Isaac Babel short stories, Leshkov...
Isaac Babel short stories, Leshkov...
Borges "arguing against fascism"! Hear lots of bumf here. That's a purdy good one.
Originally Posted by OrphanPip
My limited exposure to Russian authors includes Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Chekhov and one that you might consider giving a try, that being Alexander Solzhenitsyn. My interest in AS has developed over the past few years starting with One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, August 1914-The Red Wheel (just finished) and one that I'm about to move to the front burner; Cancer Ward.
eh? I may not agree his Don Quixote argument is specifically anti-fascist, but Borges argued a lot against Facism, to the point he was attacking Hitler even before the war. He was a sworn enemy of Peron, which is facism in argentina and his "support" to the Junta of 70's or Pinochet does not change it (and they are not exactly facists).
I really rate "One Day..." and, especially, "Cancer Ward..." ... Haven't read August 1914, must give it a try. But careful with the Gualag Archipelago, I couldn't make headway with it, too much detail.
So have you accepted my list of "angry young men" authors who published in the 1950s , early 1960s, as "that good"? Seems so, as you have now moved your ground to "working now". Here's an interesting list:
http://www.listal.com/list/times-50-greatest
The "now" authors from the Times list, "born and raised on English soil", who I've read and rate as "really good" are: Anita Brookner, A. S. Byatt, Ian McEwan, Julian Barnes. Have you read any of these authors? Can you honestly say that none of them are "that good"?
I agree. And the movie was very beautifully done and much more significant to the 20th century than it is admitted today.
Yup Borges was a fascist . Duilich m tha siud a cuir dreagh ort. That is what he was. That's ok. Plus I don't live in Argentina and in my army career I only met two men who actually were in The Falklands when we had to fight the poor buggers. You seem to think that being a relatively flexible person means you ain't an arse. Ah well. Life'll teach yu!
Its amazing how some people can talk out of an orifice that was never intended for such use.
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The man who doesn't read good books has no advantage over the man who can't read them.- Mark Twain
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No, I seem to think that someone who railed against nazists before even United States discovered it was evil, professed an individualist-liberal anarchist view, fought and was persecuted by the facists in his country is not a facist. But what to say?
Well, I agree in your meaning. However it is false that Borges discovered fascism before the USA.
One actual problem with Borges is that he was too much in love with the Spanish language. He wanted to preserve it without the influence of creoles. Roberto Arlt had to make fun of his inflexibility in that regard. Many people got confused and thought that Borges was one of the monsters of the fascist Spanish Royal Academy.
Borges was writting against nazis in 1938. So he did wrote about it before USA discovered it was evil.
Borges introduced a lot of neologism and coloquial expression to spanish. Arlt is a bit upset because Borges and Bioy used to mock everyone using lunfardo and other variations to every character in a novel. They considered it not much realistic. And those two mocking someone would let anyone upset. That is the reason he was against Carlos Gardel, it was bit purism, a gaucho talking like a gaucho fine, a man from Buenos Aires? Nope.
You seem young in your estimation. Fascism was known to the UK and USA long before Borges was born. WWI had a Germany marked strongly by fascism. Long before that fascism was pushed by the Roman Catholics anywhere they could. A lot of the things you are talking about are part of Argentine folklore. I don't mean to put you down because you are obviously learning. Who your teacher is I don't know. But I'm going to close the circularity of this case. Have fun.
You could teach me if you are not doing the mistake of talking about Facism when I mention specifically Nazism and If was not talking about USA knowing Nazism was evil and not that it was unknown. This really makes your presumption ridiculous.
At this point, cafolini, just wag.
Haha, I had the same experience with Gulag Archipelago; started it, got about a third of the way in, eyes started glazing over, head drooping. I'll have to reserve it for retirement.
August 1914... is the first of his multi part epic, The Red Wheel. Even though it is 800+ pages, this one, unlike GA, reads more like a novel providing factual accounts of Russia's loss at the Battle of Tannenberg, a detailed portrayal of Pyotr Stolypin, the dress rehearsal and buildup to the revolution.
It held my interest.
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