What are we reading? 11th May 2022

[CCCubbon]

Another word in the John Donne book that I did not know is wormseed which was used as an anti- aphrodisiac. wormseed was a mixture of flower heads .
In Donne’s poem Farewell to Love he ends with

Each place can afford shadows. If all fail
‘Tis but applying worm-seed to the tail

Here ‘tail’ is one of Donne’s jokes referring because tail is a Latin dick joke ( tail is penis in Cicero Latin) and it would be pretty useless to anoint the member as wormseed was meant to be taken orally.

I tried to find out what the main ingredients were and the best I can come up with is

Epazote is a pungent herb with an aroma reminiscent of citrus, tea, and parsley.
Another common name for wormseed is Jesuit’s tea .

[scarletnoir]

Russell wrote: "I remember years ago being very disappointed by The Thin Man after enjoying the movie, and you explain very well why."

Thanks for that. I'm old enough to have seen many of the noir classics on TV in the 1960s, and again in the Action Christine in Paris in the 1980s when I was sort of inducting my younger wife into that part of film history.

I never got on with 'The Maltese Falcon' - to me, it looks like a filmed stage play - very static, not much action or attempt to 'open it out'. I always thought this was the director John Huston's fault, but having now belatedly read Hammett I suspect he was partly to blame... I don't rate Huston as a director, though. (Hawks directed several flat-out masterpieces and was rarely boring - if ever.) Falcon does have good actors, but that's about it... besides, the 'falcon' itself so obviously looks like a cheap bit of paste, it undermines the credibility of the plot - could anyone think this 'thing' is valuable in its own right? (Apparently, the prop - or perhaps a fake or a copy - astonishingly was sold for $4 million or so...!)
https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/...
Ah, well - it takes all sorts...

(We also saw another classic - a good one - recently. 'Laura' is an excellent film - one I also saw in the 60s, though we somehow missed it during the Paris years.)

[AB76]

Late Conrad works are a joy, so far the fragment of a tale called The Shadow Line has quietly recreated the torpor and apathy of a sailors guesthouse in Singapore harbour.

A young sailor is keen to "jack it in", return to Blighty, leave the world of the white man scattered across the imperial ports of the east, in the heat and light, to cast the sea into the past. Then he starts talking to an old sea dog, a chance for a command, as a ships master arises from the plot....

I know the basis of the story well, i'm avoiding spoilers and will digest the novella slowly but in just 30 pages i feel immersed in the old east, Singapore.

[Georg]

To mark the day in style I've dusted off my original commemorative coronation mug to have my hot chocolate. A flea market purchase from about 20 years ago.
Interestingly the top scroll gives the coronation date as "June 2...1953"

[FrancesBurgundy]

Georg wrote: "To mark the day in style I've dusted off my original commemorative coronation mug to have my hot chocolate. A flea market purchase from about 20 years ago.
Interestingly the top scroll gives the coronation date as "June 2...1953..."

I'm surprised very little has been made of it being the 69th anniversary of the Coronation. The old King died in 1952 and Elizabeth became queen immediately, but she was not crowned until the next year. Just to clarify Georg - I wasn't sure if you sounded a bit confused.

[MK]

Anyone here want to skew the results? https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandst...

Of course I have to wonder why a reader might overlook the absence of that trait when considering 'holy matrimony'.

[MK]

Tam wrote: "AB76 wrote: "Berkley wrote: "AB76 wrote: "Much excited about starting Paul Bowles Collected Short Stories after Conrad, i read his first collection "The Delicarte Prey", ..."

I'm thinking about re..."

The NY Times has just done what I would call a 'major expose' on Haiti and how it was made to make reparations to France.

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/03/po...

This is the short version. If you subscribe to podcasts anywhere, I think you could also find the audio there.

[Andy]

A couple from me..

Europe Editions have given new life to an Italian novella that was first published as an English translation 18 months ago by giving it a different title and cover. It will be interesting to see if it sells any better..
Originally entitled Nives with this cover, , it is now called, Tell Me About It , which is better I think. The author is Sacha Naspini, and the translator, Clarissa Botsford.

In a powerful start, the husband of the novel’s protagonist, drops dead on their rural farm. He has been our to feed the pigs, and keeled over with a stroke, leaving the hungry pig no slop, and no option but to chew on the man’s face.
At 66, the protagonist, Nives, doesn’t grieve as much as she expected, and becomes devoted to her animals. So much so, that she takes the scrawniest of the chickens, with a withered foot, into her house as company. Nives settles into her new routine, but the hen becomes depressed and simply stares into the TV.
At a loss as to what to do, Nives calls the local alcoholic vet, Loriano, waking him from a drunken slumber.
This is a small town in which everyone knows everybody else well, and Loriano and Nives have some history; they grew up together. Their telephone conversation occupies most of the novel, as they dredge old memories which have lay dormant for many years.
The story is ingeniously constructed around the dialogue of the pair as the most unexpected of secrets and realisations emerge, all thanks to the chicken.
It’s a satisfying and gently amusing piece, that just lacks a more prominent role for the chicken..

[Andy]

and, Panenka by Ronan Hession.

Nicknames from our younger days can often stick, even though the context in which they were awarded has been long since forgotten.
The same thing cannot be said for the majority of the town of Seneca, home to the book's protagonist. Panenka is a former professional footballer in a small unnamed football mad European town who has mentally shut down after an event in a match a quarter of century before, that led to public humiliation and in turn to depression.

These days he manages a rundown bar where he tolerates the bickering of locals, taking solace in his releationship with his daughter and grandson who he lives with.
But just as Panenka faces more serious and immediate problems, he meets hairdresser Esther, who might be his salvation.

It is a book about the power of sport, in particular football, on the residents of a small town. Hession shrewdly observes the nature of being an obsessive fan. He makes the mundane engrossing, but having said that I didn't find this a particularly enoyable read. It could have done with a smidgeon of humour, just the odd lighter moment, as otherwise its just very sad..

[Robert]

scarletnoir wrote: "AB76 wrote: "Vargas Llosa's The Feast of the Goat is a superb portrayal of Trujillo, the assassination and the world of the Dominican Republic. It was my first novel of his i read.....about 20 year..."

Vargas Llosa has his own style-- or styles. His tone varies according to the type of story. His Feast of the Goat is harrowing and brilliant.

[scarletnoir]

Georg wrote: "To mark the day in style I've dusted off my original commemorative coronation mug to have my hot chocolate."

I was the right age to be given one of these in primary school - no idea where it is now!

[scarletnoir]

MK wrote: "Anyone here want to skew the results? https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandst...."

As you might expect, I had already voted 'no' to throwing out the books before you posted the link. My wife might have voted 'yes', though - she asked me to get rid of a few again today!

[Berkley]

scarletnoir wrote: "Georg wrote: "To mark the day in style I've dusted off my original commemorative coronation mug to have my hot chocolate."

I was the right age to be given one of these in primary school - no idea ..."

I was born in the early '60s, so I missed all the excitement! My mother has a few things - I was looking at a candy tin last time I was home. Like, I imagine, almost every town or small city above a certain size in the Commonwealth, we have a Coronation Street in my home town.

[Gpfr]

scarletnoir wrote: "Georg wrote: "To mark the day in style I've dusted off my original commemorative coronation mug to have my hot chocolate."

"I was the right age to be given one of these in primary school - no idea where it is now!..."

Me too - on both counts! Other than that, I remember nothing about the occasion. I was 5, we were in Northern Ireland, had no television ...

[Georg]

FrancesBurgundy wrote: "Georg wrote: "To mark the day in style I've dusted off my original commemorative coronation mug to have my hot chocolate. A flea market purchase from about 20 years ago.
Interestingly the top scrol..."

Thanks, Frances. Must admit I am still a bit confused:

She took over in Feb 1952. So her platinum jubilee is celebrated either four months too late or, indeed, one year too early.

[FrancesBurgundy]

Georg wrote: "FrancesBurgundy wrote: "Georg wrote: " So her platinum jubilee is celebrated either four months too late or, indeed, one year too early..."

More or less right Georg! We don't mind being a few months out - the monarch has celebrated their 'official' birthday in the summer since the time of George II, whose actual birthday was in November I think. We like to have good weather for these events, though it poured with rain on the actual Coronation Day in 1953. That's British weather for you.

[Tam]

Georg wrote: "FrancesBurgundy wrote: "Georg wrote: "To mark the day in style I've dusted off my original commemorative coronation mug to have my hot chocolate. A flea market purchase from about 20 years ago.
Int..."If you think about the fact that the queen gets both a real birthday and an official one on a different day it helps I guess, or the queen is a secret surrealist... I quite like that idea... So in that sense she became queen when George VI died Feb 1952 but the coronation wasn't held until 2nd June 1953, but I have no idea why we celebrated it on the 3rd of June, perhaps just to tidy it into the weekend...

[scarletnoir]

Gpfr wrote: "Me too - on both counts! Other than that, I remember nothing about the occasion. I was 5, we were in Northern Ireland, had no television ..."

I had an identical experience here in Wales - 5 years old, everyone got a mug in school, no TV, don't remember anything except the mug!

I sort of think that kids born in the same month as Charles (a month after me) got something, too - maybe a mug - and if so my cousin would have qualified, but I didn't.

[CCCubbon]

Being ancient I remember the old king dying in 1952 and the Coronation the following year. We saw the Coronation on a neighbour’s television, loads of people all crowded into a small room.
The next day the Queen toured London and I went along and stood outside Islington Town Hall to watch her arrive - the only time that I have seen her. The country was still recovering from WW2, rationing in force, no sweets, no one had much. I don’t remember any street parties like the one around VE Day - I remember that was the first time I tasted jelly and ice cream - don’t know how they made it. There were sandwiches and cakes then and a stage put up ar the end of the road.
We are doing our best to avoid all the nonsense this time but will go to the tea next Saturday to join with the neighbours. Cannot help feeling that while it’s good to celebrate such ostentatious showoffery of wealth sticks in my throat with so many people going to food banks and 200,000 covid deaths - many that could have been avoided.
The Queen has done a grand job and Harry at least earned some of his medals but the rest………

[giveusaclue]

Gpfr wrote: "scarletnoir wrote: "Georg wrote: "To mark the day in style I've dusted off my original commemorative coronation mug to have my hot chocolate."

"I was the right age to be given one of these in prim..."

Me too and was always mad because my sister, a year older, got a nicer one than me. If I remember rightly (it is a long time ago!) my dad used to use mine as his shaving mug.

[AB76]

CCCubbon wrote: "Being ancient I remember the old king dying in 1952 and the Coronation the following year. We saw the Coronation on a neighbour’s television, loads of people all crowded into a small room.
The next..."

i was too young for '77, dont remember much of 2002, enjoyed 2012 but havent watched a minute of the festivities in 2022

I'm a Royalist and total pro-Her Majesty, i just dont feel that enthused by the Platinum Jub, though i may watch the church services as they are bit more sombre and thoughtful

[giveusaclue]

AB76 wrote: "CCCubbon wrote: "Being ancient I remember the old king dying in 1952 and the Coronation the following year. We saw the Coronation on a neighbour’s television, loads of people all crowded into a sma..."

This mouldy oldie is actually enjoying the concert tonight.

[AB76]

giveusaclue wrote: "AB76 wrote: "CCCubbon wrote: "Being ancient I remember the old king dying in 1952 and the Coronation the following year. We saw the Coronation on a neighbour’s television, loads of people all crowd..."

lol! i remember the concert in 2012...

[giveusaclue]

AB76 wrote: "lol! i remember the concert in 2012..."


Young whippersnapper!

[AB76]

giveusaclue wrote: "AB76 wrote: "lol! i remember the concert in 2012..."


Young whippersnapper!"

haha.....you are not old giveusaclue...its all relative

[[deleted user]]

Hello all. I'm slowly catching up on the thread now! It's taken a bit longer than I anticipated.

[AB76]

Quite a lot of rain today in the Shires and very cool (15c) for early June

Conrads The Shadow Line is enthralling me as i digest it slowly and i'm also enjoying Jamaica Kincaid's, short, savage A Small Place which looks her home island of Antigua and its place in history.

[Robert]

scarletnoir wrote: "Russell wrote: "I remember years ago being very disappointed by The Thin Man after enjoying the movie, and you explain very well why."

Thanks for that. I'm old enough to have seen many of the noir..."

Laura is an excellent film noir. If you haven't seen In a Lonely Place, it's great too.

[AB76]

Just finished the Conrad novel and i wish all books had as much contextual notes and detail. For a novella of about 100 pages there are 56 pages of intro and notes.

Some longer novels have no introduction at all....

[scarletnoir]

Robert wrote: "Laura is an excellent film noir. If you haven't seen In a Lonely Place, it's great too."

Thanks - I don't recall seeing that one, though maybe it's because the title is not especially memorable. I'll keep an eye out... a couple of others starring Bogart, 'To have and have not' and 'Key Largo' are pretty decent.

[Greenfairy]

giveusaclue wrote: "AB76 wrote: "CCCubbon wrote: "Being ancient I remember the old king dying in 1952 and the Coronation the following year. We saw the Coronation on a neighbour’s television, loads of people all crowd..."

Robert wrote: "scarletnoir wrote: "Russell wrote: "I remember years ago being very disappointed by The Thin Man after enjoying the movie, and you explain very well why."

Thanks for that. I'm old enough to have s..."

giveusaclue wrote: "AB76 wrote: "CCCubbon wrote: "Being ancient I remember the old king dying in 1952 and the Coronation the following year. We saw the Coronation on a neighbour’s television, loads of people all crowd..."
The marine (was it the marines? drummers looked to be enjoying themselves hammering out We Will Rock You.

[Berkley]

scarletnoir wrote: "Robert wrote: "Laura is an excellent film noir. If you haven't seen In a Lonely Place, it's great too."

Thanks - I don't recall seeing that one, though maybe it's because the title is not especial..."

Laura is fantastic but I haven't seen In a Lonely Place either. I've been watching a few noirs lately, along with other 1940s and '50s films, might have to add that one to the schedule.

[AB76]

Next up is Collected Stories by Paul Bowles.

The art of short story collections can be a puzzle, when you got 2 or 3 editions all slammed into one and you then find another collection which misses out some and collects others.

I read the 1950 Bowles collection The Delicate Prey a few years ago, this collection includes that so i will start with the 1951 stories. I'm expecting less of a North African focus, the stories cover almost 35 years.

Bowles has been a truly great writer for me, one i can turn to with confidence, exploring the North African world of Tangiers, where he lived for a few decades. His style is cold and hard, with some unsettling content delivered without judgement, for some he could be seen as an Anglo-Kafka, i feel he is a hybrid of Hemmingway-Kafka and Hamsun but with an original style. His rather exotic personal life is absent from his novels and stories, they are almost exercises in detachment

[SydneyH]

AB76 wrote: "Next up is Collected Stories by Paul Bowles."

I hope you like the Collected Stories. There is some incredible stuff in there. But brace yourself for a Distant Episode, if you haven't read that one yet.

[AB76]

SydneyH wrote: "AB76 wrote: "Next up is Collected Stories by Paul Bowles."

I hope you like the Collected Stories. There is some incredible stuff in there. But brace yourself for a Distant Episode, if you haven't ..."

thanks sydney and i read that one as it was in "The Delicate Prey", it was pretty shocking but not as much as "Pages from Cold Point" where incest between father and son is suggested. I found "The Delicate Prey" was the oddest story collection i have ever read.....

[Andy]

A couple of short reviews of books that I've just finished..

The Palm-Wine Drinkard by Amos Tutuola

This is the story of the quest of the unnamed narrator, the Palm-Wine Drinkard, who refers himself as, ‘the Father of gods Who Could Do Anything in This World’.
Formerly, he drank palm wine all day every day, tapped directly from the tree for him by an expert in the art. But his expert has fallen from one of the trees and died. Deeply saddened, the narrator embarks on a journey to find the tapper, who he believes is now in Dead-Town.

Based on the Yoruba folktales of west Africa this is a humorous fantasy that describes his adventures and the many weird creatures, both good and evil, he meets on route.

As with the best fantasy writers, Tutuola's imagination knows no bounds, but it is his distinctive writing style that makes the book stand out.
Yoruba is a Nigerian language. Though this was written in English, much of it contains Tutuola's own translation from original Yoruba myth.
It is a very distinct and original piece of storytelling, at turns surreal, funny, tragic and horrifc.

[Andy]

and Uncle Charles Has Locked Himself In by Georges Simenon, translated by Howard Curtis.

This is one of Simenon's romans durs novels, known for their psychological complexity, and for that reason, more appealing to me than his Maigret novels, which can be a bit formulaic.

A common theme in the romas durs books is a man who abruptly leaves home, his routine and conformity, and the effect that has on those around him; Monsieur Monde Vanishes, The Man Who Watched Trains Go By for example.
This is similar, though accountant Charles Dupeux returns to the family home one evening and locks himself in the attic.
There's a large cast of extended family and work colleagues here, confusingly so at times, as many of them have only bit parts.

As ever, Simenon delves into human mind and uncovers its darker side. In this case Charles Dupeux has spent a lifetime feeling inadequate. Unappreciated by his wife and family, and treated with contempt by his unfeeling and brutish boss, Charles grasps, without hesitation an opportunity to turn the tables. Basking in his new found status Charles is a changed man, then, as with the best Simenon, then comes a twist..

[AB76]

Am still marvelling at the versaility of Phillip K Dick. I'm not a big reader of sci-fi but i'm on my fourth of his novels in last five years and its hitting all the right notes

Thoughtful, perceptive and firmly rooted in modern issues on Earth, despite locations in the far future, with colonised planets and space travel. In The Three Stigmatas of Palmer Eldrich(1964) its hallugenic drugs that Dick is exploring. People living on harsh colonised planets using drugs to escape reality, there is a huge market and an industralist may have found a more potent one

Bowles Collected Stories is as thought provoking and unsettling as expected, while Josep Pla's diary of 1918-1919 The Gray Notebook is a Catalan non-fiction masterpiece, though the all male world is now starting to grate, where are the thinking women of Barcelona in 1919, they surely existed but not in his circles at the university.

Lastly, while i have avoided Russian reading since Feb, i have been enjoying a study of religion in Russia The Tsars Foreign Faiths.It is focused on the Imperial Era and in particular the non-Orthodox faiths (30% of the population in 1897).

[Berkley]

Andy wrote: "A couple of short reviews of books that I've just finished..

The Palm-Wine Drinkard by Amos Tutuola

This is the story of the que..."

I read this one a year or two back myself. It was excellent, with a very unusual voice that flowed pleasantly despite its distinctive quality. I have Tutuola's The Brave African Huntress lined up for the near future, along with the other 1950s things I've been getting into lately.

[Berkley]

AB76 wrote: "Am still marvelling at the versaility of Phillip K Dick. I'm not a big reader of sci-fi but i'm on my fourth of his novels in last five years and its hitting all the right notes


Thoughtful, perceptive and firmly rooted in modern issues on Earth, despite locations in the far future, with colonised planets and space travel. In The Three Stigmatas of Palmer Eldrich(1964) its hallugenic drugs that Dick is exploring. People living on harsh colonised planets using drugs to escape reality, there is a huge market and an industralist may have found a more potent one."

One of PKD's best, I think most of his admirers would agree. It certainly highlights one of his major recurring themes, the nature of reality vs illusion; or perhaps two, if we count drugs. I might have to re-read it to refresh my memory of the details.

[AB76]

Berkley wrote: "AB76 wrote: "Am still marvelling at the versaility of Phillip K Dick. I'm not a big reader of sci-fi but i'm on my fourth of his novels in last five years and its hitting all the right notes


Thou..."

especially as VR is becoming a kind of "thing" noawadays, i guess the current manifestations are just a surround sound 3D experience but if it can, in time, free ill or ageing people from failing bodies, it could be something amazing.
Drugs are the other form of VR-ish but i can only see most of the narcotics we have as damaging and deadly, no real aide to a better life

[[deleted user]]

Hello everyone. I'm aiming to put up a new thread tomorrow. I'll give you notice once I know how my day's going. 🙂 (I just found emojis on my iPad. Apparently they've been there all this time ...)

[giveusaclue]

Anne wrote: "Hello everyone. I'm aiming to put up a new thread tomorrow. I'll give you notice once I know how my day's going. 🙂 (I just found emojis on my iPad. Apparently they've been there all this time ...)"

😀

[Andy]

Berkley wrote: "Andy wrote: "A couple of short reviews of books that I've just finished..

The Palm-Wine Drinkard by Amos Tutuola

This is the sto..."

Let me know how that goes when you get round to it..

[Berkley]

Andy wrote: "Berkley wrote: " ... Tutuola's The Brave African Huntress..."


Let me know how that goes when you get round to it.. "

Will do. Should be some time within the next three or four months, if I can stop adding things to my immediate stack.

I imagine Tutuola's best-known title must be My Life in the Bush of Ghosts, since it was taken by Brian Eno and David Byrne as the title of an album on which they collaborated, but which I've never listened to, in spite of being a pretty big fan of Eno. Not sure how much connection there is between their record and Tutuola's book beyond the title. Maybe I should add that one to my stack as well.

[AB76]

My next non-fiction/essays read could be a heavy one, its Thomas Mann's Reflections of a Non-Political Man, recently re-published by NYRB.
WW1 is an endlessly fascinating study,especially where Germany is concerned, how a wealthy world power, having seen almost 30 years of economic growth could make such a bad decision to become bogged down in a European war that reduced this proud nation to staggering economic decline and inflation with 6-7 years.
Mann(a refugee in WW2)was one of many German thinkers and writers to embrace the world war and Germanys entry to it, alongside maybe 90% of the political parties and this volume of essays covers his approach to the war, thoughts and opinions. Already it has been a controversial re-print and a few of us have commented on it here.
I am not expecting an easy read at all and i may not manage the entire book but i'm looking foward to the mental challenge and the opinions that will generate some critical thinking i'm sure...

[Berkley]

AB76 wrote: " My next non-fiction/essays read could be a heavy one, its Thomas Mann's Reflections of a Non-Political Man, recently re-published by NYRB.
WW1 is an endlessly fascinating study,especially where Germany is concerned, how a wealthy world power, having seen almost 30 years of economic growth could make such a bad decision to become bogged down in a European war that reduced this proud nation to staggering economic decline and inflation with 6-7 years.
Mann(a refugee in WW2)was one of many German thinkers and writers to embrace the world war and Germanys entry to it, alongside maybe 90% of the political parties and this volume of essays covers his approach to the war, thoughts and opinions. Already it has been a controversial re-print and a few of us have commented on it here.
I am not expecting an easy read at all and i may not manage the entire book but i'm looking foward to the mental challenge and the opinions that will generate some critical thinking i'm sure..."

I take it that Reflections was written just before or during WWI? I'd be more curious to read it if had been written some time afterwards and Mann was reflecting on the error in judgement you mention, his support of what turned out to be such a disastrous war for everyone, but especially for the German-speaking world. But perhaps there is another, later work along those lines.

[scarletnoir]

Andy wrote: "and Uncle Charles Has Locked Himself In by Georges Simenon, translated by Howard Curtis.

This is one of Simenon's..."

Thanks for that - an interesting review of a Simenon I haven't read. This theme of travel and change also cropped up in Faubourg, which I reviewed a while back... not clear to me if it has been translated.

Thinking about Simenon for a moment, it occurs to me that one reason he is so great is that he always uses 'show, don't tell'... things happen, the characters act and speak, but the author never interjects his interpretation. It is for the reader to infer what, exactly, is going on underneath the surface.

[AB76]

Berkley wrote: "AB76 wrote: " My next non-fiction/essays read could be a heavy one, its Thomas Mann's Reflections of a Non-Political Man, recently re-published by NYRB.
WW1 is an endlessly fascinating study,especi..."

am just about to start reading it, the NYRB biog of Mann says he published it in 1918, so that suggests the arguments and points of view were written during the war. apparently some of it in response to his older brother Heinrich who opposed his views

[Gpfr]

AB76 wrote: "Berkley wrote: "AB76 wrote: " My next non-fiction/essays read could be a heavy one, its Thomas Mann's Reflections of a Non-Political Man, recently re-published by NYRB..."

From German History in Documents and Images (GHDI)

Thomas Mann (1875-1955) wrote the essay, “Reflections of a Nonpolitical Man,” during the First World War. A riposte to his brother Heinrich’s criticism of Germany and the war, Mann’s essay justified the authoritarianism and inward “culture” of Germany against the moralistic “civilization” and democracy of England and France. Published in 1918, Mann later repudiated the ideas espoused here.