What a great nonfiction book! I always avoided talk of meter, rhythm, etc. because it was boring, but Pinsky’s book is a really enjoyable read. It flows elegantly, and uses really good examples that shine a light on the musical nature of poetry. After reading it just once (and reading some things twice to really get them), I already get a lot more enjoyment out of reading poetry (and I read daily), and I also write more musical-sounding poems. What a pleasurable read.

I think it’s important to read a book like this. I had seen Schindler’s List, but that did not contain as many scenes within the actual concentration camps, which is the most important situation to see.

Wiesel treats the topic beautifully, not only by expressing his hate for the SS officers, but also by showing that the oppression corrupted some of the Jewish people, turning them into selfish people while in the camps. Oppression isn’t as simple as killing a people; it is undermining their faith in each other and tearing apart the human community from inside.

Wiesel himself is fairly pessimistic about God and life, and I think rightly so. This is a first-hand account of how human inconsideration can shatter a person’s psychology.

Important read.

What a bad book. It had nothing to do with the Beat generation, to begin with. I mean really, nothing at all. So I got over that and hoped for at least a good Zen book, but that didn’t happen either.

The book is unfocused and rambling, going from topic to topic without any organized guidance. He goes into digressions about Zen art that may be interesting to some people, but doesn’t deserve such a large and unpredicted chunk in a topical treatment of Zen like this.

All of his references are prefaced with “maybe it was this…”, and he has this bizarre comment about Japanese culture, saying they are obsessed with manners, competing in gift-giving. I find it hard to believe it’s as bad as he makes it seem. I honestly think he wrote this book on a whim, in a day or so, and never looked back.

There are interesting quotes in the book, but the original sources, such as the Diamond Sutra, might as well be read instead of wasting time on Watts’ unorganized commentary.

The list price for this book is $13. Scary, for such a short and terrible book. I honestly think it was an attempt to make money on his famous name, and that’s it.

As for Watts himself, I don’t doubt that he is fairly wise. His principle of lazy enlightenment through ignorance of the self is important, though the same guidance can be found elsewhere. I just think he wasted peoples’ time with this book.

I like Hawthorne a lot—he is a wise dude. He infuses a lot of important philosophical comments into his works (short stories + Scarlet Letter). However, the plot of this book is so weak and uninteresting, as are most of the characters.

There are three chapters in this book that are absolutely horrendous. These are the first chapter, which serves as a longwinded introduction to the Pyncheon ancestry, whom we have no reason to care for yet. Then there is a chapter where it spends a couple pages talking about the Pyncheon hens. I know these hens parallel the Pyncheons themselves, but holy crap was it ridiculous; I skipped it. Not to give away the plot, there is a chapter called Governor Pyncheon that is the worst chapter of any book I have ever read, seriously.

The plot is just so uninteresting. And Judge Pyncheon, Clifford, and Phoebe are horribly developed characters. Phoebe is completely unbelievable; as a love story, having one of the two main characters this unrealistic is a horrible mistake. She is portrayed as a flawless angel with no intrinsic personality. Clifford has potential as a character, but the question of his innocence is too secretive; how are we to judge him as a person if we don’t know if he is innocent or guilty? The same goes for the judge, who Hawthorne constantly puts down, yet who doesn’t show any negative traits for quite some time.

I understand that as a romance, the characters and plot aren’t supposed to be realistic; but can’t they at least be deep?

There are things I like about the book, though. As I said, I think Hawthorne makes a lot of interesting philosophical comments and examples. If you’re looking for wisdom, assuming that is to be gained from analyzing human drama objectively, this book is worth reading. But as entertainment, this book fails miserably. Read The Scarlet Letter if you haven’t already, or pick up his short stories, most of which are pretty entertaining.

Excellent but sick book. It is intensely symbolic throughout, and you realize new meanings each time you read it. Sordid subject for sure, but that’s Faulkner’s imagination for you.