One thing I found notable about The Last Samurai was that it indulged every vice characteristic of a novel written around 2000—the multiple narrators; starting the story with the main character's ancestors; a fetishization of structure; etc.—and yet managed to do something really wonderful with those vices! I loved this book (and also Lightning Rods, a book that could not be more dissimilar).
I loved your tale—it reminded me a lot of studying Greek and Latin in college, which I wish could have given me magical powers! Also as a Hindu I keep thinking that I should attempt to learn Sanskrit at some point, but I don't want to end up like Claudia's fellow students. The Last Samurai is a book I keep hearing about, and I think I'm going to pick up a copy ASAP.
I keep meaning to tackle Sanskrit too. A friend told me it's a very logical language and a pleasure to translate--hard to know whether to believe them :)
"This is the kind of book that people learn a foreign language in order to read! But luckily it’s (mostly) in English—you should definitely read it."
Hmm! Maybe I should read it: I consider myself a proud language nerd, and I'd like to learn an ancient language, too, some day. Maybe the book will help me choose which one(?).
Easily one of the best American novels since 2000. Her collection Some Trick is also good (and those stories actually remind me of your short pieces recently — something like “process stories.”) She used to have a great blog called paperpools.
I read that collection! I really enjoyed it, because I recognized how true those parables were. The collection was a bit uneven though, because it did seem to have a fair amount of student work. But I respect that she needed to pad out her book so she could get paid :)
I had a friend who loved this book and the author so much that their listed in her acknowledgments and yet I wasn’t compelled to read it until now. The first chapter is the best i’ve read in ages. Thanks for the push.
It's definitely one of those books where people tell you it's good, and you're like okay --but is it better than all the other good books? INTIMACIES is in that category for it. I have a friend who loves it. I will surely read it someday, but when?
I loved the story that starts this essay. I feel sad, though, that Claudia can't use any magic at all. Can't she have a vase of flowers that never wilts or a pot of beans that never runs out or something??? A magic roll of toilet paper? As you can see, this story had a strong effect on my imagination. Just enough magic. I also love the detail that the editor is trying to make her broaden her book to include other forms of knowledge and she's like, no, it's got to be Sanskrit. Very believable.
Thanks! I mean Veric sages are always living in the forest, going naked, living off honey and dew, etc. On the other hand sometimes they get really really mad and destroy lots of people-- the problem is when you do the latter it dissipates your soul force and weakens you, so it's better to avoid it
I would be willing to try The Last Samourai just based on your recommendation, but I didn’t like The Corrections, so your comparison made me leery. Should I expect a similarity between those books?
I started TLS a long time ago for a book club that died and my reading got kind of frozen with that—I should just buy a new copy and start over. Since book club I have gotten to know the person who is I think the book's only hater in the world but I will not name them out of respect for their safety.
I have run a successful book club for Middlemarch! but it was in person and TLS one (which wasn't my project) was digital, which probably made it harder to survive. It's important to make people want to show up (because of snacks) and afraid to bail (because they're a little afraid of you, personally).
Do read it! I'd be curious to hear a Christian's take. By a bizarre coincidence I also finished the novel just today, and I'm still mulling it over. (I haven't read any reviews or criticism, and I kind of don't want to because I'm worried everyone would have gotten swept up in an embarrassing, inferiority-complex way in the goofily over-the-top erudition---which is fun but hardly earth-shattering to encounter even for someone with just a BA in classics. I didn't have the New Directions edition so I only learned today that DeWitt wrote an afterword. Will have to track that down.) My initial feeling: I wouldn't call it a masterpiece but an excellent and thoroughly enjoyable comic novel that (like a surprising number of other comic novels) is also crushingly sad. I respect the grappling it does with what makes for an admirable, ethical adult life, and I have been swinging back and forth all afternoon about whether DeWitt meant it to be such a damning portrait of arid inhuman rationalism. (My guess is not?)
Excellent Women is probably the purest form of what I meant! I was also thinking of Muriel Spark and Evelyn Waugh, and Under the Net (though it's been since college for that one so I could be misremembering), and Kingsley Amis maybe (haven't read as much of him), and maybe in an outer circle Vonnegut and Philip K. Dick (but while I think PKD particularly has the eldritch combination of sweet, antic frivolity and soul-silencing melancholy, that's starting to stretch the definition of "comic novel.")
One thing I found notable about The Last Samurai was that it indulged every vice characteristic of a novel written around 2000—the multiple narrators; starting the story with the main character's ancestors; a fetishization of structure; etc.—and yet managed to do something really wonderful with those vices! I loved this book (and also Lightning Rods, a book that could not be more dissimilar).
I loved your tale—it reminded me a lot of studying Greek and Latin in college, which I wish could have given me magical powers! Also as a Hindu I keep thinking that I should attempt to learn Sanskrit at some point, but I don't want to end up like Claudia's fellow students. The Last Samurai is a book I keep hearing about, and I think I'm going to pick up a copy ASAP.
I keep meaning to tackle Sanskrit too. A friend told me it's a very logical language and a pleasure to translate--hard to know whether to believe them :)
Thank you!! I have it out of the library - it looks great.
I need to take these other books back. :)
"This is the kind of book that people learn a foreign language in order to read! But luckily it’s (mostly) in English—you should definitely read it."
Hmm! Maybe I should read it: I consider myself a proud language nerd, and I'd like to learn an ancient language, too, some day. Maybe the book will help me choose which one(?).
Personally I liked the part where he learned old Norse. I know some anglo Saxon, which wasn't too hard--old Norse is very similar!
Remarkably high praise, I’ll have to read this!
Easily one of the best American novels since 2000. Her collection Some Trick is also good (and those stories actually remind me of your short pieces recently — something like “process stories.”) She used to have a great blog called paperpools.
I read that collection! I really enjoyed it, because I recognized how true those parables were. The collection was a bit uneven though, because it did seem to have a fair amount of student work. But I respect that she needed to pad out her book so she could get paid :)
You and Celine have convinced me, and now I'm excited to read it. I love recommendations this glowing.
This is the whole reason to talk trash on so many books, so when you give a rec, people believe it :)
I almost said something to that effect 😂
Terrific book! I finished reading it recently.
Everyone seems to agree this is a great book. I’m gonna read it
I had a friend who loved this book and the author so much that their listed in her acknowledgments and yet I wasn’t compelled to read it until now. The first chapter is the best i’ve read in ages. Thanks for the push.
It's definitely one of those books where people tell you it's good, and you're like okay --but is it better than all the other good books? INTIMACIES is in that category for it. I have a friend who loves it. I will surely read it someday, but when?
It's hard to get to all the books and lately I have been reading and rereading favorites trying to get to the bottom of them! (*they're)
I loved the story that starts this essay. I feel sad, though, that Claudia can't use any magic at all. Can't she have a vase of flowers that never wilts or a pot of beans that never runs out or something??? A magic roll of toilet paper? As you can see, this story had a strong effect on my imagination. Just enough magic. I also love the detail that the editor is trying to make her broaden her book to include other forms of knowledge and she's like, no, it's got to be Sanskrit. Very believable.
Thanks! I mean Veric sages are always living in the forest, going naked, living off honey and dew, etc. On the other hand sometimes they get really really mad and destroy lots of people-- the problem is when you do the latter it dissipates your soul force and weakens you, so it's better to avoid it
I would be willing to try The Last Samourai just based on your recommendation, but I didn’t like The Corrections, so your comparison made me leery. Should I expect a similarity between those books?
They're completely different. Just two books I liked to a similar degree.
I started TLS a long time ago for a book club that died and my reading got kind of frozen with that—I should just buy a new copy and start over. Since book club I have gotten to know the person who is I think the book's only hater in the world but I will not name them out of respect for their safety.
Wow no wonder it died! What kind of book club could possibly have the stamina for this book? Ours usually picks stuff like Intermezzo or The Guest.
I have run a successful book club for Middlemarch! but it was in person and TLS one (which wasn't my project) was digital, which probably made it harder to survive. It's important to make people want to show up (because of snacks) and afraid to bail (because they're a little afraid of you, personally).
Do read it! I'd be curious to hear a Christian's take. By a bizarre coincidence I also finished the novel just today, and I'm still mulling it over. (I haven't read any reviews or criticism, and I kind of don't want to because I'm worried everyone would have gotten swept up in an embarrassing, inferiority-complex way in the goofily over-the-top erudition---which is fun but hardly earth-shattering to encounter even for someone with just a BA in classics. I didn't have the New Directions edition so I only learned today that DeWitt wrote an afterword. Will have to track that down.) My initial feeling: I wouldn't call it a masterpiece but an excellent and thoroughly enjoyable comic novel that (like a surprising number of other comic novels) is also crushingly sad. I respect the grappling it does with what makes for an admirable, ethical adult life, and I have been swinging back and forth all afternoon about whether DeWitt meant it to be such a damning portrait of arid inhuman rationalism. (My guess is not?)
in re: books that are very funny but crushingly sad, have you read any Barbara Pym? (I think Excellent Women qualifies…)
Excellent Women is probably the purest form of what I meant! I was also thinking of Muriel Spark and Evelyn Waugh, and Under the Net (though it's been since college for that one so I could be misremembering), and Kingsley Amis maybe (haven't read as much of him), and maybe in an outer circle Vonnegut and Philip K. Dick (but while I think PKD particularly has the eldritch combination of sweet, antic frivolity and soul-silencing melancholy, that's starting to stretch the definition of "comic novel.")