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July 28
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Ill
gave
to:
The Temple of the Golden Pavilion (Hardcover)
by Yukio Mishima
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my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
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read in July, 2008
Ill said:
"Mishima's death/life has reached a point where his actual body of work has been eclipsed. It's okay with me 'cuz I know he would've wanted it that way.
This book is amazing. Mishima is amazing. I'm totally obsessed with quasi-sociopathic gay men (M...more
Mishima's death/life has reached a point where his actual body of work has been eclipsed. It's okay with me 'cuz I know he would've wanted it that way.
This book is amazing. Mishima is amazing. I'm totally obsessed with quasi-sociopathic gay men (Mishima, Genet, Cooper, even Burroughs) and their construction of masculinity. Genet and Mishima in particular and their dual worship of criminals and facists. Really, there's just something about poets claiming to be unfeeling slabs of maleness that just makes their works both absurd and visceral.
It's complicated and not something I can quite explain but if you like Genet read Mishima and vice versa....less
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Ill made a comment on Imogen's profile:
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New comment on Imogen's review of
Trust, the Hand Book: A Guide to the Sensual and Spiritual Art of Handballing
(see all 3 comments)
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July 26
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Ill
gave
to:
The Sluts (Paperback)
by Dennis Cooper
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my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
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Ill said:
"Chuck Palahnuik is a fucking poser. Fuck "Snuff". Fuck Chuck. If you want some down and dirty snuff film fiction it doesn't get any better (or dirtier) than this little gem.
I felt guilty after reading this book. He blurs the line between ...more
Chuck Palahnuik is a fucking poser. Fuck "Snuff". Fuck Chuck. If you want some down and dirty snuff film fiction it doesn't get any better (or dirtier) than this little gem.
I felt guilty after reading this book. He blurs the line between reader and participant so skillfully I found myself grappling with my own hideous perversions.
Ultimately in a society where the internet, et al. has made the once impossible attainable - the lone nut now linked to other lone nuts.
Have we reached a point in our supply and demand economy where morbid curiosity is no longer benign?...less
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Ill
gave
to:
Against Happiness: In Praise of Melancholy (Hardcover)
by Eric G. Wilson
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my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
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read in July, 2008
Ill said:
"I love a rant. One tormented soul railing against the world: yes. Also, I'm not that into happiness. Don't get me wrong, I love fun and not feeling like shit all the time or whatever, but I'm just not one with a sunny disposition...and I like it that...more
I love a rant. One tormented soul railing against the world: yes. Also, I'm not that into happiness. Don't get me wrong, I love fun and not feeling like shit all the time or whatever, but I'm just not one with a sunny disposition...and I like it that way. Hell, sometimes feeling like shit is the only way to properly align yourself with the world.
At times Wilson's writing was beautiful and sad. He argued eloquently against the destruction wreaked by the happy majority. He described with some precision the experience of depression as transformative and not necessarily negative.
Melancholia is by nature a state of extreme self absorption. This book failed based on the fact that Wilson continued to pull examples from the history of art and culture to back up his claim that melancholia can be a fruitful and productive state. Not only was his writing then side-tracked into traveling the same path again and again but I think anyone with 1/2 a mind knows that most of our greatest creative achievements have been brought to us by people who are fucked, depressed, addicted, and/or bat shit crazy.
Finally, i just lost my damn patience. The book is twee, but I stopped reading it because as a literary critic he couldn't just step away and give us a pleasant (that's not the word, but I haven't drank my coffee yet) little jeremiad.
*Bonus points for cover design. I work in a ritzy little neighborhood and somehow this was the perfect accessory to match my dour expression and cigarette.
Scare the squares, man....less
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July 23
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New comment on Ill's review of
The Bloody Chamber
(see all 3 comments)
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June 05
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Ill
gave
to:
Veronica: A Novel (Hardcover)
by Mary Gaitskill
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my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
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Ill said:
"Sigh...Oh, Ms. Gaitskill. You make me feel like an oaf. An oaf that lacks the ability to articulate my feelings or intuit anything but the basest emotions...I love you despite how dumb you make me feel.
Mary Gaitskill confuses the world around me, m...more
Sigh...Oh, Ms. Gaitskill. You make me feel like an oaf. An oaf that lacks the ability to articulate my feelings or intuit anything but the basest emotions...I love you despite how dumb you make me feel.
Mary Gaitskill confuses the world around me, making the chasms between people seem even greater but somehow illuminating their depths in a way that make other writers seem juvenile.
Stop breaking my heart, Lady....less
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June 04
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Ill made a comment on tania's profile:
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March 25
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Ill
gave
to:
The Amber Spyglass (His Dark Materials, Book 3)
by Philip Pullman
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my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
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Ill said:
"I want to review this as an addendum to my somewhat tepid review of the first.
Yes, I committed to the entire series. I believe the first book was meant to lull parents/children into a false sense of security. But it degenerates into an orgiastic sm...more
I want to review this as an addendum to my somewhat tepid review of the first.
Yes, I committed to the entire series. I believe the first book was meant to lull parents/children into a false sense of security. But it degenerates into an orgiastic smorgasborg of blasphemy by the third book. I couldn't believe what I was reading. Couldn't believe it was a popular book for children. Couldn't believe that the book censors screwed up so bad with the Harry Potter witch hunt that they paved the way for His Dark Materials to be okay. I don't want to spoil it for anyone who has yet to read it.
The sheer glee of the rebel angels would have made me give this five stars except that he really wimped out at the end. He should have just replaced the last twenty pages with drawings of smiley faces and illustrations by Mary Englebright. He makes such a big deal of not pandering to his readership, I think he needs to remember that means we don't always need such a pat ending....less
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I've been missing your book recommendations! I'm so glad that NerdSpace can help fill the void. xxoo.
