Ersatz TLS discussion
note: This topic has been closed to new comments.
Weekly TLS
>
What Are We Reading? 8 February 2021
Mod
Hey, bibliophile. What do you think of Folio Society? (Some 600+ here at my brother's house).
Nabokov’s Pale Fire contains a four-canto poem in rhyming couplets, followed by extended commentary on each line. What I admire about the project is how daring it is – if Nabokov hadn’t absolutely nailed it, the undertaking would have looked ridiculous. But his verse is excellent. My main objection is that the commentary takes up most of the text, and I didn’t find the editor’s contributions very entertaining. I otherwise preferred this novel to Lolita.I’m well and truly due for some comfort reading, so I’m turning to Leave it to Psmith by P.G. Wodehouse.
Georg wrote: "The Council of Egypt by Leonardo SciasciaThis is a novella, just over 130 pages (in my German translation), set in Palermo in the 1780s.
It starts with an Arabian manuscript that had gathered du..."
I haven't tried any Sciasia yet but this sounds to me like something I'll want to read. I've had Day of the Owl on my to-read list just because it seems to be the best-known of his books in English translation, but I'm moving The Council of Egypt ahead of it based on this.
Veufveuve wrote: "Am I allowed a brag? I've just been offered a book contract - by Bloomsbury no less (albeit, the academic arm, and an edited volume rather than a monograph). It's a project that I feel a lot of com..."I'll say you are! But as everyone else has already said, this is no brag, it's just a sharing and a well-deserved celebration of good news. Congratulations.
Andy wrote: "The Green Man by Kingsley Amis
It’s difficult to read this without Maurice Allington, the incompetent landlord of The Green Man, conjuri..."
One of my favourite Amises. I read this along with a bunch of other Kingsley Amis books in my late teens or early twenties - I came across Lucky Jim never having heard of Amis before and then read everything I could find of his for the next year or two. This one stood out, perhaps because it was a bit later - early 70s? - than most of the others I found at the time, apart from Russian Hide & Seek, which I think was fairly recent when I read it back in the early 80s.
All Shot Up by Chester HimesI'm on a bit of a Himes kick at the moment - this is well up to standard, though at times the plot was so convoluted that I felt confused... there is a lot of thoroughly convincing dialogue, and also some effective descriptions.
As usual with Himes, the corpses start to pile up thick and fast, with some dark humour to help the reader on the way. Most of the characters are black... when they use 'a certain word', it's OK... when a white cop is careless with his mouth, he is taught a short, sharp lesson in manners by our intrepid duo, Coffin Ed Johnson and Grave Digger Jones.
Just occasionally, you feel that a passage could have been better handled, and that a fussier editor would have asked Himes to 'think again', but these are rare minor misjudgements in an otherwise thoroughly enjoyable reading experience.
Just as a sample, here is a description of NYC in the snow, as our detectives head out to investigate:
The small tractor-type snowplows were already at work on the main arteries, scurrying about like orange bugs, piling the snow along the curbs for the trucks to pick up and dump into the river.
The tires sang in the coating of snow, and the windshield wipers clicked back and forth.
They talked about the blizzard of 1949, when city traffic had been paralyzed by thirty-nine inches of snow.
Off to the left, unseen tugboats with green and red lights, barely discernible through the white curtain, raised a cacophony of foghorns. The lights of the petroleum companies across the East River were blanked out.
A ferryboat was docked at the 79th Street pier when they passed, unloading day workers from Welfare Island.
'Damn, this day is moving', Grave Digger remarked.
AB76 wrote: "i need to explore some Pym, i have noticed positive reviews in here....you have reminded me....reply | flag *
"
I only started reading Barbara Pym the last couple years, I think after hearing of her on the old TLS, unless it was somewhere else, and she's probably my favourite "new" (as in new to me) writer. So good, I almost have to restrain myself from reading evrything at once; I dn't want to binge-read them and have all the different books jumbled up in my head, though that will probably be the end result anyway.
Lljones wrote: "RIP, Chick Corea."Dang. I saw Chick in concert twice. I was really going to see his mulleted drummer, Dave Weckl, but Chick was a fantastic guy. Always smiling
Can any author combine so much detail and thought in a lifetime of short novels than Graham Greene?This is a "train of thought" post, as i'm not reading a Greene novel and havent read one since 2018 but i always look foward to choosing from that vast back catalogue
For me, he manages to balance all the factors which make a great novel, in barely 200-300 pages, the novels sometimes feel lighter than they actually are but not after you have wrestled with the consience and innermost thoughts of the character
His long career and regular writing lead me to think he may be the most remarkable 20th century writer, he outlived most of his contemparies and i cant think of literary writer from 1930-1988 who wrote as many good novels
Veufveuve wrote: "Am I allowed a brag? I've just been offered a book contract - by Bloomsbury no less (albeit, the academic arm, and an edited volume rather than a monograph). It's a project that I feel a lot of com..."This is definitely an achievement to be proud of.
LljonesAfter looking at Mario on the boxes I had to post Eliot’s The Naming of Cats overon A place for a poem for you.
AB76 wrote: "Andy wrote: As a rebellious teen i was put off him by the veneration he was afforded in the early 1990s. I tend to like my authors a bit maligned and misunderstood.Let's do a bit of maligning: Amis was typical of so many - following fashion in his political choices, as opposed to having a set of well-founded core principles which might be subject to evolution, but not to extreme swings from left to right - which is pretty much always the direction of travel with people like Amis. So, this passage from Wikipedia may prove instructive about the man:
As a young man at Oxford, Amis joined the Communist Party of Great Britain and left it in 1956.[22][23] He later described this stage of his political life as "the callow Marxist phase that seemed almost compulsory in Oxford."[24] Amis remained nominally on the Left for some time after the war, declaring in the 1950s that he would always vote for the Labour Party.[25]
Amis eventually moved further right, a development he discussed in the essay "Why Lucky Jim Turned Right" (1967); his conservatism and anti-communism can be seen in works like the dystopian novel Russian Hide and Seek (1980).[26] In 1967, Amis, Robert Conquest, John Braine and several other authors signed a letter to The Times entitled "Backing for U.S. Policies in Vietnam", supporting the US government in the Vietnam War.[27] He spoke at the Adam Smith Institute, arguing against government subsidy to the arts.
He didn't sound like a nice man, either - though that should not be a reason not to read a writer. I'm sure a number of my favourites are (or were) total arseholes.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingsle...
The main reason not to read Amis is that he wasn't very good - his early novel Lucky Jim, supposedly some sort of comic masterpiece, is flimsy stuff - to the point where I never felt tempted to read another Amis.
If that bit of maligning doesn't encourage you to pick up one of his books, nothing will!
Machenbach wrote (#190): "the same Jamesian mixture of patronising condescension and grudging praise"From - mainly - your exchanges with Natasha, this seemed to be his raison d'être. Did any author he valued escape this view?
As for the little dogs, no, I was not suggesting that's what they were after, but that it could be an alternative for them to explore. The one who puts his head in his mouth is one of his friends though, isn't he? It could be some twisted trust exercise, the kind you see in these corporate retreats!
Machenbach wrote (#150): "I have a copy of Mrs. Dalloway inscribed by Elizabeth Taylor to her (ex-)lover, an arty member of the Communist Party of Great Britain, which simply says "But you won't read it.""Oof, that's brutal. Don't you have something a bit more heartwarming on your shelves though, iirc an (other) ex-lover saying of Mrs Palfrey "Lizzy's greatest achievement" (I paraphrase)?
scarletnoir wrote (#191): "He didn't sound like a nice man, either - though that should not be a reason not to read a writer. I'm sure a number of my favourites are (or were) total arseholes."Exactly! But since AB likes a bit of a dark horse, I think he's got one here in Amis Sr. Andy has almost convinced me to give that book of his a try...
giveusaclue wrote: "Then, of course, I moved on to Enid Blyton's Famous Five and Secret Seven books."I have no recollection whatsoever of 'reading primers' in Welsh - perhaps they didn't exist in the 1950s... the ones used by my daughters decades later weren't up to much.
However, I'm surprised by your ordering of the Enid Blytons, as the Secret Seven series was for a younger age group than the Famous Five, having a significantly larger font size and therefore fewer words. (It was probably after reading one of the 'Secret Seven' that I made a rude boast to a friend that "I can read a book in an hour!" Not tactful, or nice, but probably not much of an exaggeration.) And "Where's Noddy?"
Really, though, the importance of early books should be to develop a taste for reading. I'm not sure how many primers achieve that well.
Max (Outrage)"They weren't very good, but the Famous Five and Secret Seven were.Then Biggles and then Science Fiction and up, up and away!
Indeed.
I just wrote a reply to the original post, so won't repeat... Biggles was definitely a favourite of mine - all that travelling and derring-do, from Prague to Australia, and from Finland to Africa... Did anyone here also read the Flame series by Eric Leyland? Or the John Pudney series featuring Fort X (I think) which appeared to be based on the real-life defence establishment at Fort Halstead:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Ha...
Plus, of course, the delights of meeting comic characters such as 'just' William (Richmal Crompton) or Jennings (Anthony Buckeridge).
I'm not sure how many of these would entertain today's kids, but the pleasure they gave remains. I sort of think 'William' would stand the test of time...
Hushpuppy wrote: Or else: 1, 2, 3!!!Well, thanks for that! Many laughs - you made my day!
scarletnoir wrote (#196): "I'm not sure how many of these would entertain today's kids, but the pleasure they gave remains. I sort of think 'William' would stand the test of time..."I haven't read the Just William books, but if Good Omens is anything to measure it by (minus the angels and devil and Mort and flying mopeds), then I'd guess that it's a timeless classic, like Le petit Nicolas!
Edit: You're welcome (about little and bigger dogs)!
AB76 wrote: "Can any author combine so much detail and thought in a lifetime of short novels than Graham Greene?"Greene was exceptional - I have read nearly all his novels. He manages to consider difficult situations in which the 'right' (i.e. 'moral') course of action is hard to discern. Difficult situations lead to difficult choices... Not much preaching here. (Contrast some currently highly rated authors.)
Hushpuppy wrote: "scarletnoir wrote (#196): "I'm not sure how many of these would entertain today's kids, but the pleasure they gave remains. I sort of think 'William' would stand the test of time..."I haven't rea..."
Well, I didn't understand the link between William and 'Good Omens', possibly because I have never seen it...
I did like to be reminded, though, that Noddy is called 'Oui-Oiu' in French, which of course causes a giggle or two.
Really, though, the importance of early books should be to develop a taste for reading. I'm not sure how many primers achieve that well. Maybe we are muddling up two different kinds of books here. The early primers such as the old Janet and John books were specifically designed for the teaching of reading whereas the books that many have mentioned can be put into the children’s literature field.
If you stop for a moment and imagine a small child who cannot read at all, a primer is the one that will help most learn. The Janet and John - yes I must have read them hundreds of times with children introduced the ‘look and say’ method of teaching reading, still effective for many. It’s the repetition that helps. Phonics goes alongside, these books would repeat certain letter/ sound combinations. The primers started out very short, gradually lengthening as the child progressed.
There was a vague kind of story but only vague, primers are all about recognising words and sounds.
Alongside primers , of course, one hopes children see, try to read, enjoy, listen to, all the other wonderful children’s books but primers have a specific purpose.
scarletnoir wrote (#200): "Well, I didn't understand the link between William and 'Good Omens', possibly because I have never seen it..."You mean read it 😉? (Although the TV adaptation was alright.) The main protagonist - William - and his band of mates and their dog is inspired by the Just William series, dixit Neil Gaiman himself (https://twitter.com/neilhimself/statu...).
Talking about Neil Gaiman's adaptations, Coraline was really good, and Stardust brilliant (by the same screenwriter-director duo who made the equally thrilling Kick-Ass). I have just received the original 4 comics of Stardust, written by Gaiman and drawn by Charles Vess, that'll be my weekend treat I think.
Just started"Youth" by Tove Ditlevsen This is the second in her Copenhagen Trilogy about her life, first published in 1967 and i had strangely forgotten how enticing her writing is, the little reactions to the pretty awful gallery of characters she encounters and her relationship with her mother
Working class Copenhagen looms like a heavy shadow over the first volume and so far in this one, the world of the "have nots". Boring, fustrating,menial work for girl who should still be in school, poverty takes away so much from children like this
Machenbach wrote: "scarletnoir wrote: "Plus, of course, the delights of meeting comic characters such as 'just' William (Richmal Crompton) or Jennings (Anthony Buckeridge).."Oh, how could I have forgotten them? In ..."
in one of my parents many bookcases,a few years back, i spotted an old hardback of Linden Rise by Crompton, i must try and fish it out next time i visit the old folks....probably whenever covid decides to f*** off
Everyone was very kind and indulgent to me yesterday, especially given what a delinquet and useless member of ETLS I am. Thank you.I am reading, Ferrante at the moment, and promise to post on it, and contribute in other ways, soon.
@Hushpuppy, no I haven't worked out who you are! Carmen? My wife is doing quite well, thank you, but still far from fully recovered. We've enjoyed a remarkable winter spell - it's been continuously below freezing for almost three weeks now and all the lakes in central Copenhagen are frozen solid.
AB76 wrote: "Just started"Youth" by Tove Ditlevsen This is the second in her Copenhagen Trilogy about her life, first published in 1967 and i had strangely forgotten how enticing her writing is, the little r..."
There are some flashes of light in "Youth." Some ...
Veufveuve wrote: "Everyone was very kind and indulgent to me yesterday, especially given what a delinquet and useless member of ETLS I am. Thank you.I am reading, Ferrante at the moment, and promise to post on it,..."
its been almost as cold as that here in the south east of england, max temp has been 3c since Sunday and my daily consitutional was assailed by the coldest most bitter wind since i was on the Klein Matterhorn in 1999 and was wearing balaclava plus all the ski gear on that day, it froze to my nose!
Machenbach wrote: "Hushpuppy wrote: "Stardust brilliant (by the same screenwriter-director duo who made the equally thrilling Kick-Ass)."Yes, very good. Jane Goldman was one of the screenwriters (with Matthew Vaugh..."
Major coincidence my neice Maya(5yo) loves Stardust, i had to watch it about 4 times at the last Xmas before covid and i did enjoy on the first watch, good humour and Goodman's talent was clear
Machenbach wrote: "AB76 wrote: "Major coincidence my neice Maya(5yo) loves Stardust, i had to watch it about 4 times at the last Xmas before covid and i did enjoy on the first watch, good humour and Goodman's talent ..."i got into big trouble one babysitting time letting her watch "Temple of Doom", i managed a sensible switch to Scooby Doo and she found Scooby hilarious and forgot about the creepy crawlies in temple of doom! (Uncle AB just about got away with that one....)
Machenbach wrote: "Veufveuve wrote: "There are some flashes of light in "Youth." Some"Aye, but it's usually a puppy on fire."
We've had this exchange before, but it bears repeating.
Machenbach wrote: "AB76 wrote: "i got into big trouble one babysitting time letting her watch "Temple of Doom", i managed a sensible switch to Scooby Doo and she found Scooby hilarious and forgot about the creepy cra..."yes, she is very good at getting what she wants and she wanted "Indy!!!!!!". it amazes me how at 5 she is smart, chatty and engaging, she can spin the words off her tongue at 100mph and she has an answer for everything......luckily i had a plan B
Veufveuve wrote: "Machenbach wrote: "Veufveuve wrote: "There are some flashes of light in "Youth." Some"Aye, but it's usually a puppy on fire."
We've had this exchange before, but it bears repeating."
gosh, you two are really selling this to me....i'm 18 pages in..lol
AB76 wrote (#215): " my neice Maya(5yo) loves Stardust (...) i got into big trouble one babysitting time letting her watch "Temple of Doom"No fucking kidding... I'm still scared watching it! It's such a much more Gothic and gloomy offering than the other two outings (I refuse to think of the 4th one), and Capshaw is just positively annoying.
As for loving Stardust, your niece's got excellent taste 😊. Very funny and witty, and gorgeous cast. I've only just learnt earlier today that Captain Shakespeare is actually a Matthew Vaughn's creation (Gaiman was not convinced at first, until he saw de Niro play him), so I won't find him in the comics...
@MB, to be fair to Ross, he's always seemed immensely proud of his wife's achievements, and doesn't seem bothered to take second billing these days. Kingsman 1 is funny enough - I like the clash of the classes in particular - but Kingsman 2 was pretty dire tbh. Shame as I really like what these two can come up with.
Hushpuppy wrote: "AB76 wrote (#215): " my neice Maya(5yo) loves Stardust (...) i got into big trouble one babysitting time letting her watch "Temple of Doom"No fucking kidding... I'm still scared watching it! It's..."
as a kid, i found Capshaw tedious, as man in my 40s..i appreciated her more, happens to me a lot. Lois Lane in the late 70s superman movies was a drag, until about 3 years ago....i rewatched and i was at peace with her
Machenbach wrote: "It's the same guy actually, but a few decades later."The same man? Ah! Well, he did learn a thing or two in time then, perhaps...
What you're saying of Amis, and despite his real appreciation for her talent, is exactly why I'm not rushing to read his books. As for where it's from, try this (hope the google books link works).
Machenbach wrote (#212): "He could actually be quite an astute critic/reader and did value popular writers like Stevenson and Daudet (and envied their success), but he also essentially felt that every writer would be vastly improved if only they would write more like him."Thanks! I was going to ask which "him", considering there is a multitude (something I only learnt again via you and Natasha). Honestly, I had no idea of Daudet's international fame and that he was popular beyond the French borders. You live, you learn.
Veufveuve wrote (#207): "@Hushpuppy, no I haven't worked out who you are! Carmen? My wife is doing quite well, thank you, but still far from fully recovered."Really glad to hear this Vv! No, carmen is still "carmen" and though she reads the page, she doesn't comment...
Machenbach wrote (#227): "when I googled it I got nothing. How odd."You're welcome! That'd be because she was not lovely but lively. Having no luck with the initial quote, I dropped part of it, as you can see from the search keywords... Yes, I think I remember a Christmas card or a letter you have between the 2 Elizabeth, although I could be mistaken. I didn't know she was Amis's wife though, what a small (English literary) world. I've made a mental note of the Cazalet series in the past, I think MsC was the most vocal about them.
“The Heart of Tantric Sex” – Diana Richardson (1999)
I don’t remember sex guides ever featuring on TLS. I hope it’s OK here, because it’s worth bringing this one to people’s attention. I was expecting hippy-dippy waftiness. Instead it is practical, detailed, unpretentious, encouraging, and interesting, and written by someone who knows how to write. The whole focus is on love-making, not on orgasm as such, whether male or female. I wish I had read it years ago. I think it will make me a better lover.
I don’t remember sex guides ever featuring on TLS. I hope it’s OK here, because it’s worth bringing this one to people’s attention. I was expecting hippy-dippy waftiness. Instead it is practical, detailed, unpretentious, encouraging, and interesting, and written by someone who knows how to write. The whole focus is on love-making, not on orgasm as such, whether male or female. I wish I had read it years ago. I think it will make me a better lover.
Machenbach wrote: "Machenbach wrote: "Lljones wrote: "Hey, bibliophile. What do you think of Folio Society?."I only have a few myself and don't actively seek them out, but they are generally well-manufactured, well-..."
Thank you for posting that link to Julian Barnes. I did like his conclusion:
The American writer and dilettante Logan Pearsall Smith once said: "Some people think that life is the thing; but I prefer reading." When I first came across this, I thought it witty; now I find it – as I do many aphorisms – a slick untruth. Life and reading are not separate activities. The distinction is false (as it is when Yeats imagines a choice between "perfection of the life, or of the work"). When you read a great book, you don't escape from life, you plunge deeper into it. There may be a superficial escape – into different countries, mores, speech patterns – but what you are essentially doing is furthering your understanding of life's subtleties, paradoxes, joys, pains and truths. Reading and life are not separate but symbiotic. And for this serious task of imaginative discovery and self-discovery, there is and remains one perfect symbol: the printed book.
Nostalgia provided by a Guardian photo. Oh, can we go back and dissolve Brexit and Corona Virus so I can scan the orange and green Penguin shelves at Waterstone's Gower Street - not far from Tavistock Square?
https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2...
CCCubbon wrote: " Really, though, the importance of early books should be to develop a taste for reading. I'm not sure how many primers achieve that well. Maybe we are muddling up two different kinds of books her..."
As I said in my original post - I'm not convinced that primers existed for Welsh speaking children in the 1950s. I don't recall what method the teachers used.
When my own children started school, the Welsh primers were pretty poor (IMO). The English ones were presumably better, but... I have my doubts about that approach.
Hushpuppy wrote: "scarletnoir wrote (#200): "Well, I didn't understand the link between William and 'Good Omens', possibly because I have never seen it..."You mean read it 😉? (Although the TV adaptation was alright.) The main protagonist - William - and his band of mates and their dog is inspired by the Just William series, dixit Neil Gaiman himself (https://twitter.com/neilhimself/statu...).
There you are, you see... I had no idea that such weirdness existed, let alone in book form! I have heard the name 'Neil Gaiman', but know nothing about him... so, William meets up with the Devil? Is that right? Could be a contender for the most unlikely conflab since Old Nick (Ned Flanders) tried to do away with Homer by force-feeding him donuts: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydqkB...
Gaiman is clearly outside my usual range, but could be worth investigating if he is funny...
I am only able to read for short times and am skim reading a book set in the 11C. There has been a reference a couple of times that has made me realise, once more, how much I do not know.The reference is about nun’s dowries. It started with the thought that you had to be rich to be a nun to afford the dowry. I had not thought about it before. I suppose down through the ages many poor women would have liked the life from the point of view of being housed and fed.
I tried googling but learned little except that dowries are still required today to pay for one’s keep. It would make economic sense but it also makes it sound like a business. One has to pay to have a life of poverty.
The only nun that I have ever known would regale us with stories of how she kept a bottle of gin stashed in a tree, lovely lady.
CCCubbon wrote: "The reference is about nun’s dowries. It started with the thought that you had to be rich to be a nun to afford the dowry."I wonder if Sacred Hearts by Sarah Dunant would be of interest to you? It tells the tale of a young girl from a 'good' family who is forced into a convent in 1570 Ferrara.
Well written, interesting, and with a surprising number of uplifting moments (despite everything)!
It had not crossed my mind that someone would have to pay to be a nun. I did watch A Nun’s Story the other week and there is a dowry paid there which she gets back when she leaves. I believe that convents were sometimes places where girls escaped unwelcome arranged marriages. I will have a look at that book, thanks scarlet?
Regarding reading. This was the way it was taught way back in the sixties and seventies. Doubtless it has changed somewhat but I doubt that much. Different children respond to different approaches and I found a mixture of look and say and phonics to be best. Trouble was with a class of thirty it is getting around to giving that individual attention, no teaching assistants then.
For a short time I worked in a school that used the Initial Teaching Alphabet , that was something else! The children would get very muddled at the time of transition to standard English. I will post a couple of photos on photos if anyone has not seen this alphabet. I struggle to read it now.
This topic has been frozen by the moderator. No new comments can be posted.
Ersatz TLS
Books mentioned in this topic
Me and Kaminski (other topics)Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race (other topics)
Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race (other topics)
Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race (other topics)
Atlantic Fury (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Kingsley Amis (other topics)Torquato Tasso (other topics)
Kingsley Amis (other topics)
Kingsley Amis (other topics)
Tamsin Calidas (other topics)
More...
Ha! I don't look there eit..."
Biggish?!?