Finished "Oscar Wao." Junot Diaz is a very, very talented writer. I hope he will write a better book than this. It was good but disappointing. I think he could have used a stronger editor, and I think the fact that the best chapter appeared as a NY'er story is telling (as in, he probably had to work with NY'er editors on that one).
I have a high tolerance for sprawling, "difficult" books, but this was too sloppy in too many ways. As an example... the NY'er section ends with Lola's knowledge that what La Inca will tell her will change everything. Then we bounce back in time to Beli's story. But there's nothing in it that changes everything for Lola. Is it just about fuku? They talked about it earlier.
It's more like it was a good segue from the chapter to the rest of the book, and then it never pays off.
Also he gets lazy. Spends a lot of time setting something up, and then gets bored of it and rushes through the climax.
It did tie together better in the end -- especially, something that was hinted at about halfway through and that you begin to strongly suspect about 3/4 of the way through is confirmed towards the very end. Still, while I finished the book thinking that Diaz is a great writer and he's going to do some great stuff, this book wasn't quite it.
sozobe wrote:Finished "Oscar Wao." Junot Diaz is a very, very talented writer. I hope he will write a better book than this. It was good but disappointing. I think he could have used a stronger editor, and I think the fact that the best chapter appeared as a NY'er story is telling (as in, he probably had to work with NY'er editors on that one).
I have a high tolerance for sprawling, "difficult" books, but this was too sloppy in too many ways. As an example... the NY'er section ends with Lola's knowledge that what La Inca will tell her will change everything. Then we bounce back in time to Beli's story. But there's nothing in it that changes everything for Lola. Is it just about fuku? They talked about it earlier.
It's more like it was a good segue from the chapter to the rest of the book, and then it never pays off.
Also he gets lazy. Spends a lot of time setting something up, and then gets bored of it and rushes through the climax.
It did tie together better in the end -- especially, something that was hinted at about halfway through and that you begin to strongly suspect about 3/4 of the way through is confirmed towards the very end. Still, while I finished the book thinking that Diaz is a great writer and he's going to do some great stuff, this book wasn't quite it.
I think I flipped through this one at the bookstore. Is this the one with all the footnotes, a la David Foster Wallace? Everyone's sweating this book.
Also, an announcement to all y'all who've never seen this site, check out
http://www.goodreads.com
It's like myspace for books. That means it has its advantages and disadvantages of course, but it can be cool to compare shelves with friends.
Yeah, mad footnotes. I loved the footnotes actually, one of the better things about the book.
I'm reading "The Inheritance of Loss" for our bookgroup (do we still have one guys?), and, because I find it heavygoing at times, I have commenced a book called "Unity" which is a book about a group of people making a film about Unity Mitford and Hitler, where the actor playing Unity attemps to commit an act of terror.
Not sure what I think, yet.
Deb, I looked up "The Inheritance Of Loss" on Amazon because I had read about it or heard about it....and found to my surprise that it got 5 stars or 1 star, but mostly 5 stars. There were many 1 or 2 stars and it surprised me to find such mixed reviews for a Booker prize. What do you think?
Vietnamnurse wrote:Deb, I looked up "The Inheritance Of Loss" on Amazon because I had read about it or heard about it....and found to my surprise that it got 5 stars or 1 star, but mostly 5 stars. There were many 1 or 2 stars and it surprised me to find such mixed reviews for a Booker prize. What do you think?
Still reading.
There is hopefully going to be a discussion of it here:
http://www.able2know.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=109837&start=20
so why not read it and join us?
Busy with "The Chosen" by Chaim Potok- it's opened my eyes to many things about Judaism.
Also reading "Despair" by Nabokov.
Quincy wrote:Busy with "The Chosen" by Chaim Potok- it's opened my eyes to many things about Judaism.
Also reading "Despair" by Nabokov.
I ADORED Chaim Potok...especially that book, and its companion about the same kids....what is it?????? The Promise?????
I read them when I was still at school.....must re-read them.
I'm reading "Frank Zappa & the Dialectics of Poodle Play", by Ben Watson.
A rare, interesting book.
Ben was a chum of mine back in Perouse Town, way way back, before before he became a reknown Punk activist and Zappologist.
Just finished A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian by Marina Lewycka, the cover blurbs say it was funny but I thought it was pretty sad - has one great paragraph in it which I will try and find and share somewhere.
Now I´ve started The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini which has been brilliant so far.
hingehead wrote:Just finished A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian by Marina Lewycka, the cover blurbs say it was funny but I thought it was pretty sad - has one great paragraph in it which I will try and find and share somewhere.
I've always wondered about that book, hinge. (Given my confused on/off/on/off relationship with my heritage.
)
I've often seriously considered reading it.
Yesterday I finished my second reading of
The Golden Gate. So much I'd forgotten since my first read, ages ago! Lots of smiles & laughs throughout & a serious weep at the end.
Ah, Vikram!
msolga wrote:hingehead wrote:Just finished A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian by Marina Lewycka, the cover blurbs say it was funny but I thought it was pretty sad - has one great paragraph in it which I will try and find and share somewhere.
I've always wondered about that book, hinge. (Given my confused on/off/on/off relationship with my heritage.
)
I've often seriously considered reading it.
Put it on your list Olga, but not if your blocking out family tragedy during Stalinist times. Actually it doesn't revolve too much around that stuff except that our narrator is the youngest in the family and slowly learns more about what the rest of the family went through as the story progresses.
A good read without demanding too much of the reader - and the narrator's voice is somewhat humourous, as are some of the situations. All's well that ends well.
hingehead wrote:msolga wrote:hingehead wrote:Just finished A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian by Marina Lewycka, the cover blurbs say it was funny but I thought it was pretty sad - has one great paragraph in it which I will try and find and share somewhere.
I've always wondered about that book, hinge. (Given my confused on/off/on/off relationship with my heritage.
)
I've often seriously considered reading it.
Put it on your list Olga, but not if your blocking out family tragedy during Stalinist times. Actually it doesn't revolve too much around that stuff except that our narrator is the youngest in the family and slowly learns more about what the rest of the family went through as the story progresses.
A good read without demanding too much of the reader - and the narrator's voice is somewhat humourous, as are some of the situations. All's well that ends well.
OK then, hinge, will do ...
... & save it for the right moment! :wink:
Page 178 of Ulysses!
Can anyone give me any hope???
Bohne wrote:Page 178 of Ulysses!
Can anyone give me any hope???
Um...Molly's soliloquy is less than 900 pages away!
You do realize you're doing this to yourself, right?
I'm still previewing a slew of elementary books I have collected in the last two years. I'm midway through "Danny: The Champion of the World" by Roald Dahl (1975).
And I'd read them in German anyway... I guess I'll have a look.[/quote]