I just finished V.S. Naipaul's A Bend in the River.

It was great!

Once I've finished "The Castle" I will try and get through "Ulysses" by James Joyce again [for the 40th time] but I doubt I'll get beyond page 100 even this time.
I don't understand why this book is heralded as one of the best books ever written. I can't make heads or tails of it and beyond that I think it's a nightmare of feigned pretention. Ah well, perhaps if I can only finish it some time I might change my mind.

IstenSzek said:

It's worth the effort IstenSzek. I recommend Harry Blamires' Bloomsday Book or whatever it's called as a guide. It's basically a plot summary, but in this case very useful.

That book doesn't even start cooking until page 100!

Ok, you've convinced me now. If you recommend it, I will definately give it another try.

I'm entering my summer holidays in a few days so I should be able to get through it this time

Currently reading:

"The Castle" by Franz Kafka.

I liked his book "The Trial" very much and have also read some of his short stories, so I figured I could not go wrong with this one. 200 pages in right now and it's another winner. Damn, what excellent writing.



Just finished:


"One Hundred Years Of Solitude" by Gabriel G. Marquez

Beautiful story. Family chronical of sort. The last few lines gave me goose-bumps. That doesn't happen a lot.
It was a bit difficult keeping the dozens of José Arcadio's and Areliano Segundo's apart tho.


"Brutal" by Aiden Shaw

Gay Fiction. So that probably says it all, right there. Terribly bad. About a male prostitute with HIV. Badly written. I felt absolutely no sentiment for any of the characters since they were all paper thin and dull.
Lame story with a far fetched ending. In the words of 2the9's I would say: "Zero stars".


"Death In Venice" by Thomas Mann

Quite pretentious in style, but a good story. It's rather short and despite this brevity it might still seem boring to many people. But I liked it. Beyond the surface there
is a lot to be discovered in this short novel.


"Voyage Au Bout De La Nuit" by L.F. Céline

Divine sarcasm and irony. Very offensive language. But it's a brilliant novel. One of the best things I read in a long, long time.


"The Secret History" by Donna Tartt

Ok, so what, I sometimes like to indulge in pulp literature.
Well, this is not exactly pulp tho. I started it, thinking it would be just one of those stupid novels that wouldn't move you at all. But about 100 pages in I found that I really liked the characters. Even the ones you're not supposed to like [I always have a soft spot for the 'bad guys']. Especially Henry Winter was someone I found myself particularly liking. Good story, nice plot. Will probably be made into a movie before long.



Once I've finished "The Castle" I will try and get through "Ulysses" by James Joyce again [for the 40th time] but I doubt I'll get beyond page 100 even this time.
I don't understand why this book is heralded as one of the best books ever written. I can't make heads or tails of it and beyond that I think it's a nightmare of feigned pretention. Ah well, perhaps if I can only finish it some time I might change my mind.


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[This message was edited Thu Jul 25 12:14:22 PDT 2002 by IstenSzek]