WHAT DO YOU KNOW?
Hey, I posted again in under a month! Look at me!
I have not been posting here as often as I would like. Of course, it doesn't help that all of the news seems to be either "green shoots" economic stories or "brown shoots" economic stories. Seriously, the market tanks on a given day because that day traders are concerned that the stimulus will cause inflation? Yesterday they were cool with that, but today they are not? And tomorrow they may be again? I find that hard to believe.
Anyway, we have been taking U to the library lately. He's finally old enough for it, and sometimes he picks his own books. I have been using the opportunity to continue reading Pulitzer Prize winners, since the library actually has most of them. Right now is Gone With the Wind (1937) and His Family (1918). I have to say that the Pulitzer winners have mostly been pretty good, with the exception of Eudora Welty's The Optimist's Daughter. What the hell was that all about? Was that a lifetime achievement award disguised as a Pulitzer? Man, I did not give a rat's ass about a single character in that book.
Oh, and American Pastoral kind of sucked too, but I don't really like Philip Roth, so take that with a grain of salt. I know that there are people who read this entire book as a theoretical narrative of the Swede's life, so that everything after Zuckerman's high school reunion is Zuckerman imagining what COULD HAVE happened to Swede. If that is right (a) I missed the transition, and (b) that means the book is really pointless. What do we take from Swede's life if all we have is the ramblings of Zuckerman, with an entirely different life and viewpoint? The crux of the problems in Swede's life come from his child. Zuckerman has no child. That alone would be enough to make Zuckerman's understanding deeply flawed. I dunno. Maybe I was too dumb for this book. Or maybe Roth kind of sucks.
Anyway, my favorites lately (I did some favorites before) have been The Caine Mutiny and Tales of the South Pacific. By the way, I've never seen South Pacific, but I know that when I read Tales of the South Pacific there was not a single moment when I thought, ooooo, we should add dancing and singing to the war against the Japanese! I guess some people are just more creative than I.
Hey, I posted again in under a month! Look at me!
I have not been posting here as often as I would like. Of course, it doesn't help that all of the news seems to be either "green shoots" economic stories or "brown shoots" economic stories. Seriously, the market tanks on a given day because that day traders are concerned that the stimulus will cause inflation? Yesterday they were cool with that, but today they are not? And tomorrow they may be again? I find that hard to believe.
Anyway, we have been taking U to the library lately. He's finally old enough for it, and sometimes he picks his own books. I have been using the opportunity to continue reading Pulitzer Prize winners, since the library actually has most of them. Right now is Gone With the Wind (1937) and His Family (1918). I have to say that the Pulitzer winners have mostly been pretty good, with the exception of Eudora Welty's The Optimist's Daughter. What the hell was that all about? Was that a lifetime achievement award disguised as a Pulitzer? Man, I did not give a rat's ass about a single character in that book.
Oh, and American Pastoral kind of sucked too, but I don't really like Philip Roth, so take that with a grain of salt. I know that there are people who read this entire book as a theoretical narrative of the Swede's life, so that everything after Zuckerman's high school reunion is Zuckerman imagining what COULD HAVE happened to Swede. If that is right (a) I missed the transition, and (b) that means the book is really pointless. What do we take from Swede's life if all we have is the ramblings of Zuckerman, with an entirely different life and viewpoint? The crux of the problems in Swede's life come from his child. Zuckerman has no child. That alone would be enough to make Zuckerman's understanding deeply flawed. I dunno. Maybe I was too dumb for this book. Or maybe Roth kind of sucks.
Anyway, my favorites lately (I did some favorites before) have been The Caine Mutiny and Tales of the South Pacific. By the way, I've never seen South Pacific, but I know that when I read Tales of the South Pacific there was not a single moment when I thought, ooooo, we should add dancing and singing to the war against the Japanese! I guess some people are just more creative than I.
posted by David at 7:59 PM
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