02-14-2022, 07:12 PM | #91 |
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the Quijote, honestly, it's so lengthy ...I have known people who claim they have read it, but I don't know, my parents bought it when I was a kid, I can't remember how many tomes they were but they were A LOT, and they were ALL THICK... yeah nah, my dad, I know he read it almost all, he truly liked it but he never had enough time to read that completely... they he retired and he said his eyes were to strained to continue to do so, I often times have offered reading it to him but he says "nah, I'm fine, I am bored of it now" HAHAHA... so there you go.
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02-14-2022, 08:46 PM | #92 |
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I got through the whole of Don Quixote, and although it was a slog in places, it left a lasting impression on me. It has two scenes that actually made me laugh out loud they were so funny, and I don't think any other book has got more than a chuckle out of me.
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02-21-2022, 11:47 AM | #93 |
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These aren’t classics, and they’re very highly rated. However I found The Name of the Rose and Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance tedious and pretentious, back when I read them. I always suspected that many of my friends, who absolutely idolized them, hadn’t actually read them.
A bit off topic, but I also don’t understand how anyone could like Thomas Hardy. Admire his writing, definitely, but to me, enjoying Hardy is like claiming to enjoy a toothache. Last edited by Victoria; 02-21-2022 at 12:07 PM. |
02-21-2022, 12:23 PM | #94 | |
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02-21-2022, 12:46 PM | #95 |
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Agreed. But it really seemed to capture people’s imagination when it was published. Perhaps you’re right; it may not resonate the same way today.
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02-21-2022, 12:58 PM | #96 | |
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I won't "not read" books that depict other times, ways, mores, etc. Otherwise, how could you read P&P? Or anything, written, ever, particularly around women and their place in society? How could you read about "poor Lydia" and her ruined life? Talk about abusive! There's hardly anything romantic or not chattel-like about having to whore oneself out to a husband in order to eat. So...my thinking is always, in for the penny, in for the pound. Hitch |
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02-21-2022, 01:20 PM | #97 | |
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As for the racism, I think the issue in regard to this particular book for me is threefold. Not so much the Civil War era stuff, that’s a given. More problematic is it as an expression of attitudes in the 1930s when the book was written. And then you have my lack of awareness when I read it as a girl decades later, and bingo. That’s the one. If I were to read it, which I’m not for the reason of boredom I gave at first, I’m pretty sure I’d cringe at my own unthinking girlhood self who loved it so much. But it’s a pity in a way, because there was something about it. I once read a review which recalled the “glazed inattention” of those who were immersed in it for the first time and that describes my own reaction. Would that I could recapture that sense when I read now! |
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02-21-2022, 01:21 PM | #98 | |
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As for Hardy, he’s good but he’s just so depressing. I think that’s a special category of “liking”. It’s not just appreciating the writing; it’s getting caught up in the story and the gut punch at the end. I think any kind of strong response on that level is to be appreciated, even if it’s not exactly enjoyable. Last edited by issybird; 02-21-2022 at 01:23 PM. |
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02-21-2022, 02:24 PM | #99 |
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I love GWTW and always will, no apologies. I first read it at 15, and for a long time I reread it at least once a year. Yes, I had a lot of it memorized. I still have my falling-apart, tearstained original paperback, as well as additional paperback and hardcover copies.
When I first discovered Audible and audiobooks some 10 years ago, I think, it was one of the first books I bought and listened to. I'm not going to judge it by today's standards of what is racist. It's not history; it's a novel. I don't see Rhett as a dark, brooding Gothic hero, nor as abusive and controlling (yeah, I know, THAT scene--except we don't know exactly what happened once they went up those stairs). And most of the time, Rhett is supportive, understanding, and respectful of Scarlett and her goals. I love the movie, too. |
02-21-2022, 02:37 PM | #100 | |
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I don't think we can rightfully compare what someone thought in the 30's, to what they should think today. There were people--lots of them--who grew up with slavery extant, in their lifetimes. They'd fought a war over it. It's like...when I was a young girl, I worked one summer in a local restaurant, hauling food and booze, right? And the two women who owned the place were Expat Brits, who'd come over after WWII. It disturbs me when folks say that they "won't" read this or that, because it's racist or sexist or whatever (not talkin' 'bout you, Issy). We can't or IMHO, shouldn't rose-colored-glass our way through history. History is all of it that we bothered to write down (by definition). It's grand and glorious and ugly and I won't be especially tedious by repeating the whole "doomed to.." shtick. Back OT: I wanted to LOVE The Name of the Rose. I really did, but OMG, I really didn't. Of course, not everything is Presumed Innocent, to be fair. And, of course, Ulysses. You guys have heard me on this before. Talk about pretentious twaddle. Yeah, yeah the cocktail-party-set-glitterati can all tell themselves it's brilliant. To my way of thinking, Ulysses is Joyce's "Clifford Irving" hoax on the publishing industry and I'll bet he laughed up his sleeve the entire time. Hitch |
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02-21-2022, 03:40 PM | #101 | |
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02-21-2022, 04:51 PM | #102 | |
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On the other hand, I respect H.P. Lovecraft and feel he was a very important writer. But his work can be extremely racist, even by the standards of his time. So important writer, but I'd be hard pressed to recommend his writing. I have enjoyed Lovecraft Country and The Ballad of Black Tom that play off of his ideas and incorporate his racism. |
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02-21-2022, 05:05 PM | #103 | |||
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If I cut myself off from all forms of anathema-to-me, I would be guilty of doing the same thing that so many today seem to want to do--to decide what I should read, know, hear, not what I need to read. (And for that matter, what I enjoy reading, too, dammit.) Reading almost any book, anywhere, anytime, from the dawn, though not-that-damned-long-ago shows an abysmal history around women and women's rights. I could hardly recommend most books for that alone, were I so inclined. Quote:
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02-21-2022, 06:17 PM | #104 |
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02-21-2022, 06:19 PM | #105 |
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