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/lit/ - Literature

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File: 279 KB, 523x772, recognitions.png [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
16982816 No.16982816 [Reply] [Original]

ok, this shit slaps

>> No.16982823

fuck isit about?

>> No.16982826

>>16982816
been wanting to read this forever. wish i had the time. how does it read anon? is it enjoyable or more of a mental exercise?

>> No.16982827

What about it slaps, anon? Care to share? You have read the novel that you claim slaps, correct?

>> No.16982831

>>16982816
By far the shittiest cover for it though

>> No.16982845

>>16982816
Ok, this shit.

>> No.16982854

>>16982823
>>16982826
>>16982827
i'm around 200 pages in and it's really amazing. the first chapter really hooks you, one of the characters literally sacrifices a monkey in it, shit's so fucking crazy, I was hooked from that point on.

the characters are really great too like Wyatt and Otto. Wyatt is such an autist that it's kind of funny but you kind of see where he's coming from, and Otto is so hilarious that he makes me laugh in every scene that he's shown up desu. Recktall Brown is definitely top 10 anime villain material

>> No.16982856

>>16982831
THE REC-
OGNI-
TIONS

>> No.16983029

>>16982831
Better than the shitty Dalkey cover. At least NYRB were considerate of Gaddis.

>> No.16983039

>>16982854
The first two hundred pages are hilarious if you know how Protestants view Catholics and vice-versa but my oh my did I stop caring once the kid grew up.

>> No.16983141

>>16982816
I'm 650 pages into this book now, and I have to say that JR is far superior. The first chapter of The Recognitions stands as a masterpiece in and of itself, but it kind of falls apart as it wears on. It's not nearly as funny as JR and not quite as interesting to read.

Granted I haven't finished the novel yet, but could someone who likes this one the best out of Gaddis's works please explain why?

>> No.16983357

>>16983141
They are LARPing and have read none of his books.

>> No.16984109

>>16983141
Probably because of the art and authenticity themes, religion and how Gaddis deals with that. The book is still extremely funny, J R is a bit more but TR is not a slog imo. I also think many people here see themselves in Wyatt. I prefer J R too but it's not hard to see why someone would prefer TR.

>> No.16984121

>>16982816
>ok, this shit slaps
>>16982854
>it's really amazing
As if any more proof was needed that consuming literature doesn't make you smarter

>> No.16984145

>>16984121
He did say why he liked it though. He could have boiled it down to I like characters, story and humour but at least he provided some examples.

>> No.16984154

>>16984145
>it's kind of funny
Pull my finger is kind of funny too

>> No.16984158

>>16984154
Not really

>> No.16984299

>>16983141
I just think the characters are a lot more memorable in the recognitions. Bast and Gibbs didn’t stand out to me as much as Wyatt Otto or Stanley. Even if it’s less funny as J R it makes up for it in other areas imo

>> No.16984308

>>16984121
everybody’s a critic

>> No.16984940

>>16982816
it is very intricate, and yes, funny also

>> No.16985692

>>16983141
Which should be read first?

>> No.16987363

>>16985692
I think it's easier to get a good appreciation of JR if The Recognitions is read first, as Gaddis had to reinvent his style of writing in order to produce JR, despite JR being a better book.

>> No.16987417
File: 33 KB, 500x483, Pepe 7.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
16987417

I AM STILL NOT READING THIS SHIT FUCKING BOOK, JOHN MY TIME ISN'T OVER YET
FUCK GADDISFAGS

>> No.16987426

>>16982816
based

>> No.16987922

>>16983141
I never finished JR because I got exhausted with the style and fed up with so many of the characters. There are like 4 marriages collapsing in the novel, and three of them are because the husband is some weak, ineffectual pushover and his wife is some psychotic, manipulative freak. It was definitely funny, and frequently dazzling, but I couldn't get through it. Quit around 400 pages in.

TR, on the other hand, kept my attention the whole way through, and I was infinitely more interested in the themes of religion, authenticity, and art than I was in JR's interest in money, business, and "The American Dream." Plus, Gaddis's prose is pretty great, chocked full of interesting allusions, dense syntax, and an expansive and precise vocabulary, and even accepting the fact that dialogue is probably where he shines best, the absence of much prose is JR is definitely a loss when compared to the Recognitions.

I'm gonna give JR another shot pretty soon because it's obviously a masterpiece, but The Recognitions I found much more engaging and interesting.

>> No.16988002

>>16987922
>husband is some weak, ineffectual pushover and his wife is some psychotic, manipulative freak
Just like real life