Has anyone read this? I keep thinking I should: 2666. By Roberto Bolaño. Translated by Natasha Wimmer. (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, cloth and paper, $30.) The five autonomous sections of this posthumously published novel interlock to form an astonishing whole, a supreme capstone to Bolaño’s vaulting ambition.
--- "Your enthusiasm for sporting events reveals nothing about the human condition except by way of irony."
Posts: 9385 | Location: 410 A.D. | Registered: February 20, 2003
taking this to be the december reading thread, with twist, i finished "tiger! tiger!" last night, the second besher i've read in the last six months (the other obviously being "the demolished man"). with nano i never really got much reading done, and last night is still november, but hey, its done, and i can move on.
half way through the lucha libre collection. which i had seen as toys/vinyl art and hadn't realised there was a comic. its quite fun, various gangs of guys in wrestling masks who think they are superheroes and end up in random fights/adventures.
oh holiday at end of week, might take a womack with me. i still have most of his stuff to catch up on. but i always have so many options for travelling and end up spending ages trying to decide.
Before Gibson, Bester was absolutely the best literary stylist that sci-fi had. The likes of Delaney and Disch did amazing things, but lacked Bester's verve.
In the 50s, his panache knew no peer. Or pisser, for that matter.
The only person (before Gib) to give Bester a run for the savoir-faire money (how come all the words meaning, in effect, 'way cool', are French?) was Alice Bradley Sheldon , pseudonymously known as James Triptree, Jr. or Raccoona Sheldon.
(Imagine making love to a woman named Racoona.)
She was a handsome woman. I think Racoona was a self-mocking reference to her deep-set eyes:
I started rereading Gravity's Rainbow the other day. I don't know if I am up for it. I have been really sick and am worn out. Now I am rereading Sandman, which is about my speed right now.
--- "Your enthusiasm for sporting events reveals nothing about the human condition except by way of irony."
Posts: 9385 | Location: 410 A.D. | Registered: February 20, 2003
Originally posted by UberDog: I started rereading Gravity's Rainbow the other day.
Amazing. I just thought of Gravity's Rainbow and you mentioned it. I always wanted to know what this book is about and what drugs Pynchon was on while writing it and why Pynchon likes to be such a creepy ghost of American culture that no one knows if he's still alive or already dead. Honestly I like this guy.
Posts: 319 | Location: Munich | Registered: August 03, 2008
He is alive. He is finishing a new novel. gravity's Rainbow is ostensibly about an American intel officer at the end of world war two whose erections are connected to the German Vengeance rockets program.
It's really about the way technology and our systems that accrete around technology make the world work and subvert the individual.
As for the drugs he was on, he has stated that he wrote most of the book stoned on marijuana. He may have been joking, don't know.
It's a great book. One of THE great books.
--- "Your enthusiasm for sporting events reveals nothing about the human condition except by way of irony."
Posts: 9385 | Location: 410 A.D. | Registered: February 20, 2003
The Ghost Brigades, John Scalzi - Sequel to Old Man's War. He's pretty good in general. Stil YA fiction, but good YA fiction, so I'm having a fun time. Now on to The Last Colony.
started "swallow me whole" by nate powell, which i picked up at LCS last week or so. i'm sure i have other stuff by him, though not sure if its lurking in the still not read pile, need to check.
Managing to read more than I thought I would.. we're each making sure the other gets 30 minutes or so peace in the bath to read each evening, and Joe seems happy with our 15 minutes reading before bed time habit. Plus, I am reading for 5 - 10 minutes after the night feed to try and tell my bran its time to sleep again!
So, I htink last post I was reading Anansi Boys.. then November was mainly taken up with Bad Omens (which I dropped in the bath twice.. then read the epilogue where Gaiman and Pratchett both mention they see lots of copies that have been dropped in the bath. Strange, as I'd never dropped a book in the bath before).. then I gobbled up The Graveyard Book.. decided on a quick break from Gaiman so read Breakfast at Tiffanies (now need to see the film, as the book is NOTHING like I imagined the film to be) - finished it in the bath, and promptly threw it is the pooey clothes bucket (luckily only containing water and disinfectant.. but book hasn't survived).. So thats the catch up..
Now I'm back on the Gaiman thing, and reading American Gods. Great so far.. 2 chapters in!
Originally posted by UberDog: Has anyone read this? I keep thinking I should: 2666. By Roberto Bolaño. Translated by Natasha Wimmer. (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, cloth and paper, $30.) The five autonomous sections of this posthumously published novel interlock to form an astonishing whole, a supreme capstone to Bolaño’s vaulting ambition.
I've read his Amulet and The Savage Detectives. Powerful depictions of the 60's Latinamerican generational struggle on this continent and in Europe. Can't imagine how they translate to english, as his multi-cultural characters carry lots of regional slang.
Posts: 6513 | Location: Mexico City, Mexico | Registered: January 11, 2003
Originally posted by UberDog: He is alive. He is finishing a new novel. gravity's Rainbow is ostensibly about an American intel officer at the end of world war two whose erections are connected to the German Vengeance rockets program.
It's really about the way technology and our systems that accrete around technology make the world work and subvert the individual.
As for the drugs he was on, he has stated that he wrote most of the book stoned on marijuana. He may have been joking, don't know.
It's a great book. One of THE great books.
I think Pynchon's latest work is called "Against the Day". Yes, I knew that "Gravity's Rainbow" deals with V2 rockets in World War 2 and I always knew about the erections of one of the main characters. But still I don't think I want to read it. It's because I hate books with more than 400 pages.
How do you know about Pynchon's marijuana? I thought he never gave an interview, never appeared in front of a camera. I wonder what he's so afraid of.
Posts: 319 | Location: Munich | Registered: August 03, 2008
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