A curmudgeon writes.
Mount Analogue by René Daumal
My rating: three stars
Here we go: a book about climbing mountains. About climbing one mountain in particular: Mount Analogue.
There’s a slight snag in this crampons-and-rope plan, however: the mountain doesn’t exist.
(I mean, until a voyage to a corner of the Pacific, where it’s suddenly discovered that it does.)
Were you expecting anything less from a book written by a pataphysician and Gurdjieff devotee?
(I wasn’t.)
Continue reading “Book review: Mount Analogue”
Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson
My rating: four stars
I first read Cryptonomicon more than 20 years ago, when it first was released. A good friend of mine was visiting from the US – I lived in London at this point – and had a copy of the book in his satchel.
It sounded cool, and so I found a copy, read it, and while there was a lot I didn’t understand in it, I enjoyed the hell out of it, which was quite remarkable because at the time I wasn’t really into 1000-page epics.
I figured it had been long enough that I should revisit: to see a) if it was still as impressive and b) whether I understood it any better.
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Cinema Speculation by Quentin Tarantino
My rating: four stars
Are you a film nerd?
You probably are if you’re interested in reading this book. I mean, you’d probably have to be a film nerd to be interested in the very specific period of filmmaking (and styles of film) that are this title’s focus.
There’s one thing I can guarantee, however: you are not and will never be as big a film nerd as Quentin Tarantino. (Or as big a dick as he is, some might add. Some)
Thankfully, the Tarantino on display between the covers of Cinema Speculation is the amiable nerd who wants to share his passion rather than a ponytail-free Comic Book Guy. In fact, the copy within might prove to be some of the best QT PR in quite some time.
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Solaris by Stanisław Lem
My rating: three stars
Apparently this wasn’t the first time I’d read Solaris.
After I’d finished this Kindle edition – one with the Lem-approved translation, executed by Bill Johnston – I discovered an older, dog-eared copy of the work on my shelves. I must have read that version from the time in university when I had a Russian partner who was interested in getting me into Russian literature, to the extent that I wrote some essays for her. (On Goncharov, I think? I can’t quite remember.)
Anyway, being unable to remember treading those star-paths before seemed to be very in keeping with the work itself, and I assume Lem would approve.
Continue reading “Book (and movie?) review: Solaris”It’s a new year, so it’s that time again… time to figure out what I’m going to spend the year reading. Here’s the list.
Yeah nah. 