re Argentine books- I also have Artificial Respiration - not read- and still look forward to your translation of Roberto Arlt's sequel to 7 Madmen. Did you notice how highly acclaimed he was in that essay?

posted by berthirsch at 7:55 pm (EST) on May 5, 2008

as far as I can see signing up involves you agreeing not only to read it but also agreeing to review it within 6 weeks of receiving it - I got The Witches of Eastwick - how is that a Classic? Hope you enjoy the Sebald - I'd hate to mislead

posted by papalaz at 1:09 pm (EST) on May 3, 2008

hey larry- thanks - i saw that on Complete Review and I did buy Manguel's WITH BORGES a while back...Manguel sounds quite interesting in his own right.

i found a fascinating link on Argentine literature that I will post on the South American Lit group site.

The rangers are certainly having a hard luck series.

posted by berthirsch at 6:43 pm (EST) on May 1, 2008

you might fancy this Larry - just got a book myself - http://www.blogapenguinclassic.com/site/pcMain.php5

posted by papalaz at 2:34 pm (EST) on May 1, 2008

As a reader I want to read the book - as a writer I think the author should have his wishes respected. I end up as a writer first and a reader somewhere behind.

Hope you enjoy the Sebald as much as I did

Reading Graves' Greek Myths right now and not liking it much.

posted by papalaz at 8:34 am (EST) on Apr 27, 2008

Larry - the waiting is over - Dimitri betrayed his father - http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/7367655.stm

posted by papalaz at 4:37 am (EST) on Apr 27, 2008

Well Larry sounds like you did well on the sale - I do admire Winterson though the Powerbook is not one of her best. Re Sebald I agree that there are writers that one takes a while to click with Goncharov was one for me. Odd you mention Borges as he was one of Sebald's self declared influences. I'm just starting on Robert Grave's Greek Myths - we shall see.

posted by papalaz at 6:42 am (EST) on Apr 25, 2008

sounds good Larry - I'll look for it. Just posted a review of W G Sebald's Rings of Saturn - fascinating writer

posted by papalaz at 1:29 pm (EST) on Apr 24, 2008

Lush Life sounds great- I read Price many, many years ago- Bloodbrothers was very good- working class family drama.

I have Ladies Man but never read it- i will someday- now I have re-visited THe Old patagonian Express and reading the Argentine sections.

posted by berthirsch at 5:09 pm (EST) on Apr 21, 2008

interview with Kellman here - http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/arts/frontrow/past_programmes.shtml - good stuff especially about the class structure in British writing

posted by papalaz at 2:52 pm (EST) on Apr 21, 2008

GO RANGERS!!!!!!!
I loved Avery's comments about the handshake snub.

how about Callahan controling the puck behind the Devils net for close to a minute....was an exciting series...when you are ready with a scouting report on the next series let me have it-your Hockey analysis is almost as good as your literary reviews.

bert

posted by berthirsch at 11:37 am (EST) on Apr 19, 2008

i'll bet you've been enjoying the Devils series.

posted by berthirsch at 12:50 pm (EST) on Apr 18, 2008

thanx for that Larry - a good piece - maybe I'll reread some DR this summer - maybe I'll even spring for the posthumous one just published by Serpents Tail

posted by papalaz at 3:34 am (EST) on Apr 12, 2008

The Delta is a nice hotel...pretty centrally located, about a 20 minute walk from my place, or to the market. I do hope you are able to arrange the visit. Not looking good for the Sens! Hard to believe how they were sweeping the league in at the first of the year...having three top players out certainly isn't helping, but I have to say the mood around town is pretty gloomy!

posted by John at 9:54 am (EST) on Apr 11, 2008

Larry - thanks for taking the time to explain - now you mention it his writing reminds me somewhat of the wonderful Ford Maddox Ford though not as interesting not as clean- I shall reconsider Roth in this new light

posted by papalaz at 12:53 pm (EST) on Apr 9, 2008

Larry - just posted a surprising review of Roth's Everyman

posted by papalaz at 7:46 am (EST) on Apr 9, 2008

did you see that Javier Cercas Speed of Light was short-listed for the IMPAC Prize?

posted by berthirsch at 7:17 pm (EST) on Apr 3, 2008

Your timing is perfect...I would love to get together and to show you and your family something of the city...although I know you already know it pretty well. Let's stay in touch as your plans firm up.

Can't believe the Senators lost again tonight!!

posted by John at 1:47 am (EST) on Apr 2, 2008

i'll be rooting for the Rangers!

posted by berthirsch at 6:18 pm (EST) on Apr 1, 2008

It has been awhile Larry...too long. I am travelling a lot with the negotiations that I am now doing, and they have put quite a dent into my reading and reviewing time. But..I wanted to follow-up on your suggestion that you might come north early July! I hope that includes Ottawa as I remember that you have fond memories of my fair city. It would be great to meet, talk books, see the city... Between negotiating sessions and a family wedding in BC, afraid that I'm away the weeks of the 6th and the 21st. Let me know if Ottawa and timing work for you and we will definitely set something up.

posted by John at 9:19 am (EST) on Apr 1, 2008

sounds like a good NY experience...what do you think the Rangers will do in the playoffs?

posted by berthirsch at 8:14 am (EST) on Apr 1, 2008

Larry - I'm not sure the phrase --"a very iconoclastic writing style" makes sense when you consider when he was writing - there were no novelistic icons at that time and I think that that is a key to how Sterne did what he did - nobody had told him he couldn't. Enjoy NYC..

posted by papalaz at 12:17 pm (EST) on Mar 25, 2008

Larry - I'm not sure the phrase --"a very iconoclastic writing style" makes sense when you consider when he was writing - there were no novelistic icons at that time and I think that that is a key to how Sterne did what he did - nobody had told him he couldn't. Enjoy NYC..

posted by papalaz at 12:17 pm (EST) on Mar 25, 2008

you're getting deep into Roth- don't overlook THe Ghost Writer...sorry to say I haven't heard of Amichai...you scored a good one with Rushdie- I am sure there were loads of requests for him...enjoy your trip, if my plans change,i'll give a buzz...i look forward to hearing about your NYC experience.

posted by berthirsch at 7:42 am (EST) on Mar 25, 2008

Nice review Larry - Jealousy was a key work in my own development as a writer. Hope you've enjoyed Tristram as much as I do - Happy Easter belatedly

posted by papalaz at 3:33 am (EST) on Mar 24, 2008

OF COURSE I TOTALLY AGREE - I WAS "MERMERIZED" BY SAVAGE dETECTIVES.

posted by berthirsch at 12:03 pm (EST) on Mar 20, 2008

regarding Bolano i just left the following on the S.American Group

for all those Savage Detective fans i offer the following link:

http://www.themorningnews.org/tob/Round2Match1.php

hopefully the paperback edition will be out soon and Bolano will win further praise and exposure!

posted by berthirsch at 6:11 pm (EST) on Mar 19, 2008

Early Review Books- I was just informed I did get one of the March books: Strange Ways by Rokhl Faygenberg...looks like it might be interesting.

did you get any ?

posted by berthirsch at 1:13 pm (EST) on Mar 18, 2008

there has been a little inflation in BA but prices are still relatively cheap.

i remember Richard Price from many years ago- his The Wanderers was excellent and I recently mooched THe Clockers although it will, for awhile, find its place on the shelf. Currently I am trying to catch up with several weeks worth of New Yorkers and finishing off Hornby's latest book of reviews.

next week may be tricky- I was hoping for THursday the 27th but I just found out we have to meet with our accountant. the 26th may be a possibility- when bis it you get to town?

posted by berthirsch at 1:11 pm (EST) on Mar 18, 2008

Hi Larry - glad you're getting into The Shaggy Dog Story - Sterne prefigured both modernism and to some extent post modernism - bloody brilliant. I'll read the review later but for now - I know you like poetry so here's a link to a Cavafy piece - Cavafy is a national institution here in Crete and a damn fine poet as well. Link - http://www.lrb.co.uk/v30/n06/simi01_.html

posted by papalaz at 11:39 am (EST) on Mar 18, 2008

today i am home- tomorrow i will check my work schedule and let you know...we recently went to MOMA and it was fabulous- a Lucien Freud exhibit was great - i am not sure when it ends. regrading BA there was a fabulous article in Sunday Times Travel section.

posted by berthirsch at 12:34 pm (EST) on Mar 17, 2008

i ran across an interseting take on Spitzer:

Richard Russo:"My fictional Eliot [Spitzer] would be complex, would contain paradoxes. He would not be a hypocrite. My Eliot would believe with his whole heart in his crusades against the corrupt and the powerful and the privileged, even as he worked studiously to undermine his legacy. Fiction can accommodate such paradoxes, provided they're explained."

posted by berthirsch at 9:50 pm (EST) on Mar 15, 2008

Larry - Glad you enjoyed -The crust on its uppers - if you get a copt of Not Till The Red fog Rises you'll love that too. How did you likew Ballard's Cocaine nights? Funny that Tristam Shandy is taking you so long - when I first found it I read the whole thing in a couple of days absolutely enthralled by how much of the history of the english novel it presaged - he just didn't know that you couldn't do all that stuff so he did.

posted by papalaz at 2:29 pm (EST) on Mar 15, 2008

for my last b'day...a few weeks ago...lisa and logan got me an 80gig IPOD...I am in love...busy putting my whole music collection on to it.

posted by berthirsch at 12:41 pm (EST) on Mar 15, 2008

I have had my eye on Speed of Light (i love the title) for some time and have read the first couple of passages while hanging out at Borders...it certainly sounds like it is right up my alley- Spanish writer, Vietnam Vet, Sebald-

i appreciate your long quote regarding evil and Spitzer- I certainly don't think he's evil, more a fallen man, felled by his weakness of character, his inability to maturely delay his gratifaction and impulses...it certainly would have been easier to watch some porn and masturbate...the damage he unknowingly did to so many others-his family and his colleagues and, of course, the voters of NY- was a rash act of a non-thinking immarure and underdeveloped person...not the acts of a wiser person ready to lead others by example.

posted by berthirsch at 4:04 pm (EST) on Mar 14, 2008

You're take on Spitzer is certainly kind and forgiving...my immediate reaction is a more judgemental one- focusing on his hubris, his seeming cavalier attitude...more along the fable lines of flying too close to the sun. I am continuously surprised (even at this advanced age) how those in power either forget where they came from or their personal attitude of entitlement. While I certainly feel bad for his wife and daughters and wonder what kind of message he sends to themm about how he devalues a woman...i sympathize with the dozens of talented and bright staff people who tied their careers to his coattails.

it will be interesting to see what kind of Governor Patterson will be and while I didn't think of Bloomberg waiting in the wings I did think of another ambitious pol: Andrew Cuomo.

posted by berthirsch at 3:58 pm (EST) on Mar 12, 2008

Larry- thanks for the encouragement. Regarding Piglia I have his Absent City (which I have not read yet)- if I ever get through that I'll check out Artificial Respiration...I actually am missing BA these days and may not get back there for several months.

posted by berthirsch at 1:57 pm (EST) on Mar 12, 2008

All the Zuckerman books are good reads- the 1st- Ghost Writer was very good- almost more of a novella.

regarding review copies i did get one on the first offer- HedgeFund Managers- by a Bloomberg journalist- it was ok- i gave it to my son who is an accounting/finance major...since then though I ,too, have struck out - I think the site has a lot more members now.

i am real ghlad to hear of your brothers progress, good luck.

i just finished Englander's novel and did a review.

posted by berthirsch at 5:08 pm (EST) on Mar 11, 2008

Re WWII and Salamis - I was fascinated by the story of Miralles after he had left Spain. It seems one of those forgotten stories, about Spanish refugees from the civil war almost immediately being caught up in WWII. Perhaps this is due to much of the writing on the Spanish civil war being by non-Spaniards, especially British and American writers - has the silence in Spain meant that some stories are now lost?

I wonder if any English language publisher will take up the task of publishing Bolano's last novel, the 1000 page plus 2666. I thought of picking up a Spanish copy when I was in Madrid last year but with my level of Spanish it would take me longer to read it than it took Bolano to write it. I like the idea that thanks to Salamis Bolano is almost more famous in Spain for being a 'fictional' character - I could see this appealing to Bolano himself.

Have you seen the film of Salamis? It is worth seeing but different - for one, Javier Cercas is changed into a female investigative journalist.

posted by jargoneer at 10:49 am (EST) on Mar 5, 2008

Thought I would respond to your comment re Soldiers of Salamis in the war poetry here instead: rather than hijack the thread.

I really enjoyed it as well but it wasn't the book I thought I was going to read. From the packaging, the blurb, etc, I got the impression it was going to be a straight-forward narrative of the civil war. In retrospect, I found the second segment which related the civil war story was the weakest: the third section, the best, and a lot of that was down to the character of Bolano. I would be interested to know how much of it was true: how much was Bolano and how much was Cercas - it appeared that Bolano got most of the best lines.

What struck me about the novel was that although it was a Spanish work, the writer it most reminded me of was Italo Calvino - possibly because he is the master of writing about a place/incident/etc while appearing to write about something else.

Re - Pat Barker's trilogy. I live in Edinburgh and used to work near Craiglockhart Hospital where Sassoon and Owen, amongst others, were treated. Unfortunately, rather than being a museum on the war and psychiatry, it is part of Napier University's Business School, and they build a horrible modern annex onto the old building.

posted by jargoneer at 7:22 am (EST) on Mar 3, 2008

Thanx for that heads up Larry - I shall watch out for Bowker in future

Here's an interesting site and one that more LibraryThingers should know about - http://www.youwriteon.com/

posted by papalaz at 6:39 am (EST) on Mar 2, 2008

Larry- here's hoping you stick with Barack...and are not pulled in by Nader who, when he announced today sounded like an angry , narrow-minded has been.

posted by berthirsch at 1:25 pm (EST) on Feb 24, 2008

Larry - I picked up my copy of NO LOGO for 2 euros second hand. Your description of the Bolano brings to minf the Roth thing The Plot Against America.

Have you read The Cement Garden? His best in my opinion. Enduring Love was the last of his I enjoyed.

posted by papalaz at 12:00 pm (EST) on Feb 23, 2008

The Bolano sounds great but I have to admit to having run out of road with McEwan sometime around Saturday - maybe before - it all seems so repetitive and predictable. Good on you for getting to Sterne. I'm reading NO LOGO at present and loving the content and hating her style or lack of it.

posted by papalaz at 2:47 pm (EST) on Feb 22, 2008

More from the Vian entry -
L'écume in English means foam, froth or spume, but the expression l'écume des jours is a bizarre and unnatural concoction, typical of Vian's light and surrealistic touch. Critics comment that in L'Écume des Jours -- which Raymond Queneau called 'the most heartbreakingly poignant modern love story ever written'

As for the trade-off - yeah I'll stick with the life we chose, and when necessary I'll re-read the greats! And remember I don't work either!! Well not what you'd call work

posted by papalaz at 12:29 pm (EST) on Feb 20, 2008

Larry - damn I forgot Michel Tournier who I think is always underrated. And Francoise Sagan And Maguerite Duras

I picked this up from Boris Vian's Wikipedia entry - it must be the ultimate piece of film criticism:

On the morning of June 23, 1959, Boris Vian was at the Cinema Marbeuf for the screening of the film version of his controversial "Vernon Sullivan" novel, J'irai cracher sur vos tombes ("I Shall Spit On Your Graves"). He had already fought with the producers over their interpretation of his work and he publicly denounced the film stating that he wished to have his name removed from the credits. A few minutes after the film began, he reportedly blurted out: "These guys are supposed to be American? My ass!" He then collapsed into his seat and died from sudden cardiac death en route to the hospital.

posted by papalaz at 12:07 pm (EST) on Feb 20, 2008

Yup - Robbe-Grillet indeed - http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/7251553.stm - Jealousy is my favourite of his. On the French I agree on Celine and Quenau but would say a word for Vian, Jarry, Roussel, Roubaud. de Sade - I could go on for a long while before mentioning Sartre.

As to your current list - put Sterne at the top - you'll not regret it.

I have the opposite problem - I could never buy all the books I want to read.

LOL

posted by papalaz at 10:31 am (EST) on Feb 20, 2008

Larry - on the Ballard front I'd go - in no order - for The Atrocity Exhibition, Crash, Coacaine Nights and the Complete Short Stories. Re DR look out for Dora Suarez but you know that and maybe Not till the Red fog rises - can't recommend the posthumous novel but will let you know when I have read it. You heard, I assume, of the death of ARG? Sad news

posted by papalaz at 2:49 pm (EST) on Feb 19, 2008

thanx Larry - that makes 3 people who are giving him a chance because of me - I feel oddly proud

posted by papalaz at 8:52 am (EST) on Feb 17, 2008

Larry - you might enjoy this - http://poundemonium.blogspot.com/ - my goodbye to JGB in advance of the actuality

posted by papalaz at 6:13 am (EST) on Feb 17, 2008

check out today's COVERSTAIONAL READING post - there is a long piece on Englander's book.

i am glad you have connected with Obama...his speeches are uplifting and I am willing to take a "leap of faith"...none of the alternatives inspire me.

posted by berthirsch at 1:12 pm (EST) on Feb 14, 2008

I just finished the chapter where the mother, Lillian, laments that she no longer has her own nose and, now that her son Pato is dissappeared, she can no longer recognize his face in hers when she looks in the mirror...a touching , potent scene.

posted by berthirsch at 7:06 pm (EST) on Feb 13, 2008

HI Larry - yeah it appears he has advanced prostate cancer. I agree as to the likelihood of his getting the Nobel but I do honestly think he deserves it - his body of work stands all tests. Now that Sorrentino is dead he is the most worthy in my book. Hope you get to Sterne real soon. BTW did another review yesterday.

posted by papalaz at 3:05 pm (EST) on Feb 13, 2008

Ballard review here - http://www.literaryreview.co.uk/leith_02_08.html - Now that he is dying will they give him the Nobel he so richly deserves?

posted by papalaz at 7:54 am (EST) on Feb 13, 2008

Larry- good to hear from you. Omega Minor does sound quite interesting, touches on themes thhat I have a deep interest in. I am currently reading Englander's THe Ministry of Special Cases- I am thoroughly enjoying it!

posted by berthirsch at 6:05 pm (EST) on Feb 11, 2008

look what I found on amazon - http://amazon.co.uk/gp/product/185242799X/ref=s9_asin_image_1?pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_s=center-1&pf_rd_r=03H9ZYSTG2CWVW1PAJM6&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=139287091&pf_rd_i=468294
or http://tinyurl.com/3caykt

posted by papalaz at 7:35 am (EST) on Feb 6, 2008

Larry - came across this today and thought you'd appreciate it - http://www.serpentstail.com/content_item?id=212 It turns out that Serpent's Tail deliver FREE wordwide. And they have the new Derek Raymond - Nightmare in the Street - think I'll order it along with the book of essays by Kathy Acker - http://www.serpentstail.com/book?id=10797

posted by papalaz at 12:30 pm (EST) on Feb 5, 2008

Larry - glad you liked the review - The Sheltering Sky is a very good book but to be honest his short stories are vastly superior

Papalaz

posted by papalaz at 2:55 am (EST) on Feb 4, 2008

Larry - new review

posted by papalaz at 3:09 pm (EST) on Feb 3, 2008

That is amazing...and I can't think of a better guy to be immortalized like this. Not because I wish your demise, but because you are such a broad and active and interesting reader!

posted by John at 4:58 pm (EST) on Feb 1, 2008

Larry - I've only read The HIve by him - nice review BTW

posted by papalaz at 6:59 am (EST) on Jan 28, 2008

you better start sitting with your back to the wall and one eye on the door in.

posted by berthirsch at 7:23 pm (EST) on Jan 24, 2008

"the ranch-hand Larry Riley" ? excellent stuff - beats the peasant's assistant title I have

posted by papalaz at 3:07 pm (EST) on Jan 24, 2008

glad you liked the Bolano story- not surprised.

as you get closer to your trip we can see if we can meet up.

posted by berthirsch at 6:58 pm (EST) on Jan 22, 2008

Two new reviews today - enjpy - if you can.

Kafka comes to mind for me too but my decision is firm - BURN IT. I suspect Nabokov was hoping to finish it and wanted it destroyed if not done - a fair call. And his widow let him down. The work belongs to the author until he decides to let it out. I hope Dmitri understands this and respects it.

Hope you are enjoying Murphy - I'm about to move onto a little Paul Bowles. And enjoy Sterne - I wouldn't necessarily bother with the notes - your opinion is much more valuable

posted by papalaz at 12:44 pm (EST) on Jan 18, 2008

Larry - I am toatally convinced that you will love Tristram Shandy. I shall post reviews of the Manchettes in the next few days - favourable ones. There's a fascinating piece here : http://www.slate.com/id/2181859/ - my own view is "BURN IT". Keep the professional arseholes off of the work.

posted by papalaz at 7:42 am (EST) on Jan 18, 2008

thanks for the heads up larry, will have a look now

posted by tartalom at 6:58 pm (EST) on Jan 17, 2008

good analysis of draft, neocons, etc.

very sad story on front page NY Times today, close to my heart...in depth story about large number of homicides committed by combat vets back home.

untold story, to this day, the vast number of psychological casualities of this (and any) war.

posted by berthirsch at 2:19 pm (EST) on Jan 13, 2008

i am very encouraged and hopeful by these numbers- hopefully the country will now turn in a new and saner direction. can you imagine if there was a draft- no one under 30 would be a republican.

saw the rangers won tonight

posted by berthirsch at 10:11 pm (EST) on Jan 12, 2008

Larry - what can I say? Nobody interested in the novel should omit it - it is a seminal work. It is also totally brilliant. It is hugely funny - the original shaggy dog story and amazingly inventive stylisticaally and technically. Sterne is the boss of post modernism way before modernism.

posted by papalaz at 5:38 am (EST) on Jan 12, 2008

Good review Larry but I'd quiblble with your ranking and give it 4 and a half stars. Did you not think Tristram Shandy when you read it? I did. I have GS up there as probably the best american writer of the 20th century - the best by quite a way. Still it's all opinion.

I am really enjoying the Manchette - thanx for the recommendation.

I am currently talking to a pal about the 10 funniest books I've ever read! A really difficult choice. Any thoughts on the subject?

So far we've agreed on the Good Solidier Schweik and that's all - I've got him reading Confederacy of Dunces and hope to convince him of that one - yet to ccnvince him re Kafka and Beckett but we might settle on At Swim Two Birds or maybe the Third Policeman

posted by papalaz at 1:23 pm (EST) on Jan 11, 2008

excellent summary of the mess the republican party is in. there is no realistic alternative unless bloomberg makes a move, i'll still go democrat despite their weakness in congress i still believe that htey stand for issues that speak to my philosophy.

redroom.com...you should check it out...i ended up sending an e-mail to Ethan Canin the writer and got back a rather long,nice reply. it was fun to talk books with him.

posted by berthirsch at 5:00 pm (EST) on Jan 10, 2008

my son and i for obama, my wife is for Hilary...we all agree that whoever gets the nomination we will vote democrat.

posted by berthirsch at 7:09 pm (EST) on Jan 9, 2008

glad the US Mail is doing its job.

regarding the DEMS it certainly now will get interesting...there is no doubt that Obama is the most inspirational speaker we have seen, i'd say, in decades- my 20 yr old son caught his speech after the Iowa Caucas and immediately fell in love.

i agree that now he will need to , along with the soaring oratory, fill in the blanks, come out with some issue plans, and i totally agree that your frinds are so off base- he is middle of the road when it comes to advisors- it is my understanding that 1/2 of the old Clinton crowd is in his camp.

posted by berthirsch at 3:37 pm (EST) on Jan 9, 2008

Larry - have you read The Sky Changes? excellent but still think Mulligan Stew is his masterpiece- just reviewed More Pricks Than Kicks - 3 to kill next

posted by papalaz at 2:21 pm (EST) on Jan 8, 2008

Larry - looking forward to 3 to Kill - Blue Pastoraql is a great work - make sure you read Mulligan Stew though - a tour de force up there with the biggies - great reading for 2008 - 'm just finishing up More Pricks Than Kicks - amazing

posted by papalaz at 1:01 pm (EST) on Jan 7, 2008

If you'd like to meet up at Strands i'll be around.

regarding the primaries...halluyah the end of GWB is in sight-hope we make it to the finish line.

i'm leaning towards Obama BUT i would not vote for a 3rd party candidate because i'd be frightened to hell that a Republican could then sneak in...after 8 years of George this country CAN NOT afford a continuation of his policies or slant.

posted by berthirsch at 6:15 pm (EST) on Jan 2, 2008

Hi Larry and a Happy 2008 - Santa brought me The Prone Gunman and Three to Kill so I am a very happy boy - should get January off to a bang - also a wonderful Rothko calendar

posted by papalaz at 6:55 am (EST) on Jan 2, 2008

As usual, you are a one-man reference point...a great source of new readings! We have talked about Ledig whom I quite like; I have Savage Detectives but have not got around to it yet...high praise from you so I will move it up the list. I did not know half.com and had a look at it. I'm sure we have talked about ABEbooks which is the best used book website that I have seen; have you tried it?

Manguel was originally Argentinian, now Canadian and living somewhere in France in a converted something-or-other with his massive library. He wrote one very good novel, News From a Foreign Country Came, but has made his name as an anthologist and writer of non-fiction. His History of Reading, is very good. I thought of you in connection with him recently when I was reading The City of Words, a collection of lectures that he gave earlier this year because he spoke very highly of Doblin, his art, his philosophy of literature, his approach to writing. He wrote, "Sadly, Doblin's work, with the exception perhaps of Berlin Alexanderplatz, has been largely and undeservedly forgotten. Nevertheless, his conception of language as an instrument both to shape and understand reality remains, I believe, utterly valid today." I think you would enjoy his piece.

posted by John at 4:07 pm (EST) on Dec 30, 2007

I have not read The Crossing so will enjoy your review. Have you seen the movie, No Country for Old Men, from the McCarthy novel? A very good movie and very true to the book, which I did enjoy. Have you read The Road? Bleak but a powerful story.

I thought of you this morning when I saw a short piece in one of our papers from Alberto Manguel, one of a selection of "notables" who shared their best reads of 2007. Manguel focussed on translations of European writers, so of course you popped to mind. He talked about Antal Szerb (Hungarian) and two books: The Pendragon Legend, gothic fantasy, and Oliver VI, political comedy. Also mentioned Sandor Marai's The Rebels; I know we have talked about Marai before. The other writers are Spaniards: Carmen Lafort's, Nada, "great classic gives a searing inward picture of the spiritual and material devastation brought on by Franco". The other is Enrique Vila-Matas. Seems his most famous book, Bartleby & CO, is about wrtiers who don't write and his lastest, Montano, is about a man who has read too much: "Vila-Matas is essential reading for anyone interested in the workings of literature".

posted by John at 8:56 am (EST) on Dec 29, 2007

Larry: I hope this finds you and your family well. I have been a poor correspondent of late...and even a poor reader, I must admit. I don't know if I told you, but I have taken on a project as a negotiator of native lands claims in the Northwest Territories. I have two "tables" to manage and they take me up to the NWT two weeks out of every month, add preparation and reporting time and my retirement phase is becoming a distant memory. But I am enjoying the challenges and the opportunity to get to know a part of Canada that I have not visited before.

Reading recently has included Thomas Rick's, Fiasco, about the US invasion of Iraq; a scathing catlogue of hubris, criminally poor planning and so, so many missed opportunities. Now reading The Dream Life Of Sukhanov by Olga Grushin which is very good; her first book written in English and the writing is pretty impressive.

We are enjoying a very white winter this year, and the Senators are flying high, so all is well in the nation's capital!

Cheers....John

posted by John at 11:50 am (EST) on Dec 27, 2007

I started reading Roth's Exit Ghost and I think it is fantastic...he deliciously rips into George W. big time and also focuses on the whole aging process which i am starting to experience on my own. Given the mixed reviews this book received I am pleasantly surprised at how easily emngaged i became in the tale.

I caught Ron Paul on Meet the Press and he is an original thinker and plain and out-spoken in his views , a man who has no problem speaking to power as they say. I am still undecided on who i really like, leaning to Barack but definitely committed to whoever the Dems put up.

posted by berthirsch at 6:09 pm (EST) on Dec 26, 2007

Larry - a xmas poem for you here: http://poundemonium.blogspot.com/2007/12/xmas-morning-crete.html

posted by papalaz at 10:51 am (EST) on Dec 25, 2007

Sound good Larry. This guy sounds interesting - http://3quarksdaily.blogs.com/3quarksdaily/2007/12/deadpan-soviet.html

posted by papalaz at 12:39 pm (EST) on Dec 24, 2007

A
happy and Healthy Holiday and New Year to all.

posted by berthirsch at 9:02 am (EST) on Dec 24, 2007

Season's Greets to you and yours L

posted by papalaz at 10:34 am (EST) on Dec 21, 2007

My strongest recommendation for a show is definitely : Spring Awakening- i consider it a must see...you should, of course, check out the reviews.

My favorite early DeLillo's are EndZone and Libra.

I have seen the reviews on Tree of Smoke and it sounds like a Robert Stone book-which is a high recommend- I recently purchase his Jesus Son collection and will crack that first.

I answered one of your posts on Books Compare: kafka-Orwell.

posted by berthirsch at 5:58 pm (EST) on Dec 16, 2007

i will copy and send to you after the xmas post office madness.

posted by berthirsch at 1:36 pm (EST) on Dec 16, 2007

Nice xmas selection Larry - I put my wants on an amazon wishlist so people have guidance!!!! I love Ken Loach too - we clearly think alike! Murphy or More Kicks than Pricks next up I think for me.

posted by papalaz at 1:58 am (EST) on Dec 14, 2007

thanx Larry - generally speaking we don't get blizzards - thank Turing - our weather here - http://www.wunderground.com/global/stations/16746.html - I'm hoping for books for Xmas - and you? Reading The Unnamable right now and loving it.

posted by papalaz at 12:50 pm (EST) on Dec 13, 2007

thanx for that Larry - another one to go on my list- season greetings to you and your family

posted by papalaz at 3:44 am (EST) on Dec 13, 2007

I did see that and on the plane back from Argentina( we arrived this morning)I read a fantastic essay on Bolano by Natasha Wimmer the translator of Detectives- I believe I originmally printed this off of the FSG Publisher website- you should try to find it and if you can't- let me know - i will send you a copy.

sorry to be back here on the brink of what sounds to be a nasty winter storm- the weather in BA was muy bien and the people are so fabulous.

posted by berthirsch at 8:33 pm (EST) on Dec 12, 2007

Larry - just put up a review of Molloy. See you have just added Roth's I Married A Communist - I was not impressed I'm afraid

posted by papalaz at 3:11 pm (EST) on Dec 7, 2007

Savage Detectives as a kind of Rashomon? Maybe, but I've got to bail
on this one. I really wanted to like it after all the good comments I've
heard. Pretty wild and amusing. Not enough to overcome the fragmented form,
though.

posted by tros at 11:47 pm (EST) on Nov 21, 2007

the Counterlife review is excellent and I am very pleased that you enjoyed it.

posted by berthirsch at 8:24 am (EST) on Nov 21, 2007

March sounds good for our "annual" Strands fix.

posted by berthirsch at 8:21 am (EST) on Nov 21, 2007

Hi Larry - sad to hear your worrying news - I sure hope your brother pulls thru this thing. I used to be registered as a bone marrow donor in the UK but they took me off the list when I hit 55! If you can donate that would be great.

Thanx for the nice things you said about the web site - BTW JohnTierney is back in the US for a year or so and is aiming to exhibit widely so maybe you'll get to see one of his shows - we love his stuff. Kepp an eye on his website for exhibitions or maybe I'll let you know if he's showing near you (where are you again?).

Such a nice offer re the Boon and Manchette and if I can organise something I'll be sure to take you up on it!

Sadly my book is only available thru LuLu.com AFAIK but it does have an ISBN so maybe some local retailer could order it up for you - it was on Amazon's list for a year but that deal has lapsed - if things change I'll let you know.

Papalaz

posted by papalaz at 10:36 am (EST) on Nov 19, 2007

Regarding Roth I don't think you can ever go wrong...he is a Heavyweight!

in fact when i come back from Argentina I will borrow Ghost Exit from my library...in fact Te Ghost Writer has always been of my favorite of his books.

I invite you to take a look at a new topic I began on Books Compared- its about Bolano and Kerouac.

posted by berthirsch at 5:20 pm (EST) on Nov 18, 2007

Larry - I soooooo agree with you on McCabe - especially Breakfast which is a real mess in my mind. Haven't read the early piece you mention.

BTW I'm just overhauling my web pages and thought you'd appreciate the images on my writings pages - http://papalaz.spymac.com/WritingsIndex.htm

posted by papalaz at 12:04 pm (EST) on Nov 18, 2007

THE RANGERS ARE HOT!!!!!!!!!!!

i read Cormac's Border trilogy and i think i liked Pretty Horses the best.

never read Carpentier will put him on the list

posted by berthirsch at 7:07 am (EST) on Nov 16, 2007

I read your excellent review of Savage Detectives. I'm struggling to get through it. I'm about a 1/3 of the way through and not sure
I can finish it. All of the short 1st person comments are annoying after a while and seem to make it very "choppy", fragmented.

posted by tros at 11:18 pm (EST) on Nov 15, 2007

Yes I saw the reviews on Vargas' Bad Girl- my library should be getting it, it will be on my endless list of books to read...i strongly recommend anything by McCarthy.

posted by berthirsch at 11:37 am (EST) on Nov 14, 2007

sounds very good Larry. Personally thought Bucket of Tongues was overrated so am not surprised by your notes. I do love McCabe though

posted by papalaz at 2:54 am (EST) on Nov 14, 2007

Larry - just reviewed The Late Mr Shakespeare by Robert Nye - are you on FaceBook?

posted by papalaz at 1:38 pm (EST) on Nov 13, 2007

if it's Bucket of Tongues then I think you'll like it - enjoy

posted by papalaz at 1:20 pm (EST) on Nov 9, 2007

Larry - just reviewed Little Infamies Good luck with the Carver - it's great.

I have just started Molloy and boy oh boy I had forgotten just HOW good Beckett is. I'm loving it and taking my time

posted by papalaz at 2:29 pm (EST) on Nov 7, 2007

Larry- i am real sorry to hear about your brother and i hope the prognosis turns out to be ok...good luck. I lost my mom when i was 17, my best friend when he was 35 and my cousin/brother when he was in his 50's. all these losses (not wishing anything on your brother) have made me appreciate each new day as a gift.

reading- i am nearing the end of Savage Detectives- i must say i have floated in and out of it BUT i really think its great...i reviewed a review copy of Hedge Hunters i got from LibraryThing- it was pretty good- i have a passion for investing so it held my interest.

in a few weeks we're off to Buenos Aires- probably a good time to read Englander's novel- but i'll probably not get to it until later down the road- i think i might dive into an Auster novel- i still haven't read Oracle Night nor Brooklyn Follies- both of which i own.

what's your initial take on what you've seen of the Rangers?

posted by berthirsch at 1:59 pm (EST) on Oct 31, 2007

re. chavarria, his second book "tango for a torturer" is much more sophisticated in that he includes world politics and history into his story. you will learn a lot:)
"adios muchachos" is a romp. has some pretty grisly scenes, but funny all in all.

i just finished "savage detectives" and am totally impressed. what a book!

posted by criswellj at 9:33 am (EST) on Oct 30, 2007

It's a Picador paperback that collects: Molloy, Malone Dies and The Unnameable - if you're talking about the one I bought yesterday. If it's Imagination Dead Imagine then that one is the shortest novel in the world ever and runs to about 14 paqges of large type - it is spectacularly brilliant and is the book I'd memorize if I were in the last chapter of Fahrenheit 451. The entire text is online somewhere.

Boon is on my list - good piece.

posted by papalaz at 4:02 am (EST) on Oct 30, 2007

Panos Karnezis indeed - might be different for someone who doesn't live among it day by day - he graduated from the UEA creative writing course I think. I just love Beckett's early work - the novels especially. For overlooked Beckett it has to be Imagination Dead Imagine

posted by papalaz at 3:44 pm (EST) on Oct 29, 2007

Must get me a copy of Chapel Road. Re Ballard the Atrocity Exhibition is a great work but challenging - so you'll probably love it.

Remember me saying that I was thinking of re-reading Becketts novels this winter? Well I went into the second hand shop today and there on the shelf was a good condition copy of The Beckett Trilogy at 2.80 euros - serendipity indeed and it'll save my copies from further wear. Sammy boy here I come - just need to finish off Little Infamies (which is so so) and I'll be back with the master for a while

posted by papalaz at 1:09 pm (EST) on Oct 29, 2007

Latest on the Carver scandal here : http://www.thesmartset.com/article/article10220703.aspx - I tend to agree with the writer. BTW have you read The Scandal of Ulysses? (interesting stuff)

If you enjoyed Ballard sufficiently you should read the Cocaine Nights and Super Cannes duology -preferably in that order

posted by papalaz at 1:34 pm (EST) on Oct 27, 2007

Larry, I don't think you ruined it but I prefer the original

posted by papalaz at 3:42 pm (EST) on Oct 26, 2007

glad you're enjoying the Ballard. don't tinker with the review - it's good as it is.

posted by papalaz at 12:28 pm (EST) on Oct 24, 2007

great review Larry - did you choose not to note the parallels between S and Quin herself - especially her demise? I've read it a couple of times now and I'm pretty convinced that there is a) more than a grain of self-reference in it and b) there is some unspoken relationship, possibly sexual, between S and one of the marrieds (maybe 3rd time round I'll work out which one - or both). I do think it is one of those books that I will always enjoy re-reading or should that be reading since every time is a totally fresh experience and perspective

posted by papalaz at 7:43 am (EST) on Oct 24, 2007

I don't think the details on editions has been fully revealed yet...but from some of the developers side comments in the talk threads, it sounds as if the book/work mechanism is going to be extended by allowing members to state that different books within a work represent the same or different editions of that work. I think the intent is to allow greater specificity between variants (translations, abridgements, reprintings, etc.), while still being able to loosely group them together as the same work for the purpose of connections and recommendations.

So...if I understand all this correctly...we will eventually be marking editions within works (and maybe even combining some editions that are now being kept separate). Associated with each edition will be a yet-to-be-specified set of Common Knowledge fields (the first one that comes to mind that I would like to see would be series -- publisher's series, that is, not author's series, which would belong on the work).

At any rate, it's fun imagining this stuff, but until we actually have it, it is really hard to project just how everything will work.

posted by SilentInAWay at 8:08 pm (EST) on Oct 21, 2007

Some of this may be made easier when Tim & crew introduce the idea of "editions" (which sounds like it will be coming close on the tail of collections -- whenever that is). Chris has already made it clear that editions will have their own CommonKnowledge! Of course, editions will inevitably raise as many questions as they help us answer...just enough to keep things perpetually interesting, I'm sure.

posted by SilentInAWay at 10:26 am (EST) on Oct 21, 2007

Hi there. Chris (conceptDawg) has recommended that literary awards associated with specific books be listed on the corresponding CK work page, rather than the author's CK page. He plans on enhancing the Common Knowledge feature so that this work data is automatically rolled up to the author page. I've been moving entries to the work pages as I find them.

I just wanted to give you a heads up so that you did't think that your CK entries have disappeared.

posted by SilentInAWay at 9:04 pm (EST) on Oct 20, 2007

LOL - why not me? - http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/staffordshire/7052476.stm

posted by papalaz at 8:55 am (EST) on Oct 19, 2007

great title indeed - for Ballard think of a literate Philip K Dick sad rather than angry

posted by papalaz at 3:06 am (EST) on Oct 19, 2007

Crawford sounds interesting. BTW I really like Mathews' work especially The Sinking of the Odradek Stadium.

Don't worry about the sci-fi tag - Ballard is far from a sci fi writer and he writes like a dream while dealing with nightmare scenarios set in a soon to be future. I'm pretty sure you'll like him. My own view is that he may well be the best English writer around. Much overlooked because of the sci-fi tag he is a great writer with a unique and truthful dystopian vision.

posted by papalaz at 1:45 am (EST) on Oct 19, 2007

What a bummer re the NYT - the link I sent just took me straight in (no registration required) - however to cut to the chase, the gist is that Gallagher wants to publish the versions of the stories that Carver sent to the publishers. Lish was Carver's editor and apparently did an awful lot of work on the texts. Knopf are refusing to go for the long original versions and are threatening to sue if she publishes elsewhere. I suspect that Tess is trying some kind of re-appraisal and is at the same time trying to generate some more revenue for the estate but I could be wrong. In some respects it reminds me of the Kafka problem. The early stuff is so sparse and so pared down that it takes your breath away - very working class, trailer trash if you will - and the contention is that Lish may have done the paring. The point is that Carver's reputation was built on this succinct and direct style - what does Tess think she is doing? Even if Carver himself didn't approve at least he knew which side his bread was buttered. It does raise the issue of how much influence an editor can bring to bear.

Vermillion Sands sounds like a good selection - hope it has some stuff about the auditory sculptures in it.

Re Carver faves : What we talk about when we talk about Love, also Fires.

2nd - after Harry Mathews?

posted by papalaz at 3:03 pm (EST) on Oct 18, 2007

Great review of the Borges Larry. If you read French this link might interest you - http://oas2000.proxis.be/gate/jabba.sg.s?p_link=N803925&p_mi=597

posted by papalaz at 12:59 pm (EST) on Oct 18, 2007

Hi Larry - there seems to be a literary spat brewing here - http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/17/books/17carver.html?pagewanted=1&_r=2&ref=books - that has a truly fascinating core to it. I am and have been a Carver fan for goodness knows how long and to be frank from what I read in this article I genuinely prefer the work done with Lish rather than without. How would you call it?

posted by papalaz at 11:09 am (EST) on Oct 18, 2007

hello L riley,
i just found your librarythingys yesterday 10.16.07 and you are doing a fantastic job on librarything. great work.
yes i have read manchette's 2 novels and really like them. i will pursue more celine and queneau.
i have 3 recommendations for you on latin american noir:

daniel Chavarria has two books out Akashic, they are great cuban picaresque noir

leonardo padura has 3 books out from bitter lemon press about a havana police detective

and

juan carlos onetti "the shipyard" from serpent's tail press is a fantasticly dark moving novel of the back water of uruguay.

keep up the good work,
jay

posted by criswellj at 10:03 am (EST) on Oct 17, 2007

...by the way, The Pope of Greenwich Village by Vicent Patrick, was an excellent read, i remember reading it before it was made into a movie.

posted by berthirsch at 6:58 pm (EST) on Oct 16, 2007

thanks for keeping me updated on your literary journeys...i am out of breath just imagining keeping up with your pace...can you belive i am still into Savage Detectives- I must say I have been distracted as of late with a history of Argentina and Jack Kerouac's Desolation Angels (which is the book that echo's Bolano's voyage...a book i read many,many years ago and have never forgotten).

i was also "tickled pink" when my local library invited me to a select focus group to discuss future directions and efforts...i am encouraging them to build up a Foreign Film collection- i generally find foreign films to be more literate and interseting in their approach.

posted by berthirsch at 12:34 pm (EST) on Oct 16, 2007

good and thoughtful review Larry - I shall borrow that for my duties over at the 'flue

posted by papalaz at 12:26 pm (EST) on Oct 15, 2007

TOO MANY YEARS AGO I READ SOME OF thE gOLDEN nOTEBOOKS...TOO LONG AGO TO REMEMBER.

posted by berthirsch at 12:30 pm (EST) on Oct 12, 2007

Three is a great piece - I love it.

Three cheers for Doris Lessing - http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/7039100.stm

posted by papalaz at 11:02 am (EST) on Oct 11, 2007

i love it- Dylan would be a Transformational pick!

posted by berthirsch at 6:31 pm (EST) on Oct 9, 2007

thanks for the Nobel gossip- I enjoy being a Book Groupie!

posted by berthirsch at 6:09 pm (EST) on Oct 9, 2007

Iriley,
thanks for the message. You really do make this a great site. I'm always looking to see if you've written any new reviews.
Queneau is a favorite, and I haven't read Children of Clay yet. I've been amazed by Bolano lately, and I'll be checking out Nicanor Parra soon. One book that you don't have in your catalogue that you might like is How I Became A Nun, by Cesar Aira, an Argentinean novelist. He is an eccentric. Very prolific. How I Became A Nun seems to be about how he makes up stories. It's got the most unreliable narrator I've ever encountered.
thanks again,
Jesse

posted by gbusters at 2:38 pm (EST) on Oct 9, 2007

great reviews!

posted by berthirsch at 1:25 pm (EST) on Oct 9, 2007

Ballard - Empire of the Sun is probably the least representative of Ballard as a writer being autobigraphy. Cocaine Nights and its companion piece Super Cannes are good starting points but I do recommend the short stories. He is a craftsamn and an artist.

Berger - hard work but very rewarding

Bolano - when I find Savage Detectives I shall devour it

posted by papalaz at 4:43 am (EST) on Oct 9, 2007

great reviews Larry - as you love short stories I'd suggest that you check out the Complete Short Stories by J G Ballard who is one of our great short story writers - these are perfect little gems of his dystopian vision

posted by papalaz at 11:54 am (EST) on Oct 8, 2007

Iriley
right-o I'll have a look at them this evening. T

posted by tartalom at 10:51 am (EST) on Oct 8, 2007

i am sure the bothy of you are pleased with the weather, which has been summer like- good for working on the house.

Amulet was my first Bolano read and i loved it.

posted by berthirsch at 4:26 pm (EST) on Oct 7, 2007

there is also an excellent, almost haunting, biography on Delmore I believe by James Atlas- i read it a coupple of years ago- the story of an artist consumed by his own flame.

i can't believe the NHL is playing already- i don't start paying attention to the Rangers until after the New Year. what's your prediction/scouting report for them this year?

posted by berthirsch at 12:35 pm (EST) on Oct 5, 2007

i recently bought Jesus Son (at Strands) and must tell you that I am old fan of Bellows- his Humboldt's Gift, a take on Delmore Schwartz' life, was a great read back then, and more recently Ravelstein- a short piece, was also well done.

posted by berthirsch at 5:55 pm (EST) on Oct 4, 2007

On my recent Strands/St Marks PLace Bookstore trip I went wild for:

Einsteins Dreams-Alan Lightman
Molanos's Malady and Bartleby-Enrique Vila-matas
Saul Bellow Collected Short Stories
Sylvia- Leonard Michaels

posted by berthirsch at 12:31 pm (EST) on Oct 4, 2007

Hi Larry sounds like you did well for your birthday - belated congratulations. Another year wiser I always like to think.

I am becoming quite enamoured of the idea of finding some Denis Johnson and 'Jesus' son' is looking the likeliest. I'm thinking seriously about re-reading all of the Beckett novels this winter - possibly in chronological order.

Sorry that that link didn't work try this one:
http://www.tabblo.com/studio/stories/view/360764/

By the way I have taken up the job of doing book reviews over at the 'flue and I was wondering whether I could re-publish some of your reviews over there to give a bit more breadth to the role?

posted by papalaz at 10:05 am (EST) on Oct 4, 2007

yes- i will keep you in a little suspense until i get it together.

posted by berthirsch at 4:45 pm (EST) on Oct 3, 2007

hey larry-

i am still reading Savage Detectives- see my post on South American site...i am also working through some thoughts about this book that i will eventually share on Books Compared.

posted by berthirsch at 1:31 pm (EST) on Oct 2, 2007

... more Ann Quinn? excellent - I'm waiting for your review with bated breath.

We made lavender oil this w/e - share the experience if you will - http://www.tabblo.com/studio/stories/view/360764/

Currently reading 7 types of ambiguity (perlman) and not really enjoying it at all - I may abandon it

posted by papalaz at 12:57 pm (EST) on Oct 1, 2007

Well a very happy birthday and expect your welcome letter to AARP in the near future. I haven't seen the review yet but i also write you to tell you that one of my other recommended books: Achilles in NAM' Jonathan Shay,MD was just awarded one of the McArthurer Awards, announced yesterday.

enjoy your reading.

posted by berthirsch at 1:02 pm (EST) on Sep 26, 2007

hi larry- take a look at Critical Mass (http://bookcriticscircle.blogspot.com/)
there is a piece on Roth's THe Counterlife- Julian Barnes calling it the best novel he has written.

posted by berthirsch at 10:11 am (EST) on Sep 26, 2007

Hi Larry, now I know you like William Trevor I thought I'd check whether you had any Brian Moore - and yes you do. Whether you've read it or not I don't know. Have you? And what do you think if you have.

BTW I agrre with your not too serious all the time but as I age and see the list of stuff I really want to read (read serious) the less time I dedicate to the more fivolous. It's an ageing thing I figure.

posted by papalaz at 2:32 pm (EST) on Sep 22, 2007

i remember mentioning it about War Fiction...glad you liked it, what elkse have you been reading, i also remember you picked up The End of the Line:Khe Sanh...have you been talking about these books in any of the forums? i'd be interested to take a look and maybe comment.

i'm still with Bolano...also dabbing into my New Yorkers.

posted by berthirsch at 7:25 am (EST) on Sep 21, 2007

Larry, I've read a fair amount of JCO and enjoyed most of it but, and it is a big but, outside of her truly excellent On Boxing I would not recommend her to anybody who has serious reading to do anymore than I would Margaret Attwood

posted by papalaz at 12:22 pm (EST) on Sep 20, 2007

... or Joyce Carole Oates who is also being bruited of late

posted by papalaz at 3:57 am (EST) on Sep 20, 2007

He's 80 now and I agree worthy of a Nobel (no politics though so unlikely in the current climate) - they had him on Radio 4 every day last week reading from his latest collection of short stories - absolutley brilliant! - I made a point of stopping whatever I was doing to listen - we'll not see his like again for a while

posted by papalaz at 1:40 pm (EST) on Sep 19, 2007

Larry - hope you enjoy the Markson - I'm loving a novel by William Trevor at present - he writes beautifully - usually short stories but this is a loner piece - The Borading House

posted by papalaz at 9:43 am (EST) on Sep 19, 2007

thanks Larry - looks interesting, I'd never heard of that writer. I'll keep an eye out for it now. T

posted by tartalom at 4:52 pm (EST) on Sep 10, 2007

"If I remember correctly that is the one where the ghost hangs around and follows the train his corpse is on. " - that's the one - quitel lyrical and very Greek that section.

"A lot of street scenery from the time of the Greek colonels who were not different very much at all from the Argentine Generals from the mid 70's to early 80's. Brings to mind the Bolano book in a way but maybe even more Vargas Llosa's Conversation in the Cathedral." Exactly and that was why Csta Gavras made Z the film as able to comment on any similar circustance - and did it very well. Have you seen the film?

And as you almost say so perspicaciously - it could happen anywhere

BTW I'm currently reading Robert Nye's "The Late Mr Shakespeare" and enjoying it immensely. Nye was one of the writers that BS Johnson recommended in Aren't You Rather Yound to Be Writing Your Memoirs? Nye seems to have taken a form that at first glance appears to be historical fiction and to have tranformed it into a genuinely interesting form that can be literary.

posted by papalaz at 3:19 pm (EST) on Sep 8, 2007

Great review here - Bolano - http://www.lrb.co.uk/v29/n17/kunk01_.html
thinks to himself:
Really must catch The Savage Detectives

BTW - if you are a Mac user Tofu is a great app for reading things like this review

posted by papalaz at 11:53 am (EST) on Sep 8, 2007

Greta review Larry and strangely serendipitous. I have just finished reading Z by Vasilis Vasilakis for the first time. I have always loved the Costa Gavras film and although the novel is much more specific to Greece during a particular time than is the film it is a powerful expose of how governmental paranoia can spill over into civl life. It too is humorous in parts and tragic by equal measure but above all it is a genuinely humane assessment of and inhumane time. A defnite "worth a read" if you come across a copy.

posted by papalaz at 3:50 am (EST) on Sep 8, 2007

A great opening line indeed - and what a curious fellow! I'll get round to reading your review this w/e- sounds promising

posted by papalaz at 2:25 pm (EST) on Sep 7, 2007

Manic Street Preachers - yep, a well-known band over here. Angry Welsh post-punks with a line in declamatory, didactic pop. They take themselves a mite to seriously for my liking, give me the Buzzcocks every time.

posted by tartalom at 5:40 am (EST) on Sep 7, 2007

no worries - I'm always on the look out for something new to read - that's one of the great things about this place; interesting new tangents to wander off on

posted by tartalom at 6:25 pm (EST) on Sep 6, 2007

Yes we got back Saturday...it was an exciting week - we visited a lot of leather factories and tanneries- Lisa is trying to explore importing leather handbags and we have a great partner there. not your typical touristy experience which made it even more interesting and authentic.

I am pleased to hear your favorable response to Englander's Argentine Novel and I highly recommend his only other book- Unbearable Uges-short story collection- again- I thought the story The 27th Man- was brilliant.

i am awaiting word on Giardinelli's Sultry Moon which i may get through a book swap on BookMooch.

and today i am stoppin by Strand's for a quick fix.

ciao mi amigo.

posted by berthirsch at 8:24 am (EST) on Sep 6, 2007

Thanks for adding my library to your interesting libraries. I have been enjoying your posts and recommendations. I am also interested in books in translation.

posted by almigwin at 3:30 am (EST) on Sep 5, 2007

Thanx for that Larry "Sounds like someone I should really check out. " - lkewise

posted by papalaz at 9:42 am (EST) on Sep 2, 2007

alternative link - http://3quarksdaily.blogs.com/3quarksdaily/2007/09/the-revelator.html

posted by papalaz at 4:00 pm (EST) on Sep 1, 2007

Larry - just read this review -do you know his work - the short stories sound very interesting - http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/02/books/review/Lewis3-t.html?_r=2&ref=books&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

posted by papalaz at 8:53 am (EST) on Sep 1, 2007

you might just enjoy tonight's blog - http://poundemonium.blogspot.com/2007/08/novel-use-of-novel.html

posted by papalaz at 1:38 pm (EST) on Aug 31, 2007

Larry - I've read 3 of Markson's books and have loved them all - check my library to see which ones (Reader's Block is particularly memorable) - I'd go see him and I'm pretty sure you'll like him. As to Mr Mosley - I'd go for Accident or The Imago bird, both of which are easier, IMHO, than Hopeful Monsters or Ctatstrophe Practice.

posted by papalaz at 12:47 pm (EST) on Aug 31, 2007

Larry - an nteresting chat with Nicolas Mosley here http://www.prospect-magazine.co.uk/article_details.php?id=9756 - an author I admire but find very difficut to like

posted by papalaz at 10:55 am (EST) on Aug 31, 2007

Hi Larry thought you might appreciate this - http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/6964560.stm Also there's a profile of Saramago in the NYT that sounds interesting - link here - http://3quarksdaily.blogs.com/3quarksdaily/2007/08/the-keening-fan.html - 3quarks has a good piece on Coetzee too

posted by papalaz at 3:18 pm (EST) on Aug 26, 2007

Agnes is good isn't she? Hope you enjoy the Reyes. I might revisit some Zola

posted by papalaz at 1:33 pm (EST) on Aug 22, 2007

Therese Racquin? Nana?

posted by papalaz at 5:07 am (EST) on Aug 18, 2007

Yup- i read several reviews and took his short story collection out oif the library-it was excellent - see the "27th Man" - i figured i pick the argentine novel up when it comes out in paperback- the reviews were mixed yet certainly perked my interest.

i have an interview saved where he goes back to Buenos Aires and does a travelogue riff on areas of the city he wrote about...i am bringing with me when we fly out on Wednesday.

ciao mi amigo!

posted by berthirsch at 10:33 pm (EST) on Aug 17, 2007

Great list Larry and I'd endorse quite a few of them - good work. Funny you mention the de Bernieres as eh wrote most of the novel in Earlsfield Public Library which was my local library when I lived in London last - sadly I'm not a fan of the yarn itself.

posted by papalaz at 12:27 pm (EST) on Aug 17, 2007

I'm surprised you get any reading done right now

posted by papalaz at 3:24 pm (EST) on Aug 15, 2007

Well done Larry you've extnended my author list again. This has to be one of the best reasons to use LibraryThing.

As to Alina Reyes - yes she does tend toward the erotic life and I have no problem with that but I also think that her pared down prose and structures would be a very good lesson to a lot of modern writers. Brevity and sparseness are terribly undervalued. If you get a chance try her Behind Closed Doors - it is an experimental work that is worth checking out -

Synopsis:
"Behind Closed Doors" is a novel in two halves, one presenting the adventures and perspectives of a woman, the other those of a man. The reader decides which gender role to play and which paths of the plot to pursue by choosing from a group of "doors". Following the author's suggestions, the reader designs the architecture of this erotic hall of mirrors and is hypnotically drawn into a carnival of decadent delights.

Papz

posted by papalaz at 4:06 am (EST) on Aug 15, 2007

just a quicky Larry - have you read any Alina Reyes?

posted by papalaz at 1:40 pm (EST) on Aug 14, 2007

NYC in March - cool...maybe we'll make Strands part of your ritual...regarding the thaeter i highly recommend Spring Awakenings- the Duncan Sheik show- its fabulous.

posted by berthirsch at 7:53 pm (EST) on Aug 13, 2007

TREATMENT DOES NOT ALWAYS GO SMOOTHLY...it is a truly humbling endeavor.

posted by berthirsch at 1:58 pm (EST) on Aug 13, 2007

regarding THE HUMAN STAIN i do believe it is one of Roth's best.

regarding Bath VA I actually know some vets who stayed at the domocillary up there...meds is usually helpful when treating PTSD- anti depressants and sleep meds can offer some relief...the whole compensation system is totally fucked up and the vets have to do cartwheels to get what is coming to them...its a distasteful and disrespectful process.

Enrique Vila-Matas- are you familiar with his novels? Bartlesby, Montano's Malady ?

posted by berthirsch at 7:39 pm (EST) on Aug 12, 2007

Larry - I think I recommended Agnes Owens to you - I really like her work - I shall be looking out for Tillie

glad you enjoyed it

Papz

posted by papalaz at 9:44 am (EST) on Aug 12, 2007

Hi Larry - thought that you would not have seen this - http://books.guardian.co.uk/review/story/0,,2146056,00.html - and know that you'll enjoy it

Papz

posted by papalaz at 5:38 am (EST) on Aug 12, 2007

before Too Loud B&B was one of my top two - Ulysses anyone? Austen no, Brontes and George Eliot yes.

Look forard to your list

Glad you are spreading the word re Hrabal

Papz

posted by papalaz at 1:41 pm (EST) on Aug 10, 2007

Hi Larry - if you have the time I'd love to see your list.Hrabal's Too Loud a Solitude would get one of my places as would Saramago's Baltasar and Blimunda

BTW The Bronte's are pretty good

posted by papalaz at 12:34 pm (EST) on Aug 10, 2007

Larry - this - http://books.guardian.co.uk/news/articles/0,,2145906,00.html - makes for interesting reading although my own list would be very different - what do you think?

Papa

posted by papalaz at 9:33 am (EST) on Aug 10, 2007

i'm glad to hear you finally got into the human stain- i thought it was excellent on several levels- the whole aspect of the professors hiding his identity and i thought the depiction of PTSD was amazingly accurate.

hope my recommends pan out for you.

posted by berthirsch at 8:18 am (EST) on Aug 9, 2007

oops - http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/6935716.stm

posted by papalaz at 8:47 am (EST) on Aug 8, 2007

here's a link to this years Booker long list - nothing very interesting AGAIN

Papalaz

posted by papalaz at 8:46 am (EST) on Aug 8, 2007

Have yu checked out Shared Favourites? We share 11.

posted by papalaz at 1:14 pm (EST) on Aug 3, 2007

I THINK YOU AND MAE HAVE THE WORKINGS A GOOD SHORT STORY THAT MANY MARRIEDS WOULD RELATE TO!

posted by berthirsch at 11:48 am (EST) on Aug 3, 2007

oh houses...this has been quite a year for us...first we lost all the water in our in-ground pool- had a pretty bad crack-fixed....last week bad storm- slight flood in ground floor room- sump pump installed and concrete work outside...its a major piece of work from year to year some worse than others.

will be leaving for BA near the end of the month for one week and then back again end of November- can't wait to be there again.

posted by berthirsch at 7:02 pm (EST) on Aug 2, 2007

hey larry- thanks for your kind words- the feelings are mutual- i thoroughly enjoy our contacts - virtual and actual...the invitation is it to another discussion group?

by the way i started Savage Dicks and i love it- Juan garcia's youthful innocence and honesty are inviting- I love the Font sisters- the whole scene- it reminds me of when we were in Mexico City and my wife and son and I trekked all over Cuoyacon searching for Freda Kahlo's house.

posted by berthirsch at 12:03 pm (EST) on Aug 2, 2007

Larry: Afraid that I am up to my eyeballs for planning the little summit get-together of the "three amigos" and it has seriously cut into my reading and correspondence time. So I greatly appreciate you taking the time to write and to note the overlap in our libraries. I did make time to read Zero Train and The Stalin Front, both of which I enjoyed very much. Zero Train is excellent: I think Buida did for Soviet society (the train metaphor is brilliant) what Orwell did for the revolution. I must find time to write a review. I am going to look for more Buida on ABEBooks. The Stalin Front is also excellent; such an antidote to Junger's glorification of war as the ultimate test of man in Storm of Steel. I think Ledig's view is more realistic. I agree entirely on Germinal which gripped me from the very beginning; a great novel; I have not read The Debacle/The Earth yet. I think Barbusse's Undertones of War is one of the best WWI memoirs and one that I should certainly re-read. I agree that Birdsong is very good on the war.

In fact I do have a lot of Wilfrid Owen and must have all his works through various anthologies. I like him very much as a poet and have memorized a couple of his poems. He is the greater poet than Sassoon, but I quite like the latter too. I once saw a two-man play about Sassoon and Owen, how they met in a convalescent home (in Scotland, I believe) where Sassoon was instrumental in encouraging Owen to pursue his poetry. When we lived in Brussels I made a pilgrimage to find Owen's grave. It was not easy to find because his was one of about a dozen Commonwealth war graves tucked away in the back of a village cemetary. The only time I ever saw such an arrangement. But I did eventually find it, stood there and read a couple of his poems. It was a nice moment.

Thanks for the note on Cela, Sender, and Delibes...I will definitely look them up...all of your recommendations have been gold!

Gotta get back to work....Cheers....John

posted by John at 9:37 am (EST) on Jul 26, 2007

a good review Larry - it made me want to read the book although I doubt I'll see it any time soon

posted by papalaz at 3:45 pm (EST) on Jul 25, 2007

Yay, one of my favourites in there lr (call me Dave, by the way) - "In Patagonia" is a superb book. Nah, I didn't take offence, just thought I may have caused it.

Anyways, I'm adding your library to my watchlist, if you don't mind, and I'll check in again some time. Happy trails!

posted by desultory at 12:36 pm (EST) on Jul 21, 2007

Sorry lr -I realise now that my comment was a little insensitive, but thank you very much for your frank and open reply. I work for a living as well, but over here, cheap short haul flights (whilst obviously doing nothing to fight global warming) give us an unfair advantage in terms of getting around Europe - and even further sometimes. And you have a very cool continent to explore as well.

Inherited wealth would be nice, though, wouldn't it? A wealthy British conservative politician said, not that long ago, that it was nice to be able to live on the interest on his interest. I'm sure it must be.

As for travelling through your reading, that's the purest form of travel, isn't it? And also the only way of making sure that a place hasn't been spoiled by the time you get there. My favourite writer in that vein is Patrick Leigh Fermor - a national treasure, even if he does live in Greece now.

posted by desultory at 3:09 am (EST) on Jul 21, 2007

"49 years old." Check.

"Married." Check.

"Two children." Check.

"Like to travel but not been off the North American continent." Come on, get your self out here. We're a very interesting world out here.

posted by desultory at 7:12 pm (EST) on Jul 20, 2007

glad you got Counterlife...7 Madmen was quite good, I liked the anarchistic theme and the characters were interesting. I do look forward to digginginto your translation in the future...for now I am reaing Seamus Heaney's translkation of Beowulf and find it surpisingly easy to read and suspenseful at the same time.

posted by berthirsch at 7:45 pm (EST) on Jul 19, 2007

I'm glad you said that because I had assumed that the play was based on North (which I read earrlier this year and loved) but I had no biographical stuff that I could check his playwriting. Whatever the source I'm glad to see Celine is still current.

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