Some authors appear on this list a lot. An awful lot. Here is how many I still have to read for some of those repeat offenders.
Phillip Roth = 4
Kurt Vonnegut = 1
Henry James <1 (since I’m reading the final one for him at the moment; fist pump!)
Charles Dickens = 2 (fist pump!)
J.M. Coetzee = 5 (gulp)
Salman Rushdie = 3
Virginia Woolf = 7 (gulp)
Ian McEwan = 3
Kazuo Ishiguro = 2
Margaret Atwood = 3
D.H. Lawrence = 3
Showing posts with label Ishiguro. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ishiguro. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Quietly Upset
So, I know that The Quiet American is supposed to be Greene's masterpiece or whatever, but I must say it was probably my least favorite of his that I have read. Well, maybe second least favorite, but still, not exactly a fan. I know that movies have been coming up lately, but maybe I need to see the movie on this one. I think it actually is available on Instant Watch. I think that this one more than the others by Greene that I have read really made the women non characters, even though in a way the story more than the others revolved around a woman.
It's strange. I would say that in the previous Greene novels that I've read, women are never the focus exactly, but they always felt real in some way. Sort of like, yes they aren't the main character of this book (often more a catalyst), but they are the main character of their own story. In this one, she didn't feel like she could be the main character of her own story. Almost as though she wasn't a person in the way the male characters were. I was definitely intrigued by the ending of this one. Not what I had expected, I must say.
I guess the common theme of this post is, I liked other books more. The Unconsoled is definitely my least favorite Ishiguro that I have read. Now, I loved Never Let Me Go, and Remains of the Day is exquisite, so that's important context. The Unconsoled is still masterful and beautiful in many ways. Unfortunately, it is also a bit maddening.
The basic plot of the story is that this man shows up in the small town to give a concert, and he has no memory of agreeing to do the concert. It has an almost Alice-in-Wonderland quality to it, since reality and relationships are always shifting in a dreamlike way. The story also explores rules and the folly of adhering to them in strict, nonsensical ways (foolish consistency and all of that), which is a fascinating device when you consider that the novel changes its own rules along the way in some ways. So, from a craft perspective it's amazing, but I always get so annoyed with characters who seem to be causing their own problems (it's why Kafka makes me crazy).
It's strange. I would say that in the previous Greene novels that I've read, women are never the focus exactly, but they always felt real in some way. Sort of like, yes they aren't the main character of this book (often more a catalyst), but they are the main character of their own story. In this one, she didn't feel like she could be the main character of her own story. Almost as though she wasn't a person in the way the male characters were. I was definitely intrigued by the ending of this one. Not what I had expected, I must say.
I guess the common theme of this post is, I liked other books more. The Unconsoled is definitely my least favorite Ishiguro that I have read. Now, I loved Never Let Me Go, and Remains of the Day is exquisite, so that's important context. The Unconsoled is still masterful and beautiful in many ways. Unfortunately, it is also a bit maddening.
The basic plot of the story is that this man shows up in the small town to give a concert, and he has no memory of agreeing to do the concert. It has an almost Alice-in-Wonderland quality to it, since reality and relationships are always shifting in a dreamlike way. The story also explores rules and the folly of adhering to them in strict, nonsensical ways (foolish consistency and all of that), which is a fascinating device when you consider that the novel changes its own rules along the way in some ways. So, from a craft perspective it's amazing, but I always get so annoyed with characters who seem to be causing their own problems (it's why Kafka makes me crazy).
Thursday, July 29, 2010
The FAQ Part II
Continuation of the FAQ:
Which ones have been your favorites so far? I consider may favorites to fall into two categories: 1) ones that are fun to read (Love in a Cold Climate, Lord of the Rings, Dracula) and 2) ones that I wouldn’t have read without a push from the list, and that I am so glad that I have read.
I think the latter list is more interesting: The Ground Beneath Her Feet (some of the passages were so painfully beautiful that I had to stop reading and just breathe), The Red Queen (the Queen’s voice is distinctive and so fully realized; I read the rice chest piece coming home from work late one night, and I was shaky), The Forsyte Saga (yes, it’s long, but it is worth it; I had no idea what I was getting into when I started it, and it’s portrayal of the changing meanings of marriage, of the different ways love takes shape; I can’t articulate my love for this book in only a few words); Pale Fire (so hilarious; if you want something fun, go read this one); and many others (Remains of the Day; Never Let Me Go; Count of Monte Cristo; The Wings of the Dove; All Quiet on the Western Front)
Are there any books that you've wanted to stop? Yes.
All right, smarty, which ones? The Hunchback of Notre Dame, American Psycho, The Trial, Dr. Zhivago, The Unnamable, Molloy, Malone Dies. Sorry, Beckett aficionados and anyone else whose favorite books made this list. I would love to talk with you about why you didn’t hate every character in Hunchback, why the nihilist violence in American Psycho is more than just gratuitous, how you manage (if you manage) to not want to shove every character in a Kafka novel into a vat of hot oil, why there is anything romantic to be found in the suffering of Dr. Zhivago, and what in the world is happening in the Becket trilogy of “Oh my God, when will this end? Die, Malone, and put me out of my misery.”
What If you want to read something that isn't on the list? Then I do. The list is not meant to be restrictive. I definitely read the latest Mary Russel novel the day it was published. I also throw in non fiction on a fairly regular basis (in addition to the nearly 60 list books in 2010 thus far, I've also read Yes Means Yes, Dream City, When You Are Engulfed in Flames, Undercurrents, Half the Sky, I Was Told There'd Be Cake, You Say Tomato, I Say Shut Up, and All The President's Men; I also read for a book club, and I read The Economist cover-to-cover weekly)
What if they update the list? I've decided it's like when you enter college. The degree requirements/list of books when you start applies throughout (technically I think in most colleges you can later choose the new reqs if you want, but I don't intend to update the list for myself).
My apologies to the authors whose names did not appear in the labels for this post (apparently only twenty can per post).
Which ones have been your favorites so far? I consider may favorites to fall into two categories: 1) ones that are fun to read (Love in a Cold Climate, Lord of the Rings, Dracula) and 2) ones that I wouldn’t have read without a push from the list, and that I am so glad that I have read.
I think the latter list is more interesting: The Ground Beneath Her Feet (some of the passages were so painfully beautiful that I had to stop reading and just breathe), The Red Queen (the Queen’s voice is distinctive and so fully realized; I read the rice chest piece coming home from work late one night, and I was shaky), The Forsyte Saga (yes, it’s long, but it is worth it; I had no idea what I was getting into when I started it, and it’s portrayal of the changing meanings of marriage, of the different ways love takes shape; I can’t articulate my love for this book in only a few words); Pale Fire (so hilarious; if you want something fun, go read this one); and many others (Remains of the Day; Never Let Me Go; Count of Monte Cristo; The Wings of the Dove; All Quiet on the Western Front)
Are there any books that you've wanted to stop? Yes.
All right, smarty, which ones? The Hunchback of Notre Dame, American Psycho, The Trial, Dr. Zhivago, The Unnamable, Molloy, Malone Dies. Sorry, Beckett aficionados and anyone else whose favorite books made this list. I would love to talk with you about why you didn’t hate every character in Hunchback, why the nihilist violence in American Psycho is more than just gratuitous, how you manage (if you manage) to not want to shove every character in a Kafka novel into a vat of hot oil, why there is anything romantic to be found in the suffering of Dr. Zhivago, and what in the world is happening in the Becket trilogy of “Oh my God, when will this end? Die, Malone, and put me out of my misery.”
What If you want to read something that isn't on the list? Then I do. The list is not meant to be restrictive. I definitely read the latest Mary Russel novel the day it was published. I also throw in non fiction on a fairly regular basis (in addition to the nearly 60 list books in 2010 thus far, I've also read Yes Means Yes, Dream City, When You Are Engulfed in Flames, Undercurrents, Half the Sky, I Was Told There'd Be Cake, You Say Tomato, I Say Shut Up, and All The President's Men; I also read for a book club, and I read The Economist cover-to-cover weekly)
What if they update the list? I've decided it's like when you enter college. The degree requirements/list of books when you start applies throughout (technically I think in most colleges you can later choose the new reqs if you want, but I don't intend to update the list for myself).
My apologies to the authors whose names did not appear in the labels for this post (apparently only twenty can per post).
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