tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4972764383963459152.post612513630106804644..comments2023-05-30T07:00:13.707-04:00Comments on Bookphilia.com: Why I must never, ever, ever read (auto)biography againBookphiliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05155882653615842141noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4972764383963459152.post-73408800700945188442011-10-12T22:28:01.394-04:002011-10-12T22:28:01.394-04:00Henry Esmond is not humorless, not at all, but the...<i>Henry Esmond</i> is not humorless, not at all, but the joke is purely conceptual, the entire novel <a href="http://wutheringexpectations.blogspot.com/2010/11/conceptual-purity-of-thackerays-henry.html" rel="nofollow">conceptually pure</a>.Amateur Reader (Tom)https://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4972764383963459152.post-38739824158683287002011-10-12T21:54:14.606-04:002011-10-12T21:54:14.606-04:00Tony: I think I've gotten over the Trollope au...Tony: I think I've gotten over the Trollope autobiography, so its relative distastefulness and/or truthiness is starting to matter much less to me...which is a good thing! How do you feel about other Tanizaki books? I'm a very big fan of The Gourmet Club...<br /><br />Teresa: You make a very valid point; indeed, Trollope discussed how contemporaries such as Thackeray really made life difficult for editors and fellow writers by not being able to submit anything in timely fashion. And the fact is, while I whined about his apparent disregard for his regards, I have enjoyed all of the novels of his I've read; so he wasn't a complete bastard to anyone. It seems I was more of a romantic about literary production than I thought; mea culpa!<br /><br />Amateur Reader: Powerful use of the provocative rhetorical question, my friend. :) I don't know anything.<br /><br />Biblibio: Yes, I don't know what to do. I have a very attractive bio of Dickens sitting on my shelf...I think I need to wait till I'm done with all the Dickens I've planned for my Vic Lit project before giving it a shot...<br /><br />heidenkind: Except for David Mitchell. He is both Nice and Funny.<br /><br />Rohan: My goodness, that is a strenuous warning against Henry Esmond! Can you give me some hint as to why it's so awful...is it humourless? I can skip straight to Villette or The Odd Women if it means the survival of my project!<br /><br />Rebecca: Or, wait till you've read all the Trollope novels you want to read. There are some good bits; like I said in my post, I really enjoyed his discussions of his famous literary contemporaries...<br /><br />whisperinggums: You're right, the proof is in the pudding...it just took me a little while to remember that. :)<br /><br />chasingbawa: I was just thinking of you the other day because I AM READING PERDIDO STREET STATION and it is SO DAMNED GOOD. Also, that you haven't yet read Eliot is amazing - you have so much to look forward to. But she's no more gothic and mysterious than Trollope, fyi. :)Bookphiliahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05155882653615842141noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4972764383963459152.post-80069758399917638122011-10-11T12:14:21.380-04:002011-10-11T12:14:21.380-04:00I haven't managed to read anything by Trollope...I haven't managed to read anything by Trollope yet although I'm hoping to one day. I love big fat books but never fancied Trollope because I didn't think his novels were gothic/mysterious enough. However, it seems he's a big favourite amongst bloggers:)<br /><br />Oh, I love the Brother Cadfael mysteries. As you say, they're such a comfort to read. <br /><br />And I also really loved The Makioka Sisters but can't compare to Elliot as I haven't read her novels (!) But I'm getting to her soon...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4972764383963459152.post-27264680008453589002011-09-21T23:25:44.733-04:002011-09-21T23:25:44.733-04:00Great post Colleen ... I know many people who disl...Great post Colleen ... I know many people who dislike autobiography so found your take interesting. Trollope's attitude to deadlines is a thorny issue ... it may be that he was a perfectionist and what he thought wasn't perfect was in fact perfectly (ha!) acceptable if not very good. Or, it may be a case of prioritising - probably the way some authors use a pseudonym for their money making pot boilers. I think the proof of the pudding should be in the eating and not in what he says?<br /><br />Oh, and I love, love. love The Makioka Sisters for its insight into Japanese society at a time of change. Such an eye opener but I read it around 20 years ago now so can't remember the details, just how I felt about it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4972764383963459152.post-70299396562232848932011-09-19T15:03:38.713-04:002011-09-19T15:03:38.713-04:00I'm in the middle of my third Trollope novel. ...I'm in the middle of my third Trollope novel. He's not a favorite of mine, but still in my "I definitely like his novels" camp. I'll make sure not to read his autobiography; it does not sound like it would endear me to his books...<br /><br />And I LOVED THE MAKIOKA SISTERS. I found it more characterizing society as Austen does more than like Eliot does. But, I've only read it once. <br /><br />And I agree, from my experience reading MIDDLEMARCH, nothing compares to Eliot's ability.Rebecca Reidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06062252252301802298noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4972764383963459152.post-29959170465610335532011-09-17T15:43:21.399-04:002011-09-17T15:43:21.399-04:00Oh dear! I find most of the Autobiography complete...Oh dear! I find most of the Autobiography completely endearing. There's just something to stolid about AT himself, and so unpretentious. I was going to say that, for the sake of Victorian literature and Victorianists everywhere, and all who love your posts in this area, you must NOT read Henry Esmond next or we'll never get you back. But then I thought that since I liked AT's autobiography (and you hated it), perhaps a novel I hate will be one you love. Still, risky....<br /><br />Also, if you dare try another Victorian autobiography and haven't read Margaret Oliphant's, I do recommend it.Rohan Maitzenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12111722115617352412noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4972764383963459152.post-7207013598651581932011-09-17T14:31:51.441-04:002011-09-17T14:31:51.441-04:00Honestly, most of the time I think the less you kn...Honestly, most of the time I think the less you know about an author, the better for the book. <br /><br /><b>Tony</b> Aha, so this is where I've seen you before. ;)Heidenkindhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09494625457587427781noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4972764383963459152.post-83930816620216557372011-09-17T13:12:29.884-04:002011-09-17T13:12:29.884-04:00First off, I'm glad the reading improved after...First off, I'm glad the reading improved after Trollope. Good to know that you can always find a way to get out of a potential reading slump!<br /><br />As for autobiographies and stuff, I often have a similar feeling. On the one hand, I <i>love</i> learning more about those brilliant minds behind my favorite books. I mean, it can be really awesome learning what an author was thinking at a certain point in life in relation to his/her writing. But sometimes it's just disenchanting. I mean, knowing that certain authors were total jerks or kind of didn't care about anyone or were racist and stuff like that can be pretty off-putting... what's a reader supposed to do?Meytal Radzinskihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15805413335735169073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4972764383963459152.post-86256162939038069602011-09-17T09:42:40.419-04:002011-09-17T09:42:40.419-04:00How do you know that you know anything about the a...How do you know that you know anything about the author after reading this book? Trollope wrote novels. How do you know this is not one of them?Amateur Reader (Tom)https://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4972764383963459152.post-68066781177222164802011-09-17T08:18:21.096-04:002011-09-17T08:18:21.096-04:00Funny how reactions differ. As someone who works i...Funny how reactions differ. As someone who works in magazine publishing, which is completely deadline driven, I can't get too cranky about an author who's ruthless about never missing deadlines. I've worked with people who want to fuss over their writing until the last possible second, and there's always some possible improvement. Sometimes, though, you have to let it go if it's going to get published at all.<br /><br />Then again, I've seen articles that came in looking like little more than notes that still need to be written into an article, so there is such a thing as being too ruthless--or managing time too badly.Teresahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09896331683344872038noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4972764383963459152.post-89677424758787863532011-09-17T05:30:05.018-04:002011-09-17T05:30:05.018-04:00P.S. After one of my BBAW posts, Tash Heidenkind w...P.S. After one of my BBAW posts, Tash Heidenkind wondered whether I'd heard of the Bookphilia blog as she thought it might be something I'd be interested in ;)Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07546287562521628467noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4972764383963459152.post-57128230125993975242011-09-17T03:15:34.551-04:002011-09-17T03:15:34.551-04:00Oh dear :(
I wasn't quite so put off by Tro...Oh dear :( <br /><br />I wasn't quite so put off by Trollope's musings as you were (I quite liked the fact that he wasn't obsessed with his art). From other things I've read, I get the feeling that the truthiness of the Autobiography can be questioned anyway :)<br /><br />Must have another go at 'The Makioka Sisters' soon as, while I enjoyed it, I didn't really think it was a great work (and definitely not up with George Eliot). Perhaps another go will change my mind...Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07546287562521628467noreply@blogger.com