tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413291183164140297.post6147428676578374110..comments2024-02-26T02:13:54.009-08:00Comments on Caustic Cover Critic: SpinelessJRSMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04430775461763521797noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413291183164140297.post-21758310970158584782009-01-02T23:24:00.000-08:002009-01-02T23:24:00.000-08:00Thanks for that, JV: I'm glad you reminded me of Q...Thanks for that, JV: I'm glad you reminded me of Quin, as I still haven't sought her out.I know what you mean about Dalkey, BUT they have changed recently--see the post elsewhere here about their new direction (go to Dalkey Archive in the "index").JRSMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04430775461763521797noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413291183164140297.post-669085949028868832009-01-02T18:04:00.000-08:002009-01-02T18:04:00.000-08:00I second the Ann Quin recommendation, Tripticks is...I second the Ann Quin recommendation, Tripticks is the most experimental (and visually interesting), though she frequently used lists and structural elements (like her obsession with threes) that provide a sort of architecture within her works. Berg has a bit of a true crime edge to it (the opening goes: "A man called Berg, who changed his name to Greb, came to a seaside town intending to kill his father . . ."). I love her novel Three. Dalkey Archive publishes her work in the states. A great press (with uneven book design though).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413291183164140297.post-69773822408040128442008-07-29T23:00:00.000-07:002008-07-29T23:00:00.000-07:00I'm with you, Sam. And there'll be some Walser on ...I'm with you, Sam. And there'll be some Walser on this blog soon, with any luck!JRSMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04430775461763521797noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413291183164140297.post-45594999904607180412008-07-29T22:15:00.000-07:002008-07-29T22:15:00.000-07:00Thanks for the excellent photos.I don't part ways ...Thanks for the excellent photos.<BR/><BR/>I don't part ways with Mr. Self very often, but I am enjoying this book immensely. In fact at this point I am rationing the chapters so I don't complete the book too quickly. <BR/><BR/>I admired Malry and it made me laugh, but I think I prefer the works that are closer to Johnson's life. Albert Angelo was my favorite prior to The Unfortunates.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413291183164140297.post-1641529292000159432008-07-27T17:20:00.000-07:002008-07-27T17:20:00.000-07:00I can see what you mean, but I really did enjoy it...I can see what you mean, but I really did enjoy it. The only other Johnson I've read is 'Christie Malry...', which I also enjoyed, but not as much. In fact, given what I've read of Johnson's unreasonably bonkers theories of what fiction/novels should and shouldn't be (most especially the idea that you should only write about your own direct experiences), I'm susprised just how much I liked these two books.JRSMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04430775461763521797noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413291183164140297.post-54206543707239558492008-07-27T02:53:00.000-07:002008-07-27T02:53:00.000-07:00I'm going to be the dissenter here. I love the id...I'm going to be the dissenter here. I love the idea and execution of <EM>The Unfortunates</EM>, but I didn't enjoy the story at all really. Though I realise that it was kind of Johnson's point that memory in the novel comes out randomly and in a disorderly way, it seemed to me a bit of a cop-out that he used this to justify telling a story which had no structure and where the random placing of chapters <EM>really</EM> didn't matter - even though, as I say, that was the point. It's my least favourite of the Johnsons I've read, which I think is all of them except <EM>Trawl, Travelling People</EM> and <EM>See the Old Lady Decently.</EM><BR/><BR/>I recall reading Felipe Alfau's <EM>Locos</EM> and Milorad Pavic's <EM>Landscape Painted with Tea</EM> in my younger and more vulnerable years, both of which had a similar conceit of read-the-chapters-any-way-you-like, but presented in normal book format. Can't remember a damn thing about either of them though. And there was a story in a recent issues of McSweeney's which was published as a set of playing cards which you could shuffle and read in any order. Like all McSweeney's issues, I wallowed in its presentation without actually reading any of it. (It was the issue with the free comb...)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413291183164140297.post-91986205083987623542008-07-21T16:00:00.000-07:002008-07-21T16:00:00.000-07:00Ann Quin is new to me: I'll have to seek her out (...Ann Quin is new to me: I'll have to seek her out (another name on the big list!). Thanks for the recommendation, Mr B.JRSMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04430775461763521797noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413291183164140297.post-79391259953033902592008-07-21T05:42:00.000-07:002008-07-21T05:42:00.000-07:00It's a great book. Don't know if you're aware of A...It's a great book. Don't know if you're aware of Ann Quin - she was an acquaintance of Johnson's; also experimentally inclined, although not to such extremes as Johnson! - she's definitely worth checking out as well! Tripticks is my favourite work of Quin's.Richard Barretthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15226668565177260993noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413291183164140297.post-65112950333477702022008-07-18T19:29:00.000-07:002008-07-18T19:29:00.000-07:00You'll not be disappointed (says he, hoping like h...You'll not be disappointed (says he, hoping like hell you won't be disappointed!).JRSMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04430775461763521797noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413291183164140297.post-74125880174828677612008-07-18T14:53:00.000-07:002008-07-18T14:53:00.000-07:00Stunning! I will have to read it now.Stunning! I will have to read it now.Steerforthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07627936539372313828noreply@blogger.com