Hux
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Posts posted by Hux
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A woman called Scilly, from Thames.....
Invented some silly team games
One was named Squillion..
In honour of a civilian
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Currently reading Black Beauty by Anna Sewell because it's free.
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Haven't read him. But I would highly recommend 'The Story of the Eye' by Bataille which covers similar ground.
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A rancid old man from Manchester...
Had a soap maker as an ancestor
When he went for a shower....
He produced a scent like a flower
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There was a young lady from Whipsnade
Who, on confronting a man with a switch blade
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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 -
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.
What is a "Classic" Novel?
in The Classics
Posted
"He made it a rule never to touch a book by any author who had not been dead at least 30 years.
"That's the only kind of book I can trust", he said.
"It's not that I don't believe in contemporary literature," he added, "but I don't want to waste valuable time reading any book that has not had the baptism of time. Life is too short."
Nagasawa - Norwegian Wood