tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post5681103488901228169..comments2024-03-29T03:04:00.853-05:00Comments on Wuthering <br>Expectations: more fictional French interior decorating from Against Nature by J.-K. Huysmans - to enhance the vivacity of its colorsAmateur Reader (Tom)http://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-19846068007679889812016-04-13T09:48:51.051-05:002016-04-13T09:48:51.051-05:00Oh good, I can compare notes, then. I have wonder...Oh good, I can compare notes, then. I have wondered about that D'Annunzio book.<br /><br />More on the books later today. Canon formation. Dickens as deconstructionist aphrodisiac. That sort of thing.Amateur Reader (Tom)https://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-86903475595920258292016-04-13T09:29:55.287-05:002016-04-13T09:29:55.287-05:00I'm currently reading Gabriele D'Annunzio&...I'm currently reading Gabriele D'Annunzio's deliberate impersonation of <i>À rebours</i>, <i>Il piacere</i> (Pleasure), so this is a hoot. There hasn't been a jewel-encrusted tortoise yet, but I'll almost be surprised if I get to the end of the book without finding one. There are, however, plenty of books lying about in gaudily-decorated rooms.seraillonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17654593356535433945noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-3355550888752461262016-04-13T08:35:52.897-05:002016-04-13T08:35:52.897-05:00A Huysmans scholar! A good gag. Huysmans's m...A Huysmans scholar! A good gag. Huysmans's move from materialism - even Satanism of the French literary sort - to orthodox, if aestheticized, Catholicism seems relevant to Houellebecq's concept.Amateur Reader (Tom)https://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-71358137155251084892016-04-13T08:31:12.374-05:002016-04-13T08:31:12.374-05:00This is so funny. I just read the Houellebecq nove...This is so funny. I just read the Houellebecq novel "Submission", in which the protagonist is a Huysmans scholar. But the novel gives only a vague sense of what Huysmans work is like, at least, this blog post makes it a lot more clear. It sounds fun to read. I think I would really like some vintage decadence. Valeriehttp://www.anthologyofclouds.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-15906399454549561022016-04-13T08:28:26.480-05:002016-04-13T08:28:26.480-05:00Helps keep your book alive, flattering the bookish...Helps keep your book alive, flattering the bookish.Amateur Reader (Tom)https://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-40641447164277651652016-04-13T01:20:48.386-05:002016-04-13T01:20:48.386-05:00A lot of late nineteenth century writers were obse...A lot of late nineteenth century writers were obsessed with books. There's a book - <i>The Pataphysician's Library </i>- about the (real) books owned by the (fictional) Dr Faustroll. When did Logan Persall Smith say "People say life is the thing, but I prefer reading."?Roger Allenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11012987757094423896noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-32472086800806836342016-04-12T22:12:25.853-05:002016-04-12T22:12:25.853-05:00Is Powell the originator of that quotation? So re...Is Powell the originator of that quotation? So recent! It's funny how literally des Esseintes takes it. There are <i>two</i> scenes in the novel of the character organizing his books.<br /><br />I have mentally noted <i>The Planetarium</i> - never read a Sarraute novel - it just does not seem like it ought to be much of a tradition, furniture fiction. <br /><br />You could definitley pick out the pieces of <i>After Nature</i> of highest interest and skip the rest. Botanists can read the chapter about flowers, etc.Amateur Reader (Tom)https://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-18822533024519890812016-04-12T18:07:31.798-05:002016-04-12T18:07:31.798-05:00"Des Esseintes decorates with books."
A..."Des Esseintes decorates with books."<br /><br />As Anthony Powell - or, rather, his character "Books" Bagshaw - said: "Books do furnish a room."Roger Allenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11012987757094423896noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-8082665894360140112016-04-12T17:10:52.443-05:002016-04-12T17:10:52.443-05:00Nathalie Sarraute's The Planetarium is a lot a...Nathalie Sarraute's The Planetarium is a lot about interior decoration, if that's your thing. I never got very far with this book; the kind of novel, I felt, you don't need to read all of.obookihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03885121629202810216noreply@blogger.com