andrew's three old faves
my philly pal andrew from headlock harmony respondeth to my "three old favorites" challenge thusly:
"Hunger" - Knut Hamsun. 1890s norwegian novel about a starving writer - literally. maybe considered tame by today's standards, this is truly one unsettling account of a hack writer's struggle to feed both his belly and his ego while slowly losing his mind wandering the streets of turn of the century scandinavia. loved how this fella makes himself the intentional outsider and spends most of the novel living (and obsessing) inside his own head while drifting in and out of delusions of affluence during moments of, um... clarity? i guess you could call it that... his true mania is revealed when, quite literally, starving, he rejects offers of food and shelter so as not to evoke the perceived pity of those kind enough to offer help. a lousy human being for sure (hamsun caught much heat for his nazi sympathies and even, allegedly, gave his nobel prize medal to joseph goebbels as a gift - wtf?) - "hunger" contains none of this horseshit and i'm glad i learned of it after i read the book, as i probably wouldn't have opened it had i known before. portrait of the artist as a young psycho indeed...
"The Other Hollywood: The Uncensored Oral History of the Porn Film Industry" - Legs McNeil and Jennifer Osborne. barring any obvious jokes about this book's status as an "oral history" - legs mcneil works the same magic he did in "please kill me" and just takes a step back from the subject and let's those who were there tell their tales (although much like "please kill me," and this is not necessarily a bad thing, the actual subject of the book takes a backseat to the wild personal accounts of those who lived it - it's no less enjoyable.) from 50s nudist films to the advent of the mafia bankrolled hardcore of the 1970s and beyond - this thorough telling of the story behind an industry that made it's way from the backrooms of bookstores to a multi-billion dollar worldwide industry is good to the last shot (money shot - that is.) not much of a porn fella myself - i still loved reading this one in all it's sordid glory.
Good Night, Gorilla - Peggy Rathmann. a kid's book, i know, but one i enjoy reading to my little godzilla. sometimes i think it's ok to not be in such a rush to stay older anyhoo and this book just cracks me up... the basic deal is that a zookeeper locks up for the night while bidding sweet dreams to all the furry creatures in his care. conveniently, he lives directly across from the zoo, but unknown to him, the kind yet prankish gorilla swipes some keys and with his mouse pal in tow - stages an impromptu sleepover for all his animal pals at the home of mr. and mrs. zoopkeep - right in their bed! you can never have too much company...
"Hunger" - Knut Hamsun. 1890s norwegian novel about a starving writer - literally. maybe considered tame by today's standards, this is truly one unsettling account of a hack writer's struggle to feed both his belly and his ego while slowly losing his mind wandering the streets of turn of the century scandinavia. loved how this fella makes himself the intentional outsider and spends most of the novel living (and obsessing) inside his own head while drifting in and out of delusions of affluence during moments of, um... clarity? i guess you could call it that... his true mania is revealed when, quite literally, starving, he rejects offers of food and shelter so as not to evoke the perceived pity of those kind enough to offer help. a lousy human being for sure (hamsun caught much heat for his nazi sympathies and even, allegedly, gave his nobel prize medal to joseph goebbels as a gift - wtf?) - "hunger" contains none of this horseshit and i'm glad i learned of it after i read the book, as i probably wouldn't have opened it had i known before. portrait of the artist as a young psycho indeed...
"The Other Hollywood: The Uncensored Oral History of the Porn Film Industry" - Legs McNeil and Jennifer Osborne. barring any obvious jokes about this book's status as an "oral history" - legs mcneil works the same magic he did in "please kill me" and just takes a step back from the subject and let's those who were there tell their tales (although much like "please kill me," and this is not necessarily a bad thing, the actual subject of the book takes a backseat to the wild personal accounts of those who lived it - it's no less enjoyable.) from 50s nudist films to the advent of the mafia bankrolled hardcore of the 1970s and beyond - this thorough telling of the story behind an industry that made it's way from the backrooms of bookstores to a multi-billion dollar worldwide industry is good to the last shot (money shot - that is.) not much of a porn fella myself - i still loved reading this one in all it's sordid glory.
Good Night, Gorilla - Peggy Rathmann. a kid's book, i know, but one i enjoy reading to my little godzilla. sometimes i think it's ok to not be in such a rush to stay older anyhoo and this book just cracks me up... the basic deal is that a zookeeper locks up for the night while bidding sweet dreams to all the furry creatures in his care. conveniently, he lives directly across from the zoo, but unknown to him, the kind yet prankish gorilla swipes some keys and with his mouse pal in tow - stages an impromptu sleepover for all his animal pals at the home of mr. and mrs. zoopkeep - right in their bed! you can never have too much company...
posted by stashdauber at 8:51 AM
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