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What are we reading? 8th June 2022
Have finished The Day of the Jackal and now moving onto Swedish writer Stig DagermanMy third work by Dagerman(one fiction, one non-fiction), is his first novel from 1946 entitled The Snake.
i was shocked to see it had been lying around in my TBR pile since 2006, that might be a record!
The dated, musty second hand copy i fished out a few days ago suffers from a rare lack of blurb, hinting at themes of swedish neutrality in WW2 and fear among a group of military conscripts(Dagerman himself was conscripted at the time)
scarletnoir wrote: "I read his Dostoyevsky years ago but remember nothing, so perhaps it’s time to look into that again..."I don't recall details , but was left with the very strong impression that the book told me more about Gide himself than it did about Dostoyevsky - which was still interesting to me.
I don't remember if I have read 'The Pastoral Symphony', but I don't believe I have.
Tam wrote: "Greenfairy wrote: "Robert wrote: "Tam wrote: "I would just like to add, a bit belatedly, that I am recovering well from my cataract operation, and to thank all those who sent good wishes along to m..."As you say, glare is very uncomfortable so sunglasses are essential.
scarletnoir wrote: "Greenfairy wrote: "The best place was for music was the Uni- saw Rory Gallagher there, bless him."Brilliant guitarist - even better than Ten Years After's Alvin Lee, IMO. I saw him play a wonderf..."
He did sound rather like a sheep😄
Gpfr wrote: "CCCubbon wrote: "VERY SAD NEWS about Magrat received this morning...."That's so sad."
Oh no, that is sad, RIP fellow Pratchett fan, thanks for letting us know CC
CCCubbon wrote: "VERY SAD NEWS about Magrat received this morningthought I should let you know that my wife Christine died at the end of March this year. I came across your emails while cleaning up her computer...."
I'm really saddened by this news, Magrat was an engaging fellow reader. My condolences please to her husband, family and friends.
Very sorry to hear of Magrat's death.
I'm currently reading
which, although set in the US in the 1950's/60's seems apt given the current debacle of diminishing women's' rights stateside these days.There is a good mixture of humour, especially within the context of human interactions and oddities but also the horrors - male dominance (employment prospects/salary/stealing academic work/violence), female dominance (pecking order/nasty gossips, jealousy).
Elizabeth Zott is a research chemist who is academically gifted, but finds herself ousted by her idiotic and sexist boss after he learned that Zott is pregnant, outside of wedlock. The father was a senior esteemed chemist at the same facility.
Zott is my hero - a woman who knows her mind, is assertive and doesn't pander to group mentality. Zott later gains employment working on a TV show called Supper At Six - a cookery show with a twist - Zott explains the chemistry behind the culinary process, but doesn't patronize women, instead treating them as more than just domestic slaves doing thankless tasks. (Even if I ignore the hypocrisy of Zott using another women to help look after her child - initially unpaid).
My bookshelves are full, with approximately 80 books in my TBR pile. I had to exert quite a bit of willpower to stop myself going to a bookshop today.
No sign of Mach, he must be on holiday!Paul - are you a fan of poliziotteschi films? I've watched a few, sadly all dubbed, so losing the wonderful sound of the italian language. I love the scripts, where the" anni di piombo", law and order and the questions of crime and penal reform are always discussed from opposing sides. Am less interested in the gore and violence but the films i have watched are all measured, well paced and well written (Caliber 9, Killer Cop,Death Squad), though the film titles dont portray that! I also like the giallo genre
AB76 wrote: "scarletnoir wrote: "AB76 wrote: "Kraus was a prolific journalist and Jewish convert to Catholicism"I wonder how sincere that conversion was?
One of my favourite composers - Gustav Mahler - follo..."
I suppose that Disraeli would fit on your list of converts, though he seems to have genuinely loved the ritual of the Anglican Church.
Greenfairy wrote: "He did sound rather like a sheep😄..."I'll need clarification here - who 'he'?
If Family's Roger Chapman, then definitely fair comment! If Alvin Lee or Rory Gallagher, then as both were mainly known for their virtuosity on the guitar, I don't recall their singing voices...
AB76 wrote: "No sign of Mach, he must be on holiday!"Mach has posted quite a few comments on the Guardian's WWR recently.
Robert wrote: "AB76 wrote: "scarletnoir wrote: "AB76 wrote: "Kraus was a prolific journalist and Jewish convert to Catholicism"I wonder how sincere that conversion was?
One of my favourite composers - Gustav M..."
yes Dizzy is deffo on that list and would not have been eligible to be PM without being a baptised Anglican in the mid 19th century. His father was a worshipper at Bevis Marks synagogue(Sephardi Jewish) in the city of london, a beautiful old building
scarletnoir wrote: "AB76 wrote: "No sign of Mach, he must be on holiday!"Mach has posted quite a few comments on the Guardian's WWR recently."
maybe he favours that forum over this one now. i'm trying to post more on WWR but i loathe the moderation issue, which means i'm never quite sure if things i post will make it, as those goons would moderate punctuation if they could
AB76 wrote: "Robert wrote: "AB76 wrote: "scarletnoir wrote: "AB76 wrote: "Kraus was a prolific journalist and Jewish convert to Catholicism"I wonder how sincere that conversion was?
One of my favourite compo..."
I've read one of Dizzy's novels-- "Sybil," the one where he coined the phrase "the two nations, the rich and the poor" to describe England. Not the greatest novel, but this story of tensions in a new industrial town has interest. Whenever Disraeli suffered a political reverse (happened often in his early years), he wrote another book. Churchill did, too, but almost always historical or non-fiction works.
Robert wrote: "AB76 wrote: "Robert wrote: "AB76 wrote: "scarletnoir wrote: "AB76 wrote: "Kraus was a prolific journalist and Jewish convert to Catholicism"I wonder how sincere that conversion was?
One of my fa..."
i enjoyed "Conigsby" his first novel but havent read "Sybil" yet, thanks for reminding me Robert!
Heligoland by Jan Ruger is a gem, i am savouring this micro-history of the small island that was Danish, then British, then German from 1807 to the present day.Following the drama and dash of the island as a British frontier zone in the war with Bonaparte, Ruger moves on to the 1830s and 1840s where many German revolutionaries and writers sought the freedom of the British flag on the island including Heine(who wrote the Helgoland Letters) and the writer of the words to the German national anthemn.
This european outpost of empire, with 2,000 souls fascinates me in the 1840s, also that heine remarked the british seem to emit boredom like a "gas", which amused me!
I thought "Sybil," worthwhile, even if has some common Victorian vices (verbosity etc.). The only other thing I've read by/about Disraeli is Daisy Hay's "Mr and Mrs Disraeli: A Strange Romance," which is very much focused on his personal rather than his political or literary lives. It made me rather like him.
AB76 wrote: "i'm trying to post more on WWR but i loathe the moderation issue..."I was taken aback the other day when I tried to post my review of Marsé's The Snares of Memory, which contained zero controversial stuff and zero swear words... it refused to appear. I tried cutting it into halves (it was a bit long), then thirds - no joy. Eventually, in despair (OK, hyperbole) I messaged HushPuppy within this forum to ask for advice; she suggested that the Guardian have too few mods nowadays, and that stuff can take a while to appear.
Sure enough, the review did show up on WWR... eventually... but it was a bit nerve-racking.
(In passing - I am a little disappointed that the review has received zero responses - I know you liked the book, but it seems no-one else knows anything about it!)
Mod
I've just posted this on WWR, but I'll put it here as well. Magrat was one of the judges for the Not the Booker Prize 2020 and here is the judging meeting:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h3XQ5...
scarletnoir wrote: "AB76 wrote: "i'm trying to post more on WWR but i loathe the moderation issue..."I was taken aback the other day when I tried to post my review of Marsé's The Snares of Memory, wh..."
it can be a peculiar place scarlet, when good books get overlooked, am never quite sure why ,i expected a contemporary novel to be discussed a lot, they usually are
Sydney H - re the Guardian's "What we're reading" thread, thanks! I noticed the Guardian had revived the feature, this time a monthly rather than a weekly thread, but without the always entertaining, enthusiastic and striking well-read Sam Jordison to guide us. (Like Nick Lezard, he is much missed! Does anyone know what Sam is doing now?) I think I will stick with the Goodreads splinter group for now - the sheer number of contributions on the Guardian thread is overwhelming. I am also trying to limit my news intake - goodreads is refreshingly news free. The problem with goodreads is I am not sure which comment I am answering here - the reply function is rather confusing. No comment nesting. (Does the Guardian still do comment nesting , by the way?)
Edit - the reply function turned out to be a mess, so have deleted the italicised intro.
Russell- Re. Strait is the GateI remember the rather claustrophobic atmosphere rather than the actual details of the plot - I remember it as a study in religious fanaticism, just as the Immoralist was (as far as I remember) a study in sexual obsession. I got the impression that Gide was trying to tackle a specific type of person in each of his novels. But then there was the Cellars of the Vatican - a bizarre Stevensonesque romp with a disturbingly arbitrary and rather shocking act of violence right in the center of it. I enjoyed it but couldn't help feeling it was a kind of parody of a sensational magazine serial.
I am having the most fun listening to London Rules
. I hope Mick Herron had half as much fun writing it. My original idea was to do a reprise of the series before downloading (I find Slough House particularly good on audio) Bad Actors
, but it is an extra treat that I must have missed London Rules the first time around. I know I do not have the world's greatest memory, but surely I would have remembered that the OB had had to move to a nursing home.This from a Librarian's Book Newsletter - Deanna Raybourn's Killers of a Certain Age
is my favorite book of the year, so far. Think of the movie, RED, with four women with the skills of Helen Mirren. Billie, Mary Alice, Helen, and Natalie have worked for the Museum, an elite network of assassins, for forty years. Now their talents are considered old-school and no one appreciates what they have to offer in an age that relies more on technology than people skills. When the foursome is sent on an all-expenses paid vacation to mark their retirement, they are targeted by one of their own. That's when the women realize they’ve been marked for death. But, never underestimate four women in their sixties with a set of skills honed for forty years. Watch for this one. Killers of a Certain Age is wonderful. Release date is Sept. 6.
FrustratedArtist wrote: "Sydney H - re the Guardian's "What we're reading" thread, thanks! I noticed the Guardian had revived the feature, this time a monthly rather than a weekly thread, but without the always entertainin..."You can find Sam here - https://www.galleybeggar.co.uk/about
I believe Galley Beggar Press is located somewhere around Norwich. If you go to the main page, you can sign up for their newsletter here - https://www.galleybeggar.co.uk/
MK wrote: "I am having the most fun listening to London Rules. I hope Mick Herron had half as much fun writing it. My original idea was to do a reprise of th..."
PS - I hope to finish up London Rules while working in the yard this afternoon; that is, as long as the weather cooperates. I don't think we will have a wildfire season here in this part of the PNW. The snowpack is huge, and it rained yet again yesterday. Last night, on the 3rd of July, I had to turn the heat on! I certainly do not remember having to do this in my 25 years of living here.
MK - Thanks,- I have just been browsing their website and found a link to Sam's regular podcasts in partnership with a Texas-based publisher which looks great. https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast...
That most recent episode "Sam can't get enough Proust..." takes me back to Spring 2013 when Sam was blogging Swan's Way in the Guardian's reading group.
Mod
When replying to a comment, the best way to make clear what one is replying to is to copy the relevant part and paste it in the italicised intro, replacing what shows up automatically - as I've done here.
Of course sometimes what shows automatically is OK.
You can also put the number of the message you're replying to, again as I've done, but people seem to have stopped doing that now.
The Guardian still does comment nesting.
FrustratedArtist wrote: "The problem with goodreads is I am not sure which comment I am answering here - the reply function is rather confusing."The way I use it is this:
1. Choose the comment you want to reply to, and click on the 'reply' button AT THE BOTTOM/UNDER THE COMMENT. When I started, I clicked on the one above the comment as it is more conspicuous... it doesn't work! You are then replying to the 'wrong' comment.
2. If you want - delete as much or all of the italicised stuff as you want except for the name of the person making the comment you are replying to. I deleted all the rest to make this reply. Make sure also to keep the < i >............. < /i > markers . (I have added extra spaces here, otherwise the markers don't appear. You don't need to do that.)
3. Check the markers - you sometimes lose a < or a >!
4. Highlight, copy & paste the bit that interests you or is relevant in the comment between the markers.
5. Type your reply underneath.
You will thus be able to make it clear EXACTLY what point you are replying to.
In addition, in GR you can edit your comments (the 'edit' link is directly under all comments you make), so if anything goes wrong, you can come back to it.
Hope that helps.
(My main problem with the Guardian's WWR now is that they have around 100 comments per 'page', which is terribly unwieldy as opposed to the 50 here, especially as some threads can be very long indeed...)
Scarletnoir wrote: "The way I use it is this....Thanks! The edit function is a real bonus. Obviously it could be abused (A edits their provocative comment to make it look innocent, thereby making B, who has responded angrily, look as if they are in the wrong...) and understandably the Guardian decided not to go down that path.
Living in Russia, I'm not going to get involved in commenting on Guardian articles, however innocent, with things as they are these days. Reading them- yes, certainly, it is my main source of news.
.Gpfr wrote "The Guardian still does comment nesting.".
Thanks!
Mod
If you like a good mystery, I recommend Susie Steiner's Manon Bradshaw books Sad to say there will be no more - https://www.theguardian.com/books/202...
MK wrote: "MK wrote: "I am having the most fun listening to London Rules. I hope Mick Herron had half as much fun writing it. My original idea was to do a re..."
its been an odd summer in the shires too so far, after the mildest year i can remember (a winter with no cold, a spring with endless mild days), summer is kind of a mixed bag. we had a short spell of real heat but it died away far quicker than in the last five years, with almost no residual warmth. last week has been cool, max temps 20c, though warm by next weekend. its a nice change from the violent short stabs of heat from 2018 onwards, though am sure some unpleasent heat is due, things are dry though, rivers low
just spotted machs comments on WWR, looks like he is more active over there. good to see he is still around
CCCubbon wrote: "VERY SAD NEWS about Magrat received this morningthought I should let you know that my wife Christine died at the end of March this year. I came across your emails while cleaning up her computer...."
My condolences to you CC.
Also, Magrat will be much missed. Sad news indeed.
Babette’s Feast by Isak Dinesen / Karen Blixen translated from the Danish by Cassio Liate.
This rather beautiful little book is a wonderful way to spend an hour, telling, as it does, of two sisters, Martine and Philippa, who live with their father, the Dean of a small lay community of strict Lutherans, is a remote Norwegian village called Berlevåg in the year 1850.
Having set the scene, there follows a chapter each devoted to the girls’ early love stories; both have found distinguished suitors despite their remoteness.
But circumstances change, and it is necessary their lovers have to move away.
The story now jumps 39 years, and one of those former lovers has not forgotten them, he sends them Babette, a refugee from the Paris Commune, without giving many details of her political activities, along with a simple note, ‘Babette can cook,’ urging that they keep her as housekeeper.
One of the reasons I enjoyed this so much was it’s setting, that hamlet of Berlevåg, situated on the far north coast of Arctic Norway in splendid isolation. A place I hope to visit in the next couple of months.
Blixen’s novelette (I really don’t like that word..) of 1958 was made into a film in 1987, with the setting moved to the Jutland coast of Denmark, as the Norwegian Arctic had become too picturesque.
Has anyone seen the film?
Andy wrote: "Babette’s Feast by Isak Dinesen / Karen Blixen translated from the Danish by Cassio Liate. [bookcover:Babette's Feast and Other Anecdotes of Dest..."Its a lovely, small, beautifully captured story, with one of my favourite actresses in, as Babette, the cook, Stephane Audran. She was also in Luis Bunuel's 'The Discrete Charms of the Bourgeoisie' well worth a look, to me... She was married to Claude Chabrol for a while, a very stylish, French film director of the 70's.
FrustratedArtist wrote: "Scarletnoir wrote: "The way I use it is this....Thanks! The edit function is a real bonus. Obviously it could be abused (A edits their provocative comment to make it look innocent, thereby making..."
My pleasure.
As you say, the Edit could be abused, but I am not aware that anyone in this group has used it maliciously in that way. I think there have been a couple of instances where the original comments have been deleted, so that replies look rather odd in isolation.
MK wrote: "If you like a good mystery, I recommend Susie Steiner's Manon Bradshaw books Sad to say there will be no more - https://www.theguardian.com/books/202......"Sorry to see that - taken much too young.
I did read the first Manon Bradshaw mystery - Missing, Presumed and quite liked it without being bowled over. I suspect she could have gone on to greater things, with better luck...
Andy wrote: "Babette’s Feast by Isak Dinesen / Karen Blixen translated from the Danish by Cassio Liate... Has anyone seen the film?"This was the first Danish film to win the Oscar for best foreign film... it received a huge amount of praise at the time, so that when I saw it my expectations were sky-high... but it's pretty slow moving, and I felt a bit disappointed.
I think it's very likely that I'd have enjoyed it more but for the hype...
While in the UK, 4th of July means very little, i always remember the descriptions of a hot 4th of July in Massachusetts, described by Edith Wharton in her novel Summer.Other nations dedication to national days and commemorations are interesting and Wharton captures the heat, the excitement and the communal feel of that day.
Sadly and all too predictably a 4th of July parade in 2022 on Chicago's North Shore ended in a shooting, just watched some NBC coverage, so sad. 6 dead..so far
scarletnoir wrote: "Andy wrote: "Babette’s Feast by Isak Dinesen / Karen Blixen translated from the Danish by Cassio Liate... Has anyone seen the film?"This was th..."
I agree it is really quite slow, but I enjoyed it, but I have also really enjoyed a film, also in a painterly sort of way, about Algerian Monks, going about their daily lives, which makes Babettes Feast look like one of the "Fast and Furious' franchise!... Chabrol's film are much faster paced, from what I remember, sort of detective, 'crime of passion' type films with a lot of atmosphere...
Tam wrote: "Andy wrote: "Babette’s Feast by Isak Dinesen / Karen Blixen translated from the Danish by Cassio Liate. [bookcover:Babette's Feast and Other Anec..."Thanks Tam.
scarletnoir wrote: "Andy wrote: "Babette’s Feast by Isak Dinesen / Karen Blixen translated from the Danish by Cassio Liate... Has anyone seen the film?"This was th..."
I’m going to give it a go at some stage..
FrustratedArtist wrote: "...I got the impression that Gide was trying to tackle a specific type of person in each of his novels..."
Not a point that had occurred to me but I think you may be right.
Cellars of the Vatican - You encourage me to give it a try.
Not a point that had occurred to me but I think you may be right.
Cellars of the Vatican - You encourage me to give it a try.
AB76 wrote: "MK wrote: "MK wrote: "I am having the most fun listening to London Rules. I hope Mick Herron had half as much fun writing it. My original idea was..."
Ah. Here in the Great Northwest, we're back to overcast and drizzle, after a one-weekend summer.
Andy wrote: "scarletnoir wrote: "Andy wrote: "Babette’s Feast by Isak Dinesen / Karen Blixen translated from the Danish by Cassio Liate... Has anyone seen the..."Both the short story and the Danish film are good.
Robert wrote: "Andy wrote: "scarletnoir wrote: "Andy wrote: "Babette’s Feast by Isak Dinesen / Karen Blixen translated from the Danish by Cassio Liate... Has an..."Thanks Robert.
Andy wrote: "Heh SN… Any idea why I’m getting moderated for this comment I’m trying to post on the Pink Horse thread over at WWR..
Power corrupts.
Something happened to Douglass during his time in DC. F..."
sounds fine to me....i do wonder what the mods at the G are smoking sometimes..
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Ersatz TLS
Books mentioned in this topic
Babette’s Feast (other topics)Babette’s Feast (other topics)
London Rules (other topics)
Babette’s Feast (other topics)
Babette’s Feast (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Isak Dinesen (other topics)Blixen Karen (other topics)
Isak Dinesen (other topics)
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Isak Dinesen (other topics)
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I wonder how sincere that conversion was?
One of my favourite composers - Gustav Mahler - follo..."
I dare say that even before the beginning of the Jewish emancipation most "intellectual" Jews in Germany and Austria were secular Jews. Many of them, as you correctly stated, only converted in order to have better, or rather any, career opportunities. Kraus' conversion is therefore completely irrelevant regarding his life and work.
Btw: a lot of German hospitals, A.D. 2022, are still associated with the church. If you apply for a job it doesn't matter what confession you have. If you have, however, no confession whatsoever your needn't apply for, eg, a consltant job.