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/lit/ - Literature

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7904231 No.7904231 [Reply] [Original]

just finished this and I think it's safe to say that it should be included in the meme trio. infinite jest should be dropped from the trio. infinite jest is far too simple.

>> No.7904234

>>7904231
I don't doubt that it's better than Infinite Jest, but I don't think it's meme trilogy worthy.

If there was to be a revised meme trilogy, I'd propose Finnegans Wake, The Recognitions, and Gravity's Rainbow.

>> No.7904238

>>7904231
It's already in a trilogy-- the "the" trilogy.

>> No.7904239
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7904239

>>7904238
Pic

>> No.7904241

Is Gass any good or are you all just retarded 19 year olds? Please be honest.
I read an introduction he wrote for another book I own and it was one of the most pretentious things I've ever read (and not in a good way)

>> No.7904244

>>7904239
Honestly, I don't think The Lime Twig is Hawkes' best. It's a trip if you've never read Hawkes before, but his "sex trilogy" (The Blood Oranges, Death Sleep & The Traveler, Travesty) is probably his best work and gives you a better idea of what he's all about when taken as a whole.

>> No.7904245

>>7904231
Without spoiling it can you describe why it's so complex?

>> No.7904246

>>7904241
Gass, along with the likes of Gaddis and McElroy, is for advanced readers. If you found something like Infinite Jest or 2666 difficult then it's not for you. Otherwise, check out The Tunnel.

>> No.7904253

>>7904241
Yes, he is.

>> No.7904255

>>7904241
>I read an introduction he wrote for another book I own

the recognitions?

>> No.7904259

>>7904241
I think he is, but I can understand why some people don't like him.

>> No.7904264

>>7904246
Would you recommend reading Omensetter's Luck and In the heart of the heart of the country first as an intro to Gass's style?

>> No.7904270

>>7904234
fuck I just got the recognitions. what makes it so hard? I don't care if it's hard as long as it's enjoyable. fuccckkkk

>> No.7904279

>>7904264
Other than the fact that they are a little more contained than The Tunnel, yes.

>> No.7904283

>>7904270
There are passages in various languages, lots of old-timey aphorisms like "the first turn of the screw pays all debts", and it expects you to recognize (pun unintended) a lot of esoteric bits of information about art, religion, and a variety of other things.

>> No.7904285

>>7904270
just read it, it's not going to bite you. if you're lost, use the annotations from williamgaddis.org. there are tons of references to stuff you wont recognize but don't worry.

>> No.7904293

>>7904279
k, I'll be sure to get into Gass once I've gotten over Gaddis.

>> No.7904323

>>7904246
This is what I meant about the retarded 19 year old comment.
When I say it was pretentious, I'm not saying I didn't understand it. I'm saying I understood it so well that I could see how flawed it was.
It wasn't "difficult", it was just bad.

>> No.7904325

>>7904255
Anatomy of Melancholy
When I say bad I mean embarrassingly bad.

>> No.7904388

>>7904325
Out of curiousity, what about it struck you as wrong or bad?

>> No.7904570

>>7904388
Like I said it's very pretentious. It's very clear while reading it that has no idea what he's talking about and might not even be familiar with the book. There's a lot of ham-fisted references and "power" words clunkily mixed in that have little to no relevance. It's only 4 pages but it feels like he's rambling. While reading it you get the same feeling you do when listening to a college student give a report they are obviously unprepared for.

It was my first encounter with Gass and it really put me off. But I always see him mentioned around here like he's a demigod. If his books are anything like that introduction then yeesh.

In summary I'll put it to you this way - although they got Gass to write an introduction to the book, they also elected to include the original introduction from a previous edition. I think that says it all.

>> No.7904575

>>7904264
i just read in the heart of the heart of the country as my first and it was great.

>> No.7904594

>>7904570
nugget is an introduction

>> No.7904598

>>7904570
What were you expecting? I don't think I've ever read an intro that seriously delves into a text in anything more than a brief, cliffnotes-like manner. They're just these congratulatory/masturbatory little things tacked onto the front of a book to either pique a reader's interest or t offer some really surface-level analysis, and almost never have anything truly substantiative to say.

Also multiple intros is something I've seen at least twice before so it's not as big a deal as you're assuming it is.

>> No.7904600

>>7904594
trash is trash m8

>> No.7904610

>>7904598
yeah that guys retarded. all intros are like what he described.

>> No.7904613
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7904613

>>7904570
omensetter's luck and in the heart of the heart of the country are genuinely good writing.

the tunnel is needlessly vulgar rambling from a fat cynic. it emphasizes writing as a means to an end over actually writing a compelling narrative.

the tunnel is probably the worst thing being memed here and gassposter shits up this board

>> No.7904639

>>7904231
You haven't even read IJ, Connor.

>> No.7904646

>>7904613
Even worse than that one guy and his self-published ebooks?

>> No.7904651
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7904651

>>7904613
>the tunnel is probably the worst thing being memed here
I disagree--I always will, just to let you know--but I can understand why you would think that. I just wish everyone could derive as much pleasure from it as I do.
>gassposter shits up this board
You hurt me.

>> No.7904655

>>7904651
he's just mad cuz he's not smart enough

>> No.7904657

>>7904598
Did you not read what I said?

I'm like 99% sure Gass has never even read the book. There's a difference between I'M TOO PATRICIAN ALL INTROS ARE SHIT and rambling like an educated retard for 4 pages and then having another intro from 1932 have to be included right after yours because it was so incompetent.

>> No.7904670

>>7904610
The difference between Gass and the intro that was included after his was night and day. It was like comparing a /lit/izen with Aristotle I guess it's easy to crank out shit when you can just say it's post modern

>> No.7904681

>>7904670
could you quote a particularly bad passage?
curious third party here.

>> No.7904693

>>7904681
Here's the whole intro if you want to read it.

http://www.nybooks.com/media/doc/2010/02/09/anatomy-melancoly-introduction_.pdf

I still think this guy's being a retard by complaining about it. It's a very standard sort of intro.

>> No.7904700

>>7904657
Ever consider that he may have done it for the money, or as a favor, etc.?