Comments for shigekuni.

Comment on Correct II by Jacob de Zoet

Jacob de Zoet — Thu, 23 May 2013 13:56:40 +0000

Whenever I write something I try to keep Orwell’s advice in mind. Write as clear as possible, as short as possible, no ‘expensive’ words or phrases that only obscure your actual meaning. Good stuff. So it’s nice to see you refer to Orwell’s famous essay ‘Politics and the English Language’ as well.

Comment on Laurent Binet: HHhH by Clarissa

Clarissa — Tue, 21 May 2013 07:18:33 +0000

I refused to read the Littell – it smacked too much of Shoah business.As did the dreadful Boyne.

Primo Levi, Imré Kertesz and Jorge Semprun bore witness to their personal experiences, All three remarkably so.

In the realm of fiction, two books I shall never forget:

André Schwarz-Bart’s Le Dernier des Justes and Vassili Grossman’s Vie et Destin (read this in French so am giving the French title). Two masterpieces…

Comment on Drafting: Yoshihiro Tatsumi’s “A Drifting Life” by Osamu Tezuka: Ayako | shigekuni.

Osamu Tezuka: Ayako | shigekuni. — Fri, 10 May 2013 16:29:09 +0000

[…] culture or Japanese comics in particular, although I have read a few (and even reviewed one or two here). So overall I am not 100% sure how to explain to you that this is a fantastic book, but if you […]

Comment on Taiyo Matsumoto: Tekkonkinkreet by Osamu Tezuka: Ayako | shigekuni.

Osamu Tezuka: Ayako | shigekuni. — Fri, 10 May 2013 16:29:06 +0000

[…] & culture or Japanese comics in particular, although I have read a few (and even reviewed one or two here). So overall I am not 100% sure how to explain to you that this is a fantastic book, but […]

Comment on Philip Roth: The Humbling by shigekuni

shigekuni — Fri, 10 May 2013 15:45:30 +0000

Thank you! I am not sure how to fix it. It works in firefox and chrome, as well.

Comment on Philip Roth: The Humbling by Dirk

Dirk — Fri, 10 May 2013 13:09:28 +0000

Greetings, I do think your blog might be having web browser compatibility problems.
Whenever I take a look at your site in Safari, it looks fine however, if opening in Internet Explorer, it has
some overlapping issues. I simply wanted to provide you with a quick heads up!
Besides that, excellent blog!

Comment on About Shigekuni by shigekuni

shigekuni — Sun, 27 Jan 2013 00:24:03 +0000

I think I see where you are coming from. One of the central aspects, however, of Bucky is his weakness, isn’t it, I think that’s what made me think of Archilles. Hercules had no such clear weakness. I would be really interested in your reasoning.

Comment on Paul Auster: Sunset Park by Siri Hustvedt: The Summer Without Men « shigekuni.

Siri Hustvedt: The Summer Without Men « shigekuni. — Sun, 27 Jan 2013 00:15:54 +0000

[...] This seems to be a somewhat common kind of narrative, but unlike canonical works of feminist literature (like Margaret Atwood’s scintillating, similarly slim masterpiece Surfacing), Hustvedt eschews essentialist symbolism. Her focus is not on the body and symbolism, or on locating ‘the feminine’ within loci and narratives thought of as male. Instead she hands us a story that could have been written by one of many mediocre postmodern novelists, but infused with a self-reflective awareness of how her protagonist is held and changed by her place in various discourses of power. It serves as a corrective mechanism to an American literary canon, where male narratives like Baker’s are perceived and read as universal. Books like Hustvedt’s point out how many things within such novels change if the gender of the protagonist, and the attendant contexts, change. If her earlier novel has easily bested those of Richard Powers at their own game, then this one takes on, and makes mince meat of, a different canon. This canon is led by writers like Paul Auster, whose work increasingly resembles that of the aging Philip Roth in that both contain sentimental plots that are garnished with a reasonably erudite discussion of literary and cultural contexts, all of which come to bear, in one way or another, on the sentimental education of his/their (male) protagonists. Women jump in and out of the books, mere foils for the protagonists to project their desires on. The sad climax of this development can be found in the lesbian fantasies in Roth’s The Humbling (2008, cf. my review here) and the pedophiliac fantasies in Auster’s Sunset Park (2010, cf. my review for details). [...]

Comment on Philip Roth: The Humbling by Siri Hustvedt: The Summer Without Men « shigekuni.

Siri Hustvedt: The Summer Without Men « shigekuni. — Sun, 27 Jan 2013 00:15:51 +0000

[...] of this development can be found in the lesbian fantasies in Roth’s The Humbling (2008, cf. my review here) and the pedophiliac fantasies in Auster’s Sunset Park (2010, cf. my review for [...]

Comment on Mathias Énard: Parle-leur de batailles, de rois et d’élephants by Cormac McCarthy: No Country for Old Men « shigekuni.

Cormac McCarthy: No Country for Old Men « shigekuni. — Sun, 27 Jan 2013 00:15:26 +0000

[...] I pointed out in this review, the oral storyteller often has a moral and epistemological authority, and it is this authority [...]