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July 06
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Andrés
gave
to:
Where the Rivers Flow North (Hardscrabble Books)
by Howard Frank Mosher
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my rating:
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read in October, 1997
Andrés said:
"The short stories found herein are amongst the most starkly beautiful I've ever read. The novella does not measure up to that high standard, but even with its occasional dryness it also is rather good. What I liked most about these stories is their h...more
The short stories found herein are amongst the most starkly beautiful I've ever read. The novella does not measure up to that high standard, but even with its occasional dryness it also is rather good. What I liked most about these stories is their honesty, they don't flinch, not even at their conclusions. This honesty is a sort of love, for the characters never leave Northeast Vermont, they don't make of their lives what they are not....less
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Andrés
gave
to:
An Artist of the Floating World (Paperback)
by Kazuo Ishiguro
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my rating:
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read in July, 2008
Andrés said:
"A good book that uses the annoying trope of a narrator pretending the reader knows things the reader can't possibly know. The narrator then goes back to the event he assumed the reader knew about and explains it, since of course the reader didn't kno...more
A good book that uses the annoying trope of a narrator pretending the reader knows things the reader can't possibly know. The narrator then goes back to the event he assumed the reader knew about and explains it, since of course the reader didn't know what he was talking about in the first place. Used once or perhaps twice, such a narrative technique would have been okay. Used as the primary way of telling the story though, and it's just irritating.
On a more positive note, the pace of the book was steady and matched its title. You sort of floated from scene to scene. However, the contents of the plot didn't much match the book's title: the central fact of the narrator's life is that he left the floating world and tried to "do something" with his life.
In the end perhaps you are left with the realisation that doing something is better than doing nothing, but even then, that is just a preliminary step for a meaningful life. You also must do something good for life to be meaningful, and the only way to know what is good is to judge how things will look at the end of your life. That is, after all, the point closest to eternity for any person....less
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June 26
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Andrés
gave
to:
Barrel Fever: Stories and Essays (Paperback)
by David Sedaris
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my rating:
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read in June, 2008
Andrés said:
"Good writer, bad writing. Actually, worse than bad. These short stories were funny in the sense that mass murder is amusing. "We Get Along" is easily one of the most depressing short stories I've read. Looking at the reviews and actually ha...more
Good writer, bad writing. Actually, worse than bad. These short stories were funny in the sense that mass murder is amusing. "We Get Along" is easily one of the most depressing short stories I've read. Looking at the reviews and actually having read the book, I can only wonder whether we read the same book. And I wonder how people could find the stories uproariously funny. I mean, "laugh[ing] out loud more often than anything I've read in years"? What? These stories made me wince more often than anything I'ver read in years. The only positive I could take away from this book was Sedaris' repeated return to the theme of a normal world that seems insane to someone who is insane....less
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Andrés
gave
to:
The Master of Go (Paperback)
by Yasunari Kawabata
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my rating:
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read in June, 2008
Andrés said:
"Well, I still don't know if the problem is Kawabata's writing or Seidensticker's translating, but I have a feeling it's the latter. This is the second Seidensticker translation I've read ("Snow Country" was the first), and the lack of flow ...more
Well, I still don't know if the problem is Kawabata's writing or Seidensticker's translating, but I have a feeling it's the latter. This is the second Seidensticker translation I've read ("Snow Country" was the first), and the lack of flow is very noticeable. There's no rhythm or melody to his writing, so you feel you are walking along an incredibly uneven path that makes unexpected turns all the time. This reinforces my belief that translators must not only be adept in both languages, but must be good writers themselves for them to properly translate someone else's writing.
The examination of past and future, which supposedly was at the centre of this book, never really got off the ground. You just learn that the Master was arbitrary and Otake was... what? Indecisive? Too emotional? Too rule-bound? It's never made clear what exactly makes Otake representative of Japan's future, just that he has certain personal qualities that clash with the Master's personal qualities. In fact, this is the problem with the book: rather than small observations accumulating into an overall picture, all you get are small observation strewn across a Go board without much strategy or purpose....less
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May 10
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Andrés
gave
to:
The Da Vinci Code (Paperback)
by Dan Brown
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my rating:
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Andrés
gave
to:
A Nation of Immigrants (Paperback)
by John F. Kennedy
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my rating:
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read in October, 1997
Andrés said:
"This is more inspirational than historical, it reads more like a pamphlet than a book. His brush strokes are broad and some of his details are inaccurate, but his thrust is undoubtedly right. These pages outline the Immigration Act of 1965, a law ins...more
This is more inspirational than historical, it reads more like a pamphlet than a book. His brush strokes are broad and some of his details are inaccurate, but his thrust is undoubtedly right. These pages outline the Immigration Act of 1965, a law inspired by these, JFK's, thoughts on the subject, and so I agree to the depths of my heart in this book's proposition of human equality, the principle which allows me to be....less
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Andrés
gave
to:
The White and the Gold: The French Regime in Canada (Hardcover)
by Thomas B. Costain
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my rating:
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read in September, 1997
Andrés said:
"Heaven prevent me from writing a book as poor as this one. It is racist, deals only in stereotypes, and is completely devoid of meaningful and deep historical analysis. Many passages seem directly lifted out of his sources, an unfortunate habit that ...more
Heaven prevent me from writing a book as poor as this one. It is racist, deals only in stereotypes, and is completely devoid of meaningful and deep historical analysis. Many passages seem directly lifted out of his sources, an unfortunate habit that passes itself off as analysis. I do not see how my understanding of Québec has increased. Even though relying heavily on Mr Parkman's books, this volume falls dreadfully short of that high standard....less
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Andrés
gave
to:
What I Saw at the Revolution: A Political Life in the Reagan Era (Paperback)
by Peggy Noonan
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my rating:
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Andrés
gave
to:
Video Night in Kathmandu: And Other Reports from the Not-So-Far East (Paperback)
by Pico Iyer
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my rating:
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