Just to get away from the some of the strife inherent in some of our political threads, I'm starting something light-hearted here.
Do you recall favorite bits in a novel you like that may have nothing to do with advancing the plot or theme, but you know the author threw in there just because it's too good to leave out? Here's one of my faves:
In "Vineland" Thomas Pynchon introduces a bit character named the Marquis de Sod. He runs a landscaping business and appears in his own TV ads, dressed as that other famous Marquis. The theme music is to the tune of "La Marseillaise" and begins:
"A lawn savant who'll lope a tree-ah,
No one can beat the
Marquis de Sod."
And his motto is "He'll weep your lawn into shep."
OK, I think it's funny, anyhow. Anyone have another to share?
He surely is. I remember how I felt when I first realized that. I knew I liked him then!
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Tartarin
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Mon 16 Jun, 2003 01:09 pm
Thinking, thinking, thinking..... Dickens!
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Tartarin
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Mon 16 Jun, 2003 01:10 pm
Zadie Smith.
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Dartagnan
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Mon 16 Jun, 2003 02:30 pm
I'll bet Dickens has lots of them; only I can't think of any at the drop of a hat. Please share some if you can, Tartarin!
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Tartarin
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Mon 16 Jun, 2003 05:47 pm
I'm overflowing with very vague memories, D'art -- mind darting handily among grand generalities. Of course Dickens never let a character, however outrageous and comical, go to waste. But I'm thinking that the comic relief is inherent in much of 19th century English novels. Thackeray. Trollope (though there wasn't much antic humor there). Can't think of a single similar contemporary French novel which contained "relief" -- the Brits are and always have been into humor as a way of not getting too too deeply into tragedy. It's the "civilized" thing to do -- and frankly it was also the way I was brought up. A dreadful, heavy family event? Uncle Falstaff could be counted on for a piece of clever verse to lighten things up.
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farmerman
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Mon 16 Jun, 2003 05:58 pm
MY FAVORITE AUTHOR WITH THE ABILITY TO DIVERT YOUR ATTENTION FOR AWHILE IS LARRY MC MURTRY, ESPECIALLY IN LONESOME DOVE WHERE HE WOULD DESCRIBE THE LATIN PHRASE IN THE "HAT CREEK CATTLE COMPANY SIGN" OR ANYTIME THERE WAS A HEATED DISCUSSION AMONG THE PARTNERS ABOUT THE WEATHER OR EATING HABITS ETC. I CANT BRING ANY TO MIND WITHOUT FINDING THE BOOK BUT JUST TAKE MY WORD.
THESE LITTLE ATTENTION DIVERTERS DEMONSTRATE THE SKILL OF REALLY GOOD STORY TELLERS . STEINBECK WAS GOOD AT THIS ESPECIALLY IN THE CANNERY ROW, SWEET THURSDAY, THROUGH "SEA OF CORTEZ" BOOKS THAT FEATURED THE DOC RICKETTS.CHARACTER.
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Tartarin
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Mon 16 Jun, 2003 06:00 pm
I take your word, Farmerman! McMurtry's a good example.
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Dartagnan
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Tue 17 Jun, 2003 09:52 am
I also love McMurtry. He's also written some wonderful essays about the West. Though non-fiction isn't within the scope here (who cares anyhow?), his ability to throw in details that are entertaining makes for a lot of the fun!
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Tartarin
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Tue 17 Jun, 2003 11:36 am
I was thinking about McMurtry's essays which I know infinitely better than his fiction which I've only seen in the form of "Lone Star" -- a movie. Thinking about the deeper implications of the subject you raised (use of humor), I was thinking of Bergson. Didn't he write about this?
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Dartagnan
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Tue 17 Jun, 2003 12:08 pm
Good question, re Bergson. I admit I'm not up to speed on his theories. It would be worth knowing more!
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Tartarin
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Tue 17 Jun, 2003 12:26 pm
Remind me sometime when I have time -- to check it out.
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eoe
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Tue 17 Jun, 2003 12:31 pm
In Maya Angelou's first installment "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" she creates a very funny scene where she and her brother Bailey are in church, sitting in the first pew, their uncle is sitting in the pew behind them, and I don't remember every detail but someones' dentures are somehow knocked out of their mouth and lands on the floor in front of the two kids who, because they are in church, hold on for as long as they can before slipping off the pew in laughter and getting into a world of trouble.
It was funny as hell when I read it twenty-plus years ago. I wonder if it's still funny? I'll have to reread it.
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Tartarin
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Wed 18 Jun, 2003 09:16 am
D'art -- Off topic but irresistible. I read early this morning in the NYRB a stellar review of Richard Price's latest novel. The review was "good" in the sense that the reviewer liked the book but most important to me (and rare) is that the review was about the book, not about the reviewer's opinions -- a wonderful opening up of the novel to view, making you want to read it badly, badly. Take a look at the review if you get a chance, in the 7/3 NYRB.
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Dartagnan
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Wed 18 Jun, 2003 02:47 pm
Thanks for the tip, Tartarin. I have that issue nearby and plan to read the review. I used to be a big fan of Price's, but I haven't read anything in a while. Not sure why. I even loved a movie for which he wrote the screenplay, "Night and the City", a remake of the French film. DeNiro and Jessica Lange were great. The critics seemed not to agree with me about the film, if memory serves. Well, they were wrong!
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Tartarin
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Wed 18 Jun, 2003 03:08 pm
I've ordered a $6 second-hand copy of "Samaritans" just now and would be glad to share... Need to recheck Night and the City -- can't remember having seen it. De Niro has gotten to the "phone it in" stage of the mature actor. He used to be so-o-o good. How about a thread about novelists/screenwriters and their films? I don't know much about it and would love to hear others' views...
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Tartarin
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Wed 18 Jun, 2003 03:11 pm
BTW: I'm taking a half day off -- first time in ages -- and also read a 50th anniversary fresh take on Augie March in The Nation. The polar opposite of the review of Price. Self-involved, idiotic article. How/why the Nation printed it is beyond me. (Should you care to take a look!)
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Dartagnan
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Thu 19 Jun, 2003 09:53 am
Tartarin--I read the NYRB review of the Price novel last night. It was excellent. Geoffrey O'Brien, who wrote it, is someone I always enjoy, and he writes on a variety of topics. If you do pick up the novel and eventually want to share it, that would be swell!
Didn't know that "Augie March" had turned 50. Man, I spent a few years absolutely besotted with Bellow, then I quit cold turkey. I loved his early stuff, especially "Dangling Man". Maybe there will be more coverage of "Augie" beside the "Nation" review...
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BumbleBeeBoogie
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Thu 19 Jun, 2003 10:06 am
eoe re Maya Angelou
I first met Maya in the 1970s in Berkeley. We were working on a project at the Sunshine Center on Grove Street (renamed Martin Luther King, Jr. St.)
She was just beginning to demonstrate her star quality. She was so beautiful: very tall, stately in her African gown and tall headdress. Her stentorian voice, with it's measured cadence, made you want to listen to her words of wisdom and inspiration.
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