Sean’s Comments (group member since Jan 30, 2019)

Sean’s comments from the Boxall's 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die group.

Discussion open

Discussion open

Janet wrote: "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn that has been on my shelf unread for 32 years."

That might be the dust-gathering record!

The Discovery of Heaven by Harry Mulisch

I just finished Doctor Faustus by Thomas Mann. Having read two other Mann novels and being in the middle of a third, I must say this is the only one I struggled to get through. I totally understand its place on the list. But it was dense! And full of stuff I just had to sludge through.

Time to discuss!

Buddenbrooks: The Decline of a Family by Thomas Mann

I finished Growth of the Soil by Knut Hamsun. Very simple to follow. In fact, I sometimes felt like I was reading Dr. Suess. Was that the translation, or is it really that simple?

Well this month started out with a BANG! In the first 9 chapters of the first book/part alone we are dealing with a lot of stuff.

I am loving this book more and more.

Growth of the Soil by Knut Hamsun

The Glass Bead Game by Hermann Hesse. I liked the story parts the most. The end stories and the legend was my favorite part.

A sudden influx of new members. Welcome all!!

Maria wrote: "A: Adrian in The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes

NOTE: I desided to move Allan Quatermain from A to Q. I hope that's not cheating :)"

Not cheating. I am always on the lookout for ways to move things around so that I can complete the challenge.

Janice (JG) wrote: "Jay Cantor wrote a review for the New York Times ..." Unfortunately, I have "reached my limit of free articles" on nytimes.com. I don't read enough news to subscribe.

The rest of that is very interesting. I am currently reading Hesse, so I am very deep in Eastern practices. Thanks for sharing.

Would anybody say we are dealing with an unreliable narrator? Mostly thinking about the episode with Dizzy. What he wanted to do to/for Dizzy was a little bit insane.

So much of the real information in the story is factual and verifiable, yet Walt's "achievements" are far flung and imaginative. Is it possible they never happened except in his mind, developed over the years until now, as an old man, he is writing his "story"? He waited until he was the only one who could confirm or deny his story before he wrote it.

Mr. Vertigo by Paul Auster. More has been posted on the group read thread.

I was very disappointed that life didn't allow me to read this book along with most of you. But I am changing my mind about this now that I have read all the comments above. They have given me a lot to think about and compare my own reading.

Like Janice, I was intrigued from the very start. I had no idea what this book was about before i cracked it open and I was quite taken in from the beginning.

I liked the writing at first, but like George, I was soon put off by the YA tone. Actually I felt it was even below YA when it started. It feels like it was written for a reader the age of Walt. The toilet humor got old for me. However, the content was definitely not appropriate for that age group.

I really like Amanda's thought that the levitation was a metaphor for success. And the loss of that ability for the fading away of a child's early career. Clichés of child actors' troubled lives come to mind.

Angie, I struggled to think like you. I actually loved the story. I just couldn't deal with the writing. Previous issues with the writing style, toilet humor, and then the use of so much slang and other clichés just began to tire me. It seemed like he was trying way too hard. But I will add that I did like the historical references. Especially the ones relating to baseball. I had to look up a few of the stats. Found that fun.

Katrina, I was glad to see your post. I started to worry that with 6 other Auster novels on the list I was going to have a rough time with them. I am glad to know that his writing style changes from novel to novel, and I am now looking forward to the next one.

Doctor Faustus by Thomas Mann

Just finished The Secret History by Donna Tartt. One of the best this year for me.

Also starting The Glass Bead Game by Hermann Hesse.