Random books from tomcatMurr's library
Humboldt's Gift (Penguin Twentieth Century Classics) by Saul Bellow
The Greek Experience by C.M. Bowra
Washington, D.C.: A Novel by Gore Vidal
Reading Joyce's Ulysses by Daniel R. Schwarz
Chiang Kai Shek: China's Generalissimo and the Nation He Lost by Jonathan Fenby
Rejoyce by Anthony Burgess
V by Thomas Pynchon
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Friends: ajourneyroundmyskull, bobmcconnaughey, cwc790411, DavidWinters, DavidX, EnriqueFreeque, ImNotDedalus, keylawk, Macumbeira, Makifat, polutropos, Porius, TonyH, urania1
Interesting libraries: amaranthic, aquaticus, beschrich, CliffBurns, cwc790411, dustinfr, euqubud, featherbear, mandojoe, marieke54, Medellia, nyrbclassics, Pummzie, richardderus, scarletslippers, Torikton, zenomax
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Member: tomcatMurr
CollectionsYour library (790), Currently reading (6), All collections (790)
Reviews55 reviews
TagsLit Fic (372), Still Unread (150), Poetry (95), Really Great Book (93), Rus (88), Lit Crit (85), Bio (83), Hist (76), Phil (51), Art (28) — see all tags
Cloudstag cloud, author cloud
GroupsClub Read 2009, Fans of Russian authors, Le Club des Haschichins, Le Salon du Faulkner, Le Salon Litteraire du Peuple pour le Peuple, The Underground
About me"No matter how much a man may study, reflect and meditate on all the books in the world, he is nothing more than a minor scribe unless he has read the great book."
Diderot
I am a reader in search of the great book. I work in applied linguistics, but literature is an obsession. Reading is the most important and necessary pleasure in life.
We obtained literature by our own efforts, it is a product of our own life, and that is why we love it so much and hold it so dear, why we pin our hopes on it.
Dostoevsky 'Manifesto'
"The First Night
Night falls, soothing to lascivious old men
My cat, Murr, hunched like some heraldic sphinx,
Uneasily surveys, from his fantastic eyeball
The gradual ascent of the chlorotic moon.
The hour of children’s prayers, when whoring Paris
Hurls on to the pavement of every boulevard
Her cold-breasted girls, who wander with searching
Animal eyes under the pale street lights.
With my cat, Murr, I meditate at my window
I think of the newborn everywhere;
I think of the dead who were buried today.
I imagine myself within the cemetery,
Entering the tombs, going in place
Of those who will spend their first night there."
Jules Laforge
"Books became the first and only reality, whereas reality itself was regarded as either nonsense or nuisance. Compared to others, we were ostensibly flunking or faking our lives. But, come to think of it, existence which ignores the standards professed in literature is inferior and unworthy of effort."
Joseph Brodsky 'Less than One'
"Forgive us literature, forgive us our transgressions, as we forgive yours."
Dostoevsky 'Petersburg Chronicles'
"Culture is the best that has been thought and known in the world."
Matthew Arnold
"what's poetry, if its worth its salt
but a phrase men can pass from hand to mouth?
From hand to mouth, across the centuries,
the bread that lasts when systems have decayed..."
Derek Walcott 'The Forests of Europe'
I am a lifelong student of Russian culture. This year I have been focusing on Dostoevsky.
Join me in my Russian exile here: (there is always plenty of vodka and herring)
http://www.librarything.com/topic/74001
Visit my blog where I review things I read:
http://thelectern.blogspot.com/
I am a cat with a catty sense of play. However, my intentions are always good so assume the best. A knowledge of Hoffmann helps.
About my libraryincludes literature, philosophy, history, poetry and theory/criticism. Don't like hardbacks as they're too heavy to carry around and take up too much shelf space. I had a wild cull about two years ago when I shipped my library from UK to Taiwan, where I now live. Reduced it by about 2 thirds. It's becoming increasingly harder to get the books I want here.
Real nameWhat is reality?
LocationTaiwan
Favorite authorsNone
Account typepublic, lifetime
Connection NewsConnection News
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http://www.librarything.com/profile/tomcatMurr (profile)
http://www.librarything.com/catalog/tomcatMurr (library)
Common KnowledgeSeries (80), Awards (150), Characters (1810), Places (313)
Member sinceDec 8, 2006
Currently readingBronze Horseman and Other Poems by Alexander Pushkin
Collected Stories (Everyman's Library classics) by Aleksandr Sergeevich Pushkin
Pushkin: A Biography by T.J. Binyon
Eugene Onegin (trans: Vladimir Nabokov) by Alexander Pushkin
Eugene Onegin: Commentary and Index by Vladimir Nabakov
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posted by EnriqueFreeque at 12:35 am (EST) on Nov 20, 2009
Meow! Meow! Meow! Meow! Meow! (highest rating)
posted by polutropos at 8:55 pm (EST) on Nov 15, 2009
ok ?
posted by Macumbeira at 1:48 pm (EST) on Nov 12, 2009
The New Golden Bough, Frazer/Gaster #149
posted by slickdpdx at 3:56 pm (EST) on Nov 11, 2009
posted by Macumbeira at 11:39 pm (EST) on Nov 9, 2009
posted by slickdpdx at 12:22 pm (EST) on Nov 9, 2009
posted by A_musing at 12:30 pm (EST) on Nov 6, 2009
Note to self: pick up some Brodsky, and pull Wolcott off the shelf more.
Also, I do indeed wear black turtlenecks. Always will. Ever read Merleau-Ponty? Sartre was my gateway into Merleau-Ponty, where I found more of my home when in an existential mood.
posted by A_musing at 9:19 am (EST) on Nov 6, 2009
Mohammed Choukri
Khalil Gilbran
emile Habibi
Nazim Hikmet
Yacine Kateb
Kazantzakis
Yachar Kemal
Naguib Mahfouz
Avraham yehoshua
by googling these names, you will probably find some of their works
Otherwise post me, i'll give you ome titles
cheers
Mac
posted by Macumbeira at 3:19 pm (EST) on Nov 5, 2009
posted by booksfallapart at 1:04 pm (EST) on Nov 3, 2009
Sequeing to Russia - which I apparently could have seen from my old hometown - I'm hoping you review The Idiot sometime soon. Have you yet? It's my favorite Dostoyevsky and, for me, a very enigmatic book.
Peace,
G
posted by Ganeshaka at 1:13 pm (EST) on Nov 2, 2009
posted by A_musing at 10:58 pm (EST) on Nov 1, 2009
posted by A_musing at 10:55 pm (EST) on Nov 1, 2009
Never is the Cosmic Void so scary as when you are alone behind the wheel of your boat, at night in the middle of the Ocean
posted by Macumbeira at 11:22 am (EST) on Nov 1, 2009
Is it the title of the book ? or a story in a collection ?
posted by Macumbeira at 10:47 am (EST) on Nov 1, 2009
If you say that I should read it immediately , I will read immediately !
Mac
posted by Macumbeira at 10:40 am (EST) on Nov 1, 2009
jumping up and down in excitement
posted by polutropos at 9:53 pm (EST) on Oct 30, 2009
LOLOTGR (on the ground rolling)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FqeQ_PfKM...
I almost posted this link on the thread, but thought, naw, let's not dumb it up, but thought you might enjoy this nonetheless.
posted by EnriqueFreeque at 12:36 am (EST) on Oct 27, 2009
I am slowly working myself towards some books / writers you advised. Saul Bellow for instance with Herzog and augie march. And the education of Henry Adams !
Cheers
posted by Macumbeira at 11:49 pm (EST) on Oct 26, 2009
posted by Makifat at 9:45 am (EST) on Oct 26, 2009
Galla is now considered a pejorative, apparently. Glad you like the excerpts. I've got to do something with them...
posted by slickdpdx at 2:28 pm (EST) on Oct 23, 2009
I seem to have read that you are getting into Nabokov. He is one of my favorites, although I haven't read him in quite a while. I'll be interested in reading your impressions of him on The Lectern. Also, pursuant to your recent ratings, my eyes fell upon The Icon and the Axe just yesterday (well, they didn't literally fall). I admire your leap into Russian literature and culture. I have only dipped my toes in now and again - the subject is so immense and intimidating. Even more so is Chinese culture and literature - something so alien to the Western experience that it might as well be another planet. Yet I'm fascinated all the same.
We have had successive bouts of the flu here (which I have somehow managed to escape), so as caregiver, I've been almost housebound for 2 weeks. But now it is a cool Arizona morning with the sun shining and the kids back in school, for Friday at least, and I am off to browse the shelves of my favorite book peddlers.
Happy Reading,
Maki
posted by Makifat at 12:08 pm (EST) on Oct 23, 2009
The New Golden Bough, Frazer/Gaster n. 98
posted by slickdpdx at 11:55 am (EST) on Oct 23, 2009
Nova Express was my first Burroughs, but I've long been on the lookout for Naked Lunch. I probably wouldn't have chosen to begin with NE, but I spotted a copy in a used-book store, and it was too tempting... Now that I've read it, I'm looking forward to reading more of him.
posted by Torikton at 11:46 pm (EST) on Oct 22, 2009
You have an imposing collection of Dostoevsky. Anything you would suggest in particular for a reader new to Dostoevsky?
posted by Torikton at 2:48 pm (EST) on Oct 22, 2009
The New Golden Bough, Frazer/Gaster n. 86
posted by slickdpdx at 11:56 pm (EST) on Oct 21, 2009
posted by EnriqueFreeque at 6:24 pm (EST) on Oct 18, 2009
are you OK? The world treating you well?
I know your feelings about Dostoevsky. I will be going to a reading by Orhan Pamuk next week and will be reading his My Name Is Red book soon. Enrique wants to do it as a group read, did you see? Anyway, in my doing some background to Pamuk, I came across this, which might make Pamuk more interesting to you (it is about his book Other Colours):
Pamuk devotes three essays to Dostoyevsky, who was also torn between Europe and Asia. The conflict in the Russian novelist between Slavophils and Westernizers is strikingly similar to the conflict in modern Turks. Pamuk emphasizes "Dostoyevsky's gloomy, damning ambivalence--his familiarity with European thought and his anger against it, his equal and opposite desires to belong to Europe and to shun it." He writes that "the debate between the Westernizers and Modernists who defended [Kemal Atatürk's reforms of the 1920s] and the nationalists and conservatives who attacked them still forms the basis for most ideological discussion in Turkey today."
posted by polutropos at 3:23 pm (EST) on Oct 16, 2009
posted by Macumbeira at 3:24 pm (EST) on Oct 11, 2009
posted by slickdpdx at 11:39 am (EST) on Oct 11, 2009
The New Golden Bough, Frazer/Gaster at 45.
posted by slickdpdx at 12:35 am (EST) on Oct 11, 2009
I am a bit off-line for the moment because of the workload at the office. Still, I am trying to get a grip on Gide's counterfeiters but it is not an easy book when you have a lot of other things on your mind.
It is funny to know that Gide was sitting besides Stalin at the funeral banquet of Maxim Gorki.
I wonder what they could have speaken about...
posted by Macumbeira at 1:24 am (EST) on Oct 10, 2009
posted by EnriqueFreeque at 7:22 pm (EST) on Oct 2, 2009
posted by Macumbeira at 12:49 am (EST) on Oct 2, 2009
It's always a pleasure to meet a fellow Sybille Bedford enthusiast. I too greatly admire her as a stylist. She seems to combine a sensuous worldliness with a searching, stern moral sense (traits that often seem in opposition to each other in the work of many writers but seem magically united in her) and has a talent for the terse aphorism. _Jigsaw_ I found compulsively readable. But it is _A Legacy_ that I think is her dazzling masterpiece.
Again, thanks!
posted by Ludovisi at 7:41 pm (EST) on Sep 14, 2009
I am with you whatever is decided !
Mac
posted by Macumbeira at 12:38 am (EST) on Sep 8, 2009
posted by Macumbeira at 4:03 pm (EST) on Sep 7, 2009
I've been busy with work, plus excursions into O'Neill, Eliot, and Hesse. When M&M first came up a few months ago, I thought that I wouldn't be able to join in until International Chocolate Day (September 13), but I've just come up for air and posted a review of the Ginsburg translation of Master and Margarita.
I'm thinking that M&M is a good take-off point for archetypes (Jung) and myths (Hesse, Campbell). Manuscripts don't burn, but only because they touch the reader's soul, perhaps even outside the author's knowledge. As Hesse has written, "Many an author has found readers to whom his work seemed more lucid than it was to himself." Bulgakov has gone beyond his time and place to touch many a soul.
Now on to see what's been happening in the salon!
Wilf
posted by WilfGehlen at 3:31 pm (EST) on Sep 7, 2009
I noticed though that you don't have any of Natsume Sosekis books in your collection. I recently discovered his much-praised 'The Three-Cornered World' while on a trip to Vietnam - his 'I am a Cat' is also highly regarded.
Paul
posted by PaulDalton at 3:55 am (EST) on Sep 7, 2009
let me think over your post about civilisation. I'll come back to it.
posted by Macumbeira at 3:51 pm (EST) on Sep 6, 2009
posted by Macumbeira at 11:40 am (EST) on Sep 2, 2009
And, reading Mac's comment below, I am moved to add: Civilization is *always* in its twilight phase. It's an illusion, and illusions are like any other stagecraft, best seen in designed atmospheric effects. The harsh glare of closing-time lighting isn't kind to the paint and plaster and patches that are inherent in creating the illusion of triumph over that which is raw and base. And there is always a ticking clock, moving closer and closer to that undisclosed moment of revelatory brightness.
"Cheers"
RMD
posted by richardderus at 1:43 am (EST) on Sep 1, 2009
In recent years, I have become convinced that Western Civilisation is in its twilight phase. With the unquestioned rise of all varieties of fundamentalism everywhere, the once vaunted virtues of our post-Enlightenment civilisation -tolerance, a belief in reason, the discarding of superstition- are under threat.
This remark has puzzled me since I read it. Can you elaborate on it? Or is there a book I should read to fully understand your point?
Merci
Mac
posted by Macumbeira at 2:05 pm (EST) on Aug 31, 2009
I will check your recommendation.Thanks for that !
Saul Bellow sounds great, I haven't read anything by him, so where do I start ?
posted by Macumbeira at 12:22 pm (EST) on Aug 31, 2009
posted by LolaWalser at 11:41 am (EST) on Aug 31, 2009
His body was discovered lying face down, which gave rise to the story that Gogol had been buried alive. A Soviet critic even cut a part of his jacket to use as a binding for his copy of Dead Souls. A piece of rock which used to stand on his grave at the Danilov was reused for the tomb of Gogol's admirer Mikhail Bulgakov
posted by Macumbeira at 12:48 am (EST) on Aug 31, 2009
This painting by Ilja Yefimovitsch Repin, (1909, oil on canvas 81 × 134.5 cm) displayed at the State Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow does not represent “Gogol burning the manuscript of the second part of "Dead Souls". It represents Mikhail Bulgakov burning the first version of “the Master and Margarita”.
I got somebody explaining me that it could not be, as repin and bulgakov never met, did not live in the same period etc etc... it was funny. On the other hand, I once heard Umberto Eco saying that the www was a dangerous place. There were as many sites saying Hitler was a good guy than that he was a bad guy.
Eco warned that if too much information would be posted on the web without passing trough " a universitary or academic" control, uneducated people would not understand anymore what was right and what was wrong.
Any idea could then be posted as " commonly accepted "
posted by Macumbeira at 12:46 am (EST) on Aug 31, 2009
posted by Medellia at 11:23 pm (EST) on Aug 30, 2009
posted by Medellia at 11:08 pm (EST) on Aug 30, 2009
I imagened Gogol with a celebrity status like Rushdie to see what it would look like.
Ofcourse it is risky to write it in this way and I had several mails telling me that I got it all wrong...
that is even more funny.
posted by Macumbeira at 2:21 pm (EST) on Aug 30, 2009
posted by Medellia at 10:58 am (EST) on Aug 30, 2009
posted by Medellia at 9:14 am (EST) on Aug 28, 2009
It's been so long since I dropped by to see your profile--when did you put up that great artwork(?) photo(?) self-portrait(?!!) of Sniper Kitty? I should drop by more often, lest I miss something fabulous, but already I can't keep up with your other posts, blogwork, etc., let alone my regular reading piles. (I waste my time on many things, but reading what you write is never a waste!)
When my son was home for summer he picked up a couple of those ridiculous fractured Engrish T-shirts, one of which says 'tatty bye'. Is that a British expression, or just a Japanese invention? :)
posted by nobooksnolife at 11:49 pm (EST) on Aug 27, 2009
While wandering here and there on LT, reading comments on this person's profile and that one, and then following back to see what occasioned this remark, I come upon you extolling the virtues of Forster. And once again I can only sigh and nod.
A lifelong friend was going on when Updike died about his greatness, how every book of his was magnificent, not a bad line and on and on. Finally I dared to interrupt with a contrary word. He turned on me: "Name a greater writer of the 20th century." And instantly, without having to give it a second's thought, I said "Forster." I read and reread him. I discover new nuances. I laugh anew. I admire. I am currently listening to A Room with a View on audio, and am refreshed by the time I turn off the car. I have not read Forster criticism. I never studied him at university. And yet I feel I know him. He has given me enormous pleasure. I must pull out Aspects of the Novel again. It has been many many years since I looked at that.
You have good taste, sir. :-)
posted by polutropos at 9:17 pm (EST) on Aug 27, 2009
My review of Howards End is up--I'll post a link on Club Read too:
http://www.librarything.com/work/17951/r...
posted by Medellia at 8:14 pm (EST) on Aug 27, 2009
posted by EnriqueFreeque at 1:05 am (EST) on Aug 25, 2009
I'm intrigued by your Flaubert comment. I have some Flaubert still unread around here--I'll be paying close attention when I finally get around to him!
I'll check out those poetry threads soon. Happy weekend to you!
posted by Medellia at 5:05 pm (EST) on Aug 22, 2009
posted by Medellia at 9:08 am (EST) on Aug 22, 2009
And I am mortified if I switched the sexes on that dowry! Buy hey, wouldn't be the first time I've opened mouth and inserted foot, and certainly won't be the last.
posted by EnriqueFreeque at 1:46 pm (EST) on Aug 21, 2009
posted by amaranthic at 1:08 am (EST) on Aug 20, 2009
posted by amaranthic at 12:04 am (EST) on Aug 20, 2009
The Dalkey anthology is edited by Bunimovich and Kates, I believe, and is about 500 pages long, if that helps give an idea of whether the price is worth it. I've barely looked at the poems yet, but I did post one of the translated poems from the book in the Poetry as a Clarification of Death thread probably last week. And thanks for the compliment re: Classical poetry. I'm still very much having a hard time with that eternally nebulous balance between beauty and functionality, form and meaning, interpretation and imitation. I'm hoping that as I become more experienced with translation, some of the kinks will be evened out.
posted by amaranthic at 10:58 pm (EST) on Aug 19, 2009
I think I'm going to go for Oblomov first, as I have it in I-don't-know-what translation right here, and I'm also in the process of practicing the Cyrillic alphabet (just the alphabet - sadly I have no time for a new language) by copying out the Russian in the bilingual anthology of contemporary R. poetry published by Dalkey Press, so I'll undoubtedly glance over to the facing page and supplement my journey with some poetry as well. We'll see how it goes.
posted by amaranthic at 10:36 pm (EST) on Aug 19, 2009
And of course I'll at least follow along with the Master & Margarita read... I'm always fascinated to see others' thought processes on literature as they develop and shift.
posted by amaranthic at 10:17 am (EST) on Aug 19, 2009
My cranky kitty is a boy - neutered (sadly, for him) & he's got a wonderful little sister. I think he's actually punishing me for the fact that his pops - who works from home and lavishes him with attention and prompt feedings three times a day while I go off to cubicle-land - is currently out of the country. Today kitties got their lunch three hours late! The horror!
posted by fannyprice at 1:09 am (EST) on Aug 18, 2009
posted by fannyprice at 9:21 pm (EST) on Aug 17, 2009
Hoping you aren't drowned,
Ama
posted by amaranthic at 9:57 pm (EST) on Aug 15, 2009
Splendid splendid sail and surf vacation
posted by Macumbeira at 6:07 am (EST) on Aug 15, 2009
posted by Catreona at 4:36 pm (EST) on Aug 13, 2009
Maki
posted by Makifat at 12:09 pm (EST) on Aug 12, 2009
I read Karamazov, Notes from Underground, The Double, and I think that was it, really. I just wanted to start reading some Russian authors as I have interest in the Russian language (at that time I thought I'd start learning it - didn't happen), and also because I simply have never read most of the Russian greats. I did try Anna Karenina in Chinese translation back when I was just beginning to read texts in Chinese, because I thought it would be easier to read a translation - every time Tolstoy mentioned the name of a character, the translator would render it painstakingly in a series of unintelligible Chinese characters that never failed, it felt, to take up a full line of text. And of course, because I had just started to read books in Chinese, I would leap to my dictionary and earnestly look up the meanings for every syllable of Stepan Arkadyevitch Oblonsky. I don't think I finished more than 20 pages before throwing it aside. Perhaps one day I'll do it in English - or Russian, with any luck.
Thanks for the vote of confidence in my library. I'm adding books very slowly because now that I'm concentrating on Arabic, I'm reading at the pace of mid-Ice Age glacial melt!
posted by amaranthic at 12:35 pm (EST) on Aug 11, 2009
posted by Catreona at 7:36 pm (EST) on Aug 10, 2009
I am so envious that you live in Taiwan, even though imported literature is so expensive (and yet, my younger brother always insists on buying cartloads of hardcovers at Eslite on our rare visits!). I was actually going to stay with relatives in Taipei and Gaoxiong next week, but I haven't bought the tickets yet and don't know if I will now due to the typhoon. Do you enjoy Taiwan? Are there a lot of foreigners where you are?
Thanks for the welcome - I have always enjoyed reading y'alls' posts. I remember your musings on Dostoevsky as especially interesting while I was reading some of his works for the first time last year and earlier this year.
J
posted by amaranthic at 10:39 pm (EST) on Aug 9, 2009
posted by anna_in_pdx at 1:23 pm (EST) on Aug 8, 2009
posted by EnriqueFreeque at 12:23 pm (EST) on Aug 8, 2009
posted by EnriqueFreeque at 12:23 pm (EST) on Aug 8, 2009
posted by urania1 at 11:26 am (EST) on Aug 6, 2009
Either that or you weren't paying attention to American pop culture in the early 70s, which may or may not mean you're very young. Perhaps just intelligently ignoring America for a while.
posted by Catreona at 10:19 pm (EST) on Aug 4, 2009
However, always happy to contribute to a friend's vocabulary. LOL
posted by Catreona at 2:20 pm (EST) on Aug 4, 2009
I've not been commenting on Wilf's thread because I have nothing intelligent to say just now. I do have difficulty typing, and spelling *sigh*. Yes, I'm physically and visually disabled, as the result of what is now called traumatic brain injury. When I was a child, it was simply called brain damage.
Please don't be concerned. You have *not* offended me. Besides, I certainly understand getting carried away by indignation or anger or frustration. I have sort of a problem with that myself. *grin*
Everything's copacetic.
Cat
posted by Catreona at 3:36 pm (EST) on Aug 3, 2009
posted by Makifat at 10:32 am (EST) on Jul 29, 2009
(ie Janet has the poetry by Conrad Aiken while I have the 3 first volumes of Paterson. Janet has my dad's James Branch Cabell's firsts (I HOPE) while i have my mom's history/philosophy of science texts, and John Hersey's "Hiroshima")
posted by bobmcconnaughey at 8:44 am (EST) on Jul 24, 2009
Well said, tomcat! And succint!
posted by EnriqueFreeque at 12:50 am (EST) on Jul 22, 2009
Hmmm... Perhaps my horizons *are* a trifle narrow. As I've said, I'm not nearly as well read as I'd like to be.
BTW "death grip" is rather a charged phrase. *grin*
Thanks again for talking calmly and civilly with me, Tom Cat. I see now how difficult that must be for you, and how ludicrously naive I must seem to you. I appreciate the patience.
posted by Catreona at 6:36 pm (EST) on Jul 20, 2009
As to my getting out more and meeting new people: That's really only possible through the Internet, and I'm trying to do just that.
Thanks for responding civilly. It occurred to me that I might have pushed you past the point where you could do so. Glad that didn't happen.
May I ask how you got interested in Russian literature? I've read a smattering of Twentieth Century. No doubt I'm shallow, but Nineteenth Century Russian literature intimidates me. Do you read it in the original? Russian is a lovely language. I studied it in college, but never read more than short stories and fairy tales. Used to love translating... Anyway, that was a long time ago. I had to switch from a Russian language and lit major to English, and time flowed, and I haven't read much if any Russian lit since. Several people here on LT are into it though, so I'm beginning to think maybe the time has come for me to get back to it...
Cat
posted by Catreona at 1:39 pm (EST) on Jul 17, 2009
posted by Catreona at 11:11 pm (EST) on Jul 16, 2009
Ta da, darling,
Michelle
posted by thenaughtyhottie at 10:50 pm (EST) on Jul 12, 2009
Two are done, still one to go : " Who is Margarita ?" : )
I got the idea when looking at Margritte's painting : "ceci n'est pas une pipe" which you probably know.
posted by Macumbeira at 4:06 pm (EST) on Jul 7, 2009
Drop it here. I need all the feeback I can get !
posted by Macumbeira at 2:54 pm (EST) on Jul 6, 2009
Strange.
How is Taiwan ? I was there many years ago. Slept in a "Love" - hotel. Drunk tea made of these tiny balls and visited chang kai check !! LOL
posted by Macumbeira at 1:36 pm (EST) on Jul 6, 2009
I'll be taking a hiatus of sorts. A nice long trip to the UK will give me a chance to disconnect from LT. I'm particularly eager to get away from the talk boards, having had my fill of pointless arguments that seem to go round and round. But I will still be happy to share book ideas, etc. with my wonderful and select group of friends.
Fondst regards,
Maki
posted by Makifat at 2:20 pm (EST) on Jul 1, 2009
GG
posted by Goldengrove at 7:41 am (EST) on Jun 25, 2009
pgt
posted by Porius at 3:14 am (EST) on Jun 25, 2009
Thanks for defending my honor in the Site Talk thread. You're awesome!
See you around,
Reggie
posted by behindthetomes at 6:27 pm (EST) on Jun 23, 2009
Know anything about this translation? the mp3 downloads (per chapter) are free, so it's v. tempting.
bob
http://librivox.org/notes-from-the-under...
posted by bobmcconnaughey at 9:26 am (EST) on Jun 23, 2009
posted by Makifat at 12:02 pm (EST) on Jun 20, 2009
Merci for dusting off Jacques Le fataliste. I went again through some of these exquisite
lines some weeks ago while reading Tomcat Murr. Something in it reminded me of Diderot's funny
work. It seems it pushed you in the same direction.
posted by Macumbeira at 11:14 am (EST) on Jun 20, 2009
posted by EnriqueFreeque at 12:25 pm (EST) on Jun 19, 2009
posted by slickdpdx at 12:07 pm (EST) on Jun 19, 2009
I think it will bring me more pleasure than Time magazine which I cancelled ( Budget -lol )
Have you read anything ( of course you did ) by Gogol ?
I am preparing myself for his stories.
One more question : In Bulgakov M& M chap 4, the character Homeless undergoes a baptism -sort of -
He comes out of the water and his clothes are stolen. He dresses with some beggar clothes left on the
bank of the river. It consists of a white Tolstoy shirt, striped trousers. He is also bearfoot and
carrying a candle and an icon.
What does he symbolize ? Why is Bulgakov dressing him like this ? Is this the national dress from
before the Stalinists ? Is this how a fool or a religious man looks ? As a specialist in Russian matters,
please enlighten me !
Cheers
Mac
posted by Macumbeira at 12:02 am (EST) on Jun 19, 2009
You are really too kind mon chèr ami !
posted by Macumbeira at 11:33 pm (EST) on Jun 18, 2009
posted by EnriqueFreeque at 10:59 pm (EST) on Jun 18, 2009
posted by bobmcconnaughey at 11:06 pm (EST) on Jun 16, 2009
My blog main purpose is still a "reader's diary".
Your overview is an excellent tool to keep one's bearing all
along this complex book.
I'll make something similar on the Master and Margarita.
It will be usefull for everybody when the group read starts in september.
Cheers
Mac
posted by Macumbeira at 1:29 am (EST) on Jun 16, 2009
I was wondering if you are planning to put the overview's of LOTM on your Blog for later reference ?
If not, please allow me to paste it in my blog with ofcourse clear reference to you.
Cheers
Mac
posted by Macumbeira at 5:09 am (EST) on Jun 14, 2009
Listen, pal, just wanted to say thank you for the wonderful job you've done leading the group read of Tomcat Murr. I don't think anyone could've done a better job. The scholarship you bring to the table is indispensable - and a privilege to behold.
Best,
Brent
posted by EnriqueFreeque at 9:33 pm (EST) on Jun 12, 2009
Seriously, I wanted you to know what a valuable resource The Lectern is, particularly as a resource for Russian literature. A wonderful site.
Regards,
Maki
posted by Makifat at 3:35 pm (EST) on Jun 12, 2009
I'm definitely going to follow your thread, so expect me to start commenting once I'm caught up. I'm going to a Russian summer program where I'm not supposed to speak English, so I might not be able to comment a lot. Either way, thanks for the heads up! Crime and Punishment is my favorite book, and I would love to do what you're doing.
posted by katewhite at 7:32 pm (EST) on Jun 2, 2009
I've joined Le Salon and starred the thread.
I probably won't join in the read - group reading is not my thing. And a calculation showing my pile of outstanding books divided by my snail paced reading proves I would not keep up in any case.
However, I'm happy to act the fraud and eavesdrop on all the discussion around the Hoffmann book. I think it will prove most informative, not to say entertaining (you appear to have a good number of participants who are both witty and intellectually stimulating).
posted by zenomax at 9:31 am (EST) on May 20, 2009
Yes, it's my first time reading it. Hopefully, I'll find it as wonderful as others report it.
--Tad
posted by TadAD at 10:34 am (EST) on May 6, 2009
Cheers
posted by Macumbeira at 12:23 am (EST) on May 4, 2009
posted by alexdaw at 7:48 pm (EST) on May 3, 2009
I have, over the years, read it 3 times and highly recommend it. I am heading up a discussion of it currently over in the Group Reads group of LibraryThing. I have set up an Introduction thread to it and all, if you wish to visit.
I like Galsworthy very much but as in life, each to his own.
And yet, to be honest if you love Dostoyevsky at this point in your life you probably won't enjoy Galsworthy. The former is more sturm und drang and the latter a bit less so.
When reading, I usually go with Saul Bellow and his following of 'the axial lines.' If a book feels right I go with it rather than force feed it.
Of course David Copperfield is my 'man for all seasons.' Charles Dickens rocks. 8-)
Ur.
ps: have read the entire trilogy(3x3) and loved that also.
posted by Urquhart at 11:19 am (EST) on May 3, 2009
I recently bought a collection of his Moral Tales, but haven't opened it. I'm looking for a good collection of his poetry.
It's good to know that there are always fresh discoveries to be made in literature. Sometimes, I never know what I'm missing until I stumble across it...
posted by Makifat at 11:56 pm (EST) on Apr 30, 2009
Night falls, soothing to lascivious old men
My cat, Murr, hunched like some heraldic sphinx,
Uneasily surveys, from his fantastic eyeball
The gradual ascent of the chlorotic moon.
The hour of children’s prayers, when whoring Paris
Hurls on to the pavement of every boulevard
Her cold-breasted girls, who wander with searching
Animal eyes under the pale street lights.
With my cat, Murr, I meditate at my window
I think of the newborn everywhere;
I think of the dead who were buried today.
I imagine myself within the cemetery,
Entering the tombs, going in place
Of those who will spend their first night there.
Jules Laforgue
(tr. William Jay Smith)
- I think this poem goes quite well with your profile picture, although your cat isn't hunched.
posted by Makifat at 10:42 am (EST) on Apr 30, 2009
for what it is worth. I am following your peregrination through the Rusky litterature. Fascinating.I am regularly in that part of the world but the 19 th c Literature does not connect anymore with the people.
Only in St Petersburg can you still have a glimpse of what it was.
Ulysses will of course never be finished, read and reread.
Cheers
posted by Macumbeira at 12:13 am (EST) on Apr 29, 2009
Speaking of poems, Anchor's An Anthology of French Poetry From Nerval to Valery in English Translation (ed. Flores) has a nice thing by Laforgue called "The First Night". Do you know it?
posted by Makifat at 11:54 pm (EST) on Apr 28, 2009
http://fleursdumal.org/ has a complete listing and lots of different translations of every poem in there. Here's one: (I think you speak French, right? There are so many English translations of it, and none of them make me completely happy)
Le Chat
Viens, mon beau chat, sur mon coeur amoureux;
Retiens les griffes de ta patte,
Et laisse-moi plonger dans tes beaux yeux,
Mêlés de métal et d'agate.
Lorsque mes doigts caressent à loisir
Ta tête et ton dos élastique,
Et que ma main s'enivre du plaisir
De palper ton corps électrique,
Je vois ma femme en esprit. Son regard,
Comme le tien, aimable bête
Profond et froid, coupe et fend comme un dard,
Et, des pieds jusques à la tête,
Un air subtil, un dangereux parfum
Nagent autour de son corps brun.
— Charles Baudelaire
posted by anna_in_pdx at 10:51 am (EST) on Apr 28, 2009
thanks to you I learned two new words and how to effectively implement them: a) largesse; and, b) solecism.
So, thank you! 'Nother great review too.
Speaking of books, why not seek publication of a book of superb Russian Novel Reviews and other Russian odds and ends? I'd buy it. Bet a few other folks would too.
The Lakers won tonight! I'm sure you're glad to know. Now they're up 3 games to 1 over the dratted Utah Jazz in the first round of the NBA playoffs.
Woohoo!
posted by EnriqueFreeque at 12:12 am (EST) on Apr 26, 2009
Don't know DavidX here on librarything, but I will definitely check him out, as well as the blogs you linked to. Thanks for all the great reading material. I will also try to hold out on the Wilde movie for as long as possible :)
posted by dustinfr at 2:04 pm (EST) on Apr 23, 2009
posted by polutropos at 9:11 pm (EST) on Apr 5, 2009
posted by dustinfr at 6:17 pm (EST) on Apr 5, 2009
I'm glad the book arrived safely and so quickly! I haven't read it yet, I'm saving it for the long Easter weekend.
Likewise, I'm following and enjoying your thread.
Char
posted by charbutton at 5:04 am (EST) on Apr 4, 2009
posted by tomcatMurr at 2:38 am (EST) on Apr 3, 2009