What are you reading?

[Despina41]

http://www.online-literature.com/haw...edale_romance/

Only Hawthorne can combine 19th-century supernatural nonsense with stinging parody of utopian socialism in such a great way.

[Balthazar]

Originally Posted by Florestan

I've always assumed they'd be rather 'difficult'.... Perhaps because of the way he is mocked mercilessly in his brother Gerald's books. However, I once heard a radio adaptaton of Justine, which I really enjoyed.

I never read anything by Gerald. Lawrence Durrell's work isn't particularly difficult, but it's complex, dreamlike, and decadent.

[haydnguy]

I'm intrigued by Galina Vishnevskaya, who was Rostropovich's wife. I'm planning to read her autobiography to find out, among other things, what she has to say about Shostakovich.

[stephen w]

Originally Posted by Balthazar

I never read anything by Gerald. Lawrence Durrell's work isn't particularly difficult, but it's complex, dreamlike, and decadent.

It depends on your taste, of course. But it would be a pity not to try 'My Family and Other Animals'; when my kids were young they used to roll around on the floor laughing when I read it out loud. But it's a book for anyone to enjoy, not specifically for children.

[Florestan]

Originally Posted by stephen wainman

It depends on your taste, of course. But it would be a pity not to try 'My Family and Other Animals'; when my kids were young they used to roll around on the floor laughing when I read it out loud. But it's a book for anyone to enjoy, not specifically for children.

Oh absolutely. I should hope adults would roll around on the floor laughing too.

[Philidor]

It's great. So's Freddie.

[Dame Hilda Tablet]

Originally Posted by stephen wainman

It depends on your taste, of course. But it would be a pity not to try 'My Family and Other Animals'; when my kids were young they used to roll around on the floor laughing when I read it out loud. But it's a book for anyone to enjoy, not specifically for children.

And although Gerald Durrell could not be classed, and doubtless had no pretentions towards Great Literature he's arguably had a far greater influence and a wholly positive one, on our view of the planet than his brother.

I read him as a small child and his description of the Rose beetle man was certainly a big influence on my interest in and love of coleoptera.

[Philidor]

I love Gerald Durrell too. I don't know if you've noticed the tremendous amount of drinking that goes on in the books, with Gerry imbibing from an early age. In 'Birds, Beasts and Relatives' there's a description of him, age about ten, visiting a wonderful old contessa on his donkey to collect an owl and she pours pink champagne down his throat - the proper stuff, a mix of champagne and brandy. The poor man struggled with booze for the rest of his life, dying before his time. But I'd rather have a drink with Gerry than Lawrence.

[birabiro]

Indian, Chinese, and Western Perspectives by Nicholas Gier
A very interesting book on the Postmodern Constructionist view of religion, by a neighbor of ours. I especially like his view of Nietzche. His daughter is also a scholar - she wrote her thesis on Berg.

[Balthazar]

Originally Posted by birabior

Indian, Chinese, and Western Perspectives by Nicholas Gier
A very interesting book on the Postmodern Constructionist view of religion, by a neighbor of ours.

Okay, I'll bite: what's the Postmodern Constructionist view of religion?

I read Daniel Dennett's Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon a couple of years ago, and love the subject of how religion has co-evolved with mankind.