posted
I finished it last night -- a brick of a thing -- and resolved that I had been on the whole delighted and overjoyed by it; it's a novel of genuine beauty, written by someone who clearly loves the language and tends it -- sometimes gently, sometimes harshly, as one would care for rosebushes -- to best effect.
It maintains at once tones of meticulous exactitude and unbridled, satirical glee, in the tradition of the best British humor -- and yet manages, in some passages, to be altogether transporting in its Gothic lyricism.
I will not say which novel it is that has affected me so profoundly. That would be base and mercantile, and such advertisments at any rate have become common enough on this site to be altogether meaningless.
If you should chance to read this book, however, perhaps you will recall this post and think to yourself, with some satisfaction, "Ah! This might be -- nay, must be -- the book to which Tom was referring on that day long ago! I am deeply indebted to him for that recommendation." And you will then buy me a sweetcake, because that is how things are done. Posts: 37449 | Registered: May 1999
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quote:It maintains at once tones of meticulous exactitude and unbridled, satirical glee, in the tradition of the best British humor -- and yet manages, in some passages, to be altogether transporting in its Gothic lyricism.
Hmmm...
This passage has got me seriously considering the possibility that Tom is a closet fan of Gothic Romance novels - but he's got too much pride too admit it right out. But at the same time he's too honest to keep it a secret.
posted
Oh, Tom, I know exactly what you're talking about! Your review just touches my soul! I, too, just finished that marvelous tome that is, in my humble opinion, Jane Austen's finest. I'm still crying about the scene in the conservatory, but my spirits lift whenever I recall the deep lessons on the human condition I garnered from that fleeting witty conversation in Mr. Buckley's parlor on the mauve chaise lounge with the puppy and the atlas.
Oh, I'm so glad I'm not alone in my unspeakable ardour! I feel like we've really touched on an intimate psychic level this morning, TomDavidson!
Posts: 8504 | Registered: Aug 1999
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Obviously, he's talking about The Politics of Breastfeeding, my personal all-time favorite expose on the evils of corporate greed written by a British scientist.
Them folks know how to write . . . Posts: 5609 | Registered: Jan 2003
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Nah, it was 'Have a Nice Day!: A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks' by Mike Foley. (Mankind, the pro-wrestler)
Posts: 14554 | Registered: Dec 1999
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Traveler: That was my first thought as well.
I haven't read it yet [it's definitely on the list], but Tom's desc. matches up well with all the reviews of it that I've read.
Posts: 3423 | Registered: Aug 2001
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Thank you for the compliment, Tom_Davidson. I was rather proud of my accompishment when I finally finished. However, how did you get such an early copy? I didn't complete the first draft until 2017, and the first printing was in 2021.
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To steal one from kat*, I'm going to go with Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Lover's Soul
I still laugh at the thought of that title, kat--that was definitely the best one-upping I've experienced here at Hatrack.
Posts: 16059 | Registered: Aug 2000
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