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.

Karen wrote: "Sean wrote: "I finished my re-read of A Town Like Alice by Nevil Shute. It was just as good the second time."

One of my favorites!"

Mine too!!

Started on The Story of a New Name by Elena Ferrante. This is step two on the way to The Story of the Lost Child.

I finished my re-read of A Town Like Alice by Nevil Shute. It was just as good the second time.

Starting my second read of A Town Like Alice by Nevil Shute.

George P. wrote: "Joining the group-read for The Book of Disquiet: The Complete Edition by Fernando Pessoa of Portugal. Translated from Portuguese although Pessoa was fluent in English and French.
A..."

Group read?

The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende. I liked the first half a lot. As it went on I lost some interest as it got more and more political.

This weekend I started The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende.

Kayla wrote: "70s and 80s and even early 90s, it seems that ALL of the characters smoke- something I myself detest..."

That's very true too.... or how about 14 year-old girls marrying 35 year old-men? And starting to have babies immediately. That was totally not even a big deal once upon a time. Now we all cringe.

Kayla wrote: "it's often very easy to get caught up in our own bubble of geographic location and forget that there is a bigger world out there than just what we see in front of us...."

I like the way you put this. It's very true. Geographically, as well as our place in time vs the time it was written.

Nocturnalux wrote: "Surely you did not think that Ulysses would not have been translated into Portuguese by now?..."

haha. I simply meant that I didn't know because I didn't bother to look it up. But thank you for letting me know that it has, indeed, been translated into Portuguese.

Here's another thought on the "you must read and enjoy and love these 1001 books".

Many of these books were written in languages that are not your own. When you read one of those, you are probably reading a translation and some, if not a lot, of the spirit will be lost in that.

One example is The Devil to Pay in the Backlands vs Grande Sertão: Veredas. I am currently reading it, and while I am enjoying it immensely, I have come to understand that it was added to the list due to it's regard in Brazil and in the colloquial mode and nuisances of the Portuguese in which it was originally written. And that it may not (or may) have been added to the list if it had been written as translated in English. It has been heralded as the "Brazilian Ulysses".

I don't know if there is a translation of Ulysses to Portuguese, but is it possible that it could be translated and yet still keep all that is special in it? I don't know. But if not, I could imagine a Brazilian reading his/her Portuguese edition of Ulysses and wondering why in the heck it was added to the list.

George P. wrote: "Nocturnalux wrote: "Sean wrote: "In addition to that, I started My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante.

It's not a list book, but it's the first of four parts that wi..."

I'm in the same boat as both of you. I had it queued up to go next, but so many other books have floated to the top via bookclubs and the such.

Pascal wrote: " I didn't catch if she had an affair with the boy (as some reviews mention) or if she was only close to him, as a human, with a descent and fearful relationship, like she could be with the white characters, as described in the book.

What do you think?..."

(view spoiler)[ I think it was very vague. An purposely so I believe. I personally don't think she does.

But my real thought is: does it matter? She treated him way too differently. She didn't have control of the situation all the time. The things that the other white men noticed (the way she talked to him. Him touching her. Him helping her dress/undress) were all way too inappropriate in their minds. They felt they needed to put a stop to it in order to save their way of life. They needed to preserve their status above the natives. In the end, whether they were having an affair or not was immaterial. She was threatening to bring down their powerful position by treating him almost human. (hide spoiler)]

In addition to that, I started My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante.

It's not a list book, but it's the first of four parts that will lead me to the list book: The Story of the Lost Child. I'll have to do some non-list reading to get to that one.

I enjoyed this book. It was definitely short. My copy had so much about Lessing attached to the end I thought I was only 3/4 of the way through when it suddenly ended.

I have to agree with S.L. I had expected more on how Dick went off kilter the way we saw him right at the beginning. But it really isn't hard to imagine why.

What a dismal picture she painted though. I didn't even like a single character except maybe Samson. And that was short-lived. I think I began to like child-Mary. But it really did say something about the time and the living conditions and the abuse that the natives had to endure.

It was a very well written book. I will look forward to reading others.

I will be picking up Grande Sertão: Veredas by João Guimarães Rosa at the library today. It's finally open for requests only.

The Grass Is Singing. More in the group read thread.

Ellinor wrote: "I finally finished my 500th book from the combined list today, a milestone I had planned on reaching more than two months ago."

That's a great one! Awesome

Tara wrote: "starting Don Quixote. I'm not sure how I'll enjoy this novel since I don't know enough or anything really about Spain or its history or culture."

I think you will be ok without that background. Just revel in the silly adventures and goofy chivalry.

Not to mention just having the background of the story and the characters for the rest of your life since this story is so often referenced in literature in general.

Bryan "They call me the Doge" wrote: "I had a hard time with that one. I can't say I got much out of it."

After reading Worstward Ho then reading your reply, I am starting to wonder if "that one" for me might just be read "Beckett".