I don’t even really know what to say except that I’ve never read anything quite like this before. It’s still echoing around in mine, I still feel kinda cold and I will definitely have to re-read it.

I had my issues with the novel, one of the major ones being the dialogue. I understand his intentions of going with literal translations but it came off as terribly awkward because no one speaks like that (in English)! It’s even more annoying knowing the proper Spanish and English translations. Not to mention when the characters translate their own Spanish phrases? Come on!

Then there’s the odd way Hemingway writes about intimate relationships. I kept on reminding myself about the times he lived in, certainly Spanish culture to partly explain why Maria was such a biddable “rabbit” etc. but it bugged me. I don’t think any of Lorca’s heroines (for example) were quite so earnestly servile. (But I haven’t read his plays in a while, maybe I’m wrong…)

Still, there aren’t many other writers I’ve read who can match Hemingway’s descriptive prose. Also, the internal dialogue of the characters really suckered me in. By the end of the novel I was bawling. So I guess it’s worth consuming. :P

I agree with lucy and Jamie. Also I was constantly awed by how much of the the book wasn’t conventional narrative-the poetry, the letters, the journal excerpts etc.-and yet remained compelling and above all, very much a novel and not some academic’s masturbatory indulgences. Simply Amazing. I’m getting all of her books now.

Swell book for the “general public” about how the brain works in neurocomputational terms, the advances in neuroscience (specifically virtual neural networks) that point out or confirm this, and the implications for society in general.

It’s well-written: Churchland’s tone is affable, occasionally humorous and precise. It’s single-handedly ignited my interest in cognitive science.

I was unenthralled with most of the book except for the occasional moment (the last few chapters) and part of the storyline (the narrator’s relationship with his girlfriend). It’s hard for me to believe the publisher which states it was the book that launched Murakami to international fame: I suppose when the world got “Hard-boiled Wonderland” it pissed its pants? The writing in Wild Sheep isn’t nearly as accomplished, elegant or sophisticated as his later works and the development of the “mystery” is so so.

I get the impression from readers here and elsewhere consider South of the Border, West of the Sun (and Sputnik Sweetheart) to be among his lesser works but South, which explores similar themes and ideas, was ten times better written and certainly more affecting (which only makes sense to me, considering that Wild Sheep is an earlier novel).

There were certainly moments of brilliance in the two essays released in this edition but I was constantly distracted by the overt moralizing, obnoxious patriotism and his sincere belief that factory work was more opressive than African slavery. Right.

His views on this cheap labour could be applied to globalism, however, and are almost shocking in their relevance.

I loved these two phillipics against Marc Antony. They were historically informative and pretty darn entertaining. A perfect starting point for learning various things about political Roman society at the time.

It’s ok, I guess, but I don’t get what all the fuss is about. Their sound is pretty familiar and it doesn’t rise above the level of “fun”.

I find this to be one of the least interesting and enjoyable Austen’s I’ve read so far-yes. even less so than Mansfield Park which I mostly had a ball with-though I can’t quite pinpoint why. Did I think it went on too long? I certainly that the ending was problematic because it didn’t seem to jive with Marianne’s character development at all. Despite Austen’s brute maneuverings to get the harmonious ending it didn’t work and I’m not sure if that was intentional on her part or not.

But it’s still worth reading, especially for the Tanner essay at the end of the book in this edition—so much better than the one at the front.

Every time I pick up a Wynne Jones book expecting to be disappointed and every time I end up slapping my knees (literally) with laughter and being thoroughly, thoroughly entertained and impressed. She’s such a great fantasy writer.