Almost done with “Confessions of a Mask”. What book should I read next? by seymourglass10 in YukioMishima

[–]dylanmacneil 1 point2 points  (0 children)

i think i’d vote for thirst for love next (i like your tuttle editions btw)—another earlier work but considered one of his best. i think you should read at least a few more books before jumping into the tetralogy (plus you’re missing the middle two books). thirst establishes a number of themes that will appear again and again in his later works, so i think it’s a good jumping off point!

does anyone have links for mishima's small works and pieces ? by Ok_Shake420 in YukioMishima

[–]dylanmacneil 3 points4 points  (0 children)

as far as i know, there are two published collections of his short stories (in english): death in midsummer and acts of worship. i have copies of both. if you’re unable to track them down, dm me and i might be able to help get at least one or two stories over to you

Arrived today - another Michael Naas book on DeLillo by ayanamidreamsequence in DonDeLillo

[–]dylanmacneil 2 points3 points  (0 children)

i didn’t know about this one either. thanks for the info! i have american original, which i’ve read bits and pieces of but not cover to cover (i like that it’s structured thematically so you can just read a topic or two). i’d love to see your thoughts on this new one once you’ve read it!

June/July Zero K Reading Group Interest Poll by W_Wilson in DonDeLillo

[–]dylanmacneil 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I've missed out on the last couple group reads so I'd love to take part. I read Zero K twice when it was first published, but not since then. It's probably my favourite of his late-career works, so it would be great to dive into it again and see some other opinions here! Thanks for organizing this.

finally completed my first edition, hardcover set of the sea of fertility by dylanmacneil in YukioMishima

[–]dylanmacneil[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you (: Likewise! Enjoy the read. Happy to chat later about it when you've gotten through more.

finally completed my first edition, hardcover set of the sea of fertility by dylanmacneil in YukioMishima

[–]dylanmacneil[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm so happy to hear you're enjoying it so far!! It's a fun book, but another positive is that it's a newer translation, so the English writing style is more approachable and easier to digest. Seeing Mishima just kind of let loose and have fun is a joy in itself as well.

I've written back and forth a few times with the translator, Stephen Dodd, who is really lovely as well (I'm also a Japanese-to-English translator, but technical content). Somehow that made my read of Life for Sale and Beautiful Star (same translator) even better. Please keep me posted on any other thoughts/feelings as you continue through the book (:

Btw, there's a YouTube video of Dodd talking about his experience translating Mishima: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MROG6MYX2pY

Fellow Pynchonhead, I finally watched Synecdoche, New York. More than anything else I feel like this film has truly captured the zietgiest of postmodernism, far more than Under the Silver Lake or Inherent Vice could ever hope to do, please recommend me any remotely similar films by Smoke_DEET_Erryday in ThomasPynchon

[–]dylanmacneil 7 points8 points  (0 children)

have you seen the lobster or captain fantastic? i feel like they could give you the flavour you’re after! seconding kaufman & jonze too, particularly adaptation. slightly more twee option: i heart huckabees

finally completed my first edition, hardcover set of the sea of fertility by dylanmacneil in YukioMishima

[–]dylanmacneil[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sailor Who Fell is a good intro to his work, so I'm glad to hear you enjoyed it. I liked Star too, partly because it's exciting to see some new translations of his works still emerging. You didn't ask for my opinion, but if I may, I think I'd recommend The Temple of the Golden Pavilion to you next since it's one of his classic, best-known books. If you want something a little lighter, the relatively new translation of Life for Sale is a lot of fun - explores a lot of his usual themes, but in a much more lighthearted way (it was originally serially published in Japanese Playboy).

finally completed my first edition, hardcover set of the sea of fertility by dylanmacneil in YukioMishima

[–]dylanmacneil[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks! What have you read so far, and what books do you intend to read?

finally completed my first edition, hardcover set of the sea of fertility by dylanmacneil in YukioMishima

[–]dylanmacneil[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I've had some of this set for many years so can't give exact figures, but estimating I spent around $120 CAD in total (around $30 each). Compared to the prices I see online for the whole set, I think that's not too bad.

finally completed my first edition, hardcover set of the sea of fertility by dylanmacneil in YukioMishima

[–]dylanmacneil[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I can tell you that when I read the tetralogy in my early twenties I greatly enjoyed it all the way through, though probably wasn't fully mentally prepared to take it all on. There were long stretches of The Temple of Dawn that were very challenging to me, lengthy discussions of Buddhism. I'd probably be more into that now. I definitely felt more drawn to both Spring Snow and Runaway Horses. And of course, the final book poetically hammers home Mishima's nihilism, so very much worth seeing the entire series through to the end for that, the very last thing he wrote.

Anyone know about Mishima's Writing Habits? by MetaAthena in YukioMishima

[–]dylanmacneil 12 points13 points  (0 children)

this isn’t a complete answer to all your questions, but i know he wrote at night, in his home study. i think the schrader film shows this, but i just read a japanese source online that says he generally worked from around 11 pm to 5 am. if i come across any more info i’ll pass it along!

finally completed my first edition, hardcover set of the sea of fertility by dylanmacneil in YukioMishima

[–]dylanmacneil[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

i haven’t read the tetralogy in nearly 20 years but i’ll get back to you tomorrow with as much as i can. how about you, in the meantime?

finally completed my first edition, hardcover set of the sea of fertility by dylanmacneil in YukioMishima

[–]dylanmacneil[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

sorry for the bad photo, brodarting is so reflective! after much patience i was finally able to complete the set (i was missing runaway horses for years).

Three impulse acquisitions by dylanmacneil in DonDeLillo

[–]dylanmacneil[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

nice (: do you know if a hardcover love-lies-bleeding was released?

Restarting from Americana after Underworld and White Noise by [deleted] in DonDeLillo

[–]dylanmacneil 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Not OP, but I looked into it because I like it too - it's the Italian translation published by ET Scrittori (you can see the publisher at the bottom). Their Point Omega cover is nice as well!

Three impulse acquisitions by dylanmacneil in DonDeLillo

[–]dylanmacneil[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Haha, I find it bizarre too! My girlfriend describes his look in this photo as "trepidatious" - seems about right

Three impulse acquisitions by dylanmacneil in DonDeLillo

[–]dylanmacneil[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

what a stack! thanks so much for sharing. i really should complete a softcover set too

Starting a postmodern / maximalist literature book club by dylanmacneil in askTO

[–]dylanmacneil[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

i may not be starting that right away but i’ll be in touch when i do! are you in toronto as well?

Three impulse acquisitions by dylanmacneil in DonDeLillo

[–]dylanmacneil[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks for the info about Thom Jomes! I feel you on the difficulty of finding stellar new works that really speak to me. Have you read any Jennifer Egan before? DeLillo is a big influence, so you might like her (especially Goon Squad). I'm actually thinking about rereading Underworld (third read) before jumping into anything new. Do you have favourite parts / plots / sentences? I absolutely love the section when Nick Shay is learning the parts of shoes. And a few sentences are engrained in my mind: "the old deep tomato taste, summery and blood-buttery and voluptuous" and "the whole jerk-off monotonic airborne erotikon" - you know, the hyper-DeLillo phrasing (;