tobsummerreading

Tomb Song | Julian Herbert

pan

What did I just read?
This book was too weird for me. I don‘t like books that “inhabit the fertile ground between fiction, memoir, and essay” with the author as a character in their own novel. I love novels, I love memoirs, and I prefer them to be distinct. This book was translated by Christina MacSweeney, who also translated Luiselli‘s The Story of My Teeth—which was also too weird for me.
#tournamentofbooks #tobsummerreading #intranslation

susanw Glad I skipped this one. Did you read The End of Eddy? is this similar? I don‘t think I‘m a fan of this new genre of autofiction. But the tournament guys seem to love it. 6y

DreesReads @susanw I did not read The End of Eddy, and I don‘t think I will! It reminded me most of The Story of My Teeth (also Mexican, with the same translator, and also too weird and too much not-a-novel for me). I also found Sudden Death to be weird, but it last it had a story. 6y

BarbaraBB @susanw I read both and they are a completely different kind of books. 6y

BarbaraBB @AudreyMorris I know what you mean, I felt the same about both. I couldn‘t connect to them at all! 6y

27 likes4 comments

ReadingEnvy

The Night Ocean | Paul La Farge

bailed

Quickest bail in the east! Gorgeous gorgeous cover and I even like how the author is approaching the storytelling in a structural sense, but the obsessive focus on HP Lovecraft as the driving force of the book is just not going to work for me. I would still try another book by this author. Attempted for #tobsummerreading #tob

kricheal That cover though 😍😍😍 8y

DreesReads Hmmm... I have this sitting here, also for tob! Must finish something else first. 8y

Well-ReadNeck Ah, I bailed on this one too. You nailed it. 8y

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merelybookish Darn. Reading Ill Will now. This up next for #tob 8y

batsy Thanks for your thoughts. I was interested in the concept and drawn to the cover, but was wondering what it would be like for someone who's not too familiar with Lovecraft's work & life. (But that #tob #rooster thing sounds like fun & a way to get me to read some recently released fiction on my TBR 📚) 8y

Redwritinghood I bailed on this one, too. 8y

Leniverse This looks like my kind of thing though! And when I looked up the title I realised it is taken from a short story written by Lovecraft and Barlow. I thought I had read everything by Lovecraft, but my Complete Fiction doesn't have it! Or any of the other 5 stories they wrote together. I guess it's seen as more of a Barlow story. 🤔 Also... I thought Lovecraft didn't like to collaborate. I must know more now! 8y

Leniverse Aha! It's a Barlow story, yes. Just attributed to Lovecraft now. And the Paul La Farge book definitely goes on my TBR! http://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/the-complicated-friendship-of-h-p-lov... 8y

Billypar Funny, a half second before I scrolled down and saw the 'Bail' I was oohing over the cover. Weird how much that alone can pique your interest- guess that's why we still have the old saying. 8y

ReadingEnvy @Leniverse I think you are definitely going to love it. The author clearly knows his Lovecraft 8y

ReadingEnvy @Billypar oh it's a simply gorgeous cover 8y

ReadingEnvy @kricheal so beautiful! 8y

ReadingEnvy @AudreyMorris For me, ToB is so wide ranging I always give myself permission to bail. But I do try books I wouldn't otherwise! 8y

ReadingEnvy @merelybookish you might like it! 8y

ReadingEnvy @Well-ReadNeck would you try something else by the author? I felt like I would. 8y

ReadingEnvy @Redwritinghood hi-5 🌠 8y

ReadingEnvy @batsy I'm not sure. I'm familiar enough with Lovecraft to know I don't want to spend another novel in his world. But perhaps for someone less familiar it would serve to explore it in an interesting way. 8y

batsy @ReadingEnvy I get what you mean. I feel like that cover has a hypnotic effect, too, in making me want to read it 😁 8y

vivastory @merelybookish how is "ill will"? 8y

merelybookish @vivastory I'm not far in but I'm intrigued! 8y

vivastory @merelybookish Chaon has been on my radar for awhile. I've only read a short story & his afterword to the Thomas Tryon evil children story "The Other." Will definitely check it out. 8y

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