Madhuri’s last login was 6 days ago. « hide recent activity
Madhuri is now reading Danube: A Sentimental Journey from the Source to the Black Sea (Panther S.).
Madhuri added Danube: A Sentimental Journey from the Source to the Black Sea (Panther S.).
Madhuri now owns In Search of Lost Time: Swann's Way.
Madhuri is now reading In Search of Lost Time: Swann's Way.
Madhuri reviewed The Siege 1 month ago.
“ An interesting journey into the intricacies of a siege of a castle, The Siege makes war as unglamorous and tedious as war... ”
Madhuri rated The Siege 1 month ago.
Madhuri has read The Siege.
Madhuri now owns The Siege.
Madhuri has read Clouds and Eclipses: The Collected Short Stories.
Madhuri now owns Books V. Cigarettes.
Madhuri’s last login was 6 days ago. show recent activity »
Rated 5 stars
Rated 4 stars
I see that you have been reading some great books. Auster, Proust, Waugh et al. How do you like Proust? I plan to read him soon. But undecided on which translation to opt for. You seem to have purchased the Vintage version - which is the revised Moncrieff translation right? The other option is the penguin version, where each book in the series is translated by a different person. That somehow is not appealing. I would want a uniform translation of all the books. What do you think?And here's an interesting article on reading Proust by the author Jane Smiley :http://www.salon.com/books/review/2005/08/28/proust/
I get the same pleasure from used bookstores that an alcoholic finds in bars. Both places, though public, make room for feverish solitude and both allow unhealthy cravings to be filled to excess - Art Spiegelman in his introduction to Joseph Moncure March's *The Wild Party*
Hey, I know you through your blog, Shifting Sands. Would you mind to add me as friend?
Hi, I just read "A Bend in the River" novel. Unlike most people who call Naipaul a racist, colonialist etc, you have gone beyond the stereotype and tried to understand his vision. Naipaul has a great gift of seeing through things. He finally shed comedy as a vehicle to convey his message with this novel. This is a violent and deeply angry work. If you like Naipaul, you can read his biography (The World is What it is by Patrick French.) . I wrote a review of the book (http://tinkeradda.blogspot.com/2009/07/enigma-of-naipaul.html) . Bye, Harsha
A trip to Bombay is long pending. But can't say when we'll make it as traveling with a kid is difficult for sure!
hi! how r u? What abt the delhi trip?
Hi!!! it'll be great to have u here...sach mein its been so long since we've met. Do make the trip jaldi se!
Hi Shalu how r u? 'keep hearing bout ur frequent trips to aus. I have recently started reading actively again as Gunu now gives me some time! 'hoping to get some good reading suggestions from you.
Hi Madhuri, it's a very good shelf!
Hey Madhuri,Thanks for the email, and no worries about tardiness. So nice to hear about Melbourne and the Great Ocean Road--that does indeed sound exciting! I have never heard anything but positive about Australia, and the people always seem so nice that I have met, so I have no doubts that Melbourne is a special place."Last Temptation"...I recall reading (perhaps in the Introduction) that Kazantzakis had gone through an entire journey in terms of philosophy and theology and arrived back at Christianity where he had started; the book is told with an almost Eastern spiritual sensibility to it, well or so it seems to me. There are so many memorable passages in the book to me--the brief scene of Jesus and the butterfly ("my sister, my sister...") is one that always moved me, also (this is from the movie, definitely, though I believe it's also a scene in the book) when Paul tells Jesus "They [the poor crowds] need *my* Jesus [the Risen Saviour]....they don't need you [Jesus the Man]. I'm glad I met you...so now I can forget all about you." Or the scene of Judas confronting Christ for neglecting his duty, or the scene of the sarcastic innkeeper Simon the Cyrean helping Jesus carry the cross after chiding the Apostles for abandoning him. I really love that novel.I haven't read Moravia's "Contempt", though I have seen "Le Mepris" many times (Godard was at his peak around that time), and the beautiful and tragic "Camille's Theme" that plays throughout is one of favorites of all time for cinematic music. I thought from the opening Godard really draws the viewer into the movie: the tracking shot being filmed as the credits are being read vocally (instead of displayed on screen as they are usually), and the cinematographer (Raoul Cotard) turns the camera towards the viewer as the narrator says "The cinema...substitutes for our gaze a world more in line with our desires...Le Mepris is a story of that world." Also Fritz Lang, the outrageously obnoxious Jack Palance character ("I love gods...because I know how they feel"!), the incredible Capri landscapes. I also love how the movie closes with that shot looking out into the water, endless and peaceful. Anyway, thanks for letting me know about the Moravia novel. I'll have to see if I can track it down....
Hey Madhuri! Hope you are doing great down in Melbourne! How often do you go down there, anyway? I thought you had recently just been there (like a few months ago, perhaps?)...I am envious of the weather...here it is a very cold Northeastern winter. The last two days, it ranged from -5 to 10 degrees Farenheit; today is a bit warmer, in the 20s.So glad to hear you like Mishima's Temple, and this makes me excited to read it myself, because I admired your taste. Yes, I think Mishima is such an excellent writer. He really gets inside the head of his characters in an uncanny way (like Doestoyevsky or Thomas Mann), his words are often poetic (one of my American friends who speaks Japanese said his work can be very difficult to translate), and his didactic knowledge--for places, history, theological/philosophical works--is astounding. And you can get a sense of the intensity of the man in the intensity that is expressed in the characters...he must have been this passionate, unyielding individual, the themes of purity and obsession seem to show up in all the novels I've read thus far. I wish he hadn't killed himself so young; who knows how many more brilliant novels he might have produced.Glad to hear you liked Kaidan...if you can find it down there, try and see Hari Kiri (sp?)...great movie.I did like Gospel--I love how he takes the familiar story (well, familiar for me) and makes it into something fresh and different.I liked the various parallels like Joseph saving Jesus from herod and then dreaming of killing him (as God saves Jesus from Herod only to demand his death later on...also Jesus saving the lamb only to kill it later on). I did feel the narrator's tone, while usually just sardonic (directed at zealotry/those who just blindly accept these events without considering the malleable influence of history and time), can turn a bit bitter now and then--almost where you wonder if Saramago must have had something very negative or tragic happen in his personal life for which he holds God accountable. I don't know if you've read Kazantzakis' "Last Temptation of Christ." It also takes the Jesus story and makes it into something new. It's one of my favorite books, and the movie from Martin Scorsese is also wonderful.Another friend strongly recommended "Death at Intervals", so I hope to read it eventually. It's funny at all the different titles...for her it is called "The Intermittences of Death" and over here in the U.S. it is entitled "Death with Interruptions."Best, Joe
Hi Madhuri,Happy New Year! Thanks for your message. I didn't know of your mania for buying books, but I think it is shared. :) I haven't gotten a chance to read Temple of Golden Pavilion yet, there are a few other books that take precedence right now. I am reading Saramago's "Gospel According to Jesus" right now (I seem to remember you really loved it), having finished "History of the Siege of Lebanon," some short stories of Borges when I need a break. Yes, I have returned to reading longer literature again...there are some novels in particular I hope to tackle this year. I think "Temple" should be imminent, like within these next 2-3 months.Wow! Going to Australia again! That sounds terrific, have a great time there. Maybe send me a postcard picture on Facebook... :)I had seen a film last weekend from Deepa Mehta, called "Fire" (about a lesbian relationship in modern India)...would love to hear your thoughts on that if you've seen it.Take care, Joe
Hi Madhuri!Wow, partying hard...I think I need to move to India! ha ha just kidding, I'm a pretty mellow guy. But I think I know what you mean, and how needed that is, to unwind.Thank you for the link, I will be sure to check out what you have to say about Himachal.Well, I am surprised you didn't like Ran...that's one of my favorites by Kurosawa. However, Ikiru is totally a different kind of movie (which isn't necessarily to say that you will therefore like it), set in post-war Japan and on a certain level of its time and place, but I find it quite timeless and its themes make it a movie that could appeal to anyone, anytime, anywhere--it is just as relevant in 2008 (well, soon to be 2009) as then. Another favorite Kurosawa is "High and Low" (more accurately entitled "Heaven and Earth"), which is also modern-day Japan/non-samurai, and poses an interesting moral dilemma, of the Russian novelist sort (his favorite author was Doestoyevsky, and I think it shows here). K(w)aidan's sets are amazing, they obviously aren't going for realism, but highly stylized and beautiful painted backdrops. If I recall correctly, Kobayashi was trained as a painter, and it shows in this work. The stories themselves (I can't remember if they are Lafcadio Hearn or not, I believe so, I passed a book in the bookstore by him the other day called "Kwaidan") are sort of quaint by today's standards, you can tell where the stories are going pretty easily and they aren't all that scary. My favorite installment, and perhaps because it bears the greatest cultural stamp on it, is definitely the third one, "Hoichi the Earless"--the recounting of the sea battle with the sparse, menacing biwa music by Toru Takemitsu, culminating with the death of the boy emperor, makes me shiver. After you sea "Kwaidan", you should watch "Hara Kiri" which also stars Tatsuya Nakadai (who played the emperor in "Ran" and is in the second installment of "Kaidan")...I think it has a sort of kinship in the Westerns of Leone...it is a tale of revenge that gets revealed slowly, so riveting to watch. There is one scene that is pretty gruesome (more psychologically than in terms of gore) and makes the viewer squirm, you'll know it when you see it...that makes me think of Leone as well.Thank you for your recommendations, and for informing me more on the concept of "mono no aware"; I have not heard of Banana Yoshimoto and will put her on my list of authors to look out for...I have heard of Ishiguro, who is pretty well-known, but have yet to read his work. For Mishima, well the first thing I read from him was his "Sea of Fertility" tetralogy, which is considered his magnum opus...I would say start with the first installment "Spring Snow" and see what you think. I love "Spring Snow", and felt compelled to read the others after that. The only others I have read so far are "Sound of Waves" which is quite good, a sweet story of island love, and "The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea," which is a sort of non-supernaturalhorror story--I didn't like it as much, in part because the themes are similar to what would appear in "Sea of Fertility." I received "Temple of the Golden Pavilion" as a Christmas present just now, and am looking forward to reading that...I have big expectations for it, we'll see if they are met.Well, thank you again for your email, my friend. I always look forward to them!Best, Joe
Hi Madhuri!So good to hear from you. That's interesting, I wasn't sure whether or not Mumbai got snow. I am totally ignorant about the climate/seasonal changes in India (though I would imagine up north they must get it).Yes, I am enjoying Ghalib a lot. I am reading another book of his ghazals, and it's interesting to see how the interpretations for some of the verses (the ones I recognize) are subtly differrent. I love the ghazal form, it's very interesting how the couplets don't necessarily have to follow linearly in a thematic way. I am trying to think of an analogue in music.You'll have to tell me if you like Snow Country; I recall I liked (Sound of the Mountain, the last Kawabata I read, not as much as some of his other work), though the ending was curiously abrupt. I don't know about the concept of Mono-no-aware, and would appreciate it if you would tell me. Have you read any other of the classic 20th century Japanese novelists? Yukio Mishima is a big favorite of mine. I would also like to tackle "Makioko Sisters" by Tanizaki, eventually.Have you watched a lot of Japanese films? I always recommend Kurosawa's "Ikiru" to everyone; that's another of my Top 5 with "Once Upon a Time in America". Here in the U.S., Criterion Collection has released a number of great ones that go beyond the canon of Kurosawa, Mizoguchi or Ozu. Some ones I like a lot include: "K(w)aidan" and "Hara Kiri" by Kobayashi, "Burmese Harp" by Ichikawa, "Onibaba" by "Shindo", When a Woman Ascends the Stairs" by Naruse (I suspect you would be really interested in that one because of its feminist psychology and themes--the choices that the protagonist has to navigate through).Thank you for the Happy Festive Season--I was wondering what they do around this time of year in India to celebrate?Best as always, Joe
Thank you, I got some rest in last night, and feel better than I had days ago, though not 100%. Unfortunately, we had a lot of snow come and now I'm off soon to shovel it, to be able to burrow out of my driveway. :) I finished reading yesterday an introductory book of ghazals by Ghalib called "The Lightning Should Have Fallen on Ghalib"...I love it!Joe
Hi Madhuri,No worries, I know you've been a busy lady and traveling...Himachal, I think I read somewhere! What is that place like? Up north, isn't it? I was listening to my CD of "Once Upon a Time in America" the other night and thinking of you.Thank you for the beautiful poem! I have heard of Cavafy, and this poem "The City" makes me know I would love his work. Thematically (or from some obscure unconscious connection) I think of Calvino's "Invisible Cities", have you read that one? I think you know his work better than I do.If you have any other beautiful poems that stand out to you, please send them to me...would love to read them!I have read much Tagore recently; I read his brief play "The Post Office" while at a friend's house in NYC this weekend. My friend's father is from South Canara and is an amazing scholar on comparative Eastern literature...it was so exhilarating talking to him! I have learned so much talking to him about Indian texts in particular and also been introduced to other epics from other cultures that I now want to read.Recently, I've read Otto Rene Castillo (Guatemalan poet and freedom fighter), Martin Carter (Guyanese poet)'s "Poems of Resistance" and am currently in the midst of reading an old translation of Kalidasa's "Megha Duta"--I love it! Other things I've picked up from my library include a book of Yoruban poetry, as well as a book collecting the poetry of African poets who were from French colonial countries (e.g., Leon Damas, Aime Cesare and Leopold Senghor who founded the Negritude movement). Unfortunately, my pleasure-reading is all in the background right now; in the foreground, it is such a busy time and I've certainly got my hands full! :) In fact, I've been pretty run-down health wise this past week. So, haven't had any time for any extended prose...I hope this will come in 2009.Best, Joe
Hi Madhuri! Thank you for your note...Yes, I am really into poetry...I am sure you must be familiar with some of the names showing up in my updates, no?I am devouring Tagore--right now, and love his work. I believe you had compared him to Neruda somewhere before, and Neruda (from what little I have yet read of him) is also a favorite. Their poetry to me is so 'organic', for lack of a better word--the use of natural symbols, the sense of emotion--I really like that quality in the poetry I read. There is also an elegance and simplicity at the same time to their work. Tagore seems more spiritual and Neruda more sensual, but they each can be the other as well. I am at the beginning stages of reading Faiz, who I was introduced to via Agha Shahid Ali (whose work my Shelfari friend Tagi introduced me to). From the Brown University library, I also checked out a very, very old copy of the Megha Duta by Kalidasa--it has the lines in Sanskrit, and then an English translation in iambic pentameter by an Oxford scholar named Wilson, and a lot of annotations explaining what the lines mean. I was interested in Kalidasa because Tagore has a poem about the "Megha Duta" in a collection I bought that introduced me to his work.If you have any recommendations for me, I would love to hear them! Or else just to tell me what poems are your favorites. Again, I am glad to hear you are safe from the recent Mumbai tragedy.Best, Joe
Haha ... I am not sure if I liked the movie. It has its moments, but as you say it is 'graphic'! The movie was based on the manga. The manga came first. It seems Ridley Scott is considering doing Old boy in English with Will Smith in the lead role. The proposed English movie will be based on the manga (which differs from the Korean movie version).I still haven't completed 'Bridge On the Drina'. Not the book's fault! I really loved it so far. I borrowed it from a friend. I can keep it for as long as I want. So I give precedence to those books that I take from the library which have to be returned in a month's time!No I haven't got to the new Bolano. If you want to read him, I suggest you start with 'The Savage Detectives' which is considered to be his best.I too have a reading 'pile'. Pile seems appropriate as I have accumulated about 20 books! The most interesting books in the pile are the biography of the artist Frida Kahlo and a book by John Mullan on how novels work. The literary glutton in me is enjoying himself!
Yes I think I have fallen in love with Neruda ............ though I have just started, I feel that am under his spell ........... his expressions are so simple yet poignant ............... I sometimes find traces of Tagore in his style ............ maybe that also makes Neruda so endearing to me .............
