What Are We Reading? 24 May 2021

[Fuzzywuzz]

Not as much reading lately as I would have liked, as there has been a few things to sort out in life that have taken time and mental energy.

However, my local library re-opened on Monday and I was thrilled. The books I borrowed were 'Bring Up The Bodies' by Hilary Mantel, 'Mad Blood Stirring' by Simon Mayo and 'Twas The Nightshift Before Christmas' by Adam Kay.

I was also looking for some books by Michael Connolly (The Poet) and Ian Rankin (Rebus #2). The library had neither, so a trip to a local bookshop resulted in a purchase of the latter and also @Early Riser' by Jasper Fforde.

I finished 'Twas The Nightshift Before Christmas' in two sittings yesterday. This was a collection of diary entries made by Adam Kay whilst working as a doctor in Obstectrics and Gynacology in the NHS (UK public healthcare) over many Christmasses. I love his sense of humour and retells his stories of varied patient encounters with gusto and sensitivity where necessary.

I quite enjoyed it, but perhaps not for those of a squeamish disposition.

[scarletnoir]

Fuzzywuzz wrote: "scarletnoir wrote: " by Ian Rankin

This is (I think) the 23rd book in Rankin's John Rebus series. Rebus is now retired, and not in the best of health ..."

Enjoy the ride - most of the books are pretty good!

[scarletnoir]

Lljones wrote: "Have you read Elizabeth McCracken?"

No, I'm afraid not... those passages sound a little as if the author is imagining an Ireland of long ago - before airports? ;-) Maybe Lass has a more up-to-date view... though I was there only 5 years or so ago.

[scarletnoir]

Fuzzywuzz wrote: "I read most of the earlier Karin Slaughter books during the last decade and read them in sequence too. The Will Trent series I thought was particularly good. "

Thank you - I must try at least one, now that the name issue has been clarified!

[AB76]

Faber Finds are a re-issue arm of the publisher worth exploring, they are no-nonsense books, with no contextual extras but the original texts are faithfully delivered

I have read a neglected colonial non-fiction work, the autobiog of Sean Casey and some Tony Parker books so far, including the Calder-Marshall book of Nazi plots in WW2 Mexico

[Lljones]

scarletnoir wrote: "Maybe Lass has a more up-to-date view..."

Maybe, although she lives in Scotland.

[[deleted user]]

scarletnoir wrote: "Pomfretian wrote: "I can still remember where I was when I read that paragraph!...It made me laugh too and I've loved the book ever since.

I'm glad.

A shared sense of humour can be crucial to whe..."

I do love Kate Atkinson and have read some Anne Tyler, but not enough to form an opinion about her works.

[[deleted user]]

Georg wrote: "Pomfretian wrote: "scarletnoir wrote: "A few responses to some other comments:

I wasn't young when I read 'On the Road' and 'The Catcher in the Rye', and enjoyed both of them... though Kerouac may..."

I'm 63 now and read it again earlier this year. I still have the same copy that I had on the coach in 1977. A slim, silver covered paperback with its very yellowed pages and my name written inside the front cover.
I have always felt sorry for Holden and saw him as misunderstood and a bit of a misfit. A prime subject for some counselling!

[Slawkenbergius]

scarletnoir wrote: "(I really read it far too long ago to be sure, but it feels right to me.)"

To be honest, loads of things passed way over my head when I first read it at twenty. That's why it always pays to bet on a re-read after several years of intensive reading; you catch much more stuff with a few extra kilos of literary perusal in your bag!

[Tam]

Apologies for how long this is, so maybe only for those who are interested in 'The Catcher in the Rye' discussion.

To me ‘The Catcher in the Rye’ is, first and foremost, about what actually constitutes a ‘proper’ education. I don’t mean by this, just questioning the varieties on offer of ‘conventional’ education. I had a good education, though not one that prepared me very well for life's vagaries. The one factor my school did give me was access to a wide variety of books, and ideas, and also introduced the idea of critical analysis/thinking into my life. What it didn’t do was help me with the kind of problems that have been an on-going confusion for me, and many other children, in later life. I was completely unequipped for dealing with relationships I fear. I learnt by trial and error, which can have quite a high attrition rate, in terms of who gets to mentally survive, in a healthy manner.

Now most people would think that ‘emotional intelligence’, as such, is just a facility that is assimilated through your family background somehow, but to me, and it is surprisingly common for a lot of others as well, is that it was not actually there for the taking, in my family circumstances. And this is what ‘The Catcher in the Rye’ does best. It puts Holden’s ‘incapacity’ at centre stage, and is all the more powerful for the fact that he does not have ‘an excuse’ for his ‘failing’! It is a poignant tale of ‘loss’ of many different kinds, but mostly it just begs the question of just what a ‘good’ education should consist of? And can we do any better for those around us who fail, as inevitably, to me, it seems that we all must do, at some point.

Can we learn how to fail with good grace, as well as to, occasionally, succeed? We need to know both how to compete and co-operate with each other, and celebrate both capacities, and also to know the difference as to which of these two capacities are the most appropriate ones to employ, in any given situation. The polarities, that seem so often to be an intrinsic part of life, don’t have to cancel each other out, rather they are part of the whole momentum, of learning what it is to be human.

To me, specifically, Holden Caulfield, rather than being just the epitome of the ‘now’ traditional ‘teenager’ (indeed, as a character, I believe he was the foremost literary example of one, as such, and so therefore created the tradition of the ‘teenager from hell’ in the first place) is only, in part, the instigator of his own alienation. Rather I think of him being a boy/man stuck on the cusp of what he thinks should be his transition through to manhood. As the story unfolds he repeatedly goes to ask for advice, from a fairly random collection of people that he knows, and also total strangers.

He makes wild attempts to fulfil the role of what he believes a proper man should be. From attempting to have sex with a prostitute in a hotel, to buying drinks for some women in a bar, in the hope of being able to persuade one of them in to bed with him (they all abandon him with the bill). One way or another, he is left to flounder. He has had no preparation for manhood, he makes what he thinks are the typical stabs at achieving, at least in this case, a very ‘male’ definition of achieving adulthood, and fails.

There is no older benign influence to guide him. One of his old teachers tells him that it’s his own attitudes that let him down, and in terms of the novels trajectory he is often, himself, through his own mistrust, the architect of his own problems. Even his own peer group often mislead, reject, abuse or ignore him, but he also misleads others, so it is not a one-way street at all. I’m reminded of Shakespeare’s ‘Sonnet 35’ here, as even when a young ‘bud’ is just at the first stage of coming to fruition, there can lurk ‘a canker’ in the very bud, that hasn’t yet seen the full light of day as yet.

He retreats, in the end, to find his younger sister, Phoebe, and here is the heart of the book. He longs for the safe sanctity of his childhood innocence. This is exemplified by his misreading of a Rabbie Burns poem ‘Comin Thro’ the Rye’, which is about young men and women meeting up in a cornfield for kisses. And it’s this that gives rise to the title of the book. In his mind Holden pictures himself as the sole guardian of thousands of children playing an unspecified ‘game’ in a huge rye field on the edge of a cliff. He sees it as his ‘job’ to catch the children if, in playing their game, they come close to falling off the edge of the cliff; in effect, he sees himself as the saviour of these innocents, the ‘catcher in the rye’.

But his sister corrects him, telling him the true meaning of his ‘misunderstood’ phrase, and so also implies that he hasn’t even achieved the educational awareness that his much younger sister has already achieved, and this seems to exemplify, in some way, his failure to move forwards in his own life. But he now knows that he can’t go backward, as the misconception, the symbol of his own innocence, has been revealed to him, by Phoebe. His naive innocence has now been stripped away from him, but with his own connivance, to some degree, in his attempt to move on through his life. His ‘progression’ in life has stalled.

He has fallen, at the new ‘gateway’ to adulthood in life, through lack of support, and attention, and understanding from those supposedly both older and wiser, or more competent than he is, and a lack of support, or interest, from those who are his peers and equals, and most importantly also through a lack of understanding of his own self. It’s not quite clear where Holden is writing his account from, but there is an implication that he might be one of those, with mental health issues, who end up being severely disturbed, and interred in a mental health facility, supposedly for their own good. However, in his case, I believe, his mental instability is because of his failure to negotiate the normative transition from child to adult.

It’s a salutary warning, to me, and especially when, currently, the numbers of children with mental health problems are apparently increasing. We need to take a long hard look at where we are as a society, and where we want to be in the future. Unlike Holden they are not merely reaching for the achievement of their current ‘normative’ behaviour, for their age, but many have succumbed to others manipulative attention. The main difference for Holden was that, on the whole, he encountered indifference to his own plight, from those who surrounded him, and he wasn’t of enough importance to be manipulated for any long-term ambition, unlike now when so many young people are manipulated, all over the world, for many different and nefarious reasons, by more competent 'others'. It was casual and careless, but not exactly malign neglect that he succumbed to.

None of Holden’s expectations were out of the ordinary, in terms of human experience, for that particular time. Interestingly, though this is from a pre-feminist era, the characters of the women are certainly not classic examples of the meek and oppressed members of society. It is a tale of a young man who fails, spectacularly, at even achieving the ordinary, expected ‘milestones’ in life, yet seemingly also of one who had no particular disadvantages in life. What must it be like for those who know that they are far from ordinary to begin with and have had multiple disadvantages themselves before they even begin to transition into adulthood.

I have realised that I was not so very different from poor Holden. I certainly had no economic disadvantage in my life. I went to a good school so I did not seem to have an educational disadvantage either. However, my schooling, and family life did leave me bereft of a larger context in many of life’s lessons. For example, I did not come across the concept of feminism until I was into my early twenties, and likewise, I was taught nothing useful about class issues. I had to find out for myself. My history lessons were ones of learning about dates, kings and queens, certainly the struggles of ordinary working-class people were not on my schools’ agenda at all!

So, in my early formative years I was left adrift, to float, and sometimes to sink as well. As to whether there is any evidence, for my particular ‘perception’ of Holden Caulfield, well I found a quote by Norman Mailer who once remarked that Salinger was “the greatest mind ever to stay in prep school”, so ‘show me the boy, and I’ll give you the man’ as an ancient saying goes, might well have some truth to it after all, if they aren't given the right sort of education to progress through their life, in a healthy and meaningful way, in the first place.

[AB76]

Tam wrote: "Apologies for how long this is, so maybe only for those who are interested in 'The Catcher in the Rye' discussion.

To me ‘The Catcher in the Rye’ is, first and foremost, about what actually consti..."

i still havent read this novel....

[FranHunny]

Ah, Catcher in the Rye - one of my pet hates … I did read it as a teenager - and was appalled then.

That book's character did not even try.

I have a little more sympathy for Willy Loman from Death of a Salesman than I have for Holden Caulfield. He at least fought, which in the end sucked out all will to live out of him. He tried, but the times were hard and his family was not helpful.

Holden? Did not even try. So much self-pity …

[Lass]

There have probably been comments I’ve missed about Bob D , but I still have Volume One of his Chronicles. If memory serves it wasn’t given wholehearted admiration, but enjoyed it at the time.

Also, I think there’s been a conversation about Kate Atkinson? I’ve enjoyed most of her novels since Behind the Scenes at the Museum, and have seen her speak a few times. She comes over as rather diffident, but it may be shyness. Her Jackson Brodie series is fun, and in the most recent outing, I think Big Sky, there was a reference to natives of my home town which made me laugh. As for the T V adaptation of the Brodie novels, I once passed Jason Isaacs on a bridge when they were filming in the area. Heart still hasn’t stopped beating!

[Bill]

Three books being discussed recently - On the Road, The Catcher in the Rye, and Portnoy's Complaint - were all novels I read as a senior in high school. None were for a class, though the Kerouac was given to me by an English teacher after she read a novella I had written. Of the three, I liked the Roth best and, as it turned out, he was the only author I went on to read more of.

[Tam]

Bill wrote: "
Three books being discussed recently - On the Road, [book:The Catcher in th..."

It seems that Salinger is a bit 'marmite'. I didn't like the novel much when I read it as a late teenager, but I have ended up writing about it more than 40 years later, so it is something that has stayed with me, in a way that many novels I have read have not, so that counts for something... to me at least...

[Bill]

Tam wrote: "It seems that Salinger is a bit 'marmite'.."

Though Roth appealed to me the most, I can't say I disliked the others, just that their level of appeal wasn't as great. I read the three in 1972-73 and my favorite books at the time were Catch-22, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, A Clockwork Orange, and Cat's Cradle, all works of the 1960s. I think part of my reaction to them was generational; Salinger and Kerouac were both of the previous generation (at least in their publication dates), whereas the Roth seemed more “now”.

But speaking of my own early attempts at fiction, The Catcher in the Rye definitely had an influence on the voice I used in my writing.

[AB76]

Finished The Way to Santiago by Arthur Calder-Marshall (1940)

I wouldnt say it was an average novel but it struggled to recover its impact in the first 100 pages and seemed to lose a lot of its originality once the mysterious plotting by "Senor Tom" unravels

The style is light and it didnt feel like a long novel, the author has some brilliant turns of phrase and manages a cast of characters well.

I think its worth TLSers reading it and will be interested to see what any of you think, well done to Faber Finds for re-issueing this, as part of their lost or neglected classics range.

[scarletnoir]

Lljones wrote: "scarletnoir wrote: "Maybe Lass has a more up-to-date view..."

Maybe, although she lives in Scotland."

Ah - someone who comments lives in Dublin (or at least, knows it extremely well) - I must have got the wrong person!

[Tam]

scarletnoir wrote: "Lljones wrote: "scarletnoir wrote: "Maybe Lass has a more up-to-date view..."

Maybe, although she lives in Scotland."

Ah - someone who comments lives in Dublin (or at least, knows it extremely we..."
I think you probably meant Reen, who has not posted for awhile though. She is missed by me, and so is Mach. I wonder where he has toddled off to? I hope he is well, and enjoying himself...

[scarletnoir]

Tam wrote: "Apologies for how long this is, so maybe only for those who are interested in 'The Catcher in the Rye' discussion.

To me ‘The Catcher in the Rye’ is, first and foremost, about what actually consti..."

That's a very detailed and interesting review... I don't remember the book well enough to strongly dispute anything you say - and anyway, I tend to agree with most of it - I'm a little more optimistic about Holden's future, though, in that I didn't see him as necessarily heading down the route of mental illness. Was he confused and stressed? Yes. Was he a candidate for depression - possibly - but I hope he came out he other side. (I tend to be a glass half full sort, so...)

[scarletnoir]

Bill wrote: "Tam wrote: "It seems that Salinger is a bit 'marmite'.."

Though Roth appealed to me the most, I can't say I disliked the others, just that their level of appeal wasn't as great. I read the three i..."

Did you ever read anything else by Heller? I read somewhere that the slight uplift at the end of 'Catch-22' had been included at the insistence of his editor (or publisher?), and so altered the ending to allow a slightly more cheerful outcome for one character, anyway. Later on, he wrote the irredeemably depressing Something Happened, which made me believe, first - that his editor was right, and second - that I would never read another book by Heller. And I never have.

[AB76]

Next up in my classic fiction reading is Selected Stories by DH Lawrence(Penguin)), helpfully all the stories included here do not appear in my other collection of his stories

Lawrence and Forster are two bete noires of my youthful rebellion who are now staples of my literary diet. One lived a short life, the other published very little after the 1920s but the returns from reading their works are immense

My last encounter with the great "bard of Nottinghamshire" was the brilliant, brooding narrative of Kangaroo set in 1920s Australia and full of all the genius of the man

The stories included span his lifetime and cover a whole range of locations, looking foward to reading them

(not a big fan of the cover art, a modern painting, which seems a bit out of place...but oh well..)

[scarletnoir]

Lljones wrote: "Here we are again. Last week of May deserves some flowers, don't you think? Here's a lovely posy from my brother's (very disheveled) garden (also added to our Photos page):.."

Thanks for the lovely 'photo and intro...

So, unlike a good number, Bob Dylan is still with us, fortunately. I tend to regard his earlier songs with most affection - having rather lost touch with all popular music after my mid-20s: 'Girl from the North Country', 'Don't think twice, it's alright', 'It's not me, babe'... all those. My wife hates Bob's voice, so I don't get to listen often nowadays! I do wonder whether or not he named himself after my fellow Welshman Dylan Thomas - it's often been claimed, and yet I think Bob denied it in the past... he seems to be intent on creating his own myth, so who knows? I did find Chronicles: Volume One fascinating.

Thanks, too, for the mention of the Bulwer-Lytton prize - very funny - we can all do with a laugh these days. (Was Bulwer-Lytton himself a dreadful stylist?)

[scarletnoir]

Tam wrote: "scarletnoir wrote: "Lljones wrote: "scarletnoir wrote: "Maybe Lass has a more up-to-date view..."

Maybe, although she lives in Scotland."

Ah - someone who comments lives in Dublin (or at least, k..."


Haha! Once again, confounded by names with the same number of letters, one repeated.
I'd like to see those two back as well... hope they are just too busy. Those of us who are retired can spend our time reading and commenting, but those of working age may have had to return to a hectic post-COVID existence... not sure where those two stand, but I'm pretty sure Mach is not of retirement age.

[AB76]

scarletnoir wrote: "Tam wrote: "scarletnoir wrote: "Lljones wrote: "scarletnoir wrote: "Maybe Lass has a more up-to-date view..."

Maybe, although she lives in Scotland."

Ah - someone who comments lives in Dublin (or..."

i would imagine that a semi-busier life has returned with many TLS-ers as things become more "legal" and yes, a return of a commute would limit free time drastically for some

[Georg]

FranHunny wrote: "Ah, Catcher in the Rye - one of my pet hates … I did read it as a teenager - and was appalled then.

That book's character did not even try.

I have a little more sympathy for Willy Loman from Dea..."

Ah, survival of the fittest? Those who cannot pull themselves out of the swamp by their own hair like the legendary Baron Münchhausen should be left to drown?

Teenage suicides. Have you ever thought about them? Many more male than female. Self-pity?

[giveusaclue]

scarletnoir wrote: "So, unlike a good number, Bob Dylan is still with us, fortunately. I tend to regard his earlier songs with most affection"

I have a CD of Bryan Ferry's Dylanesque - delicious.

[Hushpuppy]

Georg wrote: "FranHunny wrote: "Ah, Catcher in the Rye - one of my pet hates … I did read it as a teenager - and was appalled then. That book's character did not even try. "

Ah, survival of the fittest? Those who cannot pull themselves out of the swamp by their own hair like the legendary Baron Münchhausen should be left to drown? Teenage suicides. Have you ever thought about them? Many more male than female. Self-pity?

Oh dear, if you only knew Fran, you'd know how inappropriate what you've just written is.

[Hushpuppy]

Tam wrote: "I think you probably meant Reen, who has not posted for awhile though. She is missed by me, and so is Mach. I wonder where he has toddled off to? I hope he is well, and enjoying himself..."

Reen drops by more or less everyday to read eTLS I think, but yes, she might just be very busy, and still healing gently from her fall! Mach said he'd be busy for a while, but nothing to worry about - and that's hopefully still true...

Magrat hasn't contributed here or on the G, or even stopped by, for too long.

(Fuzzywuzz and Maggie/Greenfairy live in Ireland too I think)

[Reen]

Hushpuppy wrote: "Tam wrote: "I think you probably meant Reen, who has not posted for awhile though. She is missed by me, and so is Mach. I wonder where he has toddled off to? I hope he is well, and enjoying himself..."

My God, as if I discerned a calling through the ether. I do drop by (my secret is out now anyway!) here and on the Guardian to get a break from the hectic working world. I am just having to concentrate on other matters these weeks. I suppose sometimes one just wants to fly below the radar and watch without dancing! The joys of the big brother world though. One can never properly skulk.

Best wishes to all here, here but not here, there but here in spirit and anything in between!

[Tam]

Hushpuppy wrote: "Georg wrote: "FranHunny wrote: "Ah, Catcher in the Rye - one of my pet hates … I did read it as a teenager - and was appalled then. That book's character did not even try. "

Ah, survival of the fi..."

Fran is perfectly entitled to her views. As I said perhaps a 'marmite' sort of book, but to me the strength, as a book, looked at in the longer term, is that Holden is not likeable, so it is very hard to feel empathy for him, and his position in life.

I can empathise with the desire to read books about characters that I do like and do identify with, as, for many, life is too short to indulge in books that one hates. We are all different and appreciate different things. My choice of this book, to write about, is that it has made me think more than I normally would, about a book, and I always like something of a challenge... It made me consider the viewpoints of people who fail at being the 'norm', and how they might be treated/educated or just lived with. It was 'food for thought" to me...

[Tam]

Hushpuppy wrote: "Tam wrote: "I think you probably meant Reen, who has not posted for awhile though. She is missed by me, and so is Mach. I wonder where he has toddled off to? I hope he is well, and enjoying himself..."

Glad to hear that. I wish them many happy wanderings, and Magrat, when she resurfaces...

[giveusaclue]

Oh dear, a couple of dnfs:

The Dark Angel by Elly Griffiths. I used to really enjoy these but I am finding the fact that each new issue in her relationship with Nelson is spread over two or three books a bit tedious;

and The Novice's Tale by Ann Swinfen. I really enjoyed the first in the series but found this a bit formulaic.

I am now reading The Three Paradises by Robert Fabbri, the second in the Alexander's Legacy series. Ptolemy has kidnapped Alexander's body on its way back to Macedon and taken it Egypt where he is claiming that territory for his own. Perdikkas, to whom Alexander gave his ring without naming which of the seven guardians should take his place, has gone chasing after him to recover the body but his army came to grief among the Nile and its resident crocodiles. For this failure a couple of his generals kill him.

Talk about who need enemies with friends like this! Nobody is safe, nobody knows who to trust (no one is best idea). In the meantime nobody can believe that the scheming little Greek secretary/spy with no real military experience has managed to kill
the great general Krateros in battle.

I hope I enjoy this book as much as the first, with its snide asides through the thoughts of the generals - thinking one thing and saying another. What does that remind us of? The problem is that there are so many characters I really need to keep referring to the list at the back of the book.

On a non-literary note, the weather stayed dry just long enough to get my front garden tidied up although it is raining AGAIN now. Then popped round to visit my terminally ill neighbour, very sad. This afternoon I got my car renewal sorted out, tedious. Changed companies after my current one quoted a renewal premium 36% higher than last year!!

[Bill]

scarletnoir wrote: "Did you ever read anything else by Heller?"

I read Something Happened right after it was published, so many of its details have faded by now. I’m sure I was disappointed that it lacked the fierce comic energy of Catch-22, but the bleak vision it conveyed didn’t seem incongruous coming from the same author, and I admired his commitment to the voice he had chosen. It’s a book I’ve marked to be re-read, though God Knows when I’ll get to it. As I recall there was a death in the novel about two-thirds or three-quarters through which I suspect will strike me now as too much, though it may fit into the story more organically than I remember.

I continued to be a fan of Heller; enough so that I also read Good As Gold, his next novel, at the time of its publication. There he seemed to be trying on the Roth mantle of writing explicitly as a Jewish American, but I thought the novel itself was really bad and gave up on Heller at that point. (I was surprised recently to find that Gold has a fan base among readers, but I’m not tempted to re-visit it.)

A few years ago I participated in the Guardian Reading Group of Catch-22, and I decided that the time was now or never to read its sequel Closing Time (my review here). As a general rule, it’s always a bad idea to read sequels, though I occasionally do so; as Hans Sachs says, from time to time it becomes necessary that the rules themselves be tested.

[AB76]

Bill wrote: "scarletnoir wrote: "Did you ever read anything else by Heller?"

I read [book:Something Happened..."

i was disappointed by Catch 22, a friend was reading it on a holiday back in my youth and lots of us were reading the same things but i was only one who didnt really like Catch 22

[Bill]

Any Rushdie fans here?

I suspected a new book of non-fiction was in the offing when this lengthy opinion piece appeared on the NY Times website.

I believe that the books and stories we fall in love with make us who we are, or, not to claim too much, the beloved tale becomes a part of the way in which we understand things and make judgments and choices in our daily lives. A book may cease to speak to us as we grow older, and our feeling for it will fade. Or we may suddenly, as our lives shape and hopefully increase our understanding, be able to appreciate a book we dismissed earlier; we may suddenly be able to hear its music, to be enraptured by its song.

To tell, the truth my eyes glazed over shortly after that passage, but if the piece appears in print on Sunday, I'll give it another try - my tolerance for length being limited on the computer.

Today critic Dwight Garner gave a cold reception to the anticipated book.

The rap against Rushdie’s fiction is that it’s become increasingly “magical,” wonder-filled and windy, as if he were typing in turquoise and burnt sienna. His novels are tricked out with genies and tarot cards and magic mirrors and references to things like evil chicken entrails powder and witches and dragon ladies. These productions feel forced: talky, infelicitous and banal. They have no middle gear, and no real humans wander through them.

[Tam]

Bill wrote: "scarletnoir wrote: "Did you ever read anything else by Heller?"

I read [book:Something Happened..."

I have been participating in the LRB event on 'The Birds' this week, as you are a fan of classical music it seems, if I remember correctly, I thought I would ask you about Messiaen. It started with a 'dawn chorus' at Exeter Cathedral, of Messiaen's portrait, musically, of birds in song, played on the cathedral organ. I did not get on with it at all. Though I appreciated the occasional sculptural portraits of birds in and around the cathedral.

Is it down to it being played on a church organ? perhaps... I think Messiaen's heart was in the right place, from what I could gather, so, being equally a fan of birds, I thought I might relate to it, but I didn't... I thought your knowledge perhaps might well outshine my rather limited take on a new classical experience.... any thoughts welcome...

[Bill]

Tam wrote: "perhaps... I think Messiaen's heart was in the right place, from what I could gather, so, being equally a fan of birds, I thought I might relate to it, but I didn't"

Messiaen incorporated transcribed birdsong into many of his pieces – including, as I recall, some written for organ. I haven’t heard any of his organ pieces (I have to admit, though, that almost no post-Bach organ music has made much of a connection with me), nor that much of his music in general, though I have a recording of his piano pieces Catalogue d'oiseaux played by Anatole Ugorski, which I’ve enjoyed, but for some reason don’t listen to that often.

Thanks for bringing him up though; I’ve been listening to medieval music lately and it now occurs to me that some of Messiaen’s works, including the Catalogue, would provide an interesting contrast / complement to that repertoire.

[Tam]

Bill wrote: "Tam wrote: "perhaps... I think Messiaen's heart was in the right place, from what I could gather, so, being equally a fan of birds, I thought I might relate to it, but I didn't"

Messiaen incorpora..."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LoM4Z.... music by birds!.... Yay!...

[JayZed]

Hello all. I knew that once we were ejected from the Guardian and migrated to Goodreads I’d fall out of the habit of posting, and this must be my first time here for about six months. I won’t bore you all with everything I’ve read in that time, but there have been a few highlights.

I’m interested in US political history and I’d been meaning for years to read Robert Caro’s biography of Lyndon Johnson. I’ve finally got around to it, although in fact I started with Caro’s book on Robert Moses, The Power Broker, before moving on to LBJ, with whom I’m up to about 1943 having just started the second volume, Means of Ascent. All of it really quite superb - the books are of course painstakingly researched, but also highly readable with a Shakespearean feel to their treatment of power and personality. Highly recommended.

I’ve also been reading a lot of mid-century British women - Elizabeth Taylor in particular, also Elizabeth Bowen, Dorothy Whipple and Mollie Panter-Downes. Taylor’s probably the one who’s grabbed me the most, both her short stories and her novels. In fact, almost all of my recent reading has been 20th century, including a lot of Penelope Fitzgerald. The Bookshop remains my favourite of hers.

I did briefly stray into recent fiction a couple of weeks ago to read Sebastian Barry’s A Thousand Moons, the sequel to Days Without End. The latter in my opinion is one of the best books in recent years, and if I didn’t think that A Thousand Moons was as good, that’s only because Days Without End set such a high bar. Notable that an Irishman should have written one of the great American novels.

Since January I’ve also been doing an online “critical reading” book club led by our former leader Sam Jordison. That’s involved an eclectic mix of books, from stuff I absolutely hated (Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, like being trapped in a bar with a loud, obnoxious drunk guy who thinks his wild drug-fuelled road trip with his mate is far more interesting than it actually is) to utter gems like Sam Selvon’s The Lonely Londoners, which had one of the best narrative voices I’ve come across for years.

Right now when I’m not on LBJ I’m reading Louis MacNeice’s
Autumn Journal, which so far I’m enjoying a lot.

Apologies for the whistle-stop tour. I’ll try to remember to check in here more often and make my next post more about quality and insight than quantity.

[Berkley]

giveusaclue wrote: "scarletnoir wrote: "So, unlike a good number, Bob Dylan is still with us, fortunately. I tend to regard his earlier songs with most affection"

I have a CD of Bryan Ferry's Dylanesque - delicious."

I have that cd but haven't listened to it much - I remember thinking nothing on there was quite up to the standard set by A Hard Rain is Gonna Fall, from Ferry's first solo album. I'll have to give it another try, now you've reminded me of it.

[scarletnoir]

Bill wrote: "scarletnoir wrote: "Did you ever read anything else by Heller?"

I read [book:Something Happened..."

I'd like to make it clear that I found 'Something Happened' well written, but (as I said) so depressing in its ending that I have never felt inclined to re-visit Heller. Thanks for your response.

[scarletnoir]

Bill wrote: "Any Rushdie fans here?"...(Rushdie wrote) I believe that the books and stories we fall in love with make us who we are, or, not to claim too much, the beloved tale becomes a part of the way in which we understand things and make judgments and choices in our daily lives.

An interesting comment.

I read 'Midnight's Children', thought it was OK but no more than that - any sort of magic realism is not really to my taste, and so it's a style I avoid, usually. I don't recall reading another by Rushdie...

However, I do like the first part of the quote on books (see above)... I can certainly identify with that. Not so much the second part.

Overall, I suspect that I'd agree with Garner's view of the author.

[scarletnoir]

Some of you may be interested to know that Eric Carle, author of The Very Hungry Caterpillar has passed away. My daughters loved this book... and for some reason, my favourite mug has a picture of the caterpillar on it.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-c...

[SydneyH]

JayZed wrote: "absolutely hated (Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, like being trapped in a bar with a loud, obnoxious drunk guy."

Yeah, if even the tiniest portion is true, the guy is an absolute creep, though I still found it diverting. Good to hear from you. I'm a fan of Bowen, so I hope you liked what you read of hers.

[AB76]

Nice topical co-incidence as i was reading the New Statesman just now, a review of a new DH Lawrence biog by Frances Wilson, which is a rare case of my current reading co-inciding with modern reviews!

for anyone who remembers the old folks day centre that i volunteered at occasionally, it will be re-opening next week and i will resume my duties. its great news but there is sadness too( rather than deaths of former attendees, its been steep declines in dementia and physical strength which have led to a good 25% of the old crew now no longer able to attend)

[FranHunny]

Georg wrote: "FranHunny wrote: "Ah, Catcher in the Rye - one of my pet hates … I did read it as a teenager - and was appalled then.

That book's character did not even try.

I have a little more sympathy for Wi..."
He did not kill himself, Willy Loman did. Still I empathise more with Loman.

[Lass]

Tam wrote: "Bill wrote: "Tam wrote: "perhaps... I think Messiaen's heart was in the right place, from what I could gather, so, being equally a fan of birds, I thought I might relate to it, but I didn't"

Messi..."
You’ve given my backside a kick…..in relation to the Robert Caro Lyndon Johnson biog. I agree it is superb, and I was fully absorbed reading it a few years back, but then, but then. Don’t know what happened, it it was put to one side but remains on my shelves. It’s not a difficult read, by any means, but I think my concentration levels have taken a dip of late. Must do better!

[scarletnoir]

FranHunny wrote: "He did not kill himself, Willy Loman did. Still I empathise more with Loman."

I'm not going to get into this argument in any major way - especially as I am not certain whether I have ever seen the whole of 'Death of a Salesman' (if I did, it was on TV).

I'd simply point out that Holden is 16, and Loman 63... far more room for character development/change/ growing up. I'd cut him more slack (I'm an ex-teacher, including quite often of teenagers). But that's just my opinion.

[AB76]

The Confines of the Shadow is a truly fascinating cycle of novels about Italian Benghazi.(I am used to the horribly over-rated Hisham Matar, who has never failed to dissapoint me) but Spina is in a different league

The slow Italian expansion into the country from 1911 is described as almost futile, small coastal towns captured, with a vast hostile interior, the italians fearfully turning their back on the desert as they expand the coastal towns

The Libyan war highlighted to me how vast the nation is with Tripoli and Benghazi almost in another time zone. Spina writes of the green mountains and forests of the region to the east of Benghazi and the communities slowly trying to engage with the new "masters"

I am so glad i found this author via Darf Publishing, a native Libyan, writing in Italian, of levantine descent.

Alessandro Spina