It should not be so hard to write both poetry and fiction. Both arts, after all, make use of the same materials, words and punctuation. Poems...
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With all due respect to the cheerleaders - this book was like castor oil for me. I took three runs at it, could not stomach it beyond page 100. Not a single likeable character, not a mystery that engaged, full of pomp and bombast - I could not care less about any of the so-called characters. The memo dates, jumping backward, forward, one day, twenty years, two months - one would need a dedicated white board to chart this fluff, and still what would be the point? Anyone want a nice clean copy? you can have it for postage.
25 years on, Marc Reisner's Cadillac Desert remains the seminal record of water wars in the arid West. As we experience volatile climate change and staggering public debt, the follies of more than a century by the Corps of Engineers and Bureau of Reclamation set the stage for the mess we are in today out in the West. This remains one of the finest examples of non-fiction writing of our time; it is a joy to read and re-read.
There is something exceptionally aggressive about a hardbound novel as big as a Webster's dictionary - 'What does this guy have to prove?' one might ask.
Two or three chapters in, and the story is beginning to fly along, the exquisitely crafted prose is flowing, characters are coming to life and historic scenes are being shaped in vivid detail. John Sayles writes great screenplays and has supported his independent film-making career with lots of screenplay writing for others, so it shouldn't be a surprise that the man can write very well. It's not so much the story line as the finely wrought character studies that make this a great and pleasurable read. But there is the matter of that massive tome - hard to prop up in bed, impossible to carry on a bike, conspicuous - ostentatious even - to be seen in a library, coffee shop or public park reading such a thing. If you have strong wrists for supporting a 5-pounder for hours on end, this is a great summer read.
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(1 of 3 readers found this comment helpful)
David Foster Wallace - a succinct and distinctive name and brilliant talent, not unlike Vincent Van Gogh. And like VVG there has been a public rush to discover who this genius was that we largely overlooked before his suicide. Consider the Lobster is a great introduction to his brilliance in the essay format - a format that he eviscerates with great skill and energy. 'Up, Simba' is probably the most searing and original piece of political writing since Hunter S. Thompson came off the campaign trail with Fear & Loathing. I learned more about how presidential political campaigns work (circa 2000) than from all of the other reporting churned out in that period. And I was fully entertained by every page. Non-fiction in the 21st century does not get any better than this. Mr. Wallace's work will only grow in stature, in spite of his untimely death. Sorta like Vincent.
Revisionist history with a scientific backbone. Charles Mann has succeeded in knitting archaeological and anthropological findings together to turn our orthodox beliefs about the Americas, pre-Columbus, on their heads. Much of this science is not really new and many of the findings are regional and incremental. But his skill in connecting the dots presents a startling new picture of the New World, one quite at odds with the conventional textbook stories of a vast, empty continent. He starts each section with a clear overview of the new view he will be charting, then descends into sometimes complex, sometimes arcane pieces of anthro- or archaeological work. Just as it's getting pretty dense for the lay-reader, he has the good sense to link back to the bigger picture. I learned a good bit about the work of these history detectives, as well as getting a very, very different picture of the peoples that lived here for millennia before Columbus.
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(16 of 23 readers found this comment helpful)
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Peter Saucerman has commented on (7) products.
The Egyptologist by Arthur Phillips
Peter Saucerman, November 29, 2011
With all due respect to the cheerleaders - this book was like castor oil for me. I took three runs at it, could not stomach it beyond page 100. Not a single likeable character, not a mystery that engaged, full of pomp and bombast - I could not care less about any of the so-called characters. The memo dates, jumping backward, forward, one day, twenty years, two months - one would need a dedicated white board to chart this fluff, and still what would be the point? Anyone want a nice clean copy? you can have it for postage.Cadillac Desert: The American West and Its Disappearing Water by Marc Reisner
Peter Saucerman, September 1, 2011
25 years on, Marc Reisner's Cadillac Desert remains the seminal record of water wars in the arid West. As we experience volatile climate change and staggering public debt, the follies of more than a century by the Corps of Engineers and Bureau of Reclamation set the stage for the mess we are in today out in the West. This remains one of the finest examples of non-fiction writing of our time; it is a joy to read and re-read.A Moment in the Sun by John Sayles
Peter Saucerman, July 8, 2011
There is something exceptionally aggressive about a hardbound novel as big as a Webster's dictionary - 'What does this guy have to prove?' one might ask.Two or three chapters in, and the story is beginning to fly along, the exquisitely crafted prose is flowing, characters are coming to life and historic scenes are being shaped in vivid detail. John Sayles writes great screenplays and has supported his independent film-making career with lots of screenplay writing for others, so it shouldn't be a surprise that the man can write very well. It's not so much the story line as the finely wrought character studies that make this a great and pleasurable read. But there is the matter of that massive tome - hard to prop up in bed, impossible to carry on a bike, conspicuous - ostentatious even - to be seen in a library, coffee shop or public park reading such a thing. If you have strong wrists for supporting a 5-pounder for hours on end, this is a great summer read.
(1 of 3 readers found this comment helpful)
Consider the Lobster: And Other Essays by David Foster Wallace
Peter Saucerman, April 13, 2011
David Foster Wallace - a succinct and distinctive name and brilliant talent, not unlike Vincent Van Gogh. And like VVG there has been a public rush to discover who this genius was that we largely overlooked before his suicide. Consider the Lobster is a great introduction to his brilliance in the essay format - a format that he eviscerates with great skill and energy. 'Up, Simba' is probably the most searing and original piece of political writing since Hunter S. Thompson came off the campaign trail with Fear & Loathing. I learned more about how presidential political campaigns work (circa 2000) than from all of the other reporting churned out in that period. And I was fully entertained by every page. Non-fiction in the 21st century does not get any better than this. Mr. Wallace's work will only grow in stature, in spite of his untimely death. Sorta like Vincent.1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus by Charles C. Mann
Peter Saucerman, April 6, 2007
Revisionist history with a scientific backbone. Charles Mann has succeeded in knitting archaeological and anthropological findings together to turn our orthodox beliefs about the Americas, pre-Columbus, on their heads. Much of this science is not really new and many of the findings are regional and incremental. But his skill in connecting the dots presents a startling new picture of the New World, one quite at odds with the conventional textbook stories of a vast, empty continent. He starts each section with a clear overview of the new view he will be charting, then descends into sometimes complex, sometimes arcane pieces of anthro- or archaeological work. Just as it's getting pretty dense for the lay-reader, he has the good sense to link back to the bigger picture. I learned a good bit about the work of these history detectives, as well as getting a very, very different picture of the peoples that lived here for millennia before Columbus.(16 of 23 readers found this comment helpful)
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