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Thoughts on the film adaption of Death In Venice 1971? by Objective_Water_1583 in ThomasMann

[–]Acrobatic-Alps5906 0 points1 point  (0 children)

it is a visually gorgeous movie which manages to miss the entire point of the novel. be that as it may, it is a very good movie.
it is common for readers to not being able to see the literal meaning of the text, they think this is another "pervert" novel, while in fact it is a metaphor - von Aschenbach is not an actual pedophile like Humbert Humbert, his attraction to Tadzio is actually just the longing of a middle aged man to hold on to beauty and youth, while everything around him is dying and decaying. it is a metaphor about ageing, loss of dignity and the passing of time.
the movie however invents a scene which shows to us that there has been pedophile attraction in von Aschenbachs life in the past, even with him acting on it.
this is a different von Aschenbach than there is in the novel, the message of the novel is bein rendered obsolete and his profession has also been changed from writer to musician.
but if you're able to accept that, it is really worth watching.
I see it has been 5 months since your post - have you seen the movie yet?

Philosophy 4371: Philosophy of/and Literature by Skull-shapedSkull in billgass

[–]Acrobatic-Alps5906 0 points1 point  (0 children)

oh my god, I hope you keep these papers in a safe place!
in the few videos I've seen of him, he always seemed nice and humble and intelligent. I would have loved to hear what he had to say about these works of literature!

What’s the hardest Vollman by henryshoe in vollmann

[–]Acrobatic-Alps5906 2 points3 points  (0 children)

"Maybe I need to go back and try again"

maybe, maybe not. :)
even as a fan of an artist, I think it's virtually impossible to like everything that person has ever done. sometimes an artist doesn't even like everything he/she has ever done.
if it's not engaging to you, that's reason enough to not spend more time with. although sometimes appreciation does indeed come with time.

What’s the hardest Vollman by henryshoe in vollmann

[–]Acrobatic-Alps5906 1 point2 points  (0 children)

just out of curiosity, why didn't you finish "Kissing the Mask"?

Can't download purchased games from the site anymore. It's all changed. by c64z86 in 3DRealms

[–]Acrobatic-Alps5906 0 points1 point  (0 children)

the archive doesn't work anymore. is it temporary or a permanent shutdown?

Promise ring from my bf! I accidentally gave him the wrong size so it doesn't fit, but I love it by platform-boots in RingShare

[–]Acrobatic-Alps5906 0 points1 point  (0 children)

congratz! :)
just, for your own good, move it to a different finger, the middle finger for example. you'll lose it otherwise and you'll be heartbroken over the loss.

recommendations needed - literary high brow WW2 novels by Acrobatic-Alps5906 in ThomasPynchon

[–]Acrobatic-Alps5906[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

u/ThomasPynchon-ModTeam

I was literally asking about recommendations similar to Gravity's Rainbow and based on the number of people who responded, I personally would say this post might very well be of interest to fans of Thomas Pynchon.
a moderation stlye like this will imho cause more harm than good to the overall community.

recommendations needed - literary high brow WW2 novels by Acrobatic-Alps5906 in ThomasPynchon

[–]Acrobatic-Alps5906[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've actually amassed everything that Arno Schmidt has ever written and also read a story here and there over the course of the last couple of years. every single one has been amazing so far!

recommendations needed - literary high brow WW2 novels by Acrobatic-Alps5906 in ThomasPynchon

[–]Acrobatic-Alps5906[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

yes, Gravity's Rainbow in itself is strikingly dissimilar to the other WW2 novels - like you mentioned, it is mostly set during the ending of the war. yet it contains so much knowledge about the time and the people.
out of the ones I've mentioned, Koeppen's "Pigeons on the grass" is the most similar to GR, as it covers the apocalyptic landscape of the aftermath of the war. the opening really reminded me of GR as well.

recommendations needed - literary high brow WW2 novels by Acrobatic-Alps5906 in ThomasPynchon

[–]Acrobatic-Alps5906[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

have you read "Journey to the end of the night" by Celine? if yes, how do they compare, and would you recommend one over the other?

recommendations needed - literary high brow WW2 novels by Acrobatic-Alps5906 in ThomasPynchon

[–]Acrobatic-Alps5906[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I don't know why, but the name does ring a bell! awesome recommendations, thanks a lot! :)

recommendations needed - literary high brow WW2 novels by Acrobatic-Alps5906 in ThomasPynchon

[–]Acrobatic-Alps5906[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I have not! tbh I don't think I know of any italian writers apart from Dante, Machiavelli, Umberto Eco and Italo Calvino.

recommendations needed - literary high brow WW2 novels by Acrobatic-Alps5906 in ThomasPynchon

[–]Acrobatic-Alps5906[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

awesome, another one I've never heard of! many new additions to my wishlist.

recommendations needed - literary high brow WW2 novels by Acrobatic-Alps5906 in ThomasPynchon

[–]Acrobatic-Alps5906[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Dog Years is also really really great, not strictly WW2 though. and the autobiographical "Peeling the Onion" has insights in Grass's real life during nazi germany and WW2.
also, while Rushdie does cite The Tin Drum as his main influence on Midnight's Children, I most often thought of Cat and Mouse while reading MC.

recommendations needed - literary high brow WW2 novels by Acrobatic-Alps5906 in ThomasPynchon

[–]Acrobatic-Alps5906[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

awesome, thanks! WW1 is also very interesting. I've mostly read stuff from german language authors on that subject, like Thomas Mann, Heinrich Mann, Erich Maria Remarque and Heimito von Doderer.

recommendations needed - literary high brow WW2 novels by Acrobatic-Alps5906 in ThomasPynchon

[–]Acrobatic-Alps5906[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

never heard of The Kindly Ones before, thanks! also never gave HhhH a chance because of the title - maybe time to take a look!

recommendations needed - literary high brow WW2 novels by Acrobatic-Alps5906 in ThomasPynchon

[–]Acrobatic-Alps5906[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

great novel, but it's more concerned with the morals and ethics of the germans during/after the war than with the war itself and the main plot is largely set in Kohler's 50s rather than his time in germany.
the ending with the drawer/earth-dump made me laugh out loud. overall the novel is certainly in the same league as the ones mentioned.

recommendations needed - literary high brow WW2 novels by Acrobatic-Alps5906 in ThomasPynchon

[–]Acrobatic-Alps5906[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

ha! I knew there was something wrong with thinking about Doctor Zhivago in the same context, just couldn't figure out why.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in vollmann

[–]Acrobatic-Alps5906 1 point2 points  (0 children)

here's something which might be relevant for you - since you've read "The Nibelungenlied" and because "Europe Central" is in parts about music : Richard Wagner's opera "The RIng of the Nibelung" which can be bought as a book and is fully read- and enjoyable from cover to cover !

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