tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4212243715862066794.post4532049577942068832..comments2024-03-14T03:33:28.945-04:00Comments on Literary Crushes/Grave Matters: Best Reads of 2013 --George Fitzgeraldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15882576171159405598noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4212243715862066794.post-36968791876839728522014-02-06T06:02:05.416-05:002014-02-06T06:02:05.416-05:00Ah..Edna! "I'm an Irish Catholic and I ha...Ah..Edna! "I'm an Irish Catholic and I have a long iceberg of guilt." This, her answer when asked what she read in the early days (1984 Paris Review): I am a slow reader, because I want to savor and recall what I read. The excitement and sense of discovery is not the same as in those days when I would get thoroughly wrapped up in Vanity Fair or War and Peace. Now I set myself a task of reading one great book each year. Last year I read Bleak House, which I think is the greatest English novel—I read a few pages a day. But one’s taste changes so much. I mentioned Scott Fitzgerald, whom I read, oh, so lovingly and thoroughly! I loved Tender Is the Night and The Great Gatsby, which is a flawless novel. So I can say that he was one of my early influences. But now I know that fundamentally I respond to European literature in all its dark ramifications. I think the Russians are unsurpassable. Of course Joyce did something extraordinary: he threw out the entire heritage of English literature—language, story, structure, everything—and created a new and stupendous work. But for emotional gravity, no one can compare with the Russians. When I first read Chekhov’s short stories, before I saw his plays, I knew I had heard the voice that I loved most in the whole world. I wrote to my sister, “Read Chekhov—he does not write, he breathes life off the page.” And he was, and still is, my greatest influence, especially in short-story writing.<br /><br />G, looking at the photo of the bookshelves...how many books can you remember ..which book was where?....<br /><br />My book of the moment is Adam Gopnik's "Winter: Five Windows on the Season"...am loving it to bits...taking me a while to finish as I reread so many sentences...like discovering gold...I've learnt about Wilson 'Snowflake' Bentley...WHAT a guy....<br />madameshawshankhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04763835054588518720noreply@blogger.com