Comments for Caviar to the General https://generalcaviar.wordpress.com Books, recommendations, reviews, and lists. Tue, 19 Jan 2016 22:47:13 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ Comment on My 2015 Reading List by yeahanotherblogger https://generalcaviar.wordpress.com/2016/01/18/my-2015-reading-list/comment-page-1/#comment-55 Tue, 19 Jan 2016 22:47:13 +0000 http://generalcaviar.wordpress.com/?p=131#comment-55 Great list. I am very impressed.
In June you read more books than most people read in five years!

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]]> Comment on My 2014 Reading List by burkean https://generalcaviar.wordpress.com/2015/08/20/my-2014-reading-list/comment-page-1/#comment-52 Tue, 25 Aug 2015 14:49:27 +0000 http://generalcaviar.wordpress.com/?p=128#comment-52 In reply to areaderofliterature.

I don’t have a review of 2666, but it’s well worth a try. It’s surprisingly readable, structured as a kind of hallucinogenic noir mystery- if I had to offer a comparison, I’d say it’s part McCarthy, part Marquez. Disgrace, as well as everything else I’ve read by Coetzee (Elizabeth Costello, Slow Man, Life and Times of Michael K), is well worth a reread.
Munro’s Open Secrets is on my list for the rest of August, but first I get to read the new Rushdie- only 30 pages in, but it looks very promising already. Thanks for reading!

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]]> Comment on My 2014 Reading List by areaderofliterature https://generalcaviar.wordpress.com/2015/08/20/my-2014-reading-list/comment-page-1/#comment-51 Sat, 22 Aug 2015 13:16:43 +0000 http://generalcaviar.wordpress.com/?p=128#comment-51 Wow at your ambitious reading! Some of the titles here are books that really intimidate me. How was 2666? That one is at the very top of the “Books that Intimidate Me” list. Or if you have a full review, I’d love to take a look at it.

Did you enjoy Disgrace? I remember loving it very, very much but at this point it’s due for a reread.

My reading this year is haphazard and lean. I did a reading reboot earlier this month and it worked! Reading steadily this August and I’m about to finish my fourth book of the month.

I will read Alice Munro’s Runaway sometime next month. Looking forward to it now.

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]]> Comment on The Best of 2015, Pt. 7: William T. Vollmann’s The Dying Grass by burkean https://generalcaviar.wordpress.com/2015/08/12/the-best-of-2015-pt-7-william-t-vollmanns-the-dying-grass/comment-page-1/#comment-50 Thu, 20 Aug 2015 17:46:37 +0000 http://generalcaviar.wordpress.com/?p=125#comment-50 In reply to conniejjasperson.

On the Nez Perce war specifically, The Dying Grass is a great starting point for historically-minded readers. As with his other historical novels, Vollmann bases the action and dialogue on primary sources wherever possible.
As a work of historiography, Vollmann’s Fathers and Crows is another indispensable text for anyone interested in the history of indigenous cultures in North America. Fathers and Crows deals with the interactions of French Jesuits with Huron and Iroquis tribes. It’s also an excellent study of the power play between French and British colonial forces in the 17th century. I’d be very interested to hear what you think of Vollmann once you have a chance to read the book!

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]]> Comment on The Best of 2015, Pt. 7: William T. Vollmann’s The Dying Grass by conniejjasperson https://generalcaviar.wordpress.com/2015/08/12/the-best-of-2015-pt-7-william-t-vollmanns-the-dying-grass/comment-page-1/#comment-49 Thu, 20 Aug 2015 00:50:16 +0000 http://generalcaviar.wordpress.com/?p=125#comment-49 Intriguing. I’m unfamiliar with his works, but I am heavily researching another tribe, the Zuni, who have a widely different history from the Nez Perce. I shall pick this up.

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]]> Comment on The Best of 2015, Pt. 7: William T. Vollmann’s The Dying Grass by cellenbogen https://generalcaviar.wordpress.com/2015/08/12/the-best-of-2015-pt-7-william-t-vollmanns-the-dying-grass/comment-page-1/#comment-48 Thu, 13 Aug 2015 19:26:44 +0000 http://generalcaviar.wordpress.com/?p=125#comment-48 In reply to burkean.

I am cautious about WW2 overload. There are so many novels in and around that period. I like the concept of the series so I’ll start in there somewhere. Thanks.

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]]> Comment on The Best of 2015, Pt. 7: William T. Vollmann’s The Dying Grass by burkean https://generalcaviar.wordpress.com/2015/08/12/the-best-of-2015-pt-7-william-t-vollmanns-the-dying-grass/comment-page-1/#comment-47 Thu, 13 Aug 2015 02:47:04 +0000 http://generalcaviar.wordpress.com/?p=125#comment-47 In reply to cellenbogen.

I have read each of the earlier installments- I’m a bit of a Vollmann fanatic. With this series, each volume is completely independent, and are stylistically dissimilar as well. This installment is one of WTV’s best novels, although I also really treasure Argall and Fathers and Crows from the same series, and The Royal Family as well. The Rifles is a good introduction to the Seven Dreams series if you’re wary about taking on The Dying Grass.
Europe Central is another great starting point- it’s a WWII novel built up out of interconnected stories. Lots of variety and some of WTV’s best writing. Hope you get the chance to try him out!

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]]> Comment on The Best of 2015, Pt. 7: William T. Vollmann’s The Dying Grass by cellenbogen https://generalcaviar.wordpress.com/2015/08/12/the-best-of-2015-pt-7-william-t-vollmanns-the-dying-grass/comment-page-1/#comment-46 Thu, 13 Aug 2015 02:07:55 +0000 http://generalcaviar.wordpress.com/?p=125#comment-46 Very persuasive. Have you read any of the earlier installments? Does one need to start at the beginning?

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]]> Comment on Books You Should Probably Read If You Loved The Catcher in the Rye by nombre de la pluma https://generalcaviar.wordpress.com/2015/08/05/books-you-should-probably-read-if-you-loved-the-catcher-in-the-rye/comment-page-1/#comment-44 Wed, 05 Aug 2015 21:11:46 +0000 http://generalcaviar.wordpress.com/?p=116#comment-44 I loved Catcher in the Rye. How accurate a social statement it made. I don’t think anything else has come even close.

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]]> Comment on The Best of 2015, Pt. 6: T. C. Boyle by burkean https://generalcaviar.wordpress.com/2015/08/03/the-best-of-2015-pt-6-t-c-boyle/comment-page-1/#comment-42 Wed, 05 Aug 2015 00:02:15 +0000 http://generalcaviar.wordpress.com/?p=113#comment-42 In reply to katzmcmullen.

Thanks for the kind words. For all its simplicity, I find that The Sea is a very difficult book to get a grip on in analytical terms. I really enjoyed your review.
I’ve been lagging with posts this summer, although I’ve been making up for it with extra reading. Currently on the slate is William T. Vollmann’s Dying Grass, look for a review next week!

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