tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post2568984816244348386..comments2024-03-26T07:58:59.761+00:00Comments on I'll think of something later: The phantasmagoria of George SaundersDavidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14506881804082382739noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-16030831952519629012019-02-18T18:17:22.366+00:002019-02-18T18:17:22.366+00:00Actually no, although Claire had a pre-publication...Actually no, although Claire had a pre-publication early e-copy. What I read and heard of it put me in mind of classic steeped-in-the-landscape Alan Garner's Cheshire based novels, although his are far more mythic. But somehow without a deeper otherworldly element, Elmet's dark rural thuggery didn't appeal much.<br /><br />Incidentally Garner's reaction to getting a literary award is "awards are an irrelevant impertinence, a distorting imposition on a book, and I want every one I can get"...Howard Lanehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03217071162180558304noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-88255101111860102682019-02-14T18:24:12.628+00:002019-02-14T18:24:12.628+00:00That was my point, David, that these awards get pe...That was my point, David, that these awards get people interested and reading. Even the top five in a field as wide as the novel is still somewhat arbitrary; none of the judges can read everything, or even very much. I heard about one judge who said she got a pretty good idea of whether the book was worth pursuing after about 20 pages.<br /><br />Howard, get you some A. M. Homes immediately. She can be tough in her subject matter, but This Book Will Save Your Life is both laugh-out-loud satirically funny and also feel-good in not too mushy a way. Yes, Gore Vidal would count, though I'm not sure in the same league. Joseph Heller, certainly. Is FM's book good, in your opinion? You must have read it...Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14506881804082382739noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-41742019216757533322019-02-14T17:26:27.066+00:002019-02-14T17:26:27.066+00:00It's Fiona Mozley from York whose first novel ...It's Fiona Mozley from York whose first novel Elmet surprisingly made the short list, but of course the publicity was just as good as the prize, and it would have been pretty mindblowing if she had won it as well! Me neither, but interesting that it's a male dominated field. Do Gore Vidal and Joseph Heller count? I can only think of one satirical book by either, and I've not heard of A M Homes.Howard Lanehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03217071162180558304noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-30876725822674537292019-02-14T15:59:11.695+00:002019-02-14T15:59:11.695+00:00I agree about "winner" in literary as in...I agree about "winner" in literary as in other "competitions" but one has to remember that competitions and winners attract wide attention whereas scholarly analysis of this or that virtue does not. My own approach is to conclude that the emergence of (say) the top five has some meaning, as opposed to all the others, and who wins out of the five is not importantDavid Damanthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18409591480349323761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-85775309829502518832019-02-14T09:55:22.458+00:002019-02-14T09:55:22.458+00:00Thanks, Howard, and good to hear from you after so...Thanks, Howard, and good to hear from you after so long. Who was/is Carla's friend? The choice of 'winner' always seems to me as pointless as any other award. You can't really compare incomparables. The main thing is to get people reading the candidates' work. I can think of British women writers who might fit the 'top satirist' bill but no other Americans come to mind. Maybe A. M. Homes squeezes in? But then I'm not conversant with the literary scene across the board. Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14506881804082382739noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-84464695001440966262019-02-14T08:43:37.766+00:002019-02-14T08:43:37.766+00:00I immediately thought of adding James Thurber and ...I immediately thought of adding James Thurber and John Sladek to the, so far, exclusively male list but I'm sure it could easily become more diverse with a bit more thought. Perhaps Dorothy Parker was more a wit than a satirist. I'm still struggling with a slight aversion to Saunders after he pipped Carla's friend to the Booker. Irrational prejudice I know which your recommendation will surely now overcome. Catching up on your recent posts and wishing you all the best of health and hoping you don't have to wait much longer!Howard Lanehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03217071162180558304noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-54194117213399494832019-02-14T08:29:01.957+00:002019-02-14T08:29:01.957+00:00What a splendid list to follow up - any recommenda...What a splendid list to follow up - any recommendations from people I know and respect are worth heeding. Vargos Llosa is the only name I recognise, and he doesn't come out so well... Nearly finished Simone Veil's simply phrased and lucid My Life: what a truly great human being. Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14506881804082382739noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-21523275714481605512019-02-14T01:47:50.132+00:002019-02-14T01:47:50.132+00:00I was at first skeptical of the Saunders as probab...I was at first skeptical of the Saunders as probably over-hyped, but glad I ventured in, as I found it brilliant. Another I found a terrific read after, again, a worry that the book was over-hyped, was Colson Whitehead’s The Underground Rairoad. Then, in conversation with one of the many knowledgeable students who staff our local independent bookstore, I was told if I liked that, I simply must read Mohsin Hamed’s Exit West. He was right—it handled the transit from real to fantastical and back again even better than the Whitehead. Most recently, I read Vargos Llosa’s latest, The Neighborhood, which I felt way over the top and don’t recommend, but I have to say that on the heels of reading it the Bezos/National Enquirer story erupted, which gave the story more credibility—though I still think what he really wanted was an excuse to write something steamy, Now I’m on to one of those doorstop books, Michael Massing’s Fatal Discord: Erasmus, Luther, and the Fight for the Western Mind. It’s so far very interesting, though I do find it hard to keep at it. Not sure if I’ll get all the way through, though I believe, from what I’ve read so far, it would be worth it.Susanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15674930917585246294noreply@blogger.com