Ersatz TLS discussion
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What Are We Reading? 7 December 2020
Bill wrote: "Magrat (161) wrote: "How do you know when the author was born?" Are there many authors in the modern era whose birthdates are a mystery? Perhaps a few that may be disputed by a year or two, but I..."
I worded that badly. What I meant was how much trouble do you have to go to to ascertain an author's date of birth as opposed to just noting the date of first publication which is right there in the book with the copyright details.
It works the other way, too. Consider the historical novel The Dickens Boy, about Plorn (Alfred, Dickens's tenth child), sent by his father to make a life in Australia.
Are you seriously going to maintain that it is not a historical novel on the basis that its 84 year old author Thomas Keneally is still alive? Would you have your bookshop reshelve it as literary fiction or something, and then put it back when - goodness knows how many books later - the dear man leaves us?
Mod
..."
I don't know who this Dwight Garner is, but remind me to never, ever, read any reviews from him.
Before going to the book I just finished, I’d like to say how much I’m enjoying this week’s comments. The discussion here, with Justine as our esteemed curator, seems to me every bit as good as it was in the old days, and dare I say it a bit more temperate too. But I can’t say I’m crazy about the format.
“Shane” – Jack Schaefer (1949)
A cattleman wants to keep the range open and is determined to drive out the homesteaders. No lawman nearer than a hundred miles. The struggle turns brutal. The most visible elements will have fitted the movie-making of the time - the stranger who rides into town alone and stays to help, the leader of the farmers who feels he has to make a stand to keep his self-respect, the loyal wife with her flapjack and apple pie, the boy who watches, the brawling cowhands, the hired gun.
I don’t remember if the movie catches any of the subtleties – the air of mystery and menace that hangs about Shane, his self-knowledge and self-fear, his Zen-like assurance in a bar fight that’s five against one, the farmer’s awareness that his wife has fallen deeply for this man, a man of “invincible completeness”.
We surely all know the final shot, the boy crying out “Shane, Shane” as he rides away. That image is in fact not in the book at all. It is surprising that Hollywood chose a brilliant but downbeat ending that emphasises separation and loss. JS’s conclusion is quite different: an enigmatic, transitory, not-to-say demonic agent cleanses a place of its evil and in so doing brings renewal and hope.
It was an interesting read, with a reach outside its genre, and not long at 115 pages.
“Shane” – Jack Schaefer (1949)
A cattleman wants to keep the range open and is determined to drive out the homesteaders. No lawman nearer than a hundred miles. The struggle turns brutal. The most visible elements will have fitted the movie-making of the time - the stranger who rides into town alone and stays to help, the leader of the farmers who feels he has to make a stand to keep his self-respect, the loyal wife with her flapjack and apple pie, the boy who watches, the brawling cowhands, the hired gun.
I don’t remember if the movie catches any of the subtleties – the air of mystery and menace that hangs about Shane, his self-knowledge and self-fear, his Zen-like assurance in a bar fight that’s five against one, the farmer’s awareness that his wife has fallen deeply for this man, a man of “invincible completeness”.
We surely all know the final shot, the boy crying out “Shane, Shane” as he rides away. That image is in fact not in the book at all. It is surprising that Hollywood chose a brilliant but downbeat ending that emphasises separation and loss. JS’s conclusion is quite different: an enigmatic, transitory, not-to-say demonic agent cleanses a place of its evil and in so doing brings renewal and hope.
It was an interesting read, with a reach outside its genre, and not long at 115 pages.
Bill wrote: "AB76 wrote: "although Morriseys auto-biog in Penguin Classics was odd, as he wrote it and had it issued as a classic in same year...thats odd"Always on the lookout for "new" older books, I regula..."
Morrissey has a revered stature in the UK and i am a huge fan of The Smiths, his lyrics are some of the best in rock music , so i can see why his written prose enticed penguin but i think it defeats the idea of "classics" to have his book instantly become a classic
sadly since the 1990s his personal politics have been questionable, verging on offensive. He is an eccentric in the Irish tradition (manchester born, Irish descent) but resembles a rather grumpy, cynical man now at 60-ish
As a child of the US eighties, I had never really heard much of Morrissey or The Smiths, they were fairly non-existent on our side of the ocean. Having since tracked down their music...not my favorite, but far from bad. So, the news that Stevie Of The Questionable Politics was getting Penguin Classic status was particularly mystifying.
Mod
How George Orwell covers have evolved through the decades
https://www.penguin.co.uk/articles/20...
Magrat wrote:(#164) Are you seriously going to maintain that it is not a historical novel on the basis that its 84 year old author Thomas Keneally is still alive? If I understood Bill (#150) correctly, by his definition "The Dickens Boy" would be classified as historical fiction, because it is set in a period before Keneally was born (1935). Whereas "Schindlers Ark"(1982), even if it had been published more than 50 years after the events it describes, wouldn't.
Thank you all for your interesting contributions re historical/classical fiction. Not something I had ever given much thought to before.
Georg (171) wrote: "Magrat wrote:(#164) Are you seriously going to maintain that it is not a historical novel on the basis that its 84 year old author Thomas Keneally is still alive? If I understood Bill (#150) corr..."
You do not understand Bill correctly. He would maintain that Schindler's List could only be a historical novel if it was set in a period prior to Keneally's lifetime, and of course as of this moment he's still alive. As it happens, it fails both tests, because the events depicted took place less than 50 years before its publication in 1982.
There are those who maintain that it's not a novel of any kind because it's insufficiently fictionalised, but that's a whole other argument!
Paul wrote: "As a child of the US eighties, I had never really heard much of Morrissey or The Smiths, they were fairly non-existent on our side of the ocean. Having since tracked down their music...not my favor..."The Smiths didnt translate well into the US market i agree, they is always a strand of UK music that fails to catch the mass US rock or pop audience. Although college radio was filled with very similar bands in the 1980s USA, though the quality tailed off towards the 1990s
For me, a classic that was just written(within 12 mths) is an absurd idea and Penguin Modern Classics failed with that, though i must read it some time
Mod
Icelandic tradition at Christmas
... the Icelandic tradition of Jólabókaflóð which translates to ‘Christmas book flood’.
Jólabókaflóð involves gifting books to loved ones on Christmas Eve so everyone can stay in together, get cozy and spend an relaxing evening reading.
Since 1944 the Icelandic book trade has published a catalogue that is sent to every house in November during the Reykjavik Book Fair when the market is flooded with books. From this catalogue people order books as gifts for their loved ones.
Isn't that great?
Gpfr (170) wrote: "While visiting the Penguins Classics site in some bewilderment about Morrissey's inclusion (see messages 151, 159, 168, 169) - although it is at least a 'Modern Classic' rather than just Classic; s..."I followed this story at the time. It seems that Penguin really really wanted the Morrissey book, and that he would let them have it only if they agreed to bring it out as a Modern Classic. There was a mild kerfuffle about it, though it was hardly headline-making news, mostly raised eyebrows.
Gpfr wrote: "There have been several mentions of Iceland recently - I've just received this in an email from Stanfords:Icelandic tradition at Christmas
... the Icelandic tradition of Jólabókaflóð which transl..."
How wonderful, the more so as I spent last night watching The Valhalla Murders on Netflix! It is set in Iceland. I particularly enjoyed seeing all the traditional Icelandic names-Aslaug, Steinthór, Dagny, Grettir, Böðvar, and so on, since I used to read the Norse sagas and Icelandic folktales (collected by Jón Árnason) as a child and they all feature-Aslaug is a character in the story of Ragnar Lodbrok. The Saga of Grettir the Strong features that unforgettable character the undead Glam!! Böðvar Bjarki means Böðvar the Little Bear. I enjoyed following the language in parallel to the subtitles-you can see how English is related to Icelandic via Norse.
My one criticism of the show applies to everything filmed everywhere, particularly thrillers, which is that I am tired to death of the ubiquitous blue filter. It drains all color and warmth. There was a red hoodie at one point, but you would never have known.... It might have been original once but now seems to me more and more a manifestation of the Masculine completely out of control and unbalanced by the Feminine. Not a single green thing, growing plant, warm color, or living creature-not even a cat or a bowl of fruit.
Magrat wrote: "Are you seriously going to maintain that it is not a historical novel on the basis that its 84 year old author Thomas Keneally is still alive?"Since Keneally was born in 1935 and The Dickens Boy is apparently set in the second half of the 19th century, I would consider it unquestionably historical fiction. My definition of historical fiction has nothing to do with whether an author is living or dead, only when they were born.
How about the novel by Siegfried Lenz I mentioned? Not published until 2016, but written in 1951 and set during WWII: Do you consider that historical fiction? Since the NY Times apparently does, you'd be in good company.
Justine wrote: "It's hard to think of how a book about two men whose daughters have been killed in a land where the different sides really hate each other could have had a much different - lighter? - tone."Just to be clear, my reference to the Garner review was meant to suggest a possible reason the McCann book did not survive the Booker winnowing, about which you expressed astonishment.
You mentioned Lincoln in the Bardo, which is also about the death of a child, but the tone of that is hardly solemn or “self-important” to use Garner’s phrase. To touch tangentially upon the “cultural appropriation” issue, perhaps Saunders felt he had more latitude in his tone and treatment having selected his subject matter from his native soil.
Lljones wrote (166): "I don't know who this Dwight Garner is, but remind me to never, ever, read any reviews from him"
You might also not enjoy Garner's Quotations: A Modern Miscellany. (Perhaps I have a future developing anti-recommendation algorithms.)
Sandya wrote: "Gpfr wrote: "There have been several mentions of Iceland recently - I've just received this in an email from Stanfords:Icelandic tradition at Christmas
... the Icelandic tradition of Jólabókaflóð..."
I love the "th" and "s" sounds of icelandic, i wondered if the tough female cop Kata had a speech impediment at first but then realised after googling its a feature of Icelandic speech
When i was in Iceland i featured my pretty good knowledge of germanic languages during my life would help me pick up words here and there but no chance, it was totally lost on me and with the subtitles i wait for a familiar swedish or german based word and nothing arrives! (I guess my Norwegian-Danish knowledge is poor ,my knowledge of swedish comes from phonetic learning of lyrics by my faviourite rock band of the Noughties Kent, from Sweden)
I dont mind the filters and Iceland is bleak in summer and winter. I have been suprised by how dark haired the entire cast are, Icelandic DNA is heavily Irish/British on the female side(which would suggest a significant darker %) but when i was there it was much more of a 55/45 blonde to dark balance in hair,maybe the directors wanted to have brooding, dark haired characters all round!
AB76 wrote: "Sandya wrote: "Gpfr wrote: "There have been several mentions of Iceland recently - I've just received this in an email from Stanfords:Icelandic tradition at Christmas
... the Icelandic tradition ..."
I do too! And the runic looking letters! I have good German and some Finnish (not useful here), but I think familiarity with Norse is what helped me figure out words here and there, but no more-grammar is obviously different, and word endings for things like "Valhalla", pronounced more like "Valhallt" here. I still read my copy of the Prose and Poetic Eddas of Snorri Sturluson. Yes, I noticed the lisping sound-clearly it is a feature of correct pronunciation.
The attached article on Jón Árnason (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jón_Árn...) states that he was the first curator of the Forngripasafns Íslands (Icelandic Antiquities Collection). "Forn" means very old. In the Fellowship of the Ring, Elrond states that Tom Bombadil is called "Forn by the Dwarves", who in The Hobbit all have names from the Norse Edda. Tom is indeed ancient. It is this depth of linguistic detail and allusion that makes Tolkien unique-well, he launched the genre, and nothing else compares if you enjoy language.
Sandya wrote: "AB76 wrote: "Sandya wrote: "Gpfr wrote: "There have been several mentions of Iceland recently - I've just received this in an email from Stanfords:Icelandic tradition at Christmas
... the Iceland..."
Yes Tolkein's books are nordic languages treasure trove!
I keep waiting for something similar to the swedish word "ingenting" for "nothing", ibut its "ekkert" in icelandic. I love the world "ingenting" as it seems to have no relation to "nothing" at all. (In German its "nichts")
But i kinda answered my own question earlier, its clear that the majority of nordic settlers in ancient Britain were Danes and Norwegians, not Swedes, so i shouldnt look to swedish as a guide really
As for dark hair in the UK, i found some interesting theories, possibly in common with the Icelandic side:
- possible Wendish minorities in the anglo-saxon influx, wends are the darkest people in Northern Germany
- influence of a significant brunette population of coastal Norway
- possible minorities of Finnish Lapps, not maybe pure Sami but with similar hair colouring
Sandya wrote: "AB76 wrote: "Sandya wrote: "Gpfr wrote: "There have been several mentions of Iceland recently - I've just received this in an email from Stanfords:Icelandic tradition at Christmas
... the Iceland..."
I loved the Prose Edda and have The Vinland Saga's on the TBR list next up!
Gpfr's 'Penguin George Orwell book covers link' https://www.penguin.co.uk/articles/20...Thanks for this link. They are stunning designs!
(apologies if i mess up this reply as I'm struggling with this site)
#150 Storm wrote: "Ha! Well, I have a question for you all. When does fiction become HISTORICAL fiction? Anyone want to volunteer a date? Because this is the day I realise I myself have become historical. Brit Bennet..."Sorry - no. And off topic but . . .
When it comes to historical fiction, no one can beat C J Sansom in my book. Of course one does get an excellent mystery to boot.
AB76 wrote: "Sandya wrote: "AB76 wrote: "Sandya wrote: "Gpfr wrote: "There have been several mentions of Iceland recently - I've just received this in an email from Stanfords:Icelandic tradition at Christmas
..."
I look forward to your review!
AB76 wrote: "Sandya wrote: "AB76 wrote: "Sandya wrote: "Gpfr wrote: "There have been several mentions of Iceland recently - I've just received this in an email from Stanfords:Icelandic tradition at Christmas
..."
There's a story that, in order to support his crackpot racial theories, Hitler had Henry the Lion, a great German hero and monarch, exhumed. Of course, he must be tall and blond! It turned out Henry the Lion was a short guy with dark hair. I saw his tomb in Brunswick Cathedral, with his second wife Matilda, a daughter of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine, a number of years ago-very interesting! It's quite small too, which rather supports the short stature idea. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_t...
Mod
I really like his books too!
Mod
Thanks for this link. They are stunning designs!..."
Glad you liked them! It's interesting to see the variations.
Bill (178) wrote: "Justine wrote: "It's hard to think of how a book about two men whose daughters have been killed in a land where the different sides really hate each other could have had a much different - lighter?..."I think I did understand that (about the Booker) though I'd disagree with the view that Apeirogon is overwhelmingly solemn or self-important. And of course it's very different in so many ways from Saunders's novel, which takes place in the past, in a graveyard, mostly inhabited by ghosts, so that most of the action is entirely created from the imagination. Although I also found sorrow to be the primary emotion there as well. In that book, too, the author uses the strangeness of it, the weirdness, itself as a technique. McCann is writing realistically about real-life living people, but interleaves in other incidents and stories to build up a collage of meaning that can be investigated again and again. At least that's how I see it.
Over to you!
My nonfiction read - doubtless for some time to come - is Before the Storm: Barry Goldwater and the Unmaking of the American Consensus by Rick Perlstein. My first vote was cast in 1964, and in fact I was living in San Francisco when the Republican Party Convention at the Cow Palace nominated Goldwater. As Perlstein runs through the years of the Arizona politician's rise through the 1950s, I'm surprised at how much and how many political figures I remember, but am also impressed by the degree to which the nastier vote-winning strategies we associate with today's populist rot were alive and kicking in 1952 and thereafter. (And probably in 1852 as well.)What I hadn't been aware of was that Arizona had been solidly Democrat across the board since becoming a state in 1912 until it 'flipped' forty years later. After that, it came to be seen as the permanent flagship of conservativism. There may be quite a few lessons to be learned through a close study of this history.
Sandya wrote(#188): There's a story that, in order to support his crackpot racial theories, Hitler had Henry the Lion, a great German hero and monarch, exhumed.Stupid question: how could Hitler have anybody exhumed who was buried/entombed in England?
Georg wrote: "Sandya wrote(#188): There's a story that, in order to support his crackpot racial theories, Hitler had Henry the Lion, a great German hero and monarch, exhumed.Stupid question: how could Hitler h..."
Haha lol..... Braunschweig then-in Germany. Shades of "This isn't Pimlico! This is Burgundy!!"
Sandya wrote: "AB76 wrote: "Sandya wrote: "AB76 wrote: "Sandya wrote: "Gpfr wrote: "There have been several mentions of Iceland recently - I've just received this in an email from Stanfords:Icelandic tradition ..."
should be reading it in a weeks time, once the letters of Eca De Querioz are finished
Paul wrote: "As a child of the US eighties, I had never really heard much of Morrissey or The Smiths."The Queen is Dead is one of the best albums ever. I think the others are just okay.
Gpfr wrote: "There have been several mentions of Iceland recently - I've just received this in an email from Stanfords:Icelandic tradition at Christmas
... the Icelandic tradition of Jólabókaflóð which transl..."
Uptick. Lovely.
Sandya wrote: "Gpfr wrote: "There have been several mentions of Iceland recently - I've just received this in an email from Stanfords:Icelandic tradition at Christmas
... the Icelandic tradition of Jólabókaflóð..."
There’s more Nordic crime on All4 in the New Year, just read this review and trailer for Monster
SydneyH wrote (#196): "Paul wrote: "As a child of the US eighties, I had never really heard much of Morrissey or The Smiths."The Queen is Dead is one of the best albums ever. I think the others are just okay."
Ah. Morrissey is such a first class jerk; he always was really, even before overtly displaying his dodgy politics. I do love his voice though (a bit mar(vege)mite of course). In France, they have a cult status for those who are into their music - or at least they did back in the 90s.
You might enjoy this clip of Morrissey, George Michael and Tony Blackburn (a famous radio DJ who already back then in 1984 had a shade of that embarrassing uncle at the Christmas party) commenting on the first album of Everything But The Girl - which incidentally I should listen to! -, a film about breakdancing, a book on Joy Division and some new release of old Atlantic songs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pqu78...!
PS@Paul: So glad to hear that you've seen these 2 itinerant booksellers around, I hope they keep very busy!
Justine wrote (#163) [about Apeirogon]: "It's hard to think of how a book about two men whose daughters have been killed in a land where the different sides really hate each other could have had a much different - lighter? - tone."Inter, just in case you've missed it in one of my previous posts on Ersatz, you might be interested in this book (review) about two men who both have lost a kid in the Bataclan terrorist attack in Paris, only on each side of the divide: one was the father of one of the terrorists, the other of one of the victims.
We Still Have Words review – two fathers come to terms with terrorhttps://www.theguardian.com/books/202...
Georges Salines lost his daughter in the Bataclan terror attack in Paris, while Azdyne Amimour’s son was one of the killers. Their conversation makes a powerful book
Gladarvor (200) wrote: "Justine wrote (#163) [about Apeirogon: "It's hard to think of how a book about two men whose daughters have been killed in a land where the different sides really hate each other could have had a m..."Thanks, Glad! I will look into that. Whatever one thinks of McCann's novel, the way the two fathers have spoken and behaved is extraordinary, and I was deeply touched by their story.
SydneyH wrote: "Paul wrote: "As a child of the US eighties, I had never really heard much of Morrissey or The Smiths."The Queen is Dead is one of the best albums ever. I think the others are just okay."
My favourite Smiths LP is "meat is murder" that preceeded "The Queen is Dead"
But the Queen Is Dead does have my fave Smiths track "Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others"
Justine (191) wrote: "Over to you!"Well, I’ll sign off on this topic – I’ve only been following reactions to the book, which seem generally positive, though based on a limited sample not wildly so among literary professionals, as perhaps making the Booker longlist but not the shortlist indicates. The New Yorker only gave it a “Briefly Noted” notice, and among published reviews I’ve only read the two NY Times reviews I linked to. What I’ve read about it suggests that Apeirogon probably isn’t for me.
I tend to seek out a lot of reviews only after I’ve read something and had a kind of nonconformist reaction to it: for example, my review of Lincoln in the Bardo contains links to 10 reviews I searched in a mostly vain attempt to find a critical reaction similar to my own.
Gladarvor wrote: We Still Have Words review – two fathers come to terms with terror
https://www.theguardian.com/books/202...
After reading 'Aperigon' this article really touched home with me.
Justine wrote: "My nonfiction read - doubtless for some time to come - is Before the Storm: Barry Goldwater and the Unmaking of the American Consensus by Rick Perlstein....
What I hadn't been aware of was that Arizona had been solidly Democrat across the board since becoming a state in 1912 until it 'flipped' forty years later. After that, it came to be seen as the permanent flagship of conservativism. There may be quite a few lessons to be learned through a close study of this history."
As each succeeding volume garners praise, I've been thinking of reading Perlstein's four part (so far) history of modern American conservatism, but my local library has only the latest volume and I'm not sure I want to invest in the earlier entries, which I would like to read in order (yeah, I'm anal that way). I await your review.
Is there reason to think that AZ's change of party loyalty is anything other than the westernmost manifestation of the "Solid South" phenomenon, where white supremacist voters, losing their home in the Democratic party, migrated to and were eventually actively courted by the Republicans?
Sandya wrote(194): "Georg wrote: "Sandya wrote(#188): There's a story that, in order to support his crackpot racial theories, Hitler had Henry the Lion, a great German hero and monarch, exhumed.Stupid question: how ..."
"Brunswick" Cathedral! Blimey, I doubt any German knows where that is ... :-)
Georg wrote: "Sandya wrote(194): "Georg wrote: "Sandya wrote(#188): There's a story that, in order to support his crackpot racial theories, Hitler had Henry the Lion, a great German hero and monarch, exhumed.S..."
when i lived in berlin for a bit in 1999, a girl i knew told me she was from Braunschsweig, i was perplexed for weeks, trying to think of a major german city i had never noted on a map....it was 4 weeks before in a slumbeiring 5am moment, i suddenly thought "Brunswick...she is from brunswick....."lol
A word on M R JamesShort story collections of a dozen or more can start to pall on me if the stories become samey or rather staid.
Now in some ways MR James sets out the same framework to every short story, which normally would make me start to get fidgety and move onto something new but what keeps me enthralled in this James-ian world is the creativity and ingenuity, there is also something "new" and creative in the actual story, which keeps you reading
I would also suggest he was not a "ghost story" writer but a "supernatural horror" writer, as the grisly hosts in the tales are mostly satanic devilish things, with wet skin and black hair. I am not sure where wet skin seems to be linked to black hair but anyway....
A word on the time it takes to read a bookI'm not a binge reader, i like to pace out the 3 or 4 books on the go but in last 3 years i have started recording how many "readings" it takes to finish a book
This means that even if it takes me 3 weeks to finish a book,the amount of "readings" is the real time it took
So right now, the book that absorbed me for the longest in 2020 was: Der Stechlin by Theodor Fontane (15 seperate Readings) and the book i read quickest was The Graveyard by Hlasko (4 seperate readings)
it seems to have little relation to length of book and more to the way a book keeps me focused. On average in 2020 , it takes me 8 seperate readings to finish a book, so 8 days
Probably a bit boring but i;ve typed it now..lol
Clare de la lune wrote (#204): "Gladarvor wrote: We Still Have Words review – two fathers come to terms with terror
https://www.theguardian.com/books/202...
After reading 'Aperigon' this article really touched home with me."
Glad to hear that Clare - what inter, you and LL said about the book really reminded me of this other true life story. (Also, as per your previous comment, don't worry at all about the formatting of your posts, l'important c'est de participer!)
Bill wrote: "Hey, Tove Ditlevsen fans, what do you think of these covers?"
not nearly as good as the original covers!
I knew this would happen... since we moved across to the new platform I just haven't got into the habit of opening up Goodreads, and I haven't been here for weeks.Anyway, some of you may recall that I've mentioned once or twice over the past year that I've been reading A la récherche du temps perdu. Today, I finished what has been quite a remarkable journey. There were a few times when I struggled - I found The Prisoner really hard going - but overall it's been a really fulfilling experience, and reading the last volume, Finding Time Again (aka Time Regained) was one of the great reading experiences of my life. That final volume is like a keystone that gives form and meaning to the whole novel.
As I mentioned a few weeks ago, I've also started re-reading the whole novel again from the beginning, but at a slower pace of around 20-30 pages a week. So Proust will be with me for some time yet. I read the Penguin translation by Lydia Davis, Ian Patterson et al, which I would very much recommend.
Other recent pleasures: I'm not a massive poetry reader, and I've also been very sceptical about the prospect of writers knocking out their Covid novel (or poetry collection) during lockdown. However, Spring Journal by Jonathan Gibbs has been a joy. Gibbs decided to emulate Louis MacNeice's Autumn Journal, and produced 24 cantos, one a week, over a period of six months between March and September. They mix the personal and public experience of living through this weird year, in much the same way that MacNeice did in 1938. I was fortunate enough to hear some of the cantos read "live", at the end of the week they'd been written, and now the whole collection has been published by CB Editions.
I'm also very much enjoying another recently published poetry collection, Poor by Caleb Femi, which is broadly speaking about life in the Peckham estate where Femi grew up. I've been listening to this on audiobook read by Femi, which is worth doing as his voice and delivery adds a dimension that isn't there on the page.
Right, now I'm going to catch up on what the rest of you have been reading.
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Books mentioned in this topic
August (other topics)August (other topics)
The Making of a Sonnet: A Norton Anthology (other topics)
No Bed for Bacon (other topics)
The Making of a Sonnet: A Norton Anthology (other topics)
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Durs Grünbein (other topics)Elke Erb (other topics)
Durs Grünbein (other topics)
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Tove Ditlevsen (other topics)
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It's understandable that some critics would hold that view, which obviously isn't mine. It's hard to think of how a book about two men whose daughters have been killed in a land where the different sides really hate each other could have had a much different - lighter? - tone. To me it stands as a serious (but also fascinating) inquiry into the psychology as well as the politics, especially given that one of the men had served in the Israeli army through several wars while the other had served seven years' prison time for throwing a grenade at an Israeli vehicle.
Anyway, let the debate continue!