/lit/ - Literature

>>2355458
Good eye, that is indeed LETTERS.

I initially thought it would be a lark to make LETTERS the first Barth novel I read, to make it a bit of an experiment to see how the quality of writing stood up without the prior stories informing it. Prior to this I had attempted to read Chimera and abandoned it a few pages in because of a disinterest in the frank sexuality.

Eventually however I found the Anchor repress of his first two novels used for a buck, and picked those up on whim. I enjoyed it more than I expected and I feel now like I should actually read the first six novels before LETTERS. I'm still dreading Giles and Chimera but looking forward to The Sot-Weed Factor and Funhouse.

>Prior
Jerzy Kosiński, Being There (1971)
Cutesy novella about an imbecile being raised in a secret garden by a wealthy business tycoon, becoming his heir apparent, and leading and enlightening those around him. Feels dated and gimmicky with its focus on the TV as education. Not at all as good as the prior work I'd read by him, Steps. Kosiński is a surface writer and my impression is the value of his work relies on the memorability his surfaces create.

Stanley Elkin, Searches and Seizures (1973)
Collection of three longer stories by a relatively well-regarded but unpopular writer which move through themes of lust, success(ion), and death. Found myself rather impressed with them, and overall it reminded me of a Saul Bellow with more of a taste for delving into the interior than schlepping around the old Yiddish comedy routine (although there is a lot of comedy in it).

Don DeLillo, Point Omega (2010)
>Boo hoo, the novel is dead. Here's thirty pages of my interpretation of a contemporary film installation I saw at the museum. Oh yeah, I guess there's a murder/suicide mystery too.

>Present
Christina Stead, The Man Who Loved Children [1940]
Riveting so far, I'll let you know when I get the whole thing finished.

John Barth, The Floating Opera / The End of the Road [1956, 1958]
Funnier than I expected but not as funny as he's been given credit as being. We'll see how it winds up.