05 Jul 2011
by devajashewaywriting
in about reading, blog, novel
Tags: alessandro barricco, creative, fiction, nature, novel, ocean sea, philosophy, questions, sea, waves, writing
From Ocean Sea by Alessandro Barricco
“Where does the end of the sea begin? Or, indeed, what are we saying when we say sea? Do we mean the immense monster capable of devouring absolutely anything, or the wave foaming around our feet? The water you can hold in a cupped hand, or the abyss that none can see? Do we say everything with a single word, or with a single word do we conceal everything? I am here, a stone’s throw from the sea, and I cannot even understand where it is. The sea. The sea.”
The plot is a little bit odd. The writing is wonderful.
19 Apr 2011
by devajashewaywriting
in about reading, blog
Tags: author, china mieville, fantasy, fiction, reading, steampunk, weird
If you haven’t heard of China Mieville, he’s a current, very creative fantasy author. I’m not sure how his work is classified by others. I suppose they probably call it dystopic fantasy, or something along those lines. Certain books, such as Iron Council, which I am currently reading, also falls into the steampunk category – perhaps not for steampunk purists, but who would want to be one of those?
At this point I’m not even sure how I could summarize the plot of this book. I’m only about a third of the way through. Revolution/liberation/rebellion seems to be the major theme. I’m sure there are summaries that can be found in various online locations. If you are interested in reading more about it, a simple search will probably turn up quite a few things.
What I really like about Mieville is his incredibly unique vocabulary of images. He has quite the imagination and describes the characters and scenery rather vividly. Visually, his stories are not like any others I have read. In addition, his language is impressive. He creates concepts and words for his worlds, and does not explain them when they are introduced. The further you read, the clearer the picture becomes of these strange things.
Have you read any of his books? What do you think of them?
29 Nov 2010
by devajashewaywriting
in about reading, blog
Tags: being, book, chance, circumstance, destiny, fate, fortune, lightness, love, milan kundera, reading, unbearable
Although I enjoyed Pale Fire as a unique and well-structured book, I’m enjoying this one much more. It’s just easier to get into, in the sense of both the story and the philosophy. So far, this is my favorite quote:
“We all reject out of hand the idea that the love of our life may be something light or weightless: we presume our love is what must be, that without it our life would no longer be the same.”
This quote appears in a passage that talks about the chance circumstances that brought the two main characters together: The idea being that if the love of two people is what must be, then no matter what they do, they will end up together – but this is the way people want to believe it is, instead of the way it really is. Think about that…
13 Nov 2010
by devajashewaywriting
in about reading, about writing, blog
Tags: book, Charles Kinbote, commentary, creative, fiction, fictional nonfiction, innovative, john shade, Nabokov, opinion, pale fire, poem, reading, review, writing, zembla
I am in the middle of a very interesting book by Vladimir Nabokov. I am a little bit annoyed with myself because, for the past few days, I’ve been watching episodes of The Big Bang Theory online instead of using most of my time to read and write, which had been my intention before finding all the tv show links. However… what can you do?
At the moment, in lieu of actually reading, I am writing this post – but I’ve been putting that off for at least a day and a half. I think that means I’m ceasing to procrastinate in one regard in order to procrastinate on something else. As long as I’m procrastinating somehow, it’s okay. Can you imagine if I just had everything done? Of course, that isn’t possible, because new ideas for writing come to me frequently. Some will never turn into a piece that was written down, but I the point is that I always have something else to create. Which means I’ll never be finished. It’s lucky, though, in one sense – since I intend to write for my whole life, I never have to worry about retirement!
But I am digressing most flagrantly. This post is meant to put down some of my thoughts on Pale Fire. I will now move on to my original purpose…
If you’re unfamiliar with the work, it is a story written in this form: a poem by John Shade, with an introduction and commentary on particular lines by Charles Kinbote. Let me make this absolutely clear: The entire book, introduction through commentary, and I believe all the way through the index, is Nabokov’s novel. John Shade is a character, and Kinbote is a character. Kinbote is the protagonist. The annoying, ridiculous protagonist.
The commentary is amusing because of its somewhat unpredictable inconsistency. A few of the notes do seem to be attempts to elucidate the meaning of the poem, while others, apparently, are platforms for free association. In my reading, it seems that the notes that go on for pages about the King of Zembla is Kinbote’s own writing, which he has decided should be published and therefore sticks in the commentary anywhere he can.
The most interesting thing about it, I think, is the presence of at least three stories. One story is told by the poem, and gives us a sometimes hazy picture. It is Shade’s voice, and the only chance we have to see Shade from any POV other than Kinbote’s. Then there is the story Kinbote tells, centering on his friendship with Shade – which to me seems overstated, wishful. He writes as if he believes that Shade loves him, a man he only knew in the last year(s?) of his life, and his wife, Sybil, controls him like a captive lapdog.
The third story is about the history of Zembla, particularly the one king who ran away and was then hunted by a man who was supposed to kill him. It clearly has nothing to do with the poem, but Kinbote’s notes make it apparent that he thinks his stories about Zembla were the intended subject of the poem. The poem, in fact, was an autobiographical work from Shade -unlikely to connect to Zemblan kings in any way- and the biggest clue that Charles Kinbote is, to some degree, deluded.
I do recommend this book, but not to everyone. I don’t think it would appeal to general taste. If you decide to read it, I would suggest this: don’t read it as Kinbote suggests at the end of his introduction. Just read the poem, and then the commentary, referring to the poem only when you decide you want a refresher on what that particular line actually said.
Currently Reading: Pale Fire
13 Nov 2010 2 Comments
by devajashewaywriting in about reading, about writing, blog Tags: book, Charles Kinbote, commentary, creative, fiction, fictional nonfiction, innovative, john shade, Nabokov, opinion, pale fire, poem, reading, review, writing, zembla
I am in the middle of a very interesting book by Vladimir Nabokov. I am a little bit annoyed with myself because, for the past few days, I’ve been watching episodes of The Big Bang Theory online instead of using most of my time to read and write, which had been my intention before finding all the tv show links. However… what can you do?
At the moment, in lieu of actually reading, I am writing this post – but I’ve been putting that off for at least a day and a half. I think that means I’m ceasing to procrastinate in one regard in order to procrastinate on something else. As long as I’m procrastinating somehow, it’s okay. Can you imagine if I just had everything done? Of course, that isn’t possible, because new ideas for writing come to me frequently. Some will never turn into a piece that was written down, but I the point is that I always have something else to create. Which means I’ll never be finished. It’s lucky, though, in one sense – since I intend to write for my whole life, I never have to worry about retirement!
But I am digressing most flagrantly. This post is meant to put down some of my thoughts on Pale Fire. I will now move on to my original purpose…
If you’re unfamiliar with the work, it is a story written in this form: a poem by John Shade, with an introduction and commentary on particular lines by Charles Kinbote. Let me make this absolutely clear: The entire book, introduction through commentary, and I believe all the way through the index, is Nabokov’s novel. John Shade is a character, and Kinbote is a character. Kinbote is the protagonist. The annoying, ridiculous protagonist.
The commentary is amusing because of its somewhat unpredictable inconsistency. A few of the notes do seem to be attempts to elucidate the meaning of the poem, while others, apparently, are platforms for free association. In my reading, it seems that the notes that go on for pages about the King of Zembla is Kinbote’s own writing, which he has decided should be published and therefore sticks in the commentary anywhere he can.
The most interesting thing about it, I think, is the presence of at least three stories. One story is told by the poem, and gives us a sometimes hazy picture. It is Shade’s voice, and the only chance we have to see Shade from any POV other than Kinbote’s. Then there is the story Kinbote tells, centering on his friendship with Shade – which to me seems overstated, wishful. He writes as if he believes that Shade loves him, a man he only knew in the last year(s?) of his life, and his wife, Sybil, controls him like a captive lapdog.
The third story is about the history of Zembla, particularly the one king who ran away and was then hunted by a man who was supposed to kill him. It clearly has nothing to do with the poem, but Kinbote’s notes make it apparent that he thinks his stories about Zembla were the intended subject of the poem. The poem, in fact, was an autobiographical work from Shade -unlikely to connect to Zemblan kings in any way- and the biggest clue that Charles Kinbote is, to some degree, deluded.
I do recommend this book, but not to everyone. I don’t think it would appeal to general taste. If you decide to read it, I would suggest this: don’t read it as Kinbote suggests at the end of his introduction. Just read the poem, and then the commentary, referring to the poem only when you decide you want a refresher on what that particular line actually said.