the melancholy of resistance (book of the month)

[lovejuice]

so this january, the book is the melancholy of resistance by krasznahorkai as recommended by qrazy.

next month is anything of KF's choosing, and if you want to give out recommendation, go to

http://match-cut.org/showthread.php?t=255.

qrazy, do you want address a short introduction to this novel?

[Kurosawa Fan]

I'm in for this one. I'm a third of the way through The Zero, but as soon as I finish this'll be the next book I grab.

[Qrazy]

Ah well, I haven't read it. It's just something I've been wanting to read for a while. I've heard very good things. It's the source text for Werckmeister Harmonies.

[ledfloyd]

cool, i'll try to track down a copy.

[Kurosawa Fan]

When it comes to my turn next month, I'll also be selecting something I haven't read yet as well. It isn't as much fun to assign something I've already read.

[Kurosawa Fan]

Well, there isn't a single library in my area that carries this novel, nor any other novel by Krasznahorkai. I'll try to purchase a copy if B&N has one, but considering I finished The Zero last night, I'm not going to wait to start another book. I'll try to read this before the end of the month though. It sounds fascinating.

[ledfloyd]

Well, there isn't a single library in my area that carries this novel, nor any other novel by Krasznahorkai. I'll try to purchase a copy if B&N has one, but considering I finished The Zero last night, I'm not going to wait to start another book. I'll try to read this before the end of the month though. It sounds fascinating.

likewise, though nothing turned up at B&N. i'm trying to decide if it's too late to amazon it up.

[lovejuice]

amazon for me as well. although my border has war & war. hmmm....tempting.

[Qrazy]

I just purchased my copy on half.com for like 8 bucks.

[lovejuice]

just arrived. aahh...so it's one of those books with no new paragraph...interesting.

[lovejuice]

done! a wonderful book. more thought coming up later.

[Qrazy]

Hopefully I'll be able to get to it this month. If not may have to be beginning of next month. I ordered it and shipped it to my parents house who will be visiting me near the end of the month so hopefully they'll get it to me in a timely fashion.

[SpaceOddity]

just arrived. aahh...so it's one of those books with no new paragraph...interesting.

I gave it to someone a few years ago and he refused to read it for that reason.

*rolls eyes*

[lovejuice]

I gave it to someone a few years ago and he refused to read it for that reason.

*rolls eyes*

to be fair, i almost let myself giving up on the book for that reason. i have read and enjoy saramango, kafka, and nietzsche, all of which are famous/notorious for their big paragraphs. still they do "press enter" from time to time. a whole 300-page book with only ten or so paragraphs needs some justification.

and to the author's credits, it's justified. i only fleetingly have an urge to "press enter". most of the time the style serves the substance aside from a few moments that a time lapse in the narrative begs for a new ungranted paragraph.

[Qrazy]

to be fair, i almost let myself giving up on the book for that reason. i have read and enjoy saramango, kafka, and nietzsche, all of which are famous/notorious for their big paragraphs. still they do "press enter" from time to time. a whole 300-page book with only ten or so paragraphs needs some justification.

and to the author's credits, it's justified. i only fleetingly have an urge to "press enter". most of the time the style serves the substance aside from a few moments that a time lapse in the narrative begs for a new ungranted paragraph.

Beckett isn't too fond of paragraphs either (espesh The Trilogy). It's earned there too.

[lovejuice]

my short thought. spoiler free.

haven't watched tarr's film, but funny enough the melancholy of resistance does not remind me of any european or art house. instead it's cloverfield that i find this book's most resemble. the melancholy of resistance is the account of an extraordinary event -- a riot instigated by a mysterious circus being, "the prince", and the ever ensued militaristic order -- from characters who run around, screaming left and right.

werckmeister harmonies, the title of tarr's adaptation, is actually the title of the middle section which i find more appropriate than the actual name. the melancholy of resistance is about harmony, dis-harmony, and the dialectic relationship between the two. how one can be born or turn into the other. every main character is suffered from, or appreciating harmony/dis-harmony. (sometimes it's very hard to decide which is which. is a riot a very act of order or dis-order? how's about a militaristic event?)

it's useful the very book i read before it is fromm's escape from freedom which deals with the alienation of individual. a theme that resonances with many happenings and discourses in the novel.

[Qrazy]

I have it and swear I'm going to read it soon I've just been obsessively and addictedly watching movies lately. As soon as I get tired of that and/or can break the cycle I'm all over it.