Posted by Steven
on 30/4/2009, 16:20:11, in reply to "Franny and Zooey / Lost in the Funhouse"
76.187.98.74
I haven't read them either, but plan to. Right now I'm reading Underworld by Don DeLillo.
The only thing by Barth I've read is Giles Goat-Boy, which is a satire on academia. It is quite funny, but very long, and the joke wears off about halfway through. I think satires are best kept short.
I read Crying of Lot 49 just a couple of years ago, but I'll probably read it again after listening to the lectures since it's so short. (Which Glass Bead Game is not... so I probably won't re-read it as I'll be travelling at the time you'll be discussing it.)
Reading Pamela hasn't made me overenthused about Clarissa either, but I'll give it try sooner or later. (There are always bragging rights for having read the longest single volume novel in the English language.) I have a copy, but after my experience with A Suitable Boy, I'll probably wait until I get a new ebook reader so I can read Clarissa painlessly.
--Previous Message--
:
: I haven't read either of these.
:
: Although, I enjoyed Cather in the Rye well enough, I
: don't feel any interest in Franny and Zooey , and I
: didn't find any particular interest in the lecture.
:
: I haven't read any Barth, and I've wondered what to
: read. Barth is known as a postmodernist, and that to
: some degree suggests difficulty, and so the length of
: The Sot Weed Factor is more of an issue, and I don't
: normally read short stories, so I've not felt much
: interest in Lost in the Funhouse . I do feel somewhat
: more interested in Lost in the Funhouse after
: watching the lecture though. The talking sperm story
: sounded amusing, and the Menelaus story seemed
: interesting in style.
:
: I'll read The Crying of Lot 49 , but it will be a few
: weeks. I'm reading Emma right now, and I'll read
: The Glass Bead Game next.
:
: I got the Novelists and Novels book but haven't read
: more than the introduction yet. The selection looks
: pretty interesting. There are some books I've not seen
: discussed elsewhere. I notice The Glass Bead Game is
: there under the title Magister Ludi . It was quite
: depressing to read that Bloom considers Clarissa , an
: enormous book by the author of the awful Pamela ,
: second only to Don Quixote in aesthetic eminence.
: I'll try to take some comfort from having been told
: that Fielding detested Pamela but liked Clarissa .
: I'd like to get the Epic book too, but it's too
: expensive for now.
: