First it was Infinite Jest and now readers will be tackling the world’s oldest novel this summer, Tale Of Genji.
I want someone to have a summer of The Recognitions next. Or Don Quixote or Crime And Punishment.
Or maybe a reading group can convince me to keep reading Women And Men by Joseph McElroy. I’ve hit the 500 page mark and thrown in the towel. It’s not every book you can abandon after reading 500 pages of it! It’s a special kind of wonderfully ludicrous train wreck!
2 responses
Yes! I am doing this and am already way behind schedule. But it is really worthwhile — I’m finding it to be really rewarding.
As Steven Moore points out, the novel is much older than _Tale of Genji_. Check out his new book, _The Novel: An Alternate History – Beginnings to 1600_ for more on the development of the novel. (Continuum is the publisher.) it’s a great book.
I read _Women and Men_, and I did it by stopping to read other books. It took a year to finish it. Only later – years later -did I realize it made me think about how there are so many other ways to write sentences. What was apparent right away was the humane vision McElroy has – I’ve since read his _Actress in the House_, and that shorter book may be more accessible – and the kindness, for want of a better word, or generosity that McElroy instills into his fictional world seems, to me, distinct. I think _Women and Men_ is considered his most difficult book.
Just a couple of thoughts there.
regards,
Jeff
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