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Has anyone read (Lemony Snicket) Daniel Handler's new book We Are Pirates? How does it rank up with his other (adult) books?
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Feb 18, 2015 22:29
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Is anyone else looking forward to The Skull Throne that releases in March? It's the fourth book in the Demon Cycle.
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Feb 19, 2015 01:01
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Moral posted:Is anyone else looking forward to The Skull Throne that releases in March? It's the fourth book in the Demon Cycle. Nope. That series showed a lot of promise but ultimately went off the rails and never found its way back.
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Feb 19, 2015 03:15
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Just wondering, is there an actual term to describe books that are semi-autobiographical, written in the first person and largely reflect circumstances in the author's life? I've been reorganizing some of the bookshelves on my goodreads profile and I've just used "I Novel" as shorthand, but it isn't entirely accurate since it's more a literary movement than an actual genre. I'm only asking because I'm starting to realize that they're the books I enjoy reading the most. I was thinking either roman-a-clef or bildungsroman, but neither of them seem to fit entirely with the criteria I mentioned.
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Feb 19, 2015 16:10
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Fictionalized autobiography?
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Feb 19, 2015 16:39
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Was hoping for something that's succinct and just kinda' rolls off the tongue, but I guess that works.
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Feb 19, 2015 16:45
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I have always heard and have myself referred to them as semi autobiographical
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Feb 19, 2015 17:37
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Pulling a dazai
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Feb 19, 2015 17:39
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Mira posted:Was hoping for something that's succinct and just kinda' rolls off the tongue, but I guess that works. Does "memoir" work, or are you looking for the official classification or a more specific term to use?
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Feb 19, 2015 18:06
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Wikipedia says roman à clef, and lists books like On The Road, so there you go.
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Feb 19, 2015 18:23
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Been re-reading The Karamazov Brothers and if anything Dostoyevski knew people, as in the way we behave and lie to ourselves. He was a pro, is what I'm saying, I guess
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Feb 19, 2015 18:27
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savinhill posted:Does "memoir" work, or are you looking for the official classification or a more specific term to use? Yeah, I was hoping for something more specific to literary fiction, but "Pulling a Dazai" works/is a great conversation-starter.
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Feb 19, 2015 20:18
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I'm looking for a book I think I read in middle school or high school. It's about somebody trapped with a bunch of other people in some kind of geographic zone, it might have been an island. If they try to leave they're killed by sentry turrets or something. Then he gets out of the designated area somehow and finds the people who were supposedly killed are just in the hospital because their deaths were faked.
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Feb 21, 2015 17:49
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Honest Thief posted:Been re-reading The Karamazov Brothers and if anything Dostoyevski knew people, as in the way we behave and lie to ourselves. He was a pro, is what I'm saying, I guess I've tried this book twice, quitting once about 50 pages in and more recently after 125 pages or so. Odd, because The Idiot is one of my favorite books. Is there a particular translation I should get for a third attempt?
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Feb 21, 2015 22:10
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A Major Fucker posted:I'm looking for a book I think I read in middle school or high school. It's about somebody trapped with a bunch of other people in some kind of geographic zone, it might have been an island. If they try to leave they're killed by sentry turrets or something. Then he gets out of the designated area somehow and finds the people who were supposedly killed are just in the hospital because their deaths were faked. You'll more likely find an answer here.
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Feb 21, 2015 23:18
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A Major Fucker posted:I'm looking for a book I think I read in middle school or high school. It's about somebody trapped with a bunch of other people in some kind of geographic zone, it might have been an island. If they try to leave they're killed by sentry turrets or something. Then he gets out of the designated area somehow and finds the people who were supposedly killed are just in the hospital because their deaths were faked. Sounds like Battle Royale by Koushun Takami
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Feb 22, 2015 02:54
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BobbyPeru posted:Sounds like Battle Royale by Koushun Takami The deaths were not faked in br
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Feb 22, 2015 03:25
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Honest Thief posted:Been re-reading The Karamazov Brothers and if anything Dostoyevski knew people, as in the way we behave and lie to ourselves. He was a pro, is what I'm saying, I guess Dost is cool but the best Russian work that really understood people imo was Tolstoy's death of Ivan illyach
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Feb 22, 2015 03:28
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I just finished the unabridged Count of Monte Cristo, and while I liked it I was honestly underwhelmed after the high praise I've heard it get. It dragged really bad in the middle and got very Desperate Housewives of Paris-esque, which bored me but to the books credit the last 300 pages were very engaging. I also was to an extent a bit dissapointed with the characterization - every character tended to have their one quality and that was their whole personality, even the Count to an extent for the majority of the book. It was beautifully written though, I absolutely love Dumas' style of prose. Overall, I enjoyed the book, but I think it was just hyped up far too much for me. Question though: What the hell is cut out of the abridged version? I am completely baffled as to how you could cut 700 pages (like 60% of the novel) and still maintain a coherent story. Is there a source somewhere that describes the plots dropped?
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Feb 22, 2015 04:16
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Quandary posted:I just finished the unabridged Count of Monte Cristo, and while I liked it I was honestly underwhelmed after the high praise I've heard it get. It dragged really bad in the middle and got very Desperate Housewives of Paris-esque, which bored me but to the books credit the last 300 pages were very engaging. I also was to an extent a bit dissapointed with the characterization - every character tended to have their one quality and that was their whole personality, even the Count to an extent for the majority of the book. It was beautifully written though, I absolutely love Dumas' style of prose. Overall, I enjoyed the book, but I think it was just hyped up far too much for me. Which version did you read? Did it have the drug use sequences? With CoMC you need to read a very modern translation, up till fairly recently all the English translations cut out a lot of stuff. Not so much story as scandalous. With older authors like Dumas I think you have to give him credit for inventing the tropes. Hieronymous Alloy fucked around with this message at 04:45 on Feb 22, 2015 |
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Feb 22, 2015 04:37
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Hieronymous Alloy posted:Which version did you read? Did it have the drug use sequences? With CoMC you need to read a very modern translation, up till fairly recently all the English translations cut out a lot of stuff. Not so much story as scandalous. That's a fair point about inventing the tropes; I always forget that when reading older novels, when in reality that's obviously an impressive work to do. And the version I read is the original English translation that was done anonymously in 1846 I believe. It's possible that cut out a lot, if so what was cut out? Is there a website anywhere that talks about it?
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Feb 22, 2015 04:53
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Quandary posted:That's a fair point about inventing the tropes; I always forget that when reading older novels, when in reality that's obviously an impressive work to do. And the version I read is the original English translation that was done anonymously in 1846 I believe. It's possible that cut out a lot, if so what was cut out? Is there a website anywhere that talks about it? This is a decent summary I think: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Count_of_Monte_Cristo#English_translations I'd go with the 1996 Penguin version personally. I should really go back and re-read it. I've learned a lot about French revolutionary and napoleonic era history over the past few years and I think it'd give me a new insight into the story. A lot of the content in the doorstopper books of those days seems irrellevant to us now but was hugely important at the time and thematically resonant to the readers when the book was published (the best example I can think of is the multi-chapter history of the Battle of Waterloo in Victor Hugo's Les Miserables.) It's not just that the books are old, it's that they're speaking to people of a different time. Just about everyone in France at the time who was capable of reading a novel would have had, at minimum, some relative or other who had been imprisoned or persecuted for reasons no better than those Edmond Dantes suffers from. It's not just a simple revenge tragedy -- it's actually about what would have been a pressing national issue at the time, how to stop the endless cycles of political revenge? When Dumas wrote it, it wasn't really historical fiction -- it was closer to a contemporary political thriller than anything. Hieronymous Alloy fucked around with this message at 05:29 on Feb 22, 2015 |
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Feb 22, 2015 05:20
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regulargonzalez posted:I've tried this book twice, quitting once about 50 pages in and more recently after 125 pages or so. Odd, because The Idiot is one of my favorite books. Is there a particular translation I should get for a third attempt? I have the P&V translation and liked it very much.
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Feb 22, 2015 08:23
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seravid posted:I have the P&V translation and liked it very much. When does the story pick up? I heard there is a murder-mystery element that starts early on. I'm on page 90ish.
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Feb 22, 2015 20:39
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regulargonzalez posted:I've tried this book twice, quitting once about 50 pages in and more recently after 125 pages or so. Odd, because The Idiot is one of my favorite books. Is there a particular translation I should get for a third attempt? Stravinsky posted:Dost is cool but the best Russian work that really understood people imo was Tolstoy's death of Ivan illyach
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Feb 22, 2015 22:18
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Stravinsky posted:Dost is cool but the best Russian work that really understood people imo was Tolstoy's death of Ivan illyach What's the best Russian work that doesn't really understand people?
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Feb 23, 2015 02:27
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House Louse posted:What's the best Russian work that doesn't really understand people? Doctor Zhivago?
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Feb 23, 2015 02:30
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blue squares posted:When does the story pick up? I heard there is a murder-mystery element that starts early on. I'm on page 90ish. Not an easy question to answer with this book, but I'd say Part II. There is indeed a murder, but not much of a mystery; it is essential to the story, but there's no big whodunit.
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Feb 23, 2015 02:34
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OK, how about the best one that really doesn't understand people?
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Feb 23, 2015 02:35
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seravid posted:Not an easy question to answer with this book, but I'd say Part II. Come on. It's what the book is about. Surely it says it on the back cover? Fyodor Karamazov is an awful man, someone kills him. The buildup is astonishingly long (like 500-600 pages?), yes, but that's what the book is about. It's like spoilertagging Raskolnikov getting caught or Myshkin being Jesus.
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Feb 23, 2015 03:55
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Ras Het posted:Come on. It's what the book is about. Surely it says it on the back cover? Fyodor Karamazov is an awful man, someone kills him. The buildup is astonishingly long (like 500-600 pages?), yes, but that's what the book is about. It's like spoilertagging Raskolnikov getting caught or Myshkin being Jesus. blue squares used spoiler tags, I followed along; seems harmless enough. Oh, and the back cover of my book only talks about the translation, wise guy. The opening line, on the other hand, does mention Fyodor's "dark and tragic death", so I guess your point still stands. Your post did remind me that I actually haven't read Crime and Punishment or The Idiot. Which one should I begin with?
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Feb 23, 2015 04:53
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Ras Het posted:Come on. It's what the book is about. Surely it says it on the back cover? Fyodor Karamazov is an awful man, someone kills him. The buildup is astonishingly long (like 500-600 pages?), yes, but that's what the book is about. It's like spoilertagging Raskolnikov getting caught or Myshkin being Jesus. Thanks, dick
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Feb 23, 2015 04:57
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seravid posted:Your post did remind me that I actually haven't read Crime and Punishment or The Idiot. Which one should I begin with? C&P is more impressive, Idiot is better. blue squares posted:Thanks, dick Wait til you find out that it's a bombastic and frankly deranged commentary on human nature and not a Stieg Larsson book.
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Feb 23, 2015 13:25
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Ras Het posted:C&P is more impressive, Idiot is better. Doesn't mean I still don't want to enjoy the story, too.
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Feb 23, 2015 16:12
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blue squares posted:Doesn't mean I still don't want to enjoy the story, too. Why is it that people supposedly cannot enjoy a story if they already know it? I've never understood that.
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Feb 23, 2015 16:40
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Ras Het posted:Why is it that people supposedly cannot enjoy a story if they already know it? I've never understood that. It's generally agreed that going into a story blind is the best way to enjoy it, as the author intended it. Personally, knowing a twist in a movie before seeing it distracts me from things going on, because I'm just waiting for that twist. It also reduces any urgency I have of enjoying the story. Is knowing Mufasa dies really going to ruin the Lion King? No. But it doesn't help. Some people just try to be considerate, and of course it gets taken to logical extremes.
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Feb 23, 2015 16:54
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The one person in TBB who is ever going to read Brothers Karamazov and now its been spoiled for him
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Feb 23, 2015 17:15
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CestMoi posted:The one person in TBB who is ever going to read Brothers Karamazov and now its been spoiled for him One simple answer to spoiler fears in this forum is to remember that, given this is SA, there's always a non-zero chance the person posting the spoiler is either confused (didn't actually understand the book), ignorant (didn't actually read the book), or deliberately posting false information just to gently caress with you.
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Feb 23, 2015 17:18
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Franchescanado posted:It's generally agreed that going into a story blind is the best way to enjoy it, as the author intended it. There have been studies that have said the opposite is true.
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Feb 23, 2015 18:10
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Also ras het pointing those things out mean nothing without the context of the story so nothing is ruined because there was no mystery that the entire thing hinged on you not knowing.
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Feb 23, 2015 18:13
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