Literature
Happy Civic holiday fellow Canadians! It's not a statutory holiday but I'm celebrating it as one because I finally get a day off, which means, it's time to catch up on some reading. Thanks again Sheila from Book Journey for hosting this weekly meme.
Last week I finished Crime and Punishment by Dostoevsky but have been too intimidated to write a review for it yet. It's a huge multifaceted novel and it is difficult not to write something about it and come across as redundant.
Right now I am slowly making my way through Thomas Pynchon's V.
Yikes, this is proving to be one of the most challenging reads in recently memory. Not only is it disorienting stylistically, but it is also downright baffling at times. There are times when I seem to grasp what is going on but then the wacky narrative shifts to more abstruseness or Pynchon loses me with historical references, cryptic passages, the multitude of characters or jarring points of reference. Despite my endless frustrations, there is something strangely alluring about Pynchon's esoteric writing. He's obviously a very smart man with an expansive vocabulary and an encyclopedic mind but it can be very overwhelming at times. As his first novel, I fear that it might turn out to be an exercise in style; a young author attempting to push the boundaries of post-modernism. I find that the novel is more enjoyable if I stop wracking my brain over all of the incomprehensible details and just let the prose wash over me. Oddly enough, the more I read, the more it begins to makes sense. Sorta. I am still uncertain whether he can sustain a 600 page novel and I constantly waver between abandoning it or continuing on to the end. Hmmmm...
Has anyone else read this (or anything else by Pynchon for that matter) and can provide me with reassurance that it is worth the effort?
- Literary Movement Reading Challenge
Once again, I'm late to the party but I hope to make up for it within the next few months. This will be an intense year-long event hosted by Fanda over at Fanda Classiclit so a shout out to her for organizing it all. Participants will be required...
- Top Ten Tuesday: The Top Ten Most Difficult Books I Have Read...or How I Learned To Avoid Ulysses
Yikes, I can't believe it's Tuesday again! Where does the time go? Soon Christmas will be around the corner. I've been meaning to post some more reviews last week but work has kept me quite busy and any free time has been spent, well,...
- It's Monday! What Are You Reading?
Thanks again Sheila from Book Journey for hosting this weekly meme! This is a great way to share what you are reading at the moment with other book bloggers, help plan your reading week and perhaps even get recommendations. Right now, I am completely...
- It's Monday! What Are You Reading?
Props to Sheila from Book Journey for hosting this weekly meme! You all know the drill by now. For the last few days I have been slowly making my way through People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks: For those of you who follow my blog, this novel...
- Top Ten Most Intimidating Books
Thanks to The Broke and the Bookish for hosting this weekly event! Considering my obsession with lists, I could not pass up the opportunity to participate in this one which asks to list your top 10 most intimidating books. When it comes to literature,...
Literature
It's Monday! What are you Reading?
Happy Civic holiday fellow Canadians! It's not a statutory holiday but I'm celebrating it as one because I finally get a day off, which means, it's time to catch up on some reading. Thanks again Sheila from Book Journey for hosting this weekly meme.
Last week I finished Crime and Punishment by Dostoevsky but have been too intimidated to write a review for it yet. It's a huge multifaceted novel and it is difficult not to write something about it and come across as redundant.
Right now I am slowly making my way through Thomas Pynchon's V.
Yikes, this is proving to be one of the most challenging reads in recently memory. Not only is it disorienting stylistically, but it is also downright baffling at times. There are times when I seem to grasp what is going on but then the wacky narrative shifts to more abstruseness or Pynchon loses me with historical references, cryptic passages, the multitude of characters or jarring points of reference. Despite my endless frustrations, there is something strangely alluring about Pynchon's esoteric writing. He's obviously a very smart man with an expansive vocabulary and an encyclopedic mind but it can be very overwhelming at times. As his first novel, I fear that it might turn out to be an exercise in style; a young author attempting to push the boundaries of post-modernism. I find that the novel is more enjoyable if I stop wracking my brain over all of the incomprehensible details and just let the prose wash over me. Oddly enough, the more I read, the more it begins to makes sense. Sorta. I am still uncertain whether he can sustain a 600 page novel and I constantly waver between abandoning it or continuing on to the end. Hmmmm...
Has anyone else read this (or anything else by Pynchon for that matter) and can provide me with reassurance that it is worth the effort?
- Literary Movement Reading Challenge
Once again, I'm late to the party but I hope to make up for it within the next few months. This will be an intense year-long event hosted by Fanda over at Fanda Classiclit so a shout out to her for organizing it all. Participants will be required...
- Top Ten Tuesday: The Top Ten Most Difficult Books I Have Read...or How I Learned To Avoid Ulysses
Yikes, I can't believe it's Tuesday again! Where does the time go? Soon Christmas will be around the corner. I've been meaning to post some more reviews last week but work has kept me quite busy and any free time has been spent, well,...
- It's Monday! What Are You Reading?
Thanks again Sheila from Book Journey for hosting this weekly meme! This is a great way to share what you are reading at the moment with other book bloggers, help plan your reading week and perhaps even get recommendations. Right now, I am completely...
- It's Monday! What Are You Reading?
Props to Sheila from Book Journey for hosting this weekly meme! You all know the drill by now. For the last few days I have been slowly making my way through People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks: For those of you who follow my blog, this novel...
- Top Ten Most Intimidating Books
Thanks to The Broke and the Bookish for hosting this weekly event! Considering my obsession with lists, I could not pass up the opportunity to participate in this one which asks to list your top 10 most intimidating books. When it comes to literature,...