Hux
-
Posts
653 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Events
Books
Posts posted by Hux
-
-
At Swim-Two Birds (1939) Flann O'Brien
Where to begin with this one? It's an experimental novel about a young Irish man who lives with his uncle and has aspirations of being a writer. He references several stories within his own story which feature characters who gradually begin to interact with one other. It's not so much a story within a story, so much as a story about a story where the characters become the authors of other stories within that story whilst another story unfolds as a consequence of that story. So yeah, interesting. There are supposedly three stories happening but they overlap and mingle to the extent that you entirely lose track.
There's one that involves a Pooka and an invisible fairy who lives in his pocket. They meet some ne'er-do-wells in the woods and travel to the house of a character from a different story and play poker. It was strangely compelling and yet I didn't fully grasp what was going on. This was true for huge portions of the book and characters were seemingly coming and going while the narration left me unsure of what was actually happening beyond the immediate. Yet some of the writing was utterly beautiful indeed. But it became increasingly difficult to put it into any kind of context. For example:
"The character of your colloquy is not harmonious, rejoined the Pooka, and makes for barriers between the classes. Honey-words in torment, a growing urbanity against the sad extremities of human woe, that is the further injunction in place upon your head; and for the avoidance of opprobrious oddity as to numerals, I add this, a sickly suppuration at the base of the left breast."
Lovely stuff. But what on earth doesn't mean? Even in context, I had no real clue. So while the prose is often wonderful, it comes at the cost of not being fully able to engage due to a lack of connection with the material. As such, there were times when it was hard-going and, towards the end, I was positively desperate for the book to finish. At one point a cow was given the ability to speak in order to give testimony in court regarding the cruelty of one of the fictional authors. Nice.
If you like experimental writing and exquisite prose, you should read it. If you don't, maybe skip it.6/10
-
1
-
-
The Sharks (1974) Jens Bjorneboe
In 1899 a ship named the Neptune sets sail from Manila in the Philippines across the Pacific towards its destination of Marseilles. But it will never get there. Peder Jensen (third mate) narrates the journey and tells us of the many interesting characters aboard the ship and the terrible weather and circumstances they must endure. The endless expanse of the living ocean, the fighting, the hatred, the deep-rooted resentments. And, of course, the sharks.
Bjorneboe is so good at looking at the very worst aspects of human nature. The ship is crewed by Europeans, Americans, Africans, Arabs, Chinese, you name it. So the ship is the whole world and the people traveling within it are, almost ceaselessly, at each other's throats. The books opens almost immediately with brawling violence. Yet Peder, the ship's make-shift medical officer, also provides a constant sense of compassion. Humanity has an innate capacity for helping each other yet 'there is a murderer inside each of us too.' Peder (or is it Bjorneboe) delves beyond the mere facts of the narrative and goes into his personal thoughts regarding slavery, war, class oppression and history. He is the ship's philosopher and can see the terrible sights which await humanity in the 20th century as it hovers on the horizon, as its many technologies and values will bring about further war and hatred. Yet he is always hopeful, this especially seen in the terrified boy, Pat, a 14-year-old cockney street urchin who, after a traumatising start to the journey, clings to Peder and demands that he become the boy's father. Then we have the enormous captain, Anderson, a mountain of muscle and indifference. A man built by the grime and bleakness of the heartless 19th century. And, of course, the sharks.
The book is utterly magnificent. Both glorious to read (gripping despite Bjorneboe's tendency to meander and dawdle and go on flights of philosophical fancy) and wonderfully creative. It is atmospheric to the end, always fascinating, always making you think. It was both a wonderful yarn and a thought-provoking polemic. There is something beautiful within it.
When, for example, the crew put their fighting on hold momentarily because there are two bodies floating in the gigantic blue swirling ocean; a man and a woman, drifting, tethered together by a flimsy rope so that even in death, they might stay close to each other. They wrap them up, silently bury these two strangers at sea, and lower their heads. Then go back to fighting and hatred.10/10
-
Started reading 'The Sharks' by Jens Bjorneboe.
-
Lucky Jim (1954) Kingsley Amis
The story of a university lecturer (Jim Dixon) at a red brick university who is unsure of his employment status and is entangled in a relationship with a neurotic (seemingly suicidal) woman name Margaret. Then, one day, the head of the department (Welch) invites him to a small get-together where he meets Welch's son (Bertrand), a painter, and his new girlfriend, Christine, a young woman from London. As the novel progresses Jim and Christine appear to have a bond.
Took a while to get into this and I found the dialogue more engaging that the narration. But eventually, it pulled me in. It's essentially a rom-com in book form and has a lot of wit and charm to it. I occasionally laughed but mostly it was a series of -'I can relate to that' - smirks. When Dixon takes a dislike to Bertrand, for example, and he imagines himself spending years becoming a noted art critic simply so that he can dismiss Bertrand's work as a load of crap. There are lots of little moments like that throughout the book, charming, and amusing, clever and arch. And there's a good portion of British cynicism and irony too. Dixon is indeed very lucky but we like the man and want him to succeed so it's okay.
I can't say the prose entirely bowled me over, and I'm generally not a fan of books that are described as comedic, but I've wanted to read this one for a while. I'm amazed Richard Curtis hasn't turned it into a movie yet. It has all the hallmarks of that kind of middle-class gentle humour set in an almost pastoral version of England. Enjoyed it.7/10
-
Bought The Sharks by Jens Bjorneboe and Guignol's Band by Celine.
-
Started reading 'Lucky Jim' by Kingsley Amis.
-
This is probably my favourite.
-
4
-
1
-
-
These are professional photographs we had taken.
-
4
-
-
"My friend has a Quality Street chocolate blocking his windpipe."
"The Purple One?"
"Yeah, that's him."
-
2
-
3
-
-
Kokoro (1914) Natsume Sōseki
The story of a young man (the narrator) who details meeting and befriending an older man whom he only refers to as sensei. He admires this man's wisdom and education and they begin to spend time together. The sensei has a secret, something which transformed his early life and caused him to become cynical and misanthropic, something which even his own wife doesn't fully understand. The narrator asks question but gets few answers. The narrator returns to his family due to his father's illness and possible death yet craves returning to Tokyo and his friend. He writes to sensei but receives no reply. Then, finally, he receives an extremely long letter (the final third part of the book) where sensei tells his story.
This book was great. It builds with a very slow pace and allows the narrator to become the central character before switching over to sensei's letter and focusing on him. The chapters are all roughly two pages each, allowing the reader an opportunity to freely go as fast or as slow as they like (I find that I tend to read more when this is the case). The prose is clean and tidy, never dwelling on unnecessary points, and the story is earnest and heartfelt (typically Japanese). The ending packs a punch and while it isn't entirely unexpected, it is still profoundly moving and sad.
There are themes surrounding one era replacing another, the changing of the generational guard, and there are references to Emperor Meiji and General Nogi, old Japan becoming new Japan. But for me, the book is about the sins we carry with us, the heartbreak and sorrow which youth inflicts upon its future self.8/10
-
The Slaves of Solitude (1947) Patrick Hamilton
The story of a 39-year-old woman name Enid Roach who, during the blitz, moves away from London to the safety of a tea room boarding house on the outskirts of the city. Here she deals with several spinsters and an elderly gentleman named Mr Thwaites who endlessly nitpicks at her during their shared mealtimes. An American G.I (lieutenant Pike) enters her life and a mild romance of sorts begins with regular trips to the local pub for drinks. But then Miss Roach's half-German friend Vicki Kugelmann moves into the boarding house and becomes a rival for the affections of lieutenant Pike.
This was one of the best things I have ever read. There is so much art to Hamilton's simplicity. And he is so good at dealing with the psychological (especially the British method of churning one's resentments over and over in our minds). He taps into the slights and off-hand comments which bug us for the rest of the day, which burrow into our thoughts until we ruminate upon them relentlessly. He reveals the petty resentments we have and the uncertainties of what others might be thinking or feeling about us (what did they mean by that? Am I overreacting? Was that a subtle dig?). None of this should be surprising when you remind yourself that Hamilton is the man who wrote 'Gaslight' a term which now pervades modern culture. But he's just so good at taking the smallest thing and making you squirm and fixate and worry.
Miss Roach appears both overly sensitive yet utterly correct in her assessments of what others might be thinking of her. Never has a female character (especially written by a man) felt so real to me. And as I've already mentioned, I love the Britishness of it all. How apt that it should take place (like a lot of his work) during the 2nd World War. He understands the psychological nature of this island and its people, especially the English.
Often, when I read a novel, my interest wanes towards the last third but here the total opposite occurred. Everything builds and builds despite, in reality, nothing very significant ever really happening. Even the chapters seemed to be getting shorter as the book went along. He takes the most mundane subject matter and turns it into a psychological nightmare. It is an exquisite gift to take the banal and mediocre lives of tea room boarders and make me grip tightly to the pages. Glorious!10/10
-
2
-
-
Started reading The Slaves of Solitude' by Patrick Hamilton.
-
11 hours ago, lunababymoonchild said:
Aw she's gorgeous Hux. Don't you have two?
Yes, her (Munchkin) and Dash.
-
1
-
-
Her majesty.
-
3
-
-
Snow (2002) Orhan Pamuk
This was great. I generally avoid plot driven books with 3rd person narrations (preferring 1st person accounts which focus on the writing) but this was a wonderful yarn. The writing is crisp and clear and never becomes dense or flowery. I don't know if that's the writer or the translator's doing but given that Orhan Pamuk is a Nobel Prize winner, probably the former.
The story is told by the protagonist's friend (also called Orhan). He details the events of his friend Ka (a poet) returning to Turkey after 12 years of political exile in Germany to report on the upcoming elections and the spate of suicides among young woman in the city of Kars. While there, he interviews several people including those hoping to take the city into a more religious direction and those (supported by the state) hoping to promote greater secularism. There are a group of girls who refuse to remove their headscarves and this has caused tensions on both sides. Everyday, it snows, each chapter drenched in giant snowflakes and whiteness, until eventually the city is cut off from the rest of the country (this also involving regular blackouts). It creates a nice (almost cosy) claustrophobia. This allows for a military coup to take place, the leader being a famous actor who uses his position of power to stage performances which condemn the backwardness of Islam. Meanwhile, there is a handsome terrorist called Blue and a woman named Ipek who Ka quickly falls in love with.
The story takes place over only three days and the narrative is mostly chronological but for one chapter which jumps ahead in time. It flows very nicely and I found it very easy to read. The themes regarding secularism, religion, art, beauty, and love are nothing new but the story does a good job of sucking you in. I found some of it hard to grasp from a western point of view but really enjoyed reading the book and will hope to read more of Pamuk's work in future.
9/10
-
Looks like I've won.
-
-
-
Started 'Snow' by Orhan Pamuk.
-
The Silent Cry (1967) Kenzaburō Ōe
A man named Mitsusaburo is married to Natsumi, they have a newborn son who is mentally disabled. She is coping with alcohol. Then Mitsu's friend commits suicide (it involves a cucumber) which only further sends the two of them spiraling into uncertainty. Mitsusaburo's brother Takashi returns from America and convinces them to go back with him to their childhood home. Here we learn about the brothers' great grandfather and his brother, the latter a major figure in an 1860 peasant uprising. Takashi wants to inspire a similar uprising and, after creating a football team, slowly builds an army which loots the local supermarket owned by a Korean...
I'd go into more detail (and there is a lot more to go into) but I suspect you've already switched off a little. The fact is the book is very good, wonderfully written (and translated), and delves into as many dark and painful recesses of the human mind that you can imagine (fascinatingly so). But it's very convoluted, very dense, and very oppressive at times. After a while, I felt like I had a bag of stones around my neck. Which is a shame because the writing is indeed great. It just feels like he's put far too much into this (did I mention that Takashi seduces Mitsu's wife Natsumi, that there's a murder, an obese gargoyle, an attempted rape, incest, more suicide, a cucumber🥒).
As much as I enjoyed the book, I could have done without being so utterly overwhelmed by so much heavy and stolid language (often when addressing the most mundane aspects of the story). Had the book been half as long (with significantly shorter chapters) I might have embraced it as a masterpiece. But it drags on a little and I never felt any sense of redemption or hope. And when I start to dread reading the next chapter because it just won't let me breathe, I have to take that into account when reviewing the piece (even when, as was the case here, I predominantly enjoyed it and acknowledged the writer's craft).
It was wonderful. But somehow it was also too much. Very Japanese.7/10
-
Currently reading 'The Silent Cry' by Kenzaburo Oe.
-
The Wasp Factory (1984) Iain Banks
The story revolves around a 17-year-old boy called Frank who lives with his father and has a series of strange interests and personality traits. He captures wasps and kills them in a way which he thinks tells him something of the future, kills mice and rabbits, and spends most of his time alone (his only friend is a kid called Jaimie). When he was a child he had an accident which led to a dog biting off his genitals. This has only further exacerbated his peculiarity and anti-social nature. And he claims to have indirectly murdered three of his younger relatives by various convoluted means. Then there's his older brother Eric, locked away in an asylum for the mentally ill, but who has recently broken out and is regularly phoning Frank as he comes closer and closer to the family home.
The book is very well written and easy to read. For the most part, I enjoyed it. But that's about as far as my praise can go. Beyond that, the book is an endless tease, a 250 page long set-up for a twist that, when it comes, is utterly banal, pointless, and empty. Throughout the entire thing, you get the strong impression that Banks is building to something, a reveal, a twist, a shocking exposure which will suddenly provide answers. Mostly you're encouraged to believe it will have something do with his brother Eric. But when it does finally come, the twist provides nothing more than a cheap thrill to keep you entertained. It has no real bearing on anything, and simply offers the reader what they were told they ought to want all the way through the book -- a sexy conclusion. It feels unearned and utterly vapid. And it solves nothing. For me, it was a tedious and thoroughly worthless damp squib.
That being said, I didn't hate the book. It was easy to read and Frank was an interesting character. It just went nowhere. The twist felt silly. But then all books with a twist feel silly to me.6/10
-
1
-
-
January
Review posted on January 6 - The Wasp Factor (Iain Banks) 6/10
Review posted on January 16 - The Silent Cry (Kenzaburō Ōe) 7/10
Review posted on January 27 - Snow (Orhan Pamuk) 9/10
February
Review posted on February 4 - The Slaves of Solitude (Patrick Hamilton) 10/10
Review posted on February 12 - Kokoro (Natsume Sōseki) 8/10
Review posted on February 23 - Lucky Jim (Kingsley Amis) 7/10
Review posted on February 28 - The Sharks (Jens Bjorneboe) 10/10
March
Review posted on March 9 - At Swim-Two Birds (Flann O'Brien) 6/10
Review posted on March 16 - Austerlitz (W. G. Sebald) 7/10
Review posted on March 18 - Lady into Fox (David Garnett) 8/10
Review posted on March 25 - An Inventory of Losses (Judith Schalansky) 3/10
April
May
Review posted on May 18 - Goodbye to Berlin (Christopher Isherwood) 8/10
Review posted on May 27 - I'm Thinking of Ending Things (Iain Reid) 7/10
June
Review posted on June 21 - Auto Da Fe (Elias Canetti) 9/10
Review posted on June 30 - House of Leaves (Mark Z. Danielewski) 4/10
July
Review posted on July 2 - 69 (Ryu Murakami) 7/10
Review posted on July 6 - The Thief's Journal (Jean Genet) 8/10
Review posted on July 15 - The Secret History (Donna Tartt) 7/10
Review posted on July 19 - Junky (William S. Burroughs) 5/10
Review posted July 24 - Twenty Thousand Streets Under The Sky (Patrick Hamilton) 8/10
Review posted July 26 - Nadja (Andre Breton) 7/10
Review posted July 31 - A Heart So White (Javier Marias) 8/10
August
Review posted on August 12 - The Melancholy of Resistance (Laszlo Krasznahorkai) 7/10
Review posted on August 13 - Bonjour Tristesse (Francoise Sagan) 6/10
Review posted on August 14 - A Certain Smile (Francoise Sagan) 6/10
Review posted on August 16 - Seven Years (Peter Stamm) 7/10
Review posted on August 18 - One Moonlit Night (Caradog Prichard) 8/10
Review posted on August 25 - The Opposing Shore (Julien Gracq) 5/10
Review posted on August 30 - Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead (Olga Tokarczuk) 8/10
September
Review posted on September 2 - Froth on the Daydream - Mood Indigo (Boris Vian) 9/10
Review posted on September 4 - The Setting Sun (Osamu Dazai) 8/10
Review posted on September 9 - The Appointment (Herta Muller) 7/10
Review posted on September 14 - The Eight Mountains (Paolo Cognetti) 6/10
Review posted on September 16 - Mysteries (Knut Hamsun) 8/10
Review posted on September 25 - War and War (Laszlo Krasznahorkai) 5/10
October
Review posted on October 7 - Life: A User's Manual (Georges Perec) 4/10
Review posted on October 8 - Memoirs of a Good-For-Nothing (Joseph Von Eichendorff) 6/10
Review posted on October 12 - Omon Ra (Victor Pelevin) 7/10
Review posted on October 14 - Heaven (Mieko Kawakami) 7/10
Review posted on October 17 - The Little Girl Who Was Too Fond of Matches (Gaétan Soucy) 8/10
Review posted on October 20 - Pedro Páramo (Juan Rulfo) 7/10
Review posted on October 26 - Guignol's Band (Louis Ferdinand Celine) 8/10
Review posted on October 28 - The Tenant (Roland Topor) 10/10
November
Review posted on November 2 - Spider (Patrick McGrath) 7/10
Review posted on November 5 - The Virgin Suicides (Jeffrey Eugenides) 7/10
Review posted on November 11 - The Conspiracy Against the Human Race (Thomas Ligotti) 7/10
Review posted on November 18 - Flights (Olga Tokarczuk) 5/10
Review posted on November 19 - The Sandman (E.T.A Hoffman) 8/10
Review posted on November 23 - Elle (Philippe Djian) 7/10
December
Review posted on December 7 - The Discovery of Heaven (Harry Mulisch) 7/10
Review posted on December 7 - The Yellow Wallpaper (Charlotte Perkins Gilman) 6/10
Review posted on December 9 - The Captive Mind (Czeslaw Milosz) 5/10
Review Posted on December 11 - They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (Horace McCoy) 7/10
Review posted on December 16 - Melancholy I - II (Jon Fosse) 7/10
Review posted on December 29 - Of Human Bondage (W. Somerset Maugham) 10/10
-
Started 'The Wasp Factory' by Iain Banks.
Your Book Activity 2023
in Past Book Logs
Posted
Started Austerlitz by Sebald.