The Vikram Seth fan club!

Sparky, it's a pretty serious book actually -- the meat of it is stuff about the Holocaust that's extremely depressing. (Henny escaped but her family and many of her friends didn't, and Seth does some detailed research that really brings it home -- I'd say it's the strongest part of the book, but definitely Serious with a cap S.)

I was wondering if the A2K book club still exists as I havn't been able to find the thread.

Here's the "Fury" discussion, Tino:

http://www.able2know.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=3773

I just read, in addition to "Two Lives," "Brick Lane" by Monica Ali, "Reading Lolita in Tehran" by (forget her name right now), "The Corrections" by Jonathan Franzen and "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time" by Mark Haddon. Would enjoy discussing any of those if anyone's interested.

Out of those I've only read the Mark Haddon one - which was my holiday read a couple of years ago - and it was the best new book that I've read for awhile, but there is already a thread about that one. I've been meaning to contribute but still havn't summoned the mental energy to get round to doing it!

I've seen the Lolita in Tehran one on the shelves but I distrusted the title because I've been disappointed by promisingly spectacular titles before, was I wrong..?

I'm still reading the "Fury" thread, Sozobe, it may take me awhile...

Ok, I have started it and am about 3/4 of the way through. No offense to the people whose lives have been detailed in the book, or to others who went through the tough times, I am almost at a point where I am going to abandon the book (only the 3rd or 4th book which would meet this fate in my years of reading)

The writing style is shoddy and never invites the reader to become part of the day to day lives of Henny and Seth - the way it is presented makes the reader very detached from the proceedings, and no empathy is generated with the characters of the book.

The way he flips between letters from various friends of Henny has left me totally confused, and the number of "relationship" strings he details, is so confusing that you cannot understand the ethos behind any one of them.

Boring with a capital B.

For someone who has been to Auschwitz - Birkenau and spent a whole day there, any text aby the holocost brings tears in my eyes - instantly. This one failed.

Yep. I agree wholeheartedly.

As someone who kept slogging through hoping it would get better -- it doesn't. Go ahead and abandon it if you'd like, you won't be missing much.

Deeply disappointing. There hangs over the whole thing this sense of duty, a sort of term-paper or thesis vibe -- gotta finish, gotta finish, sick to death of the subject but gotta finish.

OK the one thing that makes finishing it somewhat worth it is finally getting a clue about Seth's deep ambivalence; he had some sort of (honestly hard to follow) spat with Shanti near the end, something that changed his opinion of him (I wrote about it more in my long post last page). So that gives a little insight as to what the heck went wrong with the book.

Oh, I just re-read last page and I held back on that part, and now I'm not sure I remember. It was something that Shanti did that Vikram thought was shoddy, somehow -- something about money -- but I never did get the high dudgeon Vikram worked himself into over it.

Sozobe and Prince...Are you discussing "Two lives"? I bought the book only yesterday....

Sakhi, yes we are...

Soz, I abandoned it - just could not go anymore. Started the Booker price winner this year "The Inheritence of loss" - Kiran Desai

Now THAT I really want to read.

I liked "Hullaboo" and this sounds much better.

Can I have the honor of buying it for you?

You're too sweet for words but my interest in modern Indian novels is well known in my family and I usually get the most interesting one of the year from both my husband and my mother (they gotta start coordinating), so I bet that's the one I'll be getting in a month or so.

Smooches for the thought though...! :-)

I found "hulabuloo" pretty funny...and enjoyable.

I bought "the inheritance of..", but I'm yet to read it. I'm reading "Shalimar the clown" ...interesting

I just finished A Suitable Boy. As thick a book as it is, I did find it a vivid page turner. I had to laugh: towards the end of the book, Seth goes on about long books, and how heavy they can be. My paperback edition had 1471 pages - thud! thunk! oops! thud again!

Posted a random quote from The Golden Gate to Green Witch's Seduce me with words thread, the other day ... which got me reading bits of it again. It is such a fantastic book! I've decided to read it right through again.

Doubt sets in. A novel in verse? ....
The Golden Gate.

5:1

A week ago, when I had finished
Writing the chapter you've just read
And with avidity undiminished
Was charting out the course ahead,
An editor - at a plush party(well-wined, -provisioned, speechy, hearty)
Hosted by (long live!) Thomas Cook
Where my Tibetan travel book
Was honoured - seized my arm: "Dear fellow,
What's your next work?" "A novel ..." "Great!
We hope that you, dear Mr Seth -"
"... In verse," I added. He turned yellow.
"How marvellously quaint," he said,
And subsequently cut me dead.

5:2

Professor, publisher, and critic
Each voiced his doubts. I felt misplaced.
A writer is mere arthritic
Among these muscular Gods of Taste.
As for that sad blancmange, a poet-
The world is hard; he ought to know it.
Driveling in rhyme's all very well;
The question is, does spittle sell?
Since staggering home in deep depression,
My will's grown weak. My heart is sore.
My lyre is dumb. I have therefore
Convoked a morale-boosting session
With a few kind if doubtful friends
Who've asked me to explain my ends.

`