The BURIED Book Club discussion
May I ADD please?
Still trying to pick up Turkish, and I can attest it does indeed have a superwacky (but fascinating) grammar, closest I could compare would be German, with the verb-at-the-end-of-the-sentence, but it has an additional lovely confuser by eschewing being verbs and prepositions, handling all that with endings, which are attachable to nearly anything, including other endings indicating possession, so "sınırında" ("suh-nuh-run-da") means on (or in or at) [-da] its own [-ın] edge, or border, or limit [sınır]. I know this doesn't address your shipping concerns, but I haven't added anything to this thread in a while.
Zadignose wrote: "I almost just assumed I could add Christian Dietrich Grabbe, but then I realized he wrote plays, and maybe theater stuff is kinda different sorta."ADD Please ::
rationale : rec'd by Faustroll. Reclam is sorta the German Penguin from which it follows that the literature, though intended für die Bühne, is also frequently read ; although, as BURIED, ought to be read.
Mala wrote: "Vance Bourjaily :Is he worthy enough for the ADD?"
Um, that was odd. See the review I was typing exactly at the time you were typing :: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
So, uh, yes please. ADD.
Ali wrote: "He's already got an entry here, however it was posted by Enrique Freeque, who vacated the premises after the announcement of GR's usurpation by our Amazonian overlords, and took his comments with h..."Ah,that's why the name sounded familiar!
I'll do the needful,hopefully soon.
Garima wrote: "Ursule Molinaro. The number of ratings is because of the translation work she did."ADD please.
Fiction Collective!!
[please to forgive that she trans'd Hesse]
And please to link to her wikipedia page which should cause some interest in her.
Thank you for introducing us to Ursule Molinaro, Garima. I just bought a few of her books and I am excited to read them. I can't believe I've never heard of her before...Thank you for unburying her!
Tia wrote: "Thank you for introducing us to Ursule Molinaro, Garima. I just bought a few of her books and I am excited to read them. I can't believe I've never heard of her before...Thank you for unburying her!"That's great, Tia and You're most welcome.
Rand wrote: "Eliza Orzeszkowa"Can I get a little more? She has two books with outrageously HUGE numbers of ratings.
Nathan "N.R." wrote: "Rand wrote: "Eliza Orzeszkowa"Can I get a little more? She has two books with outrageously HUGE numbers of ratings."
She's Poland's Tolstoy. Now mostly read by students in that country, in Polish. There are only two translations of hers in English: Nad Niemen and The Obscure Apostle, which was republished by The Book Depository's imprint Dodo Press . She was considered for the Nobel in 1905 but did not win.
Rand wrote: "She's Poland's Tolstoy. Now mostly read by students in that country, in Polish."And no reviews in English. But I think I did notice a few more English titles.
ADD please.
Thanks, Rand, for adding her. I would've done it otherwise.
I find that I'm suddenly intimidated by this group, a feeling I seldom have! I've been going through, well skimming through, various threads but still feel a bit shy & perplexed about where to put my suggestions other than 'archive of unburied reviews'. I can add a couple there but most of my reviews are quite masturbatory and I'd hesitate to have them be the introduction to a buried book. do I just add the author to the author lists and post a ringing endorsement? is it as simple as that or is there a vetting process? is a book that has a handful of reviews posted (but far less than I think it should have) disqualified? help!anyway, the books that I'd love to add, if they fit group parameters:
Gemini by Michel Tournier
Harriet by Elizabeth Jenkins
Triptych by Mojmir Drvota
The Corrida at San Feliu by Paul Scott (certainly not a buried author but so many of his books are ignored outside of Raj Quartet)
The Pyx by John Buell
The House Across the Way by Brian McNaughton
The Lagoon: A Collection of Short Stories by Janet Frame
Malignos by Richard Calder
First Light by Peter Ackroyd
mark wrote: " is it as simple as that or is there a vetting process?"Since we've got an unbelievably complicated set of criteria for inclusion and enshrinement within this BURIED precinct, your best bet is to inquire HERE and I'll do my best with an up or down decision. You can read the rules if you like ; the basics are pretty simple -- authors with MAJOR work pub'd prior to 1985 with fewer than circa 30-40 goodreads ratings and/or veryvery few reviews. All kinds of exceptions come into play, like for instance, an almost non-existent readership within the English language world. When you get the word, "ADD please", just start an author thread in the appropriate Folder, and say something about what would make the author and books of interest to folks with high-falutin' literary discernment-tastes.
For starters, I'll see what I can do with your list.
Gemini by Michel Tournier -- TOO many ratingsHarriet by Elizabeth Jenkins -- Maybe some of her other books. This one is well reviewed with 78 ratings.
Triptych by Mojmir Drvota -- ADD please please!
The Corrida at San Feliu by Paul Scott (certainly not a buried author but so many of his books are ignored outside of Raj Quartet) -- Check. ADD please to that folder about BURIED books by KNOWN authors.
The Pyx by John Buell -- ADD please!
The House Across the Way by Brian McNaughton -- Appears as though goodreads database does not list original pub dates for some of his books. If he has some MAJOR work prior to 1985, ADD please. [note, The Throne of Bones is not BURIED, but the rest of his stuff appears to be ; thus, a slight exception]
The Lagoon: A Collection of Short Stories by Janet Frame -- Too many ratings.
Malignos by Richard Calder -- Too recent.
First Light by Peter Ackroyd -- Too many ratings.
Any Q's about decisions, or any appeals, may be posted here in this thread. Don't hesitate to ask any Q's of clarification. It's all a muddled mess more or less.
Q :: is a book that has a handful of reviews posted (but far less than I think it should have) disqualified? help!
We're really deep in this BURIED Club. A lot of underread and underrated books are excluded. I do try to provide some more or less objective criteria, but in the end decisions often get made with "just not enough, dammit!"
thanks for the speedy response. I will add the specific books noted! sometime in the next couple days that is.
Dan Billany -- Can I get a little more? It appears that his author page is a wreck with dates from 1949 to 2010 for his books. His book The Cage would qualify ; but The Trap is right at that 1985 cut-off line. Advocate!!
Nathan "N.R." wrote: "Dan Billany -- Can I get a little more? It appears that his author page is a wreck with dates from 1949 to 2010 for his books. His book The Cage would qualify ; but The Trap is r..."Nevermind. Wikipedia to the rescue :: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan_Billany
He sounds a bit genre-y, but if you think he's not genre and/or is reallyreally good genre, then ADD please!
But I'm sooo bad at advocacy! I get all nervous and wonky... but... I'll try... for you (!) Billany wrote The Cage, along with his friend/partner Dan Dowie about two prisoners of war in Italy during WWII and their filial and physical love for one another. Both Dowie and Billany disappeared amidst the terrors of war and have never been heard from/seen since. Billany's works were discovered by an Italian farmer; without this coincidental discovery, the world would have forgotten Billany.
Please add him. I'll certainly cry if you don't!!!
Raphael RupertThere's no listing on Goodreads but the title he's most known for is "A Hidden World." It chronicles the author's experiences in a communist labor camp after being arrested on trumped up charges for being a spy. Not grand writing but definitely worth reading as witness literature.
Hervé BazinApparently this guy is well-known for his travelogues. What he ISN'T known for are his novels - namely, Tristan.
(The writing is really quite beautiful)
I think Hervé Bazin is most well-known for his autobiographical trilogy, of which only the first volume {'Vipere au Poing'] is in English, translated as "Viper in the Fist".It's the third French 'portrait of the artist as a nasty young critter' that I've read recently, all of them classic - concise, bitter and cold-eyed, but with a sharp sort of nostalia.
The other two were Jules Renard's "Carrots" ['Poil de Carotte'] and Francois Mauriac's "Maltaverne".
Hervé Bazin's is the most intense - it focuses on his fierce battles with a monster mother of whom he was a mirror image - "chin like a wooden clog".
Both Bazin and Mauriac are from the provincial gentry, generally depicted in the most jaundiced way in French literature.
Keep in mind that folks like me make routine errors. (It's my way of keeping the Mod on his toes... see, it's not about me and my mistakes if they serve a purpose!).I'd also like to hear more about this Triptych by Mojmir Drvota.
Raphael Rupert -- ADD please.Hervé Bazin -- His Viper in the Fist is NOT BURIED. Everything else is. ADD please.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herv%C3%...
Tia wrote: "Raphael RupertThere's no listing on Goodreads but the title he's most known for is "A Hidden World." "
If you'd post the book=data I'm sure one of our good BURIED Librarians could update the d-base.
Rand & Tia --I need a little adVOCation on those names. Who is they and WHY? pease. gr d-base is useless.
Hmyes. Two ponts.Ah) I'm gonna need more than a name/link. Please, CUMplete SENTences!
Beh) When's I wavey flag "ADD please" please do so and create thread and read book and review book and link review and rant and rave how wonderbar it is!
Tia wrote: "Will do, boss!"Boss who? I'm just trying to do less work!! L-A-Z-Y.
I actually started reading Dan Billany's "The Trap" and look forward to posting my review soon. :-)
Lionel Britton - super buried he is. I'll mention about him here only since we are talking about one and the only novel he penned Hunger and Love (I had to do some librarian work!) along with 3 plays. Most of the articles, blog posts screams the only question - why so obscure? Bertrand Russel wrote intro to his novel which Orwell claimed to be a failed masterpiece and presumably an important work of proletarian literature. And this is what he had to say about 'Plots': ‘Plots? my lordie! If you wait till you get a plot, you’ll never write at all. Life doesn’t consist of incidents — not human life; thinking’s the biggest part of life since we grew to be human. Ideas are the formative force of civilisation. You’re alive: just tell yourself how it feels; everyone’ll be interested to know’.Links: http://www.worldliteratureforum.com/f...
http://www.camdennewjournal.co.uk/arc...
Garima wrote: "Lionel Britton - super buried he is. "Yep. ADD please. ( a c-n-p will do just fine )
"Plots are for dead people." --Raymond Federman
Gisèle Prassinos
From a Writers No One Reads entry:
Bio by Michael Richardson: "The entry of Gisèle Prassinos (born 1920) into the Surrealist circle at the age of 14 has gained a legendary status. Born into what had been a wealthy and cultured Greek family which was forced to move to France to avoid persecution during hostilities between Greece and Turkey when Gisèle was only two (her father had to sell his library of 100,000 books to pay for the journey), she grew up in a difficult but stimulating environment that is reflected in her work. Aside from her novels, stories and poems, she also creates objects, particularly in fabric, and has translated Kazantzakis into French."
GR lists 9 distinct works (2 are Surrealist anthologies) with a total of 38 ratings and 4 reviews.
In January of this year (2014), Black Scat Books published Surrealist Texts, a limited edition (only 85 copies, tragically) of what appears to be the only collection of her work available in English.
No GR record for this yet, but I just ordered it and will create a record once it arrives.
A review of the book can be found here.
(Nate, if you're reading, I didn't see mention of Prassinos in your seemingly exhaustive review of The Dedalus Book of Surrealism...do you recall her contribution?)
From a Writers No One Reads entry:
Bio by Michael Richardson: "The entry of Gisèle Prassinos (born 1920) into the Surrealist circle at the age of 14 has gained a legendary status. Born into what had been a wealthy and cultured Greek family which was forced to move to France to avoid persecution during hostilities between Greece and Turkey when Gisèle was only two (her father had to sell his library of 100,000 books to pay for the journey), she grew up in a difficult but stimulating environment that is reflected in her work. Aside from her novels, stories and poems, she also creates objects, particularly in fabric, and has translated Kazantzakis into French."
GR lists 9 distinct works (2 are Surrealist anthologies) with a total of 38 ratings and 4 reviews.
In January of this year (2014), Black Scat Books published Surrealist Texts, a limited edition (only 85 copies, tragically) of what appears to be the only collection of her work available in English.
No GR record for this yet, but I just ordered it and will create a record once it arrives.
A review of the book can be found here.
(Nate, if you're reading, I didn't see mention of Prassinos in your seemingly exhaustive review of The Dedalus Book of Surrealism...do you recall her contribution?)
Sean wrote: "Gisèle Prassinos"Oh yes ADD please.
I am definitely reading! Her stuff tends to fall under the general "automatism" subsection of surrealism, which can make individual stories tough to dredge up in memory, but it's likely that I was just overwhelmed by that approach in the Dedalus collection. I do recall her ultra-short, ultra-weird contributions to Surrealist Women: An International Anthology! Anyway, glad to see her in here.
I suggest one of the "Himalayas of Argentine literature" Alejandra Pizarnik. She was born in 1936 and committed suicide just a few short decades later in 1972. She has a handful of books of poetry and at least one novel about Elizabeth Bathory (unfortunately, most of these have yet to be translated to English, as far as I can tell). She counted among her friends Juan Batlle Planas, Adolfo Bioy Casares, and Octavio Paz, to name just a few. In her work, she was obsessed with childhood, madness, her inability to use language to fully express herself - (she once said that her poems were *approximations* of Poetry) and suffered from depression, drug abuse and questions of sexual identity as a lesbian. Here is a line from one of her most translated poems "Night, The Poem"
-I write with the blind malice of children pelting a madwoman, like a crow, with stones. No—I don’t write: I open a breach in the dusk so the dead can send messages through.-
Tia wrote: " at least one novel about Elizabeth Bathory "Which is her novel?
For a poet she seems pretty healthily rated.
The BURIED Book Club
Books mentioned in this topic
The House Without Windows and Eepersip's Life There (other topics)The Hospital (other topics)
People in the Room (other topics)
Amongst Those Left: The British Experimental Novel 1940-1980 (other topics)
Dr. Kink & His Old-Style Boarding School (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Maxwell Bodenheim (other topics)Barbara Newhall Follett (other topics)
Ahmed Bouanani (other topics)
Norah Lange (other topics)
César Aira (other topics)
More...
He's got just over 40 ratings and 2 reviews for 26 unique works, but virtually all ratings are for German language editions, and both reviews are in NOT ENGLISH. (to be specific, one is in German and one in Turkish. The random phrase in Turkish that I had translated into English at Google turned out to be "Sinizmin sınırında bir alaycılık" = "A cynicism on the edge of cynicism." Interestingly, though, I also don't see the same word repeated in the Turkish, so either two near synonyms have now been given identity through the process of googleating, or Turkish has a super wacky grammar that I don't understand (OR two near synonyms have now been given identity through the process of googleating AND Turkish has a super wacky grammar that I don't understand (OR two near synonyms have NOT been given identity through the process of googleating AND Turkish DOES NOT HAVE a super wacky grammar that I don't understand(Just to cover all bases)))).
The title of the book I was interested in is Jest, Satire, Irony & Deeper Significance, and I came across it in the list of books confiscated from Dr. Faustroll's home in Exploits and Opinions of Dr. Faustroll, Pataphysician.
The nature of my whine: I had it in my amazon basket with "1 in stock." I noticed some item in the basket had some insane shipping price, removed them one at a time. It turned out this one was priced at $7 for the book (69 pages) and something over $40 for the shipping... eek! But then, worse, the status changed to "Out of print, none in stock," so I'm pretty confident one of YOUSE GUYS grabbed my Grabbe!!
------------------------------
Ooops... good news, quickly found another source, also through amazon, higher book price, lower shipping, works out almost the same total but strangely seems more fair, and snagged it... woot. Of course, it could suck and the author was an all around bad character.