Maybe there’s more going on in McCarthy’s work than just world-weariness, whereas Mutis is focused on that sense of superficiality and jadedness to the point that it excludes other details and depths? Thanks for the thoughtful analysis, this was interesting to read.
Wow, fascinating to hear. Again, haven’t read the book, but it seems to me that you’re pretty clear-eyed about the ways in which it doesn’t work for you. It all just has me curious (like you) about how so many people can be so enchanted by it—a quick Google reveals very positive reviews from some major heavy hitters in literary critique.
I do think that the academy/literary establishment tends to privilege disenchantment and jadedness to a very high degree (so much so that it’s almost integral to literary realism), so maybe that’s the disconnect? I know personally that I also dislike totally jaded writing, and so am turned off by a decent chunk of well-regarded literature because it strikes me as almost disingenuously cool and detached and disbelieving. Like, some works attempt to be so clear-eyed about the human capacity for evil and self-interest that they actually become almost cartoonish, no longer reflecting the positive valences of real lived experience.
Are there any other books with that kind of jaded, detached narrator that you do enjoy? It sounds like this could have been a perfectly bad combination for you of rambling Quixotic travelog and falsely worldly self-affectedly jaded protagonist.
So many people in the NYT comments angry about the assertion that everybody loves cheese, but I certainly do. Shout out to every underpaid cheesemonger slicing me off bits of their favorite cheese so I can nibble mouse-like at it…reading this has inspired me to go searching for some truly good local cheese places. Thanks for posting, Powderhorn!
I have not read the book, but I did enjoy the video clip! I can’t imagine anything wrong with a book in which a man claims to invent the question mark, for example…/j
But seriously, most of the praise I see for the book is comparing it to Don Quixote, so I have to assume it’s one of those works that aims for intentionally overwrought satire, which I feel like either lands (if you find the material funny) or is totally unreadable (if it’s meant for other people’s senses of humor).
Do you agree with what the positive reviews point out as being assets, or do they seem to be receiving the work really differently? Definitely this description doesn’t make me want to go searching for a copy.
Love this; especially the attention to detail in lightsaber battle technique. Just noting that it looks like part got cut off—“Mitch McCAInnell was clearly acting in a manner his totally alive counterpart” doesn’t finish—and I’m sad to be missing a potential other awesome quip. I hadn’t realized people post OC in this channel, and I hope you’ll share more!!!
I find that, for me, the best thing I can do to get around a block is to stop attacking it. My mind works in the background and eventually produces a strong solution.
Some specifics are: long walks during which I intentionally don’t think about that project, a few days writing another section or tackling a different piece entirely, or editing for a while rather than writing. The best thing I can do for a book-length project after the first draft is stop looking at it for a few months, but you can apply the same principle (that taking your conscious mind off the work allows new thoughts to percolate) for any duration during the drafting process.
I agree with Powderhorn’s assessment, though, that your framing of this hurdle sounds less about struggling to compose sentences and more about struggling with the content emotionally. In those cases, I tend to lean on friends or writing partners and aim to talk out/about the issue before putting it to paper.
I hope you find a new creative path forward!
I’ve been trying to come out of a reading slump by returning to some old favorites!
I’ve already read most Sherlock Holmes stories, but I haven’t gotten to every single one in His Last Bow or The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes, so I’ve borrowed a complete collection and promptly gotten sidetracked by rereading The Hound of the Baskervilles.
I also finally got around to reading the Anne of Green Gables series, and absolutely adored the first few books. The older and more restrained Anne gets, the less engaging I find them, but it’s a very comfortable series and I was gifted all eight paperbacks, so I soldier on through book seven. Anybody else in the community doing some recent reading?
I still haven’t made the jump from “putting things in the ground” to “thriving garden” in this state—I wasn’t made for the high desert! But my lettuce seeds are turning into lettuce seedlings, my pea vines are vining, and all of my cheap pansy annuals are thriving. I’m also seeing corn stalks come up, which is new and exciting. I just keep feeling like everything is slow and late for the season. I’m just glad to be out there in the dirt. Congratulations on your thriving lavender!!!
Ooh, congratulations! I’ve had a few ladybugs around my yard, but I’m mostly overrun with false chitbugs instead of aphids, and they don’t seem to be making a dent. Hope your buggy community keeps thriving!
What a wonderful sentiment! Your friends are lucky to have someone supportive in their lives, even from a distance—it’s an honor to be able to provide that to loved ones (but also sometimes feels like a big challenge to live up to).
I was surprised at the number of people in the comments who, neither vegan nor lactose-intolerant, simply hate cheese. A truly vocal minority (though, as one person launched in to defend with specific statistics, clearly not an insignificant minority).