Five Greatest Novels of All Time

ralphinlaos · Posted: Wed Mar 26, 2008 9:18 pm Post subject:

"Awful?" Oh, Ophelia, I am just crushed. And I thought we had a good thing going . . .

I guess you've read more books about priests and requited/unrequited love than I have - probably something to do with your being French.

O.K., I will agree to disagree - but I hope this doesn't happen too often. I only want friends who agree with me!

Yours in dismay,

Ralph

P.S.
I wonder what Vivien had to fantisize about when she was required to gaze longingly at Clark? I doubt it was her daughter.

Ophelia · Posted: Thu Mar 27, 2008 6:49 am Post subject:

Ophelia · Posted: Thu Mar 27, 2008 7:12 am Post subject:

ralphinlaos · Posted: Fri Mar 28, 2008 3:39 am Post subject:

Ophelia, mon ami -

I think that the tragedy of Vivien Leigh's life was her meeting Laurence Olivier. Hers was a great passion - much greater than his - and she sublimated her life to his. So, when he left her, she went completely round the bend. I think they were both self-obsessed, but that he took himself much more seriously than she did. This is just pop psychology on my part, you understand, and may be way of the mark.

I have read biographies on both Leigh and Olivier - fascinating people, whatever their flaws.

Ophelia, have you ever read "Memo," by David O. Selznick? Mr. Selznick, producer of Gone With the Wind, Rebecca and many other great films, was a prodigious writer of memos/letters, and that's what this book is - simply a collection of his workaday memos during his time in the film industry. Gone With the Wind, from buying the book, casting, writing and re-writing, is a huge chapter in the book. It's probably out of print now, but if you ever get a chance to read it, please do. It's one of my facorite books of all-time - full lof the gossip and minutia that I thrive on.

Ralph

Ophelia · Posted: Fri Mar 28, 2008 5:38 am Post subject:

ralphinlaos · Posted: Fri Mar 28, 2008 8:58 am Post subject:

Hi Ophelia -

Oh, I think most of us have our little "guilty pleasures," in reading as well as other forms of entertainment. I'd abhor a steady diet of serious literature, just as a steady diet of the bestseller lists grows tiresome very quickly. Moderation in all things, I guess.

I enjoy biography, more than autobiography. I really put little trust in what a person writes about him/herself. An unbiased view from a good biographer probably contains more of the real story. I suppose there are exceptions, but I think they are rare. Can you think of a biography which you thought was really candid and truthful, warts and all? I'm sure I will as soon as I post this, but right now . . .

I hear that Woody Allen has been a real nut-case for his entire adult life. And Mia's more than a little strange. When I first went to New York City, I worked for three days as an extra on Woody's film, Radio Days. He was very nice to all of us, but totally focused on his work - not interested in making friends with any of us. He's still around New York with Sung-Yi (I think that's her name, isn't it?) That marriage seems to have worked, all that notoriety probably kept Woody on the couch for several more years.

Psychiatry, in America, is a game played by the rich and famous. If you have lots of money, you see a psychiatrist several times a week. If you're one of the unwashed masses, you talk to your friends. We all want siomeone to listen, don't we?

I've heard that Mia's book is quite good, but I've never come across it in my quest for somethng to read. Remember Michael Crawford, famed Phantom of the Opera? I read his biography recently - lengthy and uninteresting - and dull (the worst sin of all).

I'd like to read a really good biography of Ralph Richardson; he was one of my favorites and I've heard some wonderful stories about him over the years - an excentric, fascinating man who lived a long and happy life.

Are you currently teaching, Ophelia? On the college level?

Ralph

Ophelia · Posted: Fri Mar 28, 2008 2:05 pm Post subject:

Ophelia · Posted: Fri Mar 28, 2008 2:34 pm Post subject:

I'm a secondary school teacher, I work in a Lycée, with 16 to 18 year olds. I'm on a very unusual schedule this year so this gives me a lot of free time.

Constance963 · Posted: Mon Mar 31, 2008 8:19 am Post subject:

JohnShadeFan · Posted: Mon Mar 31, 2008 8:13 pm Post subject:

Oh, I love lists like this!

I'm going to pick 5 that I've read recently (past six months or so).

Babbit-Sinclair Lewis-Funny, tragic, and as relevant today as it was then.

The Castle-Kafka-A feast. What IS the Castle? You can pick any number of things and find a ton of textual support, which, in this case, is a strength.

Winesburg, Ohio-Sherwood Anderson- I'm going to call this a novel. It was a difficult, aching read, only because it was so true.

Persuasion-Austen- Perhaps my fav. A tight plot, no extraneous scenes/characters, clear thematic development. Her last completed book before her death, making every reader afterwards wonder "What would have happened if she had lived?"

As I Lay Dying- The mixture of pathos and comedy is masterful. Insane.

ps-This is my first post. Do I get anything?

ralphinlaos · Posted: Tue Apr 01, 2008 2:25 am Post subject:

Yes, John - you get a great big "Hello and welcome" from all of us!

Babbitt and Winesburg and As I Lay Dying - boy, do these bring back old memories. I haven't read (or re-read) any in the past twenty years, but I remember them all being terrific books. Maybe I'll be able to find an old paperback one of these days.

Have you ever read any of John Cain's novels (The Postman Always Rings Twice, Mildred Pierce, etc.?) They're still as interesting and absorbing as when he wrote them.

And Constance -

Raold Dahl was always one of my favorite writers - I think I've read everything he's ever written (including his children's books). But he didn't do right by Patricia Neal, did he?

I've never seen a Harry Potter book - but I thought that everyone loved them. I'd like to see her first one, read that, and then go on (or not) from there.

Ralph

Ophelia · Posted: Tue Apr 01, 2008 3:25 am Post subject:

ralphinlaos · Posted: Tue Apr 01, 2008 6:19 am Post subject:

What offer is that, Ophelia? Did I miss something? Does Chris have a program in which I can win books? Where?

I'm still wandering around this site, finding a little more everyday.

Thanks,

Ralph

Ophelia · Posted: Tue Apr 01, 2008 6:58 am Post subject:


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