tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5740282838839188438.post5986205088623153318..comments2023-12-17T05:31:18.637-05:00Comments on 'kül: Insurgent SummerAaron Ricciohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05003634532469211190noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5740282838839188438.post-62114846623273578972010-07-03T22:43:00.551-04:002010-07-03T22:43:00.551-04:00hey aaron,
glad you appreciate Chronic City on a ...hey aaron,<br /><br />glad you appreciate Chronic City on a sentence-by-sentence level. I think every page of that book has a gobsmackingly brilliant moment on it, which is what kept me going through the parts where I was like "er, where is this going?" I think it's a book that's an uncomfortable read, because (like, say, underworld) it comes together after you're done reading it. At least, that's what it did for me. It's also a book about a difficult friendship that moves with the rhythms of a difficult friendship, rather than standard narrative rhythm.<br /><br />You want recs, eh? Well, the former book store employee in me is always happy to oblige.<br /><br />From what I know of your taste in books (Milhauser, Auster, Lethem, Wallace, etc.) I would say you have to do yourself a favor and read Chris Adrian's THE CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL as sooon as you possibly can. He also has a book fo short stories that is supposed to be quite good, but i haven't read it.<br /><br />I love some of Lethem's shorter works, particularly the much maligned YOU DON'T LOVE ME YET, the almost never mentioned THIS SHAPE WE'RE IN and the wonderful AS SHE CLIMBED ACROSS THE TABLE. Each of which can be read in maybe two days.<br /><br />I would also recommend that you read Iris Murdoch's THE BLACK PRINCE, as it does things with first person perspective that rae so disturbingly brilliant I kinda don't know what to say about. Also, i can't say anything about it without ruining it. It's great. and hilarious. And was turned into a play starring Ian McDiormid, if that gives you any idea how hilariously unlikeable the main character is.isaac butlerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07815094790605298884noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5740282838839188438.post-57157753161510957652010-07-03T13:29:05.523-04:002010-07-03T13:29:05.523-04:00Aaron, this is a very fair rendering of some of th...Aaron, this is a very fair rendering of some of the strengths and weaknesses of <i>Letters of Insurgents</i>. The "mysteries" of the text are clearly not so profound or wonderful or evocative as those of IJ, yet it is a far more systematic interrogation of politics - and the <i>personal</i> - and morality. Hang in there, the ride gets crazier as you go! <br /><br />I did add your link to the Insurgent Summer site, even though you won't be posting regularly. We'll look forward to any additional comments you have over the next six weeks!Infinite Taskshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08198069323041131926noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5740282838839188438.post-16672857181779915692010-07-03T12:36:31.605-04:002010-07-03T12:36:31.605-04:00Looking forward to the "Of Course," conv...Looking forward to the "Of Course," convo--I'm rereading all of David Mitchell's stuff first (because his new novel just came out), but this is paving the way for me to read through all of DFW's work again before The Pale King comes out next year. <br /><br />As for Chronic City--I've read Fortress of Solitude previously, so I know that Lethem's got more up his sleeve, but I find authors like Chabon (with Fortress) and Auster (or Yann Martel) are doing what I believe Lethem's doing with Chronic a little bit better. But I am holding off judgment -- it's why I keep using the "so-far" modifier -- and I am enjoying his actual WRITING, if not his actual plot (which puts him above Moody, in my book). For instance, Oona being described as if spilled coffee had suddenly turned into a woman, or the mysterious tiger-that's-not-a-tiger.<br /><br />By the way, if you or anyone else has other recommendations for books for me to read, feel free to pass them my way. Later this month, I'll be starting a new feature on this blog wherein I read a short story a day (inspired by the whole 20 under 40 thing, and my own desire to identify what I want to be doing in my own writing), and hopefully branch out to include plays, so I'll be relying on suggestions.Aaron Ricciohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05003634532469211190noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5740282838839188438.post-72473679796972072242010-07-03T12:22:32.284-04:002010-07-03T12:22:32.284-04:00hey aaron,
can't wait to talk to you about &q...hey aaron,<br /><br />can't wait to talk to you about "Of Course..." which is such a profoundly mixed bag, so we'll have to cross blog on that later.<br /><br />all I'll say about Chronic City is to just... well.. .suspend your judgement for as long as possible. I think your opinion of it might be getting in the way of seeing what it's doing, if that makes sense. I know that's hard, but if you can just kind of stay with it on its terms, i think it's rewarding.<br /><br />ALso, is this the first Lethem you've read? If it is, this is not the place to start with his books, it's not the right entry way into his work. I think if you read enough of his stuff, you'll find that he's about as sympathetic to Insteadman as you are.isaac butlerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07815094790605298884noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5740282838839188438.post-18938401899062004362010-07-03T12:02:06.848-04:002010-07-03T12:02:06.848-04:00Oh, I'm very early on in Chronic City--page 96...Oh, I'm very early on in Chronic City--page 96--and I fully expect that it'll get better. But if it's parody of snobs, that's not apparent yet. And for all the Gnuppets (which I thought was just a copyright concern, honestly), there are enough cultural references to irritate me. I'm also not a fan of "heroes" like Insteadman--the sorts of inert, inactive people for whom their biggest problem in life is figuring out how to spend their exhaustingly inexhaustible time and money. <br /><br />So yes, so far, the book itself is snobby, the sort of valueless thing that puffs up at its own self-importance, as if simply by talking about art it somehow rubs some of that significance off on itself. I also find it uninventive (so far), with the exception of his space-stranded girlfriend and her evocative letters. <br /><br />I'm reading the Wallace-transcript book right now, too; I'll be blogging about "Although of Course You End Up Becoming Yourself" as well. I'm sure that has some effect on how critical I am toward Lethem's novel--I'm really looking for so, so much more.Aaron Ricciohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05003634532469211190noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5740282838839188438.post-50454423181020566332010-07-03T11:49:19.168-04:002010-07-03T11:49:19.168-04:00wait... can you try to quantify in a little more d...wait... can you try to quantify in a little more depth what you mean by so-far-tediously-snobby w/r/t Chronic City? I really liked that book (i also don't know how far you are through it, it's a book that really comes together at the end). A lot of it is loving parody of culture snobs and the way they talk, but I don't think that makes it itself particularly snobby, especially considering most of the cultural figures they talk about (morrison groom, the gnuppets etc) aren't real.isaac butlerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07815094790605298884noreply@blogger.com