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Man Booker Prize


Brida

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I can recommend the 2003 winner, Vernon God Little by DBC Pierre.

I read this a few years back as part of a reading group on another forum and quite enjoyed it.

 

I've been debating whether or not I want to read this for quite a while. I think you may have made up my mind for me. :)

 

I'm going to start The Sea, The Sea after christmas I think. It will be my first read of the new year :)

 

Same here.

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I'm not sure exactly when I'll read it, but read it I shall. More than likely it'll be next month, unless the mood moves me earlier. :readingtwo: I don't seem to be able to schedule too well. I see a book, and naturally gravitate. :blush: Hardly any planning involved.

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I'm on the last 100 pages and enjoying it immensely .. it's so well written and quite unusual. I've already done that thing you do when you're enjoying an authors work, look up all of their other books and buy, beg, borrow or steal them ... I haven't stolen any ... but I have borrowed some from the library and put a few in my Amazon basket knowing that I'll be getting Christmas money soon. I've actually managed to read one of her short stories too in between picking up 'The Sea, The Sea' .. in fact I think it was her only short story .. anyway, it was good.

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I'm on the last 100 pages and enjoying it immensely .. it's so well written and quite unusual. I've already done that thing you do when you're enjoying an authors work, look up all of their other books and buy, beg, borrow or steal them ... I haven't stolen any ... but I have borrowed some from the library and put a few in my Amazon basket knowing that I'll be getting Christmas money soon. I've actually managed to read one of her short stories too in between picking up 'The Sea, The Sea' .. in fact I think it was her only short story .. anyway, it was good.

 

Great :D I think ill read it next now, can't wait :D

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  • 4 weeks later...

Hello everyone :)

 

How are you getting along with The Sea, The Sea?

 

I'm affraid I just got hold of the book today (:lol:), and it's kinda huge lol. Sooo, I probably won't be able to finish it before February, but I'll do my best.

I've already started it and it seems good. And long. ;)

Edited by Brida
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With much chagrin, I hereby admit...I forgot about the book completely, totally, not a thought of this thread entered my little pea brain, even when I saw it mentioned in another thread. Thus the head-banging thingy above. /sigh/ I have the book in the stack, it remains only for me to find it. Again. :roll: I will get to it before February. /determined/ :D

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  • 3 weeks later...

I thought it might be interesting to discuss this book a bit, so I chose 5 questions from this site here. There's more questions there, and if you like other questions (or if you have your own) just post them here. All the questions needn't be answered.

 

QUESTIONS

 

1. James is very prominent in both Charles's memories and in the plot, taking on many roles in Charles's mind: spoiled cousin, latent homosexual, Buddhist mystic, patronizing connoisseur, retired general, magical savior, romantic rival, moral conscience, reader of the book of Nature. In light of this plethora of identities, what effect does James have on Charles's own identity? Can James be considered the "guiding angel" of The Sea, The Sea? Why or why not?

 

 

2.How does one reconcile Charles's passionate yearning for Hartley with his appraisal of the married state as "that unimaginable condition of intimacy and mutual bondage"? In light of the fact that love and its reclamation, romantic histories, jealousy, and sexual obsession figure so prominently in the novel, is there an example of a happy couple in The Sea, The Sea or are all fated to be, in some sense or another, trapped in "the inferno of marriage"?

 

3.Compare the three female characters—the mundane and muddled Hartley, the demure and clinging Lizzie, and the fierce and implacable Rosina—in their attitudes toward love and their approaches to Charles. Are any of them free? Do they seek freedom? Compare Murdoch's depiction of them with her handling of the male characters. Is sexual difference and "the nature of women" a theme in the book?

 

4.Speaking of "some fear of loneliness and death that comes to me out of the sea," Charles observes that "the sea ages one," yet he continually presents it as an object of aesthetic appreciation. Contrast Charles's rich, painterly descriptions of the sea in his writing with the role it plays in the "real world" that the novel presents. How are both the plot and the characters' thoughts organized by and centered on the figure of the sea?

 

5.Charles's house, Shruff End, is in many ways a character in its own right. Intricately described, the house is explicitly referred to as gloomy and cave-like and can in many ways stand as a metaphor for Charles's own mind. What are some of the ways that events and features in Shruff End indicate Charles's mental state? Discuss his evocation of Plato's myth of the cave and fascination with Minn's Cauldron. What other examples and uses of the trope of the cave punctuate the novel?

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I'll have to make it my next read...I've started a couple of books already. I have to find it again...what with OH's books coming our of storage, we are in the midst of rearranging his 60 boxes, moving mine around, and so forth. It's here, I know it! :D

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  • 4 weeks later...

Hello everyone, I hope you had fun with The Sea, The Sea.

 

I'll have to finish this one sometime during the year, because other things have kept me away from reading in the past couple of weeks.

 

If you agree we could choose a new March/April read, I suggest a new criteria for choosing this read...Its length! :D

Meaning, if we could read something not quite so long as The Sea..., that would be very helpful, but again, we're going to vote over it so any suggestions are welcome.

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Hello everyone, I hope you had fun with The Sea, The Sea.

 

I'll have to finish this one sometime during the year, because other things have kept me away from reading in the past couple of weeks.

 

If you agree we could choose a new March/April read, I suggest a new criteria for choosing this read...Its length! :D

Meaning, if we could read something not quite so long as The Sea..., that would be very helpful, but again, we're going to vote over it so any suggestions are welcome.

 

I agree, I'm still reading The Sea, The Sea. I've been so busy lately and haven't have much time to read. Will be finishing up soon but it is quite a lengthy read! I'd like to vote for The Famished Road by Ben Okri and The White Tiger by Aravind

Adiga. :)

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I don't know why I feel such reluctance to read The Sea, The Sea. :confused: I'd even found it at one point, and I just couldn't manage to pick it up. It's downright embarrassing! At one point I will read it, I'm not shutting the door, but I just can't seem to move toward it at present. :hide:

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Don't beat yourself up too much over it ^^ :D

Think of all the books out there...

 

Anyway. My vote goes to The White Tiger, just because I can't get hold of The Famished Road anytime soon :/

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So, what have you decided, girls? Or will someone else be joining us?

 

March is just a few hours away so... As far as I'm concerned, you go ahead with The Famished Road. I'll wait for the next group read, there's plenty of other books on the ol' TBR :D

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  • 1 month later...

I'm about 10% into The Famished Road, and enjoying it so far, although I think it will be one of those books that I read a few other books at the same time; I'm not sure that I'm going to be able to read big chunks of it at one time due to its style.

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  • 4 years later...

Well it's been a while since this thread was active, hopefully this time I'll give the challenge a go (with more success)!

 

To update my oh so very sad list, so far I've read:

 

1983 Life and Times of Michael K

1992 The English Patient

1998 Amsterdam

2002 Life of Pi

2007 The Gathering

 

My next read from the list might be The Inheritance of Loss. As for the challenge I'm only including the winners and then who knows, if I ever finish it maybe move on to the shortlisted ones :D

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