portermoresby
Trooper
Jupz said:
Jesus Christ, I read LOTR six or seven years ago. I never liked it, I just finished it because I wanted to be stronger than the book. I wanted to win
Right now, I'm reading the Dream Cycle stories by H.P. Lovecraft. You should read at least one story: CelephaÏs.
Also, I'm reading (and I will re-read it) Max Stirner's The Ego And Its Own. I really like this guy. He's the one who's closest to my ideas about the world and life.
Cornfed Hick
Ancient Mariner
portermoresby said:
Good book. Decent film, too, with Albert Finney in the lead. I think he was nominated for an Oscar for his performance.
portermoresby
Trooper
cornfedhick said:
It's a nice movie, I agree. You can't turn the book into a movie as it is, so John Houston did a pretty good job, and both Jacqueline Bisset and Albert Finney were great.
TheDarkGift
Prowler
I've just finished the last part of the "Millenium" trilogy and started reading "Shakespeare - the world as a stage" by Bill Bryson. Quite interesting so far. 
TheDarkGift
Prowler
Onhell said:
It is.
portermoresby
Trooper
TheDarkGift said:It is.
I'm gonna read that, then. Bios are very compelling to read. I suggest you read Anthony Kiedis' bio, Scar Tissue. Not much a RHCP fan but there's lots of insightful, crazy, funny and poignant stuff in the book.
TheDarkGift
Prowler
portermoresby said:
This is a good one, actually. A kind of "let's put to the test everything we think we know about him" book.
I'm not really interested in biographies; only in Shakespeare. But thanks for the recommendation, I might read it someday.
Back on the topic of Ken Follett, I just finished reading his recent book, Fall of Giants, the first part of a projected trilogy on the 20th century.
This particular book follows the intertwined fates of Welsh coal miners, English and Prussian aristocrats, Russian workers and an American diplomat against the backdrop of the First World War.
Follett does a magnificent job of portraying the outbreak and progress of the conflict, projecting them against a major cast of different characters who have different objectives and goals. Particular focus is put on the socialist and sufragette movement in England, and the Russian Revolution. Some effort is also put in the description of the brutality and futility of the war, although the descriptions of the Somme and Kaiser Battles can hardly substitute for a reading of Erich Maria Remarque's All Quiet on the Western Front. The conflict between British aristocracy and the working class is fleshed out to detail, as is the misery of the Russian people. The German side gets less space, but I think it is brought well to the point in the relationship between the liberal-minded Prussian aristocrat and his stuck-up, conservative father.
Sometimes, Follett does strain the margins of probability, making characters meet at the most unlikely places (and at some point, you simply start expecting them to encounter each other already). Occasionally, this works to the novel's benefit, especially when used to portray the tragedy of the war; sometimes it helps to tie up some loose ends; sometimes it does not contribute anything but implausibility to the story; and sometimes again, you can tell Follett just used certain characters to avoid introducing new ones (the cast of characters makes up six pages as it is). The historical name-dropping, using people such as George V, Kaiser Wilhelm, Lloyd George, Woodrow Wilson, Lenin or Winston Churchill is still barely credible. Overall, I think Follett has chosen to sacrifice likeliness for dramatic effect, and seeing how he delivers a good story, I am ready to suspend my disbelief.
Nevertheless, we do get just a bit better than a classy soap opera for the plot, and despite the time they are exposed in, some of the characters do remain surprisingly pale. Their stories are developed enough in the novel to avoid being called cliché, but I just can't say that of some of the basic characteristics and some of their relationships. Sometimes, a bit too much focus is put on romantic and erotic relationships, and some of the more pornographic descriptions seem rather awkward. I think you could have disposed of some of those scenes, and maybe even one or two of the main characters and used the space for better character development.
Stylistically, the book has not struck me in any way, neither good nor bad, but it has managed to captivate me, and I literally couldn't put it down. It is a great read for anybody who is interested in the subject matter, and I'm definitely looking forward to the sequel.
This particular book follows the intertwined fates of Welsh coal miners, English and Prussian aristocrats, Russian workers and an American diplomat against the backdrop of the First World War.
Follett does a magnificent job of portraying the outbreak and progress of the conflict, projecting them against a major cast of different characters who have different objectives and goals. Particular focus is put on the socialist and sufragette movement in England, and the Russian Revolution. Some effort is also put in the description of the brutality and futility of the war, although the descriptions of the Somme and Kaiser Battles can hardly substitute for a reading of Erich Maria Remarque's All Quiet on the Western Front. The conflict between British aristocracy and the working class is fleshed out to detail, as is the misery of the Russian people. The German side gets less space, but I think it is brought well to the point in the relationship between the liberal-minded Prussian aristocrat and his stuck-up, conservative father.
Sometimes, Follett does strain the margins of probability, making characters meet at the most unlikely places (and at some point, you simply start expecting them to encounter each other already). Occasionally, this works to the novel's benefit, especially when used to portray the tragedy of the war; sometimes it helps to tie up some loose ends; sometimes it does not contribute anything but implausibility to the story; and sometimes again, you can tell Follett just used certain characters to avoid introducing new ones (the cast of characters makes up six pages as it is). The historical name-dropping, using people such as George V, Kaiser Wilhelm, Lloyd George, Woodrow Wilson, Lenin or Winston Churchill is still barely credible. Overall, I think Follett has chosen to sacrifice likeliness for dramatic effect, and seeing how he delivers a good story, I am ready to suspend my disbelief.
Nevertheless, we do get just a bit better than a classy soap opera for the plot, and despite the time they are exposed in, some of the characters do remain surprisingly pale. Their stories are developed enough in the novel to avoid being called cliché, but I just can't say that of some of the basic characteristics and some of their relationships. Sometimes, a bit too much focus is put on romantic and erotic relationships, and some of the more pornographic descriptions seem rather awkward. I think you could have disposed of some of those scenes, and maybe even one or two of the main characters and used the space for better character development.
Stylistically, the book has not struck me in any way, neither good nor bad, but it has managed to captivate me, and I literally couldn't put it down. It is a great read for anybody who is interested in the subject matter, and I'm definitely looking forward to the sequel.
Onhell
Infinite Dreamer
Perun said:
Thanks for the review Per. After knocking out Pillars of the Earth and 200 pages away from World Without End, this trilogy is one I was looking forward to. I'm sure I won't mind the liberties he takes with history as much as you did, though I was curious to see how much research he placed into these works. His two medieval epics are incredibly well researched and he intertwines that history with the story incredibly well. So safe to say I'm picking these up once I'm done with my current que of books.
Don't get me wrong Onhell, I don't mind the historical liberties that much. My criticism was directed more at the characterisations and the probability of the whole plot.
But I can tell you, that guy went to great lengths in his research.
But I can tell you, that guy went to great lengths in his research.
Onhell
Infinite Dreamer
mckindog said:
Isn't The Power of One about that transition? I know it is not post-aparthied, but I think it deals with the changes.
Anywho, I just finished Follets World Without End, the sequel to his most popular book, Pillars of the Earth. WWE takes place 200 years later which at first really bothered me, since sequels are usually made to see what happened to the original characters, and well, 200 years later they are obviously dead. Thus we follow their legacy (the cathedral and the priory, and their descendants. It took me 300 pages to really start caring about the new characters, but Follet's attention to detail kept me interested until then. from page 300 on I could not put it down, because by then all the characters' dramas have been perfectly set up and we see their problems unfold like we did from page one of the first book.
On to the plot. We follow four main characters, Gwenda, a poor peasant, Merthin and his brother Ralph who become a builder and squire respectively and Caris, the most "progressive" female character who is skeptical of religion and refuses to think that the only things women can do is either be wives or nuns. While the building of the Cathedral is the central aspect of the first, The reconstruction of the town's bridge, the transition from priory to borough and the plague take center stage here. Just as well researched and detailed as the first, highly recommended. Just don't read it immediately after reading the first one hahaha.
valacirca
Trooper
Just started reading True Grit and I'm liking the way that it's got a lot of character. I don't know if I described that well, but what I mean is that I'm just three chapters in and the characters that have been introduced so far are very fleshed out. The witty writing and subtle humor is also appreciated amidst the otherwise dramatic western backdrop. I love how Mattie is smart and spunky and way mature for her age. Rooster Cogburn doesn't seem as badass as I thought though. After this, I'll watch the John Wayne film version, then the Coen Brothers adaptation.
Anyway... since I'm not much of a fan of reading in general, I decided to limit my reading material to books that are going to be adapted into movies and then some extra by my favorite authors (i.e. - Vonnegut & Murakami). I find it interesting comparing the literary and visual mediums: How they're used tell a story, paint a picture and portray their characters. After all, I've read a few books that have been adapted into films: High Fidelity, The Road and now True Grit.
On that note... does anyone here know of any upcoming films that are based on novels that might be interesting?
Onhell
Infinite Dreamer
valacirca said:
Don't know about upcoming films, but you can always mine the classics lol. I loved comparing Dracula to Nosferatu and the Copola version.
The Exorcist is a great read... odd, but for the moment I can't think of others... I've read plenty of books to movies. I'll sit and think and get back to you. OH I don't get tired of plugging this book Pillars of the Earth just got turned into an 8 hour mini series
give that a shot too.
valacirca
Trooper
Onhell said:
Those that I've found so far that seem interesting are:
The Rum Diary by Hunter S. Thompson ---> http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0376136/
On the Road by Jack Kerouac ---> http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0337692/
Cosmopolis by Don DeLillo ---> http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1480656/
Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy ---> http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0983189/
Cogan's Trade by George V. Higgins ---> http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1764234/
The Futurological Congress by Stanislaw Lem ---> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Futuro ... ress#Movie