|
I recently finished Altai-Himalaya by Nikolai Roerich because I got curious what does an 1920s russian spiritualist mystic/renowned artist/possible Soviet spy has to say. He led an expedition from India through Himalayas into China, than through China into USSR and through Mongolia into Tibet, which they barely escaped back to southern Himalayas. The book is not very good, mostly a strained attempt to shoehorn his experiences into a propaganda piece for his global project of a unified Panasian state and one world philosophy. Second half has more of a travel diaries format, and thus more interesting, if at least 50% of what he wrote is true 20s east China was an utter hell. It was Republican China back than but seemingly inherited a shitton of degeneracy from imperial times. Tibet is destribed as 10 times worse, near complete failed state. There are barely 4 paragraphs dedicated to their travels in USSR filled by nothing but sugary praise lol
|
#
¿
Apr 11, 2024 18:35
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ May 16, 2024 00:52 |
|
|
Borges is very good. At some point I devoured all of his fiction that I could find. As for Nabokov, I was surprised to find that his book Ada or Ardor is technically scy fi of sorts. Everything happens on another planet, they are aware of Earth (Terra) and are convinced for some reason that it's a much better place than their own cursed Daemonia.
|
|
#
¿
Apr 12, 2024 11:41
|
|
|
Earwicker posted:i just started Life and Fate by Vassily Grossman. a huge tome filled with every evil WW2 wrought in Russia and Germany in the form of a fiction following one family (but based fairly closely on Grossman's own life, according to the intro). so far its very well written and harrowing I read Life and fate but no book has shook me quite as much as The Kindly Ones by Jonathan Littel. Everyone should read it
|
|
#
¿
Apr 27, 2024 20:55
|
|
|
He wrote a bunch on this theme. Fiasco is not as philosophical as Solaris but IMO more impactful. I think it is also the last book he ever wrote.
|
|
#
¿
Apr 30, 2024 19:12
|
|