Hux
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The Plague (1947) Albert Camus
One day, Dr Rieux begins to notice some dying rats and worries that something bad is coming. Sure enough, the small Algerian coastal town of Oran is soon struggling under the weight of the plague. The narrator (unknown until the final chapter) explains how the town endured this period by exploring the stories of a handful of characters in the town, predominantly focusing on Dr Rieux. Then there's Tarrou, a visiting businessman, Rambert, the journalist, Grand, the government clerk, and Cottard, a man with mental health issues. Then, of course, we have the priest, Paneloux, who has a unique perspective and role given the circumstances.
The book is brilliantly written and the language flows nicely. There are moments that generalise the events of the plague then there are moments that zero in on specific events. For example, there is a dark and unforgiving chapter which focuses on the fate of a young boy with the disease and we watch as Rieux and Paneloux cope with what they are forced to witness. Understandably, this affords Camus an opportunity to inject some of his absurdist philosophy into the book. When told by Tarrou that his victories will never be lasting, Rieux responds: 'Yes, I know that. But it's no reason for giving up the struggle.'
From a covid perspective, there's a lot that's familiar. People wearing masks, people washing hands, people dealing with separation from their loved ones. There are lockdowns (literally the town is locked down) and quarantines. There are moments where they (mistakenly) think it might be over, moments where they speculate on the efficacy of the serum/vaccine. It really was quite fascinating to read all this under our current Covid circumstances. Even the people who refuse to accept the Draconian rules are present here (Rambert himself, at one point, plans to escape the town). And then, of course, there's the conversations they have about what life will be like once the plague is finally over. To which one of the characters replies: 'there will be new films.'
Some things never change.
Of course, it's not possible to read this book without seeing the Nazi analogy. Is Camus writing about a plague or is he writing about fascism? Clearly both. With that interpretation in mind, some of the things he says become more pointed and disturbing. Especially the final line of the book where he describes the 'plague' as dormant....
"... it waits patiently in bedrooms, cellars, trunks, handkerchiefs and old papers, and perhaps the day will come when, for the instruction or misfortune of mankind, the plague will rouse its rats and send them to die in some well-contented city."
A wonderful piece of literature. 7/10 -
A diet of chocolate and cheese
Caused Rodney to expand at the knees
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There once was a chap from Wetwang
Whose farts made a sound that fair sang...
When a small one let offIn his trousers he coughed
And the scent took control of the land
A pirate's parrot named Polly St Butty
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It's a Long Way to the Top (if You Wanna Rock 'n' Roll) - AC/DC
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Rhyme - Rime
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I've read 14 of them and half of two more (Moby Dick and The Master and Margarita... got bored.).
Because their classics I read them all years ago when classics is all I read so have only vague memories. I remember enjoying Call of the Wild but then being disappointed to discover that London was a bit of notorious plagiarist.
Still don't get the fuss about Great Gatsby. 🤔 Especially given Murakami clearly adored it in Norwegian Wood.
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I like to put beans in my ears
Whenever aunt Margaret appears
She swears a storm,
For it's very bad form
As she's worked at the Heinz factory for years
There once was a chap from Wetwang
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I like to put beans in my ears
Whenever aunt Margaret appears
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I wasn't very impressed with the first series as it's the same carousal of panel show comedians (who clearly don't read much) discussing their favourite books. I'd much rather they had guests with a bit more weight to them. Plus, the contemporary books they choose are standard detective novels and mainstream fluff.
The only one from series one that caught my eye was 'Hangover Square.'
Anyway, there's a series two coming...
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If I had a few folk come for supper
I'd feed them all seeds of black dupper
As an exciting dessert
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There was a lad from Trinidad
Who instigated a rather curious fad
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A black Porsche Jimmy bought in Dalkeith.
Purred like a tiger without any teeth
In a fit of panic
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I found me in a great surging space,At either end a door,And I said: 'What is this giddying place,With no firm-fixed floor,That I knew not of before?''It is life,' said a mask-clad faceI asked: 'but how do I come here,Who never wished to come;Can the light and air be made more clear,The floor more quietsome,And the doors set wide? They numbFast-locked and fill with fear.'The mask put on a bleak smile then,And said, 'O vassal-wight,There once complained a goosequill penTo the scribe of the InfiniteOf the words it had to writeBecause they were past its ken.'The Masked Face - Thomas Hardy
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There once was a man with a dog
Which regularly barked at the fog
In a fret or a haar
He didn't get far
Whenever he went for a jog
There once was an awful ventriloquist
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There once was a man with a dog
Which regularly barked at the fog
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Chelsea 2 - 0 Real Madrid
And there it is, another all-English final. Looking forward to it.
Man City V Chelsea
Final on 29th May in Istanbul.
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Sad though it was...
To be bereft of a cause
John nonetheless
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Man City are there.
Chelsea V Real Madrid tomorrow to see who they play.
All English final could be fun. But City V Madrid looks tasty.
Hopefully, they'll allow some fans into the stadium.
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1 hour ago, Hayley said:
Regarding the board for centuries; I just popped over to BGO to look at your set up there and I'm not quite sure how it works. If you were posting about a 19th century horror, for example, would you post in 19th century or horror? Or both?
If it was very specifically a horror genre then it would go in horror. If it was a classic (Frankenstein etc) it might go in classics. I think the centuries boards are mostly for literary fiction that isn't that genre specific (which is most books).
For me, it's more about finding reviews easily and discovering new books as a result of that process.
A blog system seems intuitively resistant to the pursuit of encouraging discussion; like reading someone's diary then leaving a comment while they were sleeping. Dunno. Just feels a bit odd to me. Whereas a review somewhere more visible might encourage me to engage with the content.
Essentially, if someone writes a book blog and loves a book which I happen to hate, posting on their blog feels a bit like going to their house and throwing excrement at their windows. But if the review is in a public place, I'm simply criticising the book... not them (which is what it would feel like). Which, in turn, would encourage me to post more.
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I would suggest a board for...
21st century books
20th century books
19th century books
That's just what I'm used to and it feels easier to access reviews that way. I generally avoid people's book blogs. Feels a bit like I'm intruding on their private thoughts.
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I tend to click 'unread content' but if I don't see any books I've read, want to read, or might be interested in etc, I move on.
Which is a shame. I'm probably missing interesting stuff.
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Two fat blokes from the end of my street....
Thought hedgehogs made the tenderest meat
This cruel delusion.....
Brought about a conclusion
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Asking people to scroll through book blogs seems like asking a lot. I can't find a thread on this so will start one.
This was one of the most wonderful reading experiences I've ever had. The book is no classic but it's wonderfully written and profoundly engaging. I honestly couldn't put it down.
The story is fairly straight-forward and involves a man named Toru Watanabe reminiscing about his youth in the late 60s. After his best friend, Kizuki, commits suicide he becomes closer with Kizuki's girlfriend Naoko. They eventually have sex and Watanabe goes to university. Here he meets several characters, most notably Nagasawa and his girlfriend Hatsumi. Watanabe and Nagasawa begin going out drinking and meeting girls for sex. Watanabe then discovers that Naoko is in a sanitorium and struggling with her mental health. He writes to her, eventually visits, and they rekindle their romance. Naoko lives at the sanitorium with an older woman called Reiko (she tells a rather interesting tale about why she's also at the sanitorium which includes a story about teaching a 13-year-old girl to play the piano).
The Japanese really do have a way when it comes to writing erotica, don't they? That being said, it felt like there was a little too much sex being used as an alternative to other, more conventional expressions of affection. Maybe that's a Japanese thing. I don't know. Everyone seems to need emotional reassurance but only expresses it through sex. Then again, it was set in the late 60s so maybe that's why.
The casual use of sex aside, my only criticism would be the chapter where Murakami jumps ahead and tells us about the future of one of the characters. This felt out of place since the whole narrative takes place chronologically. Only at the very beginning of chapter one does he write from the perspective of being an older man in the late 1980s. Then we dive into the story when he's 18 and stay with that story. But suddenly, halfway through the book, he informs us of a character's fate and it felt a little jarring.
I'm reliably informed that this is Murakami's most conventional novel. I'm not sure if I'd like his other works as much but based on this, I will definitely seek out more of his work.
I honestly can't remember enjoying reading a book this much. Many people would assume that I might think the book is a masterpiece as a result of that (a mistake many contemporary readers make in my opinion). They think if the reading experience is good then that means the book must be also great. For me, it's more complicated than that. I tend to put books into 4 categories.
1) The reading experience is wonderful. The book resonates, stays with you, changes your worldview, overwhelms you.
2) The reading experience is wonderful. But the book quickly fades from memory, doesn't hold its grip.
3) The reading experience is awful. But the book still somehow resonates, stays with you, overwhelms you etc.
4) The reading experience is awful. The book doesn't resonate, has nothing meaningful to say.
Category 4 is thankfully the most rare, followed by 3, then 1. For me, most books (and certainly most contemporary novels) are in category 2, including this. People make the mistake of thinking that if they really enjoyed reading a book then that must mean it is great literature. But often it's merely competently written *cough* Normal People *cough* etc. This is why so many modern novels get hyped, win awards, then disappear completely.
I'd place this at the top end of category 2. Highly recommended.
8/10
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Norwegian Wood (1987) Haruki Murakami
This was one of the most wonderful reading experiences I've ever had. The book is no classic but it's wonderfully written and profoundly engaging. I honestly couldn't put it down.
The story is fairly straight-forward and involves a man named Toru Watanabe reminiscing about his youth in the late 60s. After his best friend, Kizuki, commits suicide he becomes closer with Kizuki's girlfriend Naoko. They eventually have sex and Watanabe goes to university. Here he meets several characters, most notably Nagasawa and his girlfriend Hatsumi. Watanabe and Nagasawa begin going out drinking and meeting girls for sex. Watanabe then discovers that Naoko is in a sanitorium and struggling with her mental health. He writes to her, eventually visits, and they rekindle their romance. Naoko lives at the sanitorium with an older woman called Reiko (she tells a rather interesting tale about why she's also at the sanitorium which includes a story about teaching a 13-year-old girl to play the piano).
The Japanese really do have a way when it comes to writing erotica, don't they? That being said, it felt like there was a little too much sex being used as an alternative to other, more conventional expressions of affection. Maybe that's a Japanese thing. I don't know. Everyone seems to need emotional reassurance but only expresses it through sex. Then again, it was set in the late 60s so maybe that's why.
The casual use of sex aside, my only criticism would be the chapter where Murakami jumps ahead and tells us about the future of one of the characters. This felt out of place since the whole narrative takes place chronologically. Only at the very beginning of chapter one does he write from the perspective of being an older man in the late 1980s. Then we dive into the story when he's 18 and stay with that story. But suddenly, halfway through the book, he informs us of a character's fate and it felt a little jarring.
I'm reliably informed that this is Murakami's most conventional novel. I'm not sure if I'd like his other works as much but based on this, I will definitely seek out more of his work.
I honestly can't remember enjoying reading a book this much. Many people would assume that I might think the book is a masterpiece as a result of that (a mistake many contemporary readers make in my opinion). They think if the reading experience is good then that means the book must be also great. For me, it's more complicated than that. I tend to put books into 4 categories.
1) The reading experience is wonderful. The book resonates, stays with you, changes your worldview, overwhelms you.
2) The reading experience is wonderful. But the book quickly fades from memory, doesn't hold its grip.
3) The reading experience is awful. But the book still somehow resonates, stays with you, overwhelms you etc.
4) The reading experience is awful. The book doesn't resonate, has nothing meaningful to say.
Category 4 is thankfully the most rare, followed by 3, then 1. For me, most books (and certainly most contemporary novels) are in category 2, including this. People make the mistake of thinking that if they really enjoyed reading a book then that must mean it is great literature. But often it's merely competently written *cough* Normal People *cough* etc. This is why so many modern novels get hyped, win awards, then disappear completely.
I'd place this at the top end of category 2. Highly recommended.
8/10
The Plague
in The Classics
Posted
Should this go in classics?
Anyway...
One day, Dr Rieux begins to notice some dying rats and worries that something bad is coming. Sure enough, the small Algerian coastal town of Oran is soon struggling under the weight of the plague. The narrator (unknown until the final chapter) explains how the town endured this period by exploring the stories of a handful of characters in the town, predominantly focusing on Dr Rieux. Then there's Tarrou, a visiting businessman, Rambert, the journalist, Grand, the government clerk, and Cottard, a man with mental health issues. Then, of course, we have the priest, Paneloux, who has a unique perspective and role given the circumstances.
The book is brilliantly written and the language flows nicely. There are moments that generalise the events of the plague then there are moments that zero in on specific events. For example, there is a dark and unforgiving chapter which focuses on the fate of a young boy with the disease and we watch as Rieux and Paneloux cope with what they are forced to witness. Understandably, this affords Camus an opportunity to inject some of his absurdist philosophy into the book. When told by Tarrou that his victories will never be lasting, Rieux responds: 'Yes, I know that. But it's no reason for giving up the struggle.'
From a covid perspective, there's a lot that's familiar. People wearing masks, people washing hands, people dealing with separation from their loved ones. There are lockdowns (literally the town is locked down) and quarantines. There are moments where they (mistakenly) think it might be over, moments where they speculate on the efficacy of the serum/vaccine. It really was quite fascinating to read all this under our current Covid circumstances. Even the people who refuse to accept the Draconian rules are present here (Rambert himself, at one point, plans to escape the town). And then, of course, there's the conversations they have about what life will be like once the plague is finally over. To which one of the characters replies: 'there will be new films.'
Some things never change.
Of course, it's not possible to read this book without seeing the Nazi analogy. Is Camus writing about a plague or is he writing about fascism? Clearly both. With that interpretation in mind, some of the things he says become more pointed and disturbing. Especially the final line of the book where he describes the 'plague' as dormant....
"... it waits patiently in bedrooms, cellars, trunks, handkerchiefs and old papers, and perhaps the day will come when, for the instruction or misfortune of mankind, the plague will rouse its rats and send them to die in some well-contented city."
A wonderful piece of literature. 7/10