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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Ellinor
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Dec 09, 2021 01:02AM
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The Water Margin AKA Outlaws of the Marsh by Shi Nai'anI've now finished the 4 foundational Chinese novels. I had no idea what to expect when I started them with A Dream of Red Mansions last year, but I must say that they were all really good! If I had to rank them, I would say:
1 - (best) Romance of the Three Kingdoms - This is the only one of the four that is really Historical Fiction, although Water Margin has some basis in fact. It's pure action, through and through!
2 - The Water Margin - I found this to be very enjoyable and had more pure entertainment value than Romance, but got somewhat tedious to me in places.
3 - Monkey, Journey to the West - I really enjoyed this novel in the beginning, but it got somewhat tiresome to me with its recurring theme of "get tricked by the demon, demon wants to eat you, Monkey fights the demon but needs help, Monkey goes off to get help, good guys win, repeat..." For me, it could have been about half as long and still gotten its message across.
4 - (least favorite) A Dream of Red Mansions - This was the first one I read. I loved the first 2 parts, but was not as fond of the third part of the story. This could be because it was written by a different author after Cao Xueqin died. It was consistent in style with the first 2 parts, but the writing seemed to lose some of its liveliness for me. However -- this is still an excellent and entertaining story!
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I've now finished the 4 foundational Chinese novels. I had no idea what to expect when I started them with A ..."
I agree with you, mostly. My favorite is still Romance of the Three Kingdoms. The Water Margin does start to get repetitive after the 1st 2 volumes, so for me Journey to the West edged out The Water Margin for number 2. I still have to read A Dream of Red Mansions -- that's next years big read for me. What translation did you use? I've just started looking at the different translations and editions.
2666 by Roberto Bolaño. I liked the beginning and the end, but didn't like the middle part at all. And it was way too long.
Karen wrote: "Carol wrote: "The Water Margin AKA Outlaws of the Marsh by Shi Nai'anI've now finished the 4 foundational Chinese novels. I had no idea what to expect when I starte..."
I read the 3-volume set that I picked up from Internet Archive. It was published in 2001, with translators Yang Xianyi and Gladys Young. I remember that I had trouble finding all 3 volumes, but finally hit on the right combination of search words (Internet Archive can be funny that way). Here's a link to the Goodreads page on Volume I A Dream of Red Mansions.
Keep in mind that there are several alternate titles: A Dream of Red Mansions, Dream of the Red Chamber, and even The Story of the Stone (in reference to a jade piece owned by one of the characters).
Good luck and enjoy! It's a true work of romantic fiction, unlike the other three foundational novels.
Ellinor wrote: "Surfacing by Margaret Atwood. I always thought a Margaret Atwood novel I don't like didn't exist. Apparently I was wrong." I felt the same way about this book.
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That's my least favorite of hers, as well
Effi Briest by Theodor Fontane. Well written story. Effi had a hard life, admittedly brought on by her choices, at least in part. But the cards were stacked against a woman in those times.
The Conquest of New Spain by Bernal Díaz del CastilloI've finished all the pre-1700 books now (except that I'm now reading volume 16 of 1001 Nights, so I'm almost finished with it), and by far and away, Conquest is my favorite! It opened my eyes to what really happened in this era of history and increased my respect for all parties involved. I had been taught that the Conquistadores were terrible people who had nothing but contempt for the indigenous population of the area we now call Mexico. But this author, who was one of the Conquistadores, has shown me that the story was much more intricate than I had learned. And his writing is wonderfully personal. It was a joy to read.
Carol wrote: "The Conquest of New Spain by Bernal Díaz del CastilloI've finished all the pre-1700 books now (except that I'm now reading volume 16 of 1001 Nights, so I'm almost fin..."
Thanks for sharing this review, Carol. I’m adding this to my soon-to-read list.
Hi Maggie -- I hope you enjoy the book as much as I did. I don't want to mislead you. It's not a cheerful book, but it is amazingly informative. If you enjoy reading history, you'll probably like it.
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I think it was the second of the now seven Atwood books I've read, and I would agree it is the weakest of them. I think her short story collection Wilderness Tips, which isn't on the List, is better.
Bom Dia, Tristeza by Françoise Sagan.Which brings me a nice round number, 260, to finish off the year.
Casino Royale by Ian FlemingI've never watched a Bond film and this is my first book. I enjoyed it more than I expected, gave it 3/5, but not planning on reading any more!
The Arabian Nights: Volume 1 - 16, Complete by Anonymous My thoughts: too much of a good thing. I'm not a fantasy fan and 16 volumes of (basically) fantasy was just too much for me. However, I did finish it. I thought the supplemental volumes were better than the first volumes - just barely.
The Cement Garden, by Ian McEwan. I've finished several of McEwan's books, and this is one of my least favorites so far by this author.
Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean RhysWritten as a prequel to Jane Eyre, this is an interesting book about racial tensions in Jamaica and Dominica, slavery and oppression, and post-colonialism. There are several negative reviews on its GR page from people who didn’t understand it. I read an annotated copy (Penguin Clothbound Classics) along with the Sparknotes analysis and they helped me grasp the richness of the book.
Diane wrote: "The Making of Americans by Gertrude Stein.Words can't describe how much I loathed this book."
Why is that?
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Words can't describe how much I loathed this book."
Why is that?"
Ridiculous amounts of repetition over 900+ pages, use of the same adjectives over and over, poor character development, etc., etc. I could go on and on (like she did). I don't care for her writing style and think she is overrated.
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What did you think about the ending?
Finished Cloudsplitter, by Russell Banks and The Waves, by Virginia Woolf. Cloudsplitter was good, slow start but interesting after that. The Waves was short, but boring. I tried it in print, and was getting nowhere, so I went for the audiobook, which I at least finished. I may try the audiobook again just to see if a second try might make it more appealing. My sister LOVES Woolf's work, but so far I am not into any of it.
The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman by Laurence Sterne.That was a lot more fun than I was expecting
A Severed Head by Iris Murdoch. There wasn't single likeable character in the book, but it was well written.
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What did you think about the ending?"
It was a bit weird and it surprised me. It stood quite in contrast to the rest of the work.
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What did you think about the ending?"
It was a bit weird and it surprised me. It sto..."
I agree.
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