Sean Kuhn > Recent Status Updates

This is peak fiction and, at least as it stands now, this is the best book I've ever read. Is it my favorite? No, I understand how that may make no sense at all, but my penultimate review of the book here in a week or so.

For how much of a rap “The Grand Inquisitor” has as a chapter, it somehow managed to live up to the hype and blow all expectations out of the water. On the surface, it can be taken as a harrowing critique of the Catholic Church, but as you dig deeper, page by page into the Inquisitor’s monologue, it unveils a crafty hermeneutic of reason, freedom, and purpose that warrants intense analysis. Love you Fyodor.

About to read the Grand Inquisitor chapter, and I am shaking in excitement. Went into this book thinking it may have been overrated, but I understand why it is viewed as Dostoevsky's paramount work and often cited as the greatest novel ever written by some.

Toni Morrison’s prose is unique and tasteful. Her ability to pause a scene implicitly while crafting an exposition, explanation, or excavation of what is going through a character’s mind at any given moment is incredible and gives the book a freeze frame, cut away, flashback sort of feel that is quite impactful.

Cattle are the source of misogyny and social classes. Down with the bovinarchy

MFW: East African pastoralists may have developed iron working techniques independently from those of Bantu-speaking West Africa 🤯🤯🤯🤯

“Mr. P isn’t a Democratic-, Republican-, Christian-, or Devil worshipping freak. He is just sleepy”

- Sherman Alexie

Holy shit Aksum is kick ass

By gosh by golly, never realized how central the production of iron was to the dispersion of Bantu speaking people groups of sub Saharan Africa.

This book is become erratic and spastic in its story telling very similarly to The Idiot. Bulgakov isn’t as gifted in this writing style as Dostoevsky, but his prose conveys much of the same anxieties along with a helping of “what-the-fuckness” that adds some unique flavor to the story.

So far, largely a contemporary spark notes of St. Augustine’s “Confessions” …. And it’s pretty solid

His writing style is positively addictive. This book is so difficult to put down, the characters are constructed so charismatically, especially the antagonists, that you can feel as though you’re in apartment 50 on Sadovaya street listening to the devil explain his predicament.

So far this book has made me ponder an interesting question: why is it easier to believe in the devil than it is to believe in God?

The Pontius Pilate chapter has been incredible so far, Buffon and O’Conners translation of Bulgakov is absolutely immaculate.

Mean Spirit has been awesome so far. A real fan of the syncretic symbolism used throughout showing the divide between the Indian consciousness.

Only confusing part has been the character names, mainly due to them staying true to native naming traditions, similar to Dostoevsky where there's just so many names thrown at you so fast, but they are slowly becoming decluttered as I progress.

Really enjoying the pacing and structure so far. Very sharp and abrupt. Hard to tell what he’s a bigger fan of, boobs or cigs.