Chapped 57, Chafing Britons, and Cerebral Adventure Boys

[John Bailey]

...and there I was thinking that I'd signed up to host chaps 57-58. But 
that's all ok, I'm having some issues with my computer here, as in it only 
allows around 5 minutes of internet access at a time before it freezes up, 
so I appreciate the help from jbor. I'll try to contribute though, if youse 
want, or host 58. I'm trying to cover all the NP things which have been 
posted here recently and caught my interest....

Recluses...why someone should decide that M&D is the most automata-ed 
Pynchon novel is a bit beyond me, although I think one of the things people 
remember most from the book is the Duck, despite the relatively short 
appearance she makes. There are plenty of better references a reviewer could 
have made, and I very much like the image of the hermit automaton, 
considering that the automaton as a pseudo-scientific spectacle is kind of 
at odds with reclusive hermeticism...but one can't expect a reviewer to be 
as well read as one, can one, any one?

Richard Flanagan's 'Gould's Book of Fish' is highly recommended, folks, and 
has been called 'the first masterpiece of the 21st Century' (well, that's a 
strong way of putting it). Mr Mackin first mentioned it here a while ago and 
correctly noted the lovely coloured print and gorgeous binding (though I 
don't believe he used the word gorgeous.) The book has been highly divisive 
of opinions (and, like GR, reviewers have now turned to noting this 
contentiousness as a way of avoiding having to actually review the thing...) 
And of course Pynchon is often noted in reviews, my favourite being...
'Wildly ambitious, it has the cerebral-adventure-boy feel of Thomas 
Pynchon's "Mason & Dixon,"...'
'cerebral-adventure-boy', ha ha haaaa....
http://ae.boston.com/books/reviews/fishbook.html
see also...
http://books.guardian.co.uk/departments/generalfiction/story/0,6000,729724,00.html
http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2002/04/05/1017206260960.html
I had the fortune of listening to Flanagan speaking at a cafe a few years 
ago, and he is a very genial and intelligent fellow.

'Stalker' is a wonderful piece, though it should come with a warning for the 
faint of attention. Definitely no surprise that it gets mentioned on a 
semi-regular basis here...which leads to 'Werckmeister Harmonies', whose 
director has been described as the heir to Tarkovsky (though I'm guessing 
that just means long, slow shots with nearly imperceptible action). WM was 
on here a few years ago for a festival, missed it myself but it got superb 
reviews from the people who count.

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