What are you reading?

[nathaliew817]

You might enjoy Kim Young-Ha's work..I quite enjoy his short story ' Lizard ' but you might enjoy his novels. I have the right to destroy myself , though maybe not exactly what you're looking for, is quite well written and did achieve relative popularity internationally. Your Republic is Calling You might be up your alley as it is about a North Korean spy living in South Korea with a family, friends, etc. though in my opinion not as strong a piece of writing as the former.

Wikipedia: Featuring a professional suicide assistant as a protagonist,

Well, it certainly is intriguing. I think this might be more up my alley.


I always wanted to see 3-iron but somehow I ended up seeing Spring, Summer, ... first. It became one of my favorite movies ever; I also loved Time. But almost any of his films. It might be the Buddhist theme and people being alone despite being in a city/community.
I feel Kar-Wai Wong's In the mood for love is also like this.


But back on the reading topic Finished Kafka on the shore, halfway it did change and meandered away from Murakami's standard storylines.

And I'll definitely give Kim Young-Ha a chance, if you could give me your favorite short stories too, I'd be very interested.

[Law]

Began Purity by Jonathan Franzen yesterday. No opinion as of yet.

Just picked this one up. Starting tonight.

[Jtothewhat]

if you could give me your favorite short stories too, I'd be very interested.

As far as what might be easy to find translated online, I really like Ch'oe Yun's "The Gray Snowman", I have an interest in Korean politics and contemporary history so the subject matter might attract me more than the writing itself. My other favourite (although it took me a few reads, I admittedly didn't like it at first) would be Kim Yong-Ha's ''Lizard'' which I previously mentioned.

[Faust]

Just picked this one up. Starting tonight.

Faust, please let me know, I have this on my to read list too

I put it down for now in order to reread Hard to Be a God but the Strugatsky Brothers (of the Stalker fame) in light of the recent events in Paris.

It's about an advanced civilization trying to interfere in the affairs of the one from the Dark Age, about what happens when you try to rush history, about the difficulty of keeping human in the face of darkness, and about what happens when people with the Dark Age mentality have access to modern technology.

I am not sure if there is a good foreign translation of it, but it is absolutely frightening how much they got right. Every politician should read it. Bush should've read it before invading Iraq. Not that he cared for the outcome of the war and the disastrous consequences we are witnessing and will continue witnessing for years.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hard_to_Be_a_God

[Arkady]

Yeah that's a stellar book, highly recommended. I'm named after one of the brothers actually.

[Kœnig]

Picked up The Human Stain on the recommendation of this thread, also Heart of a Dog - Bulgakov.

[ADreamofBlue]

Bought books to read for fun (*gasp*) for the first time in a few years. I've got Wise Blood, Under the Volcano, The Melancholy of Resistance, Satantango, The Designer Scam, End of Fashion, and Ornament and Crime on my nightstand and Hard to be a God is on its way in the mail.

[Defender]

Speaking of both the Nobel Prize in Literature, and favorite books, I picked up One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez again, yesterday.

To say that this is the best work of the 20th Century is not an exaggeration. Marquez won the Nobel Prize for Literature for this book, alone, really, and proved he deserved it with every other book he wrote.

Others that you have to read are Love in the Time of Cholera and Strange Pilgrims, a collection of short stories. A professor gave me Strange Pilgrims when I graduated with my M.A. in British and American Literature. She inscribed it, "All I had you read are dead white men...I think you'll like this." It's unbelievable.

I was very sad when Marquez passed away. He's truly the best writer with whom we were lucky enough to share the planet for a time.

[BSR]

the best work of the 19th Century

20th maybe?
sounds like a bold statement though. have you read all proust, faulkner, joyce, musil and kafka?

[Defender]

Oops. Edited.

I've read enough to know that none of those writers approach Marquez. Kafka is silly in comparison, for example.

Of course this is all opinion, and while it may be an educated opinion, I know it's just my view, but I think one would be hard-pressed to make a significant argument that Marquez wasn't the top of his field.

[bukka]

Oops. Edited.

I've read enough to know that none of those writers approach Marquez. Kafka is silly in comparison, for example.

Of course this is all opinion, and while it may be an educated opinion, I know it's just my view, but I think one would be hard-pressed to make a significant argument that Marquez wasn't the top of his field.

Wow... Couldn't agree more with BSR. You probably didn't read enough

[Defender]

Have you read Marquez?

[bukka]

No. Not a single sentence.
What's the point of that question? What's the criterium to state the "best" writer? His influence? His creativity? His political impact? His style?

Seriously, I'd expect a better coming from an attorney (iirc), this kind of statement sounds silly, even if you were a teenager.
Instead of trying to hierarchize authors, or books, just explain what you loved about it. Precisely. Instead of throwing meaningless hyperboles like "unbelievable", "lucky enough to share the planet for a time", "best of his field" (what the fuck is his field anyway?!).

Edit: I actually read Cien años de soledad, or part of it, a few years ago. That's not the point anyway.

[Defender]

No. Not a single sentence.
What's the point of that question?

You said I hadn't read enough to know that Marquez is the best, but never read Marquez, so how can you know he's not?

That's the point of the question. Saying someone's opinion is based on ignorance isn't merited unless you have a point of reference. It is silly, even if you were a teenager.

Seriously, I don't expect better from any of the pieces of shit on this forum. Every time I say something it's immediately shit on by you fucking snots.

Just accept what people say and move on...if someone is speaking in hyperbole because he's excited about at topic, let him do it. You don't have to interject your fucking bullshit on top of every word someone says until they fucking stop talking.

My favorite posters have all left in the last month or so, and I know why.

Jesus Christ get over yourselves.

[bukka]

You said I hadn't read enough to know that Marquez is the best, but never read Marquez, so how can you know he's not?

That's the point of the question. Saying someone's opinion is based on ignorance isn't merited unless you have a point of reference. It is silly, even if you were a teenager.

Seriously, I don't expect better from any of the pieces of shit on this forum. Every time I say something it's immediately shit on by you fucking snots.

Just accept what people say and move on...if someone is speaking in hyperbole because he's excited about at topic, let him do it. You don't have to interject your fucking bullshit on top of every word someone says until they fucking stop talking.

My favorite posters have all left in the last month or so, and I know why.

Jesus Christ get over yourselves.

That's maybe because of shitty post like the one you just made no?

Man, actually, you're the one who should get over yourself.
Come on, I'm sure you have the capacity to explain properly while you loved his work.
Stating that he's the best or that kafka is silly is stupid reductionism; you will not be able to start a interesting discussion with this kind of cleaving statements.
Now you get why I'm able to say that he's not the "best", do you?