A great list, from which I have chosen 2 or 3 to highlight for myself, and my wife Lauren (with whom I shared this video). She consumes books like I consume a meal, but we have begun reading works of classic literature together, both as a bonding mechanism and sheer motivator for me (whatever it takes, right?). Couldn't agree more about "Picture of Dorian Gray," the artistry of the way he strings words together never ceases to amaze me...one of my favorites. I am now quite interested in doing "Heart of Darkness," "The Lost Domain," and "Collected Ghost Stories." All 3 seem right up my alley, for starters. Thank you!
I love "The Picture of Dorian Gray" too. I first became aware of the story when I was a kid and saw the 1945 film on television. It left a very strong impression on me. (I have seen that film many times since then, as well as other adaptations. The 1945 film remains my favorite adaptation despite some deviations from the book.) I read the book for the first time when I was sixteen or so and have reread it numerous times over the course of my life. It is so well written and thought-provoking.
Julie, I also adore the 1945 film adaptation...I just got it for Christmas on bluray, actually! Also, because George Sanders is one of my favorite actors and he's great in it :)@@julieborel3043
Here's a third thumbs-up for the 1945 movie, which I watched again recently, although sadly the painting sequences were not in glorious technicolor. Grrr! George Sanders is perfect as Wootton.
@@michaelbartlettfilm Whenever I saw the movie when I was a kid (in the 1950s and early 1960s), I never saw the color sequences because color televisions weren't common, or at least our family didn't have one. I don't remember exactly when I saw the color sequences for the first time. Maybe the late 1960s, but probably by the 1970s at some point. Regarding George Sanders - yes, perfect as Wootton. Always wonderful in any role.
So I stumbled upon your channel because I'm reading (listening on audio) The Gormenghast Trilogy for the first time, and it's etched in my brain. We share several favorites on this list, and I look forward to your other recommendations.
Thanks so much for subscribing, Dina! Hoping to do more book videos in the future. Just finished The Untouchable by John Banville, which I thought was excellent.
@@michaelbartlettfilm thank you! I had never heard of Banville until I saw your video. In the US, not all the same authors get distributed here, and they are just not found in thrift stores. Will add to my tbr!
Thanks for sharing these favorites, Mike, and I'm definitely with you on Peake's magisterial 'Gormenghast' trilogy, easily among my most beloved works of fiction (stylistically, the books are almost like poetry in prose). I've never read all of Dante's 'Comedy', though its central role in the Western tradition is unassailable, and part of my problem is how distasteful the torments of Hell the poet devises are, and how Dante so blithely consigns not only his enemies but even sometimes his friends (Master Latini among the sodomites) to its horrors. It's another instance of having trouble distinguishing the art from the artist. Interesting to hear your high assessment of 'Heart of Darkness', considering my own troubled history with that text. It was an absolute, horrible slog when first assigned to me in college, but the second time I read it (also as assigned), I was impressed with its literary quality and artistic resonance. It was unusual to have such polarized encounters with the same book at different moments of my life. Here are some of the books/texts I find essential and would not want to live without, isolated or not from my fellow man (by no means exhaustive, and listed as much as possible in chronological order): --the collected poetry of John Keats --the collected stories and parables of Franz Kafka --'Two Serious Ladies' by Jane Bowles --'Titus Groan' by Mervyn Peake --'Gormenghast' by Mervyn Peake --'Lolita' by Vladimir Nabokov --'Titus Alone' by Mervyn Peake --"Requiem" by Anna Akhmatova --'A Clockwork Orange' by Anthony Burgess --'The Sun King: Louis XIV at Versailles' by Nancy Mitford --'334' by Thomas M. Disch --the collected poetry of Elizabeth Bishop --'Housekeeping' by Marilynne Robinson --'Little, Big: or, The Fairies' Parliament' by John Crowley --'The Lover' by Marguerite Duras
Very interesting to hear your comment about Heart of Darkness, Barry. I have never read it, but about to for the first time (in large part due to the push from Mike, and my intrigue over what you said). I look forward to seeing how it hits me, but have been curious for a long time
Thanks for posting this list, Barry. Such an interesting selection of titles. 334 - I've been chasing that book for years but still haven't got round to it. 2024 is the year! Nice to see Housekeeping turn up in your titles - I love the film adaptation by Bill Forsyth. The ending choked me up for days afterwards. I hope both you and Frank are not disappointed by Heart of Darkness (if you try it again). I know many people dislike it. It just haunts me for some reason.
@@michaelbartlettfilm Forsyth stated that he directed the film version of 'Housekeeping' to encourage people to read Robinson's novel! Ruthie's interiority and transcendent subjectivity, central to the novel's visionary power, are diluted somewhat in translation to the cinematic medium, but I still remember the movie as a touching, lyrical achievement, and Christine Lahti, playing Sylvie, is a wonderful, underrated actress.
Ah, you watched the wrong film version of "She." The original 1935 film was produced by Merian C Cooper, with Randolph Scott, Nigel Bruce, and Helen Gahagan as She Who Must Be Obeyed. It's not the greatest movie ever made, but sometimes our favorites are not. It does capture that colonial adventure vibe well, and parts of it are visually spectacular. It's B/W, although there's also a colorized version--and I have (gasp) both. I hate colorization, but once the adventurers get to the kingdom of She, it's very Art Deco, with some highly stylized dancing and ceremonial scenes. Helen Gahagan was married to Melvin Douglas and left her film career behind to go into politics. She spoke out loudly during the McCarthy/HUAC years. I'm a pretty big fan of H Rider Haggard, and this is one of those stories I've read and watched many times. There's a great film version of "King Solomon's Mines" (1937) with Cedric Hardwicke, Roland Young, John Loder, Anna Lee, and the fabulous Paul Robeson.
Thanks for telling me about this, Beth. I think I may have watched this version of She when I was very young, but can barely remember it. I've put it on my DVD rental list. (I mean, Nigel Bruce is in it!) I've loved She for ages, and am now trying to catch up with Rider Haggard. Is Montezuma's Daughter worth a read?
I haven't read that one, but I know Haggard felt it was the last of his best works. But anytime you're in the mood for a ripping yarn Haggard is the man. 4:48 I owe you an apology: I left a comment somewhere that my posts always disappeared, but obviously I was wrong. I do apologize for that! Thanks for all the great videos. Sometimes I don't agree with you, but when I do, I want to sit down and talk about it.
@@bethanypheneger5796 Thanks, Beth. Really appreciate your support. And feel free to disagree! I enjoy getting a conversation going. I'll give Montezuma a go, then. But I want to re-read Solomon's Mines first.
Okay, I’ll be one to say it. When I’m alone on a dessert island, my only concern is not dying tomorrow. That will be true every day until I’m rescued or I actually die. No concern for books, music or favorite food. Just… don’t die tomorrow! This is a really dumb situation.
A very interesting list from which I've read a good few. I'm intrigued by Star Maker and have ordered a copy. Boring of me, but I'd have to include The Lord of the Rings on my list along with The Quiet American, Far From the Madding Crowd and The Remains of the Day
Us Mackenites have got to stick together! (Also, I have a friend who lives in Caerleon, Machen's birthplace, and have passed his house many times, so I have no excuse mis-pronouncing it!)
This is the cheapest and most available version around at the mo: www.amazon.co.uk/Star-Maker-S-F-MASTERWORKS-Stapledon/dp/B00DO8Y28Q/ref=sr_1_2?crid=1MITVXYF22SAS&keywords=star+maker+olaf+stapledon&qid=1707953305&sprefix=star+maker%2Caps%2C82&sr=8-2
I don't know, really. My own copy is an antique book from the 1920s. I think perhaps this paperback is the best cheap edition: www.amazon.co.uk/Three-Impostors-Arthur-Machen/dp/0486460525/ref=pd_sbs_d_sccl_2_1/260-2654273-6172552?pd_rd_w=CmzRK&content-id=amzn1.sym.f5d177b3-9290-4c61-8b0e-06b08cdd933f&pf_rd_p=f5d177b3-9290-4c61-8b0e-06b08cdd933f&pf_rd_r=2M4BD8A2J1Y2B2H04CZQ&pd_rd_wg=b454g&pd_rd_r=49f70fa1-46ce-4475-b6a8-e6bcce459f55&pd_rd_i=0486460525&psc=1
Make sure you don't get a compendium of Machen's stories, because sometimes they miss out the novel segments in Three Impostors that tie the stories together.
Great list, Michael. Mine would be heavy on the classics side. Moby Dick and War and Peace would top my pile, also Melville’s short stories. Portrait of a Lady, The Small House at Allington, I might just be satisfied with the collected works of Trollope. Some other less obvious titles- The Sheltering Sky, The French Lieutenant’s Woman, Romola. I might include The Brothers Karamazov. I’ve never liked it but every ten years or so I hanker for a re-read. Lastly Gravity’s Rainbow and The Sot-Weed Factor.
I've never sampled Trollope, but I know his reputation as a significant Victorian novelist. 'Romola' is an unusual selection from George Eliot, one of her more obscure titles. I've not read 'The Sheltering Sky', but I admire the Paul Bowles short stories I have encountered, including "The Delicate Prey" and "Pages from Cold Point" (incidentally, filmmaker Sara Driver adapted "You Are Not I" to some acclaim in 1981).
Thanks, Roger. Terrible confession - I've not yet made it all the way through Moby Dick or War and Peace! I know, I know. But they're on my to-do list. I recently came across Romola for the first time, and now I'm really encouraged to start it given your recommendation.
@@michaelbartlettfilmThere is a little known 1924 silent film adaptation of 'Romola', directed by Henry King and starring Lillian Gish, that I've yet to encounter other than a title in the film histories, which excites curiosity in this context.
@@barrymoore4470 I’ve only read a couple of Bowles short stories, must look for more. I couldn’t read Trollope in my working years, didn’t have enough brain energy left for his wordy digressions. When I retired I gave him another shot and found myself enchanted by his wisdom, his direct engagement with the reader, his ability at understanding the varieties of human behavior. Romola I believe was Eliot’s greatest commercial success and then fell out of favor, although I have seen a resurgence in interest in recent years.
@@michaelbartlettfilm Romola was a great success in its time. Eliot did an amazing amount of historical research and the first half is a bit weighted down with her eagerness to impart what she knows about the era. Savonarola plays a prominent part and he is a fascinating figure. The pace picks up in the second half leading to a final hundred pages of just transcendent beauty (and sadness).
Thanks so much for this post, Michael. I am sadly lacking in reading great literature. Again, please delete my comment if you want. I go off on tangents sometimes but I thought this was interesting. Re Wilde---He once said “When the gods want to punish us, they answer our prayers.” "Oscar Wilde is right. It often happens that what psychologists cannot explain about the human mind, the creative artist, the poet, can easily explore to the depths which are beyond logic, beyond reason, beyond scientific research. Oscar Wilde’s statement is of tremendous value. When he says, “When the Gods want to punish us, they answer our prayers,” he is saying something about our unconsciousness. We are not aware what we are doing, we are not aware what we are asking, we are not aware what we are praying for. Our consciousness is so superficial and our unconsciousness is so deep that it is bound to be that, if our prayers are fulfilled, it will not be a reward, it will be a punishment; because we had asked for something in our sleep and we will repent that we asked for it. For example, you are all aware of the Greek mythological story of King Midas. His only prayer for years was that he should be granted the power that whatever he touches becomes gold. Years came and went, his prayer remained unheard. He became more and more impatient, started fasting, started austerities to force the divine powers to grant him the power he had been asking for years. He also thought that what he was asking for was tremendously beautiful, great. If you were given the chance, you would also accept the opportunity immediately, without hesitation. Finally, the prayer was heard and his wish was fulfilled. He became capable of changing anything into gold. But then he became aware that he had destroyed himself by asking the gods to grant him this power because he could not eat, could not drink - he would touch a glass and the glass and the water would turn into gold. He would touch his food and it would turn into gold. Even his own wife would not come close to him. His own children would run away, because whomsoever he touched he turned into gold. Just within a week the man was almost mad, dying. He asked the gods again and again, “Take the power back, I had no idea what I was asking. I have been punished enough.” His wife had turned into gold, his children had turned into gold. For seven days he had not eaten anything, he had not even been able to drink water; he was dying of thirst and hunger. While he was praying for years, he had been dreaming that if he were granted this power he would become the richest man in the whole world; and now he had become the poorest man ever - past, present, future. Nobody has ever been so poor. Friends would not come to see him. His own ministers all went on leave. He would sit in the court and nobody would turn up; he was left alone, and he had always been surrounded by people. He was a great king, now even beggars were not ready to be friendly with him or to come close to him. There are many mythological stories of the same type in all the languages, and they are not simply stories. They are descriptions of our unconscious mind. Unless you are fully conscious, your prayer is going to be a punishment if it is fulfilled. Because from where will it come? And the moment you are fully conscious you will not ask anything because the greatest treasure has already been given to you.. Oscar Wilde is a great genius, a poet, a creative artist. And these are the people - not your so-called dead saints - who have given humanity new insights into their own beings, into the possibilities of what they can ask and whether it is right to ask, or wait for the moment when you have come to a point of desirelessness. All your desires are going to be wrong, however logical they may appear. Their ultimate result will prove fatal. You can watch it in yourself. Oscar Wilde had a great insight. And this man was turned out of England, expelled because of his strange ideas. His contemporaries thought that he was a little bit crazy. Do you think a crazy man can have such a great clarity, such a great consciousness? But this is the fate of all those who are born ahead of their time. The gap between their understanding and that of their contemporaries is so vast that they are always misfits. Oscar Wilde is one of the most famous misfit geniuses of the world. Oscar Wilde lived his life being deported from this place to another, from that place to another, without any honor. Still, not a single word of complaint, no grudge against anybody, but a simple acceptance that 'I have come before my time. It is not their fault, it is just my fault. I should have waited a little longer.' "
Thanks for this, Willie. To be absolutely fair, Wilde was honoured a great deal during his lifetime, and many people found him fascinating and recognised his genius. But I take the point. (Mind you, I will still go on wishing the full version of Magnificent Ambersons is found one day!)
@@michaelbartlettfilm Thanks! I was unaware he got that recognition. And like you, I am always hoping for that complete print of Ambersons to be found. I sometimes think it could be as great a film as Kane. Not as groundbreaking but just as good.
@@willieluncheonette5843Truth be told, I don't think there ever was a first cut of Ambersons... Sounds like Welles left it to his editors, while he went off to Brazil, and the orders from on high came before it was completed anyway.
@@michaelbartlettfilm That's true, the editing was left to others after Welles had gone to Brazil to work on 'It's All True'. According to Wikipedia, the excised footage from 'The Magnificent Ambersons' was destroyed (a common studio practice at that time for unused footage, few if any understanding the value posterity might place in such material).
@@willieluncheonette5843Even in its present form, I still prefer 'The Magnificent Ambersons' to 'Citizen Kane', which I regard as consistently overrated. Peculiarly, Welles, though one of the relatively few true geniuses to have worked in cinema, has never been one of my favorite filmmakers.
Another vid from Michael, amazing!
Happy new year, Steve!
Absolute gem of a video. Thanks for all the insights.
Thanks, Matt!
A great list, from which I have chosen 2 or 3 to highlight for myself, and my wife Lauren (with whom I shared this video). She consumes books like I consume a meal, but we have begun reading works of classic literature together, both as a bonding mechanism and sheer motivator for me (whatever it takes, right?). Couldn't agree more about "Picture of Dorian Gray," the artistry of the way he strings words together never ceases to amaze me...one of my favorites. I am now quite interested in doing "Heart of Darkness," "The Lost Domain," and "Collected Ghost Stories." All 3 seem right up my alley, for starters. Thank you!
I love "The Picture of Dorian Gray" too. I first became aware of the story when I was a kid and saw the 1945 film on television. It left a very strong impression on me. (I have seen that film many times since then, as well as other adaptations. The 1945 film remains my favorite adaptation despite some deviations from the book.) I read the book for the first time when I was sixteen or so and have reread it numerous times over the course of my life. It is so well written and thought-provoking.
Julie, I also adore the 1945 film adaptation...I just got it for Christmas on bluray, actually! Also, because George Sanders is one of my favorite actors and he's great in it :)@@julieborel3043
Here's a third thumbs-up for the 1945 movie, which I watched again recently, although sadly the painting sequences were not in glorious technicolor. Grrr! George Sanders is perfect as Wootton.
@@michaelbartlettfilm Whenever I saw the movie when I was a kid (in the 1950s and early 1960s), I never saw the color sequences because color televisions weren't common, or at least our family didn't have one. I don't remember exactly when I saw the color sequences for the first time. Maybe the late 1960s, but probably by the 1970s at some point. Regarding George Sanders - yes, perfect as Wootton. Always wonderful in any role.
"I feel like a wet seed wild in the hot blind earth.” Faulkner! Phew. What a book.
I say that sort of thing all the time!
So I stumbled upon your channel because I'm reading (listening on audio) The Gormenghast Trilogy for the first time, and it's etched in my brain. We share several favorites on this list, and I look forward to your other recommendations.
Thanks so much for subscribing, Dina! Hoping to do more book videos in the future. Just finished The Untouchable by John Banville, which I thought was excellent.
@@michaelbartlettfilm thank you! I had never heard of Banville until I saw your video. In the US, not all the same authors get distributed here, and they are just not found in thrift stores. Will add to my tbr!
@@Dinadoesyoga The Sea and The Book of Evidence are also superb Banville books.
Thanks for sharing these favorites, Mike, and I'm definitely with you on Peake's magisterial 'Gormenghast' trilogy, easily among my most beloved works of fiction (stylistically, the books are almost like poetry in prose).
I've never read all of Dante's 'Comedy', though its central role in the Western tradition is unassailable, and part of my problem is how distasteful the torments of Hell the poet devises are, and how Dante so blithely consigns not only his enemies but even sometimes his friends (Master Latini among the sodomites) to its horrors. It's another instance of having trouble distinguishing the art from the artist.
Interesting to hear your high assessment of 'Heart of Darkness', considering my own troubled history with that text. It was an absolute, horrible slog when first assigned to me in college, but the second time I read it (also as assigned), I was impressed with its literary quality and artistic resonance. It was unusual to have such polarized encounters with the same book at different moments of my life.
Here are some of the books/texts I find essential and would not want to live without, isolated or not from my fellow man (by no means exhaustive, and listed as much as possible in chronological order):
--the collected poetry of John Keats
--the collected stories and parables of Franz Kafka
--'Two Serious Ladies' by Jane Bowles
--'Titus Groan' by Mervyn Peake
--'Gormenghast' by Mervyn Peake
--'Lolita' by Vladimir Nabokov
--'Titus Alone' by Mervyn Peake
--"Requiem" by Anna Akhmatova
--'A Clockwork Orange' by Anthony Burgess
--'The Sun King: Louis XIV at Versailles' by Nancy Mitford
--'334' by Thomas M. Disch
--the collected poetry of Elizabeth Bishop
--'Housekeeping' by Marilynne Robinson
--'Little, Big: or, The Fairies' Parliament' by John Crowley
--'The Lover' by Marguerite Duras
Very interesting to hear your comment about Heart of Darkness, Barry. I have never read it, but about to for the first time (in large part due to the push from Mike, and my intrigue over what you said). I look forward to seeing how it hits me, but have been curious for a long time
Thanks for posting this list, Barry. Such an interesting selection of titles. 334 - I've been chasing that book for years but still haven't got round to it. 2024 is the year! Nice to see Housekeeping turn up in your titles - I love the film adaptation by Bill Forsyth. The ending choked me up for days afterwards. I hope both you and Frank are not disappointed by Heart of Darkness (if you try it again). I know many people dislike it. It just haunts me for some reason.
@@michaelbartlettfilm Forsyth stated that he directed the film version of 'Housekeeping' to encourage people to read Robinson's novel! Ruthie's interiority and transcendent subjectivity, central to the novel's visionary power, are diluted somewhat in translation to the cinematic medium, but I still remember the movie as a touching, lyrical achievement, and Christine Lahti, playing Sylvie, is a wonderful, underrated actress.
My mind goes immediately to the Invention of Morel. I'm gonna check out the Lost Domain
Gone straight on my Amazon wish list! Thanks for the recommendation.
Ah, you watched the wrong film version of "She." The original 1935 film was produced by Merian C Cooper, with Randolph Scott, Nigel Bruce, and Helen Gahagan as She Who Must Be Obeyed. It's not the greatest movie ever made, but sometimes our favorites are not. It does capture that colonial adventure vibe well, and parts of it are visually spectacular. It's B/W, although there's also a colorized version--and I have (gasp) both. I hate colorization, but once the adventurers get to the kingdom of She, it's very Art Deco, with some highly stylized dancing and ceremonial scenes. Helen Gahagan was married to Melvin Douglas and left her film career behind to go into politics. She spoke out loudly during the McCarthy/HUAC years. I'm a pretty big fan of H Rider Haggard, and this is one of those stories I've read and watched many times. There's a great film version of "King Solomon's Mines" (1937) with Cedric Hardwicke, Roland Young, John Loder, Anna Lee, and the fabulous Paul Robeson.
Thanks for telling me about this, Beth. I think I may have watched this version of She when I was very young, but can barely remember it. I've put it on my DVD rental list. (I mean, Nigel Bruce is in it!) I've loved She for ages, and am now trying to catch up with Rider Haggard. Is Montezuma's Daughter worth a read?
I haven't read that one, but I know Haggard felt it was the last of his best works. But anytime you're in the mood for a ripping yarn Haggard is the man. 4:48
I owe you an apology: I left a comment somewhere that my posts always disappeared, but obviously I was wrong. I do apologize for that!
Thanks for all the great videos. Sometimes I don't agree with you, but when I do, I want to sit down and talk about it.
@@bethanypheneger5796 Thanks, Beth. Really appreciate your support. And feel free to disagree! I enjoy getting a conversation going. I'll give Montezuma a go, then. But I want to re-read Solomon's Mines first.
A whole new, rich world of literature and film has opened up for me via Michael Bartlett...high tip/low-tip of the hat to you Michael...thank you.
Thanks so much for that lovely message. I really appreciate your support and I'm delighted if you've enjoyed my recommendations. Happy 2024!
Okay, I’ll be one to say it. When I’m alone on a dessert island, my only concern is not dying tomorrow. That will be true every day until I’m rescued or I actually die. No concern for books, music or favorite food. Just… don’t die tomorrow! This is a really dumb situation.
Ha, ha! Fair enough!
A very interesting list from which I've read a good few. I'm intrigued by Star Maker and have ordered a copy.
Boring of me, but I'd have to include The Lord of the Rings on my list along with The Quiet American, Far From the Madding Crowd and The Remains of the Day
Not boring at all! Thanks, Tim, and I hope you like Star Maker.
Thank you for pronouncing Machen's name correctly, I am soooo fed up with Americans butchering it as M-aitch-en.
Us Mackenites have got to stick together! (Also, I have a friend who lives in Caerleon, Machen's birthplace, and have passed his house many times, so I have no excuse mis-pronouncing it!)
Michael...can you recommend the best version (or preferred publisher) for Star Maker by Olaf Stapledon? Much appreciated!
This is the cheapest and most available version around at the mo: www.amazon.co.uk/Star-Maker-S-F-MASTERWORKS-Stapledon/dp/B00DO8Y28Q/ref=sr_1_2?crid=1MITVXYF22SAS&keywords=star+maker+olaf+stapledon&qid=1707953305&sprefix=star+maker%2Caps%2C82&sr=8-2
It's a good edition
It's a good edition
Much appreciated Michael!@@michaelbartlettfilm
Michael...can you suggest the best edition available for The 3 Imposters by Machan? Thank you!
I don't know, really. My own copy is an antique book from the 1920s. I think perhaps this paperback is the best cheap edition: www.amazon.co.uk/Three-Impostors-Arthur-Machen/dp/0486460525/ref=pd_sbs_d_sccl_2_1/260-2654273-6172552?pd_rd_w=CmzRK&content-id=amzn1.sym.f5d177b3-9290-4c61-8b0e-06b08cdd933f&pf_rd_p=f5d177b3-9290-4c61-8b0e-06b08cdd933f&pf_rd_r=2M4BD8A2J1Y2B2H04CZQ&pd_rd_wg=b454g&pd_rd_r=49f70fa1-46ce-4475-b6a8-e6bcce459f55&pd_rd_i=0486460525&psc=1
Make sure you don't get a compendium of Machen's stories, because sometimes they miss out the novel segments in Three Impostors that tie the stories together.
@@michaelbartlettfilmGood thought...thank you.
@@michaelbartlettfilmMuch appreciated!
Great list, Michael. Mine would be heavy on the classics side. Moby Dick and War and Peace would top my pile, also Melville’s short stories. Portrait of a Lady, The Small House at Allington, I might just be satisfied with the collected works of Trollope. Some other less obvious titles- The Sheltering Sky, The French Lieutenant’s Woman, Romola. I might include The Brothers Karamazov. I’ve never liked it but every ten years or so I hanker for a re-read. Lastly Gravity’s Rainbow and The Sot-Weed Factor.
I've never sampled Trollope, but I know his reputation as a significant Victorian novelist. 'Romola' is an unusual selection from George Eliot, one of her more obscure titles. I've not read 'The Sheltering Sky', but I admire the Paul Bowles short stories I have encountered, including "The Delicate Prey" and "Pages from Cold Point" (incidentally, filmmaker Sara Driver adapted "You Are Not I" to some acclaim in 1981).
Thanks, Roger. Terrible confession - I've not yet made it all the way through Moby Dick or War and Peace! I know, I know. But they're on my to-do list. I recently came across Romola for the first time, and now I'm really encouraged to start it given your recommendation.
@@michaelbartlettfilmThere is a little known 1924 silent film adaptation of 'Romola', directed by Henry King and starring Lillian Gish, that I've yet to encounter other than a title in the film histories, which excites curiosity in this context.
@@barrymoore4470 I’ve only read a couple of Bowles short stories, must look for more. I couldn’t read Trollope in my working years, didn’t have enough brain energy left for his wordy digressions. When I retired I gave him another shot and found myself enchanted by his wisdom, his direct engagement with the reader, his ability at understanding the varieties of human behavior. Romola I believe was Eliot’s greatest commercial success and then fell out of favor, although I have seen a resurgence in interest in recent years.
@@michaelbartlettfilm Romola was a great success in its time. Eliot did an amazing amount of historical research and the first half is a bit weighted down with her eagerness to impart what she knows about the era. Savonarola plays a prominent part and he is a fascinating figure. The pace picks up in the second half leading to a final hundred pages of just transcendent beauty (and sadness).
Thanks so much for this post, Michael. I am sadly lacking in reading great literature. Again, please delete my comment if you want. I go off on tangents sometimes but I thought this was interesting.
Re Wilde---He once said “When the gods want to punish us, they answer our prayers.”
"Oscar Wilde is right. It often happens that what psychologists cannot explain about the human mind, the creative artist, the poet, can easily explore to the depths which are beyond logic, beyond reason, beyond scientific research.
Oscar Wilde’s statement is of tremendous value. When he says, “When the Gods want to punish us, they answer our prayers,” he is saying something about our unconsciousness. We are not aware what we are doing, we are not aware what we are asking, we are not aware what we are praying for. Our consciousness is so superficial and our unconsciousness is so deep that it is bound to be that, if our prayers are fulfilled, it will not be a reward, it will be a punishment; because we had asked for something in our sleep and we will repent that we asked for it.
For example, you are all aware of the Greek mythological story of King Midas. His only prayer for years was that he should be granted the power that whatever he touches becomes gold. Years came and went, his prayer remained unheard. He became more and more impatient, started fasting, started austerities to force the divine powers to grant him the power he had been asking for years. He also thought that what he was asking for was tremendously beautiful, great. If you were given the chance, you would also accept the opportunity immediately, without hesitation.
Finally, the prayer was heard and his wish was fulfilled. He became capable of changing anything into gold. But then he became aware that he had destroyed himself by asking the gods to grant him this power because he could not eat, could not drink - he would touch a glass and the glass and the water would turn into gold. He would touch his food and it would turn into gold. Even his own wife would not come close to him. His own children would run away, because whomsoever he touched he turned into gold.
Just within a week the man was almost mad, dying. He asked the gods again and again, “Take the power back, I had no idea what I was asking. I have been punished enough.” His wife had turned into gold, his children had turned into gold. For seven days he had not eaten anything, he had not even been able to drink water; he was dying of thirst and hunger.
While he was praying for years, he had been dreaming that if he were granted this power he would become the richest man in the whole world; and now he had become the poorest man ever - past, present, future. Nobody has ever been so poor. Friends would not come to see him. His own ministers all went on leave. He would sit in the court and nobody would turn up; he was left alone, and he had always been surrounded by people. He was a great king, now even beggars were not ready to be friendly with him or to come close to him.
There are many mythological stories of the same type in all the languages, and they are not simply stories. They are descriptions of our unconscious mind. Unless you are fully conscious, your prayer is going to be a punishment if it is fulfilled. Because from where will it come? And the moment you are fully conscious you will not ask anything because the greatest treasure has already been given to you..
Oscar Wilde is a great genius, a poet, a creative artist. And these are the people - not your so-called dead saints - who have given humanity new insights into their own beings, into the possibilities of what they can ask and whether it is right to ask, or wait for the moment when you have come to a point of desirelessness.
All your desires are going to be wrong, however logical they may appear. Their ultimate result will prove fatal. You can watch it in yourself.
Oscar Wilde had a great insight. And this man was turned out of England, expelled because of his strange ideas. His contemporaries thought that he was a little bit crazy. Do you think a crazy man can have such a great clarity, such a great consciousness? But this is the fate of all those who are born ahead of their time. The gap between their understanding and that of their contemporaries is so vast that they are always misfits. Oscar Wilde is one of the most famous misfit geniuses of the world.
Oscar Wilde lived his life being deported from this place to another, from that place to another, without any honor. Still, not a single word of complaint, no grudge against anybody, but a simple acceptance that 'I have come before my time. It is not their fault, it is just my fault. I should have waited a little longer.' "
Thanks for this, Willie. To be absolutely fair, Wilde was honoured a great deal during his lifetime, and many people found him fascinating and recognised his genius. But I take the point. (Mind you, I will still go on wishing the full version of Magnificent Ambersons is found one day!)
@@michaelbartlettfilm Thanks! I was unaware he got that recognition. And like you, I am always hoping for that complete print of Ambersons to be found. I sometimes think it could be as great a film as Kane. Not as groundbreaking but just as good.
@@willieluncheonette5843Truth be told, I don't think there ever was a first cut of Ambersons... Sounds like Welles left it to his editors, while he went off to Brazil, and the orders from on high came before it was completed anyway.
@@michaelbartlettfilm That's true, the editing was left to others after Welles had gone to Brazil to work on 'It's All True'. According to Wikipedia, the excised footage from 'The Magnificent Ambersons' was destroyed (a common studio practice at that time for unused footage, few if any understanding the value posterity might place in such material).
@@willieluncheonette5843Even in its present form, I still prefer 'The Magnificent Ambersons' to 'Citizen Kane', which I regard as consistently overrated. Peculiarly, Welles, though one of the relatively few true geniuses to have worked in cinema, has never been one of my favorite filmmakers.