Summer Reading Log, pt. 2
Books completed this week:
V.S. Naipaul, A HOUSE FOR MR. BISWAS
Hayden Carruth, BESIDE THE SHADBLOW TREE
I finally finished Naipaul. Although I liked it, I'm not driven to read more of him. I like how hands-off he is with his main character, and how he throws the reader into a culture that's almost certainly foreign—Indian immigrants in Trinidad—without bothering to provide exposition of the local cultural practices. I liked the modesty of the plot and the care of the narration. But it just didn't do it for me.
Carruth's book was a specialist thing. I'm sure none of you have read it, or really even should. I'm interested in the subject matter, so it was worth reading for me. An interesting picture of an artist and a patron that never really got to that place in their relationship where the patron actually patronized the artist, and the artist liked the patron too much to object or be rude about it.
Next book up: Manzoni's BETROTHED, the most important Italian novel. I want to answer a question I've had for years: with the artistic patrimony that Italy has, why is Manzoni exalted so highly?
Books purchased in a consumeristic orgy at several "book barns" in central NY State:
Gaskell, NEW INTRODUCTION TO BIBLIOGRAPHY
WISE MEN FISH HERE (about the Gotham Book Mart)
James Thorpe, PRINCIPLES OF TEXTUAL CRITICISM
Emile Zola, about eight novels
Lytton Strachey, Modern Library edition of EMINENT VICTORIANS
Two books of Laughlin's poetry, one signed
About a dozen other books
BTW, avoid "A Book Barn of the Finger Lakes" in Dryden, NY. A pretty good selection, but the place is a mess. Books shelved haphazardly and stacked everywhere. Owner seemed irritated that I wanted to browse. I showed up there an hour after opening time, was the only customer on July 4, was treated rudely by the owner, and had him ask me suspiciously, "how did you hear about this place?" I was looking at a huge collection of Pittsburgh-related books he had recently bought and found a great copy of Wideman's HOMEWOOD BOOKS in near-mint condition. The owner said, "those aren't ready yet." "So you won't sell it to me?" I asked. "No."
V.S. Naipaul, A HOUSE FOR MR. BISWAS
Hayden Carruth, BESIDE THE SHADBLOW TREE
I finally finished Naipaul. Although I liked it, I'm not driven to read more of him. I like how hands-off he is with his main character, and how he throws the reader into a culture that's almost certainly foreign—Indian immigrants in Trinidad—without bothering to provide exposition of the local cultural practices. I liked the modesty of the plot and the care of the narration. But it just didn't do it for me.
Carruth's book was a specialist thing. I'm sure none of you have read it, or really even should. I'm interested in the subject matter, so it was worth reading for me. An interesting picture of an artist and a patron that never really got to that place in their relationship where the patron actually patronized the artist, and the artist liked the patron too much to object or be rude about it.
Next book up: Manzoni's BETROTHED, the most important Italian novel. I want to answer a question I've had for years: with the artistic patrimony that Italy has, why is Manzoni exalted so highly?
Books purchased in a consumeristic orgy at several "book barns" in central NY State:
Gaskell, NEW INTRODUCTION TO BIBLIOGRAPHY
WISE MEN FISH HERE (about the Gotham Book Mart)
James Thorpe, PRINCIPLES OF TEXTUAL CRITICISM
Emile Zola, about eight novels
Lytton Strachey, Modern Library edition of EMINENT VICTORIANS
Two books of Laughlin's poetry, one signed
About a dozen other books
BTW, avoid "A Book Barn of the Finger Lakes" in Dryden, NY. A pretty good selection, but the place is a mess. Books shelved haphazardly and stacked everywhere. Owner seemed irritated that I wanted to browse. I showed up there an hour after opening time, was the only customer on July 4, was treated rudely by the owner, and had him ask me suspiciously, "how did you hear about this place?" I was looking at a huge collection of Pittsburgh-related books he had recently bought and found a great copy of Wideman's HOMEWOOD BOOKS in near-mint condition. The owner said, "those aren't ready yet." "So you won't sell it to me?" I asked. "No."
posted by mantooth @ 9:22 PM
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