what are you reading today?

[mpcec]

Gabriela, Cravo e Canela by Jorge Amado.

E: Good book and easy to read. Talks about tradition v modernization, the cacao industry and gender roles.

[salaryman]

i need to read a non-western novel of my choice for a class that deals with the culture of the setting

any recommendations?

all i can think of is haruki murakami

Personally I don't think murakami books really "deal" with the culture of Japan.

If you want Japanese literature that is more traditional try the Tale of Genji which is often considered the first novel ever written.

Or try some more modern works where the setting/culture plays a bigger role, look for books by Kenzaburo Oe, Yukio Mishima, Yasunari Kawabata.

Otherwise, epic chinese stuff like Monkey (Wu Ch'engen), Ching Ping Mei (Hsiao-hsiao-sheng), Dream of the Red Chamber (Tsao Hsueh-Chin) are all huge and important works.

Also, don't know the specific parameters of non-western, but usually Gabriel Garcia Marquez fits into that category, and pretty much all of his work deals with the culture of the setting, and it's all great.

[mpcec]

Yeah Marquez would be great too. You could also do something by Isabelle Allende. Of Love and Shadows is fantastic, it doesn't ever specify the location of the story but applies to many countries in Latin America throughout the 60's-70's namely Chile and Argentina.

[gramps]

I find Allende a little soft sometimes. Vargas Llosa or Marquez would be good, though it you weren't afraid of something more difficult I would REALLY recommend reading Reinaldo Arenas or Antonio Lobo Antunes.

And plus one for Kenzaburo Oe.

[schmoses]

POP magazine #6

arena homme plus #18

reviews of alexander mcqueen's collection

[mpcec]

I find Allende a little soft sometimes. Vargas Llosa or Marquez would be good, though it you weren't afraid of something more difficult I would REALLY recommend reading Reinaldo Arenas or Antonio Lobo Antunes.

And plus one for Kenzaburo Oe.

Never read anything by Llosa, Arenas or Antunes. Recommendations? Also I agree with you on Allende but it'd be an easy book to write a lot about.

[redgrail]

i need to read a non-western novel of my choice for a class that deals with the culture of the setting

any recommendations?

all i can think of is haruki murakami

no murakami

don't do it

unless you have a burning desire to let your professor read his 346 essay on Murakami in the last two semesters.

might I suggest>>>

respectively, Nigerian, Japanese and Egyptian. All three should satisfy your requirements and give you more than enough to write about.

[FunkyFrenchy]

[sybaritical]

[entropy kid]

^you like it? On the way to me right now. Last Coupland for me was Hey Nostradamus; OK but not great.

Just started:

[jl.1212]

no murakami

don't do it

unless you have a burning desire to let your professor read his 346 essay on Murakami in the last two semesters.

I only mentioned murakami because he was the only author i could think of

my knowledge outside of western/latin american literature is rather limited

thanks for the recommendations

well for fun i started reading Heart of The Matter by Graham Greene

[sybaritical]

^you like it? On the way to me right now. Last Coupland for me was Hey Nostradamus; OK but not great

His novels have become increasingly hit and miss as his other creative projects have edged in. I didn't enjoy the last one & my expectation was low for Generation A cos every review I saw virtually panned it, but then I was pleasantly surprised when I did pick it up cos I ended up thoroughly enjoying it.

[gramps]

Never read anything by Llosa, Arenas or Antunes. Recommendations? Also I agree with you on Allende but it'd be an easy book to write a lot about.

Of those, Arenas is my favorite. Did you ever see Before Night Falls? That was him. His one Farewell to the Sea was one of the best books I read last year. Really good.

[semaj]

[C0C0]

i need to read a non-western novel of my choice for a class that deals with the culture of the setting

any recommendations?

all i can think of is haruki murakami

Just finished reading "Graceland" from Chris Abani (Nigerian) a couple of weeks ago...

I also second Before Night Falls from Reinaldo Arenas

other popular choices:

Love in the Time of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Reading Lolita in Tehran - Azar Nafisi

[Dead_Wizard]

Bought a Confederacy of Dunces, Suttree, and The Fortress of Solitude at Barnes and Noble last night. Started Suttree; best description of a man fucking a melon I've ever read.

Looking foward to Chronic City and Chabon's essays on manhood, also trying to track down a copy of the Red Book in NYC, anyone seen it anywhere?

[mpcec]

Hahahaha seconded. That was so out of left field.

[sunkenshoes]

Has someone read "What I Talk About When I Talk About Running" by Murakami?

I have to buy some guy a present, but all I know about him is that he runs marathons and that he is jewish. Is this book something to give someone who propably hasn't read any other work by Murakami?

[wild style]

[entropy kid]

i need to read a non-western novel of my choice for a class that deals with the culture of the setting

any recommendations?

all i can think of is haruki murakami

Somewhat irritated that nobody has brought up anything from India.

The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga should fit your bill. If the film hadn't come out last year Q&A from Vikas Swarup would have been another possibility.

[polishmike]

Has someone read "What I Talk About When I Talk About Running" by Murakami?

I have to buy some guy a present, but all I know about him is that he runs marathons and that he is jewish. Is this book something to give someone who propably hasn't read any other work by Murakami?

Short answer, yes. It's just about running, nothing else. Every runner will enjoy it. Might be better suited for someone who wants to start running but it's a fun read for advanced runners as well. Accidentally, I think it's one of his best books.

[sunkenshoes]

^Great! He is going to run the NY marathon this year, so I guess he'll enjoy it. Thanks.

[premiumsqueezed]

[redgrail]

^that's a good one.

also really liked Seize the Day and Humboldt's Gift.

check them out if you like Herzog.

[HOLY]

Fear and loathing in Las Vegas.

[premiumsqueezed]

^that's a good one.

also really liked Seize the Day and Humboldt's Gift.

check them out if you like Herzog.

It's one of my favorite books ever. I'm actually re-reading it. But now that you've brought it up, I should look into more Bellow.

[derek_]

[popeyejawns]

VICE mag has some incredibly interesting & entertaining articles.

you can pick up a free issue monthly at BLENDS for all the orange county folks.

[zeen]

[alexryb]

for school:

for fun: