tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2837109525874407713.post3059145028309751247..comments2023-09-10T16:48:15.803+01:00Comments on Paperback Reader: Voice OverPaperback Readerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14579608422235511054noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2837109525874407713.post-69379377050516901292009-09-06T10:22:48.040+01:002009-09-06T10:22:48.040+01:00Danielle, we're reading I Served the King of E...Danielle, we're reading I Served the King of England by Bohumil Hrabal (my choice) next. <br /><br />I do love my face-to-face book groups; it really makes the difference. Does your library not run one? Maybe you should start it, if you had extra time!Paperback Readerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14579608422235511054noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2837109525874407713.post-65598053735443211732009-09-06T00:30:13.393+01:002009-09-06T00:30:13.393+01:00I just read Kim's review of this--it does soun...I just read Kim's review of this--it does sound intriguing, but definitely you would need to be in the right mood for it! Sometimes the shortest books can be the most difficult--very misleading. What will you be reading next? I miss being in a local book group, but I am in one or two online ones. Not quite the same, but still fun.Daniellehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06415242678720695754noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2837109525874407713.post-1900451448496718022009-09-05T20:41:15.632+01:002009-09-05T20:41:15.632+01:00Kim, I agree that it was the literary equivalent t...Kim, I agree that it was the literary equivalent to an art house film although I LOVE art house films!<br />I wish that I had been in the right head space for this to give it a fair analysis. I did love the themes and imagery.Paperback Readerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14579608422235511054noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2837109525874407713.post-31077158392511578422009-09-05T20:13:43.811+01:002009-09-05T20:13:43.811+01:00Nice to read your review after last week's mee...Nice to read your review after last week's meeting.<br /><br />The discussion made me think about this book even more, and I've come to the conclusion it's actually a damn fine novel, because of its challenging prose style but also in the way it depicts the world of an outsider. I appreciate, though, that you do require the right "head space" to read it, as it's not something to be picked up on a whim, I think you really need to be in the mood to read the literary equivalent of an art house film!kimbofohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01160466897342054963noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2837109525874407713.post-3713885167071212472009-09-05T12:53:03.309+01:002009-09-05T12:53:03.309+01:00Steph, it is good discussing books in a group to f...Steph, it is good discussing books in a group to find out that you're not alone.<br /><br />I liked the first paragraph and the first few pages for its style but the continuous prose is exhausting. <br /><br />I haven't read much modern French literature but I did read The Elegance of the Hedgehog a few months ago and really enjoyed it; the content though is quite dense (the philisophical parts) as opposed to the writing.<br /><br />Teresa, it's a very accomplished debut novel but I simply wasn't in the mood for it; you may fare better.Paperback Readerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14579608422235511054noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2837109525874407713.post-53005304932747586302009-09-05T12:30:03.843+01:002009-09-05T12:30:03.843+01:00I must confess that I'm intrigued by this one,...I must confess that I'm intrigued by this one, but that sort of writing style doesn't bother me if I'm in the right mood for it and if it's done well, which it sounds like it is here.Teresahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09896331683344872038noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2837109525874407713.post-13136757152125742632009-09-04T16:46:39.269+01:002009-09-04T16:46:39.269+01:00At my most recent book club meeting, we had a simi...At my most recent book club meeting, we had a similar experience (although we were discussing a short story collection), in that everyone mostly felt confused by the stories, so in that way the discussion was good because before going to the meeting, I was kind of wondering if I was just really dense. Knowing that I wasn't made me feel like I wasn't a terrible reader!<br />I didn't exactly find the paragraph you presented jarring, BUT it was only one paragraph, and I could see how a whole book like that would be tiresome. It seems like it would be very hard to connect with any of the characters, that there would always be some distance. I wonder if it has something to do with modern French literature? I tried reading "The Theory of Clouds" earlier this year and it was an epic fail... I just could not get into the writing at all!Stephhttp://www.stephandtonyinvestigate.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2837109525874407713.post-24860233922126343052009-09-04T16:34:32.270+01:002009-09-04T16:34:32.270+01:00Jackie, it wasn't an enjoyable experience for ...Jackie, it wasn't an enjoyable experience for me either, for the same reasons.Paperback Readerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14579608422235511054noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2837109525874407713.post-32034444070256284752009-09-04T16:28:22.272+01:002009-09-04T16:28:22.272+01:00This book made a great discussion, but I didn'...This book made a great discussion, but I didn't enjoy reading it. It was too bizarre/rambling for me. Hopefully I'll get my review up soon.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07698068501004755678noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2837109525874407713.post-58371169014868450912009-09-04T16:10:32.443+01:002009-09-04T16:10:32.443+01:00My sentiments exactly, Rachel. I love my brain to...My sentiments exactly, Rachel. I love my brain to be taxed but I hate it to hurt!<br /><br />Funny you should mention FHB, as I've been wanting to reread The Secret Garden, A Little Princess and Little Lord Fauntleroy... children's lit is often the only thing to lift me out of book slumps. I don't have any of her adult novels except for the Persephones but I loved those.Paperback Readerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14579608422235511054noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2837109525874407713.post-11609134799271740612009-09-04T16:04:04.976+01:002009-09-04T16:04:04.976+01:00Yes I can't stand books like this that are so ...Yes I can't stand books like this that are so dense and confusing they hurt your head to read them. Reading is supposed to be pleasurable and not a chore!<br /><br />I hope your head feels better soon. :( You certainly outdid yourself with all your reading during Persephone Week so perhaps you should take a break - may I suggest a bit of Frances Hodgson Burnett?!Rachel (Book Snob)https://www.blogger.com/profile/13669640788036671572noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2837109525874407713.post-67289910250300355452009-09-04T14:39:38.239+01:002009-09-04T14:39:38.239+01:00Polly, I agree about the writing and think it was ...Polly, I agree about the writing and think it was fair to give people a sense of whether they would enjoy that style or not.<br /><br />I also thought that line summed up last night's meeting! Not necessarily a bad thing but our brows were furrowed a lot.<br /><br />anothercookie, I found it very confusing. It was weird as I compared it to The Mirror Crisis narrative of How to Paint a Dead Man, which is told in the second-person, which was also confusing at first but I loved it! Sometimes the effect works and sometimes it doesn't.<br /><br />The first paragraph does entice but I found it too hard-going when that style was maintained throughout.Paperback Readerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14579608422235511054noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2837109525874407713.post-78803520452789502642009-09-04T14:20:06.126+01:002009-09-04T14:20:06.126+01:00This sounds confusing. I'm not the biggest fan...This sounds confusing. I'm not the biggest fan of the whole third person pronoun thing-a-do. <br /><br />I might give this one a skip! Good review though, and the first paragraph does look interesting...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2837109525874407713.post-12578940253769871672009-09-04T14:15:22.469+01:002009-09-04T14:15:22.469+01:00Such a good idea to put that passage in there as t...Such a good idea to put that passage in there as the writing style of the book is so integral to how you read it. Great review - "For the most part though it was to voice our own incomprehension and wonder at what Curiol was attempting to achieve, at which we drew no definitive conclusions." LOL!Novel Insightshttp://novelinsights.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.com