Denis Johnson - The Largesse of the Sea Maiden BOOK REVIEW

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  • Опубликовано: 29 июл 2024
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Комментарии • 69

  • @kanelowrey4089
    @kanelowrey4089 4 года назад +29

    Have the 3 things I love on this channel:
    1. Dark humour
    2. Literature
    3. Intelligent but not stuck-up RUclips creator
    Keep it up. Have so many books to read now from your reviews.

  • @saulgoodman.exe_
    @saulgoodman.exe_ 4 года назад +46

    Not much of a reader I must say but these reviews I find to be very articulate and highly addictive to watch, even if I have no current interest to actually read what he’s talking about. It started with The Consumer - M. Gira review, which I stumbled upon while browsing for Swans music. I later found a PDF file of that book, it was interesting to say the least. Needless to say I’ve been here ever since.

    • @stevegram9000
      @stevegram9000 4 года назад +1

      I think my favorite Swans album is White Light From the Mouth of Infinity. If you play that album super loud while on any psychedelic it takes you some weird places.

    • @csmoviles
      @csmoviles 4 года назад

      I agree: exquisite language . I would, however, do just fine without the expletives , that are employed all too often in the videos.

    • @saulgoodman.exe_
      @saulgoodman.exe_ 4 года назад +2

      Steve Gram White Light is good but The Great Annihilator & The Glowing Man are my favorites. All of their records from 1991 - now, are either very good or just complete masterpieces.

  • @samuelsegura_
    @samuelsegura_ 2 года назад +1

    "It's not magical realism, but is realism that feels magical".

  • @timkjazz
    @timkjazz 4 года назад +20

    'Jesus' Son' is the book I always carry with me in my backpack.

    • @echosoblivion1
      @echosoblivion1 Год назад +1

      Absolutely my favorite I have it on DVD and VHS as well

  • @jasondelguidice9727
    @jasondelguidice9727 5 месяцев назад

    I am finishing my second full read of "Largesse...." A completely different experience from the first read a few years ago. I really love this collection and I'm thinking it will become one of the books I return to many times to see what else is there. I enjoy your channel!

  • @ronaldhalvorsen7542
    @ronaldhalvorsen7542 4 года назад +1

    I've been living on your channel for days now. Thank you for your work!

  • @stevegram9000
    @stevegram9000 4 года назад +6

    I love Dennis Johnson. Jesus's Son is a personal favorite! I think the character Cass is in that book too. Can't wait to read this.

  • @rodrigopacheco12
    @rodrigopacheco12 4 года назад +21

    u gonna be doing ur favs of the year again?

  • @EpicAirGuitarist
    @EpicAirGuitarist 4 года назад +12

    Denis Johnson wrote the introduction for Fat City in the NYRB edition. It is not even two pages long and it's one of the best introductions I've ever read.

    • @timkjazz
      @timkjazz 4 года назад

      Agreed, he was a huge admirer of 'Fat City' and that intro is superb.

  • @wonder6759
    @wonder6759 4 года назад +3

    love ya buddy, hope you have a great holidays ❤️

  • @thepearlreview9236
    @thepearlreview9236 4 года назад +1

    Hi Clifford, I've really appreciated your channel for a few years, especially that your selections seem uniquely your own yet rigorous and substantial. Your channel was one of the ones that encouraged me to make my own, and after finishing Demons by Dostoevsky, I have had the nagging feeling to recommend it if you haven't read it already. Thank you for sharing your good taste and thoughts. (also I breezed through Faust recently but want to return to it to do a good review, I smiled at seeing you beat me to the punch)

  • @bighardbooks770
    @bighardbooks770 4 года назад +1

    I was lucky enough to meet Denis at AZ State Univ a few times, and he was great, very forthcoming. I love his "Incognito Lounge" for poetry and _Dead Already_ and the National Book Award winning epic _Tree of Smoke,_ especially.

  • @clarice3263
    @clarice3263 4 года назад +2

    I love your reviews and this one in particular made me remember a spectacular collection I read last year called the Patrick Melrose sequence. Have you read it or heard of it? I couldn't find much content on the internet about but I think it is just what you would like to read.

  • @sa8019
    @sa8019 4 года назад +1

    Thanks for motivating me to read again.

  • @erniereyes1994
    @erniereyes1994 3 года назад +2

    LOVED this book! Next to Jesus's Son and Angels as my favorite. Train Dreams is okay; the protagonist Robert Grainier is too stoic for me, but the supporting and minor characters are so lively and fascinating.

  • @chase36chase
    @chase36chase 4 года назад

    its the best reading channel on youtube. its da best.

  • @rujama1271
    @rujama1271 4 года назад +2

    I love how you focus on Death!!!

  • @joseph.r1122
    @joseph.r1122 2 года назад

    I would like to tell you, dear sir, that I have not read a word of Johnson's work, but after watching your review I cannot wait to dive in.

  • @Omnishred
    @Omnishred 4 года назад +3

    I very much recommend Fiskadoro by him if you are going to delve deeper. I'm sure once you do, that tipping point of what makes him a special writer will hit you.

  • @lalitborabooks
    @lalitborabooks 4 года назад +2

    Always reading hard and working hard for us illiterate folks,
    Thanks for that
    and
    Happy Holidays.
    P.S. A 2020 TBR or 2019 review would be great if you could spare the time and energy.

  • @SputnikExperiment
    @SputnikExperiment 4 года назад

    Leg surgery on acid! Elvis conspiracy! Sold!
    ... hey Cliff, you got me into four writers I absolutely adore now: Lispector, Sabato, Harry Crews and Babbitz. I got some Machado on order along with Invention of Morel. I think I'm going to love this guy too. And I love Raymond Carver, Cormac and Coffee and Cigarettes.
    Have a good new year. Peace.

  • @mhandle6025
    @mhandle6025 4 года назад +1

    Can anyone remember the review in which Cliff quotes a character, a sailor, as saying, "I have seen the world. It is horrible everywhere"? I can't remember the book, but I can't forget the line...

  • @misquotedbuffalo3757
    @misquotedbuffalo3757 4 года назад +5

    A genie appears out of a touch lamp at my Aunt and Uncle's home in Lynchberg Virginia and grants me three wishes. 1. Wish I knew Japanese intimately and fluently. 2. Something to do with having sex finally or wish I could play the piano. 3. Wish I was more well read than Clifford Lee Sergeant.

  • @benkoops7866
    @benkoops7866 4 года назад +4

    If you like dark humor definitely check out Venedikt Erofeev's Moscow to the end of the line. That one had me cracking up a couple times.

  • @VegasKeVa
    @VegasKeVa 4 года назад

    I didn't know you did reviews on 21st Century authors! What a nice change.

  • @87YeaYea
    @87YeaYea 4 года назад +1

    Jesus’ Son and Train Dreams, yes Cliff. You could read them both in a couple days. They are both masterpieces. Angels, Johnson’s first novel is astounding and completely, criminally, overlooked in the modern cannon. Also, Resuscitation of a Hanged Man is not just one of the greatest titles of all time, but a fantastic and utterly forgotten novel. Dive in, succumb, and drown in the world of Denis Johnson.

  • @alexszsalinas23
    @alexszsalinas23 4 года назад +1

    Felt the exact same way you did after reading the book in your hands, then I read Jesus' Son. Found the something. Nothing else like it, the glancing into the darkness while dancing in the light. Great review. Happy reading!

  • @marianryan2991
    @marianryan2991 4 года назад

    Love Johnson, I think you nailed his cadre with the folks you named at the end. But I've only read Jesus' Son, Train Dreams, and a couple of the Sea Maiden stories in mags. I really want to read his whole oeuvre. Really enjoyed your review.

  • @giacomoorozco7878
    @giacomoorozco7878 4 года назад

    Loved the review. I think I spotted a Gravity's Rainbow spine in the back, have you read it already? if so, are you planning on making a review?

    • @Anti-Librarian_
      @Anti-Librarian_ 4 года назад +2

      You've a very sharp eye and memory. I recognised that after seeing your comment. I had switch to my PC-

  • @01Silverado
    @01Silverado 3 года назад +1

    You mentioned Jesus' Son and Train Dreams, but I hope you read his very first novel called Angels. I found it in a tiny bookstore in Las Vegas back in the mid-1980s. Ripped my guts out.

  • @MrBesign
    @MrBesign 4 года назад

    Big admirer of Jarmusch movies here!

  • @wrldwideindifference
    @wrldwideindifference 4 года назад

    Have you ever stumbled across the writings of James Chapman? Pieces like "The Walls Collide as You Expand, Dwarf Maple", "Our Plague; A Film From New York", "Daughter, I Forbid Your Recurring Dream, or "In Candyland It's Cool to Feed on Your Friends".

  • @roachboy8583
    @roachboy8583 4 года назад

    A humane and wholesome review, Denis Johnson should not be forgotten. To anyone who is interested Jesus' Son the film is an oddball classic. Also Melville House Publishing is a quality publishing house like Fitzcarraldo Editions in the UK. Your brother in Christ indeed.

  • @FlintSL
    @FlintSL 4 года назад

    Excellent review again, my man. Pretty good book, from what I can remember, and I happen to prefer it to Train Dreams. Jesus' Son has been on my wish list for ages.

  • @saifmohammad2540
    @saifmohammad2540 4 года назад +1

    Do favourites of the year. Please.

  • @joseph.r1122
    @joseph.r1122 2 года назад

    "...gritty, dark, morbid...f*cked up..." I'm sold. Where can I get my copy?

  • @Laura-ot9fy
    @Laura-ot9fy 3 года назад

    not even a minute in and I've added the book to my list

  • @donaldkelly3983
    @donaldkelly3983 3 года назад

    I know I'm late to this review of Denis Johnson, but you should read Jesus's Son, Train Dreams, The Stars at Noon, and my favorite Fiskadoro.

  • @jake_runs_the_world
    @jake_runs_the_world 4 года назад

    How are your reviews so good

  • @kasianfranmitja5298
    @kasianfranmitja5298 4 года назад

    what do you work as?

  • @bradleynoell6178
    @bradleynoell6178 2 года назад

    I just about did a spit take on "I should be Dead"!

  • @marcelhidalgo1076
    @marcelhidalgo1076 4 года назад

    I'm your 100th like

  • @heychiefy
    @heychiefy 4 года назад

    Don't miss Train Dreams. You can read it in an afternoon.

  • @michaelguzman5497
    @michaelguzman5497 3 года назад

    Hi, Clifford. I read Jesus' Son and was blown away by it. Have you ever read any Steven Millhauser? He's amazing: Dangerous Laughter; At the Barnum Museum. Please give 'em a look!

  • @jackgustafsson5936
    @jackgustafsson5936 4 года назад

    wrote this at barnes and noble today after reading first act of hamlet, my name is still jack konrad
    i do with apparency sting my lungs
    so for to induce sermon upon the stung
    ere i dream lastly through what i sung
    to charm as beggar the winds that cringe
    an arm or leg for the heavens to binge
    i stream god like through the mantle of shame
    a rose-inflated eye in which you're never the same
    the throes of lust are imputing the wound's flash
    and i steal the grapes that give grammar my sash
    and all day listening to wine that drips upon the glade
    from a claw, raven black, yarned from your shade
    can i be but you in the night-flexed return
    of maiden to man, man to maid, said i with
    the drill flaming the night's cultivated pallor
    a sill for to throw myself into the ballet of your hatred.

    • @stevelawrence8945
      @stevelawrence8945 4 года назад

      Just a short note....
      To let you know.......
      Your rhymes are awful.......
      Your poetry has to go....
      Just having fun......
      It doesn't matter what you write
      Just write....and write....and write....
      Enjoy yourself!!!,,,,

  • @Draxtor
    @Draxtor 2 года назад

    “It is not magical realism but it is realism that feels magical!” Dude: if this is your original line I shall stop quoting Johnson to friends and family & switch over to you 🥰

  • @saoirsemaher7001
    @saoirsemaher7001 4 года назад +5

    It's only now, after watching most of your videos, that I realise it's Clifford Lee and not Clifferly... Kindly consider Clifferly if you ever need a ridiculous female pseudonym

  • @dfgsdfhgdhggdffgfhds
    @dfgsdfhgdhggdffgfhds 4 года назад

    Denis Johnson is amazing. Loved Train Dreams. DFW said Angels from Denis Johnson is one of the most underrated American novels.
    Train Dreams felt like a blend of Nick Cave, McCarthy, Donald Ray Pollock, and Faulkner.
    Awesome review. Thanks Cliff!

  • @19luX92
    @19luX92 4 года назад

    Dat stache

  • @adhithyaravindra7580
    @adhithyaravindra7580 4 года назад

    I was watching videos of you where you said "my girlfriend" and it's "my wife" in this video. Marriage by subtext 😂

  • @watermelonantique957
    @watermelonantique957 4 года назад

    You should read something from Ivo Andric, a yugoslovanian writer

  • @gustavoquadros5174
    @gustavoquadros5174 4 года назад

    Can you read in portuguese? I'm Brazilian, and I'd love to send you a copy of my western adventure book. Thanks and congratulations for your amazing work!

  • @mad6582
    @mad6582 4 года назад

    I have to pick this up solely because of your tear-filled laughter. So pure. The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy NEEDS (nay, demands!) to be your next read/review.

  • @jackgustafsson5936
    @jackgustafsson5936 4 года назад

    find me on facebook, jack konrad, just wrote this on a bus to nashville
    to blur with love
    i want to stroll
    through the kensington gardens
    in a sickle colored blazer,
    with trousers of time, trousers of time,
    dunk me in pomegranate slime,
    im drunk on a lonely crime,
    the silence slanted the moon
    at my heels, under a sled
    by blood congealed, only the silence
    can gargle what i feel, employ
    my wart as eternity's shield,
    through the wheel i gather stones,
    and neon kidnaps what i refute,
    the sea is the night's parachute,
    has the sun
    tricked you into being a thief,
    has it carved you as morning relief,
    do you notice the kneeling
    by the pond, have you seen
    the ducks
    placate
    the swans, fine as lace
    is your preemptive face,
    maggots spit rubies
    at my metaphorical pace,
    i twist myself
    into the jaundiced categorical,
    and of the may shaped flask
    i cant get enough, for my hand
    is perfumed
    by its jaded scruff
    to blur with love
    and spleen tiptoes into fluff

  • @chrisoleson9570
    @chrisoleson9570 4 года назад

    I'm new to these reviews but I have one overiding thought after listening to them. I have never said or written anything as intelligent as our host here. Not once.

  • @jeffreywilson9913
    @jeffreywilson9913 4 года назад +1

    Check out the music of: The Eels.

  • @pjtiger10
    @pjtiger10 4 года назад +1

    The mustache makes you look so mature

  • @blakebellamy82
    @blakebellamy82 4 года назад +1

    Why’d you move to Austin? I thought you just moved to Detroit? You hiding from the feds Cliff? I need answers!
    Btw: Stoner was one of the best books I’ve read this year and discovered it from your channel.

    • @josephmcfadden6513
      @josephmcfadden6513 4 года назад

      Wondered the same thing! Maybe he’s working a heap of non-renewable adjunct English positions at unis. Never the best benefits and have to « shop around » and travel for a better gig.

  • @Bigdoz7
    @Bigdoz7 4 года назад

    Dude, check out Edouard Leve - Suicide. Thank me later

  • @BroShredGnar
    @BroShredGnar 4 года назад

    Never knew he wrote books 🙂