Frederic > Recent Status Updates

Still enjoying the story, but I want to slap both Dominique and Toohey.

Toohey reminds me of Napoleon's description of Talleyrand as "la merde dans un bas de soie" or "shit in silk stockings". What a repulsive character, personifying envy driven socialism.

And Dominique, with her constant, pointless sabotage, is killing me, as she obviously loves Roark and his work.

I'm well hooked by the plot, even though the characters are cartoonish. Each seems to represent one characteristic.

Keating is empty self promotion. Roark is uncompromising. Dominique is perverse nihilism.

There's an interesting discussion of the tension between originality/creativity versus pandering.

Hard to believe that an architectural critic is a closet communist, but let's see how that develops.

Beautiful writing by Mishima. My reading enjoyment would be enhanced if I didn't want to slap protagonist Kiyoaki in the face every time he opens his mouth. What an unbearable, self sabotaging destroyer of joy this guy is. Not clear why lovely Satoko has any interest in him, which completely undermines the whole plot.

Very interested in the period but am finding the book tedious. 586 small font pages, unbroken by maps or illustrations.

Maps are in an appendix and annoyingly, don't contain all the places mentioned. Better to include maps close to the text that first mentions them.

The writing is OK, but not sharp enough to relieve the drudgery of the sea of words. Too much detail. Not enough editing. No themes. A data dump.

This book is hyped because it's Zadie Smith, but I find myself wishing I were reading her "White Teeth" instead.

It's a slog, about a quarter of the way through. Quite dull. At least there's a lot of white space in the short chapters.

Probably Smith realizes that her book is drab. Hence the femdom sex scenes between cousins.

These characters are mostly prosperous and worldly but very unhappy, so they say mean things to each other when drunk, which they usually are. Most are shagging other members of the group, as The Pill has just been invented and they're bored.

Unclear whether Updike's renowned writing is adequate reward for all this narcissistic nastiness. I sense some shit will hit some fans during the second half.

" "Fuck it all!" Filyashkin yelled in a sudden fury. "I'm a commander and there are commands to be given." "

As the Germans besiege the train station, the key Soviet holdout in Stalingrad, a comissar observes to his commanding officer:

"It's good that Shvedkov will be with them. He's a true Communist."

Way to add value in a desperate situation, Vlad.

So many references to the Russians using mortars, which are short range, high trajectory weapons of limited use against anything that moves fast, like tanks or motorized infantry used by the German invaders.

"The German axe was raised high in the air, suspended not only over the city of Stalingrad but also over the dream of justice, over devotion to freedom, over man's joy in labour, over maternal feeling..."

Justice, freedom and joy in labour all immediately come to mind when we think of Stalin's USSR.

As if to say, "Stalin's not a monster. Never!....Well, at least he's OUR monster."

"A crime is a crime, and criminals do not cease to be criminals because their names are remembered... History's only true heroes are those who help establish freedom."

Grossman directs this at Hitler but it's equally true of Stalin. I can't imagine this escaping Soviet censors, so maybe it was re-inserted by translators much later.

Very enjoyable. Towles' tone reminds me of Lemony Snicket: erudite, whimsical and charming. Count Rostov and young Nina are learning from each other as they explore the Metropol.

I can see why action fans dislike this book. For me, it's a pleasure to read descriptions of small events that flesh out characters' personalities.

The Count is a subtle man. I look forward to watching him adapt to house arrest.

The Soviets wanted Grossman to become their Tolstoy. There are elements of "War and Peace" here, with a large cast of characters, many of whom are quite emotional and impulsive. Interesting reading.

Clearly, this book was written in the Communist era. Grossman describes the horrors of invasion by Hitler's Fascist hordes, contrasted with the glorious societal unity and freedom of Soviet life... under Stalin.

Yikes.

I am listening to the audio book on Audible. After four hours, or about ten percent, I am still not fully attached to the story. It is pretty banal and the many characters' Polish and Jewish names each have at least four syllables. So far, it's a slog. The writing is not so magical as to make it fascinating yet.

On a l'impression de nager lentement dans une mer de mots infiniment large et profonde. Difficile de maitriser la peur de se noyer ou, du moins, la frustration de faire peu de progrès.

Very imaginative stories. It's very subjective and I didn't expect to like them all. It's a huge book and I will be skipping stories that turned me off, like Lassie and the coyote, or Jane Goodall stinking. Yecch

I am enjoying Shteyngart's vivid writing. Having just watched him read from the book, I hope his novel doesn't eventually pander to the naïve, envious and popular belief that hedge funds are evil and their managers, satanic.

Having spent a good part of my career working with money managers, (hedge, mutual and pension), I know that common misconception to be false. Looks like this will be a funny read, in any case.

After 50 chapters of fast paced swashbuckling and intrigue, the book has hit a flat spot, with an endless (5% of the book?) monologue by Milady. Ugh

I can't believe Dumas can tie up the remaining loose ends in the last 14% of the book.

I am reading this in French. It's really well done, but it is tough reading because it's like watching a slow motion train wreck, as the narrator gets deeper and deeper into the emotional vortex of the family who adopt him.

This is a great book. Very detailed but comprehensive and interesting. From the personalities of the leaders, to economics, to historical irritants to pop culture, the author examines every societal element in several countries that led to WWI. Long but well written and compelling.

This is a really well written book. I wish my Spanish were good enough to read it untranslated. In his descriptions of people walking along a street, Aramburu describing what the character notices reveals the character's state of mind, like the nouveau roman style of Alain Robbe-Grillet . I have travelled in Basque country. Aramburu really evokes the damp, green ambiance of the place and the feud/revenge psychology.

This book got better about halfway through. A broad survey of literature, philosophy and psychology. The author is now discussing the concept of the Outsider through the works of Dostoevsky.