May 19, 1975, I finished reading:
The Sotweed Factor, John Barth (I noted that I read it slowly - I think this was my second attempt at it. I did finish, but it was not all that much fun.)
Online I found a rare interview with John Barth done in 2001. The way he describes his--shall I say genre?--makes it clear why I had so much trouble reading him (incidentally I had read Giles, Goat Boy earlier and I recollect that it moved a bit faster than the Sot Weed Factor.)
Postmodernism is tying your necktie while simultaneously explaining the step-by-step procedure of necktie-tying and chatting about the history of male neckwear - and managing a perfect full windsor anyhow.
http://www.themodernword.com/scriptorium/barth_interview.html
Um, so he's basically lecturing while storytelling. Sigh. . . A little of that goes a looooong way. One reason the academic world has never beckoned to me as a day job is that I have a very low tolerance for pontificating. I'd never have survived grad school.
When I contrast the Barth approach with the Shirley Jackson (below) I'm reminded of John Barrymore's description of footnotes as "having to run downstairs to answer the doorbell when you're on your honeymoon." Jackson doesn't explain and doesn't need to.
May 18-19, 2005 I once again read:
The Haunting of Hill House, Shirley Jackson
This was elegantly written and echoing. It didn't scare me. I vaguely remember that it frightened me when I first read it, but I wonder if I'm confusing it with the Robert Wise 1963 movie The Haunting, with Julie Harris, which definitely scared the hell out of me. One thing I noticed on this reading was how inevitable and almost welcome the violent ending was.
The TV series Huge and what was added (and subtracted) from the book
-
Usually a book contains subtle layers and little touches that are missing
from the more streamlined film version. But *Huge* is that rare video that
adds d...
11 years ago
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