Laurent Binet's The Seventh Function of Language

[John]

Thoughts?

[John]

I think I will start reading this book soon. I’m re-reading Frankenstein before I see the DTC production in February.

[John]

John wrote: "I think I will start reading this book soon. I’m re-reading Frankenstein before I see the DTC production in February."

That sounds rad!

[John]

The DTC production is based on the National Theatre (London) production from 2011 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franken... ), which was amazing. Saw it four times (recorded) at the Angelika. Looking forward to this one very much.

[John]

I just finished this one, and wow, quite a ride! Could be a slog at times, but I'm actually into dialectics and rhetoric and all that jazz, so it was a treat. Anyone having similar reactions (or opposite reactions)?

[John]

Enjoying it so far (about 60 pages in). Very different from The Bridge of San Luis Rey, which I just finished for the book club at Interabang. Familiarity with the French literary/philosophical scene of the 1980s would be a big help, but I am looking up the names as I come across them. Actually quite interesting, learning new things about figures like Sartre and Foucault and encountering some new ones as well.

[Doug]

I finished it last week. The moments where it got heavy with literary theory lost me at times. It gave me flashbacks to graduate school. However the absurdity of it and the metafiction of it made kept me engaged with it. I liked the experimentation and liberties he took with historical fiction.

[John]

Finished it last night. Definitely heavyweight at times, requiring some thought and attentive reading. Loved the satire. Also enjoyed looking up and reading about the figures in the book. It slowed things at times, but definitely contributed to my enjoyment.