Tag Archives: novels

In search of the great 19th-century novel

My reading time each day follows the same pattern. I start, as I mentioned last time, with whatever dharma text I’m currently reading. Then, in number-two slot, I read fiction. At this point I make myself a pot of tea … Continue reading

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tonight’s bout: Paul Clifford vs. Christopher Columbus

All right, I was talking about examining the opening sentences of novels that I read and comparing them with the “zero level” opener to Edward Bulwer-Lytton’s 1830 Paul Clifford, the infamous, “It was a dark and stormy night. . . … Continue reading

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novel vs. novel 2: men with attitude

Back in August I wrote a post in which I compared two random novels that I happened to have read back to back. Well, that was so much fun I’m going to do it again. How do I happen to … Continue reading

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the short story: small fry of the literary world?

I love literature. I love reading. I especially love reading good fiction (even as I especially dislike reading bad fiction). Why then, in my life, have I been ambivalent about the short story as a literary genre? As a child … Continue reading

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Tristram Shandy by Laurence Sterne

The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman by Laurence Sterne My rating: 4 of 5 stars It’s long, it’s comic, and it’s fictional, but beyond that, this work defies categorization. As I recall, the first I ever heard of … Continue reading

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The Mystery of Mar Saba by James H. Hunter

The Mystery of Mar Saba by James H. Hunter My rating: 2 of 5 stars This Christian pre-World War II spy melodrama provides both action and (mainly unintentional) chuckles as it tells the story of how a forged ancient text … Continue reading

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You Shall Know Them by Vercors

You Shall Know Them by Vercors My rating: 3 of 5 stars A fast-paced and sometimes provocative novel of ideas. My attention was drawn to this book by a mention made of it by the late philosopher Mortimer J. Adler … Continue reading

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