sirinrob

Settling into 'Tiare' by C

This was the last novel that Beckett wrote in English. It was written in Roussillion during World War Two, while he was in hiding from the Gestapo. The novel was first published in 1953. The principal character is Watt, who becomes a servant in Mr Knott's house. The regime in the house is irrational, which Watt finds perplexing. His duties, though rational, always have an irrational element which Watt then rationalises to the point of absurdity. This obsession with rationalisation, leads to Watt's mental breakdown. By detailing Watt's logic as he rationalises events, Beckett is making a comic attack on philosophers such as Descartes, Hegel and Sartre. Much of the humour is deadpan. Beckett's main point is that live life, and try to find a hidden meaning. I found this enjoyable and amusing, despite the challenge the style poses. A reread is in order at some point.

I finished 'Watt' by Samuel Beckett this morning, an interesting challenge to read. Going to write more of my novel today, now I've got started

Halfway through 'Watt' by Samuel Beckett, enjoying it. made a good haul today as well 'The Lost Musicans' William Heinessen 'Tiare' C

Agree on the oppression of women, but by the same token how about the oppression of men?

I'm a bit odd ( those that know me on here will confirm that ) in that I'm the only one in my family that reads. From an early age, my favourite activity involved reading. I see no point in TV or films, but let others follow that path if they wish - just don't force it on me or I get I'll take issue with the point re reading is not active. It is if the reader interacts with the text and creates a world from the text and his own experiences.

Finished 'The Secret River' Kate Grenville. Enjoyed it, but felt it lacked something. Full review in my Aussie challenge here. That brings my Aussie challenge up to 'Tourist' level, but I intend going on. Planning to get Tim Winton's 'Cloudstreet' next based on Kylies comment

This novel chronicles the life of William Thornhill, from his boyhood in late 18th century London, to his middle age in New South Wales. Will as he is known has a rough life in a poor area of London. After becoming a waterman, life gets easier. He marries Sal, but he makes a mistake. As a result he his condemed to die, but this gets commuted to transportation to New south Wales. Sal acompanies him, and they make a new life in Sydney Cove. Will is shown the Hawkesbury river and spots a piece of land he covets so he build something of his own. Once he gets his pardon, he eventually persuades Sal to move with their 5 children to the land up the river. Sal settles there reluctantly. Tensions are ever present between the Aborigines and the settlers like Will. Eventually the situation comes to head;the outcome being unpleasant. By this time Sal has resigned herself to staying put and Will becomes wealthy. One of the consequences of the resolution of the Aborigine/settler conflict is that Will's eldest son leaves and won't have anything to do with Will. Despite his wealth and easy life, Will feels empty as he realises what he has lost. This was an enjoyable, quick read, but lacked something. It seemed to get stuck in a rut concerning the Aboriginal/settler tension. The writing is fluid, but has a quirk of putting modern language cheek to jowl with a pseudo- 18th cnetury style which for me didn't work. Not a keeper, despite the storyline

This novel set in Mexico at a time of revolution. The story chronicles the life of Tita, who as the youngest daughter is by tradition not allowed to marry, having to care for her mother till her mother dies. this causes heartache for tita as she falls in love with Pedro, which is reciprocated but cannot be fulfilled. Her mother Elena is a tyrant; a bitter twisted widow. To avoid contact with her mother as far as possible, Tita retreats to the kitchen, where her aptitude for cooking comes into its own. Her elder sister Gertrudis gets out of the situation by running off with the revolutuionaries. Rosauria, the middle sister marries Pedro. At least Tita has him near. After the death of her mother , Tita eventually gets together with Pedro, which leads to a surprise ending. The ingenious idea that the author uses, is to work a recipe into the storyline for each chapter. This together with the well crafted story telling, made for a very enjoyable read

This is a book length essay, published in 1952. In it Camus reviews his philosophy of the Absurd, which he had presented in the 'Myth of Sisphyus' some 10 years earlier. This review leads Camus to conclude that his previous position was largely untenable. From this he proceeds to define rebellion and revolution. Moving on he critiques the French revolution of 1783 and presents conclusions which are at odds with the preceived wisdom of his time, but are eventually proved by the French historian Francois Furet. Next he turns his attention to Nietzsche and Hegel. He largely defends Nietzsche, bar some specific criticisms. However he is not so forgiving with Hegel, particulary Hegel's view on history. Since Hegel influenced Marx, Camus's critque extends to Marx as well. The main concept that Camus attacks is communism. Prior to publishing this essay he had criticised communism; here he rejects rejects it. The essay is finished off with some concluding thoughts. The publication of this essay caused a furore in France. The French Left, centred around Sartre, were incensed. A 'courteous' review appeared in the Left wing monthly publication 'Les Temps Modernes' the reviewer Jeanson was far from courteous, making scathing comments on the content. Camus responded, his response being addressed to 'Monsieur Director'; a direct attack on Sartre. In the response Camus defended his position, and was in places sarcastic. Sartre, who had wanted to keep out of the squabble, was furious. He wrote a 19 page article, berating Camus for criticising the french revolution and communism, both of which were sacred cows for the Left. Personal attacks were included as well. The feud between Sartre continued up to Camus's death in 1960 and beyond. Overall I agree with Camus's views, but some of the details I need to reread to come to a definitive conclusion. This is a very interesting essay and one I'll be returning to.

This book presents the history of the region centred around the Baltic Sea, starting with the Bronze age and ending in 2004. Major topics covered are the Vikings, the Teutonic Knights, the Reformation, the Hanse, the rise of Prussia and Russia, the effects of the French Revolution and Napoleon, first world war and Second World War. The book is full of detail, especially in the central section where the history is complex. The style is , at times dry and overall tends towards the academic. As a reference book for people with a strong interest in European History this would be admirable, I'm adding it to my collection. One small crticism I have is that the bibliography is contained within the notes, which makes locating entries a bit tiresome.

About a third through 'The Secret River' Kate Grenville, finding it reasonably interesting.

Yes, 'Like Water for Chocolate' is the book I read and really enjoyed.

I found the description of Tariq's 'death' unconvincing, so was fully prepared for his return. His return had consequences for Mariam and Laila, that Tariq could not have foreseen. He stood by Laila, Aziza and Zamali, which confirmed for me his sincerity. I think he would have tried to persuade Mariam to flee as well, but given her stubbornness he didn't stand much chance.

Stay At Home Mom

Totally agree. It's the enforcement of a 'uniform' that is the issue, not the 'uniform' itself, in this case a burqa. My previous post was not clear enough A quick reread confirmed what I suspected, Rasheed very early on, chapter 10, makes Mariam wear a burqa, so the enforcement at least for Mariam occurs before the Taliban's insistence.

the comment the author makes regarding wearing the burqa is very perceptive - it gives the woman the freedom to wear the burqa and nothing else, within it she has a space that is her's, as it has a veil she can pull faces and get away with it . A female friend of mine once tried wearing one for a weekend and despite initial doubts, really found it as she put, fun.

Yes, as an historical document. Bear in mind the draft written by Hitler, had to be edited by one of his adjuntants to make it readable. Even then the published version is not an easy read (a.k.a insomnia cure). Read in translation about 15 years ago, came across as an incoherent hotchpotch of ideas.

Henry fielding

Andre Gide

Daniel Defoe

Victor Hugo

Stephen King

Katherine Mansfield

Fredrick Forsythe