lunababymoonchild

Oh, I’m so glad!

I loved it!

Herscht 07769 by László Krasznahorkai This is the latest from Krasznahorkai to be published in this country. It’s 407 pages long and one continuous sentence. There are chapters though and I read it on Kindle which had very strange page numbers. For example, I got to page 406 and stayed on that page number for the last hundred or so pages. It does this throughout the book. So, it can be confusing. The Herscht of the title is the surname of a man who is portrayed as special needs – to put it politely – or simple. The numbers refer to his postcode. His first name is Florian and we get to know him as the story progresses. He spends two years taking evening classes in Particle Physics which he completely misunderstands and as a result of this he engages in letter writing to Chancellor Angela Merkel to explain to her that he thinks that all physical matter will be destroyed. His teacher tries very hard to dissuade him of this to no avail. The story progresses from there and encapsulates neo-Nazis, and graffiti vandalism. There are other, strong characters in the book and there is also a well-crafted plot, which ended unexpectedly but with a nice touch. How Krasznahorkai managed to convey the whole book in one sentence is mind-boggling but not as confusing as I thought it would be. And why he would want to do that I don’t know. But, and it’s only my opinion, this is a towering work of genius and I highly recommend it.

Only you can decide whether to return or not. You could wait until near the end of the return period and then return if a fix isn’t forthcoming.

I don’t think so Wittgenstein’s Nephew. I saw that. And they are similar in style, naturally. I’m not in a position to ascertain which of Bernhard’s work is the best to read, as it’s totally subjective. As I’ve said before, I don’t know why anyone would read an author they don’t enjoy or finish a book they don’t enjoy. Obviously up to you.

The loser is a study on the impact of a ‘more talented than everyone else’ person has on those around him. Gould’s friends end up giving up playing because of it and one gradually ‘loses it’ as a result of both the effect and being called a loser by Gould. It has no paragraphs and many run on sentences - as you know - and this is to convey the atmosphere, anger and frustration (these are creative, artistic men) that the interpersonal relations of the characters create. In other words, it’s the whole experience that’s meant to be immersive. But…………if it’s not for you then it’s not for you.

I thought that you might be interested in this article : New Kindle Colorsoft users reporting 'distracting' yellow strip on screen

I don't know, I haven't read that one.

If I may, perhaps Bernard is considered difficult because it takes a lot of effort to understand the point he’s making. Not that it matters. If it’s not for you it’s not for you

Absolutely. To me, then, as now, reading is like breathing and I genuinely have no idea that other people don’t read. So when I was forced to read at school I was already familiar with the concept and could concentrate on the text. We read Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men which absolutely horrified me and I had no idea that he had written anything else until recently. So I can see why school would put a child off reading for pleasure. OMaM didn’t put me off reading but I did not seek out John Steinbeck until now. On the other hand, how does the education system in this country otherwise encourage children to read?

I was asounded to find out a school friend of mine was put off reading as a result of school. We went to the same school and she was brought up in the same atmosphere I was i.e. everybody read all of the time. I loved most of the school texts we had and continued to read what I wanted to read in addition. I've always read fiction and non-fiction for a variety of different reasons but it all boils down to : I read because I enjoy it. And that's good enough for me.

Ooooh! I hope you’ll tell us what the colour one is like - that’s the one I would have chosen if it had been available at the time. I don’t keep paper books that I’m sure I won’t read again either, I still ran out of physical space because I can’t read them as fast as I buy them, lol

Well done and congratulations, I’ll have a good look at it

Good for you. It’s a big improvement on the apps - apart from the size consideration, I can destroy my battery (phone or tablet) using it - I read for hours a day and the Kindle reader is the only thing that can handle that (I have far too many e-books, 354 and counting). I also prefer paper but have run out of space to store them! I hope that you enjoy it. Are you going for the new colour one?

Started The Land of the Living and the Dead by Shauna Lawless. Need to find out what happens next in 12th century Ireland.

Leonard Low, Scotland’s Untold Stories. A factual account of some of our lesser known historical events.

Have you managed to get him home?

Hello David and welcome to the forum. I don't know if men read these books but I'm glad that you do and hope that you enjoy them.

Me too

I haven't read the book so can't answer but if I may suggest : please correct the title of the thread to Shuggie (you have Snuggie, I'm sure that it's a typo but it would be slightly less confusing if you corrected it) Thanks Welcome to the Forum!

Started Scotland’s Untold Stories by Leonard Low, a factual book containing some of the odd and peculiar stories in the history of Scotland.

As I understand it Tofu takes on any flavour you give it, so you could curry it, if you want.

Got my long awaited Rebus 25, Midnight and Blue, Ian Rankin yesterday and immediately started reading it.

Duly noted

It’s beautiful