|
I just finished Philip K. Dick's Ubik. Whoa. That book was complete mind gently caress. Anyways, onto to more of his stuff. Will be reading Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? now.
|
#
¿
Dec 21, 2006 03:41
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ May 3, 2024 13:29 |
|
|
Finished The Crying of Lot 49 and Blood Meridian yesterday. I loved The Crying of Lot 49 for creating a world full of paranoia and confusion where Oepida would uncover something only to have it confound her other theories, and thus putting her through an endless cycle of second guessing. I will definitely check out other works by Pynchon. I'll go to V next and then build my way up to Gravity's Rainbow. Blood Meridian has made quite the impression on me and is easily on my list of favorite books ever. The ending scene was by far the most unforgettable scene from any book that I've ever read. (Spoilers about the end) Knowing Judge Holden from throughout the book, I can't even begin to imagine what happened to the Kid. So unspeakable, McCarthy hints, that it's not even written, which is contrary to the trend of the brutally detailed Blood Meridian. I've never encountered a character as complex as Judge Holden. He has mysterious persuasion over everyone he encounters despite his actions and philosophy. As a reader, I sympathize with the characters: I'm terrified by Judge Holden, but at the same time, I can not resist him and am continuingly drawn toward him. I will definitely reread this book. I feel like I did not give it the attention that it deserved and missed somethings. For those of you who are on the fence about reading this book, READ THIS BOOK! Whew..., after suffering a massive reading hangover this morning, I think I'll continue to something much more simple with Philip Dick's The Man in the High Castle.
|
|
#
¿
Dec 31, 2006 03:44
|
|
|
Just finished Cormac McCarthy's The Road and Philip Roth's American Pastoral. I decided to read The Road because I really love Blood Meridian, and I found The Road in a used-book store for $5. It was pretty good, and was in many ways the antithesis of Blood Meridian. It showed the innate goodness in people despite the dehumanizing conditions. A heartfelt and touching story. I'm a little more mixed on American Pastoral. It was the first Philip Roth book that I've ever read. I really like his prose style; it's engaging and easy to read. I really enjoyed the first 2/3 of American Pastoral. I was completely entrenched in the plot and felt a lot of empathy for the characters especially Swede and his daughter. I disappointed with the last third, which seemed to drag and lose focus. New characters were introduced, who seemed to belabor the point rather than adding anything. If the book had ended with the first 2/3, I would have placed it into my pantheon of favorite books ever. But the last third was a struggle to follow and ended up leaving more questions than answers. As a result I have to give a weaker thumbs up. Anyways, now onto Jose Saramago's Blindness followed by Toni Morrison's Beloved. Olsen Oligarchy fucked around with this message at 01:40 on Mar 12, 2007 |
|
#
¿
Mar 12, 2007 01:38
|
|
|
perceptual_set posted:YES. He takes a concept that could have really altered the world as we know it and seems to rush things into a sloppy ending. Like a child told to clean his room before dessert, he throws everything under the bed hoping that will clear it all up. Seriously. With American Pastoral: After Merry was revealed to be Jain, she could have died and the story could have been left there. I would have cried, and it would have been one of the best novels ever. I would have gotten the point that Swede's dreams of the "American Pastoral" were destroyed and his life sucks. But no, Roth had to muck it up by introducing the Orcutt family and the whole subplots of his affair with Shelia and Dawn with Bob. By the point, I was pretty much sick of the characters and their melodrama. Goddammit, Roth. Olsen Oligarchy fucked around with this message at 19:17 on Mar 12, 2007 |
|
#
¿
Mar 12, 2007 19:14
|
|
|
Just finished The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay. Such an awesome book. Great story telling, great prose, great characters, great everthing. I especially loved... Clay and Kavalier's relationship. I've never seen anything like it before. Each one of them has their own strengths and completely unique. Clay possesses an encyclopedic knowledge of the competition and gets them into the business through his know how and writing. Kavalier has incredible, inspired talent with art. They never have that cliched falling out that I expected. I shall definitely be checking out more of Chabon's work in the future. Up next at bat, Don DeLillo's Underworld.
|
|
#
¿
Apr 8, 2007 18:41
|
|