tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7912730.post114764892394460526..comments2024-01-06T00:28:45.062+08:00Comments on Bibliobibuli: Seeking The Great American Novelbibliobibulihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16456636355933524132noreply@blogger.comBlogger19125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7912730.post-36616359188088569722007-05-14T06:43:00.000+08:002007-05-14T06:43:00.000+08:00thanks for the recommendation and i will certianly...thanks for the recommendation and i will certianly look out for 'endzone". "falling man", his latest, sounds very interesting toobibliobibulihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16456636355933524132noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7912730.post-36939336373294404242007-05-14T04:23:00.000+08:002007-05-14T04:23:00.000+08:00well great bibi, then try Endzone: it is a bit dat...well great bibi, then try Endzone: it is a bit dated "geopolitically" but still great and like many dellilo novels it is very funny at times.<BR/><BR/>I'm not sure myself what I meant by "dropped," certainly intended no disrespect... thought I liked Saturday, but in the end I guess I decided that the cooler reviews were deserved.<BR/><BR/>Now, I'll "post" this if I can just remember my username. Do you ever have that problem?Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17553112694622866251noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7912730.post-85364483075338112882007-05-04T07:18:00.000+08:002007-05-04T07:18:00.000+08:00hi stephen - not sure what you mean about dropping...hi stephen - not sure what you mean about <I>dropping "Saturday" as a book-reference? </I><BR/><BR/>i take your point about bigness vs. consistency - nicely said<BR/> <BR/>i must read the other de lillo novels and in fact several others are waiting patiently on my bookshelves, but i keep getting review copies butting in (inc. "on chesil beach") <BR/><BR/>would probably be less put off by a book about american football as it isn't a thousand miles away from rugby which i like very muchbibliobibulihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16456636355933524132noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7912730.post-51498836571962541082007-05-04T06:32:00.000+08:002007-05-04T06:32:00.000+08:00sorry; i hit the wrong key... As for the above nam...sorry; i hit the wrong key... As for the above named writers, my faviorite is Dellilo, with McCarthy not too far begind. I was moved and impressed by Beloved, but confess to being more interested in Dellilo's "subjects." Which is one big reason we over here admire him: he is the novelist of modern terror, and fascinating on the effects of commerce and technology on individuals and "crowds" (a favorite image of his). So read him; read other novels by him,esp. Mao II, The Names, White Noise, and (unless another popular american sport, football, would irritate you) the classic "Endzone," a briefer relative to Underworld's submergence in the cold war era. I for one am looking forward to On Chesil Beach-- save for Amazon.uk, ya'll are so lucky over there to get the book two months early!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17553112694622866251noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7912730.post-72702707095701780802007-05-04T06:22:00.000+08:002007-05-04T06:22:00.000+08:00were you dropping "Saturday" as a book-reference? ...were you dropping "Saturday" as a book-reference? In response to an earlier post, of course the yanks publish such lists: could anything be more "American" than "The Best"?<BR/>But there is some truth to the notion that today many of the "big" novels are from the states, whereas commonwealth writers are known for "consistency"-- Ondaatje, McEwan, Barnes and others-- have produced many outstanding booksAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17553112694622866251noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7912730.post-1147755932874812032006-05-16T13:05:00.000+08:002006-05-16T13:05:00.000+08:00i don't understand why people love toni morrison. ...i don't understand why people love toni morrison. i read the first forty pages or so of 'tar baby' several years ago and got quickly bored with it. and never have the urge to read any others anymore; 'beloved' included.and i won't read it just because 'some prominent writers, crtitics...' say it's the best american book in the last 25 yrs ... .Greenbottlehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15316111272589161400noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7912730.post-1147744745840339582006-05-16T09:59:00.000+08:002006-05-16T09:59:00.000+08:00sunday it will have to be - saturday is hectic ......sunday it will have to be - saturday is hectic ... brunch??bibliobibulihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16456636355933524132noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7912730.post-1147740315780598432006-05-16T08:45:00.000+08:002006-05-16T08:45:00.000+08:00bib ... er, I mean Sharon - yes, Jazz wasn't easy....bib ... er, I mean Sharon - yes, Jazz wasn't easy. It just got harder after Beloved. <BR/><BR/>Are we on this weekeend for book cafe sussing?Chethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10743260318771644192noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7912730.post-1147737203345905622006-05-16T07:53:00.000+08:002006-05-16T07:53:00.000+08:00i enjoyed 'song of solomon' thought 'jazz' amazin...i enjoyed 'song of solomon' thought 'jazz' amazing but it wasn't an easy read ... look forward to 'beloved'bibliobibulihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16456636355933524132noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7912730.post-1147735266165593702006-05-16T07:21:00.000+08:002006-05-16T07:21:00.000+08:00Ron - have you read any of her other books?I didn'...Ron - have you read any of her other books?<BR/><BR/>I didn't get bored - just distracted. I need to take it up again.Chethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10743260318771644192noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7912730.post-1147726389746846442006-05-16T04:53:00.000+08:002006-05-16T04:53:00.000+08:00It's interesting how different we all are in the b...It's interesting how different we all are in the books we like. I have tried to read <I>Beloved</I> more than once but have got bored fast and stopped - perhaps I should perservere.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04094574872650885802noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7912730.post-1147702402047924542006-05-15T22:13:00.000+08:002006-05-15T22:13:00.000+08:00Good. Now send out a short letter to a couple of h...Good. Now send out a short letter to a couple of hundred prominent writers, critics, editors and other literary sages, asking them to please identify "the single best work of fiction published in the last 25 years that did not originate in the US" and then watch them hemm and haw :)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7912730.post-1147691224844064222006-05-15T19:07:00.000+08:002006-05-15T19:07:00.000+08:00Chet, thx for the info, but prob have to travel to...Chet, thx for the info, but prob have to travel to KL to get the books or borrow it from you, perhaps..Haha. Yes, read the novel again, it's worth it.dreameridiothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14124953269206273794noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7912730.post-1147670446457265322006-05-15T13:20:00.000+08:002006-05-15T13:20:00.000+08:00I found Morrison increasingly hard to read from Be...I found Morrison increasingly hard to read from <I>Beloved</I> onwards, which I never did finish (but will try again), but persevered for <I>Paradise</I> and was hugely rewarded for it. <BR/><BR/>Her earlier works before <I>Beloved</I> include <I>The Bluest Eye</I>, <I>Sula</I>, <I>Song of Solomon</I> and <I>Tar Baby</I>.Chethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10743260318771644192noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7912730.post-1147668368012012132006-05-15T12:46:00.000+08:002006-05-15T12:46:00.000+08:00Beloved is definitely beyond a doubt one of the be...Beloved is definitely beyond a doubt one of the best novels I have ever read (not that I have read many books). This is the first and only Tony Morrsion novel I have read so far. I wept the first time i read it...and still cried on the second time. It's just so achingly and hauntingly heart-wrenching that it tears your heart... Worthily voted as among the best in the last 25 yrs.<BR/><BR/>Toni Morrsion and Don Dellilo (have Underworld, but haven't started yet) are two novelists whose critical literature runs to the hundreds to thousands. There are both hugely complex authors, whose works are very layered, hence worth reading more than once. For Morrison, there is even a tome titled 'Encyclopedia on Morrison's themes and influences'!dreameridiothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14124953269206273794noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7912730.post-1147665802561545522006-05-15T12:03:00.000+08:002006-05-15T12:03:00.000+08:00Toni Morrison rules!Toni Morrison rules!Chethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10743260318771644192noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7912730.post-1147661007366951542006-05-15T10:43:00.000+08:002006-05-15T10:43:00.000+08:00forget about the baseball!just run it through the ...forget about the baseball!<BR/><BR/>just run it through the projector behind your eyes as quickly as you can - it's a movie and the camera eye pans round and round to capture the crowd<BR/><BR/>and looking back on the novel it's one of the parts i love the most because de lillo brings together a whole microcosm of american societybibliobibulihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16456636355933524132noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7912730.post-1147660562252949222006-05-15T10:36:00.000+08:002006-05-15T10:36:00.000+08:00strange - I tried to read Underworld (I almost nev...strange - I tried to read Underworld (I almost never bother with any contemporary American writing), but was put off by the baseball game. I remember thinking that I was sick of bloody Americans banging on about baseball as if it meant the slightest thing to rest of us.FBThttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03313430517782838697noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7912730.post-1147660458320678302006-05-15T10:34:00.000+08:002006-05-15T10:34:00.000+08:00Almost done with Underworld. After three tries. Th...Almost done with Underworld. After three tries. The first time I hated it - because of the baseball game. The second time I loved it , strangely, because of the baseball game (but I got bored with the next chapter).Sufianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05920865973263896241noreply@blogger.com