tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7912730.post116608456573236790..comments2024-01-06T00:28:45.062+08:00Comments on Bibliobibuli: Snowed Under by Snowbibliobibulihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16456636355933524132noreply@blogger.comBlogger34125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7912730.post-1166504199882253462006-12-19T12:56:00.000+08:002006-12-19T12:56:00.000+08:00thanks burhan - interesting!!thanks burhan - interesting!!bibliobibulihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16456636355933524132noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7912730.post-1166236555608277742006-12-16T10:35:00.000+08:002006-12-16T10:35:00.000+08:00don't think i'm able to summarize blanchot's defen...don't think i'm able to summarize blanchot's defense of the lifelessness of the novel of ideas (of sartre). so here are only the first and last paragraph:<BR/><BR/>"People wonder why the novel of ideas has a bad reputation. The complaints are many. The 'idea' itself complains of the excess of truth that it is supposed to acquire from the adventure. Alive in the domestic milieu where it took shape, its transplantation among the reflection of real things makes them into dead thoughts. In novels of this kind, the characters are reproached for being lifeless, but it is the idea that is lifeless: it no longer resembles anything but itself, it has only its own meaning: the artificial world hides it too poorly, it is more visible there than in its original bareness, so visible that it scarcely has any secrets to offer us...<BR/><BR/>"...In sum, we see it better now: the novel has nothing to fear from an idea, providing that the idea is willing to be nothing without the novel. For the novel has its own moral, which is ambiguity and equivocation. It has its own reality, which is the ability to discover the world in the unreal and the imaginary. And, finally, it has its truth, which forces it to assert nothing without seeking to counter it, and to make nothing succeed without preparing its failure, so that every argument that triumphs in a novel immediately stops being true."Burhanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05582444270077430405noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7912730.post-1166174818537772252006-12-15T17:26:00.000+08:002006-12-15T17:26:00.000+08:00I've got the New Keret, still shiny and smiley! Bu...I've got the New Keret, still shiny and smiley! But it says there on his bio - he's the author of Three (3) short story collections. <BR/><BR/>I've got the Bus driver who wanted to be God,<BR/>teh Nimrod flipout (the first para kills!),<BR/><BR/>What's the other one?<BR/><BR/>Goddammit. The completist in me is in hell. Hell!<BR/><BR/>Oh, The History of Reading is exquisite. Like, y'know, cakes and cheese and stuff, but expensive cakes and cheese and stuff. Just got it too...Sufianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05920865973263896241noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7912730.post-1166170897104643402006-12-15T16:21:00.000+08:002006-12-15T16:21:00.000+08:00burhanuddin - that's great!!!!! congrats. i hope ...burhanuddin - that's great!!!!! congrats. i hope you canget to do it. i hope we soon have malaysian novelists pouring out of bookshelves<BR/><BR/>chet - will tell later. <BR/><BR/>re. the novel of ideas - i'm also not done with thinking about it yet.bibliobibulihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16456636355933524132noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7912730.post-1166170521659720212006-12-15T16:15:00.000+08:002006-12-15T16:15:00.000+08:00Yeah, Sharon, I do feel guilty if i'm not able to ...Yeah, Sharon, I do feel guilty if i'm not able to finish a book. <BR/><BR/>I always wish to read Thomas Mann's Magic Mountain,I've heard so much about it. Infact, I encountered the book in payless few months ago, didn't buy it, coz the condition of the book was not so good, with many grafitti in it. I think I'll be able to get another copy from payless later.<BR/><BR/>The joy of discovering good books always trigger me to visit Payless, I found so many gems there,ishiguro's remains of the days, Fisher's the Art of Eating(I like gastronomy book, enjoy Fisher's writing a lot ), O' Connor's and Welty's stories, and also my favourite author Carson McCullers.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7912730.post-1166151170916876462006-12-15T10:52:00.000+08:002006-12-15T10:52:00.000+08:00i might as well say it now. the reason i asked abo...i might as well say it now. the reason i asked about the UEA person is because they just offered me last week a place to study creative writing there as well, for next year's september intake (woohoo!). <BR/><BR/>i plan to go, of course, if i can solve now the problem about the funds.Burhanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05582444270077430405noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7912730.post-1166151083743928132006-12-15T10:51:00.000+08:002006-12-15T10:51:00.000+08:00i know it was i who said dostoevsky wrote novels o...i know it was i who said dostoevsky wrote novels of ideas, but now i'm not so sure. his characters are definitely not lifeless, yes. <BR/><BR/>i think thomas mann's 'magic mountain' is the perfect example of this genre -- he probably popularized the term 'novel of ideas'. he is, to me, one of the greatest novelists of all time, and he wrote, to me, the greatest novels of all time, in the most beautiful of prose of grand, baroque, almost operatic, architecturally cascading sentences; but i can understand the charge that his character seems lifeless and artificial because they are, in a certain sense.<BR/><BR/>maurice blanchot, whom i think is bar none the greatest literary critic of the 20th century, wrote a splendid defense of the lifelessness of sartre's novels of ideas. i'll try to dig it up and post it here.Burhanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05582444270077430405noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7912730.post-1166147095769527612006-12-15T09:44:00.000+08:002006-12-15T09:44:00.000+08:00animahWho is coming down from UEA? Which I take to...animah<BR/><BR/>Who is coming down from UEA? Which I take to be University of East Anglia, my alma mater?Chethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10743260318771644192noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7912730.post-1166145753484397012006-12-15T09:22:00.000+08:002006-12-15T09:22:00.000+08:00iris murdoch, too, seems quite the ideaish lady no...iris murdoch, too, seems quite the ideaish lady novelist... and a.s. byatt might fall into that category, too, i think... oh and simone de beauvoir, but that is to be expected, since sartre was her "beaver". but the point of the gender divide is an interesting one. why? do women and men just engage with literature using a different set of conceptual tools?<BR/><BR/>i've read a bit of sartre and no, that one i will attempt again when i'm... well, someday. mann i enjoyed, as i did dostoevsky, so i just think that good writing will lift a novel of ideas, so to speak, give it wings, and let it soar. (sorry, i should have my morning coffee before i post here) and in the case of pamuk, maybe it's his writing that is the problem... i have to reread <I>the white castle</I> soon to see if i will still like it, and attempt a few his other books, as well. i am just dying of curiosity since you're not too overly fond of it, sharon, and we seem to be the only two people who enjoyed <I>the inheritance of loss</I>, so i have to find out for myself if <I>snow</I> is crisp and fresh and bracing, or just a yucky pool of slush. (heehee. sorry)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7912730.post-1166144924216754452006-12-15T09:08:00.000+08:002006-12-15T09:08:00.000+08:00winterson ... maybe (only read "oranges" and that ...winterson ... maybe (only read "oranges" and that some time back ... gotta investigate)<BR/><BR/>how can you not finish atwood????????????bibliobibulihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16456636355933524132noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7912730.post-1166142919184423292006-12-15T08:35:00.000+08:002006-12-15T08:35:00.000+08:00Well, Jeanette Winterson - aren't her books "idea ...Well, Jeanette Winterson - aren't her books "idea novels" ? <BR/>Margaret Atwood (a bit, though I can't say for sure as I could never finish a single one of her novels)...<BR/>And Kiran Desai of course - so full of ideas, so fresh and original hahahaha! :-))))Poppadumdumhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11763910123949254981noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7912730.post-1166141363056030252006-12-15T08:09:00.000+08:002006-12-15T08:09:00.000+08:00burhanuddin - yes, you're right about "the novel o...burhanuddin - yes, you're right about "the novel of ideas" ... i'm not actually sure how i feel about that. i loved dostoevsky's "crime and punishment" so much i've reread it a couple of times ... but "the brothers karamzov" left me limp with exhaustion and i'm not sure i really "got it". dostoevsky's characters are v. well drawn though and he has some great human drama.<BR/><BR/>haven't read satre or the others you list. a big fat glaring hole in my reading i know.<BR/><BR/>and again - wondering about this gender divide - is the novel of ideas more a laddish thing? i suspect it is.<BR/><BR/>do women ever write 'em ... do they enjoy them as much as men?<BR/><BR/>yes, our friend did the MA in creative writing at UEA but I cannot say more for now especially not here on my blabmouth blog.bibliobibulihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16456636355933524132noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7912730.post-1166106508410187122006-12-14T22:28:00.000+08:002006-12-14T22:28:00.000+08:00is there a malaysian right now studying writing at...is there a malaysian right now studying writing at UEA (University of East Anglia)? who? who? i'm extremely extremely interested to know.Burhanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05582444270077430405noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7912730.post-1166106195936056322006-12-14T22:23:00.000+08:002006-12-14T22:23:00.000+08:00actuallykirancopiedthatideafromme:e.g http://thebo...actuallykirancopiedthatideafromme:<BR/><BR/>e.g http://thebookaholic.blogspot.com/2006/07/fear-and-loathing-in-kuala-lumpur.html<BR/><BR/>new zealand writer witi ihimaera uses the device to great effect ... and i like it too<BR/><BR/>you can't have your time back. serves you right for going on with a book you didn't like.bibliobibulihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16456636355933524132noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7912730.post-1166106132335610492006-12-14T22:22:00.000+08:002006-12-14T22:22:00.000+08:00i do think the language of Snow is not as deliciou...i do think the language of Snow is not as delicious as those of pamuk's earlier novels. but i have faith that at some point of your reading it the 'literature' of it will open up to you. it happened to me twice: while i was reading 'the secret atheist', and some other part that would be a spoiler if i tell. <BR/><BR/>pamuk is working in the 'novel of ideas' genre (Sartre, Thomas Mann, Dostoevsky, Kenzaburo Oe), which is often accused of being artificial and containing lifeless characters, which i think is somewhat valid.Burhanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05582444270077430405noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7912730.post-1166105253249848272006-12-14T22:07:00.000+08:002006-12-14T22:07:00.000+08:00I want the time and money lost on slogging through...I want the time and money lost on slogging through "Loss" back! <BR/>:-)))<BR/>Poor Anita Desai - spends all her life writing MUCH better novels than her daughter ever could, and then to see Kiran scoop the Prize like that...hahaha! Time to have my sliceoforangeandpineappleandthenreadabookinbedandthengotosleep as Kiran would so imaginatively and so "originally" write.Poppadumdumhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11763910123949254981noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7912730.post-1166103783022710362006-12-14T21:43:00.000+08:002006-12-14T21:43:00.000+08:00if you're going to animah's sat, you can pass it t...if you're going to animah's sat, you can pass it then<BR/><BR/>haven't read "history of reading" and have put it on my amazon wish list ... i bought "reading pictures' at a previous warehouse sale<BR/><BR/>i am keeping on with the pamuk because you are championing it. just read 2 more chapters over dinner.bibliobibulihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16456636355933524132noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7912730.post-1166101220585033412006-12-14T21:00:00.000+08:002006-12-14T21:00:00.000+08:00Animah,I'll check with *my other half*. I was supp...Animah,<BR/><BR/>I'll check with *my other half*. I was supposed to go to the Payless sale on saturday with *the other half* anyway. Friend from UEA? Arab friend? Or is that UAE? <BR/><BR/>Fei, <BR/><BR/>It's like that until the end, the Unconsoled... a very surprising change of style, very European (Musil, Broch, etc). I was indifferent to Remains of teh Day, etc, etc, but I really like The Unconsoled. (but hated Orphans)<BR/><BR/>Sharon, <BR/><BR/>My Keret is coming soon! When can I pass you yours? Oh, have you read Manguel's History of Reading?Sufianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05920865973263896241noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7912730.post-1166098550471905692006-12-14T20:15:00.001+08:002006-12-14T20:15:00.001+08:00Sufian, You free for tea on Sat? I don't have your...Sufian, <BR/>You free for tea on Sat? I don't have your tel no., so please get details from your other half. Our good friend is down from UEA! But you must bring along the first line...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7912730.post-1166098547790543922006-12-14T20:15:00.000+08:002006-12-14T20:15:00.000+08:00sufian - What if no one loves it? What if it's all...sufian - <I>What if no one loves it? What if it's all in my head? What then?</I> LOL - you's bonkers then. but happy bonkers. with no bookguilt on your conscience.bibliobibulihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16456636355933524132noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7912730.post-1166098426943375182006-12-14T20:13:00.000+08:002006-12-14T20:13:00.000+08:00see, fei, bookguilt again! why do we always have ...see, fei, bookguilt again! why do we always have to feel so bloody guilty about not finishing books?bibliobibulihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16456636355933524132noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7912730.post-1166096655419314572006-12-14T19:44:00.000+08:002006-12-14T19:44:00.000+08:00Sufian,I did enjoy Unconsoled at the beginning, th...Sufian,<BR/><BR/>I did enjoy Unconsoled at the beginning, the narative attracts me right away, but half way through...I lost interest, maybe I should try a little harder.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7912730.post-1166096561579062622006-12-14T19:42:00.000+08:002006-12-14T19:42:00.000+08:00highly intelligent with strong opinions, creative,...<I>highly intelligent with strong opinions, creative, and deeply spiritual</I><BR/><BR/>animah - haha now i know why the book doesn't fit me! i only have the strong opinions!<BR/><BR/>yes, sufian and kaykay, i will read "my name is red". i haven't got it (tho' have 3 other novels by pamuk tbr) but will buy it. can't bear to borrow.<BR/><BR/>i haven't read "the unconsoled" ... from what i know about the book though it could be a good analogy. (i have it - again tbr)<BR/><BR/>sympozium, kaykay - goodness, you guys. STILL going on about "the inheritance of loss"????<BR/><BR/>tomorrow is the payless warehouse sale. you did remember, didn't you? i plan to go in the morning.bibliobibulihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16456636355933524132noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7912730.post-1166094695484629252006-12-14T19:11:00.000+08:002006-12-14T19:11:00.000+08:00Jesus Christ, i loves me the Unconsoled! it remin...Jesus Christ, i loves me the Unconsoled! <BR/><BR/>it reminded me of what Dante Gabriel Rosetti said about Wuthering Heights: "The action is laid in Hell --only it seems people and places have English names there."<BR/><BR/>p.s. yes i am not saying what the first line is - performance anxiety, and all. What if no one loves it? What if it's all in my head? What then?Sufianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05920865973263896241noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7912730.post-1166094448492178202006-12-14T19:07:00.000+08:002006-12-14T19:07:00.000+08:00Switch to My Name Is Red. Was half way through the...Switch to My Name Is Red. Was half way through the book and the only reason I stopped was having to spend the better part of 2 months learning and easing into a new job.<BR/><BR/>It demands your attention but the murder mystery told from multiple points of view(including a corpse,dog and gold coin among other things) keeps things interesting.Am definitely planning on re-starting it soon.<BR/><BR/>And echo Sympozium: DEFINITELY heaps better than a certain Booker winner I had to slog through recently:-)KayKayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14658249157364728825noreply@blogger.com