tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post5556820393108618439..comments2024-03-29T03:04:00.853-05:00Comments on Wuthering <br>Expectations: ‘My God, how nice it all is!’ - ok, this is the beautiful TurgenevAmateur Reader (Tom)http://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-55752107426646901302013-12-17T17:03:55.168-06:002013-12-17T17:03:55.168-06:00I do not normally think in terms of "strong&q...I do not normally think in terms of "strong" and "weak" with writers, but I have this sense that Turgenev is a little bit weak, so that the style of later writers he influenced somehow washes back over him. The effect is extremely strong with his play "A Month in the Country," which feels like a diffuse, slightly awkward Chekhov play, even though it is quite good and of course the influence runs the other way. Amateur Reader (Tom)https://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-65686458813393355562013-12-17T16:41:38.001-06:002013-12-17T16:41:38.001-06:00I don't know about blogging being bad for read...I don't know about blogging being bad for reading - but it's certainly bad for getting a proper night's sleep! Here I am, catching up on your posts, when any sensible person should be abed...<br /><br /><< It is sometimes hard, however, to escape the impression that Turgrenev was too strongly under the influence of Chekhov.>><br /><br />That made me laugh out loud!<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-88901352461918052362013-12-12T23:48:16.585-06:002013-12-12T23:48:16.585-06:00The development or discovery or simply renewed use...The development or discovery or simply renewed use of the limited third person by Flaubert and so on (including Turgenev) gets all the attention, but these refinements of the omniscient narrator (which Flaubert also does) seem at least as interesting to me. <br /><br />I have wondered about your last point. I hope we all have,Amateur Reader (Tom)https://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-9573875159799862562013-12-12T22:01:26.543-06:002013-12-12T22:01:26.543-06:00Great post, not least because the omniscient narra...Great post, not least because the omniscient narrator observation at the end unexpectedly reminded me of Hawthorne's hectoring narrator from that one amazing chapter in <em>The House of the Seven Gables</em>. When/where did that technique come about? Closer to home, I appreciate the quip about the fleecy lambs and your note about the light effects. The latter sort of thing, when I notice it, almost always makes me want to write a second post about a rich novel long after I've written the first one. There's so much that has to get left out with just one blog entry about a book (no worry for you, I know) or when you're just trying to come to grips with a book after having read it for the first time. Present company excluded, sometimes I think that blogging's bad for reading, he he.Richardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01746599416342846897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-67344263266439991432013-12-12T10:29:38.758-06:002013-12-12T10:29:38.758-06:00If I ever knew that Auden poem, I have completely ...If I ever knew that Auden poem, I have completely forgotten it. Thanks for pointing it out.Amateur Reader (Tom)https://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-57843849903713605922013-12-12T09:54:15.192-06:002013-12-12T09:54:15.192-06:00AR(T), I second the motion about Sportsman's S...AR(T), I second the motion about Sportsman's Sketches' greatness. Many unforgettable moments on those stories. For example here's the germ from which Auden's Horae Canonicae sprouted:<br /><br />'In people who are constantly and intensely preoccupied with one idea, or one emotion, there is something in common, a kind of external resemblance in manner'.<br /><br />Or Radilov's recollection of his reactions to the death of his wife:<br />I bowed to the ground, and hardly shed a tear. My heart seemed turned to stone--and my head too--I was heavy all over. So passed my first day. Would you believe it? I even slept in the night. The next morning I went in to look at my wife: it was summer-time, the sunshine fell upon her from head to foot, and it was so bright. Suddenly I saw ... what do you think? One of her eyes was not quite shut, and on this eye a fly was moving.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-14689112485917743872013-12-12T08:21:02.812-06:002013-12-12T08:21:02.812-06:00Fathers and Sons was a great pleasure to reread. ...<i>Fathers and Sons</i> was a great pleasure to reread. Little treasures were scattered all through it.<br /><br />The best of <i>A Sportsman's Sketches</i> are among the all-time great short stories. It is sometimes hard, however, to escape the impression that Turgrenev was too strongly under the influence of Chekhov.Amateur Reader (Tom)https://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-92081341438313142152013-12-12T02:34:06.192-06:002013-12-12T02:34:06.192-06:00I think I will add his Sportsman's Scetches to...I think I will add his Sportsman's Scetches to my 2014 reading list.Mel uhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08714473754458914681noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-11434159748658774582013-12-11T23:44:02.079-06:002013-12-11T23:44:02.079-06:00I loved Turgenev, when I read his books years ago,...I loved Turgenev, when I read his books years ago, he's one of the writers I mean to reread at some point@parridhlanternhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12793548943992250238noreply@blogger.com