|
McMurphy is also not the narrator, so anything resembling an opinion about him (and Ratched, honestly) has to be filtered through the Chief, who has legitimate mental issues. His paranoid delusions about an all-controlling state might incline him to think more favorably about a guy who seems to be a rebel.
|
#
?
Jul 7, 2016 22:54
|
|
|
|
| # ? Jun 4, 2024 08:43 |
|
|
the_homemaster posted:But...it's not funny. wrong opinion spotted
|
|
#
?
Jul 7, 2016 23:41
|
|
|
It's not funny, it's certainly not clever, but it is competently written, in terms of dialect and a certain vibrancy. If someone can explain how it is funny and clever that'd be great. So far all I've read is a boring plot with annoying characters, an awful protagonist and what is probably an autobiographical account. the_homemaster fucked around with this message at 00:13 on Jul 8, 2016 |
|
#
?
Jul 8, 2016 00:08
|
|
|
the_homemaster posted:It's not funny, it's certainly not clever, but it is competently written, in terms of dialect and a certain vibrancy. e: the_homemaster posted:If someone can explain how it is funny and clever that'd be great. So far all I've read is a boring plot with annoying characters, an awful protagonist and what is probably an autobiographical account. Thanks for the edit. edit 2 because I am being horribly trolled: The book isn't even slightly autobiographical, at least if we're comparing Ignatius's outward life to John's. JKT himself was extraordinarily successful and social up until the rejection of his novel. He taught English in the Army and was a professor at the University of Louisiana, which rejected Ignatius in the book. To the extent that Confederacy touches realistically and maybe autobiographically on the relationship between a dominant single mother and her grown son, it serves the story and the humor rather than wallowing in the author's inner feelings and grievances. This is just one piece of information you could have gotten by typing the words "A Confederacy of Dunces" into Google and reading one of the top 10 results. You also would have discovered why many people find it funny, gripping, and sympathetic. Eugene V. Dubstep fucked around with this message at 00:46 on Jul 8, 2016 |
|
#
?
Jul 8, 2016 00:16
|
|
|
Mel Mudkiper posted:Has anyone else ever read Richard Powers? He is one of my favorite authors and its interesting because his writing is probably the closest I have ever seen to the big red line between sci fi and literature. Thanks fam, this looks perfect. You should check out Arcadia.
|
|
#
?
Jul 8, 2016 00:38
|
|
|
Franchescanado posted:A lot of people I know love/revere that book and talk about how they laugh their asses off at it, but I always found Ignatius to be such a grating character that I only got through about half the book. sometimes books have characters you're not supposed to like
|
|
#
?
Jul 8, 2016 01:30
|
|
|
Officer Sandvich posted:sometimes books have characters you're not supposed to like No poo poo, Sherlock, but sometimes characters actively annoy you, so you stop spending time with them.
|
|
#
?
Jul 8, 2016 01:45
|
|
|
Mel Mudkiper posted:Has anyone else ever read Richard Powers? He is one of my favorite authors and its interesting because his writing is probably the closest I have ever seen to the big red line between sci fi and literature. Have read, ah, Generosity, The Echo Maker, and I think one more but I can't remember which. It wasn't GBV though, I've been wanting to get that one for years. Big fan of Powers. I agree that he's writing sci-fi in the strictly-understood sense, and manages to sneak it by you without you noticing.
|
|
#
?
Jul 8, 2016 01:48
|
|
|
Franchescanado posted:No poo poo, Sherlock, but sometimes characters actively annoy you, so you stop spending time with them. stretch yourself
|
|
#
?
Jul 8, 2016 02:22
|
|
|
the_homemaster posted:It's not funny, it's certainly not clever, but it is competently written, in terms of dialect and a certain vibrancy. "Filth!" Ignatius shouted, spewing wet popcorn over several rows. "How dare she pretend to be a virgin. Look at her degenerate face. Rape her!"
|
|
#
?
Jul 8, 2016 02:29
|
|
|
Someone post an excerpt from the part where Ignatius is jive-talking medieval theology to a room full of black factory workers tia
|
|
#
?
Jul 8, 2016 02:52
|
|
|
the_homemaster posted:If someone can explain how it is funny and clever that'd be great. So far all I've read is a boring plot with annoying characters, an awful protagonist and what is probably an autobiographical account. I hope you can appreciate the fundamental issue with explaining why something is funny
|
|
#
?
Jul 8, 2016 02:54
|
|
|
(because it's not funny) Now, Submission is funny. True irony.
|
|
#
?
Jul 8, 2016 03:32
|
|
|
Mel Mudkiper posted:I hope you can appreciate the fundamental issue with explaining why something is funny People who don't get jokes never appreciate this issue.
|
|
#
?
Jul 8, 2016 03:56
|
|
|
A human heart posted:"Filth!" Ignatius shouted, spewing wet popcorn over several rows. "How dare she pretend to be a virgin. Look at her degenerate face. Rape her!" This is gross, not funny.
|
|
#
?
Jul 8, 2016 04:27
|
|
|
the_homemaster posted:This is gross, not funny. It's the juxtaposition of contradictory elements leading to an unexpected conclusion. Pretty much the textbook definition of humor.
|
|
#
?
Jul 8, 2016 04:54
|
|
|
the_homemaster posted:But...it's not funny. the_homemaster posted:(because it's not funny) the_homemaster posted:It's not funny, it's certainly not clever, but it is competently written, in terms of dialect and a certain vibrancy. the_homemaster posted:This is gross, not funny. You've finally convinced me by saying "this isn't funny" four times without elaboration. I will stop giggling. I am starting to see, though, why the super-serious bloviating turd character might have touched a nerve. Eugene V. Dubstep fucked around with this message at 05:09 on Jul 8, 2016 |
|
#
?
Jul 8, 2016 05:05
|
|
|
Tbf I couldn't finish Catcher in the Rye cuz holden was such a little poo poo but I was a teenager at the time so maybe now I could give it a more discerning read
|
|
#
?
Jul 8, 2016 06:37
|
|
|
the_homemaster posted:This is gross, not funny. It's funny because it's gross my man
|
|
#
?
Jul 8, 2016 06:56
|
|
|
Cloks posted:It's the juxtaposition of contradictory elements leading to an unexpected conclusion. Pretty much the textbook definition of humor. Oh right I get it now, cheers.
|
|
#
?
Jul 8, 2016 07:55
|
|
|
mdemone posted:Have read, ah, Generosity, The Echo Maker, and I think one more but I can't remember which. It wasn't GBV though, I've been wanting to get that one for years. So where do I start on Richard Powers? I looked up all his books and it seems like Plowing the Dark and The Time of Our Singing interest me the most conceptually.
|
|
#
?
Jul 8, 2016 11:10
|
|
|
Solitair posted:So where do I start on Richard Powers? I looked up all his books and it seems like Plowing the Dark and The Time of Our Singing interest me the most conceptually. The Echo Maker is the best imho. Not just his best book, genuinely one of the masterpieces of 21st century American Lit. Mel Mudkiper fucked around with this message at 12:31 on Jul 8, 2016 |
|
#
?
Jul 8, 2016 12:23
|
|
|
I looked up Powers and think I might start with Orfeo, but that's because I saw there's a huge playlist of songs referenced in the book and I found that intriguing.
|
|
#
?
Jul 8, 2016 12:25
|
|
|
I went to the bookshop and all they had was Prisoners Dilemma.
|
|
#
?
Jul 8, 2016 12:45
|
|
|
Plowing The Dark! That's the one I forgot. It was very good too, but as Mel said, Echo Maker is better. It won the National Book Award, which is usually a solid award.
|
|
#
?
Jul 8, 2016 15:23
|
|
|
Mel Mudkiper posted:Honestly, I don't mind people recommending stuff like this to me because I am always looking to expand. And honestly, I did suggest some openness to it in the Vegetarian thread. It's when people act like their wizard books are better than what I am reading and I should read it right away that I get annoyed. Dude, you just have to open your mind and the epiphany will come. Or something. I noted your recommendation for Year of the Runaways in the botm thread and remembered I'd got it for my birthday. I hadn't thought much of it until you talked of its resonance with current political discourse in the UK (ha!). Now I've got the elf wizards out of the way, this is next up - I hope it's as good as you say.
|
|
#
?
Jul 8, 2016 18:56
|
|
|
knees of putty posted:. Now I've got the elf wizards out of the way, this is next up - I hope it's as good as you say. I actually haven't read it yet. I try not to put things I have already read in the BOTM.
|
|
#
?
Jul 8, 2016 19:30
|
|
|
I like wizards I prefer to consume my autism in form of videogames too, I zone out when I read childrens books. I'm more excited for Final Fantasy XV and Persona 5 than almost any upcoming novel tbh. But fantasy fans creep me out, they're literal manchildren. Most of them straight out refuse to read anything good, I don't know what it is about fantasy genre that fucks people up so bad. People who read only mystery novels are usually just boring, chick lit fans are kinda cute, but fantasy fans with their fedoras.. holy poo poo
|
|
#
?
Jul 8, 2016 19:44
|
|
|
mallamp posted:I like wizards If you weren't a complete idiot I would think this was a clever FYAD-style sendup of lit thread circlejerking.
|
|
#
?
Jul 8, 2016 20:17
|
|
|
at the date posted:If you weren't a complete idiot I would think this was a clever FYAD-style sendup of lit thread circlejerking. Actually don't, "I just want to understand how they build a whole world out of their minds?" is the hottest thread right now mallamp fucked around with this message at 20:32 on Jul 8, 2016 |
|
#
?
Jul 8, 2016 20:28
|
|
|
Has anyone read Wolfgang Hilbig? I just finished Sleep of the Righteous and think it was pretty good.
|
|
#
?
Jul 8, 2016 20:32
|
|
|
mallamp posted:Actually don't, "I just want to understand how they build a whole world out of their minds?" is the hottest thread right now As much as I hate to agree with mallamp the one thing I never understand about fantasy fiction and fans of fantasy fiction is the obsession with "world building" Who gives a gently caress if the writer crafted the three century history of magical toilets in the prince's tower if the book loving sucks.
|
|
#
?
Jul 8, 2016 20:35
|
|
|
If a furious fantasy fan happens to read my comment, I recommend 1) grow up 2) read World Fantasy Award nominees, it's like Hugo/Nebula, but the lit to poo poo ratio has been reversed from 1:10 to 10:1
|
|
#
?
Jul 8, 2016 20:43
|
|
|
Making a feature of it seems to ignore the fact that any work of fiction creates a world. I'm not sure I understand the obsession as it's usually to the detriment of everything else.
|
|
#
?
Jul 8, 2016 20:43
|
|
|
Mel Mudkiper posted:As much as I hate to agree with mallamp the one thing I never understand about fantasy fiction and fans of fantasy fiction is the obsession with "world building" It also seems to be unique to that genre as there are lots of imaginative worlds in literary fiction but I never hear that term used to describe it. Maybe I don't hang out with the right people.
|
|
#
?
Jul 8, 2016 20:44
|
|
|
Nakar posted:I want to say this isn't what people mean or care about but I honestly can't figure out what else they could possibly be praising when discussing "worldbuilding." It boils down to how well they think a book's setting would work to play an RPG in, pretty much, whether they know it or not. I don't usually even agree in that case, most bad books that get worldbuilding praise seem like they'd be boring!
|
|
#
?
Jul 8, 2016 20:47
|
|
|
I think by worldbuilding they really mean ruleset or some such. One author that's intriguing me at the moment is Michael Faber. He writes with a veneer of 'genre', in the sense that it's sci fi, or victorian novels, but everything is infused with a progressive, almost revisionist viewpoint. I really need to go back to Under the Skin after I've finished with Crimson Petal and White.
|
|
#
?
Jul 8, 2016 21:03
|
|
|
knees of putty posted:I think by worldbuilding they really mean ruleset or some such. what does that even mean?
|
|
#
?
Jul 8, 2016 21:04
|
|
|
"Worldbuilding" and "interesting magic system" are the two things I read most commonly from people praising whatever breezeblock fantasy epic is hot this month. I don't even know what the second one is meant to mean; it's a book not an MMO. In any case, almost always the protagonist is Special because they break the mechanics, at which point it's standard power fantasies being played out. Worldbuilding I don't mind so much. Imaginative worlds can be interesting although they're fertile ground for canon wars over which elf wizard did the cool anime explosion. 90% of the time though it's either a slightly different rearrangement of the same stock fantasy elements or it's a "subversion" at the level of "in this one, the elves are BAD and the orcs are GOOD!" Also yeah, it's not like all other fiction doesn't posit some kind of alternative world, since that's uh, the point of fiction.
|
|
#
?
Jul 8, 2016 21:05
|
|
|
|
| # ? Jun 4, 2024 08:43 |
|
|
I am going to set a table top RPG in the rich fantasy world of Macondo I am a LVL 12 Sustenance Farmer with the power to turn turnips into children for barren wives
|
|
#
?
Jul 8, 2016 21:08
|
|