What Are We Reading? 28 February 2022

[Lass]

@scarlet. It would be a boring old world if we all just enjoyed the same things, wouldn’t it? And sometimes it depends on the mood I’m in. As for Francis Spufford, I read his Golden Hill on hols in France three or more years ago, sitting overlooking vines and just feeling blissful. Those were the days! I recommend Light Perpetual, it’s had terrific reviews, though must admit my hazy brain sometimes had to pause and recollect the characters in the different narratives.

Anne Tyler’s Vinegar Girl is more than living up to expectations. She’s definitely on form.

[SydneyH]

Machenbach wrote: "@SydneyH may have an opinion on this."

The Master of Petersburg is a strong text, as well as being something like a thriller, but one of the bleakest novels you could ever read. It's the one Coetzee wrote after the death of his son. I don't know the details, but it sounds like he died in a mysterious falling accident. In the book, Dostoyevsky is going through a similar grieving process, for the death of a fictional step-son named Pavel. It also engages with the suppressed chapters of Demons that deal with child abuse. Flicking through my copy, I find the writing plain but visceral. In Coetzee's body of work, it's noteworthy for the adoption of the third-person present-tense style that he uses in much of his late career, such as in his next novel, Disgrace.

[[deleted user]]

Le Marin de Gibraltar (The Sailor from Gibraltar) – Marguerite Duras (1952)

The story of a quest, with the difference that, while the narrator is a man, the person sailing the seas in search of the barely attainable is here a woman, the French widow of a wealthy American, whose 36-metre yacht accommodates everyone comfortably. There is much smoking, drinking and drifting conversation among the largely aimless and rootless characters. The story feels light, and the writing is more ordinary than distinguished. It finally wakes up at about page 350, far beyond, I should think, the patience of most readers. Well below the standard of The Lover and The Sea Wall and The North China Lover. It might appeal to someone looking for a love story with an exceptionally long fuse. It will be my last Duras.

[SydneyH]

Machenbach wrote: "do us a solid and tell him that it's a raucous comedy."

That might be a stretch - but it is short.

[AB76]

Machenbach wrote: "Georg wrote: "Did anybody stop reading Goethe or listen to Beethoven in the autumn 1939?."
I don't know, but I'd say some probably did stop, yes.
Should they have stopped?No, not if they didn't wa..."

same, i dont feel like touching anything russian, it has blown a hole in my reading plan, as there was some cold war non-fiction in there but Russia is a no-go zone for me right now, just doesnt feel right.

[SydneyH]

AB76 wrote: "Russia is a no-go zone for me right now, just doesnt feel right."

Strangely, I've gone in the other direction. In fairness, the writers are traditionally among those oppressed by Russian regimes.

[Veufveuve]

Thanks, everyone, for tolerating my post and for the warm congratulations and interest. Actually an edited collection, not a monograph, but they can be a lot of. work: history, at the intersections of economic and cultural history, global(ish) in coverage, and early modern to contemporary.

[Robert]

AB76 wrote: "Robert wrote: "AB76 wrote: "Robert wrote: "AB76 wrote: "French Mandate Syria is my latest non-fiction read:

[book:The Emergence of Minorities in the Middle East: The Politics of Community in Frenc..."

When I read a survey of Lebanon in The Economist back in the 1970s, it struck me that, whatever the flaws of the old French census, neither the Christians nor the Sunnis wanted a new one. They had a snug power sharing arrangement, but the Shia communities were growing in population far faster than the others-- and might demand a share of power.

[AB76]

Robert wrote: "AB76 wrote: "Robert wrote: "AB76 wrote: "Robert wrote: "AB76 wrote: "French Mandate Syria is my latest non-fiction read:

[book:The Emergence of Minorities in the Middle East: The Politics of Commu..."

spot on Robert, exactly the dynamics that caused the civil war, the Shia have been in Lebanon since the 800s apparently but it took until the post-french mandate for their numbers to become more influential. Migration to South Beirut after WW2 was probably the first signs of their growing influence, as they were tiny shia numbers during the french occupation in Beirut.

The work of Musa Al Sadr, a Shia cleric in the 1960s and 1970s helped the shia emerge as a stronger force, though he wasnt a militant and his disappearance in 1978, led to more militant divisive shia groups like Hezbollah emerging to steer the Shia minoirity in a different direction. Sadr's Amal movement was eclipsed.

[AB76]

Veufveuve wrote: "Thanks, everyone, for tolerating my post and for the warm congratulations and interest. Actually an edited collection, not a monograph, but they can be a lot of. work: history, at the intersections..."

belated congratulations Veuf from me

[AB76]

SydneyH wrote: "AB76 wrote: "Russia is a no-go zone for me right now, just doesnt feel right."

Strangely, I've gone in the other direction. In fairness, the writers are traditionally among those oppressed by Russ..."

good point

[scarletnoir]

Georg wrote: "scarletnoir wrote: I can quite understand anyone not feeling like reading any Russians ATM..

I can't, tbh. Why would I not want to listen to Tchaikovsky or read Dostoyevsky?"

Let's put it like this - I am currently reading a book by a Russian (Tsypkin) about another Russian (Dostoyevsky) - so I wasn't talking about myself.

I can see that some people - maybe Ukrainians, maybe not - would not be in the mood, as it would remind them of something they'd prefer to be able to forget for a few minutes of relaxation.

But, I'll leave them to explain themselves. It's not my own position.

[AB76]

Interesting interview with Argentine writer Samanta Schewblin and Mexican writer Valerie Luselli. two intelligent mature women discussing their lives and experiences with literature

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJ05H...

Am impressed that Luselli has started to write in English, i think i will add her debut english language novel to my TBR list

[scarletnoir]

Lass wrote: "@scarlet. It would be a boring old world if we all just enjoyed the same things, wouldn’t it? And sometimes it depends on the mood I’m in. As for Francis Spufford, I read his Golden Hill on hols in..."

Agree 100% that it would be dull if we all liked the same things... I had a look at some Spufford reviews - thanks for the suggestion - but I rather feel he wouldn't be for me...

[scarletnoir]

SydneyH wrote: "Machenbach wrote: "@SydneyH may have an opinion on this."

The Master of Petersburg is a strong text, as well as being something like a thriller, but one of the bleakest novels you could ever read...."

Thanks for that - it sounds as if I was right to place Coetzee in the 'depressing' pile... I have explained before that at my age, I prefer to keep my spirits up by reading books which leave at least a modicum of hope, uplift or catharsis.

I was advised on WWR to take happy pills instead! Presumably by a significantly younger person.

[scarletnoir]

SydneyH wrote: "AB76 wrote: "Russia is a no-go zone for me right now, just doesnt feel right."

Strangely, I've gone in the other direction. In fairness, the writers are traditionally among those oppressed by Russian regimes."

Of course, despite the fact that he is currently lauded in Russia, it should not be forgotten that 'Dostoevsky served four years of exile with hard labour at a katorga prison camp in Omsk, Siberia, followed by a term of compulsory military service.' (Wikipedia) This followed a mock execution... and a 'pardon' from the 'generous' Tsar Nicholas 1 - the Putin of his day. The somewhat fictionalised description of this period appears in FD's 'The House of the Dead'.

According to Tsypkin in Summer in Baden-Baden, he also spent two days in jail after falling foul of the censors...

[scarletnoir]

Veufveuve wrote: "Thanks, everyone, for tolerating my post and for the warm congratulations and interest. Actually an edited collection, not a monograph, but they can be a lot of. work: history, at the intersections..."

That does indeed sound like a lot of work - with the need to check references and draw everything together to make a coherent whole.
Well done!

[AB76]

Machenbach wrote: "AB76 wrote: "Interesting interview with Argentine writer Samanta Schewblin and Mexican writer Valerie Luselli. two intelligent mature women discussing their lives and experiences with literature

h..."

that made me laugh mach, brilliant

[giveusaclue]

Veufveuve wrote: "Thanks, everyone, for tolerating my post and for the warm congratulations and interest. Actually an edited collection, not a monograph, but they can be a lot of. work: history, at the intersections..."

As someone who loves reading history books, it fills me with awe and admiration when I think of the hours, weeks, months the authors must spend on research.

[giveusaclue]

A bit of an aside. A reason why I like our section of good reads better that the Guardian one, apart from the feeling of friendship, was clearly illustrated today. There is an article disparaging celebrities authors of children's books. I posted that I loved to read Enid Blyton's Famous Five books but that they would probably be banned now due to lack of diversity. It was modded.

[Tam]

On the subject of reading Russian books, I had been reading ‘Fathers and Sons’ by Turgenev, but since the Ukraine crisis kicked off I found my interest in finishing it has dropped off rather sharply.

Then I had a vivid dream. A human-sized green frog in a smart white coat was standing in front of me. “Today we are going to dissect Bazarov, and we will study what makes up a Russian nihilist.” He leant over the body of a young man on a gurney. The frog took a scalpel and made some incisions along the backbone. “See, the average nihilists backbone is strong but unusually stunted.” He took a few more swipes with the scalpel along the chest. “See also, the heart is under-developed. The blood entering the right atrium is unusually blue in nature, but looking further down the body we can see that the stomach is very strong, certainly, a great deal of resilience in there, and note the bile duct is unusually full.”

He whipped off the sheet that was covering the lower part of the body and with a loud croaking “Arrr!... now take a look here, exactly what I thought, just look at the size of those massive balls. Now my fellow students take note… these are the physical anomalies that make up an average Russian nihilist, however there is one final and interesting anomaly that does not show up in the physical structures of the body, and so here I have recorded an example for you on my phone, and that is a surprising amount of quotations in French… ‘Sacré bleu… c’est de la merde’” came barking out of the phone. “I rest my case” he said. He winked one of his gleaming, golden eyes, and in a flash he was gone…

[AB76]

giveusaclue wrote: "A bit of an aside. A reason why I like our section of good reads better that the Guardian one, apart from the feeling of friendship, was clearly illustrated today. There is an article disparaging c..."

i agree, there is a editorial line to the modding which causes the rich and complex world of literature to become modified into "good" and "bad", not based on literary merit but on the new normal of what is apparently acceptable for the guardian journalists not their wider readership

The modding needs to be revamped, its basically a form of censorship....if you complain about the moderating, they mod you!

[AB76]

Switching Laurence and Moravia about to read the unfinished novella collection Two Friends by Alberto Moravia (Other Press)

Italian literature has been a favourite of mine, especially the variety from the 1870s to the 1960s, a mix of intelligent 19th century discourses and the remarkable writing of Buzzatti, Moravia, Pasolini, Pavese and others after WW2.

Italo Calvino was my first italian author but i soon became bored with magic realist nonsense and it was Alberto Moravia in 2004 that turned me into a fan of the italian style. I read Boredom, The Conformist and Contempt in the space of 18 months and was absorbed into the psychological narrative style, regarding human relations, power, loss and love.

[Georg]

AB76 wrote: Italo Calvino was my first italian author but i soon became bored with magic realist nonsense

Calvino and magic realist nonsense? Hm. Hm? Hm? Hm...


Tbh: I was never aware there was an "Italian style". How would you describe that?

Its been a long time I've read Moravia. He often came over as a MCP, but I did like his books nevertheless.

[Bill]

A wide ranging discussion between Jed Perl and Joshua Cohen that goes well beyond the nominal subject, "Does art have to be political to be important right now?"

https://www.davidzwirner.com/podcast#...

[AB76]

Georg wrote: "AB76 wrote: Italo Calvino was my first italian author but i soon became bored with magic realist nonsense

Calvino and magic realist nonsense? Hm. Hm? Hm? Hm...


Tbh: I was never aware there was ..."

Moravia shares with Paul Bowles a cold style of writing that deals without judgement and in shades of grey with plot and character development. Moravia's communist leanings fascinate me too as i am a great admirer of Enrico Berlinguer and 1970s Italian communist pragmatism. Sadly Ricky Berlinguer died young in 1984.

i still shudder though at the idea of magical realism, ughhh...though i did enjoy "The Path To The Spiders Nest" which avoided all that nonsense

[Lljones]

Good morning/afternoon/evening, all. I'll start a new thread in an hour or two.