A Well crafted collection of short stories, bookended by a trilogy with the book's title. The stories are written in a humorous but also personal stylA Well crafted collection of short stories, bookended by a trilogy with the book's title. The stories are written in a humorous but also personal style, a kind of confession (ironic since some of the stories deal with the idea of faith, in particular Catholic faith), especially when in first person. The stories are short, but have enough in them that could easily be expanded they are so personable and, dare I say, alive. A good, solid collection....more
I was at a reading Phillip B. Williams gave while I was attending USF and I remember loving the rhythm of his poems. I have a predilection for poetry I was at a reading Phillip B. Williams gave while I was attending USF and I remember loving the rhythm of his poems. I have a predilection for poetry that is heavy on auditory rhythms and sounds. Williams threw these heavy poems at us, the lines rolling up and down hills with each word.
I enjoyed the collection, their form dense and complex, exploring themes of murder and love and secrets and memory. Of racism, hate crimes and loss. All of it reads like a broken collection of one's thoughts, skipping and going back and repeating and sometimes the form changes. A superb collection. ...more
A film entirely in blue. Personal yet isolated. I was able to acquire the compact disc, the audio from the film. The feeling in Blue is one of loss anA film entirely in blue. Personal yet isolated. I was able to acquire the compact disc, the audio from the film. The feeling in Blue is one of loss and hope. ...more
What a bold, beautiful and bluntly honest follow up to Howl. Many consider this a superior poem, I might have to agree with that, though with all thinWhat a bold, beautiful and bluntly honest follow up to Howl. Many consider this a superior poem, I might have to agree with that, though with all things poetry i need 10 more readings to feel like I finally get it, on more than just the surface level. I also feel like six days is far too slim of a timespan to digest this work. But I will keep it on my bookshelf by my bed so I can open it up at any time and reread it.
On its own merits, Kaddish and the poems that follow, to me, is a fine collection. They seem to hold together tighter than the Howl collection does, the ideas and tone very similar in all of these poems. No doubt everything i enjoy about Ginsberg's work is all still here; the humor, the unflinching honesty of sexuality, questions of reality and death and existence, America. But the canvas seems broader here, even when Ginsberg is writing about his mother. Since i own the 50th anniversary edition an essay is added to the end that details how Ginsberg wrote it, and I think the amount of emotional passion that Ginsberg poured into his words while writing it definitely shows. The best way to experience this poem is to read it aloud. ...more
There's a lot to this collection, which makes it varied, a good thing, but at the same time after a while I got the feeling like I was a school counciThere's a lot to this collection, which makes it varied, a good thing, but at the same time after a while I got the feeling like I was a school councilor, hearing about everyone's private life and their struggles. A lot of it is well written, in a very direct and honest way. The art of the solo performance is to expose one's soul to an audience, at least thats the way I look at it. I have never attended one before but from reading this book that is the understanding i've come to.
At times I got confused as to what was going on or what it was trying to say, and I think a majority of the reason why in those cases was because it didn't translate well without the visual performance. The words here can only do so much. Hearing someone speak it can do so much and add a great deal.
There's also crazy experiments with poetry and the like so if you're not into that you might have problems (i will not say whether I did or not, needless to say its not my favorite aspect).
I was assigned this book for my gay/lesbian lit class and haven't got around to reading it until now. I was intrigued by the fact that it was self pubI was assigned this book for my gay/lesbian lit class and haven't got around to reading it until now. I was intrigued by the fact that it was self published-in the late 60's (like an author hipster), and that allegedly the author used a ouiji board to speak to the two protagonists of the novel. BS? Perhaps, still interesting though.
Anyway, it's a good book. The narration took a little getting used to but not in the usual frustrating way, but rather, it has a very distinct tone and pace that I had to read a dozen pages in to find the right reading groove. I'm not sure if thats just me and I sound like a crazy person right now, or if that is a common thing and people will know what I'm talking about...
I also liked some of the dialogue, which of course matched the tone of the narration (as a majority of the novel is first person). The novel is, i guess, a serious romance, nothing sentimental or cheesy about it-which is refreshing, let me tell you. After having just read The Fault In Our Stars I can say I thoroughly enjoyed THIS book much more in that regard.
Also, a section of the book out of the blue switches to second person. The writing in that section is very "writerly", which for some I think might sound pretentious, but I give props to the author for trying this, even though I don't fully understand why. Second person is very, very rare, in fact I cant even think of a book off the top of my head that i've read that utilized it.
Overall, it's a good book. The characters and their struggle are presented in a beautiful, complex way without forcing their love down the readers throat. You root for them because they love each other, not because they throw sentiments at each other every other dialogue line. ...more
Fun book but sometimes irritating what with the frequent exclamation marks and pulp-styled dialogue that sounds like either a commercial or a porno. EFun book but sometimes irritating what with the frequent exclamation marks and pulp-styled dialogue that sounds like either a commercial or a porno. Everything in this is a sexual metaphor. This is a parody of the old pulp novels so a lot of this is to be expected, of course. If you like this sort of thing you will get a kick out of it, certainly. It's not my cup of tea but in terms of accomplishing what it set out to do, it does it perfectly. ...more
it's more of the same (hence the More in the title), which of course isn't a bad thing. Considering the novel's origins as a newspaper serial, the titit's more of the same (hence the More in the title), which of course isn't a bad thing. Considering the novel's origins as a newspaper serial, the title here should be, to be more specific, "Continuation of Tales Of The City", as it is the next batch of Newspaper serials that the previous novel came from.
I think i got a better hang of the format this time around. I don't know why i was brainfarting with the first one, the short blips were just too much for me on top of all the other reading i have to do, i suppose, and therefore all the plot-lines fell through my grasp.
in summary: book is funny and enjoyable and if you've read the first and enjoyed it, you MUST continue with this one. i dare you. ...more
**spoiler alert** By the end of the book it's hard to like Molly as a character. Sure, I respect her nothing held back attitude towards her sexuality,**spoiler alert** By the end of the book it's hard to like Molly as a character. Sure, I respect her nothing held back attitude towards her sexuality, but for a majority of the later half of the book she is so narrow in her views that she only focuses on the negative and the things that back up her views on men and sexuality in general. Yes, a man who grabs a woman's breast deserves to be punished, but why is every single man some mindless animal? Having this idea repeated over and over made Molly's character flat and in my opinion less like-able. If the world were filled with complete pigs then of course she's a lesbian! The moments when she made love with women were better evidence for her character and sexuality in this regard. Talking about being so close to somebody so soft and beautiful, to me that helped me understand her way of feeling and thinking far better and without so much repetition.
Also I was hoping for more about her LIFE instead of merely her sex life. Hearing her stubbornly say how she's going to stay single her whole life (at one point she says she's going to have orgies at the age of ninety-nine) is kinda sad given there's not enough to back this ideology up. Why does she refuse to be close to anyone? Is it the death of her father? I wanted more. I wanted to see her fight for her life more, instead of merely complaining and insulting heterosexuals. Yes, i am a heterosexual, so maybe there's some bias there, but I definitely think this book doesn't back up its argument for this character.
The strength of this book is the first half, with Molly growing up in the sticks. The relationship to her parents (who are not her biological parents) I wanted more of. Molly's interaction with this world I really enjoyed, an outsider rebel who doesn't deny who she is? Instantly likeable in my opinion. But this falters in the later half of the story once she reaches New York city, it becomes stale and flat and annoying. The ending of the book could have saved the entire story if it gave more to Molly's character and her life, but it just ends with nothing to give. i have no idea if Molly finally opened her eyes after making her film or not, maybe the book needs to be reread. Maybe i will reread it someday, see if maybe i merely missed the point. But that won't be for a while.
It's clever, funny, insightful, sometimes heartbreakingly sad. The style itself is not for me though. Dialogue heavy, for one, but also because the naIt's clever, funny, insightful, sometimes heartbreakingly sad. The style itself is not for me though. Dialogue heavy, for one, but also because the narration is brief and almost almost not there at all. Which makes sense when put in the writing's original format: which was in the newspaper, but as a novel i think it makes for a weird way of reading, things go by far too fast for me. I sometimes got confused what was happening where.
i liked some of the characters, but the writing never got deep enough to really understand them properly (for me). They are all struggling for identity and purpose, sometimes dealing with their judgmental parents, but I guess i was just hoping for MORE of all this. The book never sits anywhere, it just keeps moving along. ...more
I don't think I've ever read a real pulp novel before, so this was a first for me in that regard. And apparently, the author was a professor at my curI don't think I've ever read a real pulp novel before, so this was a first for me in that regard. And apparently, the author was a professor at my current university (a bit of trivia in every review, that's how I roll), which I guess is kinda cool.
But it's not that great of a novel, nor is it very "sensational", which I guess defines a book as "pulp". I wonder what an author edition would look like, since I get a slight feeling it's been cotton-mouthed to comply with 1950's standards. But really that doesn't hinder the book experience for me at all, for me it was the fact that the writing was very contrived and rigid, reminding me constantly what its' trying to say, either in dialogue or in narration. Imagine watching a film and the director constantly popping out telling you what you're supposed to get from every single frame, and that's basically what's happening here. I get it, now let me decide for myself what Beebo's face looks like when someone tells her not to do something and she gets upset.
Also, the characters here seem to be all like Beebo: hopefully and naively in love with whoever crosses their path, whatever shiny toy that gets their attention for five seconds. Needless to say I was a bit disappointed with the way the book turned out, and once again, it was a very forced ending. i guess one good example of the sensationalism in the novel would be just that, the author forcing this stuff on the story and characters, but in the end (literally) destroying the characters and the story.
This is the first work of Forster's that I've laid eyes on and It certainly wont be the last. I had to read two of the stories, the tragic "Arthur SnaThis is the first work of Forster's that I've laid eyes on and It certainly wont be the last. I had to read two of the stories, the tragic "Arthur Snatchfold" and the funny "the classical Annex" for my Gay/lesbian literature class, but I ended up reading the rest of the collection once the semester was over. The two previously mentioned are certainly an example of the best and my personal favorites, in the batch of favorites I would also include "The Obelisk", another humorous story well worth the read. I enjoy Forster's writing, his style is honest and clear and witty. What's amazing is how diversified this collection is, as many of the other reviews will say the same. Though I enjoyed some stories far more then others, I still think Forster is a great writer and i'm glad i read the whole thing.
the entire collection is also good in its diversity in style and ideas. Well recommended. ...more
This is the textbook for my gay/lesbian literature class. I found this book a very wonderful "history book" style story of the queer community. At timThis is the textbook for my gay/lesbian literature class. I found this book a very wonderful "history book" style story of the queer community. At times its more about the events and the order of history, but putting about 500 years in context really put in perspective for me the struggles of these people. It's certainly not perfect, like I said it's very history book-ish, therefore it doesn't cover everything. In fact it ends with the AIDS epidemic of the 80's. Certainly things have changed since then (he mentions this in the epilogue but doesn't really give much beyond that, for whatever reason).
Recommended if you want a basic history of queer history, but if you're already knowledgeable in the subject, I don't think there's much here for you that you might not already know. ...more
This book was one of the books I have had to read this semester in one of my literature classes. Thus far this is the first book that the class as a wThis book was one of the books I have had to read this semester in one of my literature classes. Thus far this is the first book that the class as a whole disliked. One commenter, I think perfectly sums up my feeling of the book: "The whole thing turns out to be one really bad sales pitch for catholicism", and that's essentially what it is. Waugh had rewritten the book later on to make the "bad things", such as Charles sleeping with Julia, even worse and empty. I've never felt so forced by an author since I read Black Water by Joyce Carol Oates. An author should never force their ideas down your throat when you're reading their words, instead the readers should be allowed to come to their own conclusions.
And sure, the writing can be beautiful at times, but really it's hollow. It feels detached from the core of the novel, like it's just to make it sound pretty and has a lot of frosting on the top of the pages.
As stated before he rewrote the book, maybe, someday, i'll reread the original version to see if the book is better off the way it was originally intended (for everyone's information, my teacher ordered the older version for all of us but someone screwed up somewhere and we all ended up with the newer one). I have a feeling that through the revision he lost his original intention, or at least that's what i'm hoping. ...more
The funny thing is, I know who John Waters is, yet i've never seen even an individual frame from any of his films.
I have a lot of quotes I want to chThe funny thing is, I know who John Waters is, yet i've never seen even an individual frame from any of his films.
I have a lot of quotes I want to chose from but this is my favorite: "But who on Earth would want to know what was going to happen to them? Isn't that the only reason we get out of bed every day--to find out? Imagine the burden of knowing the exact date you were going to die? Talk about pressure to have fun NOW!" (282).
I was instructed to read this book for one of my classes, and even though the assigned reading was only a certain portion of the book, I ended up reading the whole book in its entirety.
I'm glad I did, actually, because it was an entertaining foray into Water's mind. Even though I'm not obsessed with filth as he is, I have tremendous respect for the guy. Anyone who rebels against the status quo in an original and uniquely individualistic way I will always have deep respect for.
The essays in here are very interesting in terms of formation and structure. Waters seems to have an idea inside of an idea, and often times it only appears to be random but is actually a purposeful route of ideas that comes to a nice little conclusion usually close to the end.
I recommend this book to anyone who likes Waters work or wants to read some funny non-fiction. ...more
1. I wanted to read this a lot slower, and succeeded, for the first thirty or so pages.
2. The rest I gobbled up, eagerly, and was left both satisfied1. I wanted to read this a lot slower, and succeeded, for the first thirty or so pages.
2. The rest I gobbled up, eagerly, and was left both satisfied, yet desiring more.
3. From the start I loved the format, the tone (at times personal and other times humorous), I loved pausing between each point or putting the book down between pages.
4. Then to have the next point continue with or building upon the previous number’s idea.
5. I love the exploration, the fascination of color.
6. I picked this up during a reading Maggie Nelson gave at USFCA while I was there.
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