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Possibly, as Pelevin’s books are infused with modern culture. Then again, since the days of ‘Theseus and the Minotaur’ the idea of protagonists working together to escape some kind of maze or trap, be it physical or mental, was become a fairly standard plot that has been interpreted over the...

Perhaps, perhaps not. But it does allow mods to point newbies in the direction of the introduction PM if they've made an initial post that's not got much positive responce. That depends on how it was worded. Yes, that would be best, but members that are active at that time aren't always...

(o)(o) <- I tried to think of an emoticon for 'toes' but this was as close as I could get. K-S (in da house)

Whilst I can agree with what you've said here, I don't see the problem with an automated introductory PM. We want to encourage new members, and give them a chance to find out what the place is about before jumping all over them, but it's worth letting them know that this is an international...

Having read two books in just over three months I finally broke out of my reading rut this month: The Dog of the South - Charles Portis - 7/10 - Not quite to the standard of 'True Grit' but still a solid, if quirky read. A modern day, well 50's, western come road movie in book form. White...

Since the publication of the majority of Andrei Platonov’s work following the Khrushchev Thaw, it having been previously suppressed due to its ‘subversive nature’, Platonov has enjoyed an every increasing reputation within his homeland, where he is regarded as arguably the greatest Soviet writer...

Since his emergence in the early 1990’s, Victor Pelevin has remained a controversial and contradictorily presence on the modern Russian literary scene. As a powerful, profound and immensely popular writer, Pelevin was hailed by many as the voice of Russia’s generation X and the new wunderkind of...

I say go ahead and read it, that's what books are for; but you might want to put it in perspective by following it up with something like If this is a Man or The Drowned and the Saved by Primo Levi. Regards, K-S

Sure, sneak your post in while I'm composing mine, to make me look stupid why don't you...

Just a few quick thoughts: Whist I’m not an instant fan of the colour scheme, it does make the site stand out from other forums. I hope the intention is to make all parts of the site directly navigable from wherever you are. The old site structure seemed to lead to the forum and other...

AdamCook: Your taste seems similar to a guy who asked for recommendations only a few days ago. Try some of the books suggested in this thread. Reagrds, K-S

I can kind of see why people rate Virginia Woolf, but after reading Orlando, To the Lighthouse, Mrs Dalloway and some short stories I have to say I just don't get the appeal myself...

nomadicfollower: Kerouac: I've never been a fan of Kerouac's writing style to be honest. You could try John Fante who IMO is a more gifted but lesser known C20 American writer. ‘Ask the Dust’ is a good place to start. Joseph Heller: Try reading some of his other books, I quite enjoyed 'God...

Yes, I can remember having the "Oh hello, and who are you?" feeling with Laxness in the past. I think you've been quite brave to dive into Independant People so early. I've read a few of his other books, but I've decided to get some Islandic Saga's under my belt before moving onto more. I'm...

I wondered if that joke book had been photocopied before it was returned to Bob Monkhouse... Which involved skim reading two randomly chosen pages from a single book…

I'll echo what abecedarain has said, you're not alone! Laxness requires careful reading, and even then I don't think you can fully grasp everything that is of importance, unless you have an fully working understanding of Icelandic culture you probably can't expect too. I had big problems with...

I've not gone totally down this direction for selecting books, but it did give me a push when I was considering Laxness & Oe. Laxness has an interesting writing style, so I'd be interested in what you make of Independent People, especially as my aversion to books over about 300 pages has kept...

I've not read Somersault, although having had a quick peek on amazon the cover looks rather inviting... Of the books I have read, I can say that he's not an overly wordy writer who bogs you down in layer upon layer of prose. He's not quite as minimalist a Japanese writer as Kawabata, but he's...

Man, I love that book. We covered it in English Lit when I was at school and it remains the only novel I've ever read more than twice. (three times before you ask) I've got it marked down as my next Hamsun book to read. As Shade said it's the one that got him the Nobel Prize and it does seem...

Thanks for that post Zolipara, it was informative as usual. I can definitely see 'Hunger' being part of a line that goes through Dostoyevsky and onto Kafka. The other books by Hamsun I've read, have almost seemed the work of another writer. I guess the fact I've enjoyed both styles is a...