Reading

[altariel]

I've had time to read the past couple of weeks, and pushed through a few books.

Reread Strong Poison. Happy. It makes me happy.

Read Mariana by Monica Dickens. Happy. It made me happy. And sad. And amused.

The House of Sleep, by Jonathan Coe, is my reading group's most recent selection, and this comes with a real recommendation. It's a story of four students that lived in the same house in the early 80s, how their lives and dreams intersected then, and how their lives and dreams intersect more than a decade later. It's warm and clever, has a very moving ending, and also in the penultimate section there is the culmination of a breathtakingly funny joke that alone makes the book worthwhile. The intricate plotting is very satisfactory, and reminded me a lot of Barbara Trapido. Compulsively readable. Very recommended.

I picked up The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho last night in a cheap ploy to raise the number of books I'd read on that list. Well, it's been sitting on my shelf for a good few years now, and it's short, so I thought I might as well give it a bash. I suspect the reason I never tried it before is that the first few pages are encomiums from people who have written books with titles like Awaken the Giant Within and Love is Letting Go of Fear. It's a simple fable which I think edges a bit on the banal (who knows what's lost in translation), but the payoff does have a punch. I think I'd already got the message from:

We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time.

But I know that's not everyone's cup of tea.

The week before last I read Swastika Night by Katharine Burdekin. I have so many things to say about this book, I've been thinking about it almost all of the time since I read it. It frustrates me how long it takes me these days to put down my thoughts outside of fiction. I am so envious of people who can sit and rattle off long essays.

Comments

Narcolepsy

[communicator.livejournal.com]

I notice that the 'House of Sleep' features a narcoleptic character. I am very wary of the portrayal of narcolepsy in fiction, as my dad is severely handicapped with narcolepsy. Any thoughts on the sensitivity or otherwise with which it is portrayed?

Re: Narcolepsy

[altariel.livejournal.com]

It's hard for me to judge as I'm speaking without any personal experience. But I think that the narcoleptic character is one of the most sympathetically drawn in the book. A lot of the narrative derives from the consequences of her narcolepsy on the people around her - sometimes this is funny, sometimes it's sad, but I don't think that it's every crudely done. (I'm comparing this portrayal alongside another character who I think *is* crudely drawn in comparison.)

[thirdshade.livejournal.com]

It's a simple fable which I think edges a bit on the banal (who knows what's lost in translation)

Nothing. Absolutely nothing got lost in the translation, since there was nothing there to begin with. The Alchemist, in Portuguese or any other language, is banal and repeats a lot of things that have been said before in clearer ways by much more talented writers. :)

Re:

[altariel.livejournal.com]

Ah! I feel better now! (It's always hard to get rid of that nagging 'am I missing something...?' feeling...!)

Should I bother with any of his other books? I have a copy of 'The Valkyries' that came free with 'The Alchemist'.

[thirdshade.livejournal.com]

Oh, I know that feeling well (I did have the enlightenment of my life when I first read Robert Frost in English and finally found out what he was talking about). Coelho, in my opinion, is just not worth the effort. All his books are pretense deep, but really shallow and obvious. It sells, so I guess it's good to people who're used to banal novels, but you can do much better with your time.

Re:

[altariel.livejournal.com]

Sounds like I should keep 'The Valkyries' on the shelf for a Sunday afternoon when I'm really desperate, but I won't go out of my way to read it.

[thirdshade.livejournal.com]

exactly. ^_^

Re:

[altariel.livejournal.com]

Or else install it the bathroom for loo reading *g*

[klose.livejournal.com]

Well- it isn't that bad... It serves the contemporary young adult audience, IMHO. It stretches the level of adolescent artsyness. :P

[altariel.livejournal.com]

It stretches the level of adolescent artsyness.

Which isn't a bad thing for a book to do, necessarily!

[thirdshade.livejournal.com]

Which isn't a bad thing for a book to do, necessarily!

No, not a bad thing at all. I do speak with bias, yes, because I think he's one of the most mediocre writers in Brazil these days, and still he's the most known world-wide. That alone doesn't say much about his audience, it just says a lot about his well succeeded self-promotion. It gets frustrating because most people think Coelho is the best there is to Brazilian literature, and that is pretty much like thinking that Stephen King is the best there is to American literature (and I'm a fan of King myself). I think Coelho could be much worst, but compared to the rest of our writers, he could also be infinitely better.

As far as adolescent artsyness goes, I stick with Tolkien all the way. ;)

[altariel.livejournal.com]

It gets frustrating because most people think Coelho is the best there is to Brazilian literature

A member of my reading group is Brazilian, and her most recent choice was a novel by Jorge Amado, Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands. I didn't get a chance to read it because the meeting was right in the middle of my write-up and the book was very long. Do you know it? Recommend it?

As far as adolescent artsyness goes, I stick with Tolkien all the way. ;)

;) May we never grow out of it!

[vasiliki.livejournal.com]

I picked up The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

I found that one really good - and his only book worth reading. :)

Re:

[altariel.livejournal.com]

Hey you! :-D

No, I don't think I'll bother with any more of his books. I got one free with this one, but I think I'd really need to be short of things to read before I picked it up.