Current Reading

[Paul Mackin]

On Wed, 2005-01-26 at 20:33 +0000, Ghetta Life wrote:
> Speaking of novel those on this list are currently reading, right now I'm 
> nearing the end of Thomas Mann's +Faustus*.  I'd say it's not great 
> literature (maybe the translation's partly at fault).  It drags a bit, with 
> the best (but relatively short) part being where the subject of the book has 
> an encounter with the Devil.  Most of the rest is pedestrian accounts of the 
> circumstances surrounding the lives of the various characters who revolve 
> around the book's subject.  I expect I'll read *Magic Mountain*, which I 
> hear is a superior work to *Faustus*
> 
> BTW, I gave up on Gaddiss *The Recognitions* about two-thirds of the way 
> through.  I found the "Whole Sick Crew" of New Yorkers (which I'm sure 
> Pynchon was aware of) annoying in the extreme.  And the dialogue is just 
> full of fits and stops (I'm sure supposed to resemble "real" dialogue) that 
> always stopped short of SAYING what was the message being conveyed.  I'm 
> sure the author was intending this book to be re-read numerous times to 
> uncover all the cultural references and internal clues to the underlying 
> ironies, etc.  But the writing just wasn't that consistently rich to keep me 
> going, let alone consider reading again.  This time I'd say I agree with the 
> original critics of the book.  I know there is a substantial following of 
> Gaddis who will greatly disagree with me here...


Unlike most still functioning individuals  I remember the world Gaddis
was writing about. Americans of a certain wont did  used to be like
that, talk like that. Some of the conversations must appear terribly
outdated and pretentious for later twentieth century people but I for
one was entranced enough by the book--enjoying it and reading it twice
if only to savor the feeling perhaps that having learned all that old
Europe culture was worth the effort so as to be able to fathom more or
less what everybody was jabbering about. But more than that, I have to
consider it a great book for any time period.

> 
> Ghetta
> 
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