Not very-well known books

[Anonymous No.17184733]

Talk about a book you like that you don't see posted a lot on /lit/.
What is it about? Why do you like it?

[Anonymous No.17184750]

Pic rel gets discussed only every so often here. Fariña was far more famous as a songwriter/musician, but the book is decent. About rebellious college kiddos.

[Anonymous No.17184754]

>>17184750
Forgot pic rel.

[Anonymous No.17185459]

>>17184754
I've been wanting to read it since the first I saw it mentioned here. He was good friends with Pynchon and died very mysteriously

[Anonymous No.17185551]

>>17184733
You'd think that since he was one of the biggest names in the history of cybernetics and a great philosopher in his own right he'd be mentioned here more often, but I guess he isn't really /lit/'s cup of tea. Other than Norbert Wiener in general, I do wish people talked about Murakami's short stories more often as they are pretty kino and they don't feature his common tropes as frequently if that part of his style irks you.

[Anonymous No.17187067]

>>17184733
Oof

[Blarty Hongo !WegkZP4tiw No.17187322]

>>17184733

[Anonymous No.17187803]

>>17184733
Star maker by Stapledon. It's about a trad husband in existential crisis who gets to see the universe in all its Glory. I like it because it's crazy and gets better the crazier it gets.

[Anonymous No.17187850]

Anything by this man, but The Sheltering Sky is his most famous and it’s still never really discussed here. I’ve tried to shill Paul Bowles a few times but it’s never really taken. To me he’s easily the best American writer of the second half of the twentieth century.
He’s considered somewhat “racist” by dipshits like Said if that helps pique anyone’s interest

[Anonymous No.17188227]

>>17185551
I admire him (Wiener) profoundly, and from my experience, people here, in all 4chan in general besides /sci/ and sometimes...sometimes /b/ dislike strong logical argumentation, the type of stuff used in modal logic, the analytic tradition and stuff like cybernetics; when I mention something like that I get kinda attacked by ad hominems.

I've read one short story by Murakami, and tried to read a novel by him, the latter i disliked a lot and didn't continue but the short story was quite subtle and struck me because sometimes he is accused of misogyny and in that piece menstruation and femininity play an important role; was in the New Yorker.

[Anonymous No.17188946]

>>17187850
Sir, that's just a photo of a sober Tom Waits.

[Anonymous No.17189075]

>>17187322
Tell me more about this book. It looks interesting.

[Anonymous No.17189079]

>>17188227
I think one should separate logic itself and logical positivism, as I am against logical positivism myself regardless of Wiener's thoughts on the matter. That being said, The Human Use of Human Beings and God & Golem, Inc. are two of the most interesting books I have read regarding the philosophy of technology. I am a bit of a mathlet (though I plan to change that soon), so his more complex works are beyond me at the moment. In the end though, whatever autistic rant anons on this board go on, realize half of them haven't read in years and are just shitposting for the hell of it. Don't take this board too seriously.

I myself am in the minority who also likes Murakami's longer works but I do understand why people dislike his longer works, he really can be a very repetitive writer sometimes. I think that unless someone is just really drawn to the aesthetic he cultivates like I am they should only read like three of his longer works and just stick to his short stories otherwise. I think The Elephant Vanishes is an outstanding short story collection and if you don't read anything else by Murakami you should definitely read that.

[Anonymous No.17189080]

I liked ''69'' by Murakami Ryu. I feel like his books are never discussed but he really is superior to Haruki Murakami.

[Anonymous No.17189114]

>>17189080
In the Miso Soup and Coin Locker Babies gets mentioned here every now and then. I dont know if I like one of them more than the other but I do like both of the Murakamis.

[Anonymous No.17189117]

>>17189114
In The Miso Soup is fine but short and really falls off in the last third.

[Anonymous No.17189128]

>>17189114
I feel like Haruki Murakami's more recent work has fallen off. Killing Commendatore had a lot of really cringy moments.

[Anonymous No.17189138]

>>17184733
A lot of books qualify here...

But I'm taking opportunity to mention The Barnett and Co. Agency, one of the titles from Lupin series, and quite an entertaining one. I feel kind of sorry that Bechoux is so ignored in discussions and homages to Lupin, even though he actually had more appearances than Ganimard. But I guess that's because he was not Lupin's rival, he considered the thief his friend and always danced a fine line between his duty and actually getting justice with help of Lupin's abilities. They had a really nice dynamic.

[Anonymous No.17189149]

Doll by Boleslaw Prus

[Anonymous No.17189248]

>>17189080
This is one of the best books ever written, made me so nostalgic and regretful for not having a worthwhile adolescence but made me smile so many times. The narrator is so likable

[Anonymous No.17189251]

>>17184754
baby baby baby
won't you get down on your knees

[Anonymous No.17189257]

>>17189080
I like Ryu but imo he's not even close to Haruki.

[Anonymous No.17189300]

Pushkin Hills by Dovlatov

Looks like in the US it's one of the lesser known books by Dovlatov. I'm surprised it was translated into English only in 2014. In Russia it's quite well known.

This novella starts as a humorous exploration of russian soul through the vodka glass, but slowly deteriorates into the gut-wrenching drama of what was the life of an intelligent man in the soviet union.

Second half of the novella is absolutely soul crashing. Highly recommend.

[Anonymous No.17189308]

>>17189117
It does get worse in the last third but the tension from the first two thirds of the book were amazing.
>>17189128
I haven't read much of anything recent from any author to my knowledge so I can't comment on his recent work.
>>17189257
I disagree, they are both very gokd at what they do, and I am one of the few people who is draen to Haruki's style to the point of enjoying his more repetitive, longer works, but Haruki is an acquired taste, Ryu's work is more obviously high quality if that makes sense. I like them both to a similar degree though.

[Anonymous No.17189330]

>>17189248
Same, spent my teenage years playing pokemon and videogames 10 hours a day. Felt like I missed out on something. This book made me really nostalgic.

[Anonymous No.17189366]

An actual thread about books and not philosophy pseudo? Holy shit

This is an excellent book to read in winter and absolutely fascinating as a travelogue. I doubt Greenland is like this anymore, but it’s a wonderful read

[Anonymous No.17189372]

>>17189330
Same, and now I'm 21 and still a friendless virgin

[Anonymous No.17189384]

>>17189257
He only ever surpasses Haruki in his novella 69, rest of his work isn't even close to being as good imo

[Anonymous No.17189444]

Been shilling The Opposing shore these last few weeks, thought I'd shill a lesser known work of Julien Gracq: The Castle of Argol.
Beautiful prose about a mysterious erotic love triangle taking place in a castle in Brittany, high use of symbolism. A very grim ambiance that always let place to aesthetic pleasure. The woods that only appear finite when they are replaced by the sea or when they give in to the sky, the tentation of drowning, sex, secrets, Hegel, murder, old castle. Not Gracq's masterpiece, but a very kino read nonetheless.

[Anonymous No.17189459]

>>17189149
All Polish lit really

[Anonymous No.17189517]

>>17184733
i unironically fucking love Battle Royale

[Anonymous No.17189521]

>>17189517
also I think Google knows me a little too well

[Anonymous No.17189524]

Storm Birds is the English title, I can't vouch for the English translation though. Very short book about Icelandic fishermen getting caught in a horrible storm. It manages to be incredibly visceral, almost like a near death religious experience, despite being so short and plainly written. People who like Conrad and boat stories in general should definitely check it out.

[Anonymous No.17189545]

Man's fate by Andre Malraux is a book I don't really see mentioned. I would recommend it to anyone who is feeling kind of down or has reached a crossroad.
If anyone has read it, can you recommend me any similar books?

[Anonymous No.17189592]

>>17189545
Oh very nice book! Probably one my favourite opening in literature. I read it a long time ago so I might not have the best recommendations but maybe try The Just Assassins, The plague or The Wall.

[Anonymous No.17189616]

>>17189592
The Wall by John Lanchester, right? the others are by Albert Camus? i'm wondering because they have generic titles suitable for YA novels.

[Anonymous No.17189634]

>>17189616
Oh sorry, I meant The Wall by Sartre, I was going full existentialist. Sartre is not a very good philosopher imo but he's a decent writer.

[Anonymous No.17190761]

>>17189524
that looks kino as fuck, thanks

[Blarty Hongo !WegkZP4tiw No.17191648]

>>17189075
It's a fiction inspired by the assassination of Sergei Kirov and the show trials following it. We follow the assassin -- who, in reality, lashed out on a purely personal impulse -- the officials whose job it is to uncover the assassination "plot" at any cost, and the array of academics, soldiers, bureaucrats and people from all other walks of life who are swept up in the out-of-control witch hunt to unmask the assassins. The author was a Bolshevik who effectively became an international refugee after joining the anti-Stalin opposition.

If you're interested in Stalinism, I think you should definitely read it. I've never understood why people love "Darkness at Noon" and not this book. It's a memorable exploration of the question of WHY -- why any reasonable or principled person would go along with the seemingly obvious insanity of the Soviet purges and show trials. It's also very readable and entertaining, unlike some of Serge's other work.

Serge's "Conquered City" is a prequel of sorts to "Comrade Tulayev." It's set during the civil war and features many of the same characters. Unlike "Comrade Tulayev," which is pretty densely plotted, "Conquered City" is basically a collection of sketches from around besieged Petrograd.

[Anonymous No.17192667]

This thread does not deserve to go so easily.

[Anonymous No.17192720]

I bought a book at anarchist book store with an all-white cover. It was some homeless drifter writing about his fucked up life. It was not Evasion, totally different and apolitical I think. This was about 10 years ago. Loaned it to a friend and forgot about it. Kind of romantic since I'll never find it again. There was a card with his email address in it, lost that too

[Anonymous No.17192771]

>>17184733
Everything PMS Hacker does (but especially pic related) seem tailor-made to /lit/. They make exactly the proto-Aristotelian, anti-bugman, Wittgenstein-influenced arguments that this board loves. Yet, I never see anyone post him. Why is that?

[Anonymous No.17193078]

>>17192771
>PMS Hacker
is it true, can we change human nature so women can still bear children at age 65?

[Anonymous No.17193145]

>>17192771
>proto-Aristotelian, anti-bugman, Wittgenstein-influenced arguments that this board loves

[Anonymous No.17193231]

Jernigan. Absolutely miserable boomer doomer black humor. Ugly book, makes your want to throw up

>>17189517
great book. my translation had plenty of spelling errors but didn't matter at all

[Anonymous No.17193450]

>>17189517
Same, one of my favourites

[Anonymous No.17193792]

>>17189114
Piercing is pretty good and Almost Transparent Blue still gets me.