Like Taylor, I'd like to thank Holidailies for the impetus to get back in the posting spirit. I should also thank Taylor who actually inspired me to do it. Though I've phoned in a lot of my posts, I did really enjoy the exercise and plan to keep at it as long as I can. And thanks for reading and commenting, those few of you :)
I'm rounding the bend on this cold and should be back to exercising, crazy-writing, and surviving winter in no time. I have a few remaining holiday thoughts to get down as well, but they'll have to wait for another day. For now, be well all.
Tuesday, January 06, 2009
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I'm writing here, since 140 characters won't cut it. No Country the movie was fine, right up until the end, when the Cohens inexplicably decided to stop following the book precisely and if I may say so, ruined it.
I'm a strong believer that books and movies are two different things and therefore incomparable. When people try to make such comparisons of disparate things, I usually respond that I believe that, in his prime--and only in his prime, mind you--Muhammad Ali was better than anti-lock brakes. I have especially strong tendencies to commit stomach violence against people who say "the book was better" less as a statement of fact and more I think for the sense they get of letting everyone know that they are culturally refined, and are somehow deriving greater pleasure out of life than other ignorant swine who could only be bothered to see the movie. Except in the case of Marley and Me. If you can only be bothered to see this "Don't kill yourself" Owen Wilson vehicle and not read the book, then your understanding of Hollywood is grieviously flawed, or since you have obviously paid to have two hours of your life wasted, you should go ahead and volunteer all of your money for someone to end the whole thing. Be assured, this tirade should not be construed as that.
I don't know though. Maybe its because you can only see one first, and it will irrevocably change your perception of the other, but I doubt it. Several non-readers I know wondered what the fuck happened at the end and felt sure it was literary bullshit, which it was not. McCarthy may take you on a 50 page journey of loosely related blathering on the primal human condition, but he knows how to close a story down. And furthermore, I am very suspicious of anyone who says they liked the movie No Country without having read the book and downright homicidal of anyone who says they liked the movie while having read the book. If someone makes a movie, there is no requirement to be faithful to a book, but if you are faithful all the way up until the end, and then leave out some critical fucking shit you are just letting everyone down. And rest assured, it wasn't a time thing. I think 5 minutes of extra time would have been plenty.
As far as McCarthy, what I have read, I would rank:
Blood Meridian, easily one of my all time favorite books.
No Country For Old Men
Cities of the Plain
All the Pretty Horses
The Road
I haven't been disappointed by a book of his yet, and there are few authors I can say that about.
Starting now...
for those seeking context: csm is extending a twitter exchange about mccarthy's "the road" which i just finished reading.
"I'm a strong believer that books and movies are two different things and therefore incomparable."
i generally agree with this. and i did like the movie despite finding the ending a bit jarring. so you should remain at least semi-suspicious of me.
thanks for the recommendations. i'm swinging by the library later today and will seek out blood meridian to go with some trashy sci-fi.
I figured it was just Carlos.
Keep the posts up! It's been really nice to read something new every day. :)
And you're comment about trashy sci-fi made me think about something...Why do we call the books that we really (maybe secretly) love "trashy"? What makes it trashy? I do the same thing with a lot of (read: all) the books I read, but are they trashy simply because they don't, in an obvious way, contribute to my intellect?
Just wondering.
I usually only refer to books as trashy when the author uses graphic sex and/or violence to distract the reader from how poorly written the story actually is.
If something is decently written, but it still isn't intellectually engaging, then I call it "fluffy." Fluffy books can have sex and violence too - the difference in my mind is just the competence of the author's storytelling.
a reasonable distinction. fluffy sci-fi it is.
I had a little synopsis and personal evaluation of each book attached before I started getting self-conscious and began calling myself a jackass and deleted it all. And even though I promised to stop talking, which is what I mean by "starting now" I'm a sucker for making a fool of myself in the, even ethereal, presence of a pretty lady.
I think you have it exactly right, Erin. They are trashy because they don't challenge you as much as something else might. I don't personally think life is meant to be lived passively, letting it wash over you like a trashy novel. Part of being a human is recognizing you are the embodiment of everything that is possible, and while you yourself may not push those boundaries for humanity, yours are your own boundaries and it would be wasteful not to explore at least a few of them. It need not be reading, but it should be something. And if you do read, its fine to be entertained, but shouldn't you challenge yourself every once in awhile if you can? I don't presume to know what constitutes challenging for anyone else though, and I am not strictly speaking a self-aggrandizing bastard: while I imagine I am literarily discerning, I lack substantially in many other areas too many to list. In particular, my bike riding skills are unacrobatic.
Here is where I caution Richard. Blood Meridian is not to be attempted lightly. It is long and dense and a masterpiece of American fiction. I do not believe in superlatives, but I call it one of my favorites for precisely this reason. If you do not seek to be challenged, do not read Blood Meridian. If I had to draw a gross analogy it would be that The Road is Billy Budd to Blood Meridian's Moby Dick. There are several chapters in their about whale anatomy and if you are not prepared to forge through them, you will be stymied.
This is precisely why I don't make recommendations without intimate knowledge of the other person. Blood Meridian is one of my favorites, and it would be a poor indication of my own intellect if that view were widely shared. Based on the little data that I have collected, I would have no part in recommending it to a female.
Am I still talking?
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