Ciao Leopard

(note: any post made on a novel is intended for those who are reading along at the same pace or for a comparison of opinions after reading. If you are sensitive to plot spoilers

please do not read)

It is my embarrassment to admit that I cannot finish The Leopard. I find myself reading, and rereading paragraph after paragraph after paragraph. I do find that this book is a great sedative. After no more than three pages I find myself able to nap heavily. I suggest this book for long plane rides.

I admit this is an embarrassment solely because after I did some research on the novel I found that it is received very well by almost all that read it. It even won the Strega Prize in 1959 (Italy's highest award for fiction). In a sense I feel as if I am imposing an insult upon this work of fiction by not making a stronger attempt to complete it. Maybe if my day job was a literary critic I would do The Leopard more justice, but I decided that life is too short (and filled with enough tedium) to force myself through it.

Next up is Frankenstein....by page ten I can already see that there is much more of a connection to the "human element".

The Leopard

(note: any post made on a novel is intended for those who are reading along at the same pace or for a comparison of opinions after reading. If you are sensitive to plot spoilers

please do not read)

Just started the next book on my List. The Leopard by Giuseppe Di Lampedusa. This is definitely going to be a difficult read. As far as the current list is concerned I have been very pleased with my reading material, this will be the first book that I'm actually forcing myself through.

From past experience I have noticed an issue with translated literature. At first I thought that I just had a dislike for indian literature. Now I believe there really is something lost in translation. This goes beyond the actual written word and into cultural misunderstandings as well I'm sure.

The Leopard is translated from Italian. The back of the novel will tell you it is "rich" in observation. I would say it's EXTREMELY descriptive, but not in a rich way, more in a redundant way. It comes across like flat poetry. Too many details in places that should be left up to the reader to create and interpret. I'm not sure if this is how the narrative was meant to be written or if its a translation issue. I could turn to any page....any paragraph and give an example of this style of writing, but I think there is no reason to drag along in this manner.

I also have an extreme dislike for the main character. I just picture this massive glutton of a selfish prince who indulges in himself in the most disgusting of manners. He isn't described this way per se....but thats the image thats left in my mind. I have noticed in the translated books that I have read I'm usually not fond of the protagonist. Which does not give me enough to carry on with the novel. I don't care what happens to him. I don't care what lessons in life he learns. The ending of the novel would leave me feeling as if a sitcom had been playing in the background never been watched. "oh its over.....alright whats next".

This will give you a general impression of what the main character left me feeling (and I honestly cant remember his name as I find myself drifting and rereading paragraphs). The first night after reading a few pages of The Leopard I fell asleep and had a dream that I was held captive in a luxurious castle. There was still the contrast of luxury vs poverty as it was gray and raining outside. I wasn't help captive as a slave, but as a woman trapped in a harem of woman that the kind owned. The king was the kind of man that sweated profusely and breathed heavily with any exertion. The kind of person that easily looses food down their chin when they eat. Someone that would bathe in champagne while families inches away are happy to bathe at all. ::shudder:: Anyway, in this dream I was stuck in the bedroom of the harem, and it was my luck to get the bed of the king. I remember just laying there staring at the orange silk covering every surface, listening the the shapeless breathing lard next to me, having an anxiety attack wondering how I was going to escape.

Thanks The Leopard

Further Insights: J.D. Salinger

(note: any post made on a novel is intended for those who are reading along at the same pace or for a comparison of opinions after reading. If you are sensitive to plot spoilers

please do not read)

After doing a little research on J.D. Salinger I have gained a little insight on Holden Caulfield's personality. It's easy to see how he holds such bitterness towards New York and the world of acting. Salinger grew up in Manhattan and had many brushes with the entertainment industry, none too pleasant. Although it seems as if Salinger has a lot of appreciation for movies (not films). He may be a harsh critic, explaining Holden's bitterness (totally just me guessing). It is also ironic to review his (Salinger) inability to commit to one religious worldview, noting how Holden seems so at unease with the world around him.

Im including a piece that I got on wikipedia on Salinger as a comparison to my view on the Catcher in the Rye:

"In a contributor's note Salinger gave to Harper's Magazine in 1946, he wrote: "I almost always write about very young people", a statement which has been referred to as hiscredo.^[100] Adolescents are featured or appear in all of Salinger's work, from his first published short story, "The Young Folks", to The Catcher in the Rye and his Glass familystories. In 1961, the critic Alfred Kazin explained that Salinger's choice of teenagers as a subject matter was one reason for his appeal to young readers, but another was "a consciousness [among youths] that he speaks for them and virtually to them, in a language that is peculiarly honest and their own, with a vision of things that capture their most secret judgments of the world."^[101] Salinger's language, especially his energetic, realistically sparse dialogue, was revolutionary at the time his first stories were published, and was seen by several critics as "the most distinguishing thing" about his work.^[102]

Salinger identified closely with his characters,^[79] and used techniques such as interior monologue, letters, and extended telephone calls to display his gift for dialogue. Such style elements also "[gave] him the illusion of having, as it were, delivered his characters' destinies into their own keeping."^[103] Recurring themes in Salinger's stories also connect to the ideas of innocence and adolescence, including the "corrupting influence of Hollywood and the world at large",^[104] the disconnect between teenagers and "phony" adults,^[104] and the perceptive, precocious intelligence of children.^[23]

Contemporary critics discuss a clear progression over the course of Salinger's published work, as evidenced by the increasingly negative reviews received by each of his three post-Catcher story collections.^[99][105] Ian Hamilton adheres to this view, arguing that while Salinger's early stories for the "slicks" boasted "tight, energetic" dialogue, they had also been formulaic and sentimental. It took the standards of The New Yorker editors, among them William Shawn, to refine his writing into the "spare, teasingly mysterious, withheld" qualities of "A Perfect Day for Bananafish", The Catcher in the Rye, and his stories of the early 1950s.^[106] By the late 1950s, as Salinger became more reclusive and involved in religious study, Hamilton notes that his stories became longer, less plot-driven, and increasingly filled with digression and parenthetical remark"

My final opinion on the Catcher in the Rye, before I leave it behind is....there were a few insights that i appreciated as far as how the world looked to Holden Caulfield, thoughts that I had not consciously strung together quite as tightly as he had. I enjoyed the literary style, it was an amazingly cohesive read, BUT on the downside I'm trying to stay away from bitter modern American fiction (I've been chuck palahniuk'd out)(and yes i consider something from 1951 still modern). I'm glad I read it, but probably will not revisit any other of his writing for a few years until I'm all european fiction'd out.

Built 4 Speed

Beyond literature I would also like this to be a place to review and share my experiences with others. I recently got a tattoo at a parlor that was new to me. Built 4 Speed in Orlando, Fl. I'm very happy with the artwork. The shop was clean and had private rooms for each artist. The artists were also very professional. The shop was non-smoking. It wasn't crawling with perverts that make passes at a lady in the midst of getting tattooed. Pricing is reasonable and comparable to rest of the area. I appreciate that the artist also had a knowledge of different styles of art, which adds so much more depth and possibilities to the work. My only complaint would be turn down the metal music ;) Below is a picture of the tattoo. It's an extension of a a branch I had done by another artist. Brett did the roses. I'll be going back.

Also, just downloaded Funeral by Arcade Fire. I know all you indie rocker downtowners, I should have downloaded it quite some time ago. Priorities......(a.k.a. laziness). It's quite chill and nice to listen to while reading and researching on a lazy monday.

the Catcher in the Rye (3) pg. 124-end

(note: any post made on a novel is intended for those who are reading along at the same pace or for a comparison of opinions after reading. If you are sensitive to plot spoilers please do not read)

Finished Catcher in the Rye a few days ago. What is different about this novel from what I have been reading recently is the development of the plot. As I had said in my last post I was not sure exactly where the story line was going and I felt that Holden's personality was what drove the novel the most. After finishing this is still my viewpoint. The conclusion of the book did not tie any loose ends as far as plot conflicts are concerned, but I feel that this was a fitting parallel to Holden's character. I'll return to this conclusion later.

What I enjoyed about Catcher in the Rye's protagonist is although he had the physical drives of an adult, mentally he respondes in an honest childlike way (even though his language was heavily laden with curses his viewpoints were still simple and childishly unbiased). He smokes excessively and frequently attempts to drink (he's underage). At one point he even hires a prostitute, but even in this situation he does not react as an adult would, but more as a child attempting to portray an adult. He actually feels bad for the prostitute and is more depressed about the scenario than lustfully responsive. In the end he has no urge to sleep with her and just wants to talk. Holden often interjects into his narrative with role playing and escapism from his imagination. It's like he's barely balancing on the edge of the innocent play of a child's world and the scummy realism of the adult world.

Even when Holden is describing something rather gory he manages to insert some sort of simple logic that adds an innocence and humor to the narrative. Here's an example at the end of ch. 14:

"I stayed in the bathroom for about an hour, taking a bath and all. Then I get back in bed. It took me quite a while to get to sleep - I wasn't even tired - but finally I did. What I really felt like, though, was committing suicide. I felt like jumping out of the window. I probably would've done it, too, if I'd been sure somebody'd cover me up as soon as I landed. I didn't want a bunch of stupid rubbernecks looking at me when I was all gory."

What I mean by innocence in this quote is how Holden does not romanticize the act of suicide (as maybe a more adult character speaking out of a delusional perspective of reality), but blatantly admits, yea, he'd do that.....if it just wasn't such a darn mess.

Another aspect of Salinger that makes me enjoy him as an author (although this is the only work I have read by him) is his ability to put into words thoughts that may unconsciously lie within us but never quite make it to the forefront of conscious awareness (atleast, so poetically and well structured). This capability in an author always makes me more responsive and appreciative. For example:

"What I did do, I gave old Sally Hayes a buzz. She went to Mary A. Woodruff, and I knew she was home because I'd had this letter from her a couple weeks ago. I wasn't too crazy about her, but I'd known her for years. I used to think she was quite intelligent, in my stupidity. The reason I did was because she knew quite a lot about the theater and plays and literature and all that stuff. If somebody knows quite a lot about those things, it takes you quite a while to find out whether they're really stupid or not. It took me years to find out, in old Sally's case. I think I'd have found it out a lot sooner if we hadn't necked so damn much. My big trouble is, I always sort of think whoever I'm necking is a pretty intelligent person. It hasn't got a damn* thing to do with it, but I keep thinking it anyway."

I feel that at some point in most of our lives we find ourselves blindly attracted to a person, supporting this attraction by our own lusts and misconceptions rather than any good qualities the other person may have. We may never know that we ourselves are responsible for the misconstrued reality until we step back and ask ourselves if that is the true nature of the other person, or the nature we choose to impose upon them. Holden Caulfield manages to put words to this phenomenon that I had never managed to arrange cognitively myself.

Another aspect of Salinger's protagonist that makes him literarily attractive is his repetitive calling out of people's "phoniness". I think this also adds to his "child-like" characteristics. In my opinion a child approaches life much more openly and has not developed the social masks that adults wear. As adults I think most of us are aware we dress our personalities this way in our daily interactions, but for the sake of society continue on in costumes. Holden is extremely uncomfortable dressing for society and often lets his real nature be revealed (at least to the reader).

In Chapter 17 in a conversation with "old Sally", Holden finally communicates his frustration with the trap we've built for ourselves. He speaks against New York, taxis, Madison Avenue buses, phony guys, people's obsession with their cars, etc. What I mean about the trap we have built for ourselves is, its quite understandable to be frustrated at the way we live in society but in a sense there is not much choice (to a certain extent) in the matter. One can be annoyed at the commercial way we live, and the silly faces we show to the world but we all live like that anyway (again, i repeat, to a certain extent). At this point in the novel I reflected that Holden seemed to hold a very Buddhist perspective on life and was pleased after reading about Salinger that he was in fact someone that studied Buddhism.

Throughout the novel the feeling of living in a society "trap" was mostly realized when Holden is talking with his little sister in ch. 22. She asks a hard question of him, "You don't like anything that's happening". Holden has extreme difficulty responding. It's true, his character does not like much of anything at all. I think some people in the world can live without questioning the structure and reasons behind things and be quite happy doing that. I believe others get frustrated at all the "phoniness". At some point the latter group must accept the way the world is and find a happy medium existing in it, or continue pushing against a wall that cannot be moved by one individual. This is where I get back to my opinion on the ending of the novel. Even though the ending did not give closure to the plot itself it did give closure to Holden's pushing against the wall. Sort of. It is my belief that he comes to an acceptance of one's inability to change things, and that he can only respond to them as they come. I will admit this statement may be completely biased, but in the words of Holden, "D.B. asked me what I thought about all this stuff I just finished telling you about. I didn't know what the hell to say. If you want to know the truth, I don't know what I think about it." It's that final statement that sums up how I feel about Holden's worldview.

After reading a novel for the first time I like to go back and read any commentaries and author biographies. Its enjoyable to try and figure out what aspects of an author's life sneak into a narrative. I also enjoy reading other studies and commentaries written by others to gain insights (and to see how completely i misconstrued the meaning behind the novel in my own head ;) ) . If I do read something along these lines I will only do so afterwards, so that I don't ruin the narrative with others thoughts. If I find anything of interest I will post that as well.

*this censorship was my own due to personal beliefs and not the authors.

the Catcher in the Rye (2) pg. 10 - 124

(note: any post made on a novel is intended for those who are reading along at the same pace or for a comparison of opinions after reading. If you are sensitive to plot spoilers please do not read)

By now I'm on page 124 of The Catcher in the Rye and I have changed opinions about the protagonist. He is not a brutal character as the language of the first few pages led me to believe. Holden comes across (to me) as a more gruff Forrest Gump. Innocent enough in his approach to life, but lacking in certain social graces that make one seem rough. I had also deemed Holden as a daft character upon his introduction, but later on in the novel I came to realize that he was intelligent in his own right. As a young character he has an honesty about himself and his response to others that most don't develop till later on in life. He sees things clearly and responds in a logical manner (albeit as I said earlier not the most graceful manner). It is interesting to see how the characters Holden comes across are described. Through Holden's eyes most of the people he interacts with are illogical and self-absorbed (it is most interesting to me because it makes me wonder if most of our own daily interactions come across this way to the other person involved).

Holden almost seems to be extremely neutral in most situations until he talks about his younger siblings. Salinger catches the reader by emotional surprise by having the protagonist address the reader directly(pg 49). Of course Holden is addressing the reader throughout the whole novel (as far as I am), but the movement of the narrative makes the audience almost forget until he says something directly connected to the reader, "You'd have liked him". It came as a slip to me and made me feel more empathetic with the lead character.

As far as all the characters are concerned Salinger has done beautifully in giving each character depth and personality. I would say this novel is very much character driven, more than plot driven (such as a suspense or sensation novel). Being almost halfway through the novel I'm still not 100% sure were the plot is headed (although one can take a guess), but I also am quite content. The situations that Holden finds himself in can be completely absorbing and easy to imagine, even though not "epic".

100 Top Classics

Before making any more posts I should start by explaining my current selection of novels. I am an avid reader (hence the Ink) and after reading too many satirical modern american novels, laced with no subtly the authors own political/world views, I decided I needed help finding quality reading material. Random perusing of book stores was leaving too much to chance (and I admit I AM one to choose a book by its cover). I had never thought to address the classics after having bad experiences in school with Wuthering Heights and The Scarlet Letter.

After an attempt at watching the top 100 greatest movies (still only on 97) I decided to do a little research and see if such a list existed for books.

Naturally, via google, I have found a few and will give my reasonings for choosing one list over the other, although at some point I will probably revisit other lists as well. I do not believe that one list will ever be able to be the "final" opinion on this subject.

The first list I found was the 100 Best according to Random House. This actually includes 4 separate lists. At first the Board's List seemed appealing, although I am always frustrated to see The Great Gatsby in the top 3. Yes it's a worthy book of the list, but in the top 3?? The deciding factor against this list was that the 100th book (of course I would start at 100 and go backwards) I could not find at any bookstore (not to mention Tolstoy was no where to be found on the list). Know that I'm an impatient person, so I automatically jumped to the next list.

The next list was the Readers List for Random House (a poll the readers placed). Upon reviewing the titles I thought I would give it a go. Keep in mind an L. Ron Hubbard title was number three. And nine. And ten. I would like to get the statistics for the populace that polled for this information. Once again this was not my chosen list.

Random House's website also includes a rival list from Radcliffe publishing. I was disappointed that this list did not include a Tolstoy title either. Maybe I cannot trust my own tastes. My discrepancy of opinion aside, the Radcliffe list seemed to include most of the titles that any person whom finds pleasure in reading should at some point in time come to be familiar with. Unfortunately for me, Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie was novel 100 on the list. A very important place to be for someone starting from the bottom up. I will not go into my dislike for this book in detail, since it has been a few months since reading. I would not want to give such an opinion without being able to offer supportive detail. I will say his writing style was filled with the right amount of dry humor and the details were colorful. The main character was flat and unemotional. In addition there is a cultural difference to the approach of storytelling that I cannot seem to broach. Beyond those things I just remember feeling much dislike towards the novel. It was dislike enough for me to move onto other lists.

Times Magazine also posts a top 100 novels list, but only since the beginning of the magazine's conception. I think you could see how this could be extremely lacking for my purpose. Keep in mind I am not looking down at the entirety of these lists (and will probably revisit many), only I am looking for a more complete place to start my foundation.

In searching for my list of choice just now I have ran across another which I will give merit to and wish I might have come across it before embarking on my current list. It can be found here .

I include the list that I have chosen here , with no following reason why. If you chose to follow the link the author of the website that has found the list himself gives enough detail and reason without me having to type it here. My only disappoint with this list is the focus on the novel as it is written without supernatural and fantasy aspects. Alice in Wonderland shall have to wait. Despite that I have been quite pleased and continue on with The Catcher in The Rye.

Included Also:

Modern Libraries Top 100

Radcliffe's Rival Top 100