Of the very few I've read, Libra stands out.
― pomenitul, Tuesday, 27 July 2021 10:53 (two years ago) link
of these I've read the Gibson, DeLillo (which I may have put down without having finished it, though I did like him a lot at the time) and Sciascia. Probably ought to have read Foucault's Pendulum; certainly ought to get around to Murnane. I think I have Oscar and Lucinda around somewhere, when I first read Bliss I got pretty amped about Peter Carey and bought a few more.
But of my three, anyway, I break them down like this:Gibson - I remember noticing what I always notice with pop fiction, that the overall quality of the writing, control of tone, etc., takes me out of it. I'm no snob, I'll read anything, but the writing seemed kinda careless? However, the world-building, holy shit, that was 25 years ago and I still retain details from that book, stuff I can call immediately to mind (the route of administration, the rig, of the drug they take, for instance). That's pretty remarkable; most details of books vanish into a haze in my skull and I have to leaf through them to remember specifics. Still, this didn't leave me thinking "you better go read Neuromancer now" and indeed I didn't. DeLillo - I honestly can never figure out what I really think of DeLillo. Haven't kept up over the years & just now read that his later short ones are supposed to be "like European novels" which for me suggests I should check them out, as I mainly read lit in translation. Did I read Libra? I think I put it down and didn't get back to it at some point. anyway, it gets my vote, his kind of european philosophy-noir shit is precisely my bag, I can't get enough. Sciascia - found a book by him in a used bookstore in a small midwestern town while I was out of town on business about ten years back. said, this is cool looking book, maybe I'll read this. did. immediately became one of my favorite writers ever. in a weird twist, it turned out that the husband of the therapist I'd been seeing for years is an authority on sciascia.
― J Edgar Noothgrush (Joan Crawford Loves Chachi), Tuesday, 27 July 2021 11:03 (two years ago) link
(Libra did not actually get my vote, Sciascia did, bad editing there.)
― J Edgar Noothgrush (Joan Crawford Loves Chachi), Tuesday, 27 July 2021 11:36 (two years ago) link
yeah, quite a few more than usual for me too. Comforts of Madness has a pale saints lp named after it. i can never remember one anne tyler from the other (apart from when i can). read the straub on the back on his stephen king collab. oscar and lucinda won the booker that year. but of all these i think matilda is the classic.
― koogs, Tuesday, 27 July 2021 11:37 (two years ago) link
foucault's pendulum starts with a verse in hebrew. i don't remember much else about it. oh, the 12 day gap when they switched calendars. spoiler.
― koogs, Tuesday, 27 July 2021 11:39 (two years ago) link
Foucault's Pendulum is Eco's best, I've read at least three times (all in my younger days) but it's also responsible for Dan Brown so maybe that's a point against it. I only read Wittgenstein's Mistress once but it's near the top of my ever-increasing list of books to re-read, I thought it was outstanding. At the time I don't think I'd read anything quite like it. The Mezzanine is the only other I've read and is an amusing diversion.
― Believe me, grow a lemon tree. (ledge), Tuesday, 27 July 2021 11:47 (two years ago) link
is mezzanine the footnotes one?
― koogs, Tuesday, 27 July 2021 11:57 (two years ago) link
Yes
― Believe me, grow a lemon tree. (ledge), Tuesday, 27 July 2021 12:17 (two years ago) link
breaking and entering
― STOCK FIST-PUMPER BRAD (BradNelson), Tuesday, 27 July 2021 12:25 (two years ago) link
i may have a “vote for joy williams whenever you see her” reflex but that book is so good
― STOCK FIST-PUMPER BRAD (BradNelson), Tuesday, 27 July 2021 12:30 (two years ago) link
I think this is the most I've had so far:
The Mezzanine by Nicholson BakerThe Silence Of The Lambs by Thomas HarrisOscar And Lucinda by Peter CareyThe Fifth Child by Doris LessingMatilda by Roald DahlThe Satanic Verses by Salman RushdieThe Shadow Lines by Amitav GhoshNervous Conditions by Tsitsi Dangarembga
Also think I've read Libra and the Murakami but can't remember either at all.
I was obsessed with The Shadow Lines in college so that, though the Carey is really sweet iirc
― rob, Tuesday, 27 July 2021 12:55 (two years ago) link
Kicking myself for not having read Breaking and Entering yet. Will have to go with Libra, the most satisfying DeLillo IMO.
― Chris L, Tuesday, 27 July 2021 13:01 (two years ago) link
Difficult for me to evaluate how much of my Matilda love is for the book and how much for the film.
― Daniel_Rf, Tuesday, 27 July 2021 13:07 (two years ago) link
The Fifth Child
― ignore the blue line (or something), Tuesday, 27 July 2021 14:09 (two years ago) link
may finally break my streak of voting for whichever murakami is on the list by opting for kitchen
― oscar bravo, Tuesday, 27 July 2021 14:50 (two years ago) link
this is the atwood i shall vote for
― mookieproof, Tuesday, 27 July 2021 15:05 (two years ago) link
I've only read two: Wittgenstein's Mistress and Foucault's Pendulum. I don't remember much about the Eco so this would be Wittgenstein's Mistress for me.
― o. nate, Tuesday, 27 July 2021 15:50 (two years ago) link
― mookieproof, Tuesday, July 27, 2021 11:05 AM (one hour ago) bookmarkflaglink
Same. It’s her best, I think.
― horseshoe, Tuesday, 27 July 2021 16:33 (two years ago) link
My urge to read Foucault's Pendulum again (again) has increased considerably thanks to this poll. It probably introduced me to more conspiracy theories, and healthy scepticism - or downright derision - of such theories than I might have otherwise found in a decade of reading.
― Believe me, grow a lemon tree. (ledge), Tuesday, 27 July 2021 18:22 (two years ago) link
I was a little obsessed with The Mezzanine as a teen, but I think Foucault's Pendulum is probably the better book. I might just have to vote with the footnotes, though.
Read a few more, of which I'll single out Kitchen for an extra nod (I know there's at least one ilxor who doesn't like Yoshimoto but I will rep for this one as great).
― emil.y, Wednesday, 28 July 2021 12:59 (two years ago) link
Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.
― System, Thursday, 29 July 2021 00:01 (two years ago) link
Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.
― System, Friday, 30 July 2021 00:01 (two years ago) link
Forgot to vote, I might have pushed FP into the top spot.
― Believe me, grow a lemon tree. (ledge), Friday, 30 July 2021 07:12 (two years ago) link
I forgot too. Might have given The Garlic Ballads a vote.
― A viking of frowns, (Camaraderie at Arms Length), Friday, 30 July 2021 07:22 (two years ago) link
I forgot too. Would have been Libra, I think.
― Vanishing Point (Chinaski), Friday, 30 July 2021 09:36 (two years ago) link
Wherein We Elect Our Favourite Novels of 1989
― Daniel_Rf, Friday, 30 July 2021 09:39 (two years ago) link