Wantok

An incredible novel. I've never read something with a plot so ultimately pointless yet so engaging and gripping to read. It truly is a fascinating portrait of a person's life, and yet also, I thought anyway, a description of the idealogical and aesthetic groups that people (mostly young people) create. Mythicized individuals who are constructed as totems and in the end are painfully ordinary people, elitist creators who lash out with their own set of defined morality which becomes arbitrary and in the end was meaningless and the individuals that are swept up in their charisma and the enjoyment of connection in a group. The book as a whole described how in the end often our lives are defined by the impression we leave on people and how we're remembered, the two main protagonists of this book are never characterized through first person narration, we only learn about them through the perception and memory of others. Their absurd quest is ultimately pointless yet the book spans decades. It in a way holds a microcosm of humanity and human association, lives that come together for one cause and gradually and inevitably drift along to their final conclusion, never stopping.

A delightful odyssey, a joy from start to finish. It's strange, it reminded me a bit of Murakami's writing style, the narrative continuously builds, almost every paragraph holds some new revelation about Milkman's universe and everyone associated with him. Different from Murakami of course is entirely believable characters everywhere, especially the females that constitute the backbone of the story and in a way Milkman himself. “What harm did I do you on my knee?” Continues to ring in my mind for some reason, thinking about the disturbing visions of both Milkman's parents. Continuously conflicting the reader with whether or not to sympathize or condemn the hateful Macon Dead, and be revolted or endeared to deranged Ruth Dead, in the end both are deeply flawed and fearful, nightmarish to read about. The same with Milkman's other two main compatriots, Hagar and Guitar, excellent characters who display nearly opposite forms of mania, Hagar's life dependent on the existence and love of one, Guitar's life dependent on vengeance and the killing of random others. Milkman himself to me became an enigma, I wasn't sure whether to pity him, cheer for him, scold him or deride him... But I saw myself in him all the same. It truly is a coming of age story, and I think the lesson finally learned in the end, spoken by the Judge Holden of the novel Pilate (who herself is, I think, the victory of Morrison's novel outside of Guitar's anti-villainism), is in her final words. Milkman finds community, the meaning of his life, when his life is already half over. Maybe I can find that a little sooner. This will be a fun reread someday.

A complete, punch for punch magnum opus. Nabokov weaves the imaginative romantic images of Lolita into the evasive word games of Pale Fire and creates an incredible journey. His writing style always arrests me with it's effortless yet acrobatic syntax and rhythm but this reaches a new level. Truly one of the most significant works of literature in the english language, it is one of the most intimate depictions of love and inspires a realistic and revelational vision of age and time. I can't think of many other experiences that have both given me new insights into the nature of love, while at the same time making me realistically contemplate the end of my life. A book to be studied and reread for decades.

Great book, a superb shot in the arm for people getting sluggish on reading, and pretty easy to put down and pick up. Been reading this on my lunch break at work, and it's super fun to read Bloom I think because his obsessive enjoyment of literature is pretty infectious. I also got this primarily to help me comprehend and appreciate poetry more and Bloom gives some great tips and great directions to go to for poetry (John Muir, take a hike ......heh). Also gave me some great new recommendations, never been more stoked to read Blood Meridian, and never knew about Invisible Man and Song of Solomon, which both sound fantastic. Pretty much every piece of literature he talks about in here I want to read. Anyway, fun book!

I think I'd go a 3.5 if it was allowable on here. While Dostoevsky's penchant for engaging and incredibly realistic dialogue is often on full display, to me it often felt winding and a little much. I guess it's always maybe prideful of someone reviewing to say things could have been trimmed from the novel, since it's the author's artistic choice to leave things in, but to me a lot of the book felt superfluous. I think it's evident that a lot of these characters would later be condensed in Karamazov. Lebedev and General Ivolgin are different shades of Fyodor Pavlovich, Prince Myshkin and Kolya are two different sides of Alyosha, Keller and Gavrila are shades of Mitya, etc. So all that being said, a lot of the dialogue ends up feeling repetitive, though Lebedev and the General are genuinely entertaining characters, and in all respects the purpose is to keep using the Prince as a foil compared to more depraved beings than him, it becomes somewhat tiresome, to me anyhow.
On a different note however, the fourth part is much more engaging to me, and redeems the book quite a bit, though the ending is rather abrupt and sudden. I can also see how the length of the novel is justified by how it must orchestrate and set up such a profound test of the virtuous Myshkin. Such a specific conundrum the Prince runs into, it's an interesting corner that Dostoevsky paints him into. At the same time the ending seems to almost unravel the Prince's character. Anyhow, I also love Dostoevsky's persistent use of misquotation to make his dialogue more real, also a big help to read annotated copies, it makes the characterization deeper I'd say. Still enjoyed the book, but it's evident to me I might have been better off going to Crime and Punishment before this, though again, I don't see this as a waste of time by any means.