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Deborah Levy's latest novel, The Man Who Saw Everything, is partially set in the GDR. Though, to be fair, I think even "an abstract take" would be pushing it, but I thought it was a good book! Funnily enough, Der Himmer Über Berlin gets a little shout-out in it. Lex Neville fucked around with this message at 22:49 on Oct 4, 2019 |
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Oct 4, 2019 22:45
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Thanks for the recommendations, all! Super helpful.
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Oct 5, 2019 04:22
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grahm posted:I'm headed to Berlin in a few weeks and before I go I would like to read some historical fiction (nonfiction is also OK) focused on or around Berlin — WWII or Cold War era. Something in the vein of "The Kites" by Romain Gary would be amazing. Or maybe there's a quintessential book about the Berlin Wall falling, or the divide in the city? Or a more modern, abstract take on the division? If it helps, I enjoy journalists who then go on to write realistic fiction (Vasily Grossman, Arthur Koestler). Anything to give me a vibe of the city and/or history and/or major themes. Any recommendations are appreciated! Every Man Dies Alone by Hans Fallada?
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Oct 5, 2019 11:36
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Hieronymous Alloy posted:I'd actually suggest a movie Ooo, just watch The Lives of Others.
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Oct 5, 2019 13:44
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tuyop posted:Ooo, just watch The Lives of Others. Oh, yeah, this is great. You could also read or watch The Spy Who Came in From the Cold, although that's probably getting a little further from the original request.
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Oct 5, 2019 14:05
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funkybottoms posted:Oh, yeah, this is great. You could also read or watch The Spy Who Came in From the Cold, although that's probably getting a little further from the original request. I was going to suggest that. Probably doesn't fit the bill exactly but it's a great book and an easy read.
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Oct 5, 2019 14:28
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grahm posted:I'm headed to Berlin in a few weeks and before I go I would like to read some historical fiction (nonfiction is also OK) focused on or around Berlin — WWII or Cold War era. Something in the vein of "The Kites" by Romain Gary would be amazing. Or maybe there's a quintessential book about the Berlin Wall falling, or the divide in the city? Or a more modern, abstract take on the division? If it helps, I enjoy journalists who then go on to write realistic fiction (Vasily Grossman, Arthur Koestler). Anything to give me a vibe of the city and/or history and/or major themes. Any recommendations are appreciated! Human Tornada posted:You've gotten a lot so far but I'll throw in Philip Kerr's Bernie Gunther novels. They follow a super like-able private detective from pre-WWII Germany up through the Cold War.
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Oct 5, 2019 14:42
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grahm posted:I'm headed to Berlin in a few weeks and before I go I would like to read some historical fiction (nonfiction is also OK) focused on or around Berlin — WWII or Cold War era. I was thinking that The Third Man by Graham Greene hits all the notes you're looking for, but unfortunately it's set in post-WWII, allied occupied/subdivided Vienna, not Berlin.
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Oct 5, 2019 21:37
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I was reading an article in The Guardian about how terribly Eurocentric the Nobel Price for Literature is, and one of the names that came up in the article was Adonis. Apparently, he could lay claim to being the Arab world's greatest living poet. Is anyone familiar with his work and can suggest a starting point? Is his work translated so I would even be able to read it?
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Oct 12, 2019 19:20
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Hello Thread, I've been tasked with getting book recommendations for a small work book club. Its a mix of avid and not so avid readers, mostly in the 25-35 age range. This club is just starting and the criteria for the early books are: Fiction over Non - No SciFi or Fantasy (to start) Upbeat Story - (this is super vague but eh) Around 300 pages to help our not avid readers Unread by the group - (you all can't help with this but it eliminates some obvious stuff) The only book I remember vividly that mostly fits this is the The Hatchet by Gary Paulsen; not sure it's an upbeat story though. I realize this request is both weirdly specific and annoyingly vague but I'll take any help I can get.
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Oct 13, 2019 17:15
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j5mello posted:Hello Thread, Scroll through the book barn book of the month thread. It has a list of all prior selections. Edit: Specifically, looking over old TBB BotM selections, I would suggest All Creatures Great and Small, Three Men in a Boat, and Right Ho, Jeeves as prime candidates to get a book club started. Upbeat, funny, literary, heartwarming, not too long, generally not read by most people these days unless they're very avid readers. ONce they're ready for a fantasy, try Lud in the Mist. Hieronymous Alloy fucked around with this message at 00:35 on Oct 14, 2019 |
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Oct 13, 2019 19:56
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I just finished reading Warlock and Butcher's Crossing in quick succession. Any other cynical Western novels y'all can recommend? I'll get around to Blood Meridian eventually, but not just now, FYI.
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Oct 13, 2019 21:46
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j5mello posted:Hello Thread, I think A Man Called Ove by Fredrick Backman would fit. It’s somewhat sad at times but leaves you with warm fuzzy feelings at the end.
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Oct 14, 2019 00:02
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Hieronymous Alloy posted:Scroll through the book barn book of the month thread. It has a list of all prior selections. Thanks Hieronymous Alloy, I pulled those three plus a few extras for the book club (plus a dozen more for my personal reading list). For the jeeves books do I start at the beginning of the series with #1? When I searched goodreads, #6 matched the title search. cryptoclastic posted:I think A Man Called Ove by Fredrick Backman would fit. It’s somewhat sad at times but leaves you with warm fuzzy feelings at the end. This looks like the movie Up in book form but with a more grounded setting.
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Oct 14, 2019 14:43
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Just finished reading The Magic Mountain. Does anyone know any other Thomas Mann books that can compare?
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Oct 14, 2019 18:01
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Grudgerm posted:Just finished reading The Magic Mountain. Does anyone know any other Thomas Mann books that can compare? Read everything except for Royal Highness.
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Oct 14, 2019 20:07
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Speaking of westerns many pages back someone mentioned a book that was like a western but in Siberia. Anyone remember the book I'm talking about?
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Oct 14, 2019 21:19
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BurningBeard posted:I just finished reading Warlock and Butcher's Crossing in quick succession. Any other cynical Western novels y'all can recommend? I'll get around to Blood Meridian eventually, but not just now, FYI. Those are both great novels -- I loved them both. Thought that Butcher's Crossing was the "Walden" take on the western and I found Blood Meridian to be the "Apocalypse Now" of westerns, when you get around to that one. Along similar lines.... The Ox-Bow Incident by Walter Van Tilburg Clark The Searchers by Alan Le May The Law at Randado by Elmore Leonard is pretty loving bleak too.
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Oct 14, 2019 21:47
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GorfZaplen posted:Speaking of westerns many pages back someone mentioned a book that was like a western but in Siberia. Anyone remember the book I'm talking about? Not sure if it’s what was mentioned but this description makes me think of Last of the Breed, by Louis L’amour: quote:Here is the kind of authentically detailed epic novel that has become Louis L’Amour’s hallmark. It is the compelling story of U.S. Air Force Major Joe Mack, a man born out of time. When his experimental aircraft is forced down in Russia and he escapes a Soviet prison camp, he must call upon the ancient skills of his Indian forebears to survive the vast Siberian wilderness. Only one route lies open to Mack: the path of his ancestors, overland to the Bering Strait and across the sea to America. But in pursuit is a legendary tracker, the Yakut native Alekhin, who knows every square foot of the icy frontier—and who knows that to trap his quarry he must think like a Sioux. Does that sound right?
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Oct 14, 2019 22:23
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AARP LARPer posted:Those are both great novels -- I loved them both. Thought that Butcher's Crossing was the "Walden" take on the western and I found Blood Meridian to be the "Apocalypse Now" of westerns, when you get around to that one. Ox Bow Incident looks like exactly what I'm after. I was recommended In The Rogue Blood and Angle of Repose as well. Anyone have thoughts on these?
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Oct 14, 2019 22:49
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Chuck Buried Treasure posted:Not sure if it’s what was mentioned but this description makes me think of Last of the Breed, by Louis L’amour: That sounds about right! Thank you!
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Oct 14, 2019 22:50
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GorfZaplen posted:That sounds about right! Thank you! You’re welcome, enjoy! I haven’t read that one in particular but every L’amour I have read has been a good time
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Oct 14, 2019 23:14
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BurningBeard posted:Ox Bow Incident looks like exactly what I'm after. I was recommended In The Rogue Blood and Angle of Repose as well. Anyone have thoughts on these? Oxbow Incident was quite good, I don't like westerns and I enjoyed it.
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Oct 14, 2019 23:52
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j5mello posted:For the jeeves books do I start at the beginning of the series with #1? When I searched goodreads, #6 matched the title search. They're all completely self-contained and Right Ho is particularly good so you can just go with that.
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Oct 16, 2019 09:05
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Stringent posted:They're all completely self-contained and Right Ho is particularly good so you can just go with that. Appreciate the response. Now I have to herd cats a bit and have everyone get the book so we can start.
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Oct 17, 2019 03:35
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I'm looking for fiction with any of these qualities - Clever wordplay - Based around a historical event - Includes exploration of real mystical or esoteric principles - Skillfully evocative descriptions that paint a picture
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Oct 20, 2019 22:17
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Its Coke posted:- Skillfully evocative descriptions that paint a picture Well I mean: 
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Oct 20, 2019 22:24
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Its Coke posted:I'm looking for fiction with any of these qualities Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco
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Oct 20, 2019 22:32
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Its Coke posted:I'm looking for fiction with any of these qualities check out The Gates of Paradise by Jerzy Andrzejewski
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Oct 20, 2019 23:13
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Andrey Bely's Petersburg hits all of those criteria. I recommend John Elsworth's translation.
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Oct 21, 2019 01:38
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StrixNebulosa posted:Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco Yeah haha, his list is basically a description of the book.
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Oct 21, 2019 01:52
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Its Coke posted:I'm looking for fiction with any of these qualities Tea Obreht's The Tigers Wife
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Oct 21, 2019 03:26
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Sham bam bamina! posted:Andrey Bely's Petersburg hits all of those criteria. I recommend John Elsworth's translation. Seconding Petersburg, but make sure you know your 19th-century Russian literature, history, and thought before diving in. It reads much better when you're familiar with the works he's drawing on.
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Oct 21, 2019 13:26
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Its Coke posted:I'm looking for fiction with any of these qualities Thomas Pynchon Pretty much all of his novels apply, but you can pick from V., Gravity's Rainbow, Mason & Dixon, or Against the Day!
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Oct 21, 2019 13:29
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Karenina posted:Seconding Petersburg, but make sure you know your 19th-century Russian literature, history, and thought before diving in. It reads much better when you're familiar with the works he's drawing on. 
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Oct 21, 2019 14:18
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Its Coke posted:I'm looking for fiction with any of these qualities The Dictionary of the Khazars There is no easily discerned plot in the conventional sense, but the central question of the book (the mass religious conversion of the Khazar people) is based on a historical event generally dated to the last decades of the 8th century or the early 9th century when the Khazar royalty and nobility converted to Judaism, and part of the general population followed.[2]
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Oct 21, 2019 14:24
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Franchescanado posted:Thomas Pynchon Was the same thought I had
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Oct 21, 2019 15:07
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regulargonzalez posted:Yeah haha, his list is basically a description of the book. It instantly sprang to my mind too! Basically perfect fit
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Oct 22, 2019 06:26
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I'm maxed out on audible credits this month. Anybody listen to any cool books on tape lately? Or just have a cool book? If I don't use the credit I lose it and I'm not really hankering for anything in particular.
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Oct 22, 2019 18:36
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Agent355 posted:I'm maxed out on audible credits this month. Anybody listen to any cool books on tape lately? Or just have a cool book? If I don't use the credit I lose it and I'm not really hankering for anything in particular. Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir!
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Oct 22, 2019 18:52
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