THE BROTHERS K - GREAT BOOK!
Michael Wolf
Mike
Scott Horst
Michael Wolf <maw...@nv7.uswnvg.com> wrote:
Yes--great book! After I read it, I was pushing it on everybody. I thought
it was involving, funny, sad--a pleasure to read. Duncan's first
book, THE RIVER WHY, is good, too, in a more offbeat way.
--Scott
--
Scott Horst | sho...@nyx10.cs.du.edu
David E. Latane
What a bummer. I read this message hoping for some discussion of the
real Brothers K--Karamazov, that is. Now there's a great book.
D. Latane'
Brooks Seymore
>What a bummer. I read this message hoping for some discussion of the
>real Brothers K--Karamazov, that is. Now there's a great book.
What a bummer. I read this message hoping for some discussion of the book
called _The Brothers K_ so I guess I'll just have to do the honorable
thing and actually write something about it.
When I first read it I didn't like it very much -- his previous book, _The
River Why_ is at the tippy-tippy-top of my list of favorite books in the
whole wide world -- but after reading it a second time this past summer,
I realized that my initial impression was wrong. _The Brothers K_ is
excellent.
It is by far one of the most endearing books I've ever read (others would
include _Cannery Row_, _The River Why_ and _The Shipping News_), one
which provides its reader with serious scenes to humorous scenes. It also
gives a pretty good chronicle of the sixties anti-war movement.
Brooks
Jim Purcell
>>If anyone has read THE BROTHERS K, by David James Duncan, I
would like to hear your opinion. If you haven't, you should.
Great book! Totally interesting characters who each develop
fully du<<
Well, I'm sure Mr. Wolf had more to say. "The Brothers K"
may be the overlooked Great American Novel of the early
'90s. David James Duncan was recommended to me by a friend who
hugely enjoyed "The River Why" and was probably the first person
on his block to get a hardcover copy of "The Brothers K." I loved
"The River Why," even though I don't know a thing about fly
fishing. I am a baseball fan, but you don't have to be to enjoy
"The Brothers K."
Duncan's writing is influenced by Ken Kesey, but he speaks very
much in his own voice. He can be outrageously funny and moving on
the same page. One of my early opinions about Duncan was that he
writes like Tom Robbins would if Robbins had anything to say. I
have since recanted that opinion: mentioning Duncan in the same
breath as Robbins is grossly unfair to Duncan. (Oh, I did it
again, didn't I?) The bad thing about Duncan is that he only puts
out a book every nine years or so.
--
Jim Purcell
73063...@compuserve.com
Scott Horst
Jim Purcell <73063...@CompuServe.COM> wrote:
> One of my early opinions about Duncan was that he
>writes like Tom Robbins would if Robbins had anything to say.
Great analogy--I love Duncan's books but get 5 pages into Tom Robbins and
think "oh, clever" then quit.
--
Scott Horst | sho...@nyx10.cs.du.edu
Michael Wolf
: writes like Tom Robbins would if Robbins had anything to say. I
Mike
Jim Purcell
>>I'm of the opinion that Duncan writes in a similiar fashion to
John Irving, but somehow develops his characters more fully. I
felt like there wasn't one stone unturned after finishing "K".
He al<<
(Maybe it's just my reader, but Michael's posts come out all on
one line, truncated as you see. Anyway ...)
As it happens, I'm nearly finished with Irving's "A Son of the
Circus," kind of a disappointing book after Owen Meany. I mention
this here because I don't see many similarities between Irving's
writing and Duncan's. Duncan uses a lot of word play, not unlike
his fellow Oregonian Ken Kesey. Irving, I think, is more
self-consciously literary. In "A Son of the Circus," for
instance, Irving has a very funny description of the matron
saint of a colonial English club in Bombay that sounds like a
bawdy takeoff on Jane Austen. You won't see that kind of writing
in Duncan's work, which isn't a slam on either writer--just an
observation that I don't see much similarity between them.
--
Jim Purcell
73063...@compuserve.com
Robert Devereaux
of those postings, I bought a copy last week. On the strength of the
book itself, which amazes me in so many ways, I've ordered the hardback
& will probably order a few more to have as gifts.
So how come it didn't hit bigger? It's at least as good as GARP was &
yet Irving's book had a huge media push.
--
Robert Devereaux
bob...@fc.hp.com
Fort Collins, CO
(303) 229-3423
JimK143
the whole thing? I was able to "read" it over a period of a few months
while driving back and forth to work. I agree, it's a great book, and a
great recording, too.
The company is called Jimcin Recordings. If you're interested, you can
e-mail them at Jim...@tmh.bbsnet.com Their catalog is free