tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23471801.post675153894892257442..comments2023-10-21T07:44:20.549-04:00Comments on The Existence Machine: Fiction round-upRichardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08014014605639738887noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23471801.post-52038878492672654622007-05-19T16:15:00.000-04:002007-05-19T16:15:00.000-04:00"symbolism of the monkeys"? I'm afraid I don't kn..."symbolism of the monkeys"? I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about... that sounds like a different book.Richardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08014014605639738887noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23471801.post-20849954497216051302007-05-19T14:41:00.000-04:002007-05-19T14:41:00.000-04:00Theroux had a problem with the symbolism of the mo...Theroux had a problem with the symbolism of the monkeys as far as I know.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23471801.post-5569257982212663032007-05-19T12:40:00.000-04:002007-05-19T12:40:00.000-04:00Thanks, Lars.Thanks, Lars.Richardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08014014605639738887noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23471801.post-20541576841488098512007-05-19T09:25:00.000-04:002007-05-19T09:25:00.000-04:00I *really* didn't like Spark's A Far Cry From Kens...I *really* didn't like Spark's A Far Cry From Kensington. Hothouse by the East River is good, as is The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie. Girls of Slender Means is an absolute delight - I loved it. Peckham Rye is okay, and the others ... well, Kensington put me right off.Larshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13916670899439895186noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23471801.post-58663473722892583002007-05-17T09:47:00.000-04:002007-05-17T09:47:00.000-04:00Steve - What about Naipaul's book turned Theroux a...Steve - What about Naipaul's book turned Theroux against him?<BR/><BR/>And I take it that your prejudicial attitude toward Home is negative? I can see that. He doesn't strike me as a writer I'm going to pursue beyond this book, though, again, I'm not sorry I read it. I was significantly into the book by the time we arrived in California, and I saw used copies of two other Home novels, but I didn't feel any urge to get them based on what I'd read to that point, and having finished this one, I don't regret not having bought the others.<BR/><BR/>bdr - Thanks for the Spark (and Mantel) recommendation.Richardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08014014605639738887noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23471801.post-15618160723621197282007-05-17T09:15:00.000-04:002007-05-17T09:15:00.000-04:00A Far Cry from Kensington is Spark at her sharpest...A Far Cry from Kensington is Spark at her sharpest.<BR/><BR/>If you like Spark, try Hilary Mantel, especially her latest from a couple years ago, Beyond Black.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23471801.post-78722816329043056892007-05-17T03:37:00.000-04:002007-05-17T03:37:00.000-04:00"The Enigma of Arrival" is a favourite of mine. Ha..."The Enigma of Arrival" is a favourite of mine. Haven't read it for years though. It was this one that turned Paul Theroux against him.<BR/><BR/>And I attended a Stewart Home reading the other day. It confirmed my prejudices.Stephen Mitchelmorehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01658772259307446873noreply@blogger.com