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Russell Bittner

Goodreads Author

Born

in Summit, NJ, The United States

Twitter

https://twitter.com/Russell538

Genre

Literature & Fiction, Philosophy, Poetry

Influences

Too numerous to list or even count

Member Since

April 2009

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/russell538

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Russell presently lives and works in Hudson, New York, USA.

Russell has two kiddoes, Chris (M, aged 29) and Alex (F, aged 26). Both are out of the nest -- which, in any case, fell apart long ago. My boy lives in Manhattan, my girl in Brooklyn. The three of us occasionally meet for lunch or dinner or even an entire weekend -- whenever, that is, one party or the other can be convinced to drive north.

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Russell Bittner’s books

Average rating: 4.28 · 132 ratings · 86 reviews · 22 distinct works

	Trompe-l'oeil by Russell Bittner (Goodreads Author), Claudia Grinnell (Translator), Michael Griffith (Translator) 3.88 avg rating — 34 ratings — published 2011	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Letters to My Children 4.33 avg rating — 15 ratings — published 2011 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Stories in the Key of C. Minor. 4.78 avg rating — 9 ratings — published 2009 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	One Little Christmas Tree 4.43 avg rating — 7 ratings — published 2012	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Girl from Baku really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 7 ratings — published 2003 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Room to Rent 4.67 avg rating — 6 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	In the Animal Kingdom it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 5 ratings — published 2011	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Collisions 4.60 avg rating — 5 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Dead Don't Bitch 4.20 avg rating — 5 ratings — published 2011 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Something Special it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 4 ratings — published 2013 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Russell is Currently Reading

Russell Bittner is currently reading

The Street of Crocodiles and Other Stories

by Bruno Schulz

bookshelves: currently-reading, one-of-a-kind

read in January 2016

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Russell Bittner said: " In his Foreword to this collection, fellow Brooklyn burgher Jonathan Safran Foer writes “I remember the first time I read The Street of Crocodiles. I loved the book but didn’t like it. The language was too heightened, the images too magical and preca In his Foreword to this collection, fellow Brooklyn burgher Jonathan Safran Foer writes “I remember the first time I read The Street of Crocodiles. I loved the book but didn’t like it. The language was too heightened, the images too magical and precarious, the yearnings too dire, the sense of loss too palpable—everything was comedy or tragedy. The experience was too intense to be pleasant, in large part because it reminded me of how mundane—how unintense—my life was.”

Foer then sets the conclusion of his Foreword with a most eloquent and appropriate quote: ‘(a) book must be an ice-axe to break the seas frozen inside of us,’ Kafka famously wrote. Schulz’s two books are the sharpest axes I’ve ever come across. I encourage you to split the chopping block using them.”

I wish I could agree with Jonathan Safran Foer, but I can’t. Schulz’s prose is, to state the obvious, quite competent. But form is only half the argument to any work of art, the other half being content. If Schulz occasionally applies an adjective or adverb too many to his narrative, you’ll get no quibble from me. (After all, many painters intentionally lay on more paint than a given subject may warrant.) No, it’s the static nature of his pieces that I object to.

Not to belabor the point, but I believe it was Aristotle who first gave us the best and simplest definition of a story: it must have a beginning, a middle and an end. With Schulz, all I get is the set-up—and then several paragraphs (or pages) of elaboration of that set-up.

In any case, I’ll let you reach your own conclusions based on a single paragraph I’ve pulled from the short piece that gave this collection its title—namely, “The Street of Crocodiles.” It was shortly after this (and about 65 pages into the book) that I simply gave up. “Hung on the wall, the map covered it almost entirely and opened a wide view on the valley of the River Tysmienica, which wound itself like a wavy ribbon of pale gold, on the maze of widely spreading ponds and marshes, on the high ground rising toward the south, gently at first, then in ever tighter ranges, in a chessboard of rounded hills, smaller and paler as they receded toward the misty yellow fog of the horizon. From that faded distance of the periphery, the city rose and grew toward the center of the map, an undifferentiated mass at first, a dense complex of blocks and houses, cut by deep canyons of streets, to become on the first plan a group of single houses, etched with the sharp clarity of a landscape seen through binoculars. In that section of the map, the engraver concentrated on the complicated and manifold profusion of streets and alleyways, the sharp lines of cornices, architraves, archivolts, and pilasters, lit by the dark gold of a late and cloudy afternoon which steeped all corners and recesses in the deep sepia of shade. The solids and prisms of that shade darkly honeycombed the ravines of streets, drowning in a warm color here half a street, there a gap between houses. They dramatized and orchestrated in a bleak romantic chiaroscuro the complex architectural polyphony.”

‘Nough said. The above paragraph is not atypical—and may in fact be just your cup of tea. The choice—and the cup—are yours.

RRB
01/05/16
Brooklyn, NY ...more "

Jan 05, 2016 01:17PM · see review

Russell Bittner is currently reading

Short Story Masterpieces by American Women Writers

by Clarence C. Strowbridge

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Apr 23, 2023 01:56PM

Russell Bittner is currently reading

The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling

by Henry Fielding

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Jan 12, 2023 08:34AM

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Russell’s Recent Updates

Russell Bittner has read Bright, Still by Dang Ziciu	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Sep 23, 2024 06:03PM · like
Russell Bittner rated a book it was amazing The Dreams of Bethany Mellmoth by William Boyd	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
William Boyd has always been one of my favorite authors -- along with another William, Bill Bryson. Boyd is English; Bryson is American. I wouldn't hold nationality against either one of them. Boyd writes fiction; Bryson writes non-fiction. Once agai ...more
Sep 17, 2024 12:44PM · like · see review
Russell Bittner rated a book liked it The Member of the Wedding by Carson McCullers	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
I first read this book in my early teens and decided that Carson McCuller's was one of the best writers I'd ever read. Now I've just read it again at the age of 74 and am wondering why I was previously to impressed. McCullers has imagination -- no dou ...more
Sep 10, 2024 11:28AM · like · see review
Russell Bittner rated a book it was amazing Territory of Light by Yūko Tsushima	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
This may well be the first book I've ever read by a Japanese writer. In any case, it certainly won't be the last. It's hard for me to imagine a more frank depiction of a woman's life in Japan. Not only of a woman's life, but of a wife's and mother's. H ...more
Sep 05, 2024 09:18AM · like · see review
Russell Bittner rated a book it was amazing Jellyfish Have No Ears by Adèle Rosenfeld	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
If you have hearing problems of any kind, this book is a must-read for you. That's not to say that it's a book only for the heard of hearing. It's certainly not. It's a book for everyone, and everyone can benefit from reading it. Congratulations to Ad ...more
Sep 05, 2024 08:33AM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Jellyfish Have No Ears by Adèle Rosenfeld. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Jellyfish Have No Ears by Adèle Rosenfeld <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Russell Bittner rated a book it was amazing Fortune's Rocks by Anita Shreve	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
This book was a minor miracle in my life -- this because I'd never heard of the author until I picked I I picked up the book, quite by accident, following my glance at a back cover portrait. With a face like that, I thought, I've got to see what this ...more
Aug 28, 2024 12:55PM · 3 likes · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Fortune's Rocks by Anita Shreve. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Fortune's Rocks by Anita Shreve <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Russell Bittner rated a book it was amazing THE DENTIST SHEIK FROM THE LOWER EAST SIDE by Benjamin Feldman	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Ben has done it once again! A fabulous prose writer and weaver of tales. Russell
Aug 24, 2024 09:30AM · like · see review
Russell Bittner liked Peter Marshall's review of Stories in the Key of C. Minor.: "Stories set in New York appealed to me as a frequent visitor to the Big Apple over many years. But musically, “In the key of C Minor” indicated a sombre and melancholy mood – not words which figure in my memories of the city! But reading on, I soon r" Read more of this review »
Jan 23, 2024 10:30PM · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Stories in the Key of C. Minor. by Russell Bittner. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Stories in the Key of C. Minor. by Russell Bittner <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Russell Bittner and 1 other person liked Kate Papas's review of Stories in the Key of C. Minor.: "It is of common knowledge that minor chords express melancholy. Hence, as indicated by the title, the common denominator of those short stories is sadness. But additionally to the feelings of loneliness, desperation and frustration that contribute to" Read more of this review »
Jan 23, 2024 10:28PM · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Stories in the Key of C. Minor. by Russell Bittner. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Stories in the Key of C. Minor. by Russell Bittner <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Russell Bittner and 1 other person liked Jessica Snyder's review of Stories in the Key of C. Minor.: "I know Russell Bittner primarily as a skilled poet--so it was that I searched amazon's book section a while ago for anything he'd written, hoping to find a poetry collection. This collection popped up, and I bought it immediately, hoping his fiction " Read more of this review »
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Topics Mentioning This Author

topics	posts	views	last activity
Making Connections: 470. Trompe-l'oeil by Russell Bittner	13	51	Nov 26, 2012 04:36AM
Making Connections: 3619. - TROMPE-L'OEIL by Russell Bittner	4	10	Jan 26, 2015 07:16AM

Russell’s Quotes

“It’s not a lie. It’s a gift for fiction.”
― David Mamet

25 likes

“A good friend will always stab you in the front.”
― Oscar Wilde

tags: friends-betrayal

10301 likes

“The greatest use of life is to spend it for something that will outlast it.”
― William James Dally

17 likes

“I believe that only poetry counts ... A great novelist is first of all a great poet.”
― François Mauriac

tags: fiction, poetry, writing

22 likes

“The greater the artist, the greater the doubt.”
― Robert Hughes

tags: writing, writing-advice, writing-life

14 likes

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Russell’s Friend Comments

Comments (showing 1-4) post a comment »

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message 4: by Russell

Jul 19, 2013 02:25PM

C. J.

Ditto!

Russell

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message 3: by C.J.

Jul 19, 2013 09:44AM

C.J. Heck

Hello Russell,

It's such a pleasure having you for a friend here at Goodreads. Thank you so much and best wishes to you.

My warmest regards and respect,
CJ

Anatomy of a Poet
Read a Preview:
http://www.goodreads.com/story/show/3...

Bits and Pieces Short Stories from a Writer's Soul by C.J. Heck

Bits and Pieces: Short Stories from a Writer's Soul
Read a Preview:
http://www.goodreads.com/story/show/3...

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message 2: by Russell

Mar 25, 2013 08:16AM

Karla,

Wow, girl! That is one impressive bio!!!

Please give my undying love and devotion to both Dorianne and Eve the next time you have an occasion to chat with either of them.

Russell

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message 1: by Karla

Mar 24, 2013 02:56PM

Russell -- Thank you for welcoming me to your GR world. Hope you'll drop by my author's page and see what's there.

Love your quotations, too.

Smiles,

Karla

reply | flag

Russell’s Year In Books

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