Boxall's 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die discussion
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Which LIST book did you just finish?
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Digressions are very common in the early novels and can go on for pages and even a whole chapter. Henry Fielding, a contemporary of Swift, makes fun of the use of digressions in his novel Joseph Andrews, and at one point tells the reader that he's putting in a digression, but it's not important and the reader can skip it.
Just finished Cutter and Bone by Newton Thornburg (1976). Slow to start, yet intriguing. About 1/3 of the way in, it became stunning to me, but many find it bleak and dismal. The characters were unlikeable to start, but I felt compassion for them at the finish. I need some time to process it all.
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Interesting memoir of Cummings time in a French prison for treason.
Just finished (on 4/16/21) The History of Thomas of Reading; Or, the Six Worthy Yeomen of the West by Thomas Deloney .I liked this book more than I thought I would! I wonder if this story was the original inspiration for the penny dreadful on which "Sweeney Todd" was based. There are strong similarities.
(Looks like I forgot to post that I had started this book. I'll go in & do it now. I hate to have an incomplete record. LOL)
forgot to add this to books I've started. Oh well, seems I usually forget to do that! This was a re-read from many, many years ago.Just finished The Color Purple by Alice Walker 4/17/21
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The Swimming-Pool Library by Alan HollinghurstOn more than one occasion I was tempted to throw in the towel and give up but persevered in the hope that it would come to some conclusion only to be ultimately left sadly disappointed.
American Psycho by Bret Easton EllisSurprisingly loved it! Probably would have hated it until a couple of years ago though, I think I read this at the right time
Karen wrote: "Justine, or the Misfortunes of Virtue by the Marquis de SadeWhat can I say . . . I would only read this book to complete the Boxall list or, maybe, for the philoso..."
I agree, it's not the most entertaining of books. I can understand why it was so shocking for the period, which I think is part of the reasoning behind it still being included, but everything does feel more than a little repetitive and obvious after the second or third 'episode'
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Congrats. That's a big achievement!
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This was a wonderful book. The history part of it can be a little dry, but as the history of something I don't know much about (Muslim divergence of Shiite/Sunni/Ismaili) it was welcome. But the whole thing, when read as a fictional novel, is very readable and very entertaining/engrossing. It's going into my top 10 if not top 5.
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Congratulations! I loved it! I think I want to reread it in a few years as an audiobook.
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Thanks Sean and Karen! Next I want to read it in English so maybe I'll try audiobook too.
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Great achievement!
Finished Clarissa, or, the History of a Young Lady by Samuel Richardson - only took me two months.and
The Story of the Lost Child by Elena Ferrante - now I need to read the first three of this series
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George P. wrote: "Finished Ferrante's Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay which is not actually a list book, but is the third in her "Neopolitan" tetralogy (four-book series), the fourth of which is [..."I made a break in reading Ferrante's [book:Escombros|33116128] to check this thread: the entire series most definitely deserved to be included in the list.
Also, finished The Heat of the Day by Elizabeth Bowen. I was not familiar with the author but am very eager to read more of her work.
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Finished Death Sentence by Maurice Blanchot. (First half was good, second half didn't make much sense to me.)
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I made a break in reading Ferrante's Escombros to check this thread: the entire series most definitely deserved to be included in the list. .."
Interesting, had not heard of this book. English title Fragments. (Sorry can't locate the link under that name. )
Yes it's kind of strange that the editors didn't just name the series to the list, as they did with the Lord of the Rings trilogy, Dos Passos' USA trilogy and Undset's Kristen Lavransdatter trilogy.
The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood. It took me a while, but I enjoyed it. I liked it much better than The Handmaid's Tale
George P. wrote: "Yes it's kind of strange that the editors didn't just name the series to the list, as they did with the Lord of the Rings trilogy, Dos Passos' USA trilogy and Undset's Kristen Lavransdatter trilogy."It is even stranger when we consider that Ferrante herself says that the division in four volumes is arbitrary. The series is a book that gets divided into volumes for practical reasons as otherwise it would be far too long. Granted, what the author has to say does not necessarily have to be definitive for critics but in this regard, it makes absolutely no sense to single out the final volume of this tetralogy.
Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky. Enjoyed it immensely and was surprised at how conservative its message is.
Boxall's 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die
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What can I say . . . I would only read this book to complete the Boxall list or, maybe, for the philosophical discussions.
Interestingly, the Marquis de Sade is referenced in our current Monthly Read, Demons, in a philosophical discussion between Stavrogin and Shatov in Part II.