BallochSonsFan Posted August 4, 2019 Share Posted August 4, 2019 On 02/08/2019 at 09:10, Estragon IS NOT a fud said: Not many at all(all 8 bellow). I didn't find them heavy at all because they were very enjoyable. I found Brothers Karamazov and The Master and Margarita more of a slog. Surprised by that. The Master and Margarita is one of the most accessible classic Russian books. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Saintee Posted August 4, 2019 Share Posted August 4, 2019 The Damned United by David Peace. The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GordonD Posted August 5, 2019 Share Posted August 5, 2019 On 30/07/2019 at 07:27, Melanius Mullarkey said: The phone book. It’s a bit boring but then a load of Polish folk turn up at the end. You're better with the audio version read by Fenella Fielding. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The DA Posted August 5, 2019 Share Posted August 5, 2019 On 01/08/2019 at 21:44, Detournement said: Simon Jenkins is a complete walloper. How many have you read? Pynchon and Dostoevsky are heavy going if your not a big reader surely? James Hogg's The Private Memoirs and Confessions of A Justified Sinner is the best Scottish novel of all time imo. For something a bit more modern Morvern Callar by Alan Warner is a great read. Lanark by Alasdair Gray or The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie? Dr Jekyll and The Rangers Fan? Trainspotting? The Wasp Factory? Sunset Song? Dunnett's Lymond Chronicles? Scott's Waverley Novels (Scotland's Shakespeare)? Nothing wrong with Hogg but still a difficult choice. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tommyboy Posted August 6, 2019 Share Posted August 6, 2019 13 hours ago, The DA said: Lanark by Alasdair Gray or The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie? Dr Jekyll and The Rangers Fan? Trainspotting? The Wasp Factory? Sunset Song? Dunnett's Lymond Chronicles? Scott's Waverley Novels (Scotland's Shakespeare)? Nothing wrong with Hogg but still a difficult choice. I think that James Barke's epic,The Land of the Leal,and also his Immortal Memory ..a quintet on the life and loves of Robert Burns..might also be worthy of a mention in this category. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The DA Posted August 6, 2019 Share Posted August 6, 2019 Just now, Serious Business said: Thoughts on the classic Waverley series? I'd have to admit to only having read a handful - and many years ago at that. Heavy going at times but a real sense of accomplishment as you finish each book. Try Rob Roy first and see if you like it. It was the most popular of Scott's books at the time, apparently. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mathematics Posted August 6, 2019 Share Posted August 6, 2019 Just finished Isaac Asimov’s Foundation series. Liked it enough to know that I’m going to get straight on to his Robot series once I get home. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Detournement Posted August 6, 2019 Share Posted August 6, 2019 20 hours ago, The DA said: Lanark by Alasdair Gray or The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie? Dr Jekyll and The Rangers Fan? Trainspotting? The Wasp Factory? Sunset Song? Dunnett's Lymond Chronicles? Scott's Waverley Novels (Scotland's Shakespeare)? Nothing wrong with Hogg but still a difficult choice. What sets Justified Sinner apart for me is that it was so far ahead of it's time and still feels remarkably fresh 200 years after publication. The writing and language are great and the form is innovative and still seems modern due to the framing devices. The story is compelling and funny whilst addressing the most serious subjects. When it was published it was largely considered a disaster by the Edinburgh literary set and even among some of those who appreciated it there was a conspiracy theory that someone else wrote it as they didn't consider Hogg capable. I think it's not just a great Scottish novel but a great literary novel generally. Karl Miller's biography of Hogg The Electric Shepherd is a fantastic read. I love Lanark but it's in thrall to Portrait of The Artist As A Young Man and Kafka so i'd rank it behind Justified Sinner. I don't think the others you have listed reach the heights of those two and I definitely can't agree with calling Scott "Scotland's Shakespeare". He's pretty much incomparable which is why he is read in every country in the world. James Kelman is my favourite Scottish author but it would be depressing if A Disaffection or A Chancer was our greatest novel. Ringan Gilhaize by John Galt is brilliant as well and very relevant in the era of ISIS but I don't think it's read at all now. Swing Hammer Swing by Jeff Torrington is hilarious and also deserves more readers. It's about a guy who's home in the Gorbals is about to demolished during the slum clearances and the trouble he gets himself into around the city. I'm quite surprised that no one has mentioned And The Land Lay Still by James Robertson as it's very pro independence as well as being a good read. It's a very ambitious state-of-the-nation type novel and actually manages to pull off it's ambitious goals. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Chief Toffee Teeth Posted August 6, 2019 Share Posted August 6, 2019 What sets Justified Sinner apart for me is that it was so far ahead of it's time and still feels remarkably fresh 200 years after publication. The writing and language are great and the form is innovative and still seems modern due to the framing devices. The story is compelling and funny whilst addressing the most serious subjects. When it was published it was largely considered a disaster by the Edinburgh literary set and even among some of those who appreciated it there was a conspiracy theory that someone else wrote it as they didn't consider Hogg capable. I think it's not just a great Scottish novel but a great literary novel generally. Karl Miller's biography of Hogg The Electric Shepherd is a fantastic read. I love Lanark but it's in thrall to Portrait of The Artist As A Young Man and Kafka so i'd rank it behind Justified Sinner. I don't think the others you have listed reach the heights of those two and I definitely can't agree with calling Scott "Scotland's Shakespeare". He's pretty much incomparable which is why he is read in every country in the world. James Kelman is my favourite Scottish author but it would be depressing if A Disaffection or A Chancer was our greatest novel. Ringan Gilhaize by John Galt is brilliant as well and very relevant in the era of ISIS but I don't think it's read at all now.Swing Hammer Swing by Jeff Torrington is hilarious and also deserves more readers. It's about a guy who's home in the Gorbals is about to demolished during the slum clearances and the trouble he gets himself into around the city. I'm quite surprised that no one has mentioned And The Land Lay Still by James Robertson as it's very pro independence as well as being a good read. It's a very ambitious state-of-the-nation type novel and actually manages to pull off it's ambitious goals. I could add many more to the list of great Scottish novels, but I'm going to restrict my recommendation to the best novel, in my opinion, ever written about football, Robin Jenkins " The Thistle and The Grail ".A comic allegory, it follows the fortunes of Drumsagart Thistle and their quest for The Scottish Junior Cup. The road to Roncesvalles is littered with casualties. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
highlandcowden Posted August 6, 2019 Share Posted August 6, 2019 "the perfect storm" is fantastic 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mathematics Posted August 7, 2019 Share Posted August 7, 2019 Sunset Song is a brutal read. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeWhoWalksBehindTheRows Posted August 7, 2019 Share Posted August 7, 2019 (edited) 10 hours ago, mathematics said: Sunset Song is a brutal read. It was a hard fucking slog in higher English I can tell you. Always remember the bit in the Brookmyer novel when the guy is saying to his old English teacher that a book about teuchter farmers raping their Daughters is maybe not the best story to try to get teenagers into Scottish literature. Still, it gave me and my pals a classic line that we still use to this day "Your my flesh and blood Chrissie, I'll do with you as I please." Edited August 7, 2019 by HeWhoWalksBehindTheRows 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeWhoWalksBehindTheRows Posted August 7, 2019 Share Posted August 7, 2019 3 hours ago, MixuFixit said: Just about any book I had to read at school was permanently ruined for me. The dreary process of as a class identifying all the literary tricks that were used totally kills any mystique that a book might have. I struggle to enjoy Animal Farm for this reason. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melanius Mullarkey Posted August 7, 2019 Share Posted August 7, 2019 3 hours ago, HeWhoWalksBehindTheRows said: It was a hard fucking slog in higher English I can tell you. Always remember the bit in the Brookmyer novel when the guy is saying to his old English teacher that a book about teuchter farmers raping their Daughters is maybe not the best story to try to get teenagers into Scottish literature. Still, it gave me and my pals a classic line that we still use to this day "Your my flesh and blood Chrissie, I'll do with you as I please." Teuchters gonna teucht. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Detournement Posted August 7, 2019 Share Posted August 7, 2019 16 hours ago, ThatBoyRonaldo said: Swing Hammer Swing is a great shout but it's one that seems bizarrely underrated to me - you don't seem to hear it talked about as much as some other novels. For years I wrongly thought Swing Hammer Swing would be some sort of dreary, social realist novel about ship yards because of the title. It's one of the funniest books i've ever read and the bit where the main character ends up in a bad situation in Possil is absolutely brilliant. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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