tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post4279028210142356559..comments2024-03-29T03:04:00.853-05:00Comments on Wuthering <br>Expectations: Apologia for AppeciationismAmateur Reader (Tom)http://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-14333971093273487822011-03-25T22:19:12.871-05:002011-03-25T22:19:12.871-05:00I've been working on the interpretation \ mean...I've been working on the interpretation \ meaning problem, I swear I have. I hope I have.<br /><br />"The Pleasures of Hating" is a treat, especially since it comes from a writer who loved, truly loved literature.Amateur Reader (Tom)https://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-76426700358266966592011-03-25T21:35:44.016-05:002011-03-25T21:35:44.016-05:00I like this ... it approaches my approach (ha) to ...I like this ... it approaches my approach (ha) to reviewing/criticism/whatever it is that we do (and I think I've elucidated it somewhere) and that is I focus more on appreciating (ie analysing) what the author has done (to undestand) rather than on an emotional response. Though I guess I try some sort of interpretation after that. Hmm... tricky business all this. I have a book of Hazlitt essays that I've been meaning to dip into as I haven't read him for decades. I'm sure The pleasures of hating will be in it. Anyhow, thanks for an interesting post.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-66692594713727344882008-04-21T11:45:00.000-05:002008-04-21T11:45:00.000-05:00What great comments.Sylvia, I agree and agree some...What great comments.<BR/><BR/>Sylvia, I agree and agree some more. But there is also a lot to be said for, as an example, Nabokov's dismissal of Dostoevsky, Mann, etc. - there's a serious critical point-of-view there. I just like everything. Maybe it means I'm staying too close to the surface, not thinking.<BR/><BR/>Raych, the "common language" idea is an important one. We need people to get our jokes. Now I want a Monte Cristo for lunch.<BR/><BR/>Speaking of jokes, will no one stand up for the unfortunate Fulmerford? (Note: in the tradition of William Hazlitt, I quoted from memory, and got it slightly wrong).<BR/><BR/>Robby, it depends on the classic -Jane Austen is one of the bestselling authors in the United States, every year (you have to add up the sales of the various editions). Fundamentally, though, I agree with you - German literary culture is a wonder to behold, even if it's really just a difference of degrees.<BR/><BR/>The pacific viking has raised the related but distinct issue of canon-formation, which I do not want to get into now. I'll just say that I'm as interested in the fringes of the canon as its center. And then what about the fringe of the fringe?<BR/><BR/>Sarah, you're qualified and then some. Although I'll warn you that much of the canon is anything but lovely. Some of it is downright horrifying.<BR/><BR/>Verbivore, that's the goal. Of course, the relationship between our tastes and opinions and how or what we notice gets kind of complicated, doesn't it?Amateur Reader (Tom)https://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-81124025212640071192008-04-21T00:33:00.000-05:002008-04-21T00:33:00.000-05:00"the variety and history of creativity" - an admir..."the variety and history of creativity" - an admirable focus of study. I like the journey implied in that idea and the fact that "opinion" is allowed to take a back seat. Lets get away from opinion and whether they matter, lets get discussing the nuts and bolts, the words, the asides, the details.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-1860309270572418072008-04-20T15:42:00.000-05:002008-04-20T15:42:00.000-05:00That's why I don't feel like I'm at all qualified ...That's why I don't feel like I'm at all qualified to have a blog reviewing these books. And I don't - I just sort of say "wasn't this lovely?" I really don't know if they're good or bad or deviate from the author's cannon. I hardly know how I feel about them. I suppose the only answer I have for that is complete immersion with the hope that I don't drown.inktreehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13318674701165271303noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-34653642061920246012008-04-20T12:53:00.000-05:002008-04-20T12:53:00.000-05:00Two comments, unrelated to one another:First, you ...Two comments, unrelated to one another:<BR/><BR/>First, you can't be serious when you say no one reads Nabokov anymore! Nabokov is amazing, and I dare you to read "Pale Fire" and not agree. I think his American works "Pale Fire", "Lolita", and "Pnin" have safely made it into the canon, and deservedly so.<BR/><BR/>Second, it would be interesting to me to see a survey of the percentage of people in the US who read and appreciate (as opposed to tolerate or hate them as assigned school readings) the classics. I'll bet the number is higher in other countries, like England. There seems to be a decided streak of anti-intellectualism in the US (epitomized by political discussions that rail against "The Elites") that might make folks predisposed to be wary of picking up the classics.Robby Virushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01206018782013858134noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-52783695937478175472008-04-18T22:21:00.000-05:002008-04-18T22:21:00.000-05:00I also prefer the classics to contemporary lit--it...I also prefer the classics to contemporary lit--it's a better chance I'm not wasting my time. Pick an era in literary history: there's a pretty good chance that readers were propping up somebody we now think is lousy, and were overlooking somebody we now think is great.<BR/><BR/>Then again, each era picks its own classics too, right? The Romantics thought the pinnacle of literature was Milton (I'm not sure I disagree); Eliot revives the Metaphysical poets because he thinks they are most like him and his age. We may need to be wary of why we decide some works from previous eras are classics--do they just speak to our time better than those of a different era?<BR/><BR/>But really, I just want to read the best of literature. I'll trust the wisdom of the centuries to guide me in my reading (though I'll maintain a bit of skepticism about who is excluded from the canon and why). <BR/><BR/>I also recognize I have a lot of catching up to do: too much great literature was written before I was born, so I've got the greats of the ages to confront before I should spend too much time with the greats of my age. Sometimes I think I'd be better off reading every line Dostoevsky wrote before taking up reading anything else.Pacifist Vikinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16630996018868040440noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-15203380284259383022008-04-18T21:00:00.000-05:002008-04-18T21:00:00.000-05:00The way I figure is, classics are classics for a r...The way I figure is, classics are classics for a reason. I might not <I>like</I> them (see: Moby Dick) but even when I don't, they still have something to offer. I find that classics are a good common ground for book chat as well. Maybe not everyone's read Fall On Your Knees, but most people have read Jane Eyre or Pride and Prejudice or The Count of Monte Cristo, so it gives book nerds who have just met something to palaver about.<BR/><BR/>As always, your posts are thoughtful and interesting.raychhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08321213376462899047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-86159744672568063672008-04-18T12:55:00.000-05:002008-04-18T12:55:00.000-05:00I don't think there is anything suspicious about l...I don't think there is anything suspicious about liking the classics. Behind that suspicion is the ridiculous notion that there is a cabal of evil dons who take out their frustrations on society by forcing us to read long, dull books and then say there is something wrong with us if we aren't in raptures. I don't know why we can't think of them as just far more experienced fellow readers sharing their *appreciation* for the books they enjoy the most.<BR/><BR/>I would also submit the classics, by virtue of their grand variety, improve the reader's ability to discern what they really like and what they don't. It's only by trying different things that you can find what you like, the the classics represent every possible variety of literary expression so they are the best place to start.Island Bookwormhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07849847888802951587noreply@blogger.com