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Off Topic Art & Literature

Discussion in 'Southampton' started by Beddy, Nov 26, 2019.

  1. fatletiss

    fatletiss Well-Known Member

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    Go visit my old man; he lives 300 yards from her house.
     
    #581
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  2. ChilcoSaint

    ChilcoSaint What a disgrace
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    Does he do tours?
     
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  3. Che’s Godlike Thighs

    Che’s Godlike Thighs Well-Known Member

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    I liked Mr. and Mrs. Bennett (the parents) in P&P. The back and forth between them is a good laugh. Will look at Emma when i get the chance.

    The Brontes are basically Austen without the humour. Plus a load of death, ghosts and people going insane thrown in for good measure. I've read Jane Eyre a couple of times. It's a great book but it goes on a bit too long. There are a few chapters towards the end that don't really add too much to the story. But all of the stuff that goes on while she's at Thornfield, and her early life, is excellent.

    Wuthering Heights is good too. Story is far-fetched to say the least, but some cracking characters in it, if you like depressed, bitter, grumpy bastards that is.
     
    #583
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  4. Che’s Godlike Thighs

    Che’s Godlike Thighs Well-Known Member

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  5. Ian Thumwood

    Ian Thumwood Well-Known Member

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    Archers

    I had exactly the same conclusion about "Frankenstein" and was surprised just how unfamiliar the story was. None of the films seem to have any resemblance to Shelley's narrative which is far more profound than you might have imagined. I went through a spell of reading books that I felt that I ought to have read and this was the most surprising of the lot. It is a terrific story. In my opinion, I don't think I have read a book where I found that my perception was at such odds as the reality. (The nearest I have experienced this this is WE John's "Biggles" books where the stories about the First World War take on a different perspective when you realize that Biggles was actually a composite of John's pilot colleagues and a lot of the stories are sanitized versions of real events. )

    What has been quite interesting has been the fact that a number of books I felt that I should have read as they were "classics" did not live up to their reputation in my opinion. The biggest disappointment for me was "The Great Gatsby" which left very little impression on me and I felt that it's success was derived from the fact that it was issued to GIs during WW2 where it gained popularity because of the perceived nostalgia. If i am not mistaken, it did not sell well before the 1940s. I read it really quickly but struggle to recall what it was supposed to be about. I am not a fan of American literature and stay away from contemporary American writer as a rule after reading the likes of Clive Cussler and Tom Clancy many years ago. Both were dreadful.

    The books which i think has been poorly served by the passage of time are those which could be considered to be early science fiction. Jules Verne was a massive disappointment and I was surprised at just how thin HG Well's "The War of the worlds" was. The latter was also a disappointment. Of that ilk, I thought that George Orwell's "1984" was fascinating because you could see so much of contemporary society in it.

    I was put off of the Bontes and Thomas Hardy by my experiences at O level. As a consequence, I have never felt inclined to pick up anything by Jane Austen and when I have explored the Penguin Classics series, it was largely medieval literature (I love Gerald of Wales' books absolute nonsense!) although I went through a spell of trying writers like Joseph Conrad and Karen Blixen. Conrad is largely celebrated for "Lord Jim" and "The Secret Agent" and the former was really hard work and a bit depressing. I found "Heart of darkness" really disturbing and disconcerting. His best book is "Nostromo" which I could not put down and introduced literature to it's first anti-hero. It is a terrific story which resonates today whereas "Heart of darkness" was unsettling, not only for it's negative depiction of Africa, but for the descent of some of the characters in to madness.
     
    #585
  6. Che’s Godlike Thighs

    Che’s Godlike Thighs Well-Known Member

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    Reading 1984 (again) right now as it happens. In light of what is going on in Hong Kong and Xinjiang, and in China generally, it is a terrifying read. Orwell was a dark, dark genius.

    Also just finished part 2 of Don Quixote. An absolutely insane achievement of a book. Without doubt one of the greatest works of all time. It makes me think of some witty concept for a story that you and a mate have one Friday night whilst stoned ("Dude, imagine writing a story about some guy..."). But instead of instantly forgetting the day after, you go on and spend the next fifteen years writing a 1,000+ page novel about it.
     
    #586
  7. fatletiss

    fatletiss Well-Known Member

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    His house isn’t that big :)
     
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  8. Ian Thumwood

    Ian Thumwood Well-Known Member

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    The appeal of "1984" is that it always seems relevant and reflect current politics. I read it in the days of Alistair Campbell and "New Labour" and I was surprised just how much it struck a chord. It was a good that exceeded my expectations.

    The other writer that surprised me is James Herriot. The books are now being printed in omnibus editions and I have now completed the first two. Incidentally, Channel Five have made a new version of "All creatures great and small" which started this week. I grew up loving the previous BBC series yet have read the books, I think that neither do the writing justice. The stories are well-crafted and I felt the quality of his writing was such that I think he has been underestimated for his literary talents. I think Herriot is a writer whose work will endure for a long time.
     
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  9. Archers Road

    Archers Road Urban Spaceman

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    <laugh> This is probably why I love the Brontes. Give me sinister brooding characters with dark secrets every time.
     
    #589
  10. Archers Road

    Archers Road Urban Spaceman

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  11. Archers Road

    Archers Road Urban Spaceman

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    Spooky apparition, or multiple post error?
    :bandit:
     
    #591
  12. Che’s Godlike Thighs

    Che’s Godlike Thighs Well-Known Member

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    Yeah no wonder you enjoyed Frankenstein then!
     
    #592
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  13. Archers Road

    Archers Road Urban Spaceman

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    The monster only wanted to be loved, and couldn’t bear rejection. Victor Frankenstein was a bit of a drama queen imo, a big girl’s blouse. Both were lacking in emotional maturity.

    But which is more human? The monster, with his uncontrollable passions, and uncomprehending fury at his cruel creator, or Victor Frankenstein, playing at God, and in trying to control nature, unleashing terrible destructive forces?

    While I was reading it, I had this idea in my head of Mary Shelley surrounded by prima-Donna Romantic poets, gently taking the piss.

    Percy Shelley was an absolute towering poetic genius imo, but his second missus might have been cleverer than him; which is why he drowned in a boating accident (probably pissed) while she brought a child up on her own on the proceeds of her writing, no easy thing for a woman to do in the 19th century.
     
    #593
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  14. StJabbo1

    StJabbo1 Well-Known Member

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    Could this be one for you?
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    the 1922 film.
    upload_2020-9-4_10-8-59.jpeg
    this from 1979

    Tee shirts also available
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    Couldn't find a cake.
     
    #594
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  15. Archers Road

    Archers Road Urban Spaceman

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    Loved both the original, and the Werner Herzog remake.

    Gary Oldman did a pretty good turn as the Count too, in the Coppola’s romantic melodrama...

     
    #595
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  16. Che’s Godlike Thighs

    Che’s Godlike Thighs Well-Known Member

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    A lot of 18/19th century literature seems to involve a male protagonist trying at all costs to keep a dark secret hidden, one that would destroy him in the eyes of society. It's a great theme, because it's very realistic and easily relatable.

    Shelley I guess just took this idea to the extreme, but the fact that the monster is so articulate really makes the story fascinating, because you end up rooting for him.
     
    #596
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  17. davecg69

    davecg69 Well-Known Member

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    Just watched the first episode of the Channel 5 adaptation of “All Creatures Great and Small” I was impressed how good it was. I, too, loved the BBC version but I think this is better done, with JH actually being a Scotsman and nit Christopher Timothy! I just reread the first book in the omnibus and think they’re doing a pretty decent job. Hopefully they’ll keep it up!
     
    #597
  18. davecg69

    davecg69 Well-Known Member

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    I preferred Mel Brooks version :emoticon-0102-bigsm:emoticon-0102-bigsm
     
    #598
  19. Archers Road

    Archers Road Urban Spaceman

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    It’s pronounced “Fronkon-Shteen“
     
    #599
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  20. saintrichie123

    saintrichie123 Well-Known Member

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    On tipping point yesterday the question was...
    Who wrote the story for the film (one of my favourites) shawshank redemption?

    I never knew it was Stephen King.
     
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