What Are We Reading 10 May 2021

[AB76]

Next modern-ish fiction is a collection of works by Alessendro Spina, (a Maronite Christian of Syrian descent from Libya), who wrote in Italian. After the Algerian reading, its a move down the African coast

The Confines of the Shadow , follows the Italian occupation of Libya as it affected the city of Benghazi where Spina grew up over 30 years

Colonial Benghazi was about 25% Italian by 1940, with a small jewish minority, it was in Italian hands from the early 1900s until WW2

I only discovered Spina by accident, not realising he was Libyan not Italian, using a nom de plume. Darf Publishers have packaged two volumes of his works on the colonial world of Benghazi

[MK]

Query for out mystery readers - Has anyone read Toni Mount's medieval series which starts with ?

I just ran across her - Medieval Medicine - elsewhere online and discovered that she also writes mysteries.

Has anyone been there with her mysteries ?

[Shelflife_wasBooklooker]

Scarletnoir, since you liked Flaubert's Parrot, you might be interested to learn that Salammbô has mentioned people (men, that is) with parrot tattoos on their chests thrice already. I will keep counting, and grinning a bit. We will see whether the symbol's significance will be decoded.

scarletnoir wrote #47:

"Thanks for that (personal) recommendation - I think my reluctance to read Carey is linked to the frequent disappointments I have suffered over the years, when reading (or not being able to read) Booker prizewinners. (Some are fine, obviously - they're not all duds!)

I have added this book to my very lengthy virtual TBR pile - not the GR list which, for the most part, reflects books I have already bought. "

You are very welcome, scarlet. As I wrote, I enjoyed reading it, but was not happy with the turn at the end at all... I may report, on my reread, whether I still think it's really worth it.

Georg wrote #49:

Carey has a special place in my reading history: the only author who got three chances (as opposed to max two). The reviews were always so tempting. I didn't finish one of them (Illywhacker, Oscar and Lucinda, Kelly Gang).
Largely agree with your sentiments re Booker winners

Not for you, then... I liked Oscar and Lucinda (read it ages ago), as well as Jack Maggs, The way our tastes sometimes are absolutely d'accord (Reginald Hill, preference for Heinrich Mann,...), and then again completely different certainly keeps it interesting!

I can understand your and scarlet's reluctance concerning awarded books. I loved the idea of The Luminaries, for example, but reading it felt like a slog after some chapters and, puzzled, I found it hard to understand what others might have seen in it. (Also, I hardly remember anything about it any more, which can be a bad sign, too. Not always, though, sometimes it's to do with my late-at-night reading in bed habit).
There's (to me) hits, too, though - Mantel, very recently.


scarletnoir wrote #49:

Remind me - are you reading this in translation, or in the original?

I am in a period of reading French books in the original, as I can cope (with the assistance of online translation tools)... if I was to tackle this, I'd prefer the original unless it's too demanding... I have never read Flaubert, though much enjoyed Barnes's 'Flaubert's parrot'.

I am reading a translation into German, a very good one.

While I read Flaubert's Sentimental Education both in German and French (mostly, first in German, and then revisiting passages in French) and enjoyed this, this time, with Salammbô, I am lazy and just go for the translation. Seeing the language registers and, in fact, the compilations of mountains of exotic-fetishized things, I am quite happy I chose this way!
Am with AB76 regarding Sentimental Education and can recommend it. Beware of heavy cynicism, though. (I am not always in the mood for it.)

Talking of books in French, do you know the detective fiction série des "Enquêtes de Pénélope"? This part of the series, involving paintings, was recommended to me recently:
https://www.amazon.de/Intrigue-%C3%A0...
It is in my TBR sprawl now, but not sure when I will get to it yet. Next on the list is a book on hiking(German-language) for my reading group.

[AB76]

Shelflife_wasBooklooker wrote: "Scarletnoir, since you liked Flaubert's Parrot, you might be interested to learn that Salammbô has mentioned people (men, that is) with parrot tattoos on their chests thri..."

TBR sprawl...i like that...thats a good word for it...

[Gpfr]

Shelflife_wasBooklooker wrote: "Talking of books in French, do you know the detective fiction série des "Enquêtes de Pénélope"?..."

I've read them - light & quite enjoyable.

[Gpfr]

MK wrote: "Query for out mystery readers - Has anyone read Toni Mount's medieval series which starts with ? ..."

I haven't heard of them before.

[giveusaclue]

MK wrote: "Query for out mystery readers - Has anyone read Toni Mount's medieval series which starts with ?

I just ran across her - Medieval Medicine - elsewhere onl...

Has anyone been there with her mysteries ?"


No, but I have just had a look and they sound interesting. Thanks

[AB76]

The Member by John Galt (1832) is a fascinating find and read

Scotsman Mr Jobbry (yes that his real name), returns from India and by slightly fly means, acquires a rotten borough and a seat in the commons (around 1811-12). He henceforth schemes and plots while protesting his probity to all and sundry, as if its a parlour game.

Jobbry flits between supporting the opposition and government, sneers at the voters and keeps a tight rein on his purse, with no such care over other peoples money. Its a satire,though with wit and style, peppered throughout with lowland scots phrases

Published in the year of reform, 1832, it is a damning study of a corrupt and venal system of government

[Berkley]

Shelflife_wasBooklooker wrote: "Wow.
It is easy to see, even after just a few chapters, why Gustave Flaubert's Salammbô would be adapted to opera (nod to Bill), theatre...

What do you as readers (I think there are some here) remember most of it?"

I think for me it was:

1. the lush detail of the descriptive passages, e.g. Hamilcar's palace or estate near the beginning of the novel; but really, almost every scene, every page has something to get lost in, in this respect.

2. the serious effort Flaubert made to imagine a different world, not only externally or materially but also internally, mentally, conceptually. And again, this comes through in almost every scene, often most effectively for me in otherwise unimportant incidents or passing moments.

For example, when Hamilcar realises the full extent of the damage done to his property by the mercenaries, and says to the servant he'd left in charge, "oh you wretch!" (in the English translation I read) and the servant falls down just as if he had been struck a physical blow.

Or again, when Hamilcar reproaches the other Carthaginian leaders with their inhumane treatment of the mercenaries, and one of them says sarcastically, "oh, what a calamity!"

Possibly these aren't the most effective illustrations of what I'm trying to talk about but they are two moments, among many others, that have always stuck in my memory since reading the book around five years ago. I plan to re-read Flaubert in general somewhere down the road but Salammbô, though I don't necessarily rate it as his best, is probably the one I most look forward to experiencing again.

[Gpfr]

Gpfr wrote: "MK wrote: "Query for out mystery readers - Has anyone read Toni Mount's medieval series which starts with ? ..."

I haven't heard of them before."

Having looked them up, they sound worth checking out. Thanks for the tip.

[SydneyH]

Berkley wrote: "the serious effort Flaubert made to imagine a different world"

That reminds me - slavery. I was a bit shook by the casual way that people are enslaved in Salammbo and this was treated as a matter of course.

[AB76]

In the early chapters of The Last Enemy by Richard Hillary, a 1942 account of WW2 in the RAF, the author describes the world of late 1930s Oxford University. The worship of the athletic and the disdain of the aesthetic, a curious apathy related to patriotism and nationalism alongside a slow realisation that war was inevitable.

He travels in europe during late 1938 on a rowing tour (he was a rowing blue) and observes Germany and Hungary, motoring through Northern France in summer 1939. Then September 1939 arrives, he is in the Oxford Flying Club, so joins the RAF....

I havent returned to 1939-40 since last May and the old emotions are stirred again....even if i never lived through it

[Gpfr]

Une piscine dans le désert by Diane Mazloum

An intriguing short book: Leo Bendos, a young Canadian whose grandparents came to Canada from Lebanon, goes for the first time to the village from which his family came. The Bendos have found out that a swimming pool has been built on their land. The neighbour whose niece Fausta is responsible for this, Rodolphe Jr. Kyriakos, "dont l'embonpoint accueillant bondissait à chaque pas" (whose welcoming stoutness bounced at every step), invites them to stay in his house to sort this out. Leo is sent to arrange the sale of the land.
The house is only used during the summer and Fausta is the only other family member there at present. There are constant power cuts and water shortages.
The village is near the mountains, at a point where the frontiers of 3 countries meet - there are explosions, columns of smoke (they're burning the rubbish says Rodolphe Jr.), mysterious lights...
- Bombardements français? demandait Esperanza... (the housekeeper)
- Non, cette nuit c'est les Russes, répondit l'oncle Rodolphe.
But life in Uncle Rodolphe's house is comfortable and pleasant with plenty of good food, outings to the village, in the mountains

[Georg]

Interesting article and discussion on the Guardian:

"How women conquered the world of fiction"

https://www.theguardian.com/books/202...

[Alan]

Russell wrote: "Working now, so here goes.

Jane Gardam’s Old Filth trilogy
************
Just finished vols. 2 & 3, a few years after reading vol.1, and they flesh out vol. 1 beautifully.

[giveusaclue]

Berkley wrote: "Shelflife_wasBooklooker wrote: "Wow.
It is easy to see, even after just a few chapters, why Gustave Flaubert's Salammbô would be adapted to opera (nod to Bill), theatr..."

Ah, brings back memories - Livy's Punic Wars Latin "O" level 1964.

(view spoiler)[they chopped his head off and threw it over the walls into his brother's camp! (hide spoiler)]

[Cabbie]

SydneyH wrote: "Does anyone have any favourite novels set in India?"

I second Midnight's Children which I read ages ago and loved.

More recently I've read The Siege of Krishnapur, sold to me as a humorous book. It's more satirical, and although I found it a bit difficult to get into, about half way through I was really enjoying it, and there were indeed at least two LOL moments. One of those books that will probably improve on a second reading.

Then there was The God of Small Things, which lays bare the hierarchical system of society.

Most recently, Burnt Sugar, which is set in India, but deals more with the theme of memory than with culture.

[Georg]

giveusaclue wrote: "Berkley wrote: "Shelflife_wasBooklooker wrote: "Wow.
It is easy to see, even after just a few chapters, why Gustave Flaubert's Salammbô would be adapted to opera (nod ..."

Can't have been more dreary than "De bello gallico".
Question re Livius:
(view spoiler)[ who chopped whose head off? (hide spoiler)]

[MK]

Gpfr wrote: "Gpfr wrote: "MK wrote: "Query for out mystery readers - Has anyone read Toni Mount's medieval series which starts with ? ..."

I haven't heard of them befor..."

I hope you will report back after reading. It looks like I'll have to order from Amazon (not my favorite place) as they are not generally available stateside. Thanks.

[giveusaclue]

Georg wrote: "giveusaclue wrote: "Berkley wrote: "Shelflife_wasBooklooker wrote: "Wow.
It is easy to see, even after just a few chapters, why Gustave Flaubert's Salammbô would be ad..."


(view spoiler)[Hasdrubal, Hannibal's brother.He was killed in the Battle of Metaurus, after a vain charge being outnumbered and facing defeat at the hands of two Roman armies that had joined up to fight him. He may have been already dead when decapitated, not sure if it is known who actually committed the deed. Apparently the Romans lobbed his head into Hannibal's camp to demoralise him. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_... (hide spoiler)]

[Berkley]

giveusaclue wrote: "Georg wrote: "giveusaclue wrote: "Berkley wrote: "Shelflife_wasBooklooker wrote: "Wow.
It is easy to see, even after just a few chapters, why Gustave Flaubert's [book:Salammbô|5799098..."

Of course it's their father, Hamilcar Barca, who is a main character in Flaubert's Salammbô, although the young Hannibal does get some attention.

I think the main source for the events covered in Salammbô would be Polybius, but I've read only the Penguin edition which leaves out I believe over half of Polybius's History, including the part Flaubert used for his novel. I wonder if the Oxford edition includes it?

[Gpfr]

Alan wrote: "Jane Gardam’s Old Filth trilogy"...

I've had these waiting to be read for a while now - you're encouraging me to get to them.

[AB76]

Berkley wrote: "giveusaclue wrote: "Georg wrote: "giveusaclue wrote: "Berkley wrote: "Shelflife_wasBooklooker wrote: "Wow.
It is easy to see, even after just a few chapters, why Gustave Flaubert's [b..."

am interested in reading Salammbo after all this dicusssion, its that or Flaubert in Egypt as i'm keen to find non-fiction by great writers too. Though i feel the non-fiction may be too much of a privileged western sex tourist journal...which i have no interest in

[Berkley]

AB76 wrote: "Berkley wrote: "giveusaclue wrote: "Georg wrote: "giveusaclue wrote: "Berkley wrote: "Shelflife_wasBooklooker wrote: "Wow.
It is easy to see, even after just a few chapters, why [author:Gustave Fla..."

I'm not sure about that one either so I'll be curious to hear your reaction if you do read it. Of the things I haven't read I'll probably look for Memoirs of a Madman (1838) and Le Château des cœurs (1880), and perhaps some of the letters - there are collections of his correspondance with Turgenev and with George Sand available in English, I see.

I was just looking at the wikipedia entry for Salammbô and learned that Mussorgsky planned to base an opera on it but abandoned the project before it was finished.

[Lljones]

Gpfr wrote: "Alan wrote: "Jane Gardam’s Old Filth trilogy"...

I've had these waiting to be read for a while now - you're encouraging me to get to them."

Every time someone reads the Old Filth trilogy, an angel gets her wings.

[Bill]

Berkley wrote: "I was just looking at the wikipedia entry for Salammbô and learned that Mussorgsky planned to base an opera on it but abandoned the project before it was finished."


I remember seeing this in record stores in the early 80s. As Columbia had a distribution deal with Meloydia at the time, I always assumed it was a Russian production, but I see it's actually from Milan.

[Berkley]

So Mussorgsky must have written enough material to at least fill a 40-minute or so vinyl record, it seems. I wonder if anyone's attempted to complete the whole thing, or if he left enough of a framework to make that possible.

[Bill]

Berkley wrote: "So Mussorgsky must have written enough material to at least fill a 40-minute or so vinyl record"

Actually, I see that it was a 2 LP set.

There are two CD releases of this listed on Amazon, described as "Sei scene dall'opera incompiuta", with a total timing of 1h, 25:46. It appears to have been the only extensive recording of the work, though Abbado included a "Chorus of Priestesses" on a Mussorgsky album.