tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9000858.comments2023-01-27T13:00:06.764-05:00Eclectic Indulgence... classic literature reviewsEclectic Indulgencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09773640906287038956noreply@blogger.comBlogger515125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9000858.post-57123439896837017532015-04-03T12:10:38.734-04:002015-04-03T12:10:38.734-04:00hmm,i classify wuthering heights as revenge story ...hmm,i classify wuthering heights as revenge story not love, since there is no successful relationship between heathcliff and catherine, and i feel that catherine is a weak woman, her inability to choose btween edgar the husband and heathcliff the first love led her to deathAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13551941193038576717noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9000858.post-35254191052847677942015-03-16T15:16:54.455-04:002015-03-16T15:16:54.455-04:00Thanks for the recommendation, Gwyn. It's bee...Thanks for the recommendation, Gwyn. It's been on my list for awhile but I'll move it closer to the top. ;)Eclectic Indulgencehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09773640906287038956noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9000858.post-20782172673472732332015-03-14T21:42:45.324-04:002015-03-14T21:42:45.324-04:00You should try Idylls of the King by Alfred Lord T...You should try Idylls of the King by Alfred Lord Tennyson. I know you can get it for free online. Tennyson was the first to really get me interested in the Arthurian legends.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05665055006996231677noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9000858.post-84770720258385776352014-07-10T20:03:53.777-04:002014-07-10T20:03:53.777-04:00The same. I haven't read anything else by her...The same. I haven't read anything else by her after Pride and Prejudice - once bitten, twice shy.Eclectic Indulgencehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09773640906287038956noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9000858.post-14610520391602520912014-07-10T19:38:11.513-04:002014-07-10T19:38:11.513-04:00I intended to write a comment, then noticed that t...I intended to write a comment, then noticed that this post had been written 4 years ago. What's your view on Jane Austen now? <br />Hai Di Nguyenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02230670162621139739noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9000858.post-91190487470546551972014-04-23T01:02:29.795-04:002014-04-23T01:02:29.795-04:00I need to know the ending please which is missing ...I need to know the ending please which is missing here...what happens in the end?? Is the bridge destroyed or not?? or is it just damaged?? n who is responsible for that?? Is it the same as the movie or not?? I am getting confused because I have found many dissimilarities between the movie and the book...Thanks...Raisa Mahmudhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05503486553679824037noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9000858.post-37999839076505020972013-07-20T11:03:33.217-04:002013-07-20T11:03:33.217-04:00i do not consider Tale of Genji a hard book. After...i do not consider Tale of Genji a hard book. After completing Ulysses and In search of lost time, i only find modernist novels and mid 20th century novels difficult, the classics are really easy after that. <br /><br />but while it is easy to read, it is hard to concentrate, sometimes I get so bored, sometimes troubled. Tale of Genji is one of the most troublesome novels I've read. With all those high flying praise and the title, I expected to love Genji. And what a hipocritical womanizer, who is again and again refered to as handsome ( almost 200 times across the book), i found the first 10 chapters so tiresome, spending 3 hours to read each and 3 more to try to recollect what interested me, what moved me, what motivated to men and women (who i think dont love the men but love their sex) <br /><br />i expected court life to be much stricter, and here the emperor is more often cuckolded than a farmer of the 19th century, and the son is such a horndog. <br /><br />The characterization is so praised, I find it middle-brow, compared to that great Asian novel, Dream of Red Chamber. <br /><br />Anyway, like watching a movie or listening to an album, i am always vulnerable to reviews. I'm trying really hard to see what i've missed, why the book is so good to some. maybe my patience will be rewarded, i dont know. jack nyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15061527500164877096noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9000858.post-35326056691135728862013-06-29T11:14:47.309-04:002013-06-29T11:14:47.309-04:00I enjoy getting my gratifying short story fix from...I enjoy getting my gratifying short story fix from Chekhov (An Anonymous Story remains my favorite), and I think there's something beautiful about the way he allows the reader to draw their own conclusions - not unlike Turgenev? <br />Speaking of Tolstoy and Dostoevsky, they both attempt to spread their social or philosophical dogma through literature rather than focus on the individuals like Chekhov, and Turgenev (also with only two or one generation away from serfdom respectively), which I find refreshing. <br /> I do think Garnett is reliable (as does my Russian mother, whose views on Russian translations I tend to mimic), but also blindly follow Ardis as a publisher for great Russian translations (perhaps foolish?).UrbanBucolicshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12420714946187239099noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9000858.post-8311083751264021932013-06-22T05:11:19.142-04:002013-06-22T05:11:19.142-04:00This book is on my to be read list. I don't s...This book is on my to be read list. I don't see any Daphne DuMaurier books on your blog?? Rebecca and Jamaica Inn are my favourites. Only came across her books about 2 years ago & love the way she writes.Carolhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06820925595506920754noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9000858.post-88534734493694544322013-06-22T05:02:07.782-04:002013-06-22T05:02:07.782-04:00I loved the movie & watched it after I'd r...I loved the movie & watched it after I'd read the play while listening to the Arkangel audio produced by the BBC. Kenneth Branagh really brings Shakespeare to life. Stumbled across your blog and enjoyed reading your reviews.Carolhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06820925595506920754noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9000858.post-51149826928661806822013-06-10T13:52:33.594-04:002013-06-10T13:52:33.594-04:00Interesting what you say about the 'message...Interesting what you say about the 'message' in Chekov's stories. Some of them reminded me of pithy little zen master stories - the story is written as though there is meaning there, but it's cryptic and ellusive. I thought the point was often just to show how meaningless it all is - 'this, like all things, will pass'.Adamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03778545770777441063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9000858.post-85341083620931206802013-05-15T15:12:08.096-04:002013-05-15T15:12:08.096-04:00this is too beautiful, the moment l read the very ...this is too beautiful, the moment l read the very first page about love, i felt an overwhelming desire to cry. he speaks directly to my soulstonedcheriehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15452512349817304116noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9000858.post-30611425731593399952013-05-15T15:10:17.213-04:002013-05-15T15:10:17.213-04:00this is just too beautiful, the moment i read the ...this is just too beautiful, the moment i read the first page l had an overwhelming desire to cry.this is one book everyone needs to read stonedcheriehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15452512349817304116noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9000858.post-42613810278019963462013-04-23T18:05:37.150-04:002013-04-23T18:05:37.150-04:00Oh, how great that somebody else loves Verne too! ...Oh, how great that somebody else loves Verne too! I read the tale of Captain Nemo about five years ago, when I was about 14 , and fell in love immediately. When I read the last lines of the book, I was shivering - I didn't want it to end!! Since then I've spent 80 days with mr. Fogg, searched for captain Grant, seen Africa from above in a hot air balloon, joined the quest for the Southern Star and seen some of the South America in Jangada amongst other things. Verne seriously is one of the great inspirors that have turned me from a book-fancier to a bibliophile. I love his books! I actually never remember how many leagues Nemo and his hostages traveled under the sea because here in Finland the name of the book is translated to "Captain Nemo in the depths of the sea" or "Around the globe in a submarine" or something like that :) Whew, whenever I close my eyes, I can see Nautilus and it's desperate captain... Even as a girl I am convinced that every boy and girl should read some Verne when they are growing up. What a great way to feed imagination and the never-ending hunger for adventure!Mandihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12045461237326216816noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9000858.post-42117737562190588522013-04-23T18:05:10.382-04:002013-04-23T18:05:10.382-04:00Oh, how great that somebody else loves Verne too! ...Oh, how great that somebody else loves Verne too! I read the tale of Captain Nemo about five years ago, when I was about 14 , and fell in love immediately. When I read the last lines of the book, I was shivering - I didn't want it to end!! Since then I've spent 80 days with mr. Fogg, searched for captain Grant, seen Africa from above in a hot air balloon, joined the quest for the Southern Star and seen some of the South America in Jangada amongst other things. Verne seriously is one of the great inspirors that have turned me from a book-fancier to a bibliophile. I love his books! I actually never remember how many leagues Nemo and his hostages traveled under the sea because here in Finland the name of the book is translated to "Captain Nemo in the depths of the sea" or "Around the globe in a submarine" or something like that :) Whew, whenever I close my eyes, I can see Nautilus and it's desperate captain... Even as a girl I am convinced that every boy and girl should read some Verne when they are growing up. What a great way to feed imagination and the never-ending hunger for adventure!Mandihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12045461237326216816noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9000858.post-6739512156982018872013-02-13T06:52:07.545-05:002013-02-13T06:52:07.545-05:00The "soap opera" look comes from how in ...The "soap opera" look comes from how in the 70's and I guess even the 80's they used to shoot outdoor scenes on film and indoor scenes on video. It looks substantially different and I always found it jarring. I finally sort of accepted it and was able to just enjoy the movie. You can see this "technique" used in pretty much all of the older BBC shows like Tom Brown's Schooldays or The Secret Garden, for a couple of examples. <br /><br />I saw The Mill on the Floss in 2006 on DVD and I really only watched it because it has Jonathan Scott-Taylor in it who played Damien in Damien: Omen 2. He was a hot guy in his youth!:) I've since seen Anton Lesser in quite a few things (he played Wakeham) and now he's actually on Game of Thrones as Qyburn. He was also in the film Miss Potter which is a really sweet movie about Beatrix Potter that came out some years ago.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9000858.post-5120975956219785922013-01-25T16:02:51.693-05:002013-01-25T16:02:51.693-05:00Hi David,
I reaad Constance Garnett's translat...Hi David,<br />I reaad Constance Garnett's translation of War and Peace and really enjoyed it, however I did come across an article that is really critical of her...<br /><br />“The reason English-speaking readers can barely tell the difference between Tolstoy and Dostoevsky is that they aren’t reading the prose of either one. They’re reading Constance Garnett.”<br /><br />http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2005/11/07/051107fa_fact_remnick<br /><br />Strong words.Eclectic Indulgencehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09773640906287038956noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9000858.post-32461493345183713242013-01-22T09:10:32.162-05:002013-01-22T09:10:32.162-05:00I currently read Chekhov's short stories also....I currently read Chekhov's short stories also. I'm really concerned about which translator is the best. From what I know, Constance Garnett is the one that translated a lot from Russian greats to English and seems to be reliable. Viethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02424121807556294994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9000858.post-48324565105095745082013-01-21T19:00:13.507-05:002013-01-21T19:00:13.507-05:00I just recently read some Chekhov short stories as...I just recently read some Chekhov short stories as well (<i>The Kiss and Other Stories</i>). Like you said, his style tends to leave the conclusion up to his readers. A couple of years ago, I took a course in Russian history - what I enjoyed most about Chekhov was exactly his lifelike depiction of the history/setting.Marianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01693636355638596302noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9000858.post-81896666802526182662012-12-29T12:05:17.540-05:002012-12-29T12:05:17.540-05:00Beowulf is an amazing work. I own nearly a dozen ...<i>Beowulf</i> is an amazing work. I own nearly a dozen translations. My favorites, in order, are by Howell D. Chickering, Jr. (1977), Frederick Rebsamen (1991), and that of Seamus Heaney (2000). I also very much appreciated your comments about the influence of <i>Beowulf</i> upon the mythology developed by Tolkien. Certainly there are elements within the <i>Silmarillion</i>, e.g., the tale of Hurin and his son, Turin, comes to mind. Importantly, this was intentional as it was always Tolkien's desire to develop a mythology for England, similar to that of the Norse epics, or the Finnish <i>Kalevala</i> (the source for Tolkien's 'Gandalf'), and a mythology not bound up in Christianity like the Arthurian legend. Anyway, I very much enjoyed your thoughts and observations about your encounter with <i>Beowulf</i> and encourage you to pick up different translations of it as you encounter them. They are all worth reading. Best wishes for 2013! Cheers! ChrisChristopherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00428150254760548485noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9000858.post-52117462732397751202012-11-04T07:03:15.438-05:002012-11-04T07:03:15.438-05:00Jane Eyre is forever on my list of classic favorit...Jane Eyre is forever on my list of classic favorites. I like the part when Rochester is humbled and finally admits his need to be with Jane who asserts her state of independence (towards the end). I've read Wuthering Heights, too, but it was not as memorable with me as Jane Eyre. I'm really glad you liked it, too.<br /><br />Nancy<br />Simple Clockwork<br />www.nancycudis.comAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09737139592218663969noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9000858.post-26453187105295794192012-09-29T17:52:10.621-04:002012-09-29T17:52:10.621-04:00I have thoroughly read and analyzed this book, to ...I have thoroughly read and analyzed this book, to which I am currently writing a research paper about. I have found this book to be in abundance to classic philosophy and illusions that test a person’s own background knowledge. This book proves the writers ability to intertwine two very exclusive worlds together to capture a remarkable common trait; the power of brute and knowledge. One must acquire a balance of both to utilize the full potential within one’s character. <br /><br />Professor JB Smileshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13263595822061215426noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9000858.post-59582001733861782152012-09-29T17:51:33.852-04:002012-09-29T17:51:33.852-04:00I have thoroughly read and analyzed this book, to ...I have thoroughly read and analyzed this book, to which I am currently writing a research paper about. I have found this book to be in abundance to classic philosophy and illusions that test a person’s own background knowledge. This book proves the writers ability to intertwine two very exclusive worlds together to capture a remarkable common trait; the power of brute and knowledge. One must acquire a balance of both to utilize the full potential within one’s character. Professor JB Smileshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13263595822061215426noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9000858.post-86767119163952128242012-09-10T14:14:47.694-04:002012-09-10T14:14:47.694-04:00Enjoy it... will open up many doors and make Dante...Enjoy it... will open up many doors and make Dante's 'the Divine Comedy' more enjoyable, as well.Eclectic Indulgencehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09773640906287038956noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9000858.post-82832410501129038272012-09-09T19:09:04.149-04:002012-09-09T19:09:04.149-04:00Just found your review on Goodreads: I am starting...Just found your review on Goodreads: I am starting this tonight (so I skipped your spoilers!). Frankly, I'm nervous. I'm very hit and miss with the ancients, and not at all well read. Going to read first book tonight then go to bed. That's the plan, anyway :)ohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01245931629228090133noreply@blogger.com