Showing posts with label Books. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Books. Show all posts
Saturday, 16 October 2010
Wednesday, 13 October 2010
Friday, 24 September 2010
Thursday, 17 June 2010
Wednesday, 13 January 2010
Thursday, 5 November 2009
Friday, 18 September 2009
Friday, 24 July 2009
Tuesday, 26 May 2009
Friday, 13 March 2009
Wednesday, 20 August 2008
Monday, 14 April 2008
Bret Easton Ellis- The Rules of Attraction
This book made me feel like doing drugs, getting drunk, and having lots of sex with everything. It also has a very funny joke about an elephant, and has the sentence 'a rat the size of Norman Mailer' (which is probably why Gore Vidal recommends it on the cover as seen above)- in short, all the trademarks of great literature.
Saturday, 5 April 2008
Ian Banks - The Bridge
You know you're reading a good book, when you start to slow down as you're reaching the end, to make it last longer, and when you're kinda sad when it's over. That's how I felt with The Bridge (1986) by Scotsman Ian Banks.
It's retty elaborately constructed, it starts of with a man getting in a car accident on a bridge, and subsequently going in a coma. The rest of the book is then his imaginations and dreams, divided in different realities. The main dream is about a life on The Bridge, which is similiar in that he has also been in an accident which has given him amnesia. The Bridge in this dream is a huge structure, and infinitely long, full of buildings clinging to the top or side. It's sort of a steam-punk world: gentlemen with hats and canes, string quartets in the elevators, and lot's steampowered machines. It's a very cool universe and excellently described.
The second dream (or reality) is this man's dreams, of which the most common is of a brute barbarian (who talks in a very difficult Scottish accent), who enjoys rapping and killing, and who has a very intelligent familiar on his shoulder guiding him. These scenes are very funny, especially when he descends into Dante's hell, and ruins all the punishments by helping the tormented (and turning Charon to stone in the process). The third, is actually the 'real' man's (the one in a coma) memories, of youth and adulthood, and especially about the love story between him and his girlfriend - very touching and engaging.
It's not actually as hard to keep track of, as I might have made, and the different settings works great with one another. Besides the clever plot, it is also very well written. I think this is one of those rare books that I might actually read again.
Tuesday, 18 March 2008
Haruki Murakami - Dance Dance Dance
It's the good old Murakami magic. An amazing cast of characters and a metaphysical awakening/noirish detective story. It takes a while to get of it's feet, but once it grips you you can't let it go. Highly recommended.
Sunday, 2 March 2008
Philip Roth - The Human Stain
Philip Roth, may or may not be the best living writer in USA today, I don't really know enough about American writers to cast judgement on that. What I do know, is that he certainly is one of the top writers in the world today, and that The Human Stain is a remarkable book.
It's about the college professor Coleman, who resigns after being accused of racism. The story is told by Roth's alter-ego Zuckerman.
The Human Stain works on many different levels, it's both a personal and a national story. The thing I find most interesting is the problems regarding statements, truth and knowledge. Because it is not an omniscient narrator, we can't just take every statement to be the truth. This poses some interesting questions, when for example the narrator tells us of the innermost feelings of a woman he has never met, is he just making stuff up, or what? It reminds me of Citizen Kane, in that the novel tries to do a exhaustive portrayal of a man, only to realize that it isn't possible. As the narrator Zuckerman states:
- You can't know anything. The things you know you don't know. Intention? Motive? Consequence? Meaning? All that we don't know is astonishing. Even more astonishing is what passes for knowledge.
On top of that, the book is so well written. The prose is absolutely beautiful, and also quite difficult if English isn't your first language. At times when I read it, I felt like applauding, because language, themes, characters and story all come together, and make for one of the best contemporary novels I've read.
Tuesday, 26 February 2008
Saturday, 9 February 2008
Norman Mailer - The Naked and the Dead
I realise it's about time I recommended another book. It's not that I haven't read any, it's just than I haven't read any new ones, good enough to receive my recommendation. Also, I've started reviewing book for litteraturnu.dk, which I won't also bring on my blog. But, I can confidently recommend THE NAKED AND THE DEAD by recently deceased, and literary celebrity, Norman Mailer.
The book is about a squad of soldiers, fighting the Japanese for control over an island during the second world war. Mailer himself having fought the Japanese in the war, gives - what I believe - a very accurate description of the men and how the war worked. There's absolutely no romanticism or patriotism about the antagonists feelings towards the fighting, it's more a question of getting out alive and not losing your soul in the process. The old men in the squad are all completely broken and desillusioned, and have absolutely no faith in the US Army or their superiors. The rookies are regarded as little more than a nuisance, and no one wants to get close to them, because they're usually the first to die. There's no heroics in the short confusing fire fights, everyone is afraid and some are cowards.
The main event is a patrol the squad is sent on, the reasons for which, might be for personal glory rather than military significance, and which mainly consist of long devastating marches rather than combat. It's all very dark, but also excellently written and told. It is a bit long however (700 pages), and sometimes the pacing is of. But if this theme is of any interest, I highly recommend it.
Tuesday, 5 February 2008
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