Anton Chekhov’s Short Stories and the Limitations of Norton Critical Editions
Ah, that special weight and tactile feedback of a Norton Critical Edition. It takes me back -although not to any readings of Chekhov in particular. This book was my…
Denis Johnson’s “Train Dreams” and keeping/catching up
This novella got a lot of acclaim and critical attention when it came out, but I was just starting my undergrad work at that point and wasn’t really doing…
Hesse’s “Siddharta”
This one wasn’t for me. Hesse’s popularity as a countercultural icon in America seemed to have led to this book becoming the subject of Zeitgeist-fixation, but in spite of very…
Kurt Vonnegut’s “Breakfast of Champions”
I’m becoming a big Vonnegut fan, although I came to him a bit later in life than most. This is the fourth one of his novels I’ve read -it’s…
Charles Burns’ “Black Hole”: Pretty Pictures of Disturbing Shit
Another wonderful comic book, published originally in 12 issues and collected together as a graphic novel in 2005. Like David Mazzucchelli (the man behind “Asterios Polyp”) Burns is both the…
Update
Regular postings are resumed. I’ve just gotten back from spending the better part of the month gallivanting about the Western United States on and in various modes of overland transportation,…
Nabokov’s ‘Lolita’ and the Inspiration of Aspiration
Full disclosure: A) Lolita is one of my favorite books of all time B) This is a re-read -I have know read Lolita 2.6 times (I started and for some…
On Reading and Taking Breaks
I’m currently reading David Foster Wallace’s comically weighty novel “Infinite Jest’. Since the only thing more sanctimonious than a 25-year-old white guy reading Infinite Jest is a 25-year-old white guy…
Dave Eggers’s “A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius” and another incarnation of my cynical misanthropy
I didn’t like this book. I found it irritating, twee, and everything wrong with the post-Wallace obsession over authenticity. I became irritated multiple times while reading it. This does not…
“Naked Lunch”: In Defense of the Irredeemably Obscene and the Blatantly Pornographic
My friend told me that he read this book when he was 20, on the recommendation of a buddy who described it as his favorite book of all time. “I…