(acommonreader.st)
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.
The Tartar Steppe by Dino Buzzati Translation by Stuart C. Hood Introduction by Tim Parks Canongate Books Ltd. (2007); paperback ISBN: 978-1841959283I have had this in my to be read pile for a while but Miguel’s post at St. Orberose on Jorge Luis Borges’ “personal library” recommendations pushed me to open it the other evening. […]
I finally finished listening to How to Live, or A life of Montaigne in one question and twenty attempts at an answer and thoroughly enjoyed it. A mix of Montaigne’s biography and review of his works, it made my commute much more pleasurable. Now the only question is what version of the Essays to start […]
Work threw me a knuckleball this week, but hopefully I’ll be back to semi-regular posting in the next few days (offset by some travel days). So expect some posts on The Tartar Steppe by Dino Buzzati and the screen adaptation The Desert of the Tartars (both highly recommended). I still have some ways to go […]
Title page to Clerks / Chasing Amy: Two Screenplays: by Kevin Smith Robin, See? Now this sucks. You get this cool gift, right. And that’s okay. But now you know Dwight’s going to hold it over your head forever. Maybe even extort sex from you as well (if he’s not a relative…hell, maybe even if […]
At the start of the year, The Neglected Books Page posted on Fortunata and Jacinta as “The Greatest Novel You’ve Never Heard of.” Please read that post about the book and follow the links provided—it’s a great overview of the novel and introduction to Galdós. I seconded the enthusiasm for the novel and author and […]
Pornografia by Witold Gombrowicz Translation by Danuta Borchardt Grove Press, 248 pages (paperback) ISBN: 978-0802145130I’m having trouble getting motivated to read or post so I’ll provide a wrap-up on Pornografia that is heavy on links, quotes, and impressions. First, the summary from the Publishers Weekly review (taken from Bacacay: The Polish Literature Weblog): While recuperating […]