Whatcha reading?

[Low Down Low]

2) At Swim-Two-Birds - Flann O'Brien. Audiobook. A challenging read but a rewarding one. Less funny than the Third Policeman and more convoluted in its post-modernism, this is probably the least I've enjoyed one of O'Brien's books. I think it's an issue of execution rather than concept, because there was a short story by the guy that was kind of a precursor where characters rebel against their author which I found more fun and interesting. I got a little irritated with the book in the last couple of sections.

Love both of those books. At Swim is by far the more influential but i agree the Third Policeman is the better and funnier novel. Incidentally, reading Rushdie's acknowledgments at the back of his latest novel, i was waiting for him to list his debt to At Swim Two Birds, but then i figured it's probably unlikely he's ever read it.

[Silent Majority]

2) At Swim-Two-Birds - Flann O'Brien. Audiobook. A challenging read but a rewarding one. Less funny than the Third Policeman and more convoluted in its post-modernism, this is probably the least I've enjoyed one of O'Brien's books. I think it's an issue of execution rather than concept, because there was a short story by the guy that was kind of a precursor where characters rebel against their author which I found more fun and interesting. I got a little irritated with the book in the last couple of sections.

Love both of those books. At Swim is by far the more influential but i agree the Third Policeman is the better and funnier novel. Incidentally, reading Rushdie's acknowledgments at the back of his latest novel, i was waiting for him to list his debt to At Swim Two Birds, but then i figured it's probably unlikely he's ever read it.

The next O'Brien I'll read is the Poor Mouth. You read it? Any thoughts?

[Low Down Low]

2) At Swim-Two-Birds - Flann O'Brien. Audiobook. A challenging read but a rewarding one. Less funny than the Third Policeman and more convoluted in its post-modernism, this is probably the least I've enjoyed one of O'Brien's books. I think it's an issue of execution rather than concept, because there was a short story by the guy that was kind of a precursor where characters rebel against their author which I found more fun and interesting. I got a little irritated with the book in the last couple of sections.

Love both of those books. At Swim is by far the more influential but i agree the Third Policeman is the better and funnier novel. Incidentally, reading Rushdie's acknowledgments at the back of his latest novel, i was waiting for him to list his debt to At Swim Two Birds, but then i figured it's probably unlikely he's ever read it.

The next O'Brien I'll read is the Poor Mouth. You read it? Any thoughts?

Long time ago, outside of stories/columns arguaby the only other work of his worth reading. There used to be a great little pub in Dublin called An Beal Bocht (poor mouth) where they regularly staged dramatised versions of the book, using the pub itself as a prop. Very fond memories of it.

[Dr. Medulla]

I'm maybe a third of the way in High-Rise and I'm sufficiently intrigued. It seems to be a response or rebuttal to Golding's Lord of the Flies. However, I'm not sure if the rebuttal is that civilization (represented by the tower) makes people monsters (kind of a Rousseau thing) or that civilization won't help because human beings are basically monsters (Hobbes). But I don't know enough about Ballard to discern his view of humanity.

[Low Down Low]

I'm maybe a third of the way in High-Rise and I'm sufficiently intrigued. It seems to be a response or rebuttal to Golding's Lord of the Flies. However, I'm not sure if the rebuttal is that civilization (represented by the tower) makes people monsters (kind of a Rousseau thing) or that civilization won't help because human beings are basically monsters (Hobbes). But I don't know enough about Ballard to discern his view of humanity.

Definitely more the Hobbes take from what I've read. There's a quote i remember along the lines his aim was to rub the human race's face in its own vomit and force it to look in the mirror. I think he had a rather dim view of humanity, likely going back to his wartime experiences under the japanese, and behind the cool, detached narrative of High Rise and other novels i reckon there's an author chuckling away quietly to himself at the terrible and often random suffering inflicted on his characters. There's something very darkly comic about it all for me which would set it apart a bit from LotF.

[Dr. Medulla]

I'm maybe a third of the way in High-Rise and I'm sufficiently intrigued. It seems to be a response or rebuttal to Golding's Lord of the Flies. However, I'm not sure if the rebuttal is that civilization (represented by the tower) makes people monsters (kind of a Rousseau thing) or that civilization won't help because human beings are basically monsters (Hobbes). But I don't know enough about Ballard to discern his view of humanity.

Definitely more the Hobbes take from what I've read. There's a quote i remember along the lines his aim was to rub the human race's face in its own vomit and force it to look in the mirror. I think he had a rather dim view of humanity, likely going back to his wartime experiences under the japanese, and behind the cool, detached narrative of High Rise and other novels i reckon there's an author chuckling away quietly to himself at the terrible and often random suffering inflicted on his characters. There's something very darkly comic about it all for me which would set it apart a bit from LotF.

That's what my gut was telling me—that it's basic misanthropy, with a dark comedic attack on upper class superiority. I know Mark E. Smith was a fan of Ballard, so that all jibes with a dark view of human nature.

[Low Down Low]

I'm maybe a third of the way in High-Rise and I'm sufficiently intrigued. It seems to be a response or rebuttal to Golding's Lord of the Flies. However, I'm not sure if the rebuttal is that civilization (represented by the tower) makes people monsters (kind of a Rousseau thing) or that civilization won't help because human beings are basically monsters (Hobbes). But I don't know enough about Ballard to discern his view of humanity.

Definitely more the Hobbes take from what I've read. There's a quote i remember along the lines his aim was to rub the human race's face in its own vomit and force it to look in the mirror. I think he had a rather dim view of humanity, likely going back to his wartime experiences under the japanese, and behind the cool, detached narrative of High Rise and other novels i reckon there's an author chuckling away quietly to himself at the terrible and often random suffering inflicted on his characters. There's something very darkly comic about it all for me which would set it apart a bit from LotF.

That's what my gut was telling me—that it's basic misanthropy, with a dark comedic attack on upper class superiority. I know Mark E. Smith was a fan of Ballard, so that all jibes with a dark view of human nature.

Yeah, a few Ballard references in Joy Division too. I dont know if ballard himself was textbook misanthrope, but i do think he had come to the conclusion quite early on, and quite presciently it has to be said, that human beings were basically in the process of fucking up the planet and, very likely, irrevocably. His early "climate" novels are eerily uncanny in how they presage current trends, though i suspect they are simply the product of a remarkably vivid imagination as anything else.

[Dr. Medulla]

I'm maybe a third of the way in High-Rise and I'm sufficiently intrigued. It seems to be a response or rebuttal to Golding's Lord of the Flies. However, I'm not sure if the rebuttal is that civilization (represented by the tower) makes people monsters (kind of a Rousseau thing) or that civilization won't help because human beings are basically monsters (Hobbes). But I don't know enough about Ballard to discern his view of humanity.

Definitely more the Hobbes take from what I've read. There's a quote i remember along the lines his aim was to rub the human race's face in its own vomit and force it to look in the mirror. I think he had a rather dim view of humanity, likely going back to his wartime experiences under the japanese, and behind the cool, detached narrative of High Rise and other novels i reckon there's an author chuckling away quietly to himself at the terrible and often random suffering inflicted on his characters. There's something very darkly comic about it all for me which would set it apart a bit from LotF.

That's what my gut was telling me—that it's basic misanthropy, with a dark comedic attack on upper class superiority. I know Mark E. Smith was a fan of Ballard, so that all jibes with a dark view of human nature.

Yeah, a few Ballard references in Joy Division too. I dont know if ballard himself was textbook misanthrope, but i do think he had come to the conclusion quite early on, and quite presciently it has to be said, that human beings were basically in the process of fucking up the planet and, very likely, irrevocably. His early "climate" novels are eerily uncanny in how they presage current trends, though i suspect they are simply the product of a remarkably vivid imagination as anything else.

For my own mental health, then, I might not explore anything further of his after this one.

[Kory]

I'm maybe a third of the way in High-Rise and I'm sufficiently intrigued. It seems to be a response or rebuttal to Golding's Lord of the Flies. However, I'm not sure if the rebuttal is that civilization (represented by the tower) makes people monsters (kind of a Rousseau thing) or that civilization won't help because human beings are basically monsters (Hobbes). But I don't know enough about Ballard to discern his view of humanity.

Definitely more the Hobbes take from what I've read. There's a quote i remember along the lines his aim was to rub the human race's face in its own vomit and force it to look in the mirror. I think he had a rather dim view of humanity, likely going back to his wartime experiences under the japanese, and behind the cool, detached narrative of High Rise and other novels i reckon there's an author chuckling away quietly to himself at the terrible and often random suffering inflicted on his characters. There's something very darkly comic about it all for me which would set it apart a bit from LotF.

That's what my gut was telling me—that it's basic misanthropy, with a dark comedic attack on upper class superiority. I know Mark E. Smith was a fan of Ballard, so that all jibes with a dark view of human nature.

Yeah, a few Ballard references in Joy Division too. I dont know if ballard himself was textbook misanthrope, but i do think he had come to the conclusion quite early on, and quite presciently it has to be said, that human beings were basically in the process of fucking up the planet and, very likely, irrevocably. His early "climate" novels are eerily uncanny in how they presage current trends, though i suspect they are simply the product of a remarkably vivid imagination as anything else.

For my own mental health, then, I might not explore anything further of his after this one.

If you really value mental health, definitely stay away from the Atrocity Exhibition.

edit: and Crash. High-Rise has been my favorite book of his so far, I was pleased with how faithful the film was. However, it was my understanding that it was more on the Rousseau side, but about modern civilization specifically. I'll have to go back and do some research again.

I got a couple books of his short-stories that I also have on deck.

[Low Down Low]

Definitely more the Hobbes take from what I've read. There's a quote i remember along the lines his aim was to rub the human race's face in its own vomit and force it to look in the mirror. I think he had a rather dim view of humanity, likely going back to his wartime experiences under the japanese, and behind the cool, detached narrative of High Rise and other novels i reckon there's an author chuckling away quietly to himself at the terrible and often random suffering inflicted on his characters. There's something very darkly comic about it all for me which would set it apart a bit from LotF.

That's what my gut was telling me—that it's basic misanthropy, with a dark comedic attack on upper class superiority. I know Mark E. Smith was a fan of Ballard, so that all jibes with a dark view of human nature.

Yeah, a few Ballard references in Joy Division too. I dont know if ballard himself was textbook misanthrope, but i do think he had come to the conclusion quite early on, and quite presciently it has to be said, that human beings were basically in the process of fucking up the planet and, very likely, irrevocably. His early "climate" novels are eerily uncanny in how they presage current trends, though i suspect they are simply the product of a remarkably vivid imagination as anything else.

For my own mental health, then, I might not explore anything further of his after this one.

If you really value mental health, definitely stay away from the Atrocity Exhibition.

edit: and Crash. High-Rise has been my favorite book of his so far, I was pleased with how faithful the film was. However, it was my understanding that it was more on the Rousseau side, but about modern civilization specifically. I'll have to go back and do some research again.

I got a couple books of his short-stories that I also have on deck.

You could be right on that, all about interpretation. Agree on Atrocity Exhibition and Crash. Dont think i got 10 pages into the former, totally impenetrable to me, and while i found Crash very skilfully written, it truly appalled me at the same time. I've never seen the movie and dont particularly ever want to.

[Kory]

That's what my gut was telling me—that it's basic misanthropy, with a dark comedic attack on upper class superiority. I know Mark E. Smith was a fan of Ballard, so that all jibes with a dark view of human nature.

Yeah, a few Ballard references in Joy Division too. I dont know if ballard himself was textbook misanthrope, but i do think he had come to the conclusion quite early on, and quite presciently it has to be said, that human beings were basically in the process of fucking up the planet and, very likely, irrevocably. His early "climate" novels are eerily uncanny in how they presage current trends, though i suspect they are simply the product of a remarkably vivid imagination as anything else.

For my own mental health, then, I might not explore anything further of his after this one.

If you really value mental health, definitely stay away from the Atrocity Exhibition.

edit: and Crash. High-Rise has been my favorite book of his so far, I was pleased with how faithful the film was. However, it was my understanding that it was more on the Rousseau side, but about modern civilization specifically. I'll have to go back and do some research again.

I got a couple books of his short-stories that I also have on deck.

You could be right on that, all about interpretation. Agree on Atrocity Exhibition and Crash. Dont think i got 10 pages into the former, totally impenetrable to me, and while i found Crash very skilfully written, it truly appalled me at the same time. I've never seen the movie and dont particularly ever want to.

I'm a fairly large Cronenberg fan, but that one just doesn't hit the mark. It was actually a bit on the boring side.

[Low Down Low]

Yeah, a few Ballard references in Joy Division too. I dont know if ballard himself was textbook misanthrope, but i do think he had come to the conclusion quite early on, and quite presciently it has to be said, that human beings were basically in the process of fucking up the planet and, very likely, irrevocably. His early "climate" novels are eerily uncanny in how they presage current trends, though i suspect they are simply the product of a remarkably vivid imagination as anything else.

For my own mental health, then, I might not explore anything further of his after this one.

If you really value mental health, definitely stay away from the Atrocity Exhibition.

edit: and Crash. High-Rise has been my favorite book of his so far, I was pleased with how faithful the film was. However, it was my understanding that it was more on the Rousseau side, but about modern civilization specifically. I'll have to go back and do some research again.

I got a couple books of his short-stories that I also have on deck.

You could be right on that, all about interpretation. Agree on Atrocity Exhibition and Crash. Dont think i got 10 pages into the former, totally impenetrable to me, and while i found Crash very skilfully written, it truly appalled me at the same time. I've never seen the movie and dont particularly ever want to.

I'm a fairly large Cronenberg fan, but that one just doesn't hit the mark. It was actually a bit on the boring side.

My curiosity is almost piqued. Thinking it must be quite the achievement to actually make that novel boring...

[Kory]

For my own mental health, then, I might not explore anything further of his after this one.

If you really value mental health, definitely stay away from the Atrocity Exhibition.

edit: and Crash. High-Rise has been my favorite book of his so far, I was pleased with how faithful the film was. However, it was my understanding that it was more on the Rousseau side, but about modern civilization specifically. I'll have to go back and do some research again.

I got a couple books of his short-stories that I also have on deck.

You could be right on that, all about interpretation. Agree on Atrocity Exhibition and Crash. Dont think i got 10 pages into the former, totally impenetrable to me, and while i found Crash very skilfully written, it truly appalled me at the same time. I've never seen the movie and dont particularly ever want to.

I'm a fairly large Cronenberg fan, but that one just doesn't hit the mark. It was actually a bit on the boring side.

My curiosity is almost piqued. Thinking it must be quite the achievement to actually make that novel boring...

I'd hate to tell you how to spend your time, but I hope you don't watch it. You'll wish you had done something else.

[Low Down Low]

If you really value mental health, definitely stay away from the Atrocity Exhibition.

edit: and Crash. High-Rise has been my favorite book of his so far, I was pleased with how faithful the film was. However, it was my understanding that it was more on the Rousseau side, but about modern civilization specifically. I'll have to go back and do some research again.

I got a couple books of his short-stories that I also have on deck.

You could be right on that, all about interpretation. Agree on Atrocity Exhibition and Crash. Dont think i got 10 pages into the former, totally impenetrable to me, and while i found Crash very skilfully written, it truly appalled me at the same time. I've never seen the movie and dont particularly ever want to.

I'm a fairly large Cronenberg fan, but that one just doesn't hit the mark. It was actually a bit on the boring side.

My curiosity is almost piqued. Thinking it must be quite the achievement to actually make that novel boring...

I'd hate to tell you how to spend your time, but I hope you don't watch it. You'll wish you had done something else.

Nah, dont worry, as cavalier as i can be with my limited time, i dont see my curiosity piqued enough to actually go seek it out or anything! I have a ton of grainy old black and white world war 2 movies to get through first anyway!

[Kory]

You could be right on that, all about interpretation. Agree on Atrocity Exhibition and Crash. Dont think i got 10 pages into the former, totally impenetrable to me, and while i found Crash very skilfully written, it truly appalled me at the same time. I've never seen the movie and dont particularly ever want to.

I'm a fairly large Cronenberg fan, but that one just doesn't hit the mark. It was actually a bit on the boring side.

My curiosity is almost piqued. Thinking it must be quite the achievement to actually make that novel boring...

I'd hate to tell you how to spend your time, but I hope you don't watch it. You'll wish you had done something else.

Nah, dont worry, as cavalier as i can be with my limited time, i dont see my curiosity piqued enough to actually go seek it out or anything! I have a ton of grainy old black and white world war 2 movies to get through first anyway!

Project them on the wall of the studio while Sandy Pearlman forces you to re-record your basslines over and over!