Retreading the thread and acknowledging NV. I think I must have read all the Ian Feeling bond novels as a teenager as well. Should read again.
― American Fear of Scampos (Ed), Tuesday, 30 June 2020 22:15 (three years ago) link
Harry Mathews
― Yanni Xenakis (Hadrian VIII), Tuesday, 30 June 2020 22:19 (three years ago) link
Cool!
― Two Spocks Clash (James Redd and the Blecchs), Tuesday, 30 June 2020 22:51 (three years ago) link
he just kept on taking left turns, right up until the end...a real achievement considering how prolific he was
― Yanni Xenakis (Hadrian VIII), Tuesday, 30 June 2020 22:57 (three years ago) link
Yes. I read a bunch but think I missed a few.
― Two Spocks Clash (James Redd and the Blecchs), Tuesday, 30 June 2020 23:35 (three years ago) link
Had to think about it, but my answer is P. G. Wodehouse, who I see has already been mentioned a few times.
― Two Spocks Clash (James Redd and the Blecchs), Tuesday, 30 June 2020 23:39 (three years ago) link
Wondering about Asimov though, even if I long ago stopped reading him and have only read a fraction of his output.
― Two Spocks Clash (James Redd and the Blecchs), Tuesday, 30 June 2020 23:43 (three years ago) link
henning mankell
― contorted filbert (harbl), Wednesday, 1 July 2020 00:01 (three years ago) link
def Roald Dahl for me. Non children's book author would be Vargas Llosa probably. Not my favourite but his highs are good and he has a more rewarding back catalogue than any of the other "boom"ers afaict
― Rik Waller-Bridge (jim in vancouver), Wednesday, 1 July 2020 00:10 (three years ago) link
Ever read any of his collected stories for adults? I never did, though used to see Tales of the Unexpected, Some One Like You, and others (come to think of it, got an omnibus somewhere). Have watched some adapted for Alfred Hitchcock Presents
― dow, Wednesday, 1 July 2020 03:44 (three years ago) link
I’d love to know more about Harry Mathews. I have an omnibus edition of all his novels but am intimidated. Also have his 20 Lines A Day book and that approachable and enjoyable. He was an Oulipo guy, right?
― Yelploaf, Wednesday, 1 July 2020 14:48 (three years ago) link
Yes indeed. At one point the only American member, or the only name one, or something.
― Two Spocks Clash (James Redd and the Blecchs), Wednesday, 1 July 2020 14:53 (three years ago) link
yes he was in Oulipo but unlike most of those guys he didn't usually foreground whatever constraints he used...you can just sense there is something weird running in the background and fueling the mood and his choices
if you enjoyed Twenty Lines A Day I wld recommend Singular Pleasures, the collection of masturbation vignettes.
This too:
http://jean-claude-kuner.de/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/manuskript_farce_double_english.pdf
I think a good entry point w/ the novels is My Life In CIA, and maybe backward toward some of the thornier denser stuff, Tlooth and Sinking of the Odradek Stadium
― Yanni Xenakis (Hadrian VIII), Wednesday, 1 July 2020 15:02 (three years ago) link
Thanks for the tips, Hadrian. I attempted Tlooth but couldn’t find my way in. My Life in CIA looks more my speed.
― Yelploaf, Wednesday, 1 July 2020 16:43 (three years ago) link
Yeah, that, or wikipedia makes this look appealing too:Mathews's next novel, Cigarettes, marked a change in his work. Less whimsical but no less technically sophisticated than his first three novels, it consists of an interlocking series of narratives revolving around a small group of interconnected characters. The book's approach to narrative is generally realistic, and Cigarettes is ultimately moving in a way that none of his previous books attempted to be.[14]
― dow, Wednesday, 1 July 2020 17:38 (three years ago) link
Cigarettes is terrific
― Yanni Xenakis (Hadrian VIII), Wednesday, 1 July 2020 18:01 (three years ago) link
Yup
― Two Spocks Clash (James Redd and the Blecchs), Wednesday, 1 July 2020 22:09 (three years ago) link
Updike probably. He churned them out.
― fetter, Wednesday, 1 July 2020 22:52 (three years ago) link
probably RL stine lol. i collected tons of them because i liked the covers as a little kid then a couple years later a puritan streak in me made me commit to reading all of them. even at the time i knew they were thin gruel and i remember nothing about them now.
as an adult, probably DFW, in my early 20s
― karl...arlk...rlka...lkar..., Wednesday, 1 July 2020 23:35 (three years ago) link