tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911087927983597831.post1105595736068777526..comments2024-01-02T15:37:04.858-05:00Comments on Caravana de recuerdos: WoodcuttersRichardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01746599416342846897noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911087927983597831.post-65083944397947831122013-09-30T16:56:39.824-04:002013-09-30T16:56:39.824-04:00"Acid tongued" is a perfect way to put i..."Acid tongued" is a perfect way to put it, Stu, and Bernhard's corrosive sense of humor seemed particularly on target/laugh-inducing in this novel from my perspective.Richardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01746599416342846897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911087927983597831.post-47801340912505314702013-09-29T07:57:48.812-04:002013-09-29T07:57:48.812-04:00I love the acid tongued narrator of this novel ,he...I love the acid tongued narrator of this novel ,he is so in the mould of his other narrators the way he picks apart the people surrounding him and there world ,all the best stuAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911087927983597831.post-45290367568914109442013-09-26T00:39:16.365-04:002013-09-26T00:39:16.365-04:00Scott, glad the commenting problem from the other ...Scott, glad the commenting problem from the other day seems to have been resolved. Funnily enough, I remember you mentioning elsewhere how your initial Bernhard experience had induced a mix of joy and dread--so maybe I should read <em>Correction</em> next so I can understand the profundity of this mixed reaction of yours! I realize Bernhard can be a bit much at times, but he makes me laugh so hard and so often that I can't resist the insult onslaughts of his narrators (to the point where I can only say: Refreshing? Yes!).Richardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01746599416342846897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911087927983597831.post-78179591554178487402013-09-26T00:27:48.385-04:002013-09-26T00:27:48.385-04:00I'm three for three with the Bernhards I'v...I'm three for three with the Bernhards I've tried so far, Scott, but I think this one would make a particularly fine place to start should you be looking for a can't miss title to try the author out (as Tom, the Bernhard expert, has also attested). Looking back on our <em>Dead Souls</em> group read earlier in the year, here's one last <em>Woodcutters</em> quote for you to try and seal the deal: "And it struck me that I would have done better to spend this evening--or rather this whole night--reading Gogol or Dostoevski or Chekhov, rather than to come to this hateful dinner party in the Gentzgasse" (10). Ah, "wickedly good," indeed!Richardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01746599416342846897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911087927983597831.post-51973056045116703592013-09-25T21:00:06.587-04:002013-09-25T21:00:06.587-04:00Tom, how do you stop quoting, indeed? Was a littl...Tom, how do you stop quoting, indeed? Was a little nervous that I might not be able to work all my fave passages in without quoting the entire book--much like freshmen of my generation tended to highlight entire pages of textbooks before learning how to take reading notes properly--but I don't know that anybody would have been up for the blogging equivalent of a 181-page post. Interesting note about the "earchair,"by the way. I had to Google image a wing chair to see what the hell Bernhard was talking about, but now I feel my furniture knowledge is suddenly at an all time high.Richardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01746599416342846897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911087927983597831.post-69634274775804815442013-09-25T20:46:48.800-04:002013-09-25T20:46:48.800-04:00Rise, the narrator's occasional self-criticism...Rise, the narrator's occasional self-criticism and his unexpected temporary change of opinion regarding the actor made the novel's character development and plot feel more organic to me. Not fake. Of course, I loved the line, "Although I still found the Burgtheater actor repugnant, he had momentarily earned my esteem" (168), as I recall, sitting in the wing chair.Richardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01746599416342846897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911087927983597831.post-21000252416455625582013-09-25T19:02:41.441-04:002013-09-25T19:02:41.441-04:00I came so close to picking this up last week, and ...I came so close to picking this up last week, and had I know you were going to write about it I'd have most certainly done it. I'm half dreaming of, half dreading a return to Bernhard, having only read <i>Correction</i>. But the dread is of the sort that comes from risks with a big pay off. It's astonishing how refreshing such "kvetching" seems after so much of the <i>serious literature</i> one reads.seraillonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17654593356535433945noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911087927983597831.post-21517459137460308162013-09-25T17:56:32.299-04:002013-09-25T17:56:32.299-04:00Séamus, I'd start with this book (as Tom advis...Séamus, I'd start with this book (as Tom advises below) or the slightly kinder & gentler <em>Wittgenstein's Nephew</em> (another great book but more elegiac and hence not quite as wild as this one). Have thoroughly enjoyed all three Bernhard's I've read to date, by the way.<br /><br />I'll try and post on <em>Angle of Repose</em> by Sunday or Monday--took a break from reading it but hope to get back on track later tonight.Richardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01746599416342846897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911087927983597831.post-71636716921890242842013-09-25T17:49:12.746-04:002013-09-25T17:49:12.746-04:00Have you read Bernhard before, Tony? Whatever, yo...Have you read Bernhard before, Tony? Whatever, you're in for a good time, my friend.Richardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01746599416342846897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911087927983597831.post-1007967271592488882013-09-25T12:32:31.468-04:002013-09-25T12:32:31.468-04:00Wickedly good, excellent. Bernhard is one of those...Wickedly good, excellent. Bernhard is one of those writers of whom I've been peripherally aware for the last couple of years but whose books I have never quite managed to purchase. This post might be the very spur to action I've been needing.<br /><br />Why am I not surprised that Mr Tom Reader has read this already?scott g.f.baileyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05726743149139510832noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911087927983597831.post-5633970243041510102013-09-25T10:52:20.485-04:002013-09-25T10:52:20.485-04:00Fantastic stuff. How do you stop quoting. It is ...Fantastic stuff. How do you stop quoting. It is tempting to quote Bernhard to the point of exhaustion, which is also perhaps how he wrote his novels.<br /><br />A local expert tells me that "wingchair," in German, is actually "earchair," which is even more appropriate.<br /><br />Seamus - start with this one, unless you prefer painting to theater, in which case go with <i>Old Masters</i>.Amateur Reader (Tom)https://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911087927983597831.post-81355922333142301642013-09-25T07:41:59.316-04:002013-09-25T07:41:59.316-04:00It's funny how even the narrator did not let h...It's funny how even the narrator did not let himself off the hook from his own ranting. And how he viewed the actor gone philosopher at the end of the party. Read this 3 months ago, sitting in the wing chair.Risehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17446964640160585194noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911087927983597831.post-39264906447473682722013-09-25T03:01:54.180-04:002013-09-25T03:01:54.180-04:00Bernhard is one of the biggest gaps in my reading....Bernhard is one of the biggest gaps in my reading. He sounds almost as crotchety as I am. I must dig one up somewhere. Where would you start?<br />(On a different subject, I am on the final fifty pages of Angle of Repose and hoping to have the post ready for the weekend. You?)Séamus Dugganhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00574186409184247059noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911087927983597831.post-77280553348456514542013-09-25T02:32:13.354-04:002013-09-25T02:32:13.354-04:00I've got a German-language copy of this on the...I've got a German-language copy of this on the way for German Literature Month, and now I can't wait to read it :)Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07546287562521628467noreply@blogger.com