/lit/ - Literature

>>7755105
Yes ... but that is goodreads, and most of that is shite. I am just saying the genre distinctions are blurred and arbitrary, with wolfe and lafferty on one side and, as far as colleges are concerned, with pynchon and vonnegut and bolano on the other, though they all muddle with genre conventions, and sometimes not in very original ways.

Lots of irony in those who look down on genre. Hamlet a ghost story, Spenser's faerie queen a standard quest allegory, infinite jest near future sf attack on consumerism and obsession with entertainment, and bolano writing a book about a demonic ancient eldritch evil affecting a huge swathe of the population in a city, psychic lady and all ... but I am not kidding the book even mentions Twin Peaks, in which the demon Bob makes men kill those things they should cherish.

>>7754816
It is understated and implied. So all these people just killed everyone, and then, seasonally, stopped? No external influence? Whether it is social pressure or culture, the metaphor bolano uses is occult. That is a genre book.

>>7754536
I am saying 2666 is basically genre, with "working" witchcraft and a murderous spirit influencing everything, as that one sensitive guy realizes when he starts diagramming ancient obscure things and as the old psychic lady on TV reacts in horror. It is clear Bolano was influenced by Twin peaks, and he comes out and references it in the book itself.

>>7754390
There*

>>7754470
Proof at last!!!!

>>7754249
If you love yourself and know you are the best, it affects the perception of more social creatures. They want to chase an ideal, too, so present yourself like one, especially if you foster a vastly superior intellect. Remember that equality is the opiate of the masses and the lie the pathetic whisper to themselves alone in bed at night. Act great and they will treat you as such.

>>7754258
Peace, fifth head, or new sun but some of his stories should be canonical. The changeling, suzanne delage, eyeflash miracles, seven american nights, island of doctor death and other stories, death of doctor island ... all sublime and worth much more than lame dystopias like 1984 (which proved prescient because people suck worse than I thought), harrison bergeron, or brave new world ... alas, those guys were kind of right. I wouldn't have believed it when i was a kid. What the hell happened?

>>7754301
Wolfe really isnt someone you can mellow with, honestly, as he is a bit deeper than the entirely too Twin peaks inspired 2666, to be honest. Of course the diabolic influence is slightly undercut by the reality of all those murders in Mexico, but I think Bolano is certainly implying their is a malicious infective and possibly omnipresent spirit of murder at work.

>>7754283
Winged figure either represents a bird totem for the coming of spring to the planet or/and the next stage of men coming to dwell on the warming terraformed planet. Cutthroat is so named because he is the spring sacrifice, sent to see if the raised animals are ready to be reunited with humanity and work together, though he must die and be left without aid there as the test for the planet.

>>7754283
Here is my take on seven american nights: protagonist is taken on thursday, machine writes friday entry, gholam gassem makes a deal to poison the bread supply of europe with the terrible drugs of the US

http://lists.urth.net/pipermail/urth-urth.net/2014-September/055371.html

>>7754241
Let us not mock those who find me beautiful, for surely it is folly to marginalize those who are simply correct in their assessments.

>>7754225
As far as Faulkner ... the long sentences in peace are certainly more derivative of Proust ... i think while Wolfe is a modernist but generally british precursors had a greater influence on him, and pulp fiction. Kipling, dickens, vance ... while the aesthetic aims of a southern writer might seem close to Faulkner, I dont think it is a direct influence. Late, minimalistic Wolfe might have an echo of Hemingway, however.

>>7754228
Sure, why not? Though I am ultimately the final say for any similitudes with Severian, as I am without peer.

>>7754228
Sure if you so desire. Up to you.

>>7754223
There are maybe two or three scenes. La befana's last line and sometimes the last line of island of doctor death and other stories gets me, when tackman tells dr death he doesnt want to finish the book because he will die, and dr death says he can just read it again. It's the same with you. You just don't know it yet. The wild hyacinth blooming though trodden under the shepherd's heel might have gotten me too.

>>7754213
It was too long. Here is the link to its first version on urth net, commentary is below detailed summary.

http://lists.urth.net/pipermail/urth-urth.net/2014-August/055046.html

>>7754195
I have a long analysis on it but it is actually about free will ... let me see if i can repost it here give me a bit.

New video is finally out!

https://youtu.be/55Bxe6SHqnk
Pic unrelated