h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Yeah, I'm a major Graham Greene fan too, Ed! Your last by-line about the Americano had me thinking of 'Our Man in Havana', an hilarious yarn and one of my favourites. In fact only last night I dreamed that I was on holiday in Cuba and saw Fidel Castro in a bar with one of his minders. Just the kind of dream that GG would have had from what I can glean from his dream diary! I can't remember too much about the film although I did see it.

Great fun, Steve K, jokes on every page. Only other Vonnegut I've read is the one about Dresden. Not so funny. But important.

I've reached halfway in 'History:A Novel' (it's about 750 pages). A glorious moment has arrived. The Mericuns have just liberated Rome! You couldn't read the thing if you knew it was true. But since you know it is true, you have to pretend it's a novel - hence the title.

Have anyone read 'The House on Mango Street'(written by Sandra Cisneros), which is easy to read? I love the short stories and the way Cisneros expressing impressive thoughts about life, dream,etc. However, maybe people will think it is a book for children, since the sentences are very simple. For me, a non-English speaker, it's a good book and the language is very beautiful.

Here is the link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_House_On_Mango_Street

Recently finished reading Blue Mars, the conclusion of Kim Stanley Robinson's trilogy. All three made interesting reading, although there were times when it felt like reading the same book 3 times just with different starting conditions.

Currently reading "Music, A Mathematical Offering" by David Benson. A good companion to the music technology course I did last year, covering many of the same topics from a more deeply mathematical angle. And more fun than it probably sounds to many of you.

"...anyone read 'The House on Mango Street'(written by Sandra Cisneros) "

It's a lovely book! I gave a copy to my friend's 12 year old daughter, and she's re-reading it already.

Steve H:
"Breakfast...' was my first Vonnegut. I love the drawings of the ***hole and the wide-open beaver.

'Our Man in Havana':
Greene divided his novels into serious novels and 'entertainments'. He put '...Havana' in the latter category - but it's as fine as anything.

My favourite Greene? The Human Factor.

"Breakfast...' was my first Vonnegut. I love the drawings of the ***hole and the wide-open beaver."

Dang. I'm listening to an audio version, so I guess I missed the "good parts". Stanley Tucci's performance is pretty good, tho ...

Ah. Now I have Vonnegut hisself reading from BoC. He's one of those authors for whom hearing the authentic voice adds to the experience. "Like a bandsaw cutting through tinplate."

btw - in case you haven't seen the definitive Entry : A3724823

Yes, very good.

"The way to imagine Vonnegut is late at night, drunk - '...with breath smelling of bourbon and roses' - chain-smoking his high tar Pall Mall cigarettes as he pounds away, crying into his typewriter."

Sounds about right ... reminds me of college, except the roses & the typing parts ...

I don't really know what book to take with me on the aeroplane to John Lennon International (which by the way used to be called simply Speke Airport). It could be a rough flight the way the weather's closing in. I may plump for The Hobbit.
I don't really know what my favourite Graham Greene book is - there are so many great ones. Will have to think about it. The religious ones are excellent; the one set in a missionary place in Africa and also the drunken priest in Mexico one.

>>John Lennon International

"Above us only sky"

The Power and the Glory - used as the basis for a song by Prefab Sprout:
http://www.lyricsdepot.com/prefab-sprout/dont-sing.html

In one of Clive James' collections he includes a review of The Human Factor. He maintains that Greene has a number of different modules which he disassembles and reassembles to form the different characters from book to book. Thus the 'Whisky Priest' of TPatG reapears as the protaginist of The Human Factor.

The African one - A Burnt Out Case, that would be? Here the Whisky Priest is possibly both the anti-Schweitzer of the title and the narrator. Or The Comedians. Here the communist Dr has attributes of priestly devotion, but without the alcohol.

Try 'The Ministry of Fear'. Lots of nuances about the chaos, panic and resultant hard-drinking during the domestic terrors of WWII which gives a whole new meaning to "The Spirit of the Blitz".

Hey, Ed, you've saved me yet again. Inspired by your last posting I've just found my rather grubby Graham Greene Viking Portable which contains all kinds of GG stuff. The main long story in it is 'The Heart of the Matter':
Wilson sat on the balcony of the Bedford Hotel with his bald pink knees thrust against the ironwork. It was Sunday and the Cathedral bell clanged...

That's now going into my hand luggage. I'll drift into Waterstones in Lancaster on my quasi-Joycean circumlocutions for other things.

I've abandoned "We Need To Talk About Kevin" for the time being, as those lovely South-American-river people have just delivered the latest from Iain Banks, "The Steep Approach To Garbadale". It's classic Banks in a Crow Road/Business/Complicity sort of style...but no surprises so far. Mind you, I'm only quarter of the way though.

RF

>>It's classic Banks in a Crow Road/Business/Complicity sort of style...but no surprises so far.

I'm not sure how to interpret this. Surely the two at either end are reasonable books, while the last one is garbage tossed off to meet a deadline? At best a fantasy about the high life and particularly the women therein. Better than 'Dead Air', mind.


Oh...and, of course, any Greene fan should also read Anthony Burgess. 'Earthly Powers' is the obvious one, with its famous opening line. But I'd strongly recommend 'The Malayan Trilogy' also.

Anthony 'the greatest novel of the century' Burgess haunts me from the back cover of my Ulysses. Gawd, I love that book. I'm gonna read it soon as I get back.

The Italian war novel was 250 pages too long - drifted into boredom instead of quitting at the opportune moment. It's obviously very important to know when to end a book - never mind how to start one. It certainly won't make Cropherb's Good Book List.

My favourite Burgess is ... ah, the name escapes me now. and I'm too idle to look.

Still whiffling through Die Verwandlung - pretty good so far. Now I want to go to Prague

gah, I had to look. The Wanting Seed.

Now it's on my pile to be read sometime soonish

btw...I mentioned a Burgess book on 'Finnegan's Wake' but got its title wrong. Very wrong. 'Re: Joyce' was Maureen Lipman's one-woman show about Joyce Grenfell. Burgess's book was 'Joysprick'.

"Now, Matthew...put that potato down..."