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 WTF Penguin? Like, this book is the loving dream as an illustrator, it's an excuse to go balls to the wall crazy and that is what they managed? What, did they have another five to knock out before lunch? Christ. I wish I could be reading this not knowing what happens with the bear. But then, I guess I wouldn't be reading it if I didn't know.
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Feb 7, 2019 23:36
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| # ¿ May 15, 2024 01:26 |
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Yeah, you're right, good. Good because it SUCKS and no-one should get paid for that.  Unlike the book, which I'm actually enjoying so far. As you mentioned upthread, it's some good isolation-porn. And library porn. Who doesn't want to sit reading in a huge sofa, in front of an open fire, a 180 degree window, nestling their naked feet into bear-fur? I love how the guy taking her to the place was all "so, here's the house, lemme just show you how everything works, here's your stuff... also there's a bear ok seeya." e: Looking at those other covers in the link, there's a couple of really nice ones. Which makes it even more infuriating that my totally-legit copy went with that one.  Artsy! (And using native canadian imagery?)  Tactile!  Cute. Welp, guess I know what I'm doing tomorrow. lofi fucked around with this message at 00:36 on Feb 8, 2019 |
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Feb 8, 2019 00:26
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nah, I'm banned from the zoo after I read Lion.
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Feb 8, 2019 09:27
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Just finished reading, and enjoyed it more than I expected. What struck me most (aside from 'lol, bear fucker') was how much the novel is about nearly doing stuff. Lou nearly gets back to nature (except for the tourists buzzing about the place and her garden being poo poo), she nearly fucks the bear. The bear itself isn't totally a creature of nature, it's been kept in a cage and domesticated. I like that in the story, it adds an ambiguity that a straight 'back to the land = happygood' would be missing. Plus, I was totally right in slagging off the cover on my version: It's quite impressive how badly this misses the point - the bear isn't anthropomorphic at all, that's its whole point, it's not even called by a name other than 'bear' quote:"Once and only once, she experimented with calling him “Trelawny” but the name did not inspire him and she realized she was wrong: this was no parasitical collector of memoirs, this was no pirate, this was an enormous, living creature larger and older and wiser than time..."
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Feb 10, 2019 13:55
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Yeah, we went over the 'fanmade cover' before, I was just ragging on it to illustrate (doh-ho) how badly it missed the point, and to launch into the bear vs humanity idea.
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Feb 10, 2019 18:50
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The getting bored and wandering off made me laugh, too. I guess she does interpret the bear's moods, yeah. I'd been more thinking of how often the text refers to it as unknowable/unreadable/etc, but that's more a third-person description than Lou's own. Christ, you know you've got issues when you're shagging a bear Poor bear, it never asked for any of this poo poo. The Homer stuff felt weird to me - did she show any sign of being into him before he grabbed her rear end? It felt almost like she was convincing herself to like him - ditto the director. Both guys who shoved themself on her and she went with the flow. I'm not sure on that, it might just be the book's age making it read that way.
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Feb 11, 2019 21:24
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It's vague enough that I think you could interpret it either way, it just felt a little skeevy to me, and that led me towards a more negative interpretation. If I was on an isolated island and literally dependant on a guy for food, then he grabbed my rear end, that's not a good place. With the boss is a similar (though less extreme) power dynamic.
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Feb 11, 2019 22:16
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Ooooh, fancy bear!
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Feb 15, 2019 21:16
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Oh hell yeah, I mean, it was barely subtext.
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Feb 18, 2019 19:10
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I refuse to believe anyone read that and didn't at least snigger.
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Mar 4, 2019 22:37
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| # ¿ May 15, 2024 01:26 |
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It's definitely a unique groove, I'll give it that. But yeah, the context of the 70s does change things. I have a pet theory that everyone was incredibly high all the time through the 70s, every bit of 70s art is insane.
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Mar 6, 2019 18:28
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