acommonreader.st
One of the unique marbled pages from Volume III Picture source In which I bid a fond farewell to the Shandy clan. When putting a book back on the bookshelf or returning it to the library I usually don’t consciously think whether I’ll revisit it again. So where does Tristram Shandy fall? “For those who […]
Thomas Patch: Sterne and Death“This is not a digression from it, but the work itself” — Pliny the Younger (epigraph to Volumes VII and VIII) If I have joked too facetiously with anything, by the muses and the graces and all the power of the poets, I beseech thee not to mistake me” — Julius […]
Torturing Machiavelli again Of the few biographies I’ve read in the past decade, Niccolo’s Smile: A Biography of Machiavelli is one of my favorites. However, the above article at The New Yorker provides a lot on his life and a relatively balanced picture of Machiavelli before the predictable ending. Mrs. Woolf and the Servants Mrs. Woolf […]
“Why do we want to spend a year of our lives making this film?” ” ’cause it’s funny.” “Is that all?” “Is that not enough?” Sterne would have undoubtedly said “Yes” as that exchange captures the spirit of his book. The reviews at IMDB and at Amazon.com are mixed, but I think that is the […]
Pages from Volume VI, Chapter 40 Picture sourceIf I should speak too jocosely, this bit of liberty you will indulgently grant me – Horace If anyone should censure [me] as too light for a proper churchman or too biting for a decent Christian, it is not I but Democritus who speaks (Latin) – Erasmus — […]
A melancholy man of letters Do we really need another biography of Samuel Johnson? Peter Martin and his publisher’s evidently think so, with the recent release of Samuel Johnson: A Biography Mr. Martin makes much of Johnson’s acute melancholy—but then so did Johnson, who claimed that he led “a life radically wretched.” It is an […]
Frontispiece of Volume III Designed by William Hogarth, engraved by Simon François Ravenet (the elder) Picture sourceI do not fear the opinions of the ignorant mob, but I ask that they spare my little book, in which I always proposed to pass from the mirthful to the serious, and from the serious to the mirthful […]
Library of the Benedictine Monastery of Admont, Austria Librophiliac Love Letter: A Compendium of Beautiful Libraries Posted over a year ago but I just discovered it this week. I’m still working my way through all the pictures of these gorgeous libraries (and will have to pace myself to work through the site). How to explain […]
Frontispiece and title page from Volume 1 (7th edition) “Trim’s reading the Sermon to my Father” Picture sourceMen are tormented with the Opinions they have of Things, and not by the Things themselves. — epigraph to Volumes I and II (from the Stoic Epicetus as translated by Montaigne) It has taken me a while to […]
Picture sourceI think I’ll go with the shortened name of The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman. The long title is the reader’s first clue that nothing in the novel will be to the point. Here are some links on the work and the author: Laurence Sterne Wikipedia’s entry on the author The Shandean […]
Gilgamesh and the Bull of Heaven Picture source He has seen everything, had experienced all emotions, from exaltation to despair, had been granted a vision into the great mystery, the secret places, the primeval days before the Flood. He had journeyed to the edge of the world and made his way back, exhausted but whole. […]
I waffled on whether or not to have a separate post on Gilgamesh: A Novel by Joan London and finally decided to do so. I happened to stumble across this book at my local library when I was checking out the epic and thought I would give it a try. Unfortunately I never really connected […]
Picture source(which has additional online links) I won’t go much into recapping the story since I think I’ve provided some summaries and study guides in this post. So instead I’ll focus on a few of the points in the story that interested me. Upon first reading the story, I found parts of it contradictory at […]
I never imagined there would be so many sites that focused on the epic of Gilgamesh, the story of a 28th century BC king. What follows is only a small portion of what is available. Wikipedia’s entry on the epic of Gilgamesh Texts for the epic: From Project Gutenberg, which has “an old Babylonian Version […]
Links to the Mrs. Dalloway posts are below, but I thought I would spend a little space on some works that pay homage to the novel and to Woolf herself. (section deleted) The Hours was also made into the 2002 movie with Nicole Kidman, Julianne Moore and Meryl Streep. While I haven’t read any of […]
A woman throws a party, sees some old friends, and thinks of times gone by. The storyline by itself of Mrs. Dalloway makes for a challenging transition from book to screen. Factor in the novel’s use of n internal dialogue to represent consciousness and I didn’t expect much from the movie. Fortunately the film was […]
Draft for Mrs DallowayThis post covers the last third of the book, starting from the narration returning to Septimus and Rezia in the late afternoon and going through the end. Septimus briefly returns to some semblance of sanity, content at home and making Rezia happy as well. His reflections on marriage provide an interesting contrast: […]
The London Walks of Mrs. Dalloway by E.K. Sparks, Clemson UniversityThis post will cover from the old woman singing outside the Regent’s Park Tube station at approximately noon to the narration leaving Elizabeth on the Westminster bus in the late afternoon. This middle third of the novel fleshes out many of the themes and begins […]
Big Ben clock tower from Westminster Bridge Picture source Guidedrius: Fear no more the heat o’ th’ sun, Nor the furious winter’s rages, Thou thy worldly task has done, Home art gone and ta’en thy wages. Golden lads and girls all must, As chimney-sweepers, come to dust. Arviragus: Fear no more the frown o’ th’ […]
While I try to exclude personal items from this site, I did want to pass on a recommendation as well as a tribute. My father passed away last month and, as part of the preparations for the funeral, the minister presiding over it talked quite a bit with the family. Here is an expanded version […]