it's really an anti-erotic novel.

Oh yes--I'd say there's sex-related anguish, fear & trembling there that's downright Kafkian. L'air du temps... :)

skrevet af LolaWalser kl. 11:27 am (EST) den May 7, 2008

NYRB sent me an email about books on sale that included all these Simenon with forewords from various interesting authors (Luc Sante, Wm. Vollmann). I read the first few pages of a couple of the books on google reader and checked out reviews on LT and bought four of them. I'm really looking forward to diggin in! I think I'll hit Dirty Snow first. And I have yet to get to the Carco...

skrevet af slickdpdx kl. 7:46 pm (EST) den May 5, 2008

Of Hodgson I've read THE HOUSE BY THE BORDERLAND and THE BOATS OF THE 'GLEN CARRIG,' both of which kept me up late for several nights. I keep approaching NIGHT LAND, but so far haven't taken the plunge (more because of the length than because of the daunting prose style).

skrevet af jfclark kl. 8:19 pm (EST) den Apr 16, 2008

I own more H.R. Wakefield than I've read, alas (as with so many other authors), but of course that's because I find Wakefield delightfully wicked. Browsing through your library, I note your "gothic" tagged books are quite choice--I love James Hogg and Arthur Machen, among lots of the others you've got.

skrevet af jfclark kl. 10:16 pm (EST) den Apr 15, 2008

I'm nearly finished with Simplicio Simplicissimuss, which has been a fun read. It contains its own share of degradation and perversity. Handled lightly. I was annoyed to find that my copy is abridged to remove "moralizing lectures" and a "fanciful trip to the center of the earth." I enjoy moralizing lectures and I don't appreciate missing that trip. I have a five page copy the The Inferno that was similarly abridged - what a waste!

I think I'll read Apex Hides the Hurt next and finish Riding To Everywhere (which I am enjoying.) Carco is in my immediate pile of reading material and I will get to him soon.

skrevet af slickdpdx kl. 3:13 pm (EST) den Apr 7, 2008

I concur with Lola's appraisal of Leppin (etc., etc.) - as well as with this assessment of depravity. Few other amusements have so well sustained my interest over time.

For greater and less grim stretches of such amusement, you might also check out Samuel Pepys's diaries - in which, under the shadow of fear of being caught by his wife he boldly harvests, or at least braves the attempt there toward, the charms of all ladies within his reach, live and otherwise (there is an incident where he clasps and mashes with a long dead royal - so that he may say - to himself - "I have kissed a queen").

skrevet af benwaugh kl. 10:03 am (EST) den Apr 7, 2008

Great book. It's a true shame that no one's released a new edition of the Elizabeth Abbott translation -- preferably under one cover instead of in two volumes -- as it's really a better translation than the new one that's in print now.

skrevet af nsblumenfeld kl. 7:37 am (EST) den Apr 7, 2008

Hi, Ron, I haven't read "Les innocents" yet, but your impression makes me want to reach for it immediately.

In return, you may want to check out Paul Leppin's "Blaugast" (the original title, not sure what the English one is)--lots of depravity there too. :)

skrevet af LolaWalser kl. 12:07 pm (EST) den Mar 28, 2008

Ok, I looked up Carco. Looks good. Any recommendations?

skrevet af makifat kl. 12:01 pm (EST) den Mar 27, 2008

Having a look at our shared books, I'd say we both have excellent taste! I'm going to check out the rest of your holdings.

I have no idea who Francis Carco is/was, but on your recommendation, I will find out.

Regards,
Maki

skrevet af makifat kl. 10:07 am (EST) den Mar 27, 2008

Lots of bells ringing; I am just starting to feel my way into the dark little world of russian lit and the some of the names you mentioned have been on the "must read" list for a while! Have just ordered the Dedalus Book of Russian Decadence to get started and am anxiously awating the mailman...
Yes, Moravia, a great love.
If you have any other recommendations they'd be welcome!

skrevet af annakarina kl. 11:28 am (EST) den Feb 20, 2008

They booed Lightnin? Uncharitable hippies - just goes to show sometimes a thing's opposite is its own image - and, by current standards, Mr Hopkins might be right. Nobody's even suggested impeaching the current republican autocrat and Agnew was a virgin to vice compared with He-Who-Cannot-Articulate's bald evil invisible demonic deputy.

skrevet af benwaugh kl. 4:24 pm (EST) den Feb 13, 2008

Thanks for the tip (Hyperion) I'll check it out. I haven't yet gotten around to reading Perversity. There's a glut of other poison sloshing around in my trough...

Archie and Mehitabel have some great company in your library!

skrevet af slickdpdx kl. 11:01 pm (EST) den Feb 11, 2008

Speaking of Blues, etc. - have you checked out sites like Speaker's Corner and http://store.acousticsounds.com/store.cf...? They are issuing a lot of old stuff (and a lot of Lightnin Hopkins' atuff) on heavy audiophile-quality vinyl. I picked a couple things. I'm still waiting for the original mmono recordings of Little Richard's first Specialty lp.... 2 years now.

skrevet af benwaugh kl. 10:41 pm (EST) den Feb 11, 2008

I love Lightnin' Hopkins - especially before the folkies got to him, when he was still plugged in. I love especially the country blues... mournful/raucous stuff like Tommy Johnson, Robert Pete Williams, Muddy Waters, etc. I have conditioned my 5 year old to know her genres - she knows when Lightnin' is playing the boogie as opposed to "regular blues". No doubt she'll regard me as a big nerd some day. But then she'll hit, oh say 40, and I'll be redeemed. Dead, but redeemed(- as we all are told to aspire to be!).

skrevet af benwaugh kl. 10:01 pm (EST) den Feb 11, 2008

Yes it is, but I can't remember which one... I suppose I'll need to run through the lps again soon. BB King is not my favorite blues artist - he's too polished for my taste - but I love the lyrics.

skrevet af benwaugh kl. 9:02 am (EST) den Feb 11, 2008

nope, haven't read Melmoth yet. I think I should, though. you're the second person here on LT that's recommended it.

skrevet af silverwraith kl. 2:54 am (EST) den Feb 8, 2008

You knew Zevon? How was he in High School? Had he developed the bad boy persona yet?

Fantastic lyricist, but I wouldn't have wanted to live downstairs from him.

skrevet af makifat kl. 12:37 am (EST) den Feb 7, 2008

Thanks for the recommendation - I will check Dan Simmons out!
Best wishes
Eloise

skrevet af Eloise kl. 2:57 pm (EST) den Jan 30, 2008

Hey - do feel free, if not obliged, to post your thoughts on Gracq and your art nouveau readings on the decadence group. We could use a jump start. I for one would like to know more about Gracq, having just begun my completist project.

skrevet af benwaugh kl. 5:45 pm (EST) den Dec 28, 2007

You may find this interesting, particularly the dates of death:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/france/story/0...

skrevet af benwaugh kl. 1:52 pm (EST) den Dec 27, 2007

Ron,

Yes - I read King Cophetua recently and enjoyed it very much - he was able to create what I will define, badly, perhaps, as a sense of temporal claustrophobia - a moment suspended in space - that house, the wait. So - I went out and bought all the other books by Gracq I could find. I just received A. Theroux's new novel and am about to sit down with it for a few weeks.

skrevet af benwaugh kl. 9:34 am (EST) den Dec 27, 2007

Thanks for the recommendations. I haven't read any of those authors, but I'll check 'em out!

skrevet af littlegeek kl. 12:55 pm (EST) den Dec 26, 2007

From innocence to depravity, 'tis just a step...

skrevet af LolaWalser kl. 12:17 pm (EST) den Dec 5, 2007

tros--in some respects it's like a filmscript only much larger in scope or a kind of alternative Latin American history as seen through the eyes or activities (described by others) of the two main characters. Some comparsion for this technique could be made to other works such as Faulkner's 'As I lay dying'--which is narrated by multiple members of the family and then also in an almost glancing way by people they run into briefly along the way. I like the in and out glimpses into their lives which may make the characters harder to understand in some respects but leaves the imagination a lot of room to wander. In any case many Latin American refugees from the dictatorial regimes of the 60's, 70's and early 80's wound up roaming around Europe--going from one dead end to another--some involved in clandestine political activity all the while and some not. Bolano himself and it makes me think in terms somewhat of a modern day retelling of the Odyssey (because in a sense many people like Bolano had it seems lost their country--there was going back for them) though with the focus on two characters instead of one. Beyond making them into almost mythic personnages the questioning of literature and what it means is always lurking somewhere close to the surface--and he seems to reach out to the reader not so much say as a professor might but more so as a co-equal sharing his own thoughts and visions. Anyway it is a difficult book in a lot of ways--always very thought provoking--at least for me and I view it as a masterpiece.

skrevet af lriley kl. 9:11 am (EST) den Nov 16, 2007

Yes, Murr is my favourite cat character!
Although we only have three books on common, I'm guessing this is because you have not catalogued all of your library?
WE do seem to share many favourite writers.
Murr
:)

skrevet af tomcatMurr kl. 8:35 am (EST) den Nov 3, 2007