Book Club - Paris discussion
Next Book
>
2014 Book #4: Manly men don't start threads
I know that I haven't been around for a long time and I can't promise that I come in September as my working schedule doesn't always permit that... but I highly recommend « The Men's Club: A Novel by Leonard Michaels »
hi. I was thinking about the men book and I thought that Steinbecks East of Eden can be something close to the the topic. The dead poets society is unfortunately only a movie ... next topic cinema ?))) and BTW I managed my cake :) it was worth a colour photo ) 
Mod
I'd be interested in reading Scott Jurek's (Eat and run) or Kilian Jornet's (Run or die) biographies. These guys are the best ultramarathoners in history, while still being extra-nice and humble. Since I find it hard to run a 5k, that's pretty manly in my book.
@Katerina: I've read East of Eden not long ago. A great book! I'd argue that the most interesting character in that book is a woman, though.
Can I suggest a book, even if I won't be at the meeting? Been wanting to read Stiffed (by Susan Faludi) for a while now. First heard of it in an interview with the filmmakers behind Fight Club. Never seen a carrot cake like that - looks very good!
Mod
Is anyone else going to propose a book? If not, I'll put up the doodle tomorrow.
How about John Irving's In One Person. Found it on your Gender-Bender list René (& hey, i was in Paris for your last meet--- but i missed the date change... Ho hummmm. But I am watching you! You r all getting sooooo serious...)
Okay, I am going to suggest Nobel Prize Winner Saul Bellow's The Adventures of Augie March, from not-so-way back in 1953.Wiki says it "is a picaresque novel... that features the eponymous Augie March who grows up during the Great Depression and it is an example of bildungsroman, tracing the development of an individual through a series of encounters, occupations and relationships from boyhood to manhood" and that it "explores contrasting themes of alienation and belonging, poverty and wealth, love and loss, with often comic undertones... Its protagonist may be said to represent the modern Everyman".
I've only read one Bellow before, Seize The Day, which I really enjoyed it.
I propose ''Author, Author by David Lodge, (biographical novel on Henry James's life) because I absolutly loved A Man of Parts, another biographical novel (on the life of H. G. Wells) . And because I am utterly interested in knowing more about Henry James's life. The link with the topic of Men : Men characters are at the heart of every D. Lodge novel : men rivalries, ambitions, obsessions, complexes, sexual identity, etc.
To be completely honest, I admits not having any intention of reading any other of the books proposed, since I have already set up my summer reads, so I can't promise I will attend the September meeting.
Ooh, good choice, Pilar, I've always wanted to read a Lodge and never have. He's always highly recommended and perhaps bigger in France than in the UK.
Soooo many good reads & so little time. Tough choice here.
"Author, author" is not a typical Lodge novel because it is not funny, but more on the cultivated side.I think Lodge's humour matches very well the French taste, most of his male characters are slightly ridiculous, complexed and naifs, but sweet and good-hearted at the same time. Yesterday I was reading "1984" and at some point I stopped it and took a Lodge novel, to put my spirits up.
I will be quite available in Paris in July and August, if some of you want to meet. We will have forgotten each other in September! There are lots of enjoyable outdoor activities in Paris during the summer months (concerts and cinema, etc.)
Mod
To recap:
The Men's Club
East of Eden
Eat and Run: My Unlikely Journey to Ultramarathon Greatness
Stiffed: The Betrayal of the American Man
Myra Breckinridge
In One Person
The Adventures of Augie March
And here's the doodle to vote: http://doodle.com/vharqnk6e67t9w9g
Happy voting all!
its not so much cheating - inside there were still carrots ) Its going to be a hard choice this time....
@Ben about East of Eden - i think it is rich both with men and women remarcable characters. But i wouldnt stay only on THE women character (avoiding spoilers) as there are many other women who are described in a way that we might just ignore them. But the history is done by many many small people - so the secondary women personnages can also be a source of 10 pages analisys :)
But I think for the men in this book it can easily becone a spin off novel :)
I hope that the vote for east of eden will not do the same as Mexico today in the WC match ;)
Mod
Speaking of East of Eden did everyone catch the 5-minute parody that came out a while back? Here's the link. It really had me in stitches! http://youtu.be/X1j1l4WUjHU
@Katerina : Men far outnumber women, and it is really the story of four men, but still to me, the most memorable character in the book is a woman. Since pretty much everyone wants to read it (and you definitely should if you never have), I'm sure we'll have a great discussion about it!
Mod
Y'all may commence your reading, we'll find ourselves a date later.
Mod
I think I'll try to read IJ while you read east of eden. Next meeting in 4 years ?
hey its like reading one tome of Game of Thrones ... It should be just 2 years ;)
It really makes me wonder : if IJ is so great, why can't anyone finish it ? (Looking at you Justin and René)
It's a good question. I guess the 'joke' is on us?For me though I always have problems with novels that have a thousand different narratives going on (House Of Leaves, Pale Fire) and struggle to keep picking them up.
Yes, multiple narratives can be tough to follow. I loved house of leaves, but read it really quick so everything was always fresh in my mind. Is IJ much denser than HoL?i feel though that a novel like HoL is much easier to read than, say, a Pynchon's book is. I've only read the crying of lot 49, supposedly his easiest, and it was a very challenging read.
I think it might be the change of pace in narratives in IJ. There are more characters than in HoL. In IJ you can do a really intense 20 pages sitting in on an AA session and then 5 pages on 'canadian' wheelchair spies and then 10 on kids at the tennis academy and then onto the weird radio DJ lady in a veil... and it just goes on and on like that. All highly enjoyable but it keeps halting the story for me. I gave up on Gravity's Rainbow because it felt like this (and I wasn't enjoying it)... would love to read Lot 49 though!
Mod
Mod
And that was the long Salinas Valley. Its history was like that of the rest of the state. First there were Indians, an inferior breed without energy, inventiveness, or culture, a people that lived on grubs and grasshoppers and shellfish, too lazy to hunt or fish. They ate what they could pick up and planted nothing. They pounded bitter acorns for flour. Even their warfare was a weary pantomime.
Mod
And did it my way.
@René : I remember wanting to stop reading it because of that awful beginning. Not only is it racist, it is also perfectly gratuitous and serves no purpose in the book. Thankfully, it never shows up again.It is weird too, because this is pretty much Steinbeck's "I'm an old wise guy, let me teach you what life is" book. Anti-indian drivel must have been quite widespread then...
It is racist - but it's the main character not Steini, right?
Not sure.On a different note : quiche is the bomb.
Mod
It certainly feels like the narrator is Steinbeck himself though.
Sparknotes : "NARRATOR · The story is told by a third-person narrator who is not omniscient and who greatly resembles John Steinbeck himself. In this sense, the narrator may or may not be a direct mouthpiece for the author. In addition to conveying the events of the novel, the narrator provides commentary and interrupts the story frequently to discuss human history and the human condition more broadly."
Ben/Rene: I'm not sure now. I Googled and a few sites imply that he is essentially racist OR just telling it like all people did back then. Disappointing either way. I need to read more of the book - only around page 50!
Mod
This guy certainly has talent... he'll go far!
Mod
Well clearly: everyone knows feathers are for writing with not for putting in your 'hat'...
And the bic pen is mightier than the tomahawk
If your still on page 50 youll see about the "greener" grass. I liked more the first part of the book then he second... BTW i cant force myself to watch the movie made mostly on the second part - if i got it correctly. But i do agree that this guy is a genius - with or without the racism, patriarchate, nationalism also a bit maybe - but i feel him standing close to Dostoevsky. I felt as if i was reading The Crime and the Punishment again but from another age and place... I really like this book :) even though it is sooo sad! Changes the view to the hipster silicone valley of today :)
There's also an 8-part US mini series on the book, I think, Katerina, which I'm guessing is more faithful than the half-arsed film (which I've not seen).The whole time I'm reading EoE, I'm thinking Steini IS a genius, but that he's no Faulkner.
Mod
Which brings me to this video, which you HAVE to see!
Chekhov's gun: http://youtu.be/aqKAzGadmYo
Book Club - Paris
Books mentioned in this topic
Author, Author (other topics)Stiffed: The Betrayal of the American Man (other topics)
Eat & Run: My Unlikely Journey to Ultramarathon Greatness (other topics)
Myra Breckinridge (other topics)
In One Person (other topics)
More...
The real ones don't eat quiche.
The dead ones don't wear plaid.
The next book theme is: Men! That is to say, the male of the human species, not people in general. This will be the summer book, so it can be a leeeeengthy one.
I am awaiting your proposals with most unmanly anticipation.