Roberto Bolano's "The Savage Detectives" discussion
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The Savage Detectives
Introduction
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Ian
(last edited Jun 29, 2012 04:29PM)
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Jun 29, 2012 04:29PM
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Ian wrote: "Or somebody's bed. Just like the 80's."My memory of those days is a bit faulty. I can neither confirm nor deny.
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My memory isn't at fault, but I was.
Heh. You are an honest man. Don't run for office, that's my advice. Unless things are REALLY different between your great land and mine.I DO remember voting twice against Reagan, and four times against Bushes. All but one were in a lost cause.
Thanks for the invite Ian, this is a great opportunity to discuss this maddening brilliant book. But it cant be that I am the only one who has read it???
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We need experienced guides like you.
I hope this takes at least a week to kick off. I am having some trouble getting hold of a copy...
Ian wrote: "You're not alone, M, but I can't see your review. Did you type it in invisible text?We need experienced guides like you."
gulp.my review is...pending
in fact, why I have jumped into this group is because I figure it will provoke me into coherence about my experience reading this, which was rocky, like the book.
so, not guide but perhaps existential cheerleader
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I could handle one of them.
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Kick off has been delayed until the helicopter turns up with the ball.
This sounds good! I will probably join this group read, as well. There is no kindle version, so Ima have to get it from the local library, but that shouldn't be a problem. I can start in August!
I'm looking forward to this - I've been eager to read this for a while! I'll probably start over the weekend, since I'd like to have more time to immerse myself in the beginning, and I suspect fireworks (being set off in front of my apartment in a little while) may be a distraction tonight. Hoping I can make some contributions to discussion - a lot of my favorite reviewers are in this group, and I'm still a Goodreads newbie. :)
I'm working through Infinite Jest currently, but The Savage Detectives is in the mail. One thing, I'll have to reduce the number of novels I expected to read this year.....
I'm in! Will start once the postie drops it off...
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I think we should measure our reading in pages.
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Come off it, Nick. You're the only person I know on GR who has more photos than reviews on their profile ;)
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Haha. I'm looking forward to your accretions.
I expect a brilliant review from you on goon squad ian
Ian wrote: "I think we should measure our reading in pages. "I'll subtract the pages I should be writing and end up with negative digits, which would be quite rude.
Nick wrote: "You're all wussies. ;) I am working through Gravity's Rainbow while reading The Savage Detectives, and have Finnegan's Wake, Reamde, and Infinite Jest on hiatus. Reamde has been screaming at me to ..."GR and SD are arriving in the mail together this week. I pity the postman.
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Why do we buy more books when we haven't read the ones we've got?
If I see what I want for a bargain, I'll buy it.
If I don't spend it on books, I'd just spend the same amount on a beer or a wine.
So I tell my wife that reading cuts down my drinking.
Ian wrote: "Why do we buy more books when we haven't read the ones we've got?If I see what I want for a bargain, I'll buy it.
If I don't spend it on books, I'd just spend the same amount on a beer or a wine.
So I tell my wife that reading cuts down my drinking.
"
Books never go stale or stain the carpet. We know we'll get to them eventually. There are worse things one might collect--like debt. And there's never messy discussions over monogamy.
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Ian wrote: "And they never complain when you're late or you look at another book."Exactly! So what's not to love?
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Exactly! So what's not to love?"
Haha, I'm getting more excited every post.
Ian wrote: "Chance wrote: "Ian wrote: "And they never complain when you're late or you look at another book."Exactly! So what's not to love?"
Haha, I'm getting more excited every post."
Saw this quote this morning:
“Being rich is not about how much money you have or how many homes you own; it's the freedom to buy any book you want without looking at the price and wondering if you can afford it.”
― John Waters, Role Models
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Ian wrote: "Being rich is having the time to read what you buy."By that logic, the fewer books I buy, the richer I'll be, which makes sense, but would make me unhappy, and dull. I'd be a dull, rich girl then.
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Okay, I broke down to peer pressure since this group looks like a lot of fun, and am reading The Savage Detective when I need a break from Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid.
Chance wrote: "Ian wrote: "Chance wrote: "Ian wrote: "And they never complain when you're late or you look at another book."Exactly! So what's not to love?"
Haha, I'm getting more excited every post...."
SOMETIMES tho, they reproach you from where they crouch, neglected on a shelf :-(
and SD can be rather patronizing and annoying in exposing especially an English reader to her/his ignorance
Aloha wrote: "Okay, I broke down to peer pressure since this group looks like a lot of fun, and am reading The Savage Detective when I need a break from Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid."I had Gödel, Escher, Bach all ready on my Kindle, but now i might not get to read it in time to still join in the Science Group because i'm going to be researching China Mievile for Magdelanye. :P
I don't know why i still bother belonging to the Science Group, because i never manage to read their books in time for discussion. :(
I imagine a reading shelf re-shuffle is in order for me yet again.
So yes, come join us here, Aloha, and make me feel better! :D
Ian wrote: "We are rich who have the time."Yes, time is the most precious commodity.
Ian wrote: "Being rich is having the time to read what you buy."Agreed. And I am certainly not rich on those terms. Maybe someday...
Traveller wrote: "So yes, come join us here, Aloha, and make me feel better! :D ..."
Agreed - I am also very happy to see you here, Aloha!
Traveller wrote: I don't know why i still bother belonging to the Science Group, because i never manage to read their books in time for discussion. :(
Traveller, I always struggle to keep up with the readings for the Science (or any other) group. But I never think of leaving, because the selections are excellent and I might catch up someday!
Aloha and Traveller, I agree that Gödel, Escher, Bach was not made for speed reading or (my opinion) for an all-day marathon.
um, I was thinking of GEB when I made my comment about books reproaching us from where they languish on the shelf: speed reading? I started that book 30 years ago and put aside halfway in (oh shame)
Magdelanye wrote: "um, I was thinking of GEB when I made my comment about books reproaching us from where they languish on the shelf: speed reading? I started that book 30 years ago and put aside halfway in (oh shame)"Ummm, yes, that sounds very familiar, like a voice from my own past...
I hope to do better this time, but other voices are calling...
Magdelanye wrote: "um, I was thinking of GEB when I made my comment about books reproaching us from where they languish on the shelf: speed reading? I started that book 30 years ago and put aside halfway in (oh shame)"Love your comment! It makes the cockles of my heart tingle and vibrate in empathy and appreciation. ^_^
Thank you, Jim and Traveller, for your welcome. I am loving GEB and don't want to put it down, but it is work and something that you need to focus on. It's nice being in a group of nice, lively people who know GEB. I guess we aren't all introverts. LOL. I'll have to start Savage to see how intensive that is. I also need to go and read all the posts in this club to catch up.Jim wrote: "Ian wrote: "Being rich is having the time to read what you buy."
Agreed. And I am certainly not rich on those terms. Maybe someday...
Traveller wrote: "So yes, come join us here, Aloha, and make ..."
Aloha wrote: "I'll have to start Savage to see how intensive that is. I also need to go and read all the posts in this club to catch up.."
Personally i'd say this is a much faster read if you already know all the Latin American poets and writers he alludes to, or simply don't mind not knowing. :P
I'm not sure how much background research i want to do, but the fact that it seems pretty intermingled with LA politics, gives it a more interesting angle to me.
...but the group as a whole hasn't really started discussing the content of SD much, people are mainly still posting awesome info links, so i'm happy with that. :)
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Traveller, I would love to bone up on all the Latin American poets and writers. I love learning as much information as my little brain can squeeze in. LA politics sound interesting to me, too. One Hundred Years of Solitude has a lot of that. I was reading a Paris Review interview with Mario Vargas Llosa. He had ran for the Presidency of Peru. Since the politics are so tumultuous in Latin America, you can't help but be involved in it, especially if you're a prominent figure.I'll have to check the links, too. I'm very interested in LA writing.
Ha! We should place a bet as to whether Ian finishes the book. Better, whether he will write one of his poetic review on it. Maybe it'd be something dealing with S&M.Ian wrote: "I bought GEB yesterday and must say it's scaring the hell out of me. It's got formulae and stuff in it."
Ian wrote: "I bought GEB yesterday and must say it's scaring the hell out of me. It's got formulae and stuff in it.":D Yes, and both the formulae and the stuff go on and on and on..
I am just gearing up for a serious run at it, having read big chunks in a previous life. If you get serious about it in the near future, I would be happy to discuss some of the ideas (the ones I think I understand).
Aloha has been reading it as she mentioned, and will be far more up to speed at this point. There are some core themes like recursion and self-reference - but that is another discussion..
I wonder how many members there'd be if a GEB forum was created. Maybe it can be done synonymously with House of Leaves, since he used a lot of the concepts in GEB in his novel. I'm amazed that he was able to turn it into literature.
Aloha wrote: "I wonder how many members there'd be if a GEB forum was created. Maybe it can be done synonymously with House of Leaves, since he used a lot of the concepts in GEB in his novel..."Interesting idea, Aloha. I just got the sample for House of Leaves yesterday, after seeing your post about it on the Science Group(?).
I am hoping to make significant headway on GEB over the next few days, probably in alternation with Bolano - this book, and the links provided for the group by Jenn and others.
I hope the combination of Bolano and GEB don't rip the top of my head completely off...
Jim, after we've made a good headway into the SD discussion, I'm going to start a HoL/GEB forum. I already thought of several threads for it.LOL. It may rip your head off, but it's good mental LSD. I keep on looking for books like that now. I'm addicted!
Aloha wrote: "Jim, after we've made a good headway into the SD discussion, I'm going to start a HoL/GEB forum. I already thought of several threads for it.LOL. It may rip your head off, but it's good mental LSD. I keep on looking for books like that now. I'm addicted! "
Sounds great on the forum, Aloha. I will be very happy to join.
I fully understand the addiction! And what is one head ripped off, more or less? I can always duct-tape it back on, right? :)
Roberto Bolano's "The Savage Detectives"
Books mentioned in this topic
Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid (other topics)Modern Latin American Literature: A Very Short Introduction (other topics)
Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter (other topics)
House of Leaves (other topics)
One Hundred Years of Solitude (other topics)
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