Tom Wolfe gone. For years I thought Bonfire of the Vanities to be an unsurpassable

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Originally Posted by Burney

It's hack work, h. Full of ciphers masquerading as characters and metaphors masquerading as plot. :shrug: Go and read Tolstoy.

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Balls to Tolstoy. Du Maurier's where it's at. The one with the French pirate is the best. :cloud9:

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Originally Posted by Sir C

Balls to Tolstoy. Du Maurier's where it's at. The one with the French pirate is the best. :cloud9:

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She was a good, solid storyteller, certainly. Nothing against her and it could be argued she is unfairly overlooked.

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Originally Posted by Burney

She was a good, solid storyteller, certainly. Nothing against her and it could be argued she is unfairly overlooked.

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Jamaica Inn's a bit shít, mind. The King's General and Rebecca are ace.

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Originally Posted by Sir C

Jamaica Inn's a bit shít, mind. The King's General and Rebecca are ace.

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Yes. And sadly for many that's one of the only of her books people have read.

Since you're all about the Cumbria these days, have you read Rogue Herries by Hugh Walpole. It's set around Keswick.

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Originally Posted by Burney

Yes. And sadly for many that's one of the only of her books people have read.

Since you're all about the Cumbria these days, have you read Rogue Herries by Hugh Walpole. It's set around Keswick.

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I've read the first one. It's an odd story, really, given that nothing seems to actually, you know, happen.

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Originally Posted by Burney

You don't think the foremost champion of The New Journalism was very good at non-fiction?

Righto.

Stick to engineering. ;-)

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I did say 'possibly'. :-)

I can judge him only on Electric Kool Aid which I found to be hard work but ultimately satisfying.

Bonfire and A Man in Full I could barely put down I enjoyed them so much. :shrug:

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Originally Posted by Burney

It's hack work, h. Full of ciphers masquerading as characters and metaphors masquerading as plot. :shrug: Go and read Tolstoy.

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Pretentious nonsense, if you don't mind me saying so, Burney. I prefer novels written in my lifetime as I can - unsurprisingly - relate to them more easily. In the same way that Sympathy for the Devil means more to me than Beethoven's 5th.

People who rave about novels/music from days gone by frequently do so because they think it makes them look intelligent and sophisticated.

Not that I'm accusing you of this, of course. :-)

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Originally Posted by World's End Stella

I did say 'possibly'. :-)

I can judge him only on Electric Kool Aid which I found to be hard work but ultimately satisfying.

Bonfire and A Man in Full I could barely put down I enjoyed them so much. :shrug:

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Give The Right Stuff a look

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Originally Posted by Burney

You don't think the foremost champion of The New Journalism was very good at non-fiction?

Righto.

Stick to engineering. ;-)

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"The New Journalism." What a gay term. Anyway I prefer Hunter S Thompson. Admittedly this is "Gonzo Journalism," but same difference. When I lived in NYC I lived like five blocks from Thompson.

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Originally Posted by Burney

You don't think the foremost champion of The New Journalism was very good at non-fiction?

Righto.

Stick to engineering. ;-)

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I had no idea what this even was but after googling it (you aren't the only one who can google, Burney :-) ) I am unconvinced re your view.

Firstly, because someone was a champion of something that doesn't necessarily mean they are particularly good at it. Secondly, I loved In Cold Blood but as mentioned, found Electric Kool Aid not only hard work, but in comparison to In Cold Blood it was written much less in the manner described by The New Journalism than In Cold Blood was. It's been a few years since I read it, but as I recall the parts of the book I didn't like were those which moved away from The New Journalism approach. Perhaps Wolfe just got it wrong that once.

Finally, I think you are being mean with respect to your view of him as a novelist. He was outstanding.