What are you reading?

[bukka]

Vital reading. You're in for a treat. An elliptical, looping, free-associative internal descent into mental disintegration - or is it the truest representation of how we all function? Dark, but very (grotesquely!) funny. His voice speaks to me more than any other. (Along with Thomas Bernhardt.)

Sounds just like his plays, great. I'm impatient to start, I have the last part of the trilogy (I didn't know it was one when I ordered it) so I'll wait for Molloy to arrive (next week hopefully!).
And you're currently reading?

[galia]

I think I've real almost everything by Beckett, and the one novel I remember most vividly is the one called, I think, "Premier amour" in French. Not sure about the English title. So I would recommend that, if you want to read something funny, sad and a little bit gross

[kamsky]

Back to Beckett, never read his novels, only the famous plays so far. Anyone here who read Molloy's trilogy? Fuuma, Kamsky?

Haven't read 'L'innommable' yet, but soon! Your post actually makes me wanna pick it up, but probably it'd be a better idea to just re-start the trilogy -- been several years since I read 'Molloy' and 'Malone meurt' (I let a couple years elapse between those two, as well).

I like Galia's recommendation and would add 'Le dépeupleur' if you want to sort of ease into his prose; you could conceivably read through each of these in one sitting.

[AKA*NYC]

Finished it yesterday. I don't agree, at all. It can be your favorite, sure, but it doesn't make this his "most important" text.

did you miss the part where i wrote "for me"? i don't think his philosophy can be judged as "good" or "bad" or as anything other than a personal world view. btw. the reason mishima is known more for his personal exploits than writing style is because his writing is not regarded by critics as very groundbreaking or important. i'm not a critic or versed enough in literature to agree or disagree.

[bukka]

did you miss the part where i wrote "for me"? i don't think his philosophy can be judged as "good" or "bad" or as anything other than a personal world view. btw. the reason mishima is known more for his personal exploits than writing style is because his writing is not regarded by critics as very groundbreaking or important. i'm not a critic or versed enough in literature to agree or disagree.

I interpreted this as: "for me sun and steel is mishima's most important text, in regards to Japanese history of literature". Obviously it's your personal opinion, but I still disagree and that's what I intended to discuss.
You're right, his philosophy isn't good or bad, I said it was "poor", i.e. not relevant in a historic perspective.
I'm surprised by the last part of your message, I always thought he was regarded by critics as groundbreaking for his writings and the topics addressed (homosexuality for example). Of course his life made him what he is right now, but I was comparing his writings to his philosophy, not his life. I'll try to look for more information about this. The letters to Kawabata might help.

Beckett breath new life to this thread Thanks for your recommandations Galia and Kamsky, I'll make sure to read this with the trilogy. (Galia, en français c'est très bien)

[AKA*NYC]

I'm surprised by the last part of your message, I always thought he was regarded by critics as groundbreaking for his writings and the topics addressed (homosexuality for example). Of course his life made him what he is right now, but I was comparing his writings to his philosophy, not his life. I'll try to look for more information about this. The letters to Kawabata might help.

during the mishima symposium at lincoln center william t. vollmann noted that it was he who introduced haruki murakami to mishima's writings. vollmann was surprised that murakami, one of japan's most celebrated writers, had never read a single page of mishima.

[byhand]

I've only dipped a toe into Asian fiction having finally worked through most of Murakami. Where to start with Mishima? His wiki page is a total WTF. Death by ritual suicide, a bodybuilding career, an aristocratic grandmother who according to the wiki page "did not let Mishima venture into sunlight." Add a few sprinkles of the father who held the young boy up to the side of a speeding train as a punishment tactic and the ritual suicide seems almost inevitable.

[Resonkuken]

I´ve got "The Temple of the Golden Pavillion" a few months back but have not gotten around to read it yet. I was convinced I had to read Mishima after reading an article on a magazine called Ñu, but mostly after watching "Mishima: A life in four chapters". I´m currently unable to clear the needed time to finish reading Murakami´s "Kafka on the shore".

[AKA*NYC]

temple of the golden pavilion is a good place to start. or confessions of a mask. or sun and steel if you want the straight no chaser summation of his worldview.

[bukka]

I've only dipped a toe into Asian fiction having finally worked through most of Murakami. Where to start with Mishima? His wiki page is a total WTF. Death by ritual suicide, a bodybuilding career, an aristocratic grandmother who according to the wiki page "did not let Mishima venture into sunlight." Add a few sprinkles of the father who held the young boy up to the side of a speeding train as a punishment tactic and the ritual suicide seems almost inevitable.

Life of Mishima by John Nathan, his friend and translator. Great biography, his life was just like a novel. Give it a try.

during the mishima symposium at lincoln center william t. vollmann noted that it was he who introduced haruki murakami to mishima's writings. vollmann was surprised that murakami, one of japan's most celebrated writers, had never read a single page of mishima.

Well, this story tells more about Murakami than Mishima

Second your suggestion, Confession of a Mask is the one who made him famous in Japan and a great starting point.

Currently reading Yoshimoto Banana's Kitchen, a bit boring so far. Translation seems quite bad.

[Faust]

Anyone else here who has no patience for Murakami? Please tell me I am not alone and the whole world has gone insane.

[Resonkuken]

Really? I can´t get enough of him. He creates magic out of seemingly run-of-the-mill characters.

[AKA*NYC]

i'm only 75 or so pages in but so far so good...

[Faust]

Just finished Overdressed by Elizabeth Cline

http://www.overdressedthebook.com

Good read. It's aimed at the general audience, so if you have actually thought about fast fashion (and fashion in general) and the damage it inflicts, there is not much new here for you. It's a primer that does not delve deep into issues of sweatshop labor or environmental damage.

Cline's personal story of awakening from being a shopaholic aided and abetted by cheap prices and becoming a responsible consumer seems either contrived or dismaying, depending on how charitable you want to be.

However, the book is good at providing some pretty harrowing statistics and probably should be taught at 101 classes in all design schools.

[GucciAmen]

Just finished "Anna Karenina" by Leo Tolstoy (great Russian classic by the way). Tried a much lighter read a week ago, which I'm actually almost done with now, called "A Hero of Our Time" by Mikhail Lermontov. This novel actually started the Russian golden age of prose in the 19th C. and rightfully so! Highly recommend it.