So much to say, so little time
-Desktop computer again yeaaaaah! But still no laptop.
-Happy Birthday to my brother! We went to an excellent German restaurant to celebrate with tasty but very rich food. I had a desert that was fabulous but with a bizarre name. It sounded like "Germkanoodle". It was a steamed dumpling filled with plum jam, delicious.
-I read The Secret History the other week. What a brilliant book! Everyone's so weird, and as you're following these clever, talented students who come across like walking anachronisms through the eyes of the hapless protagonist, you just can't help but wonder what is up with these people.
The prose was elegantly written, without sounding heavy-handed or pretentious or like it was trying too hard. Just the sheer power of language was enough to stir a reaction in me, not in an acute way but this omnipresent sensation of unreal, dreamlike melancholy. Some parts make you feel, I don't know, lost and small and alone... but I did read part of it after taking cold medicine (which wigs me out terribly) and the protagonist himself seems very detached from reality (so am I, but in his case maybe it's all the alcohol and sleeping pills, hmm?)
The book itself arguably contains a lot of elements that you might think would put me off, like contemporary America, drinking, drug use, (almost-)teenagers, but the main character and the other five students in his Greek class are so... antiquated, the way they talk and dress and think. It's like they exist in an impossibly classy bubble. They're all intelligent and well-spoken and bonkers. Don't get me started on Alternate Character Interpretation or I'm actually going to spoil this novel.
And the book takes place in New England. For some reason, that seems to be okay in regards to a book being set in America. New England or New York.
Henry you're so fascinatingly weird, with your deadpan delivery and perpetually-calm expression and disturbingly clinical way of thinking. Camilla came across as having a very muted affect, too, I don't know if it was entirely intentional but I always imagined her as behaving in a very controlled fashion. Not rigid, just controlled. And Francis, oh! A hypochondriac who is scared of doctors, good man! I knew it was't just me.
Ahhh I can't say more without spoiling anything. I could make another entry for the purpose of spoilers but. You know, I feel antsy posting my Alternate Character Interpretations because I've been told off for thinking strangely in the past by uncooperative English teachers so there's this feeling of "oh no I'm going to be judged for being different so sorry I feel that [character] is behaving in this fashion because of [reason X] instead of [reason Y]"
You guys should check this one out. The chapters are long, but they're filled with many, many short scenes, so it's quite easy to say "Oh, just one more section. Just one more section," and suddenly it's an hour past your bed time.
-I received some intriguing feedback on some of my writing by someone In Real Life who wanted to see my work (I know. Weiiird). They saw that one short piece with Roger & co., and the still-being-finished piece with Greene & Carterman. They seemed to be quite taken with my writing, which was neat! But mostly:
They mentioned that the story with Roger felt as though it took place in a modern setting, albeit an extremely isolated one, whereas the one with Greene felt like it might be somewhere around the 1930s. Most curious! I'm not saying anything, because the time period on both are supposed to be a little implacable, but for those of you that've read them: what impression did you get, timewise?
They also said that, while Greene is certainly unsettling with his innocent, childlike glee and unintentional proclivity for wanton destruction, it's Carterman that ultimately comes across as the most frightening character. Hmmm. I wonder if there is something to that?
-Happy Birthday to my brother! We went to an excellent German restaurant to celebrate with tasty but very rich food. I had a desert that was fabulous but with a bizarre name. It sounded like "Germkanoodle". It was a steamed dumpling filled with plum jam, delicious.
-I read The Secret History the other week. What a brilliant book! Everyone's so weird, and as you're following these clever, talented students who come across like walking anachronisms through the eyes of the hapless protagonist, you just can't help but wonder what is up with these people.
The prose was elegantly written, without sounding heavy-handed or pretentious or like it was trying too hard. Just the sheer power of language was enough to stir a reaction in me, not in an acute way but this omnipresent sensation of unreal, dreamlike melancholy. Some parts make you feel, I don't know, lost and small and alone... but I did read part of it after taking cold medicine (which wigs me out terribly) and the protagonist himself seems very detached from reality (so am I, but in his case maybe it's all the alcohol and sleeping pills, hmm?)
The book itself arguably contains a lot of elements that you might think would put me off, like contemporary America, drinking, drug use, (almost-)teenagers, but the main character and the other five students in his Greek class are so... antiquated, the way they talk and dress and think. It's like they exist in an impossibly classy bubble. They're all intelligent and well-spoken and bonkers. Don't get me started on Alternate Character Interpretation or I'm actually going to spoil this novel.
And the book takes place in New England. For some reason, that seems to be okay in regards to a book being set in America. New England or New York.
Henry you're so fascinatingly weird, with your deadpan delivery and perpetually-calm expression and disturbingly clinical way of thinking. Camilla came across as having a very muted affect, too, I don't know if it was entirely intentional but I always imagined her as behaving in a very controlled fashion. Not rigid, just controlled. And Francis, oh! A hypochondriac who is scared of doctors, good man! I knew it was't just me.
Ahhh I can't say more without spoiling anything. I could make another entry for the purpose of spoilers but. You know, I feel antsy posting my Alternate Character Interpretations because I've been told off for thinking strangely in the past by uncooperative English teachers so there's this feeling of "oh no I'm going to be judged for being different so sorry I feel that [character] is behaving in this fashion because of [reason X] instead of [reason Y]"
You guys should check this one out. The chapters are long, but they're filled with many, many short scenes, so it's quite easy to say "Oh, just one more section. Just one more section," and suddenly it's an hour past your bed time.
-I received some intriguing feedback on some of my writing by someone In Real Life who wanted to see my work (I know. Weiiird). They saw that one short piece with Roger & co., and the still-being-finished piece with Greene & Carterman. They seemed to be quite taken with my writing, which was neat! But mostly:
They mentioned that the story with Roger felt as though it took place in a modern setting, albeit an extremely isolated one, whereas the one with Greene felt like it might be somewhere around the 1930s. Most curious! I'm not saying anything, because the time period on both are supposed to be a little implacable, but for those of you that've read them: what impression did you get, timewise?
They also said that, while Greene is certainly unsettling with his innocent, childlike glee and unintentional proclivity for wanton destruction, it's Carterman that ultimately comes across as the most frightening character. Hmmm. I wonder if there is something to that?