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

[Herbert Augustus Chapman]

tour de force and despaired of ever reading anything as brilliant again. Then Jorge introduced me to Donna Tartt and The Goldfinch - or was it Bernie?

[Burney]

tour de force and despaired of ever reading anything as brilliant again. Then Jorge introduced me to Donna Tartt and The Goldfinch - or was it Bernie?

Not me. Never got on with Tartt.

His journalism was good - The Right Stuff and The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test. Don't think he was much of a novelist, though, if I'm honest.

[World's End Stella]

tour de force and despaired of ever reading anything as brilliant again. Then Jorge introduced me to Donna Tartt and The Goldfinch - or was it Bernie?

A Man in Full - also brilliant. I found Electric Kool Aid Acid test to be a bit dull mind. Possibly because it was more fact than fiction and I'm not convinced Wolfe was as good at that.

Still, very sad he's gone. :-(

[Burney]

A Man in Full - also brilliant. I found Electric Kool Aid Acid test to be a bit dull mind. Possibly because it was more fact than fiction and I'm not convinced Wolfe was as good at that.

Still, very sad he's gone. :-(

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

Righto.

Stick to engineering. ;-)

[Herbert Augustus Chapman]

You didn't think Bonfire was a masterpiece? Stick to hammering your bellend in that allotment shed.

[Herbert Augustus Chapman]

A Man in Full - also brilliant. I found Electric Kool Aid Acid test to be a bit dull mind. Possibly because it was more fact than fiction and I'm not convinced Wolfe was as good at that.

Still, very sad he's gone. :-(

Couldn't get past 20 pages of A Man in Full. I think he had maybe just he one brilliant novel in him.

The Right stuff was an excellent read.

[Luis Anaconda]

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

Righto.

Stick to engineering. ;-)
Probably used long words, b

[Burney]

You didn't think Bonfire was a masterpiece? Stick to hammering your bellend in that allotment shed.

No. I thought it was yet another self-conscious attempt at 'THE GREAT AMERICAN NOVEL' and - like most such attempts - overblown, grandiose and with a positively chasmic discrepancy between reach and grasp.

[Herbert Augustus Chapman]

No. I thought it was yet another self-conscious attempt at 'THE GREAT AMERICAN NOVEL' and - like most such attempts - overblown, grandiose and with a positively chasmic discrepancy between reach and grasp.

'fess up - you didn't even read the ****ing thing.

[Burney]

'fess up - you didn't even read the ****ing thing.

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

[Sir C]

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

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

[Burney]

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

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

[Sir C]

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

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

[Burney]

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

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.

[Sir C]

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.

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

[World's End Stella]

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

Righto.

Stick to engineering. ;-)

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:

[World's End Stella]

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

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. :-)

[Burney]

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:

Give The Right Stuff a look

[eastgermanautos]

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

Righto.

Stick to engineering. ;-)

"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.

[World's End Stella]

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

Righto.

Stick to engineering. ;-)

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.

[eastgermanautos]

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.

In Cold Blood is the sh!t. Capote, very talented writer.

[Peter]

No. I thought it was yet another self-conscious attempt at 'THE GREAT AMERICAN NOVEL' and - like most such attempts - overblown, grandiose and with a positively chasmic discrepancy between reach and grasp.

Agreed. I didnt think much of it.

[Herbert Augustus Chapman]

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

Mercy me, is this the bitter invective of envy? Are you a failed novelist b?

[Sir C]

Mercy me, is this the bitter invective of envy? Are you a failed novelist b?

Who isn't a failed novelist, h? I think we've all felt, at one time or another, as if we had a book within us, if only we could release it...

[Herbert Augustus Chapman]

Who isn't a failed novelist, h? I think we've all felt, at one time or another, as if we had a book within us, if only we could release it...

A great many of the contributors to this board clearly have the gift of the mot juste , not least yourself and Berni, but I think it's rather like being able to crack out the intro to Layla on guitar but lacking the sheer stamina needed for the whole song. This succinctly describes my own axemanship :-(

[Sir C]

A great many of the contributors to this board clearly have the gift of the mot juste , not least yourself and Berni, but I think it's rather like being able to crack out the intro to Layla on guitar but lacking the sheer stamina needed for the whole song. This succinctly describes my own axemanship :-(

The further frustration, of course, is that even if one is capable of mastering the whole of Layla, Clapton's genius lay not in the playing of the song, but in the making of the song, a whole different level of endeavour again. :-(

[Sir C]

A great many of the contributors to this board clearly have the gift of the mot juste , not least yourself and Berni, but I think it's rather like being able to crack out the intro to Layla on guitar but lacking the sheer stamina needed for the whole song. This succinctly describes my own axemanship :-(

ty for the kind words, btw.

[Ash]

ty for the kind words, btw.

I'm sure you'll remember this next time you feel tempted to write something about jobbies.

[Herbert Augustus Chapman]

ty for the kind words, btw.

tell me c, your rather splendid line "A man needs no drug save a glass of good wine and a love of his country" - your own?

[Sir C]

tell me c, your rather splendid line "A man needs no drug save a glass of good wine and a love of his country" - your own?

I remember no such line, h. If it fell out of me one day, that is pleasing, but I am reminded of Lord Nelson's reported comment when offered a cloak on a dark, cold night on deck, "I have love of my country to keep me warm." So if I said it, I basically nicked it. :-(

[Sir C]

I'm sure you'll remember this next time you feel tempted to write something about jobbies.

Are you cautioning me not to be horrid to h, a? :-( He knows I don't mean it.

[Herbert Augustus Chapman]

I'm sure you'll remember this next time you feel tempted to write something about jobbies.

Oh I hope not!

[Herbert Augustus Chapman]

I remember no such line, h. If it fell out of me one day, that is pleasing, but I am reminded of Lord Nelson's reported comment when offered a cloak on a dark, cold night on deck, "I have love of my country to keep me warm." So if I said it, I basically nicked it. :-(

I would class that as influence rather than plagiarism c. Well done you!

[Sir C]

I would class that as influence rather than plagiarism c. Well done you!

You're too generous, h. It looks suspiciously like theft, to me.

[Pokster]

Who isn't a failed novelist, h? I think we've all felt, at one time or another, as if we had a book within us, if only we could release it...

Or be like Monty and just release a book with lots of pictures in