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/lit/ - Literature

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7173232 No.7173232 [Reply] [Original]

Y U NO BUY BEN BROOKS NEW NOVEL!?!?!?

Who here has read "Lolito" by Ben Brooks?

What did you think?

How representative do you think he is of you and / or your generation?

Recent interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uieMCZogTgU

>> No.7173242

I have it's great!

-Johanna, Brooklyn

>> No.7173244

bedtime, ben

>> No.7173266

>ironic vaporwave triphop sadboys nostalgia 90s kid floral pattern

I hate this shit more than maybe any other single aspect of contemporary western society

>> No.7173269

>>7173266

I actually Iike some of the 90s vaporwave sad boy yung spooky whatever but this is clearly gimmickry

>> No.7173270

I haven't read his book, but I think it's probably bad. The reason I say this is that he looks like a stupid and superficial person, to me. I think his book is probably called Lolito because he thinks it's cool to add a different vowel to a famous novel. I think he thinks he's being subversive. I'm looking at his picture and I can tell his book is not good.

>> No.7173274
File: 72 KB, 609x540, benbrooksexceprt.png [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
7173274

>>7173270
Here's an excerpt which proves you wrong.

>> No.7173277
File: 51 KB, 540x540, Floral-Hat-Men.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
7173277

If DFW hadn't killed himself, he certainly would when he saw this much irony become a part of the youth culture at large

People are seriously going around dressed like a Tim and Eric set thinking they're clever

>> No.7173279

>>7173274

why did you save this image

>> No.7173287

>>7173279
Because it speaks to me as a child of the 90s. You wouldn't understand.

>> No.7173297

>>7173287

Does that mean you were a child when the 90s began or when they ended

>> No.7173308
File: 297 KB, 640x640, george prince.png [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
7173308

>>7173274
I was like okay this is alright, its decent, then I reached the you know which line

>> No.7173310

>>7173297
Stop talking to me, thanks.

>> No.7173314

I was a child in the 90s.

>> No.7173319

Loved it. I found it very funny at first but then the emotion really comes through. I feel like getting "high" and reading it all over again. One of my favorite recent books by one of the most talented contemporary writers.

>> No.7173327

>>7173310

No.

what are your favorite movies

>> No.7173345

Daily reminder that Ben Brooks has never had to get a job.

Daily reminder that Ben Brooks has lived on his royalties alone for the past four years.

Daily reminder that Ben Brooks has lived in London, Berlin and Barcelona before the age of 23.

Daily reminder that Ben Brooks has easy access to PTAP whenever he wants it.

Daily reminder that Ben Brooks has won numerous awards for his writing.

Daily reminder that Ben Brooks has received praise from Tim Key and Nick Cave for his work.

Daily reminder that Ben Brooks is friends with some of the leading lights of contemporary writing, including Mira Gonzalez, Tao Lin and Luna Miguel.

Daily reminder that Ben Brooks is a survivor of drug addiction and extreme depression.

Daily reminder that Ben Brooks is the man YOU want to be.

>> No.7173352

>>7173345
Who?

>> No.7173353

>>7173345

>extreme depression

it's an odd world when a published author has to fight so hard to convince other people he's worth reading

>> No.7173361
File: 22 KB, 437x447, benrbooks3.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
7173361

>>7173352
Ben Brooks (b.1992) is one of England's most famous contemporary novelists. His writing deals with themes such as the internet, loneliness, depression, existentialism, nihilism, love, lust, drugs, apathy and detachment.

>> No.7173365

>>7173353
Shaming survivors of depression isn't polite or kind. it's rather abhorrent, actually.

>> No.7173368
File: 8 KB, 472x325, impressed.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
7173368

>>7173345
>Daily reminder that Ben Brooks has never had to get a job.
implying NEET life is good; implying wearing a uniform and being told what to do isn't the best feeling in the world

>Daily reminder that Ben Brooks has lived on his royalties alone for the past four years.
ibid; implying I care about money beyond supporting myself

>Daily reminder that Ben Brooks has lived in London, Berlin and Barcelona before the age of 23.
so he's a coal burner, whats your point?

>Daily reminder that Ben Brooks has easy access to PTAP whenever he wants it.
i dont know what that is

>Daily reminder that Ben Brooks has won numerous awards for his writing.
So have I

>Daily reminder that Ben Brooks has received praise from Tim Key and Nick Cave for his work.
Former NZ PM and that edgy guy sometimes psoted here, big whoop

>Daily reminder that Ben Brooks is friends with some of the leading lights of contemporary writing, including Mira Gonzalez, Tao Lin and Luna Miguel.
tbh slightly jealous of this

>Daily reminder that Ben Brooks is a survivor of drug addiction and extreme depression.
So am I

>Daily reminder that Ben Brooks is the man YOU want to be.
nah

>> No.7173375

>>7173274

I find this kind of writing sort of "bleh". It's the same "subversive disaffection" that made Tao Lin a thing and which I guess has created a movement among young writers. It's sort of a one note style because this sort of self conscious style only works with a young first person perspective and the only story it can tell is either moving into or out of the disaffection its clearly writing about. And judging from the excerpt I'd say it's a fair guess that the author is a fair stand in for the character in the book. Like Bukowski but boring. Sort of like a shitty post modern existentialism. It's the sort of internal monologue that no one "really" has after a certain age (25 maybe?) because the put on of being disaffected for cool points wears a bit thin. I feel sort of sorry for the guy for letting other people read this - it's a child wanting you to put their fingerpainting masterpiece on the fridge except this guy is allowed to drive a car and shave.

>> No.7173378

>>7173345
>Daily reminder that Ben Brooks is the man YOU want to be.
I hope if I'm ever relevant it's once I'm old and after I stop acting like an imbecile

>> No.7173379

>>7173365

People claim to have 'survived' an 'extreme depression' are people who don't know what those words signify and should shut the fuck up with their kitsch appropriation of authentic trauma

>> No.7173380

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R761RdUuVgE

6;00 onwards: "People hate me on the internet"

Why are you so mean /lit/?

Are you seriously this jealous?

>> No.7173383
File: 12 KB, 203x200, tipsfedora.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
7173383

>>7173379
>authentic trauma

>> No.7173385

>>7173379
What, pray tell, the fuck would you know? Shithead narcissist.

>> No.7173389

>>7173383

>claims to find making light of depression abhorrent
>posts a fedora image at the first mention of actual trauma

>> No.7173390

>>7173385

I, too, am a SURVIVOR of EXTREME DEPRESSION

!

that's a qualifier around here, right?

>> No.7173391

>>7173274
Makes Tao look like a genius tbh

>> No.7173395

>>7173380
Why does she speak to him like he's retarded? He's written five books I'm fairly sure he can carry on a simple conversation

>> No.7173409

>>7173395
English is not her first language

>> No.7173411

>>7173380
how repulsive, i wonder what kind of person would actually buy his books

>> No.7173413

>>7173411
You do realize that your bitterness is likely to be the reason you never produce anything worthwhile, right?

>> No.7173418

What sort of drug is he doing now?

>> No.7173420

>>7173413
yeah because that's always been true in the past

if i personally could only let go of my bitterness and become tolerant and self actualized i might suddenly produce brilliant and worthwhile texts that i can't even imagine from my current state, but i can't make the leap because i'm so filled with hate

this is what you actually think

>> No.7173421

I was going to say he sounds like an adolescent moron, but he is a year younger than me and he has been published several times. So he's probably still a moron but it's unfair to hold it against him.

I read the preview of Lolito on Amazon. It's really not that bad but it's also not very good. I wouldn't have said it was publishable quality but I could probably read it all if I were bored without too much complaint. Feels like he needs a good mentor, a more active editor and to age about 5 years and then he might do something good. It's the kind of shit I'd expect to read in the first year of a creative writing class.

At the moment the metaphors are laid on way too thick and it's stuck in 'aren't I clever mode' because he hasn't learnt that telling good stories or writing clever novels is not the same as 'good' writing.

>> No.7173424

>>7173420
Resentment is a sign of a slave mentality

>> No.7173426

>>7173424
lol u got me i've been trolled

>> No.7173443

>>7173319
Go to bed Ben Brooks

>> No.7173445

>>7173232

I don't know him. I don't know what his books are about. He seems insignificant. For as long as there are still classics unread, I am not touching anything contemporary. The title is a gaudy pastiche. That's a put-off.

>>7173274

My decision seems validated.

>>7173277

Is that what it is? Just irony? That's sounds unbearably vacuous.

>> No.7173455

>>7173445
LOL you type like an old man

>> No.7173463

>>7173455

That's a compliment. Thank you.

>> No.7173645

>>7173445

>as long as there are classics i don't touch anything contemporary

well yeah Ben Brooks is a bad writer but you sound like a dumbass

>> No.7173680

>>7173645
Tbh its valid reasoning, why waste time on shit that wont be good 95/100 whwn you can read books tested by time?

>> No.7173693

>>7173297
ur a 90s kid if ur born in the 90s it doesnt matter if ur born at the start middle or end imo

>> No.7173698

>>7173693

>December '99 bitches! Who likes vaporwave and spongebob??

>> No.7173700

>>7173680

because my opinion isn't influenced by whether or not something has 'stood the test of time' in the eyes of other people. have some fucking taste.

>> No.7173705

>>7173700
good luck reading EVERYTHING then retard

>> No.7173708

>>7173700

good post

>> No.7173718

>>7173700
I'm sorry but the opinions of thousands of fucking people, people who studied literature all their lives, people who wrote other classics and people who literally made history DO generally tend to get things right or at least indicate quality.

The musings of a smug post-modern retard and your own narrow aesthetics, aren't going to be seeking out the same kind of quality. By all means, read whatever, just don't be surprised if your suddenly missing out on a lot of depth that other recognized novels might have.

>> No.7173728

>>7173700
Ok chief keep reading your edgy pomo written by young adults if thats what you enjoy

>> No.7173731

>>7173718

>literally arguing for the primacy of tradition

hilarious

>> No.7173744

>>7173728

>everything written in the past 100 years is edgy word salad

>> No.7173751

>>7173232
Fuck you, shill.

>> No.7173758

>>7173274
> "Me and Alice go to her house."

When did we swap "Alice and I" for "Me and Alice" in actual writing? Is it supposed to be because the writing is through the perspective of somebody who is bad at English or is the author himself actually not aware that this is incorrect?

>> No.7173764

>>7173731
>not realizing how arrogant you are

>> No.7173770

>>7173764

>thinks I care about my degree of personal arrogance when someone is actually trying to demonstrate the glory of tradition and history

it's like you guys don't read what you're not told to

>> No.7173774

>>7173770
I don't read in general

>> No.7173780

>>7173770
I've always broken rules, I hate listening to people, I've been fucking trouble since I was born.

I just don't claim to know more than most people, and when an actual expert expresses an opinion, I listen to it, and take it into consideration because I realize how little time we have on this planet and how small all our own scraps of information is. I'm hungry for insights, and the graveyard of a million dead is a fertile ground for wisdom. Piss on it if you want, but see what you can get from it first.

>> No.7173786

>>7173774

shocking

>> No.7173789

>>7173758
That's the point, dummy.

Ben's writing
Your head

>> No.7173793

>>7173780

first off you should work on your tone so you don't sound like you're wearing parachute pants and eyeliner

secondly, 'actual expertise' is a construct that doesn't necessarily have its analogue in any real thinker

>> No.7173804

>>7173789
I've never read any of his work before, only that short extract about canine bukkake. Wasn't all that impressed...

>> No.7173825

>>7173780
>I've always broken rules, I hate listening to people, I've been fucking trouble since I was born.

*tips fedora*

>> No.7173836

>>7173700

I know right. Whenever I read philosophy, I tend to pick the really obscure ones that have never been recognized by anyone because I have so much taste. Same with science, I tend to only value and study scientists who aren't widely regarded as influential.

Hipster scum

>> No.7173891

>>7173793

You're right "actual expert" doesn't guarantee expertise, but it certainly insinuates it.

Reading and listening only to what you like, and never taking time to challenge it against the ideas of others, isn't going to mature you, it's just going to create an echo-chamber.

You seem desperate to question everything, why not your own opinions?

>> No.7173949

>>7173361
>internet, loneliness, depression, existentialism, nihilism, love, lust, drugs, apathy and detachment
most of which i am trying so hard to get away from

>> No.7173952
File: 17 KB, 288x384, asskicker.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
7173952

>>7173274
this is actually pretty good....??

>>7173365
>survivors
>of depression
wow this legitimately infuriates me
not only does it devalue the word for actual survivors of abuse, rape etc. it makes it out like depression is some special thing that only like a handful of people get and not baby's first mental illness which literally 90% of the population self-prescribes as

>> No.7173958

Why all young bucks write edgy zeitgeist bullshit? Why they try so hard to be 'voice of generation'?

>> No.7173980

>>7173274
Absolute trash.

>> No.7173981

>>7173958
idol culture

>> No.7173996

>>7173274
How is this not a straight up Tao rip off?
>I'm so disaffected
>I know lets do awful thing
>but nah, disaffected

>> No.7174000

>>7173345
Stop posting Ben, you're sadder than Tao.

>> No.7174007
File: 4 KB, 216x233, 1427442746001.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
7174007

irony is dead, this is post irony, there should be a reaction against it.
Some sort of.....new sincerity

>> No.7174010

>>7173958
Because they know that it's easier. The onlly interest they'll hold in a hundred years time is a quirky insight into their own menial millennial lives, rather than any kind of immortal or profound truth that good authors continually drain to a point of almost exhaustion.

>> No.7174040

>>7173353
Ikr, I was into that mental illness shit way before it became fashionable among middle class white people. Fuck them tbh.

>> No.7174102
File: 494 KB, 800x600, iRSmRCg_zpsc8247126.png [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
7174102

I really hope that even in the all-encompassing capitalist ideology it is possible and someone super-talented and sincere will come to save the day from these pathetic, proclaimed "voices of the generation" that I (and /lit/) can actually relate to and smash their teeny mommy-issues zeitgest prose.


I dont know if it is really possible.

Maybe from some eastern-european or more obscure country. I really hope for some Kafka-DFW mixture young talent.

>> No.7174109

>>7174102
We've got the internet and a huge population reading.

It's a matter of time anon. There's enough angry young men.

>> No.7174200

>shilling yourself on /lit/ again
pathetic

>> No.7174212

>>7173380
>Englishman saying 'asshole'
even your speech is derivative

>> No.7174240

>>7174010
>any kind of immortal or profound truth
spooked

>> No.7174320

>>7174240
Memed

>> No.7174396

>>7173758
I prefer the actual expression of contemporary individualist ideology in writing rather than holding up the insincere subservient manners of the Victorian era tbh.

Yours faithfully,

Anon.

>> No.7174422

>>7173274
Literature repeats itself first as Tao then as Brooks

>> No.7174427

>>7173380
she's a qt tbh

>> No.7174442

>>7173232

Nothing but another campaign socialist who would fade faster into obscurity if he didn't name his novel after an already similarly titled famous one.

>> No.7174444

>>7173345
Daily reminder that we could do bukkake on my dog and film it

>> No.7174464
File: 127 KB, 500x500, tmp_10892-i-CAN-DO-IT-i-WILL-DO-IT31764494.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
7174464

>>7174102

>> No.7175392
File: 70 KB, 520x592, 1424187931713.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
7175392

Regardless if it is actually bad or not, you faggots will always consider contemporary works to be trash because it isn't validated by the canon.

Admit it.

>> No.7175493

>>7175392
no amount of smug anime images will make up for disaffected le so randumb xD modern irony (pretended intelligence)

>> No.7175792

>>7173952
>survivors
>of rape

i didn't know having a penis in your vagina was life threatening

>> No.7176334

>>7173390
you're that same idiot from the other thread yesterday, on the link between writers and depression, bitching about the same thing weren't you? ANd you had some idea that the two easy steps to solving depression was exercising and eating healthy, right? Seriously dude, you could start a successful scam ad campaign with that shit and make tons of money off poor idiot folk.

>> No.7176345

Is Ben the male equivalent to Lena Dunham?

>> No.7176346

>>7173232
God, he's so fucking ugly.

>> No.7176389

>>7173375
judging by his pics in the thread he doesn't really shave

>> No.7176459

>>7176334

Absolutely not

that was not me

I hate that shit

I'm pretty sure I actually replied to that guy as well and told him to fuck off

>> No.7176464

Why engage this shill?

>> No.7177701

>>7176459
Okay good, good. Glad you aren't him/her.

>> No.7177739

Epic Bump For An Epic Thread At 8:38am Greenwich Mean Time

>> No.7177744

what is it with Bens shilling their shit at /lit/

>> No.7177749
File: 84 KB, 500x600, Jaden-Smith.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
7177749

>>7173232

That puppy face shit just surpassed Jaden Smith in grill punchability.