A Great Reading Achievement

[umslopogaas]

#14 thanks Jayne, I'll go in search of a copy. Pity the owners of Waterstones closed down my local branch and left me without a bookshop, but one must persevere.

Speaking of DJ Enright, do you know his 'The Alluring Problem; An Essay on Irony'? I very much enjoyed it. By the way, please dont go looking for irony in this post, I have tried to exclude it. Perhaps with scant success. Irony has a habit of slipping under the most well intentioned defences.

But ...

you cant read 'Midnight's Children' or 'Catch 22'? Extraordinary, those are two of the most unputdownable books I've ever read (there are others). In the case of 'Catch 22' it might be memories of the movie that drag me back, but its definitely a great read. Give it another go!

'Midnight's Children' is a bit more difficult, I'm glad I read it but I'm not sure I'd like to try again, perhaps one to lay quietly to rest.

Maybe we should start a thread on 'Unfinishable books, reasons various'

Has anyone failed with 'The Name of the Rose' by Umberto Eco? I just burrowed through it and I think its brilliant, addictive and very scary. I worry about religious inquisition, I really do. There are some truly nasty people out there and Eco knows well how to describe them.

And we could talk all night about 'Catch 22', but I have to go to bed.

[jayne lee wilson]

Well ums., (good morning by the way) I always think I'll enjoy Catch-22, the concept and set-up of the book appeals, but in practice...

Religious inquisition? Now you've evoked possibly my all-time unputdownable, Knowledge of Angels by Jill Paton Walsh. Thinking of the last page makes me shiver once again... surely no-one would find that unreadable, but then again...

[ahinton]

Well ums., (good morning by the way) I always think I'll enjoy Catch-22, the concept and set-up of the book appeals, but in practice...

Religious inquisition? Now you've evoked possibly my all-time unputdownable, Knowledge of Angels by Jill Paton Walsh. Thinking of the last page makes me shiver once again... surely no-one would find that unreadable, but then again...

I've only just seen this thread! Congratulations are indeed in order! What an extraordinary accomplishment! - and intensely and immensely rewarding, too, of course - for both of you!

[Gordon]

Well done your Mum!! That was just the warm up for Ulysses I take it?

[Gordon]

Has anyone failed with 'The Name of the Rose' by Umberto Eco? I just burrowed through it and I think its brilliant, addictive and very scary. I worry about religious inquisition, I really do. There are some truly nasty people out there and Eco knows well how to describe them.

Took me ages to finish that, but was glad I persevered. Very dense. I try not to think about conspiracy theories but somehow can't avoid the what if.... Dan Brown I can forget, Eco's on a completely different level.

[cloughie]

Well done to your Mum , Jayne. From what you and Petruchka have said if I make it to 83 that's the time to get serious about reading!

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Dan Brown I can forget, Eco's on a completely different level.

It takes a tougher man than myself to even mention the Golden Eco's name in the same sentence as the "bestselling author", Gordon. Have you read Foucault's Pendulum? A remarkable instance (unique as far as I'm aware) of a parody (of the DaV Code) written 15 years before the book it parodies!

[vinteuil]

A remarkable instance (unique as far as I'm aware) of a parody (of the DaV Code) written 15 years before the book it parodies!

... time for you to re-read Jorge Luis Borges "Pierre Menard, Author of the Quixote" [ in Ficciones, 1956 ]

from which :

" - It is a revelation to compare Menard's Don Quixote with Cervantes's. The latter, for example, wrote (part one, chapter nine):

... truth, whose mother is history, rival of time, depository of deeds, witness of the past, exemplar and adviser to the present, and the future's counsellor.

Written in the seventeenth century, written by the 'lay genius' Cervantes, this enumeration is a mere rhetorical praise of history. Menard, on the other hand, writes:

... truth, whose mother is history, rival of time, depository of deeds, witness of the past, exemplar and adviser to the present, and the future's counsellor.

History the mother of truth : the idea is astounding. Menard, a contemporary of William James, does not define history as an inquiry into reality but as its origin. Historical truth, for him, is not what has happened; it is what we judge to have happened. The final phrases - exemplar and adviser to the present, and the future's counsellor - are brazenly pragmatic."

[umslopogaas]

I have read 'Foucault's Pendulum', but while it was definitely worth the effort (its long), it didnt stick in the memory like 'The Name of the Rose'. I also enjoyed his collections of shorter pieces, 'How to Travel with a Salmon' and 'Travels in Hyper-reality'. Do not, by the way, fall into the same trap as I did and buy 'Faith in Fakes', expecting fresh work: it is simply a later reprint of 'Travels in Hyper-reality' with a different title and cover design. He is a very witty and thoughtful man, I must go and see if he has written anything more recent.

[vinteuil]

He is a very witty and thoughtful man, I must go and see if he has written anything more recent.

... His 'The Prague Cemetery' came out last year.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

He is a very witty and thoughtful man, I must go and see if he has written anything more recent.

I thoroughly recommend The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana - possibly his finest achievement. I'm something of an Eco-fan; The Island of the Day Before and Baudolino are also high in my affections. This Summer, I shall be reading The Prague Cemetery for the first time: apparently it's a much darker and nastier world, so I'm intrigued!

Thanks for the nod about Faith in Fakes: I already have Travels in Hyper-reality!

[vinteuil]

This Summer, I shall be reading The Prague Cemetery for the first time: apparently it's a much darker and nastier world, so I'm intrigued!

:

Richard Tarleton of these Boards was reading The Prague Cemetery when it first came out - I wonder what he thought?

[umslopogaas]

Many thanks both, for those titles, I'll call up Waterstones tomorrow and put in an order. I'm glad to hear he is still producing new work.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Richard Tarleton of these Boards was reading The Prague Cemetery when it first came out - I wonder what he thought?

He wasn't very impressed:

I've at last finished The Prague Cemetery - I seem to have been reading it rather slowly. Eco provides an explanation at the end of the relationship between the plot and the story, as he delicately puts it "for the benerfit of the overly meticulous reader or of one who is not so quick on the uptake". I suppose I must be in the latter category. Nothing like insulting your readers after they've slogged through 430 pages

[Gordon]

It takes a tougher man than myself to even mention the Golden Eco's name in the same sentence as the "bestselling author", Gordon.

I did think, after I'd posted that reply, that I might be in for a torrent of abuse from the literati around here! I've been let off lightly. I have washed my mouse out by dunking it in disinfectant contained in an old chalice I found whilst visiting Tintagel.

Have you read Foucault's Pendulum? A remarkable instance (unique as far as I'm aware) of a parody (of the DaV Code) written 15 years before the book it parodies!

Yes and again it took me a while but it was worth it.