Chú Cá Vàng Thứ 14 tải xuống LIT miễn phí

Jon Williams smailliwnoj — An astounding finish!!!! I will never this exquisite series!!!

Matthew Matthew matthewbennink — similar in style to prep but not as good. i didn't identify with the charachter as much.

Zeren Joy zerenjoy — STARTERS: Hey You Listening? --- It's like a bloody big brick, isn't it? --- Um... --- Monolithic... --- N... --- Intimidating... --- Listen will you, goddammit... --- Impenetrable... --- No! It's just like anything else that's marvellous and new... --- Whaddya mean? --- It's like me trying to write music. Until a performer hears what I hear and can make other people hear what I hear what the audience hears it's just trash...it's just trash like everything else in this world full of shopping malls... --- Trash? --- Yeah...most everything you see around here it's just trash! Who do they think will buy it? It's worthless! This book though...it's like a symphony...you just have to work out how to hear it... --- Wait a minute buddy I can't take all this in my...you've finished reading the whole book? --- Right... --- Well why don't you be the performer... --- I, um, OK... --- Just tell me what you heard... --- I mean like remember this here book he started it that time where they wanted him to write about success and like free enterprise and entering public life and all hey? --- Um, did it, really...this had better not be boring... --- So I mean listen he had this neat idea hey, you listening? Hey? You listening? BURGER MEAL: Dialogical Masquerade Yes, this novel consists mainly of dialogue, apart from the occasional (and usually beautiful) interstitial bits, some of which I've extracted and tried to poeticise below. But then, if you were masked (or closed your eyes) the whole time while you experienced a play or a film or a TV show, you might say the same. The challenge is not to be deterred by the apparent novelty of this narrative device. You have to find your own way into the text, even if it still requires exertion. If you can do that, it will make sense for you. You won't be distracted by its failure or refusal to comply with literary conventions. Wings of Desire My initial interpretive device was what I'll call a Wings of Desire strategy. Imagine that Marx and Engels die and go to Heaven. God keeps them (I suppose Engels was descended from a family of angels, anyway), because they're good company (even if they might be anti-corporate), until one day in the 70's Marx and Engels ask God if they can listen in on what's happening in capitalist America. Marx and Engels can only hear the conversation. Occasionally, God supplies some interstitial description. Eavesdropping Another interpretive device is the Eavesdropping strategy. You have to imagine that the characters are our neighbours, although we never actually get to see them. We can only eavesdrop on their conversations behind the wall. Gaddis himself has described the novel as "a chaos of disconnections, a blizzard of noise", almost as if it was a blizzard of white noise a la Don De Lillo. However, it's not really a blizzard. Nothing is incomprehensible. It's sequential and systematic, like a relay race with the baton being passed on from one speaker to the next. The audience/reader just has to keep their eyes on the baton. This novel isn't chaotic. It's extremely highly and tightly structured. I saw connections in the shape of the strands of a rope. Every strand of the rope strengthens every other strand, thus giving the whole its integrity. Feeling the Elephant in the Next Room A variation of the Eavesdropping strategy is to imagine sticking your hands through a hole in the wall in the dark and trying to define what it is you can feel on the other side. We have to use our imagination. It might be hard to work out what it is, if it's an elephant and we've never seen an elephant before. But here we have the privilege of knowing that the subject is people living under the conditions of capitalism (albeit in the early 70's, although you'll be surprised how little they have changed). Infinite Riches in a Little Room By these strategies, our imaginations can equip us to believe that there are infinite riches in the little room of this novel. Gaddis' novel helps us to learn about the condition of the middle class in America or the soul of man under capitalism. However, in order to do so, it doesn't so much focus on what people own (materialism) or do (activism/ pragmatism) or think (idealism). It focusses on what they say (dialogism). It assumes that we can learn about people well enough by listening to them talk with each other. The stock exchange and money as a means of exchange are vital to the content of the novel. However, what's most important to the form of the novel is the exchange of conversation. A Glimmer of the Recognitions Part of the subject matter concerns the attempts of business to get artists to create objects that glorify or aggrandise capitalism or capitalists. To this extent, the novel continues Gaddis' themes from "The Recognitions". The focus on conversation also reminded me of that novel's party scenes, where you could imagine the narrative being a camera rolling through the room recording the goings on, but most importantly the dialogue. The Soft White Underbelly At a macro level, then, the novel concerns business, money, art, women and men. At a micro level, it deals with the human aspects of production, management, administration, decision-making, finance, budgeting, pricing, marketing, publicity, advertising, lobbying, trade, exchange, take-overs, insider-trading, fraud, success, failure, insolvency and liquidation. Gaddis rolls the beast of American capitalism onto its back and observes its soft white underbelly. Only this isn't dry academic stuff. It's as insightful and humorous as the Marx Brothers take in "A Day at the Races". We casual browsers and armchair travellers get a pretty good tour through something akin to Walt Disney's Businessworld. Inherent Vice and Limited Reliability Ultimately, there is little grandeur on display. We see plenty of beefy faces and grubby hands. Nothing is what it seems. Limited liability companies become masters of limited reliability. How can we assess the veracity of their promises until we can see the fine print of their promissory notes. For all the claims of business, its disclaimers are what count and discount. We see less merit and skill than opportunism. The big decision is whether to hedge your risk or hedge your bets. Paradoxically, JR, an 11 year old student who hasn't reached the age of majority, is able to command a majority on the board. Where there is success in one generation, we witness problems of succession to the next generation. If wealth is lucky enough to transition from Senior to Junior, vice is both inherent and inherited. Conversely, when it comes to debt funding, collateral securities result in collateral damage and insecurity. Vox Populi or Patrician? In the long run, Gaddis asks why government, invention, art, industry and religion can't serve all of the people, instead of just the patrician classes. Over the course of the novel, readers should find that the slow dazzle of conversation is never boring, but instead has accrued interest. On the other hand, unlike Marx and Engels, Gaddis never stoops to a crude manifesto, nor does he make any predictions. So, at the end, it's unclear whether capitalism will survive intact or eventually be brought down, and if the latter, whether by revolution or class actions. Insider Trading Places It would be enough that the novel is frequently hilarious, if only it wasn't also so true. Gaddis took 20 years to write this novel, during which time he worked at the highest levels of business and saw what was really going on. He writes with the insight of an insider who has traded places. He also writes like someone who listens and hears. This is what people talk about. This is how people speak. This is what they say. He's entitled to ask, hey, are we listening? This isn't just trash talk. This is a symphony. We just have to work out how to hear it. Ultimately, what Gaddis achieves is a magnificent encyclopaedic and panoramic vision of the human aspects of (living under) the capitalist elephant. His perspective is authoritative, because it's informed by living inside the whale. If that's not too much of a mixed metaphor! SOME FRIES WITH THAT: [Interstitial Assemblages] These assemblages are almost 100% the words of William Gaddis via which I hope to demonstrate the poetry of his prose. Howl (1975 - 20**) [In the Words of William Gaddis] Stressing the vital necessity Of expanded capital formation Unimpeded by government restraints, Senator Broos made An impassioned plea For a restoration of faith On the part of the common man In the free enterprise system As the cornerstone... Of those son of a bitches Who still think Winning's what it's all about Give them a string of high p e ratios And a rising market It's all free enterprise All they howl about's Government restraints Interference Double taxation... All free enterprise Till they wreck the whole thing They're the first ones up there With a tin cup Whining for the government To bail them out With a loan guarantee So they can do it All over again. Flowers in the Mud [In the Words of William Gaddis] If there was one flower Out here in this mud And weeds and broken toilet seats You'd find it and step on it The minute you get Your hands on something The power to keep something Like that going You couldn't do it You couldn't even leave it alone For a few people still looking For something beautiful People who'd rather Hear a symphony Than eat Who can still hear A magnificent Soprano voice singing. Ach nein, When you hear this here Lady singing up You can't get Up to their level So you drag them Down to yours If there's any way To ruin something To degrade it To cheapen it That's what you'll do. I Think It's My Pulse [In the Words of William Gaddis] And the glow at the wall socket Took up the loss of day, Eyed the slow accumulation Of the night. The spot of light leaped, Dropped shrunk close, Searching white from whites, Darted, paused, Came up blinding and was gone, Leaving the dark confirmed By the wall socket's glow, Until it faded With the rise of day. Mister Duncan? Are you awake? Sun caught on water somewhere Trembled on the ceiling. That reflection up there, Can you see it throbbing? I think it's my pulse. Just Like Heaven (Between the Covers) [In the Words of William Gaddis] From his her own hand came measuring down firmness of bone brushed past its prey to stroke at distances to climb back still more slowly fingertips gone in hollows, fingers paused weighing shapes that slipped from their enquiry before they rose confirming where already they could not envelop but simply cling there fleshing end to end, until their reach was gone... hands running to the spill of hair over her face in the pillow and down to declivities and down cleaving where his breath came suddenly close enough to find its warmth reflected tongue to pierce puckered heat lingering on to depths coming wide to its promise rising wide to the streak of its touch gorging its stabs of entrance aswim to its passage rising still further to threats of its loss suddenly real left high agape to the mere onslaught of his gaze knees locked to knees thrust deep in that full symmetry surged back against him surges his hands on either side bit deep as though in their possession all her eloquent blood spoke in her cheeks... until a slow turn to her side she gave him up and ran raised lips on the wet surface of his mouth... the weight of her leg warm over his gone rigid for his twist away leaving only his back to her where she kissed his shoulder in the darkness and clung as though for warmth until, as of its own weight, it eased away, and she caught breath at the stealth of springs across the gap, the desolate toss of covers on the bed there and then, for warmth, pulled up her own. Make It Magnificent! Camp Funtime SOUNDTRACK: Blondie - "Atomic" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Tko1... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_E1-V... "Oh, uh-huh, Make it Magnificent Tonight Right Just Right Just Rite JR" Blondie - "Atomic" (Live 1979) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-Q0c... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5ya6... Stereo sound Blondie - "Atomic" (Live 1980) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=re2vD... The Cure - "Just Like Heaven" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76Y6n... '"Show me, show me, show me how you do that trick, The one that makes me scream" she said. "The one that makes me laugh" she said, And threw her arms around my neck. "Show me how you do it And I promise you, I promise that I'll run away with you, I'll run away with you." "Spinning on that dizzy edge, I kissed her face and kissed her head, And dreamed of all the different ways I had To make her glow "Why are you so far away?" she said. "Why won't you ever know that I'm in love with you That I'm in love with you".' The Cure - "Just Like Heaven" (Live at Bestival 2011) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6x0T... Robert on guitar The Cure - "Just Like Heaven" (Live at Lollapalooza Chicago 2013) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OC4YR... Reeves Gabrels on guitar David Bowie - "Look Back in Anger" (1988 rerecorded version) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TthWO... Reeves Gabrels on guitar David Bowie - "Look Back in Anger" (unreleased 1995 version) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zdSgZ... Carlos Alomar on guitar David Bowie - "Look Back in Anger" (Live at Loreley 1996) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Moun-... Reeves Gabrels - "Dig a Pony" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVfSr...

Barış Bağatur bagaturbaris — I like Norah Vincent, but I bet her next book will be "How I Committed Suicide." Because she does stuff that one wouldn't normally do, and it usually ends up coming precariously close to destroying her. In her last book she dresses up like a man and lives in society as that (dating, working, etc), and in this book she commits (committs?) herself to various mental institutions, to see if money/class matter in the quality of care you get. And, it does. What I like about the author is that she is very honest and makes it perfectly clear that she is, in fact, an idiot when getting herself into these situations. I also like how she describes how the cycle of depression and drugs that we don't know much about feed off of each other. It's a quick read, and interesting, but mildly disturbing (if you've ever taken any drugs or been to a counselor. Or if you know someone who has). I like how she is matter-of-fact, I don't love her attitude in general...I can't describe it better than that. It's something different.

Nick Farkas _arkas_esigns — I enjoyed this murder mystery. Odelia Grey is a great character. I loved that she is plus sized. I felt that Sue Ann Jaffarian had the insecurities of a plus size woman down pat. Even though I figured out who down it halfway into the book; I still was not sure until the end. There are alot of suspects that I was left wondering to the end. I loved this positive role model for women of any size and of any age. I have the next book in this series on order at the libray and I can't wait to get.

Zatyko Fanny fannyzatyko — YA Novel - This was fantastic. A very solidly written story, great plot, realistic characters and I loved the setting of 1940's Chicago.

Phương Nhi tamo_chann — Way too many flashbacks in this one for my taste. Still good, but I wish we could move past the angst now.

Lori Bevilacqua loribevilacqua — Widely recognized as horrible and I have to agree. I only read this while studying Martha Gellhorn (Hemingway paints an unflattering picture of his ex-wife as "Dorothy").