I read The Invention of Morel earlier this year. It's great, and surprising in a way I can't reveal without spoiling the story. — Jamal
Is it (Bentley Hart's latest) any good? I have liked some of DBH's books, others I found a bit plodding. — Count Timothy von Icarus
I started Taylor's "A Secular Age," but it's quite long so I'll see how long it takes me. — Count Timothy von Icarus
Dead Souls by Nikolai Gogol — Jamal
I expect to come back around to liking it down the line, when I might try a different translation. — Jamal
One of my favorite! — Count Timothy von Icarus
I really do like DBH but then I also get the sense he's mainly preaching to the choir a lot of the time
You make a good point. I never felt that War and Peace quite fit the mold of "Russian literature," either. Anna Karenina and the Death of Ivan Iylich do more. Master and the Margarita is another one that, while dark in some ways, breaks the "mold" in being quite playful at times. — Count Timothy von Icarus
Viktor Pelavin — Count Timothy von Icarus
The bleakest work of Russian literature I've read is probably Life and Fate by Grossman. Or maybe it's harrowing, rather than bleak, since it's fundamentally optimistic and non-nihilistic. Anyway, it's great. — Jamal
It perfectly aligns with the stereotype of Russian literature so often thrown around by people who have read none of it (or have read one or two Dostoevsky novels and feel qualified to speak about the rest). — Jamal
In fact, Dead Souls is a comic novel, mostly bouncy and light in tone, not ponderous and depressing. — Jamal
You make a good point. I never felt that War and Peace quite fit the mold of "Russian literature," either. — Count Timothy von Icarus
The Obscene Bird of Night by Jose Donoso — SophistiCat
Looks interesting. How is it? — Jamal
Just finished "The Big Sleep" by Raymond Chandler and now starting his "Farewell, My Lovely." — Jafar
Maybe you should take that with a grain of salt given that my favorite Chandler movie is the “Long Goodbye” by Robert Altman. That was widely criticized as being far from the standard vision of Philip Marlowe, but it’s one of my all-time favorites. — T Clark
It's a magnificent film — Tom Storm
Let us know what you think of it when you're finished. — Jamal
The title is tricky — javi2541997
Then I realized it has a double meaning: Morel as he appears has been invented too, in a sense (am I remembering it correctly?). — Jamal
The Reefs of Earth by R. A. Lafferty — Jamal
Not recommended if you are seeking some fantastical nonsense. — I like sushi
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