nyrbclassics

Dead Girls' Class Trip: Selected Stories | Anna Seghers

Finding this one hard work! Anyone else read this?

#NYRBClassics

merelybookish No but the title is so intriguing! 3y

jlhammar Not yet, but it is on my shelf waiting. 3y

BarbaraBB I got my copy too. The title is ao good that I have been looking forward to it but now I temper my expectations! 3y

charl08 @merelybookish @jlhammar @BarbaraBB to be honest, the whole book is worth it for the title story. The stories range from weird fables to realist stories about oppression - those reminded me of

Transit

BarbaraBB @charl08 I did like Transit! 3y

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Tanisha_A

The Pilgrim Hawk: A Love Story | Glenway Wescott

pick

Caricatur-ish! A fantastic and satisfying read, and definitely a modern classic. Set in 1920s, the location was idyllic (who wouldn't love a novel set in French countryside?), the characters were a brilliant mess, and the prose was perfect. I am still wondering at the genius of Wescott to pack a ton in just 108 pages. It's essentially a tale of love triangles, not a common one though. There is a bird involved, literally. 👇🏽

Tanisha_A But of course, in a larger sense and meaning of the book, it's a symbol and nothing like i have come across before - very inventive and unique. As you can see there are a bunch of page tabs in such a short novel, and honestly I could have put one on every page. It's brimming with great sentences and observations about life, love, human dispositions, nature etc. One of my favourites is this one about trees - 4y

Tanisha_A “The trees had been so lovingly tended ever since a pupil of Lenôtre's set them out that each of them had developed its maximum character. The way they stood in informal groups, or in line, or alone at a little distance, seemed not only to conform their feelings about each other: idiosyncrasies of affection or obedience, pride or pain. And unlike human characters in such an assembly, they promised or threatened nothing more; 👇🏽 4y

Tanisha_A no episodes or developments.”

My very first #nyrbclassics read was a success, yay! I am going to look at the questions you posted and the discussion, today. @vivastory @Suet624 #nyrbbookclub 4y

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batsy Fabulous review! I love that quote you chose. It's such a perfectly-structured book. His writing? Heart-eyes for days... 4y

Tanisha_A Correction in the quote above. *Seemed not only to conform to the art of parks but to express their feelings about each other 4y

Tanisha_A @batsy It's definitely one of the most structured books i have read. So neat. And soo funny too at instances, i have been laughing thinking about it. *heart-eyes for days* totally 🌳 4y

Cathythoughts Great review & picture 👍🏻❤️ I have this one stacked 4y

BarbaraBB Great review! 4y

Nute Excellent review! You gave me such a feel for this book...I wish that it was in my possession right now! 4y

readordierachel Lovely photo 📷 4y

LeahBergen Great review! Lucy was my favourite character. 😆 4y

Suet624 Just getting a minute to look at Litsy. Your review is fantastic and I'm so glad you enjoyed your first NYRB read. I have a ton of post-its in my copy of the book as well. It was so good! 4y

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Mtroiano

The Communist | Guido Morselli

#currentlyreading #nyrbclassics

LeahBergen I love that cover. 4y

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sisilia

A Game of Hide and Seek | Elizabeth Taylor

pick

3⭐️ I love Elizabeth Taylor, but I couldn‘t connect with this novel in the same way as I have with her other works. The writing, however, is very lovely. As always, Taylor‘s brilliant in describing mundanities & her characters‘ feelings. The last third of the novel finally pulled me in, and saved me from DNF-ing. I‘m bad in connecting with adultery novels; I was frustrated with Madame Bovary & Anna Karenina. I suspect the theme is the culprit here

sisilia #nyrbbookclub #nyrbclassics 5y

merelybookish Fun pic! I think @BarbaraBB also found the last third saved the novel. 5y

BarbaraBB @merelybookish That‘s right! I felt about the same as you did @sisilia though I have nothing against adultery novels, I have loved a lot of them. (edited) 5y

61 likes3 comments

sisilia

K�sebier Takes Berlin | Gabriele Tergit

@Leftcoastzen I just realized that I have read all your picks 😆 I gave 5⭐️ for Judith Hearne, 4⭐️ for Apartment in Athens, and 2⭐️ for my struggle with Kasebier #nyrbbookclub #nyrbclassics

Leftcoastzen 😀👏I read it long ago but remember loving

The Grandmothers: A Family Portrait

sisilia Ooohhh have never heard of it. I like Glenway Wescott; and will definitely read his other works @Leftcoastzen 5y

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sisilia

A House and Its Head | Ivy Compton-Burnett

pick

3⭐️ Imagine the casts of Downton Abbey being extremely chatty, and a social circle that is filled with nosey individuals who are equally chatty, and you get the feel of this novel. Not an easy book for me, especially with so many characters and the distinct writing style #nyrbclassics #nyrbbookclub

Leftcoastzen So nosey! Great review, it is difficult to get into the writing in this book.My brain eventually adapted .😂 5y

sisilia @Leftcoastzen I felt the pain 😅 I‘m so happy that I‘m reading “normal” writing now 5y

merelybookish I also thought of Downtown Abbey reading this but dipped in acid. 5y

sisilia @merelybookish 😂 Well said! 5y

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sisilia

A House and Its Head | Ivy Compton-Burnett

I‘m halfway and haven‘t found the love for this 😣 #nyrbclassics #nyrbbookclub

emilyhaldi I'm halfway and still not quite sure what I think 🤔 maybe bc I'm focusing so hard on sorting through the various characters and dialogue that I don't have room for thinking much else 😆 5y

sisilia @emilyhaldi I feel exactly the same 🙈 5y

66 likes2 comments

sisilia

A House and Its Head | Ivy Compton-Burnett

Starting this today ☺️ #nyrbclassics #nyrbbookclub

66 likes

emilyhaldi

Life and Fate | Vasily Grossman

One of my reading goals for the year is to tackle one of these #nyrbchunksters ... Who's with me?! If any #NYRBclassics lovers or #NYRBbookclub members have any interest, hit me up for a buddy read 👋🏻

GatheringBooks, sprainedbrain, sisilia, LeahBergen, Leftcoastzen, youneverarrived, MicheleinPhilly, mklong, Suet624, merelybookish, saresmoore, batsy, vivastory, BarbaraBB, Liz_M, Theaelizabet

sisilia I‘ll be reading Life and Fate on 19th this month 😸 .. Have you read Stalingrad? 5y

Leftcoastzen @sisilia remind me , I think Life & Fate was translated first , but Stalingrad was written first? 5y

Leftcoastzen I read Life & Fate years ago but could do a re read.The others look good too! 5y

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emilyhaldi Oh crap... Do I need to read Stalingrad first?? @sisilia I didn't realize it was a prequel to this book! Or can they be read independently? (edited) 5y

emilyhaldi @Leftcoastzen glad you would be interested!! Did you enjoy L&F? 5y

merelybookish I'm intrigued by Eustace and Hilda. But not sure I can commit because those are some serious chunksters! But if you decide to read it, let me know. 5y

emilyhaldi @vivastory I hope I'm not overstepping the book club by making this suggestion.. I only assume that it's a rare chance someone will nominate a chunkster for their selection? 😂 5y

Leftcoastzen I did! And I could be wrong, but you know how it can be with translations ,they don‘t always come in order especially from countries with complicated politics. 5y

sisilia @emilyhaldi It‘s fine if you skip Stalingrad; the consensus is that Life and Fate is a much better story 🤩 Let‘s do it! Hahaha 5y

emilyhaldi @merelybookish I know, I'm somewhat intimidated by these chunksters, but im inexplicably drawn to concrete-slab-like books 🤷🏻‍♀️ 5y

sisilia @Leftcoastzen That‘s correct. The translator Robert Chandler is considering to redo L&F but no specified date yet 5y

emilyhaldi @sisilia the 19th of this month might be a challenge for me with all the other books I have lined up but I'll see what I can do! Would love to be able to join you. 5y

sisilia No worries @emilyhaldi I read Stalingrad in Nov, and am hoping that I still remember all the Russian names if I read it this month 🤞🏻 (edited) 5y

Leftcoastzen @sisilia thanks ! I read in my old edition of L&F that Stalingrad was serialized in a periodical as For a Just Cause , he ran afoul of Stalin ,it was “hacked up” with a post Stalin edition with parts restored in 1956 .In 1960 KGB confiscated manuscript of L&F,so Grossman never saw it published. 5y

Leftcoastzen Long story short I would try to work a chunkster into the rotation!😃 5y

Liz_M I would be interested in either L&F or E&H, but in April. I am (always) reading nyrb's Anniversaries and have a group read of Don Passos's USA for the first quarter. 😁

Anniversaries: From a Year in the Life of Gesine Cresspahl

emilyhaldi Oh! @Liz_M I have Anniversaries on my shelf too.. how are you liking it?! I think April might be a good time for me too.. maybe we can start to plan a readalong for that time period too 5y

emilyhaldi Fascinating history!! @Leftcoastzen how are you feeling about working L&F into your January to-read?? If it's too soon for you too perhaps we can do another buddy read for later in the year 5y

Suet624 Thank you for tagging me but I don‘t think I‘ll be able to. I‘m so tempted, but I HAVE to deal with the books I already own. It‘s my one goal of the year! My one exception are books for the NYRBbookclub. 😀 5y

LeahBergen @Suet624 I‘m trying to do the same thing (and with the same exception 😆). 5y

Leftcoastzen I could probably add it in , but if you want more people to join in, I could wait. 5y

BarbaraBB I‘d love to read L&F but January is too soon for me. If you decide to read it later in the year, I‘d love to join! 5y

batsy Thank you for tagging me! I don't own any of these and at the moment not sure if I will buy them, but I've been interested in A&C for a long time so if you do plan to read it after March or so, please feel free to give me a shout then 🙂 5y

Suet624 @LeahBergen I‘m not sure why it‘s so hard to do. 🤦🏻‍♀️ but I‘m going to go crazy if I don‘t. I read almost 100 books last year - imagine if those had all been mine and not the library‘s! Good luck to you, Leah. Hopefully we can keep encouraging each other. 5y

Suet624 @LeahBergen Also, did you see that @shawnmooney is trying to do the same thing? Well, at least read or deal with one shelf of books. 😀 he talked about it on his recent YouTube post. (edited) 5y

Reviewsbylola You didn‘t even tag your own sister. Damn, that‘s cold. 5y

emilyhaldi LOLOL I don't know how I forgot you 😂😂 @Reviewsbylola 5y

emilyhaldi @Suet624 @LeahBergen good luck to you both! My goal is similar in that I really need to work through the collection of NYRB classics I‘ve amassed over the past year 😅 5y

vivastory I'd definitely be interested in joining one of these. Are you still thinking of reading Life and Fate? 5y

vivastory And no, you're not overstepping the book club. The more NYRB that is read, the better 👍🙂 5y

emilyhaldi @vivastory yes definitely! L&F is high on my list. Perhaps we should plan on regrouping in March/April to see how everyone is feeling about giving this one a go?! @Leftcoastzen @Liz_M @BarbaraBB 5y

vivastory I'd be interested in reading it. Tag me when others are too 👍 Or, if you decide on another NYRB chunkster 5y

Leftcoastzen I‘m game! 5y

Liz_M I might have committed to reading Ducks in March. 😬

Ducks, Newburyport

BarbaraBB I‘d be interested too! 5y

emilyhaldi Oh boy! @Liz_M that will surely keep you busy 😆 perhaps the group will be fine with April instead if that works better for you. We can touch base in a couple of months!! 5y

Mdargusch NOPE! 5y

emilyhaldi LOL @Mdargusch 5y

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sisilia

My Friends | Emmanuel Bove, Janet Louth