Have just started that, so will go instead w Two Serious Ladies, eerie-funny-eerie quest-via-fients, is my remaining impression of reading it thirty-odd years ago (might be off, but something like that). Bowles is fragile and mighty, ov white dwarf pull and light.
― dow, Friday, 19 February 2021 18:04 (three years ago) link
Kuttner & Moore one of the invaluable fantasy-sf teams, but, as w several other heavies here, haven't read this particular book.
― dow, Friday, 19 February 2021 18:06 (three years ago) link
I went Two Serious Ladies, too! Great, creepy, odd read.
― horseshoe, Friday, 19 February 2021 18:07 (three years ago) link
near to the wild heart is an excellent debut but she bettered it imo
also the only book i've read on this list lol
― mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Friday, 19 February 2021 18:07 (three years ago) link
(xxp Kuttner, Moore were also remarkable under single by-lines, esp. her, though not always clear who contributed what, uncredited, to each other's solo joints.)
― dow, Friday, 19 February 2021 18:09 (three years ago) link
As I was reading "The Glass Bead Game" I thought that I should be hating it but I thought it was great. I'll give it my vote here (though I haven't read many of these)
― justfanoe (Greg Fanoe), Friday, 19 February 2021 19:02 (three years ago) link
Glass Bead Game gets my vote, though another day it might go to Musil.
― Bidh boladh a' mhairbh de 'n láimh fhalaimh (dowd), Friday, 19 February 2021 19:40 (three years ago) link
I really enjoyed Glass Bead Game but suspect I'd be cooler on it now. Not read Musil, to my shame. This will be Denton Welch for me I think.
― Vanishing Point (Chinaski), Friday, 19 February 2021 23:07 (three years ago) link
I voted Musil, although when I was reading it several years ago I posted this:
I have been crawling and clawing my way past the 1000 page mark of The Man Without Qualities.atm, Walter and Clarisse keep threatening to do something interesting, but can't seem to get the hang of it. Ulrich has been gabbling a lot to his sister and he seems like an awful sad sack now, whose mind shuffles along and trips itself like a person wearing shoes whose laces have been tied to each other. Everyone is impossibly high-flown and ineffectual. Makes for tough sledding to read about them.
atm, Walter and Clarisse keep threatening to do something interesting, but can't seem to get the hang of it. Ulrich has been gabbling a lot to his sister and he seems like an awful sad sack now, whose mind shuffles along and trips itself like a person wearing shoes whose laces have been tied to each other. Everyone is impossibly high-flown and ineffectual. Makes for tough sledding to read about them.
― Compromise isn't a principle, it's a method (Aimless), Friday, 19 February 2021 23:22 (three years ago) link
Near To The Wild Heart by Clarice Lispector -- not her best book, but still astonishing
The Case Of Charles Dexter Ward by H.P. Lovecraft -- hadn't thought of this as a novella, just as a story; effective Lovecraft, which sort of puts it beyond criticism as by any actual reasonable prose analysis he was a terrible writer AND YET
Double Indemnity by James M. Cain -- one of the greatest crime novels
The Lady In The Lake by Raymond Chandler -- very good but not great CHandler IMO
Laura by Vera Caspary -- the archest book I have ever read
Two Serious Ladies by Jane Bowles -- an excellent book, but I always love Chapter 1 more than the rest, kind of wish it had continued in that vein throughout
Maiden Voyage by Denton Welch -- wonderful, idiosyncratic writer, wonderful book
The Ministry Of Fear by Graham Greene -- another of his entertainments, and a superior one
Perelandra by C.S. Lewis - balls
The Small Back Room by Nigel Balchin -- brilliant small masterpiece of frustration, dread, sexual impotence, bomb disposal
The Man Without Qualities by Robert Musil -- one of the greatest of books, gets my vote
― Tsar Bombadil (James Morrison), Saturday, 20 February 2021 03:47 (three years ago) link
"The Makioka Sisters by Natsume Soseki"
It's by Tanizaki, btw. I should be reading that in a week or two
― xyzzzz__, Saturday, 20 February 2021 13:10 (three years ago) link
Musil but v strong year - Bowles, Genet, Lispector, Cain and I'm sure Tanizaki and Laxness are v good as well
― xyzzzz__, Saturday, 20 February 2021 13:12 (three years ago) link
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_6BI-crkwKGA/TOi5cuf2TaI/AAAAAAAAFZU/R8I1M8mIRo0/s320/Malpertuis3.jpghttps://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1259478652l/299760.jpg
― alimosina, Saturday, 20 February 2021 21:33 (three years ago) link
Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.
― System, Sunday, 21 February 2021 00:01 (three years ago) link
Double indemnity has a really weird ending that doesn't make it to the film doesn't it. Fate of one of the characters.I just watched a bbc thing on Film Noir that covered the film but didn't mention it. Think it came from 2009 so not sure why it was being shared recently.
― Stevolende, Sunday, 21 February 2021 01:50 (three years ago) link
Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.
― System, Monday, 22 February 2021 00:01 (three years ago) link
Richtig gestimmt.
yes sorry xyz, mixed up my two favourite Japanese authors!
― Daniel_Rf, Monday, 22 February 2021 10:54 (three years ago) link
Wherein We Elect Our Favourite Novels of 1944
― Daniel_Rf, Monday, 22 February 2021 11:38 (three years ago) link