#67

The Crying of Lot 49 is his shortest and the most conventional in terms of a linear narrative.

Gravity’s Rainbow is like a psychedelic episode of Dr Who directed by David Cronenberg.

I really liked Inherent Vice but it’s definitely not his best.

3 Likes
#68

I would second starting with The Crying of Lot 49. It’s a good way to dip your toe in.

4 Likes
#69

That’s such a good book

#70

Bukowski (problematic, but very good)
Steinbeck
Graham Greene

#71

Also a lot of time for Fante, Raymond Carver & James Elroy

Been reading a bit of Jim Thompson recently too which i’m enjoying.

I seem to read a lot of books by white men - should probably try to branch out a bit.

#72

Vladimir Nabokov is clear number one, I’ve read most of his books multiple times, did my dissertation on him etc
Then probably a tier that includes a bunch of people, even if only for one great book - Jeffrey Eugenedies (two great books), Geraldine McCaughrean, Dodi Smith, Alan Moore, Ned Beauman, George Plympton. Bill Bryson and Terry Pratchett too.

#73

Richard Brautigan
William Burroughs
Borges (all the B’s)

#74

Philip Roth
Melville
Ken Kesey
Dostoevsky
Beckett
Carver
Borges
Hunter s. Thompson

Orwell and Fitzgerald were important in terms of formative authors for me.

Love Ta-Nehisi Coates when it comes to contemporary writers.

My list is extremely white male-centric :confused:

#75

Welcome to DiS!

4 Likes
#76

yes i do! my favourite is *list of 20 authors*

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#77

And still no room for a non-white bloke

#78

I’ve got that edition.

#79

Daphne du Maurier
Marge Piercy
Iris Murdoch
Margaret Atwood

Gone off male authors since I was forced to read Girlfriend in a Coma at university. Nope.

2 Likes
#80

not heard of marge piercy but i’m a big fan of the other three so prolly should. where to start?

#81

Story of Your Life (aka Arrival) is 62 pages and would be more suited for eng lit than media studies. I highly recommend reading it. There’s no tension or drama in the short as it’s all about the slow realisation of the gift the aliens have given to the human race. A more faithful adaptation would have worked as one hour tv Black Mirror style (same tone as that excellent San Junipero episode).

There’s so much to discuss and think about. Humans shaping language or is it the other way round? Grammar analysis of the weaving of past, present and future tenses as the story progresses, deliberately intended by the author. The mother daughter dynamics. Free will vs. a pre-destined path. A Borges concept of a book with the story of your life from birth to death. Allusions to the world as a stage. A decent explanation of the variational principle in optics. Linguistics. It has it all in 62 pages. Interesting that the author, Ted Chiang, makes a living not as a literary writer, but as a techincal author producing manuals.

Sorry. I’m telling you how to do your job. Anyway, great short.

1 Like
#82

I used to disagree that TCoL49 was the best starting point, until I re-read it and enjoyed it a lot more second time round. I’d recommend going in aware that you’re in for a chaotic (but thrillingly so) onslaught of information, even if you may get a different idea from the book’s relative slimness.

1 Like
#83

Another vote for Crying first, found it pretty easy to comprehend and loved it right away. Really want to read Gravity’s Rainbow but it’s taking me forever, so I put it on hold after 150 pages and will tackle it in between other books I think.

#84

How is Inherent Vice compared to the film (if you’ve seen it)?

Bukowski (sorry, I know…)
Pynchon
John Barth

I’ve only read Post Office for Bukowski but enjoyed it a lot, which of his other novels do you rate?

#85

The unit I occasionally teach for media is all about the differences in storytelling between film and literature - few of the students are willing readers and short original texts with interesting adaptations are definitely good starting points!

#86

Factotum and Women are bleaker than PO - his attitude to women in Women is disgusting but there’s a stylistic dedication to being disgusting that works. Factotum is probably funnier.

Ham On Rye is interesting as an Artist As A Young Man study (although the actual Barry Miles biography suggests little of his writing is based on his life) and Hollywood is worth reading for some observations on celebrities but only after you’ve seen Barfly.