tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10129853.post112142598003746360..comments2023-10-23T13:01:12.765-05:00Comments on Four Obsessions: perpetually shifting between cooking, reading, knitting and writing: Book talk (with food)Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03113130840039776447noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10129853.post-1121622587765668242005-07-17T12:49:00.000-05:002005-07-17T12:49:00.000-05:00"It is a rule of serious fiction that there's no e..."It is a rule of serious fiction that there's no excuse for putting something in a novel just because it really happened."<BR/><BR/>Hear ye, hear ye!Juliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17486646522914924111noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10129853.post-1121511483635584462005-07-16T05:58:00.000-05:002005-07-16T05:58:00.000-05:00Hi MJ--nope, I wouldn't recommend Disgrace even th...Hi MJ--<BR/>nope, I wouldn't recommend Disgrace even though it was well written. I'm wishing I could remember the specifics of the discussion we had at book group about that one (though I can say the food, and particularly a south african relish called Sambal, was terrific!). I think some of it came down to not feeling that we needed to go into the head of a horny old clueless white man yet again. Not that some horny old clueless white men can't be interesting, but most of the people in book group felt like Lucy's story was a lot more interesting than her father's perception of her life. Anyway, if someone wanted to read about the state of late middle aged malehood in South Africa, great, I'd recommend it, but it isn't going on my list of pleasure reads. I guess that if anyone asked me about lit based in South Africa, I'd recommend Nadine Gordimer. <BR/><BR/>And Christopher, I'm going to assume that you didn't mean your comment in a hostile fashion (and were just being glib which I've noticed sometimes comes across as aggressive in email and blogland), and point out that I am hardly alone in my world view (estimate is that 10 million copies will be sold in the first 24 hours) and perhaps the Pope pissed off some of the disaffected Catholics that the church keeps saying they are trying to bring back to the fold. By attacking a book phenomenon that gets small children excited about reading and has nothing to do with a threatening belief system to Christianity--witchcraft and wizardy are genetic in Rowling's book, not an alternate religion, this Pope sure has shown some of his priorities. At least if he's going to attack it, come up with something more coherent and specific than "distort the Christian soul." I also have to wonder if the man doesn't think there is something going on in the world more significant than a creative work of fiction for him to be commenting on. Yup, the release of book 6 is an event, but it doesn't compare to the war in Iraq or Civil War in Sudan.Katehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03113130840039776447noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10129853.post-1121474352390476582005-07-15T19:39:00.000-05:002005-07-15T19:39:00.000-05:00The question is, why should the Pope feel obliged ...The question is, why should the Pope feel obliged to conform to your world view?Christopher Trottierhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07213876422367028713noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10129853.post-1121471651186643702005-07-15T18:54:00.000-05:002005-07-15T18:54:00.000-05:00You wouldn't recommend "Disgrace"?You wouldn't recommend "Disgrace"?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com