>Buy book on a whim and it instantly becomes a favorite.
What's his name, /lit/?
Simon leys
Tell us about lad, the content and the impulse buy.
NYRB are great for impulse buys.
>>7652859
Old British short essay author
111 short fiction essays all beginning with "on"
I heard it advertised on the drabblecast
>>7652849
The Tunnel by Gass.
>>7652879
>Hey anon what's that book the Hall of Uselessness: collected essays about?
>Oh, it's a collection of essays
Really great board. You can tell this work is OPs favorite.
>>7652886
I'm talking about bb&v&aoapphb
He has this absurdist setting where people have crazy names and maybe zeppelins, but that's all at the edge because he has to tell you really important things about bottomless viper pits or boring people or groovy bongos
>>7652900
Oh I apologize. It looks interesting. Do you also recommend drabblecast?
This always happens to me with NYRB
>>7652922this looks fucking fantastic
>>7652849
I bought this because of the title, thinking it was some novel about alienation. It was actually about 'outsider' characters in literature, and is a fascinating read.
>>7652944
It's the one of the comfiest books I've ever read
>>7652849
Did the exact same as you, OP. Love his essay on Nabokov–really paints him a pretentious prick.
>>7652987
You should love this board then. You see this rather frequently: Nabokov. Vladimir. Dislike intensely. And I imagine the form is one of jest but it's hard to tell what the exact feeling of a post is sometimes.
>>7652881
Meme status achieved, I guess, congratulations
>>7653002
I fucking hate this board.
>>7652849
I also bought this exact essay collection and it really is based. The one about Don Quijote is amazing and I learned a lot from the ones about China and Chinese art. Also the one where he destroys Christopher Hitchens is just pure gold.
You really can't go wrong with New York Review Book Classics, most of them are just really good, the introductions are usually also very nice.
>>7653010
Muh muh profound gass posting
Muh deep nobels
Leddit ebryone
Have any of you anything to say about his other collection of essays on Chinese culture and politics, The Burning Forest?
>>7652849
>eveyone always talks about Borges and this is dirtt cheap.
>my god! where have you been all my life?
>>7652917
Yeah man, totally. I fear it's on the decline but I really like it
>>7653012
>he destroys Christopher Hitchens
sample please
When a writer does an essay discussing authors, is it best to read those authors before the essay?
>>7653045
Seek help.
>>7653039
Obviously not
An author doesn't mention a ton of other authors in their work expecting their readers to have read all of them
>>7653057
>Lala i don't like it so he must bw insane
Typical lefdit
Gtfoff my lawn
>>7653080
Mods sticky this!
>>7653080
No one thinks you're insane, I'm certainly not going to give you what you'll perceive as a compliment. You're just a mong, lad.
>>7653107
How dare you
Bought it because the blurb sounded interesting and it was short. Didn't expect it to become one of my favourites.
>>7653031
well its a longer essay about Hitchens's book about Mother Theresa. Just pirate the book and read the essay.
He basically claims that Hitchens doesn't understand Mother Theresa's doings because he doesn't understand how faith and Christianity work if I remember correctly.
>>7652867
Volume 2 is better, desu
fucking nyrb i feel so basic
>>7653448
>>7653031
from the wikipedia article about Hitchens's book:
Literary critic and sinologist Simon Leys wrote that "the attacks which are being directed at Mother Teresa all boil down to one single crime: she endeavors to be a Christian, in the most literal sense of the word". He compared her accepting "the hospitality of crooks, millionaires, and criminals" to Christ's relations with unsavory individuals, said that on his deathbed he would prefer the comfort Mother Teresa's order provides to the services of "a modern social worker". He defended secretly baptizing the dying as "a generous mark of sincere concern and affection". He concluded by comparing journalists' treatment of Mother Teresa to Christ being spat upon.[31]
In reply to Leys, Hitchens noted that in April 1996 Mother Teresa welcomed Princess Diana's divorce after advising the Irish to oppose the right of civil divorce and remarriage in a November 1995 national referendum. He thought this buttressed his case that Mother Teresa preached different gospels to the rich and the poor. He disputed whether Christ ever praised someone like the Duvaliers or accepted funds "stolen from small and humble savers" by the likes of Charles Keating. He identified Leys with religious leaders who "claim that all criticism is abusive, blasphemous, and defamatory by definition".[32] Leys replied in turn, writing that Hitchens' book "contain[ed] a remarkable number of howlers on elementary aspects of Christianity" and accusing Hitchens of "a complete ignorance of the position of the Catholic Church on the issues of marriage, divorce, and remarriage" and a "strong and vehement distaste for Mother Teresa."[33]
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Missionary_Position)
>>7653162
I prefered Death of a Salesman, but The Crucible was good too.
>>7653475
After the Crucible, I definitely found myself enjoying his other works too. Death of a Salesman was heartbreakingbut not as heartbreaking as A View From The Bridge
![Lastandfirstmen_firstedition[1].jpg](https://i.imgur.com/rg4B571.jpg "Lastandfirstmen_firstedition[1].jpg")
For anyone who was ever interested in Science Fiction at any time.
Happened for me with this
The Alchemical Marriage of Alistair Crompton
I was really surprised by it. It was a witty, fast-paced, human sci-fi.
>>7652849
>Sinologist on /lit/
>not even a China thread
Nice. Was it the fun Chinese-style book title that tempted you?
Picked this up on a whim while visiting New York City a few years ago. Had no idea who DFW was, but the line on the back cover sounded so different than what I was reading at the time.
>>7652867
>leo
ré
I impulsively dropped $30 on this and did not regret it. I was single, jobless, and in between semesters with little money and little things to do at the time, and this novel was like an antidote to all of my loneliness and boredom. I bought War and Peace shortly after and the magic all came back.
Tolstoy novels are best read when you have copious amounts of time to waste.
>>7653472
that doesn't sound like destroying anything. sounds more like he got in a pissing match he couldnt handle. christianity has no place in the world
>inb4 euphoric
I wish OP answered my post. Feels bad.
Not on a whim but The Rings of Saturn certainly stuck with me, even though I read it for a class I didn't really enjoy.
>>7653791
I read that on a two week sailing trip. Comfy. I hated Levin's ending though.
