IdleRich

IdleRich
I think there is something very interesting about the way Lot 49 somehow maintains the density and complexity of his behemoths despite being a small fraction of their size. Of course it ultimately is Pynchon-lite but to nowhere near the extent you would expect or even in the way you would expect I felt.
 

william_kent

Well-known member
Glad it turned up or I would have had to read this which I had reluctantly promoted from the shelf to the bedside table...

I presume you've read Swann's Way first before moving that volume off a shelf? I've been told that Sasha Grey has talents, but maybe she won't be remembered for the same reasons as Proust...
 

IdleRich

IdleRich
I presume you've read Swann's Way first before moving that volume off a shelf? I've been told that Sasha Grey has talents, but maybe she won't be remembered for the same reasons as Proust...
Yes I have read SW. I was trying to collect the whole thing from charity shops but only managed to score the first two before moving away. It's so long since I read the first though that if I don't start on the second soon I will need to go back to the beginning.
Re Grey, I have read interviews with her and she is quite keen to not be thought of as an idiot - which I don't think she is - and same in the book, she's banging on about Cassavetes, Bunuel, Marquis de Sade etc etc and it kinda feels that this is name-dropping out of a sort of intellectual insecurity (although the character is a film student so it is not totally shoe-horned in).
 

woops

is not like other people
I've recently (finally! I really dragged my feet over it...) finished Gravity's Rainbow.
You were reading this when i met you in the montague arms about 15 years ago
Glad it turned up or I would have had to read this which I had reluctantly promoted from the shelf to the bedside table...
I've got that translation too but haven't got into it or the later one or the original french
 

william_kent

Well-known member
I thought I'd read Proust ( the Kilmartin translation ) but then someone who has read it in the original French sneered at me and told me that I haven't really read it at all..

it does take an investment in time, best to tackle it one go to keep the momentum going
 

woops

is not like other people
I thought I'd read Proust ( the Kilmartin translation ) but then someone who has read it in the original French sneered at me and told me that I haven't really read it at all..

it does take an investment in time, best to tackle it one go to keep the momentum going
Tell this guy that the French readers at the time preferred the translation
 

linebaugh

Well-known member
Oh, maybe it was a different one you were talking about? Huh. Or Limburger, as you say. Can't remember now.
Lor 49 is amazing. I didn't like it first read but after returning with a few other pynchons under my belt I think its the most efficient use of language Ive ever encountered in a novel. Every line is a double entendre of sorts. You could say that about all Pynchon novels but the length gives it a tightness that you dont get with the longer ones- it all falls together like an MC Escher work and I think hes very aware of that quality and plays into it.in In fact if theres a criticism to give its that its too lacking in ambiguity, even the 'light' novels bleeding edge and inherent vice have more. I think I read an old comment by craner that said essentially the same thing- once the puzzle is cracked what is there? Of course craner is a very flawed man but you get the point
 

jenks

thread death
I thought I'd read Proust ( the Kilmartin translation ) but then someone who has read it in the original French sneered at me and told me that I haven't really read it at all..

it does take an investment in time, best to tackle it one go to keep the momentum going
The snobbery over Proust translations is long standing. The recent-ish Penguin split the volumes across a number of people - most agree Lydia Davis’ opening volume is the gold standard but bouncing around between different translators makes for an uneven read while the updated Montcrieff has the advantage of having a consistent voice.
 

luka

Well-known member
just finishing off our man in havana my very first graham greene. didnt expenct it to be so light/silly but ive enjoyed sitting in the sun
and reading it. dunno how representative it is.
 

luka

Well-known member
i like how in the end he gets the girl even though he's a middle aged man with a limp particularly as i am currently a middle aged man with a limp
 

luka

Well-known member
Graham Greene is going to give me a much better understanding of Stan & Gus, I'm sure of it.
 

IdleRich

IdleRich
i like how in the end he gets the girl even though he's a middle aged man with a limp particularly as i am currently a middle aged man with a limp
Does a limp negatively affect attractiveness? I think the opposite if anything.
 

luka

Well-known member
I don't feel very attractive on my unstable ankle. Without a solid base to launch a savage attack from, an explosive uppercut or roundhouse kick. I feel weak and vulnerable.
 

IdleRich

IdleRich
Oh yeah it has definite downsides, I wouldn't be able to play the sports I like - but I think purely in terms of, for want of a better word (and cos of talking about Squeeze), pulling, with some people it may bring out a kind of affectionate concern. Ted Bundy used to fake an arm injury to look vulnerable and also as an excuse as to why he needed a young attractive woman to help him lift his stuff into his car and they would be all "look at this poor, handsome but vulnerable man, no doubt injured fighting for a woman's honour, and now he can hardly fend for himself, least I can do is help him out" - doubly devious really when you think about it
 

IdleRich

IdleRich
Yesterday V cooked for a couple of friends, one of whom has a job where he sells things to people. A couple came round to pick some things up from him and somehow managed to leave this book behind, looks quite interesting, know anything about it @catalog?

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