Great reading of Ishiguro, I have never seen it quite so well expressed what makes him unique, because on the surface he sometimes seems so deceptively bland. Sorry you didn't dig Marvel Universe but glad people are reading it! I do agree the first part is the best.
I'm interested in that Lazar book but I have such a hard time believing a 21 year old can write a good novel of that kind. A song, yes, a lyric poem, definitely, a symphony, why the hell not, even a very moody short novel like Less Than Zero, sure. But for a big sweeping narrative of a family stuck in the nightmare of history I feel like you surely must need a few years in the adult world, right?
Haven't read Lazar, but Thomas Mann was around the same age when he wrote Buddenbrooks (another big multigenerational family saga) and it always amazed me that a person that young could know so much about the world.
Yes, I forgot this…. an amazing achievement. Lazar is – not at that level. I think at heart – and this isn’t a criticism – Mann went on to write the same book again and again. Hopefully Biedermann does not!
Thanks. And yes, that’s right about Lazar. Apparently he was working on it for years, researching… which is sort of funny and seems unnecessary because when you read his prose, it really does have a little bit of the shine of the natural.
Enjoyed this very much. Remains of the Day is a perfect book, almost too perfect, but I find it such a pleasure to spring the intricately-wound traps that Ishiguro sets.
Great reading of Ishiguro, I have never seen it quite so well expressed what makes him unique, because on the surface he sometimes seems so deceptively bland. Sorry you didn't dig Marvel Universe but glad people are reading it! I do agree the first part is the best.
I'm interested in that Lazar book but I have such a hard time believing a 21 year old can write a good novel of that kind. A song, yes, a lyric poem, definitely, a symphony, why the hell not, even a very moody short novel like Less Than Zero, sure. But for a big sweeping narrative of a family stuck in the nightmare of history I feel like you surely must need a few years in the adult world, right?
Haven't read Lazar, but Thomas Mann was around the same age when he wrote Buddenbrooks (another big multigenerational family saga) and it always amazed me that a person that young could know so much about the world.
Yes, I forgot this…. an amazing achievement. Lazar is – not at that level. I think at heart – and this isn’t a criticism – Mann went on to write the same book again and again. Hopefully Biedermann does not!
It was the first thing I thought of when I read your description of Lazar! Enjoyed this post, nice way to pass the time on a rainy morning.
Thanks. Glad you enjoyed
Thanks. And yes, that’s right about Lazar. Apparently he was working on it for years, researching… which is sort of funny and seems unnecessary because when you read his prose, it really does have a little bit of the shine of the natural.
Enjoyed this very much. Remains of the Day is a perfect book, almost too perfect, but I find it such a pleasure to spring the intricately-wound traps that Ishiguro sets.
Couldn’t have put it better myself.
Great essay.
Maybe I should read "The Idiot" again.