What was the last written thing that made you feel alive?
Thu, 2002-04-04 00:34
#1
What was the last written thing that made you feel alive?
You know sometimes when you're reading something and it makes you want to scream with ecstatic joy? Or when you are reading something and you get so excited about it that you would be punching the air and doing scissor kicks,holloring along at the top of your lungs, if it was a song?
In short, reading something that relights your sense of the very reason that you are alive?
What was the last thing like that for you?
Tom Saunders
A John Cheever short story called Goodbye, My Brother. It's taken me years to get around to reading Cheever. Don't know why. A big mistake.
martin_t
black dahlia....James Ellroy, I bought it at an english 2nd hand book store in Paris, a few years ago, and couldn't put it down.....it's his best by far, I have enjoyed his others, but this just blew me away...
andrew pack
The Black Dahlia gives me the horrors, I hardly ever finish it. Even worse when you realise just what demons of his own Ellroy is exorcising in that piece. Myself, I don't think anything can touch American Tabloid, and when you finish with Ellroy, Pelecanos is worth a look.
justyn_thyme
Try reading My Dark Places if you want to learn what goes through Ellroy's mind. He's one of my heroes: the guy has had three jobs in his life: 1. small time crook 2. caddie at golf course 3. bestselling author
martin_t
pelecanos does light my candle too....but ellroy has the edge, takes you to strange, wonderful and scary places...
Pelecanos Crossing
My birth certificate.
jessc3
Ditto, one of the best by Ellroy. Looking forward to reading the others. L.A. Confidential etc...
Pete
well, at the moment it's Dickens: David Copperfield. But I always feel as though I've tapped into God when I read the Great Man. I discovered him when I was at uni - Bleak House - and just loved every minute of it. Since leaving, getting a job, and becoming respectable, I read his works as often as possible. I enjoy him for pretty much the same reasons as the Victorians loved his work: there's just so much jollity, humour and goodwill in every story. He makes me feel that the world is a wonderful place, that human nature can change at any time, and that love really does conquer all. Then there's the serious political critiques, the standing up for the poor, and the moral lessons that can be learnt... Sure, he can be overly sentimental, but I like that. Copperfield is a brilliantly told tale written in the first person, which makes the plot easier to follow than many of his other books, but it's not my favourite. I'll hand that title to 'Our Mutual Friend'.
martin_t
agree with you there, I've read 3 or 4 dickens...fave has to be "tale of two cities" followed closely by "Great expectations" and "hard times"...
Pete
If there's anyone out there who also loves Dickens, remember that tonight (Sat, 11/05/02) Peter Ackroyd's new sries on the Great Man is beginning at 9.pm, BBC2. I've read the autobiography, which is actually larger than most of the novels it discusses, and it was amazing. By the end I felt as though I knew Boz: his clothes, personal habits, love life and mannerisms. What I wouldn't give to go back in time and spend an evening in a dark Victorian theatre, listening to the author give one of his outrageously theatrical performances of 'A Christmas Carol', or Oliver Twist's murder of Nancy by Bill Sykes. That would be some night. Anyone agree?
Pete
Martin,
You have a long, Dickensian road in front of you. And at the end lies the Wizard of Boz. Sorry, bad joke. Nice to know someone agrees with me. Keep on readin',