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dogmatix

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Posts posted by dogmatix

  1. Ahhhh Pontalba I see the light. This is a gorgeous book. Swallowed down the first couple of chapters this morning.

     

    First impresions:

     

    His mastery of imagery is awesome. I'm not reading about it I'm experiencing it.

     

    He's obviously brilliant. I've got to keep a dictionary at arm's length for some of the words but after getting the definitions in my head I see that Nabokov choose each not because they are obscure and show "just how smart he is" but because each is THE perfect word to use.

     

    I love the discussion about the beginings of self awarenes and memory. Such an interesting and beautiful description of early chilhood.

     

    Oh and Muggle, I think I love his mother almost as much as he does.

     

    Okay so I need a very brief review on the timeline from Tsar to WWII. I don't know anything about Bolsheviks, Lennin, Stalin. Gotta love an ethnocentric American education. Anyone care to joy down a brief note for my benefit?

  2. First off I must admit Saramago is one of my favorite authors so I'm quite biased. Blindness is written in Saramago's minimalist style with absent punctuation, nameless and barely described characters that seem so one dimensional and simple. Yet...... Somehow with his barely completed pen strokes he weaves the most complex of characters, rawest of emotions, deep and meaningful themes. His prose, with its run-on sentences and occasional self-awareness (Saramgo poking his nose in to say I'm at the other end of this pen here) takes some getting used to but it is beautiful and poetic.

     

    Blindness is a horrific tale that examines some of the darkest in human behaviors, the deepest of fears, and the frailest of relationships. There are some great heroes in this story.

     

    Other Saramago to try, The Double, All the Names, Seeing (the sequel to Blindness). There are many others......

  3. Yeah he does change quite dramatically over the course of the book. I also liked how you start with book with, at least I did, very firm opinions on what Mr Norrell was like as a person only to have to re-access them later after finding out more about his character.

     

    Well I've finished up and your statement is correct, you really have to re-examine every character in the final section of this fabulous book. The ending is not tidy, something else I also appreciated.

     

    I'll admit that this book requires some commitment to complete, but in finishing JSMN I feel as if I've read a classic. It really is a beautiful book. I loved the typically english setting, dark, spooky castles, rolling countryside, mischevious faeries, all of it. The characters were complicated and colored in inumerable shades of greys. None were good, none were bad. All were vulnerably human, even those that weren't! All in all a great book. Read it! Read it!

  4. Pontalba I have read Lolita and it certainly was beautiful. I felt however, that it was so thick with layers and meanings that it was dificult to enjoy as a single read through. Of course the intricacies are what true Nabovka fans relish. I wished I'd read it in college with someone to help dissect and interpret.

     

    How does Speak compare? Can I enjoy or will I need a handholding?

  5. 1. Favorite main meal - Sushi

    2. Favorite starter - bread with herbed olive oil dip

    3. Favorite dessert - Cheesecake

    4. Favorite pizza topping - Cheese, cheees, and more cheese

    5. Favorite bread - Rosemary sourdough

    6. Favorite vegetable - Asparagus (but I love all veggies)

    7. Favorite fruit - Rasberries (are berries fruit?)

    8. Favorite cheese - Fromage D'Affinois

    9. Favorite takeaway - Pizza

    10. Favorite chocolate bar - Kit Kat

    11. Favorite sandwich - PB&J on soft whole wheat

  6. I'm attending a veterinary surgery conference in early October in DC, staying in Alexandria, so by all means make some good wine recommendations, and tell me again the name of your favorite wine shop (you mentioned it to me somewhere else :wink: )

     

    (We're having 4 week old lion cubs at the hospital on Saturday. I'll post pics)

  7. We were in Washington, DC today for our semi-annual Doctor's appointment and while there (in DC) bought some wine at our favorite Wine Shop:

     

    $12.99 Valminor - Albarino White Spain

    $12.99 Burgans - Albarino White Spain

    $11.99 NAIA Rueda - Verdejo White Spain

    $9.99 Mano A Mano - Tempranillo Spain

    $7.99 Vega Sindoa - Tempranillo / Merlot Spain

    $7.99 Torres Sangre de Toro

     

    The 2 bottles of Albarino are similar to the Nora white wine that I have raved about (recommended to me by Dogmatix) and the wine store rated these 2 wines higher than Nora...we shall see.

     

    The NAIA Rueda was recommended to me by the wine expert at the shop.

     

    The Mano A Mano red wine was also recommended to me by the same guy who also told me that the Sangre DE Toro doesn't sell much anymore due to the flood of better red wines from Spain....and I always used to enjoy the Toro. :)

     

    Nice little shopping excursion muggle and you know how much I love DC. I'm jealous! BTW hubby and I have decided to build a new home. I'll email you the front running plans when I get them uploaded. Then we can have you guys over for dinner.

  8. The thing about the Historian is it is written in the style of Dracula, the travelogs, the letters, the descriptive nature. Plus there are tons of references to it. If you can read Dracula first then follow up with The Historian. You'll get a lot more out of it. Plus, I agree with Kell, Dracula is a GREAT book!. Read it! Read it! Read it!

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