Zina Rohan's Blog, page 3
July 1, 2012
Partial Infinity
I've read about 250 pages of Infinite Jest so far and I'm wondering whether to me it is the equivalent of reading, in translation, a novel from an unknown part of the world, or whether American readers would share some of that response. I am enjoying it - make no mistake, where I can understand it, that is. It's not the convolutions of the plot that are the problem (though they are, and I think are meant to be), it's the allusions to things and ways of expressing them that I can't always follow. This is a deeply American book, it seems to me. Help!
June 12, 2012
June 6, 2012
My Last Foray into Patrick Hamilton
Three linked novellas: the story of handsome Bob the waiter at the Midnight Bell pub, a little north of Oxford street; then of Jenny, the prostitute with whom he is hopelessly infatuated; finally of Ella, the barmaid at the pub, who is hopelessly in love with Bob.
Hamilton is an astonishing social commentator. I get the feeling of 1930s London as in nothing else. His ear for dialogue is as sharp as ever; his doom-laden writing as gloomy, but as sardonic as ever; his characters as solidly drawn. If there is one caveat it is perhaps that on occasion he is enjoying himself so much in the exchanges between characters, and his asides on these, that they go on a little too long. Once on a riff, it's hard to stop.
More entertaining than Her Majesty's jubilee...in the pouring rain.
Hamilton is an astonishing social commentator. I get the feeling of 1930s London as in nothing else. His ear for dialogue is as sharp as ever; his doom-laden writing as gloomy, but as sardonic as ever; his characters as solidly drawn. If there is one caveat it is perhaps that on occasion he is enjoying himself so much in the exchanges between characters, and his asides on these, that they go on a little too long. Once on a riff, it's hard to stop.
More entertaining than Her Majesty's jubilee...in the pouring rain.
May 27, 2012
Witty Gloom
Prompted by a friend I have started on a Patrick Hamiltonbonanza. Hangover Square and Slaves of Solitude so far. The man is gloomy from paragraph one, but so witty, so tart in his capture of society and internal musings. Sentence for sentence the writing is wonderful. Shame he drank himself to death. Alcohol didn't do much for his protagonists either.
May 19, 2012
Wow!
I've just read The Taste of a Man. It's quite short and...well, really I mustn't say too much because that would entail a spoiler. In theory it's about a Polish literature postgraduate student in New York who meets a Brazilian anthropology postgrad. She has a lover back in Poland. He is married and has a baby in Brazil. But these two have an intense three-month long affair (the duration of their bursaries). When it has to end because each has to return home, neither can bear it. The girl, Tereza, takes matters into her own hands.
It's what she does, what she thinks about what she does and how Slavenka Drakulic describes it that is the essence of this novel. I have never read anything like it. If you are faint-hearted, keep away.
It's what she does, what she thinks about what she does and how Slavenka Drakulic describes it that is the essence of this novel. I have never read anything like it. If you are faint-hearted, keep away.
May 13, 2012
Flummoxed
I've just read The Hanging Shed because I wanted to know what all the hype was about. I still want to know.
May 2, 2012
Oh Dear!
I like William Boyd - a lot, but I didn't like this - Waiting for Sunrise. Young, middle-ranking English actor shows up in 1913 Vienna to consult an English shrink to help him with his inability to achieve orgasm. Shrink helps. Young actor, Lysander Rief, then has steamy affair with very neurotic young artist, who accuses him of rape to protect herself when her volatile partner finds out about their affair. Rief escapes because he is a master of disguise. Of course he is. He's an actor.
His skills have been noted and appreciated by England's Secret Services, who recruit him as a spy. Off to the front he goes, to France, then Switzerland then finally back to England to sort it all out. There's plenty of local colour; quite a lot of sex - but a great deal of inconsistency of character, some plodding plotting, and too many of the dullest sentences I've read in a while. Definitely Boyd in an off period.
His skills have been noted and appreciated by England's Secret Services, who recruit him as a spy. Off to the front he goes, to France, then Switzerland then finally back to England to sort it all out. There's plenty of local colour; quite a lot of sex - but a great deal of inconsistency of character, some plodding plotting, and too many of the dullest sentences I've read in a while. Definitely Boyd in an off period.
April 26, 2012
Why We Like the Books We do but not Others
http://www.nybooks.com/blogs/nyrblog/...
Click into this. Do you agree? What was YOUR family's conversation?
Click into this. Do you agree? What was YOUR family's conversation?
April 4, 2012
Snoot-maker
A friend pointed me to Consider the Lobster and Other Essays largely because of the review of the dictionary of American usage. This last informed me that I am without doubt a Snoot.
I love this book even if, on occasion, I can't understand it as it is meant to be understood simply because I don't get all the American references - especially to sport (I'm not keen on any sort of sport, never mind American football or baseball or whatever). But sentence for sentence these essays, gathered over some years, are such a joy. Although I do wish the footnotes had been printed in a larger point than in the edition I have.
Now, Infinite Jest. It's only a matter of time - and time.
I love this book even if, on occasion, I can't understand it as it is meant to be understood simply because I don't get all the American references - especially to sport (I'm not keen on any sort of sport, never mind American football or baseball or whatever). But sentence for sentence these essays, gathered over some years, are such a joy. Although I do wish the footnotes had been printed in a larger point than in the edition I have.
Now, Infinite Jest. It's only a matter of time - and time.
March 16, 2012
What's in a word?
Now here's a thing: I got a message that someone on Goodreads had just 'shelved' one of my books. In English English, as opposed to US English, to shelf something means to get rid of it. Conversely, if we Brits table something, we are proposing it as an idea to be considered, whereas - unless I am mistaken - in the USA, your tabling is our shelving.
What is it with transatlantic furniture?
What is it with transatlantic furniture?
