All Consuming : Conorpants

A review of "Claude Levi-Strauss: An Introduction"

nobody@allconsuming.net (Conorpants) — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 17:42:24 GMT

by Octavio Paz

Extremely readable. I haven’t read any actual Levi-Strauss yet, but once I do I can report back on how good of an introduction it is. Either way, Paz (as befits a novelist of his caliber) writes with the clarity of someone well versed in the ideas he’s dealing with (Ethnographic conventions, Marx vs Levi-Strauss and so on) and yet also with the passion of someone excited about the ideas and the new connections being made.

Recommended to anyone who thinks it sounds interesting / finds a cheap copy at a bookstore.

Why I recommend "Everything Is Illuminated"

nobody@allconsuming.net (Conorpants) — Mon, 12 Feb 2007 03:05:44 GMT

Everything Is Illuminated

by Jonathan Safran Foer

I really liked this book, and I’d like to read more by Safran Foer, for two reasons.

1) I like his use of language and I found the story very moving in much the same way that most of the other commenters did.

2) I think that in the case of this book, he has yet to develop a personal style. As much as I liked the structure of the story, it was a very calculated one. The pattern the book uses is a typically variety of ABBAABC, with A being the translator, B being the fictional past, and C being text from the fictional past. This is very clearly taken from the work of such authors as Kundera and Rushdie who, like Safran Foer, use this polyphonic form to tell an émigré story that is deeply marked by ethnicity.

In short: It’s good, but it’s not envelope pushing. I’d like to read something else by him to see where he takes the style. What is Everything is Illuminated a stylistic stepping-stone towards?

A story about "Caught Stealing: A Novel"

nobody@allconsuming.net (Conorpants) — Tue, 09 Jan 2007 15:34:53 GMT

Caught Stealing: A Novel

by Charlie Huston

A really crappy book written in a really enjoyable style. Ignore the plot holes and the paper-thin characters and you’ll have a great time.

A story about "Underworld Beauty"

nobody@allconsuming.net (Conorpants) — Sat, 09 Sep 2006 04:17:29 GMT

Underworld Beauty

by Seijun Suzuki

Tokyo drifter is much better and much more stylized.

A review of "Identity"

nobody@allconsuming.net (Conorpants) — Fri, 16 Jun 2006 04:48:48 GMT

Identity

by Milan Kundura

I love Kundera’s work and I’ve read almost all of his books. This is easily his worst. It’s only worth reading if you’ve read enough of his other work to know that it isen’t Kundera at full power.

It’s also $25 for about 4 hours of reading.

I’d recomend picking up Ignorance (same price, same translator, same length) from the library next time you need a short read.

A story about "Caliban's Hour"

nobody@allconsuming.net (Conorpants) — Fri, 16 Jun 2006 04:45:04 GMT

Caliban's Hour

by Tad Williams

Don’t pay for this book. It’s an excessively long short story. I love Tad William’s work and I don’t at all think this is indicative of it.

Oh. And it took me a while to figure out that this is a novelistic rework of Shakespeare’s Tempest.

It’s still not worth your time though.

A story about "The Nuer: A Description of the Modes of Livelihood and Political Institutions of a Nilotic People"

nobody@allconsuming.net (Conorpants) — Wed, 29 Mar 2006 04:09:23 GMT

The Nuer: A Description of the Modes of Livelihood and Political Institutions of a Nilotic People

by E. E. Evans-Pritchard

Really only worth reading if you’re an anthropology student.