[HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Book recommendations?

[P. Alexis Nguyen]

Carol:
>  Of the twentieth-century poets, the one I'd be most likely to
>  recommend is Hart Crane (specifically "North Labrador"), though tastes
>  vary, of course. And don't ask me about anyone born after about 1920.
>  I may have read their poetry, but it didn't stick in my head the way
>  the older poetry did.

I also tend toward the older stuff, but here are some post-1920 to
append to Carol's great list (all of which I've either read or have on
my to-read list, though I admit to not liking the majority of the
older American lit stuff).

Not being much of a fan of modern writings (or, I suppose, a
modernist), I would recommend Frank O'Hara (poet).  He's quite good,
very accessible without being insipid.  He's especially enjoyable and
accessible if you're familiar with New York City since that's his
major point of reference.

Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson is another book I'd recommend.  Like I
said, I'm not much for modernism, so this isn't quite my cup of tea
nor could I get into it as much as I would've liked, but it's pretty
good.

The Autobiography of My Mother by Jamaica Kincaid is very touching
without being saccharin.  In fact, I had occasion to meet this woman
last year, and her spirit and energy was very amazing.  Let's just say
that her narrative voice led me to believe she was much younger than
she is (and no, it had absolutely nothing to do with word choices and
phrasing but all to do with the vitality she managed to bring to her
story, of which Autobiography was both depressing and uplifting).

John McPhee is another poet I'd add to the list.  Again, another poet
with a wonderful voice (a little subdued in person, I'd say).

Truth & Lies by Jillian Edelstein is very touching/depressing.  It
look very much like a photo/coffee table book, but I wouldn't put it
there unless I wanted to give my guests depression since the subtitle
for Truth & Lies is "stories from the truth and reconciliation of
commission in South Africa."

For something truly current, I recommend Neil Gaiman.  Unlike people
like Frank O'Hara or Jamaica Kincaid, both of whom have respect within
literary circles, Gaiman is completely underrated there (probably
because of his status as a scifi/fantasy author).  He's best known for
Sandman, which is entirely brilliant but shall languish in relative
obscurity thanks to the fact that it's a graphic novel, but the man
also has some truly great novels under his belt (but, um, let's ignore
that whole Beowulf movie fiasco).

And if I'm going to bring up the medium of the graphic novel (and
ignore the brilliance of the Japanese), I would also have to recommend
the Fables series by Bill Willingham.  It's a modernized continuation
of the old fairy tales, and it's definitely not for kids, which
doesn't make it crude but does make the topics addressed more suitable
for adults (not that I really am one).

If you're into translations, Soul Mountain by Gao Xingjian (Mabel Lee
translation), winner of a Nobel for literature, is absolutely
brilliant.  It's written in second person, which can be grating for
long durations but manages to somehow not be in this ~500 pgs novel.
And I would have to also recommend Kim Van Kieu (also called The Story
of Kieu in translations) since there are some really good translations
out there that do justice to the beauty of the original writing -
since Kemper mentioned slavery, I thought of this book, which is
essentially the unofficial novel of the Vietnamese people and is about
this woman who endures incredible hardships, much of it involving
forced prostitution (in which the absolutely beauty of the language is
a stark contrast to the very ugly reality this woman lives through).
Yes, I know these aren't originally English writings, but I thought
I'd throw them out there for the interested (and besides, I think
translators deserve some love, too).

That's a good chunk of the "literary side" of my library; if I look
too much farther, I'll run into the hundred or so romance novels I
own, and I'm sure you don't want those recommendations. :)

~Ali