tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post6848431782240473816..comments2024-03-27T16:48:21.039-05:00Comments on Wuthering <br>Expectations: PurposeAmateur Reader (Tom)http://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-55949918927407928502014-02-17T08:17:17.208-06:002014-02-17T08:17:17.208-06:00I mean, once you have read The Book of Evidence or...I mean, once you have read <i>The Book of Evidence</i> or <i>The Untouchable</i> that will be the question.Amateur Reader (Tom)https://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-87448201569272522892014-02-17T08:14:56.709-06:002014-02-17T08:14:56.709-06:00I don't know his sentences, I never read the g...I don't know his sentences, I never read the guy. But I'm curious because, well, I see lots of people raving about them sentences.LMRhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08538873868140070018noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-12359357972185517382014-02-16T21:59:01.275-06:002014-02-16T21:59:01.275-06:00Expert, very funny.
I think The Book of Evidenc...Expert, very funny. <br /><br />I think <i>The Book of Evidence</i> is his best book. <i>The Untouchable</i> a first-rate spy novel of the psychological rather than active variety, and the two novel-biographies of scientists, <i>Doctor Copernicus</i> and <i>Kepler</i>, excellent if you have any interest in the subjects.<br /><br />After that, well, how much do you like his sentences? He wrote a lot more of them. Late James merged with Nabokov.Amateur Reader (Tom)https://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-20048638592444958052014-02-16T15:23:52.805-06:002014-02-16T15:23:52.805-06:00Say, Tom, as a Banville expert, what do you recomm...Say, Tom, as a Banville expert, what do you recommend by him?LMRhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08538873868140070018noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-58533748750828552912009-08-28T16:14:59.591-05:002009-08-28T16:14:59.591-05:00C.B., it turns out we're debating the exact po...C.B., it turns out we're debating the exact points I'm reading about in Manzoni's 1850 <i>On the Historical Novel</i>. Depending on how I define the problem, I either completely agree with you, or object strongly.<br /><br />Not about one of your ideas, though - none of the historical novels I read here give a sense of "what it was really like." In certain superficial ways, they do, sure. But you're right, they fundamentally contemporary novels, whatever the setting.<br /><br />Rohan, your posts about your mystery fiction class were am influence on this week's writing (wandering into a good mystery book store was another). Perhaps one of my problems is that I don't read any of these books as genre fiction, and therefore don't forgive them for the genre-imposed restrictions. The final confrontation with the killer, for example, not a good scene in any of these books. By then, I already knew how the story would go, but there was still this fuss to get through.Amateur Reader (Tom)https://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-84451694158810287992009-08-27T14:48:42.261-05:002009-08-27T14:48:42.261-05:00I'm really enjoying this series of posts. I ha...I'm really enjoying this series of posts. I have really never read a "period" mystery I've thoroughly enjoyed. Mind you, I'm disappointed so often in mysteries I pick up that I'm not sure this has much to do with the historical aspects--but they rarely help and often hinder. I find much genre fiction just too thin to be really interesting (and I say this as someone who appreciates and takes a genuine interest in mystery fiction <i>as</i> a genre and teaches it regularly with much attention to questions about how clear the lines can even be between "literary" and "genre" fiction, etc.) I have the same reaction to much straight historical fiction these days: I just read another of Sarah Dunant's much-hyped "women in the Renaissance" series, for instance, and was completely underwhelmed. Yes, there's a lot of ornamental period detail, and there's a plot, but where are the ideas?Rohan Maitzenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12111722115617352412noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-80968292210312366412009-08-27T12:24:33.389-05:002009-08-27T12:24:33.389-05:00I'm not sure I agree that the historical setti...I'm not sure I agree that the historical setting has to have a point. I should influence the story, of course--how can it not? But a good tale is a good tale.<br /><br />My problem with historical fiction is the idea of reading it to gain a sense of "what it was really like." I just don't trust that idea. A modern writer will always carry some degree of modern point of view to the material. <br /><br />I think it's better to read the literature of the period to find out "what is was really like." That has it's own set of problems, but at least it is presented without any sense of looking backwards.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06906212382849291562noreply@blogger.com