment%20of%20this%20classic%20that%20defies%20conventional%20storytelling%20and%20has%20absolutely%20no%20rival.">more...</a>]]></body>
        
    
  </update>  
      <update type="review">
    <action_text><![CDATA[gave 3 stars to: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28703.Cosmopolis">Cosmopolis (Paperback)</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/233.Don_DeLillo">Don DeLillo</a>]]></action_text>
    <link>http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/72277766</link>
    <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1167955055s/28703.jpg</image_url>
    <actor>
  <id type="integer">1036893</id>
  <name>Fabian</name>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1226606063p2/1036893.jpg</image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1036893-fabian</link>
</actor>

    <updated_at>Wed, 23 Sep 2009 16:15:15 -0700</updated_at>
        
      
          <body><![CDATA[As eerie, weird, morbid, (yet) concise writers go, Don De Lillo takes the cake. In &quot;White Noise&quot;, people go a bit crazy after a chemical spill makes an OCD person's otherwise superdirty world into a superdooperdirty world. There are waves of radiation everywhere... the world is infiltrated...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/As%20eerie,%20weird,%20morbid,%20(yet)%20concise%20writers%20go,%20Don%20De%20Lillo%20takes%20the%20cake.%20In%20%22White%20Noise%22,%20people%20go%20a%20bit%20crazy%20after%20a%20chemical%20spill%20makes%20an%20OCD%20person's%20otherwise%20superdirty%20world%20into%20a%20superdooperdirty%20world.%20There%20are%20waves%20of%20radiation%20everywhere...%20the%20world%20is%20infiltrated%20by%20'lil%20parasites.%0D%0A%0D%0AIn%20%22Cosmopolis%22,%20the%20Y2K%20scare%20is%20meshed%20with%20%22American%20Psycho.%22%20Eric%20is%20a%20multimillionaire%20(billionaire%3F)%20who%20can%20control%20the%20American%20Stock%20Market%20via%20a%20gadgeted%20limo.%20Far%20out!%20But%20he%20ignores%20what%20occurs%20one%20fine%20April%20day%20(yr.%202000)%20in%20NYC...%20and%20he%20is%20the%20archetype%20we%20all%20have%20known%20and%20loved%20all%20along.%0D%0A%0D%0AThere%20is%20much%20to%20ponder%20after%20reading%20this%20%22Day%20in%20the%20Life%20of...%22%20There%20is%20much%20action%20within%20non%20action...%20if%20that%20makes%20sense...%20as%20if%20everything%20was%20its%20composite.%20Micromolecules.....%0D%0A%0D%0AAnyway,%20if%20you%20have%20OCD,%20or%20you%20are%20completely%20terrified%20of%20germs,%20technology,%20and%20nonsense...%20De%20Lillo%20is%20NOT%20for%20you.">more...</a>]]></body>
        
    
  </update>  
  </updates>
      
</user>

</GoodreadsResponse>