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Q's Views

Ramblings

  1. Juxtaposition

    In my last post, I was in the process of finishing up The Prime Minister by Anthony Trollope. Trollope is a very Victorian writer in that romance is conducted in very formal ways. Gentlemen call on young ladies in the presence of another adult, typically an adult female. The bulk of the action takes place among the peerage, or people of station, and very little of it engages the general unwashed masses. The stories are quaint and entertaining.

    The next novel on my list was Germinal ...
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  2. Wow, Long Time No Blog

    Well, it has been way too long since I posted to my blog. First of all, Happy Gregorian New Year to all.

    I'm still sticking to the reading of the American novels of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In 2009, I completed the following:
    Dos Passos
    1919
    The Big Money
    Hemingway
    The Sun Also Rises
    Farewell to Arms
    The Old Man and the Sea
    Fitzgerald
    The Great Gatsby
    Steinbeck
    East of Eden
    The Grapes ...
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  3. A Thank You and an Apology

    One of the things I enjoy about LitNet is the Short Story competition. I like to read the stories and vote. The choice is usually hard to make. The first competition of 2009 was won by a story entitled "The Button War". Congrats to the author. We may never know who that may be. If the story wins at the end of the year, the author will be announced, but until then, we'll never know. Only the loser can announce themselves. I'm one of the losers.

    I haven't written anything ...
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  4. On Poetry

    The other day I had a terrifying (and random) thought. I fear poetry. I thought about it for a few moments because it seemed harsh. What I think I meant was that I fear I don't appreciate poetry the way I should. My reading history is predominantly the novel with a smattering of short stories and I find I don't understand poetry well enough to appreciate it. That lack of appreciation seems to inhibit my ability to really enjoy it.

    I don't know much about art but I know what I ...
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  5. Dos Passos - II

    In the foreword by E. L. Doctorow in my editions of USA, Doctorow indicates that the murals of Mexican artist Diego Rivera had an influence on Dos Passos' construct of USA. I find this interestingly appropriate as I continue to work my way through the work.

    Dos Passos patches together the stories using four techniques. Each book has central characters, each of whom's stories are told from that character's perspectives. The characters may or may not eventually cross paths. In the ...
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