tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687975489922145220.post2262857962896599785..comments2023-08-10T04:03:44.387-04:00Comments on This Book and I Could Be Friends: "watching a parade of monsters go by"Eileenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11058705381647529328noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687975489922145220.post-10566307078368456162010-05-24T20:17:37.236-04:002010-05-24T20:17:37.236-04:00Ooh, I can't wait to read this one! (All my c...Ooh, I can't wait to read this one! (All my comments on your site today sound like a squealing fangirl. Will stop now.)<br /><br />Ahem. Getting down to more controversial/intellectual concerns, I just re-read that Achebe essay, and I was a lot more sympathetic to it now than when I read it the first time in college. That said, I still don't really buy what he's selling, which is that <em>Heart of Darkness</em> is poisonously racist even by the standards of Conrad's day...I just don't see it. Yeah, there was a good deal of Orientalizing going on, but that's true in all European lit from the time period. I mean, Conrad thought he was writing an ANTI-racist novel, in the same way Harriet Beecher Stowe did, and while we should certainly address the fact that there is a negative set of consequences from the "wild African savage" and "grinning Uncle Tom" stereotypes those two authors perpetuated, it doesn't mean Stowe & Conrad were both MORE racist than most other white folks of the time. You know? Not that it makes their racism very charming, or anything.Emilyhttp://www.eveningallafternoon.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687975489922145220.post-14664448530477340052010-05-23T14:25:51.959-04:002010-05-23T14:25:51.959-04:00mel u: One Night in Chile is next on my Bolaño TBR...mel u: <i>One Night in Chile</i> is next on my Bolaño TBR list.<br /><br />Richard: My phrasing of Achebe's position actually comes from David Denby's memoir <i>Great Books</i>. I probably should've phrased it differently, now that I think of it. What Achebe said was that "a novel which celebrates this dehumanization, which depersonalizes a portion of the human race" cannot "be called a great work of art." So technically I think that <i>is</i> what he's saying (that <i>HOD</i> doesn't belong in the canon) but there's more room for interpretation there. He has also said that he doesn't think it should be banned or that we shouldn't read it.Eileenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11058705381647529328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687975489922145220.post-28165169447794271232010-05-23T02:12:19.693-04:002010-05-23T02:12:19.693-04:00Glad you liked this, E.L. Fay, and thanks for the ...Glad you liked this, E.L. Fay, and thanks for the link love. Whatever Bolaño's theoretical concerns in <em>Nazi Literature in the Americas</em>, this book is by far the funniest of the several I've read by him so far and one of my favorite three along with <em>The Savage Detectives</em> and <em>2666</em>. I hope you'll consider reading <em>Distant Star</em>, which is also brilliant, next since you had a preview of it in the last chapter of this book. Did <em>Nazi Literature in the Americas</em> reminded you of Borges' "Pierre Menard, Author of the <em>Quixote</em>" at all, though? It did for me! P.S. Achebe's nuts if you represented his position correctly! Canon-formation is rather stupid in the first place, but your canon will look like the <em>Mr. Rogers Show</em> if you start excluding works based on things that some people might find offensive. Fuck that noise!Richardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01746599416342846897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687975489922145220.post-45313391359730146532010-05-22T23:09:46.612-04:002010-05-22T23:09:46.612-04:00Very interesting post-I found Nazi Literature in t...Very interesting post-I found Nazi Literature in the Americas hilarious-I have read 2666 and Savage Detectives-plus One Night in Chile-all brilliant but maybe I like Savage Detectives the mostMel uhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08714473754458914681noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687975489922145220.post-8758296656669933322010-05-22T19:04:55.123-04:002010-05-22T19:04:55.123-04:00Irisonbooks: I strongly recommend anything and eve...Irisonbooks: I strongly recommend anything and everything by Roberto Bolaño. Since <i>Nazi Literature</i> is the shortest book (other than <i>Antwerp</i>, but that's more prose poetry) I would start there. <i>The Savage Detectives</i> is incredible but I can see some readers getting bogged down in the middle. <i>2666</i> is humongous but it's divided into five distinct books that can be read on their own.<br /><br />Claire: I've read a total of four Bolaños now but will be reading more! Why oh why did he have to die so soon?Eileenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11058705381647529328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687975489922145220.post-37357694940256789032010-05-22T14:49:58.278-04:002010-05-22T14:49:58.278-04:00Interesting bit about Achebe. I also loved Heart o...Interesting bit about Achebe. I also loved Heart of Darkness, despite everything. Everyone IS a product of his time!<br /><br />How many Bolaños have you read already? I haven't touched one after 2666. Always mean to, though. And I'm putting this one next after The Savage Detectives.clairehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14397226316253896335noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687975489922145220.post-53162753131975403062010-05-22T14:41:41.643-04:002010-05-22T14:41:41.643-04:00This sounds very interesting! I've never read ...This sounds very interesting! I've never read anything by Bolaño and I'm not sure if this would be the place to start, but I have to admit that your review makes this book sound very intriguing.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com