He elevates the genre to a whole other level

I've read Out twice! Pretty good, though it kind of falls apart in the last 50 pages or so. Someone on this site just reviewed a different Kirino novel too. I think reading crime novels is a great way to get a handle on other cultures, since they inherently deal with law which is the structure of a society and tend to dispel any lingering idealism. For instance, it's a lot easier to get misty-eyed over Spring Snow than Out or In the Miso Soup.

dumgirl

1 year ago

should I finally read spring snow? I put it on my kindle a year ago now, and I also loved the other mishima I've read, but I just can't bring myself to start it for some reason.

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tokyodrifter

1 year ago

Yeah I'd recommend it, prob the best thing I've read by Mishima

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Why would you be crucified for liking Sally Rooney? Man, people here kind of suck if they make you feel like that about an author. She's great.

specialberry

1 year ago

Sally Rooney sucks. This is when I make fun of you for calling her 'great.' She's an awful writer.

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shitehead

1 year ago

Her head is full of jellybeans and her visage is the mask of a goblin. If 'great' is Sally Rooney then we live in opposite land. I'd rather read the packaging on a six pack of toilet paper than her 'writing'. And I'd rather wipe with Normal People.

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spuh

1 year ago

Cool it with the Hibernophobia

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builderon

1 year ago

Thank you shitehead. With such a fine and eloquent name, you truly are the last standing pinnacle of taste and culture today. I would like to tell you though that trying to be Naked Lunch levels of disgusting is an easy thing to achieve. Anybody can talk about showing paper up their ass and taking it out like it's a paper tissue box. The reason one doesn't is because it achieves no value. A person who has true taste and doesn't try to undercut an argument by proudly standing as an opposition would know that the more things you are able to enjoy, the better your life is. Enjoying Burroughs and Orwell is all and well, but you can't claim taste if you can't FIND enjoyment in other things.

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specialberry

1 year ago

If you're just a person who consumes whatever media and only judges its quality based on how good it makes you feel, then you are not engaging with art. Saying "I felt X when Y character died" is not good. Sally Rooney is not good. It filled my stomach like a fast food meal. I like her but she is trash. Keep your identity and person out of art. Orwell also sucks btw. As does Burroughs.

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shitehead

1 year ago

So you read page one of my bookshelf and concluded that I'm a fan of Orwell? Let's ignore what a bitch move your attempt to ad hom is for a moment, that's just not how bookshelves work. But back to the main point and there just is no argument. Rooney is a bag of crap hoisted up by malevolent forces because she's openly communist. This is what's known as A FALSE BILL OF GOODS. Any random two-bit romance schlock writer excels her both in style and story structure. It's funny that you censure me for having a negative opinion of a writer while simultaneously trying to degrade my ability because I swear sometimes. And we both know it's because I have a cock instead of a cunt. You speak like you have the latter. I made a valid criticism against a terrible writer and you tried to make it personal, because you feel I have no right to criticize the golden gash. Well you don't have the high ground, Anakin. And you have no taste, either.

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Wifey will be reading the new Rooneyslop so I'll need something similarly (but oppositely) gendered. I do like Ishiguro and I suppose that's exactly the kind of recommendation I'm looking for--I read Remains of the Day on a cabin trip and Klara and the Sun (mostly) on the beach.

specialberry

1 year ago

Have you read ASOIAF? I burned through those books when I was a teenager and loved them. I revisited them recently and I can assure you that it is definitely slop but it's fun. Might have to extend your holiday if you want to read it all though. That being said the first book is a bit slow so you might not want to start it on holiday. It's an idea anyway.

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I actually did end up reading Conversations with Friends because my wife insisted (she wants me to cuck her with a woman because she's convinced I'm gay). I also read The Nonexistent Knight by Italo Calvino, which I absolutely adored. Cute little allegory that really tickled me as a disillusioned bureaucrat. I didn't read as much as I expected since we spent a lot more time doing stuff--snorkeling, kayaking, tidepooling, etc.

specialberry

1 year ago

Did you like it? Honestly, reading back this thread I think I was just being a little minx because I love an argument. I still stand by what I said though. She's an easy light read. Although, I heard her next book is going to include a polyamory ending, which could have been a troll, but if true I will not be able to defend her at all.

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