The BURIED Book Club discussion
May I ADD please?
Sorry about my clunky comment on this most valued site. I feel it has gotten too big - en generale - and maybe it should be confined to writers in English. Then, a sub-thread for other languages.
Sketchbook wrote: "I feel it has gotten too big"That part I kind of agree with. If you've got any further suggestions, please to freely drop them in the Rules and Regulations and Expectations and Suggestations thread ::
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Not a full on "May I" yet, but Francesca Duranti is buried (though still writing, she started in 70s and remains very uncommonly read) and possibly of interest. Namely, her one not-quite-buried novel, The House on Moon Lake (1987), concerns and obsessed Italian translator chasing a forgotten Austrian novel. It seems too perfect almost: a nearly buried book about a buried book. I'm intrigued with this so far, but let me get back to you when I'm actually done with this and can vouch for the necessity of unburying a little better.
I read that novel! I liked it, but I can't say I remember too much of it now... It was some years ago. A good writer though, yes.
Nate D wrote: "Not a full on "May I" yet, but Francesca Duranti is buried "a) she's almost too recent. BUT, The House on Moon Lake is 1984 and thus just under the wire.
b) although The House on Moon Lake is almost too popular :: all TWELVE reviews are written in English (& 63 ratings!!), therefore The House on Moon Lake may be just too popular!
c) HOWever, if it's good and/or promising, then the rest of her stuff is at least unread, and with that popular The House on Moon Lake which we can just wink at, then she's BURIED.
d) ADD as you please!
e) we really can't pass up the opportunity to ADD a book written about US!
I just realised that even though everybody knows Max Brod as the guy who saved Kafkas work, (almost) no one reads his books: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...
Henry wrote: "I just realised that even though everybody knows Max Brod as the guy who saved Kafkas work, (almost) no one reads his books: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show..."oh yes! ADD please! Bitte!
I would like to suggest Paola Drigo, whose one book in English (that I know of), Maria Zef, is terrific. She was a fin-de-siecle Italian novelist who seems to have been an initiator of verismo, a movement influential on Italian film.Here is the Wikipedia link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paola_Drigo
Also, in case you are unaware of it, the University of Nebraska, which published Maria Zef, has a very interesting series called European Women Writers. They have included some real clunkers, but by and large the selection is good.
Wendy wrote: "I would like to suggest Paola Drigo, whose one book in English (that I know of), Maria Zef, is terrific. "YES!!! ADD please!
And the Nebraska series, for our voracious readers ::
https://www.nebraskapress.unl.edu/Cat...
I'm a little new to this. Is there anything else I have to do to ADD?
Wendy wrote: "I'm a little new to this. Is there anything else I have to do to ADD?"I got it! Just add a comment about her in the thread which I'm about to create.
That University of Nebraska series really is fantastic -- I think I have it to thank for all my Marie Redonnet, for instance. So always interested in more. Thanks Wendy!
Nate D wrote: "That University of Nebraska series really is fantastic -- I think I have it to thank for all my Marie Redonnet, for instance. So always interested in more. Thanks Wendy!"You are very welcome, Nate. I would avoid the Rosa Chacel books, but the others I have are all good.
I seem to vaguely remember there being some rule about not including authors still alive? or still writing? In any case, even though Maureen Howardas an author has a whopping 179,342 ratings,closer inspection shows that those are for works she wrote an introduction to, while the top-rated of her own works reaches a measly 23. So even though she is still alive and hermost recent novel was published in 2010, she does appear to be thoroughly buried, and judging by her novel Natural History: A Novel quite undeservedly so.Here is my (not very good) review of Natural History and here an interview with her about her novel A Lover's Almanac. I tend to be not very inspirational; but maybe someone who is could give one of her novels a try and produce a nice write-up.
Larou wrote: "I seem to vaguely remember there being some rule about not including authors still alive? or still writing? "Happy to report -- there is no such rule against!! Only that their first major work have been published pre-1985.
But, yes, she sounds wonderful! ADD please!
I'd like to nominate two books, both by living (I think) writers. One is Johnny Stanton's Mangled Hands, the most original historical novel I've ever read. It is narrated by a young Huron Indian in the 17th century. He has been adopted by a Jesuit priest called Blackrobe and together they move across the war-torn landscape of what is now Canada, eating mushrooms (a significant clue to the surreal perceptions recorded), smoking their pipes, trying to stay alive. The whole thing takes place in the boy's mind, and is a convincing portrayal of Native American experience by the sheer alien logic of every perception and the manner in which the sentences construct themselves to match what is seen. Some people think Stanton used a cut-up method, but I doubt it. I opt for immersion in Native American art forms and lots of research. Tragically, after the book received a negative review in the Times, Stanton disappeared from the literary scene. He had another book in the works, but it was never published. The last I heard, he was working as a janitor in Manhattan. To my mind this is one of the great novels of the 20th century, as buried at birth as Roussel and Lautreamont, who worked in the same vein. I bought 20 copies when the publisher was dumping them. I can't think of a more damning fact about the fiction establishment of the time (1980s and still going) than that this book was effectively buried at birth.
Another book, Price of Admission by Sam Eisenstein, is equally original. Eisenstein is a very uneven writer, but this book is a gem. Try to imagine a cross between the Tibetan Book of the Dead and Disney's Fantasia-- A movie theater turns out to be the gate to the underworld....
Wendy wrote: " One is Johnny Stanton's Mangled Hands"Yes!!! ADD please!
The Eisenstein appears to me to be too recent (post-1985) ; but let me know if that's just the unreliable gr database. But SPADE=wielders should note that he's got stuff with Green Integer.
The only other book of his that I would recommend is The Inner Garden, which has some interesting stories. It seems to me that his craftsmanship slacks off in the later books, which could have used editing and rewriting.
Not a Buried author, but a truly buried work... Last year they announced that they had found a 'new' play by Lope de Vega... I think it was actually 'found' a couple of years earlier but it has taken the scholars that time to authenticate it...http://www.thehistoryblog.com/archive...
The play is Mujeres y criados (Women and Servants), and I doubt it has been translated... Anyway, I am attending a representation next week.
By his own tally, Lope de Vega wrote about 1,800 plays (although he is generally thought to have been exaggerating with the real number closer to 1,500), plus 3,000 sonnets, three novels, four novellas and nine epic poems ... Only approximately 300 of his plays have survived, a small fraction of the total.Sounds like a real case of the classical treatment!!
Nathan "N.R." wrote: "By his own tally, Lope de Vega wrote about 1,800 plays (although he is generally thought to have been exaggerating with the real number closer to 1,500), plus 3,000 sonnets, three novels, four nove..."Haha.. yes.. he is famous for how extraordinarily prolific he was.. but it just shows the important place that theatre (no TV, no movies... ) had as entertainment during the 16 & 17C...
Kalliope wrote: "Haha.. yes.. he is famous for how extraordinarily prolific he was.. but it just shows the important place that theatre (no TV, no movies... ) had as entertainment during the 16 & 17C...""Lost Seinfeld Episode Discovered on Computer Harddrive unBURIED in Monkish Quarters"
Headline from 2487 A.D.
; )
I eagerly await reevaluation of the entire Seinfeld chronology and theme in light of these crucial and long-unseen discoveries.
Can I suggest Gamel Woolsey; I've just read her first novel. It was due to be published by Gollancz in 1932, but was pulled because it was deemed too sexually explicit and was not published until 1987 when Virago got hold of it. Interesting bio too.
I think I may have stumbled on some buried gold. Cicada Gambit by Martin Johnston was discussed in a review of N by John Alan Scott (also regrettably buried for a VPLA2015 short-lister but far too recent to be included here in the BBC). Mr Johnston (poet/critic) only wrote the one novel but it seems to hold water among some as being fine experimental work.I'm about halfway through it and though a little wonky and (perhaps slightly) overwritten this definitely needs to be picked up by a few more people. The jumping between perspectives with each new chapter/paragraph/sentence is dizzying fun. And the words! my word, the words!
I had to add CG to the GR DB myself (currently nil reviews/zilch ratings) and managed to get a copy through a Sydney online bookseller. Finding it in the States or elsewhere would probably be quite difficult. But just read that blurb and tell me you don't want to crack its spine?
I guess I'll get around to cleaning up his author's profile on GR too. Pretty sure he didn't posthumously write the book on non-binary error control coding for wireless communication and data storage. I'd be surprised.
Just to help out a bit (and hopefully not to harm), I've attributed Cicada Gambit to a Martin Johnston with two spaces between the names. This disambiguates from all the other Martin Johnstons, but if you know which other books belong to the same author, they will need to have the spelling changed to include the extra space.See author here: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...
Zadignose wrote: "Just to help out a bit (and hopefully not to harm), I've attributed Cicada Gambit to a Martin Johnston with two spaces between the names. This disambiguates from all the other Martin Johnstons, but..."Great help. Thanks! I've added his poetry to Martin "double-space" Johnston too. One review across 5 works. Criminally buried. For shame.
David wrote: "I think I may have stumbled on some buried gold. Cicada Gambit by Martin Johnston was discussed in a review of N by John Alan Scott (also regrettably buried for a VPLA2015 short-lister but far too ..."Indeed. ADD please!!!
Roger Gilbert-Lecomte: Only one English translation collection of his poems exists (Black Mirror), with 56 ratings and 7 reviews (most of which are not actual reviews).
Co-founder (with René Daumal, Roger Vailland and Josef Šíma) of the artistic group and magazine Le Grand Jeu.
Died at age 36 of tetanus contracted by injecting morphine through his dirty pant leg.
A collection of some of his first-to-appear-in-English prose (The Book Is a Ghost) was just published this summer by micro press Solar Luxuriance.
Corvid wrote: "Roger Gilbert-Lecomte: "Yes! ADD please!
Thinking that Jack Kerouac's Old Angel Midnight might qualify as buried books by known authors. It was his deliberate attempt at an American Finnegans Wake—and at only 206 ratings vs. On The Road's 229413, it may qualify. I leave it to you Nathan, but it is a good read I'd recommend here either way.
Griffin wrote: "Thinking that Jack Kerouac's Old Angel Midnight might qualify as buried books by known authors. It was his deliberate attempt at an American Finnegans Wake—and at only 206 ratings vs...."I think ole Jack will have to keep on keepin' on without the assistance of us Nobel Spade=Wielders. But thanks for the notice ; I hadn't heard of this one before.
Can I suggest Margaret Harkness; she has no wiki entry, but she was a late nineteenth century journalist and novelist who wrote about social issues and feminism. I have just read one of her novels; In Darkest London. Her later life is fairly obscure. Most of her works are listed under one of her pen names John Law
May I suggest N.H. Pritchard?? A postmodern heavily experimental poet who anticipated trends in both the concrete and the word-sound/total-language-weirdness poem category (and was part of the Black Arts Movement) but whom never shared in any of the respect of being a part (thereby still considered apart [Pritchard would approve of this joke]) of that canon. Here is a short bit about his neglect and critical merits:http://www.octopusmagazine.com/Issue0...
and for the group's perusal, his first book:
http://eclipsearchive.org/projects/MA...
I've managed to track down a copy and it is most definitely of the difficult/neglected/brilliant bent—not to mention after two books (The Matrix &Eecchhooeess) Pritchard himself basically disappeared—it is uncertain whether or not he is still alive. BURIED for sure—and duly needing some unearthing!
Plus, for Nathan, Pritchard's poetic vision is definitely at work in a similar fashion to (what I understand of) Schmidt's etyms; just take a look:http://www.poetryfoundation.org/harri...
&
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/harri...
hello, i normally just read this group and find cool books to read, but i've been looking into New Zealand literature recently and may have found someone interesting: Graham Billing He's fairly well known within New Zealand, in the sense that his books were favourably received by the literary establishment, but no one seems to actually read him(probably because even New Zealanders don't read much NZ lit). There are only 19 ratings and 3 reviews for him on goodreads, none of them informative, and at least one of his books isn't listed there at all. I haven't read him yet, but the comparisons to Melville and Conrad as well as mentions of the complexity of many of his novels seem to make him of interest to this group. there's a page about him on the NZ book council's website which may be of interest: http://www.bookcouncil.org.nz/Writers...
I picked up three of his books for a dollar each the other day(NZ fiction isn't exactly commanding high prices)and should get to reading them soon, so I might be able to talk about his writing in more detail then.
Thomas wrote: "hello, i normally just read this group and find cool books to read, but i've been looking into New Zealand literature recently and may have found someone interesting: Graham Billing..."Yes! ADD please!
And, Dearest Librarians, if you have a moment, a little flesh on his poor dear skeleton=profile?
I'm thinking of adding Charles Fort, he's best known for his books on occult and unexplained phenomena, but he wrote a novel and some short stories as well, and they're very buried - the short stories have never been published in book form but are online and the novel has been republished recently as an ebook but only has 3 reviews and 4 ratings on goodreads compared to Fort's total of 785 ratings and 61 reviews. Would he go in the buried books by known authors category, or just the regular section?
Thomas wrote: "I'm thinking of adding Charles Fort, he's best known for his books on occult and unexplained phenomena, but he wrote a novel and some short stories as well, and they're very buried ..."With apologies, but here's where my prejudice comes out. I suspect that Fort is a nut. Like Robert Anton Wilson. I'd really rather like to have some evidence that his fiction would be of SNOB=quality before we bring him within these sacred walls of the BURIED. That he's anything more than a genre hack. If there's need to do any testing, I do happen to have his The Complete Books in my library.
he's not really a nut in the sense of most occult/conspiracy types imo, he was approaching it from a different angle(though your mileage may vary, of course). Despite the name, the complete books doesn't include his novel, only his well known books. But the novel is available online to read here: http://www.resologist.net/ocmei.htmhere's the first two sentences: "TO THE west, the street-wide Palisades, dull-gray as a block of lead; a streak of North River gleaming like bright, clean metal melted from the base. Windows of tenement houses black with the inside pall of dark homes, unclean children, seeming dirtier because of their pallor, playing ball, with a banana stalk for a bat, in the middle of the street. A dead horse lying in the southside gutter; boys jumping on it, enjoying the elasticity of its ribs; a greasy old man prying off the horseshoes."
I haven't read it in full, only sections, but it looks quite interesting - the dialogue and characters are very closely observed, mostly working class characters drawn from life, but then he describes things in this very image heavy style with lots of semi colons - it has a journalistic quality to me in terms of the sentence structure, which makes sense because from memory he did work as a journalist early on. he talks about having come up with an 'impressionistic' theory of writing in one of his letters and i guess that's what you can sort of see in the bit i quoted - successions of images all together.
your call of course, and even if it's not eligible for the group perhaps someone might decide to read it.
Thomas wrote: "your call of course, and even if it's not eligible for the group perhaps someone might decide to read it."
I'd really rather not.
Request to add Japanese experimental writer Yumiko Kurahashi. Of her 309 ratings, 80% are for anthologies her work has appeared in. Only two of her books are available in English: a short story collection, The Woman with the Flying Head and Other Stories, and a novel, The Adventures of Sumiyakist Q. Together these books have 56 ratings, most for the story collection, which I just finished reading (review) and found compelling enough to order the novel through interlibrary loan. I spruced up her profile with a photo and some text from Wikipedia. I also located the back cover description of The Adventures of Sumiyakist Q in an eBay listing and added that to the book's GR page, which previously had no description.
Here's a review of the The Adventures of Sumiyakist Q from The Complete Review.
Corvid wrote: "Request to add Japanese experimental writer Yumiko Kurahashi. Of her 309 ratings, 80% are for anthologies her work has appeared in. Only two of her books are available in English: a short story col..."YES! ADD please! Sounds delightful!
Do you know when the stories in Fly Head were first published?
They cover the span of her career. The earliest is from 1963 and the most recent from 1991, which appeared in the last short fiction collection she published before her death. Her first publication (short story) was in 1960, but it's not included in this collection.Here's hoping this other novel gets translated into English someday!
Saunders Lewis was a Welsh nationalist who helped found Plaid Cymru. He also wrote plays and novels in Welsh, including the novel Monica, which was apparently considered edgy and sexual when it came out in the 30's. I haven't read anything by him, but I have Monica on library request right now.
The BURIED Book Club
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Many grateful returns! Something on your mind?