| Username |
Post |
| smp |
Posted
on 07-Dec-01 12:20 PM
Sometime last quarter, even amidst rigorous academic and professional demands, I could not help but crack open my new hard bound "House of Mr. Biswas" and complete more than half of it in just a few sittings after learning that Naipual won the Nobel. This wasn't the first time I was reading this book but still the book managed to grip my eyes on to its pages till the very wee hours a few nights. Now after the exams, I am looking forward to reading the remaining half with more than just plain enthusiasm. It is almost a craving that seems at times to be unnatural and bordering temporary insanity.
I remember going through at least two books, if not more, in my life with comparable passion: "The Fountainhead" by Ayn Rand and "A Suitable Boy" by Vikram Seth. Both to me are timeless masterpieces.
Have any of you had similar experiences with specific books? What were they? Why do you think some books manage to have such profound effects on us while others, eqally good in content and literature, fade through our memory timeline more easily?
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| Paschim |
Posted
on 07-Dec-01 01:25 PM
Naipaul's 'Biswas' is a classic, of course, as are a lot of his other works. 'The Enigma of Arrival' stands out, and his latest novel, 'Half a Life' is interesting too. See if the review that follows which was published in Nepal tempts you to read his first real fiction in 21 years.
http://www.nepalnews.com.np/contents/englishdaily/ktmpost/2001/nov/nov25/features1.htm
One book that I read recently, and found maddeningly brilliant was Alan Bennett's, 'The Clothes They Stood Up In'. It's really short, more of a novella, and can be finished in a few hours. No booklover who relishes intelligent humor should miss this. It's an absolute delight.
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| cyberpal |
Posted
on 07-Dec-01 01:57 PM
I feel that Ayn Rand's work is more like a HollyWood Blockbuster. Its all about these super human beings doing super human things. Its fun to watch or read but there very little you can actually walk away with.
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| smp |
Posted
on 07-Dec-01 02:16 PM
The protagonist of "The Fountainhead" is hardly a perfect human being or super for that matter. The character of Howard Roark is an epitome of selfishness, Rand's characteriztion of absolute capitalism. And in such a portrayal of an extreme character, however, something human takes form if I recollect well. That to me may have been captivating. One may or may not subscribe to the philosophy of objectivism but its depiction through the character of Roark I think was/is certainly thought-provoking and gripping at the same time. It has been over a decade since I read this book and the details have become a bit murky, but the book in my opinion is hardly about a super human being and really cannot be compared to a Hollywood blockbuster such as "Titanic" or "Independence Day".
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| Jwhar |
Posted
on 07-Dec-01 02:26 PM
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (and the 4 books of this series)
by late Douglas Adams.
These books didn't change my life, but they surely gave me many afternoons of uncontrollable laughs.
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| cyberpal |
Posted
on 07-Dec-01 03:15 PM
>The protagonist of "The Fountainhead" is
>hardly a perfect human being or super for
>that matter. The character of Howard Roark
>is an epitome of selfishness, Rand's
>characteriztion of absolute capitalism. And
>in such a portrayal of an extreme character,
>however, something human takes form if I
>recollect well.
hmm. not quite sure what you're trying to say here.
>That to me may have been
>captivating. One may or may not subscribe
>to the philosophy of objectivism but its
>depiction through the character of Roark I
>think was/is certainly thought-provoking and
>gripping at the same time.
What is "philosophy of objectivism"?
>It has been over
>a decade since I read this book and the
>details have become a bit murky, but the
>book in my opinion is hardly about a super
>human being and really cannot be compared to
>a Hollywood blockbuster such as "Titanic" or
>"Independence Day".
Same here, the last one I read was probably more than a decade ago. I did enjoy reading it immensely then (her books are so damn volumnous that you have to enjoy it to read thru the whole thing). But from what I recollect pretty much all her character in all her books are people who are the best in their field etc. I cannot recollect Ryan taking about everyday people like you or me. That was what I as trying to convey.
Any comments from anyone who has recently read her books.
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| villageVoice |
Posted
on 07-Dec-01 05:39 PM
Dear SPM:
House for Mr. Biswas definitely is one of my alltime favorites though it's difficult to enlist the "best." I think the books that got me as freaked out are The Idiot by F. Dostovesky; I derived almost insane pleasure from Crime and Punishment (by the same author), Lolita (Nebakov), and Madame Bovary (Flaubert), and Anna Karenina (Tolstoy).
While I liked Biswas for its familiarity--Hindu families, subcontinental ethos as strong kinship, deep-seated urge for property ownership, esp house and land--the European writers took me to a world that is individualistic, wild, queer....a world of unfamiliar imageries and ideas.
I liked Ian Rand when I read it - at 16. In hindisight, I think it had a pretty bad influence. Yes, I am not a great fan of true-blue capitalism. Howard Roark, with all his seeming superhumanism, is an incomplete portrait. While his fountain of creativity -- sheer indvidualism - is praiseworthy, what's a man if he can't relate to his neighbors, co-workers, women around him?
While I consider re-reading some great books, Foutainhead is a certain no-no. To A. Rand's credit, Foutainhead IS powerful, and many people say her writing has influenced them in many ways. For better or worse? Well, that depends on how look at life.
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| krishna |
Posted
on 07-Dec-01 05:50 PM
anything by j.r.r. tolkien, but The Silmarillion takes the prize. his writing has the ring of truth.
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| maddog |
Posted
on 07-Dec-01 06:38 PM
That BISWAS - He was one helluva man!
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| Sfengali |
Posted
on 07-Dec-01 09:32 PM
I found Nepali lives and orientation Parallel to Russian fiction. It does not come as that much of a surprise because Russia was also under the feudalist oppression for a long time. "Dead Souls" and "The Diary of a Mad Man" by Gogol are classic in that regard. Almost anything that Dostoevsky wrote is superb. Especially "Notes from the Underground" and "The Devil" is very clairvoyant in terms of anticipating the proletariat revolution in Russia. Naturally these are not ideological or dissertations on a political treatise like Cherneshevksy (sp?) and Ivan Turgenov, but weave people's lives and characters in a fascinating way. Given Dostoevksy's epileptic fits "The Idiot" is a very inetersting, definitely good read. And Brothers Karamazov and Crime and Punishment are unparalleled, former in shaping moral philosophy discussion and the latter in law and beginning of modern fiction.
Satanic Verses of course is a nut ride, but you have to give it to the guy he is brilliant.
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| cybergal |
Posted
on 07-Dec-01 11:50 PM
I found Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom very intriguing . After reading this incredible book,the way I look at life has changed forever. I have learnt to accept life the way it is and cherish every single moment of this life, live it to the fullest. To become a happy person in life one needs nothing but love, compassion. One has to be forgiving...
I hope everyone who read this book enjoyed it as much I did. This is one of my top re-reading books and every time I read it I learn new lessons from this book.
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| Married to Mike's Mum |
Posted
on 08-Dec-01 12:36 AM
Mike's Mum and I enjoyed reading "Dr. Spock's first two years: The emotional and physical needs of children from birth to age two -- by Benjamin Spock". This book helped us raise Mike well.
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