I get the feeling that store sells more than just books. Reading has been at a standstill the past few weeks, but hopefully time will free up soon.
The most popular books this week with the above audience: Doctor Dolittle’s Circus–we should finish this book tonight and start on the next in the series this weekendCloudy with a Chance of MeatballsThomas and the Big, Big BridgeOlive the Other Reindeer–I think they are hoping to get a jump on Christmas
Švejk before the divisional court Illustration by Josef Lada Picture sourceDespite this section’s title, Švejk does not make it to the front, although if the real battle is with bureaucracy then he is constantly “at the front.” He does travel, with and without his regiment, from Prague to a staging and training area just east […]
Movie poster for The Good Soldier SchweikSince I just finished Book 2 and haven’t had a chance to write any thoughts about it, I’ll post a quick review of the 1956 Czech movie which is based on Book 1, “Behind the Lines”. The film faithfully follows Schweik’s misadventures in Hašek’s book, at least for the […]
Švejk goes to the war Illustration by Josef Lada Picture source Those who boggle at strong language are cowards, because it is real life which is shocking them, and weaklings like that are the very people who cause most harm to culture and character. They would like to see the nation grow up into a […]
Picture sourceThe UPS guy must think I have a crush on him…I couldn’t stop smiling as I signed for today’s delivery at work. I splurged and bought the new release of In the First Circle by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn. The Wall Street Journal has a review of this restored version as well as the first chapter. […]
…can make you laugh and cry at the same time. Presented without further commentary.
Illustration by Josef Lada from The Good Soldier Švejk Picture sourceSeveral recent nonfiction reads have included quite a bit on World War I and The Good Soldier Švejk by Jaroslav Hašek (my keyboard mojo is going to be sorely tested with this book) was mentioned. As I posted recently, Barbara Tuchman’s The Guns of August […]
Sketches by Pío Baroja (Characters from The Restlessness of Shanti Andía) At sea I lost the notion of time. Aboard ship the days are long, and yet the years, sum of the days, are short, and they fly by and are gone. Time has sped for me. The thought of the past, once youth has […]
I’m overloaded on so many fronts, the temperature reminds me of Hell’s antechamber (yes, I would know), and yet I’m under the spell of Pío Baroja’s “magical melancholy”. It’s a beautiful day, indeed.
The Restlessness of Shanti Andía and Other Writings by Pío Baroja Translated and with an introduction by Anthony Kerrigan (The University of Michigan Press, 1959) Picture source Text on the back: HEMINGWAY: Allow me to pay this small tribute to you who taught so much to those of us who wanted to be writers when […]
Paul L Martin at The Teacher’s View posted a review/summay on Rob Riemen’s book Nobility of Sprit (Yale University Press; $12.00, paperback). His review intrigued me enough to order it—if you’re not familiar with the book, please go read his wonderful summary at the link. There are three essays and a long introduction, all of […]
Portrait of Ivan Sergeyevich Turgenev By Vasily Perov (1872) Picture source Young Man to Middle-Aged Man: ‘You had content but no force.’ Middle-Aged Man to Young Man: ‘And you have force but no content.’ – (The original epigraph to Fathers and Children which was later omitted.) From Henry James’ 1903 article on Turganev: Nothing that […]
This final section covers from Arkady’s and Bazarov’s trip to visit Bazarov’s parents to the end of the book. The translation I’m reading is by Michael R. Katz so all quotes will come from his version, while the translation by Richard Hare can be found here. Characters Characters introduced in this section: Vasily Ivanych Bazarov—Bazarov’s […]
Picture source Approximately the middle third of the book, this section covers Arkady’s and Bazarov’s trips to the town of *** and the Nikolskoe estate, ending as they are about to leave for Bazarov’s parents’ manor. The translation I’m reading is by Michael R. Katz so all quotes will come from his version. CharactersAdditional characters […]
Turgenev’s fatherThe novel is relatively short, but there is so much to sort through that I’ll probably have three posts to discuss it. Online resources can be found in this post. I am reading the translation by Michael R. Katz, so all quotes will come from his version. Characters For those unfamiliar with the story […]
First edition in English, Translated by Eugene Schuyler. New York: Leypoldt and Holt, 1867.Note: I am moving this post from July 23rd to here so it is closer to the discussion posts. I feel I should spend a moment on the title, which has been a problem since the first English translation. The Russian title […]
The cover of Classic Comics No. 10, April 1943 Picture sourceI had trouble trying to discuss Robinson Crusoe, mainly because there are so many ways you can approach the work. One point I would hope to convey is that this is not just a kid’s book or a clichéd movie theme…the original work is worth […]
Map of Robinson Crusoe’s Island Illustration by Clark and Pine, from the 1719 first English edition You are not to take it, if you please, as the saying of an ignorant man, when I express my opinion that such a book as Robinson Crusoe never was written, and never will be written again. I have […]
No, not the setting of the book, although that is important, too… I am sure other readers, when a book is mentioned, think back to where they were or their personal circumstances when first encountering that work. I was able to go hiking and exploring this past weekend thanks to my wonderful wife. Images similar […]