little_legs
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'water for elephants' by sara gruen. it's very good so far. sad, horrifying and funny at the same time.
*What book are you reading? (part 2)
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Paulie Tandoori
shut it you egg!
the chinaman by friedrich glauser. he was born in vienna in 1896, was a morphine and opium addict as well as being a diagnosed shizophrenic who spent most of his adult life in psychiatric wards, prison and the foriegn legion. a very enjoyable existentialist crime thriller, with a well trippy dick.
Well, I finally finished Of Love and Hunger, by Julian Maclaren-Ross yesterday - you will be glad to hear Dirty Martini 
Hmmm...a mostly enjoyable read, and I did love that it was a story about nothing much at all really. I think he managed to capture that pre-war society feel extremely well - my maternal grandad was a 'commercial traveller' at about that time, and from what I've been told, it matched what I was reading in this novel. The daily grind, the switching from one sales job to another, the rooming houses, the poverty, the lifestyle in general.
I loved the use of archaic language - 'I'd, she'd' - that form of abbreviating that you just don't see or hear these days. Also, different spellings of twat (twatt in the book) and twerp (twirp in the book)
Fair ole sprinkling of casual racism however - I had to pull on reserves of understanding about cultural relativism to get me through those parts, given it was first published in 1947.
On the whole though - yeh, glad I read it
Hmmm...a mostly enjoyable read, and I did love that it was a story about nothing much at all really. I think he managed to capture that pre-war society feel extremely well - my maternal grandad was a 'commercial traveller' at about that time, and from what I've been told, it matched what I was reading in this novel. The daily grind, the switching from one sales job to another, the rooming houses, the poverty, the lifestyle in general.
I loved the use of archaic language - 'I'd, she'd' - that form of abbreviating that you just don't see or hear these days. Also, different spellings of twat (twatt in the book) and twerp (twirp in the book)
Fair ole sprinkling of casual racism however - I had to pull on reserves of understanding about cultural relativism to get me through those parts, given it was first published in 1947.
On the whole though - yeh, glad I read it
Mrs Magpie
On a bit of break...
I do that all the time
I don't think I'm alone.I do that all the time
I've not heard it for years though Mrs M
You will use that because you are older, you know? But you never hear younger people saying it. Or at least I don't.
'I'd' is probably not the best example. More context would be a sentence like, "She'd to go down the road'"
See what I mean?
Mrs Magpie
On a bit of break...
Ah, your example makes more sense...still, my Granny always wrote 'shew' for 'show' so these things do change from generation to generation.
Yeh sorry - I knew what I meant, but when I read it back after your post I realised it needed context
I love the language used in it - it's fascinating
Orang Utan
Psychick Worrier Ov Geyoor
i'm not sure.
i say i'd and she'd all the time and the youngsters do too - i'd like to give her one to use a crude example.
Fictionist
Serving Eargasms....
Seneca - Oedipus (15)
So poor when compared against Sophocles. What was he thinking?
So poor when compared against Sophocles. What was he thinking?
live_jayeola
/me is jayeola
None. I'm too busy unit testing! Bought "the girl who stirred the hornets nest" but not going to read it for a while.
Your example is different to mine OU - I will dig around when I have more time and find some more because context is everything in my explanation
Dirty Martini
gets what he cant want
Well, I finally finished Of Love and Hunger, by Julian Maclaren-Ross yesterday - you will be glad to hear Dirty Martini
Hmmm...a mostly enjoyable read, and I did love that it was a story about nothing much at all really. I think he managed to capture that pre-war society feel extremely well - my maternal grandad was a 'commercial traveller' at about that time, and from what I've been told, it matched what I was reading in this novel. The daily grind, the switching from one sales job to another, the rooming houses, the poverty, the lifestyle in general.
I loved the use of archaic language - 'I'd, she'd' - that form of abbreviating that you just don't see or hear these days. Also, different spellings of twat (twatt in the book) and twerp (twirp in the book)
Fair ole sprinkling of casual racism however - I had to pull on reserves of understanding about cultural relativism to get me through those parts, given it was first published in 1947.
On the whole though - yeh, glad I read it
Now that's a ringing endorsement
I'm not sure what you mean about the casual racism. Some hints of endemic prewar British antisemitism through what the characters say. Any other stuff escapes me (though I've read the book three times now). It's certainly not Maclaren-Ross's though.
I agree with you on the language. "I'd five pounds in my pocket" instead of today's "I had ...", "I've" instead of "I have" or even more commonly today, "I've got". That's a definite change in language observable over the last 50 years or so, at least in Southern England, where the book is set.
And yes, "twat" spelt "twatt". It's the way to go
I'm not sure what you mean about the casual racism. Some hints of endemic prewar British antisemitism through what the characters say. Any other stuff escapes me (though I've read the book three times now). It's certainly not Maclaren-Ross's though.
I agree with you on the language. "I'd five pounds in my pocket" instead of today's "I had ...", "I've" instead of "I have" or even more commonly today, "I've got". That's a definite change in language observable over the last 50 years or so, at least in Southern England, where the book is set.
And yes, "twat" spelt "twatt". It's the way to go
Yep, there's anti-semitism too, with the Calhoun character, but I did fold down the pages of some the racist terms, so here's a couple of examples:
(p139, describing Craven) "Sallow face, small black moustache. Cairo last war. With a tarboosh on he'd have done for a Wog himself"
(p162, describing Mr Black) "Mr Black. He damn near was, too. Touch of the tarbrush, putting it mildly"
That 'touch of the tarbrush' - my family used to say that for years about people
Dirty Martini
gets what he cant want
Yep, there's anti-semitism too, with the Calhoun character, but I did fold down the pages of some the racist terms, so here's a couple of examples:
(p139, describing Craven) "Sallow face, small black moustache. Cairo last war. With a tarboosh on he'd have done for a Wog himself"
(p162, describing Mr Black) "Mr Black. He damn near was, too. Touch of the tarbrush, putting it mildly"
That 'touch of the tarbrush' - my family used to say that for years about people
It's a vexed question. An accurate reflection of 'public conversation' about race 50 years ago, but doesn't have to reflect JMR's thinking. In fact, having read pretty much everything he wrote, plus the biography and the letters, he was sound on most issues.
This language brings me up short, too -- but it's part of Fanshawe's character. JMR is at pains to make his hero considerably less than a perfect man.
southside
Banned
They are giving away a free book today at Liverpool Street Station called The Colour of Law, so I took one I read the first line and dread set in I thought Oh no not another story about multi million dollar pomp.
As I read further my interest has been aroused by the words He was also a mojor league screwup.
I'm going to give this book a go, the auther has been heralded as the next Grisham by The Times and is written by Mark Gimenez. First impressions look good for this book so I think it will become my commuting companion for the next few weeks.
As I read further my interest has been aroused by the words He was also a mojor league screwup.
I'm going to give this book a go, the auther has been heralded as the next Grisham by The Times and is written by Mark Gimenez. First impressions look good for this book so I think it will become my commuting companion for the next few weeks.
Mrs Magpie
On a bit of break...
Sallow was also a 'polite company' racist euphemism for Jewish. I've not heard it used in that sense since the 1970s though.
krtek a houby
Merry Xmas!
Chester Himes "If He Hollers Let Him Go". Written in 1945, it gets to the heart of racial discrimination in the USA. The way black workers are treated by their white workmates and bosses... sadly, it reminds me that things don't change much, at least, not in 21st century Ireland.
Interesting
My mother used to use 'sallow' to describe a cousin of mine, whose father was one of the people she also said had 'a touch of the tarbrush'
'sallow' used in her case as a racist description
Dirty Martini
gets what he cant want
Yeh, I know mate - I am an ex lit student, don't forget
Oh, yeh, I know that
My post plodded a little.
Not at all o'boy
Useful to have it up there, in case anyone else is thinking of reading that book, eh?
Dirty Martini
gets what he cant want
Not at all o'boy
Useful to have it up there, in case anyone else is thinking of reading that book, eh?
Glad to hear it, chum
ericjarvis
give a feck for the feckless
CJ Cherryh - Cyteen
A very weird book.
A very weird book.
Voley
🐀
Frankie Boyle's book is very funny as you'd imagine and despite doing his best to convince you otherwise he actually comes across as quite likeable. As you wouldn't imagine, particularly.
Just started 'No Country For Old Men', Cormac McCarthy, which is absolutely ace already but I wish I hadn't seen the film first.
Just started 'No Country For Old Men', Cormac McCarthy, which is absolutely ace already but I wish I hadn't seen the film first.
How Proust can change your life, by Alain De Botton.
stethoscope
Well-Known Member
About half way through. Enjoying a lot - not only as a personal portrait of growing up and living on estates, but also because of the class/political examination that runs throughout the book too.
Fictionist
Serving Eargasms....
Rudyard Kipling - Kim (again) (16)
jeff_leigh
What happened to Dubversion ?
Richard Laymon - The Travelling Vampire Show
DotCommunist
So many particulars. So many questions.
I'm read ing 'Gangs' and while the geeezah tone of the author is annoying it does have interesting background on various recent crimes.
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