Better Than Friday - 85
Good afternoon everyone, hope this finds you well.
A review of Stefan Zweig's 'Chess Story' is coming soon.
Thanks for your continued support of the show, and hope you enjoy the stuff below.
1. Book I'd like to read ASAP - The Man who was Thursday by G.K. Chesterton
I've never read any G.K. Chesterton, I think this has been recommended to me.
Looks promising.
G. K. Chesterton's surreal masterpiece is a psychological thriller that centers on seven anarchists in turn-of-the-century London who call themselves by the names of the days of the week. Chesterton explores the meanings of their disguised identities in what is a fascinating mystery and, ultimately, a spellbinding allegory.
As Jonathan Lethem remarks in his Introduction, The real characters are the ideas. Chesterton's nutty agenda is really quite simple: to expose moral relativism and parlor nihilism for the devils he believes them to be. This wouldn't be interesting at all, though, if he didn't also show such passion for giving the devil his due. He animates the forces of chaos and anarchy with every ounce of imaginative verve and rhetorical force in his body.
- From Goodreads
Sent to me from a patron - Thanks Andy!
I really need to reread 'The Book of Disquiet', so much inside there...
3. Terrific Short Film based on a story by Saki
This was sent to me by a friend the other day, it's a film about a young boy who worships a Ferret. It's kind of amazing. Best short film I've seen in a long time.
The director Andrew Birkin is a screenplay writer and the brother of Jane Birkin.
4. Ernest Hemingway Reading List
I feel as though I've already posted this but looking through the archives I can't seem to find it.
Tons of great stuff on this list, and it appears that the fellow for whom this list was written, himself wrote a book about time with Hemingway. If anyone has read it please let me know how it was.
Never listened to Marie Davidson, really enjoying this electronic artist.
Discovered she's one-half of another group I enjoy called 'Essaie Pas'.
We're leaving Portland Oregon.
Destination: Camas, Washington
A kind of classic Twin Peaks town in Washington, very reminiscent of the kind I grew up in.
Tons of natural beauty nearby. Can't wait to get out of here.
Comments (13)
I've had a copy of "The Man who was Thursday" for a great long while but still have yet to read it. Chesterton comes up a lot in Zizek's writings, though, so I should probably get around to him at some point.
Cliff, what an excellent idea to review Stefan Zweig, one of the greatest writers of the last century, and still very popular here in Germany. But also worth checking out his biographies on the famous and excentric, e.g. Balzac or Maria Stuart. But surely one of his masterpieces is the highly readable "Decisive moments in history". And congrats to your move to Camas, hunting the legends of David Lynch.
Man, Chesterton is pretty overlooked, all things considered
Safe travels!
Thanks very much Daniel!
Excited to hear your thoughts on Zweig.
Marie Davidson is awesome
Chess Story. Yes.
I read the Man Who was Thursday a few years ago. Great book. It was the favourite book of the Irish revolutionary leader Michael Collins.
Jezuz, that's a hell of picture 🔥
Thank you!
Oooh, I'm excited to check it all out! I only came across your content yesterday, so I have a lot to catch up on! What hooked me was your review on Dom Casmurro, since I'm Brazilian and very passionate about local culture, history, and literature!
The Man Who Was Thursday is interesting. It’s very clearly a Christian allegory, but Chesterton doesn’t pick from low hanging fruit. Lots of paradoxes and questions (seemingly without answers) abound. He’s a very talented writer; I remember some of the prose being quite striking.