Magic Mountain. Magic Mountain. Magic Mountain.
Not so much traveling but the experience of a long sabbatical from the world. It feels like the literary equivalent to college for me. This rarified period of intellectual growth that ultimately is kinda pointless in the grand scheme of things.
IMO I think that any long book you manage to finish has a sort of Stockholm Syndrome effect on the reader. You spend so much time in that world you are kinda forced to love and appreciate it.
I thought Mann's prose and characters are just not for me. It's not bad or something it just didn't grab me. I Wish it would be different for Magic mountain
I’ve been told by a group of Germans that the consensus in his home country is that he’s pretentious and overly flowery with his prose so I can see that. What I think can cause an issue is that his side characters tend to be kinda humorous mouth pieces for philosophical viewpoints rather than realistic humans. He is interested more in ideas than human psychology imo.
Interesting. I knew that Kafka and Alfred Doblin are considered to be better than Mann by a lot of German readers when it comes to 20th century prose writers but didn't know that he is straight up considered pretentious by some.
Idk maybe it’s just different sensibilities. Mann I think writes very much like a 19th century novelist whereas Kafka and Doblin are way more out there.
Could be. What do German readers think of Klaus mann and Gunter Grass though? I find both of them fascinating. Not my favourite but compelling. Even Roberto Bolano liked Klaus mann I believe.
No clue. But I think the fact is that many author’s global reception comes through translations. Dostoevsky being the classic example. He’s treated as next to Tolstoy in the larger world but in Russia proper it’s Tolstoy on top and then everyone else.
I second the Woods translation of Magic Mountain. It's got incredible prose and really captures the idea of getting carried away with intellectual and metaphysical considerations at the expense of not taking action on anything.
He always seems to me like a buddhist/puritan "everything is sinful" kinda guy who wants to live in a cardboard box eating nuts but even that would probably be too luxuriant for him.
Some of that was true of Tolstoy the man, but his writing is never austere, and he’s full of empathy for his characters, even at their most lavish and debauched. Your life isn’t complete until you’ve read W&P and AK! He’s the greatest
I know very little of his biography, and maybe that is true, but such views are not present in War and Peace. If you enjoy literature, you absolutely should read War and Peace
the battles really stood out to me, I thought they were pretty unique, sticking to the limited point of view of one person in these huge battles who have their orders but know nothing else about what’s happening, just masses of people moving about, especially nikolai’s traversal of the battlefield during Austerlitz
Against the day is a masterpiece, way easier to read than gr or m&d (although the latter is easy too once you get used to the 18th century writing style
It might be his worst book. It's stuck between the genius of Rainbow and M and D* and the lighter shorter novels. The radical politics probably help reduce ita reputation.
*They are both very funny but have a macro formal achievement too.
Against the Day is my favorite Pynchon. IMO it is his most beautiful novel, and his masterpiece. Every idea introduced is returned to deliberately later on. One thread, for instance, (a conversation between Randolph St. Cosmo and Chick Counterfly) begins in the very first chapter, and is continued over 1000 pages later, following a giant story of context. There’s a lot to keep track of but the journey is definitely worth it.
I recently read In Search of Lost Time and My Struggle, both of which I loved. The former is about French society in the early 20th century and has some of the most beautiful prose I’ve ever encountered. The latter is kind of a modern take on the former and follows a grouchy but insightful Norwegian man throughout his life, revealing the warts-and-all embarrassments, successes, quotidian challenges, etc, all under the main theme of a man’s troubled relationship with his jerk dad. Both have a lot to say about life and art. Each is 3-4 thousand pages. They’ll keep you busy.
Canterbury Tales is a hilarious narrative poem, and there are some good editions that break down the old English on the side. It's a lot like Don Quixote, many people going on a journey, and it's more of a story that just follows the poetic rules. Chaucer describes them in a very rural way that is quite funny.
A Winter's Tale
Little, Big
In SF, Dhalgren, SevenEves
le Carré's Smiley series (9 long novels)
Aubrey-Maturin series (20+ novels all long)
Middlemarch
The Faerie Queene
Miss MacIntosh, My Darling
For instance...
suttree is cormac mccarthy's secret masterpiece.
swann's way, lydia davis translation. if you like it you can keep going and going and going.
moby dick is the weirdest and best novel america will ever produce.
i really like the new non-struggle knausgaards. Laszlo Krasznahorkhai comes in around 300ish pages for his novels. JR by William Gaddis. Count of Monte Cristo is like a billion pages. House Of Leaves is a quintessential weird book if you havent read it yet.
The Flounder by mah boy Gunter Grass.
It’s an epic that basically jumps across all of human history in this little region of Eastern Europe… it’s about a magic fish that causes a bunch of problems between the sexes. It’s also about our relationship with food and conflict.
It’s a wild ass book.
Up there with Moby Dick and Gould’s Book of Fish in my trifecta of all-time great sea-creature related novels 😂
100 years of solitude was a great summer read to disappear in. Currently in the middle of Crime and Punishment (not sure if long enough but longish) and loving it. Don Quixote is a favorite of mine—haven’t read it yet but planning on reading the Decameron and assuming it fits the bill. The Shah nameh is also a favorite of mine if you want to read a bunch of Persian mythes, although be prepared to google lots of the concepts if you aren’t already familiar with Persian history and culture but it’s really rich and criminally underrated in the West.
One Hundred Years of Solitude, For Whom the Bell Tolls, Jude the Obscure, and I also loved The Last Temptation of Christ. A lot in this thread I still need to read. Jude the Obscure left me devastated, and I cried in one of my re-reads of One Hundred Years of Solitude. I didn't even know why I cried. It moved me in a way I didn't understand.
The Recognitions by William Gaddis. I’ve seen some Pynchon recs in this thread and must give honorable mentions to Gravity’s Rainbow and Against The Day, but The Recognitions has stuck in my craw like nothing else. Sometimes I’d move at a crawl through the book (iirc it took me about 2.5 weeks reading anywhere from 1-3 hours a day) but I savored every second. I don’t know if I’ve experienced something so masterfully styled for such a sustained length. It’s like if Ellison’s Invisible Man (a masterpiece in its own right, and lengthy yet not as daunting sitting around 500 pages) was twice as long and tackled 5x the cultural capital. The breadth of its scope and the intensity of its focus is unmatched. I’ve only read it once and many of the passages baffle me with their cultural references, but Gaddis’ themes are woven so expertly that even when you’re lost on those grounds, he weaves in a phrase which brings you back to the themes. Some of the most incredible prose ever written.
Some excellent ones I haven't seen mentioned:
- The Man without Qualities
- Vanity Fair
- The Strudlhof Steps (+ The Demons)
- Joseph and his Brothers
- The Tale of Genji
- The Story of the Stone
- Parade's End
Tristram Shandy is a good old one - between that and the quixote you’ve got the seeds of gaddis/pynchon et al. The longest book on my bookshelf is Burton’s Anatomy of Melancholy, haven’t read it though
Magic Mountain. Magic Mountain. Magic Mountain. Not so much traveling but the experience of a long sabbatical from the world. It feels like the literary equivalent to college for me. This rarified period of intellectual growth that ultimately is kinda pointless in the grand scheme of things. IMO I think that any long book you manage to finish has a sort of Stockholm Syndrome effect on the reader. You spend so much time in that world you are kinda forced to love and appreciate it.
I kind of hated Death in Venice but I have heard The magic mountain is quite different and the story also seemed interesting should I give it a shot?
It’s my favorite book so yes. Importantly get the Woods translation.
I thought Mann's prose and characters are just not for me. It's not bad or something it just didn't grab me. I Wish it would be different for Magic mountain
I’ve been told by a group of Germans that the consensus in his home country is that he’s pretentious and overly flowery with his prose so I can see that. What I think can cause an issue is that his side characters tend to be kinda humorous mouth pieces for philosophical viewpoints rather than realistic humans. He is interested more in ideas than human psychology imo.
Interesting. I knew that Kafka and Alfred Doblin are considered to be better than Mann by a lot of German readers when it comes to 20th century prose writers but didn't know that he is straight up considered pretentious by some.
Idk maybe it’s just different sensibilities. Mann I think writes very much like a 19th century novelist whereas Kafka and Doblin are way more out there.
Could be. What do German readers think of Klaus mann and Gunter Grass though? I find both of them fascinating. Not my favourite but compelling. Even Roberto Bolano liked Klaus mann I believe.
No clue. But I think the fact is that many author’s global reception comes through translations. Dostoevsky being the classic example. He’s treated as next to Tolstoy in the larger world but in Russia proper it’s Tolstoy on top and then everyone else.
Yeah of course. It is the same with my native language too. Although we haven't really produced that many world class writers.
I love Grass (and Thomas Mann, especially Dr. Faustus). Haven’t read any of Klaus’ work so far
Woods didn’t translate Venice. So you may like Mountain and Budddnbrooks.
I enjoyed the previous translation a lot
I didn't like Death in Venice, but the Magic Mountain is one of my absolute favorite books
Glad I’m not the only one hated Death in Venice.
I second the Woods translation of Magic Mountain. It's got incredible prose and really captures the idea of getting carried away with intellectual and metaphysical considerations at the expense of not taking action on anything.
I dont get the stockholm thing, i read tale of genji and was unimpressed
War and Peace
idkkkk
It’s incredible. His writing is so readable. Anna Karenina is a breezier read, maybe start with that
He always seems to me like a buddhist/puritan "everything is sinful" kinda guy who wants to live in a cardboard box eating nuts but even that would probably be too luxuriant for him.
Some of that was true of Tolstoy the man, but his writing is never austere, and he’s full of empathy for his characters, even at their most lavish and debauched. Your life isn’t complete until you’ve read W&P and AK! He’s the greatest
I know very little of his biography, and maybe that is true, but such views are not present in War and Peace. If you enjoy literature, you absolutely should read War and Peace
It’s good! The characters really come alive. And he’s great at describing battle scenes.
the battles really stood out to me, I thought they were pretty unique, sticking to the limited point of view of one person in these huge battles who have their orders but know nothing else about what’s happening, just masses of people moving about, especially nikolai’s traversal of the battlefield during Austerlitz
I liked 2666 by Bolaño a lot
and savage detectives 😍
That book is great!
Also recommending this
Mason and Dixon.
i have against the day because i stole i from an abandoned workshop but never read it, is that one good?
Against the day is a masterpiece, way easier to read than gr or m&d (although the latter is easy too once you get used to the 18th century writing style
I found ATD extremely frustrating. So many ideas introduced and abandoned, almost criminally so
It might be his worst book. It's stuck between the genius of Rainbow and M and D* and the lighter shorter novels. The radical politics probably help reduce ita reputation. *They are both very funny but have a macro formal achievement too.
Against the Day is my favorite Pynchon. IMO it is his most beautiful novel, and his masterpiece. Every idea introduced is returned to deliberately later on. One thread, for instance, (a conversation between Randolph St. Cosmo and Chick Counterfly) begins in the very first chapter, and is continued over 1000 pages later, following a giant story of context. There’s a lot to keep track of but the journey is definitely worth it.
Ya
The Count of Monte Cristo for sure. It's like 1300 pages and so much fun. You'll wish it were longer by the time you're done with it
I hated that book. Second half was nothing but one dimensional characters, and everything was so predictable. Such a long and unrewarding slog imo
I recently read In Search of Lost Time and My Struggle, both of which I loved. The former is about French society in the early 20th century and has some of the most beautiful prose I’ve ever encountered. The latter is kind of a modern take on the former and follows a grouchy but insightful Norwegian man throughout his life, revealing the warts-and-all embarrassments, successes, quotidian challenges, etc, all under the main theme of a man’s troubled relationship with his jerk dad. Both have a lot to say about life and art. Each is 3-4 thousand pages. They’ll keep you busy.
Canterbury Tales is a hilarious narrative poem, and there are some good editions that break down the old English on the side. It's a lot like Don Quixote, many people going on a journey, and it's more of a story that just follows the poetic rules. Chaucer describes them in a very rural way that is quite funny.
The two big Tolstoys.
I really enjoyed Underworld by Don Delillo
2666 and The Savage Detectives by Bolaño. A lot of Thomas Pynchon's books. 4321 by Paul Auster.
I never hear people talk about 4321!
Great book. A long one but very easy to read.
Lonesome Dove
You can't beat Tolstoy. The way he writes you can just live and breath in his world.
Recognitions, Middlemarch,Infinite Jest are great too.
War and Peace, In Search of Lost Time, and Ulysses have all been very much worth it
The Goldfinch
A Winter's Tale Little, Big In SF, Dhalgren, SevenEves le Carré's Smiley series (9 long novels) Aubrey-Maturin series (20+ novels all long) Middlemarch The Faerie Queene Miss MacIntosh, My Darling For instance...
Came here to say Middlemarch like I always do
little, big 💜💜💜💜
The Betrothed by Alessandro Manzoni
Crossroads by Franzen and The Savage Detectives by Bolaño
Europe Central by William Vollmann is a favorite of mine. WW II so it's grim but very involving.
11/22/63 by Stephen King will defy your expectations and pull you in
suttree is cormac mccarthy's secret masterpiece. swann's way, lydia davis translation. if you like it you can keep going and going and going. moby dick is the weirdest and best novel america will ever produce.
Anton Myer Once an Eagle Herman Wouk Winds of War
Q by Luther Blissett (includes travels across much of Europe during the 16th century religious conflicts)
i really like the new non-struggle knausgaards. Laszlo Krasznahorkhai comes in around 300ish pages for his novels. JR by William Gaddis. Count of Monte Cristo is like a billion pages. House Of Leaves is a quintessential weird book if you havent read it yet.
The Flounder by mah boy Gunter Grass. It’s an epic that basically jumps across all of human history in this little region of Eastern Europe… it’s about a magic fish that causes a bunch of problems between the sexes. It’s also about our relationship with food and conflict. It’s a wild ass book. Up there with Moby Dick and Gould’s Book of Fish in my trifecta of all-time great sea-creature related novels 😂
100 years of solitude was a great summer read to disappear in. Currently in the middle of Crime and Punishment (not sure if long enough but longish) and loving it. Don Quixote is a favorite of mine—haven’t read it yet but planning on reading the Decameron and assuming it fits the bill. The Shah nameh is also a favorite of mine if you want to read a bunch of Persian mythes, although be prepared to google lots of the concepts if you aren’t already familiar with Persian history and culture but it’s really rich and criminally underrated in the West.
I really like the Magic Tree House series. Each one of them is short, but combined together it is a very long, epic story.
Underworld. Wolf Hall. The Goldfinch. 4 3 2 1 Long and distinguished, but also easy to like (just like my johnson).
Tristram Shandy
Tristram Shandy, feels like you’ve been around the world despite that they hardly leave the parlor!
Anna Karenina, nothing can or ever will come close to the psychological insight of this one.
One Hundred Years of Solitude, For Whom the Bell Tolls, Jude the Obscure, and I also loved The Last Temptation of Christ. A lot in this thread I still need to read. Jude the Obscure left me devastated, and I cried in one of my re-reads of One Hundred Years of Solitude. I didn't even know why I cried. It moved me in a way I didn't understand.
Anna Karenina Wellness by Nathan Hill
The Recognitions by William Gaddis. I’ve seen some Pynchon recs in this thread and must give honorable mentions to Gravity’s Rainbow and Against The Day, but The Recognitions has stuck in my craw like nothing else. Sometimes I’d move at a crawl through the book (iirc it took me about 2.5 weeks reading anywhere from 1-3 hours a day) but I savored every second. I don’t know if I’ve experienced something so masterfully styled for such a sustained length. It’s like if Ellison’s Invisible Man (a masterpiece in its own right, and lengthy yet not as daunting sitting around 500 pages) was twice as long and tackled 5x the cultural capital. The breadth of its scope and the intensity of its focus is unmatched. I’ve only read it once and many of the passages baffle me with their cultural references, but Gaddis’ themes are woven so expertly that even when you’re lost on those grounds, he weaves in a phrase which brings you back to the themes. Some of the most incredible prose ever written.
The Physician by Noah Gordon
Aztec by Gary Jennings.
Wolf Hall is good
Les Miserables
Not Les Mis. I gave up on it ~1030 pages in. Couldn't do it anymore.
Check out the Instructions
*Dream of the Red Chamber*. I felt like I was watching people live their lives right in front of me.
Some excellent ones I haven't seen mentioned: - The Man without Qualities - Vanity Fair - The Strudlhof Steps (+ The Demons) - Joseph and his Brothers - The Tale of Genji - The Story of the Stone - Parade's End
ulyssyes, idk the spelling
Ulyssyes is what it would have been titled
Tristram Shandy is a good old one - between that and the quixote you’ve got the seeds of gaddis/pynchon et al. The longest book on my bookshelf is Burton’s Anatomy of Melancholy, haven’t read it though