[TTLG Book Club] An introduction and August's selection: The Life of Pi (discuss!) - by Stitch
Sluggs on 19/8/2006 at 22:34
On the subject of books...
Is it worth reading books from Author's like Stephen King, even though you've seen the movies based on the books?
Spitter on 19/8/2006 at 23:09
Hey shouldn't you be banned
Scots Taffer on 20/8/2006 at 00:28
still reading :o
page 60 or so now :nono:
Sluggs on 20/8/2006 at 01:37
Quote Posted by Spitter
Hey shouldn't you be banned
That's what i thought. I guess they let me back in! :D
Banned from Commchat that is, not TTLG!
Gingerbread Man on 20/8/2006 at 02:00
Quote Posted by sluggs
HAY GUISE
Exactly. Ex-ACTLY.
lomondtaffer on 21/8/2006 at 07:28
Quote Posted by sluggs
On the subject of books...
Is it worth reading books from Author's like Stephen King, even though you've seen the movies based on the books?
There is just so much MORE in the books. More characterisation, background, internal dialogues getting you to understand the characters. It's fun to see a well made film of a book you know, and there've been some good Stephen King films, but the books are ALWAYS better.
One of the things that Stephen King's always been good at is the 'shock of recognition', where you recognise feelings and reactions you've had yourself, and empathise strongly with the characters. This is much less evident in the films.
Oh, and that goes for almost every author I can think of..... except Arthur C Clarke - even he says that the film
2001 was better than his story !
Scots Taffer on 14/9/2006 at 01:10
Fuck Life of Pi.
I feared that I had really lost the ability to read. My attempts to read this in the timeframe allotted were miserable, I could barely summon up the energy to read more than a chapter at a time. (Yes, more than 1-2 page chapters at a time). I figured that it was part of my general malaise towards the whole reading/writing endeavour and that it was just my lot in life.
However, I picked up The Blind Assassin last night as I lay in bed and in ten or so minutes managed to read more than forty pages of the well written and entertaining novel. I suddenly realised that my inability to read more than two pages of the Life of Pi in one sitting wasn't anything to do with my general innui but rather a dislike of the book in particular.
So my contribution to the Life of Pi discussion is hereby complete and at a complete minimum. The book is written with such condesencion that it suffers from, what I call, the literary curse - which is that the book is written more to tell the reader how much the writer knows and how well formed their views and opinions are, and they wrap a rather meaningless story around it. I guess I'm just not much of a literary guy, I'm a story guy - that may make me more simple-minded or ignorant to the beauties of certain literature but I just can't stir myself to get that much out of something unless there's a real story involved. I enjoyed some of the metaphors and the discussion on zoos/animals/humans at the beginning especially but all the religious experimentation was hollow and self-serving to allow Martel to use Pi as a voicepiece to impart his wisdom.
I suppose that's my main gripe of the sixty odd pages I read, Pi wasn't really much of a character in his own right since his thoughts as a child were too complex and detailed yet at the same time are imbued with that oh-so wholesome innocence. I'm sure there would be elements to the book that I would enjoy if I were to persevere but I honestly don't care at the moment. Maybe someday if I grow more appreciation for these sorts of books, I'll return to it. At the moment though, Fuck Life of Pi. I'm reading the Blind Assassin instead.
