Ken’s review of The Sea, the Sea > Likes and Comments
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All righty then: to the minimalist point. What is RTF?
Searnold wrote: "All righty then: to the minimalist point. What is RTF?"
Oh. sorry. Maybe I'm making it up. Review To Follow, which only means it's a discussion book in the Obscure Reading Group, where many haven't finished yet, so I'd be out of bounds to discuss what happened and my reaction to same.
In a week or so, then. You know. When I forget everything.
Well then, I must say that the RTF promise certainly sustains the obscurity of that Reading Group. But now that I have been so cleanly struck by love's arrow, I resolve that all my "reviews" will be RTFs. And to quote a line from the "I forgot" section or the fifth movement of Danny Elfman's "Sarenada Schizophrana", "I had a thought rapidly I lost it." RTF (wishful thinking)! 🤦♂️😁
Searnold wrote: "Well then, I must say that the RTF promise certainly sustains the obscurity of that Reading Group. But now that I have been so cleanly struck by love's arrow, I resolve that all my "reviews" will b..."
Great resolution! RTF's are easy and perfect for our acronym-loving world.
Love's arrow? Not sure if your Cupid allusion is literal or figurative. Check your poetic license at the door, sir!
My use of love's arrow is and must be in this context figurative. So, like charity and incest, ambiguity begins in the home...or poem. 😁
HIWTHI
(Home Is Where The Heart Is)
NTMTLKAP
(Not To Mention The Liver, Kidneys, And Pancreas)
If Humbert Humbert wrote a review of "The Sea, The Sea", might its opening line be, "This is my tale re-told (only slightly less disgusting however."
I really enjoyed this book many years ago. I hope you enjoyed it too. Looking forward to your review.
Searnold wrote: "If Humbert Humbert wrote a review of "The Sea, The Sea", might its opening line be, "This is my tale re-told (only slightly less disgusting however.""
Peut-être, though I've never read Lolita, so I can't compare.
Iris wrote: "I really enjoyed this book many years ago. I hope you enjoyed it too. Looking forward to your review."
I can say it took off for me about halfway and yes, crossed the finish line with positive thoughts overall. Overall, I just love positive thoughts!
One of my favorite books. Hope you enjoyed the ...cuisine. :)
Koeeoaddi wrote: "One of my favorite books. Hope you enjoyed the ...cuisine. :)"
Hi, Ko!
I did, and it's so funny how memorable the food stuff is. Hemingway, too, mentions food early and often in his writing, yet few people mention it. I think Chaz's personality was the extra spice here.
Hi Ken! I found our hero's concoctions as hilariously repulsive as the character himself and couldn't wait for a description of the next meal. Spicy, indeed! (...with goat cheese, marinated in sour milk, peanut butter and apricot rum.)
I know what it felt like being barnacled to Charles Arrowby. I’m glad he did not ruin the book for you. Murdoch told a compelling story. Stellar review, Ken.
Huh. The book lost me part way in, but you are making me think that I should reconsider.
Koeeoaddi wrote: "One of my favorite books. Hope you enjoyed the ...cuisine. :)"
The cuisine is an unexpected delight to read about. (I'm less sure how much of it I'd want to eat!)
Yvonne wrote: "Huh. The book lost me part way in, but you are making me think that I should reconsider."
Hi Yvonne. Well, if you got into Chapter 4 and still didn’t like it, you probably won’t. That’s where it began to turn around for me. Hope you are well!
If one is what one eats, then what does that make of Charles Arrowby? Perhaps, that fashions him into a Sara Sze-like sculpture; that is a whirl of multi-storied detritus composed not of edibles but their containers-wrappers and tins and sins all with his name on their labels. 🤳🤦♂️
Ken wrote: "Iris wrote: "I really enjoyed this book many years ago. I hope you enjoyed it too. Looking forward to your review."
I can say it took off for me about halfway and yes, crossed the finish line with..."
I’m glad you liked it in the end Ken.
I’ve been in a reading slump lately. Nothing seems to appeal to me. Any suggestions?
One of my favorite novels from recent years was Chilean Poet (the focus is on ... SURPRISE!...poets from Chile, so if that is off-putting, maybe not).
I much enjoyed the just-finished non-fiction book North Woods too, but again a caveat: focused on the many renditions of a house in the Berkshires and all the different people who occupied it from pre-Revolutionary War to present. PLACE is the star, so quite different.
If neither appeals, you can always rifle through my bookshelves here for 5-star ratings (um, from when I used to use the ratings).
Ken wrote: "One of my favorite novels from recent years was Chilean Poet (the focus is on ... SURPRISE!...poets from Chile, so if that is off-putting, maybe not).
I much enjoyed the just-finis..."
Thank you so much Ken! I will look into all.
More than mote, I'd say--an excellent review of the ups and downs of this book. Davy Jones' locker is one of the many terms I seemed to have missed in my long life, so you've educated me, and wrapped this up perfectly.
I’m glad it worked out for you in the end!
Arrowby was indeed a pitiful clown, but I found him a highly 'watchable' one. Excellent review of this thought-provoking novel, Ken.
Kathleen wrote: "More than mote, I'd say--an excellent review of the ups and downs of this book. Davy Jones' locker is one of the many terms I seemed to have missed in my long life, so you've educated me, and wrapp..."
Thanks, Kathleen. I know "mote" is a tiny particle (some sci-fi writer wrote a book called "The Mote in God's Eye"), but it always amused me when I found Hemingway in his early letters writing "So mote it be."
Sure, Ernie. Whatever you say.
Lisa (NY) wrote: "I’m glad it worked out for you in the end!"
As my good friend Will likes to say: "All's well that ends well!"
Kevin wrote: "Arrowby was indeed a pitiful clown, but I found him a highly 'watchable' one. Excellent review of this thought-provoking novel, Ken."
Agree, Kevin. As long as he doesn't wear clown make-up, clothes, shoes, and nose ball -- all extremely off-putting.
Ken, your review makes me happy that this is on my list.
Lorna wrote: "Ken, your review makes me happy that this is on my list."
And I hope you reached the Promised Land, Lorna!
Lyn wrote: "Great review Ken"
Thank you, Lyn!
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Searnold
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Oct 13, 2023 10:43AM
All righty then: to the minimalist point. What is RTF?
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Searnold wrote: "All righty then: to the minimalist point. What is RTF?"Oh. sorry. Maybe I'm making it up. Review To Follow, which only means it's a discussion book in the Obscure Reading Group, where many haven't finished yet, so I'd be out of bounds to discuss what happened and my reaction to same.
In a week or so, then. You know. When I forget everything.
Well then, I must say that the RTF promise certainly sustains the obscurity of that Reading Group. But now that I have been so cleanly struck by love's arrow, I resolve that all my "reviews" will be RTFs. And to quote a line from the "I forgot" section or the fifth movement of Danny Elfman's "Sarenada Schizophrana", "I had a thought rapidly I lost it." RTF (wishful thinking)! 🤦♂️😁
Searnold wrote: "Well then, I must say that the RTF promise certainly sustains the obscurity of that Reading Group. But now that I have been so cleanly struck by love's arrow, I resolve that all my "reviews" will b..."Great resolution! RTF's are easy and perfect for our acronym-loving world.
Love's arrow? Not sure if your Cupid allusion is literal or figurative. Check your poetic license at the door, sir!
My use of love's arrow is and must be in this context figurative. So, like charity and incest, ambiguity begins in the home...or poem. 😁
HIWTHI(Home Is Where The Heart Is)
NTMTLKAP
(Not To Mention The Liver, Kidneys, And Pancreas)
If Humbert Humbert wrote a review of "The Sea, The Sea", might its opening line be, "This is my tale re-told (only slightly less disgusting however."
I really enjoyed this book many years ago. I hope you enjoyed it too. Looking forward to your review.
Searnold wrote: "If Humbert Humbert wrote a review of "The Sea, The Sea", might its opening line be, "This is my tale re-told (only slightly less disgusting however.""Peut-être, though I've never read Lolita, so I can't compare.
Iris wrote: "I really enjoyed this book many years ago. I hope you enjoyed it too. Looking forward to your review."I can say it took off for me about halfway and yes, crossed the finish line with positive thoughts overall. Overall, I just love positive thoughts!
One of my favorite books. Hope you enjoyed the ...cuisine. :)
Koeeoaddi wrote: "One of my favorite books. Hope you enjoyed the ...cuisine. :)"Hi, Ko!
I did, and it's so funny how memorable the food stuff is. Hemingway, too, mentions food early and often in his writing, yet few people mention it. I think Chaz's personality was the extra spice here.
Hi Ken! I found our hero's concoctions as hilariously repulsive as the character himself and couldn't wait for a description of the next meal. Spicy, indeed! (...with goat cheese, marinated in sour milk, peanut butter and apricot rum.)
I know what it felt like being barnacled to Charles Arrowby. I’m glad he did not ruin the book for you. Murdoch told a compelling story. Stellar review, Ken.
Huh. The book lost me part way in, but you are making me think that I should reconsider.
Koeeoaddi wrote: "One of my favorite books. Hope you enjoyed the ...cuisine. :)"The cuisine is an unexpected delight to read about. (I'm less sure how much of it I'd want to eat!)
Yvonne wrote: "Huh. The book lost me part way in, but you are making me think that I should reconsider."Hi Yvonne. Well, if you got into Chapter 4 and still didn’t like it, you probably won’t. That’s where it began to turn around for me. Hope you are well!
If one is what one eats, then what does that make of Charles Arrowby? Perhaps, that fashions him into a Sara Sze-like sculpture; that is a whirl of multi-storied detritus composed not of edibles but their containers-wrappers and tins and sins all with his name on their labels. 🤳🤦♂️
Ken wrote: "Iris wrote: "I really enjoyed this book many years ago. I hope you enjoyed it too. Looking forward to your review."I can say it took off for me about halfway and yes, crossed the finish line with..."
I’m glad you liked it in the end Ken.
I’ve been in a reading slump lately. Nothing seems to appeal to me. Any suggestions?
One of my favorite novels from recent years was Chilean Poet (the focus is on ... SURPRISE!...poets from Chile, so if that is off-putting, maybe not).I much enjoyed the just-finished non-fiction book North Woods too, but again a caveat: focused on the many renditions of a house in the Berkshires and all the different people who occupied it from pre-Revolutionary War to present. PLACE is the star, so quite different.
If neither appeals, you can always rifle through my bookshelves here for 5-star ratings (um, from when I used to use the ratings).
Ken wrote: "One of my favorite novels from recent years was Chilean Poet (the focus is on ... SURPRISE!...poets from Chile, so if that is off-putting, maybe not).I much enjoyed the just-finis..."
Thank you so much Ken! I will look into all.
More than mote, I'd say--an excellent review of the ups and downs of this book. Davy Jones' locker is one of the many terms I seemed to have missed in my long life, so you've educated me, and wrapped this up perfectly.
I’m glad it worked out for you in the end!
Arrowby was indeed a pitiful clown, but I found him a highly 'watchable' one. Excellent review of this thought-provoking novel, Ken.
Kathleen wrote: "More than mote, I'd say--an excellent review of the ups and downs of this book. Davy Jones' locker is one of the many terms I seemed to have missed in my long life, so you've educated me, and wrapp..."Thanks, Kathleen. I know "mote" is a tiny particle (some sci-fi writer wrote a book called "The Mote in God's Eye"), but it always amused me when I found Hemingway in his early letters writing "So mote it be."
Sure, Ernie. Whatever you say.
Lisa (NY) wrote: "I’m glad it worked out for you in the end!"As my good friend Will likes to say: "All's well that ends well!"
Kevin wrote: "Arrowby was indeed a pitiful clown, but I found him a highly 'watchable' one. Excellent review of this thought-provoking novel, Ken."Agree, Kevin. As long as he doesn't wear clown make-up, clothes, shoes, and nose ball -- all extremely off-putting.
Ken, your review makes me happy that this is on my list.
Lorna wrote: "Ken, your review makes me happy that this is on my list."And I hope you reached the Promised Land, Lorna!
Lyn wrote: "Great review Ken"Thank you, Lyn!
