Please note: I was trying out different themes for the site and a few recent comments got deleted. My apologies for this mistake.
If I find articles that relate to older material here I’ll add an update to the original post. I’m not good about letting anyone know about the updates so I’ll take this opportunity to note a few from the past few months. Parade’s End on BBC Two Update (12 Sep 2012): Parade’s End, the BBC […]
The Spendthrifts by Benito Pérez Galdós Translation by Gamel Woolsey; illustrations by Charles Mozley; introduction by Gerald Brenan Farrar Straus & Young Inc.: New York, 1952.My previous posts on The Spendthrifts: One: a Spain that does not understand anything except eating and digesting Two: The ceremony? It was nothing. Three: Me-ow! Torquemada! Krausism! My introduction […]
Sorry for the tabloid-style heading, but this post will be a jumble of things that turned up in the book that I enjoyed and wanted to share. So far Galdós’ novel has shown him at his cattiest of the few books I’ve read by him, as the posts so far have demonstrated some good examples. […]
In Chapter 7 of The Spendthrifts, Galdós highlights some part of the farcical nature of Queen Isabella II’s court by detailing the Maundy Thursday ceremony held in the palace. Two dozen members of the lowest class (after being scrubbed, of course) are selected to eat in the palace, served by the Queen and her staff. […]
A stop at Powell’s Books is always in order when I’m in Portland. Last week I escaped (using restraint I didn’t know I had) spending less than $20 for a few books, one of which was The Spendthrifts by Benito Pérez Galdós, the second release in the 1950’s series The Illustrated Novel Library. There’s another […]
Even with several long posts on La Regenta I’ve barely scratched the surface of this wonderful novel, but I want to wrap things up so I can get to other books. Here are the posts to date on the book: Introduction: summary, introduction, technique, illustrations, references Excerpts: extended quotes on Ana’s boredom, attending Don Juan […]
I continue with my erratic foreign movie posts for this year as well as posting on movies adapted from books. For more foreign movies, check out Caroline’s World Cinema Series 2012 and Richard’s monthly Foreign Film Festival round-up (first half of year and second half). Aitana Sánchez-Gijón as Ana Ozores Picture source I’m always happy […]
I have joked about 2012 being “The Year of the Doorstop” because of the size of the books I’ve read and plan to read before the end of the year. 2013 will probably prove to be a sequel: “Year of the Doorstop, Part 2,” if my plans hold. One of my intended reads is the […]
Having a great birthday today. Pictures and book swag to follow, at least the non-blackmail versions. Enjoy the weekend!
The progressives would present objections, upholding the solidarity of the dogma and the priest, and then Don Pompeyo would have to take sides with the reactionaries, up to a certain point, and say, ‘Let us not confuse one thing with another, gentlemen, the very roots are diseased. The clergy is neither good nor evil, it […]
A post for some extended quotes from La Regenta. The first excerpt looks at Ana’s situation (note the passage is in quotes—see my introduction for Alas’ use of a character’s voice). While preparing for general confession, Ana Ozores reflects on her life. In a novel full of frustration, Alas creates remarkable inner worlds. Ana is […]
The Madonna of the Chair by Raphael Ana’s resemblance to this depiction of Mary is noted several times Picture source Befitting the work of a literary critic, La Regenta contains many references and allusions to artistic works, quotes, and characters. In the dissertation I’ve mentioned in previous posts, Albert Brent adds an appendix listing each […]
Do. Not. Miss. OK, those instructions are meant for me, but I’ll pass along the links and information as I get caught up on what I’ve missed being offline the past few days. BBC Two has started airing Parade’s End. Episode One is available at the link (currently only for the UK? Check back soon). […]
I was visiting family this weekend and wanted to solve something that has been bothering me ever since reading A Naked Singularity by Sergio De La Pava. In Chapter 20 Casi travels to Atmore, Alabama to interview his client on death row. Casi stays at an outlandish theme hotel called The Orchard: My big break […]
Leopoldo Alas’ Wikipedia entry In addition to La Regenta Leopoldo Alas only finished one other novel (His Only Son, which I plan to read soon) but wrote more than 80 short stories. I hope the short stories are some of the untranslated works Margaret Jull Costa will be working on in the near future. Alas’ […]
Statue of Ana Ozores, (La Regenta) Located in the plaza of the Cathedral of San Salvador, Oviedo, Spain Picture source This post will be a scattershot introduction to La Regenta, one of the best 19th-century novels I’ve read. Since its release, La Regenta has had its share of misrepresentation. Alas was initially accused of plagiarizing […]
Berkeley, G., Beckett, S., Keaton, B., Schneider, A., Rosset, B., Evergreen Theatre, Inc., & Applause Video Productions. (1997). Film. New York, NY: Applause. Samuel Beckett’s only venture into the medium of the cinema, it was written in 1963 and filmed in New York in the summer of 1964, directed by Alan Schneider and featuring Buster […]
I continue with my erratic foreign movie posts for this year as well as posting on movies adapted from books (as usual, this post will look at the differences between the film adaptation and the novel). For more foreign movies, check out Caroline’s World Cinema Series 2012 and Richard’s blog. Add this movie to the […]
I was unplugged for a few days–I highly recommend it. Sometimes it’s fun just to have fun. I’ll be unplugged again this coming weekend (although with a much lower fun factor). Subjects for posts I have planned to write: The Desert of the Tartars movie Film, 20-minute feature by Samuel Beckett, starring (if that’s the […]
It turns out this wasn’t the latest Sue Grafton mystery, although it does sound scary. I just discovered AbeBooks’ Weird Book Room –if you need a laugh today, you could do worse. Although you’ll have to stand behind me for Whose Bottom is This?: A Lift-the-flap Book.