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Suggestions for our Oct. & Nov. fiction discussion

Assist us in selecting our upcoming FICTION book for group discussion in this forum. A minimum of 5 posts is required to participate here!
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Ophelia

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I suggest Tolkien's Lord of the Rings.

There is more to it than the battle scenes in the films.


http://www.nationalgeographic.com/ngbey ... ences.html


http://www.amazon.com/J-R-R-Tolkien-Box ... 0345340426
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Grim

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Most people who haven't read the books may be tempted to assume a knowledge based on having watched the movie only.
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Ophelia

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Grim,


In cases when a novel was turned into a well-known film, the problem you mention arises for the casual visitor to the forum. The people who voted and post regularly know that we are discussing the book, and know which parts of the book are discussed in which threads. They can also see that there is a separate thread to discuss the films.

So one has to be organized, but it's actually a plus for a discussion when there is also a good film. I recently discussed Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca and it was interesting to see which of our analyses could be influenced by Hitchcock's film.
We even have a counter-example at BT: Our discussion of Conrad's
Heart of Darkness was very successful, but when it came to the time of discussing the film which had been inspired by the novel, nobody wanted to discuss Coppola's Apocalypse Now with me!
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Grim

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Good point, and the movie did leave much material from the books to the "imagination."
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Devi
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I would suggest Lolita. I love Nabokov, but I've never had the opportunity to discuss the book with any book lovers--would be a treat for me.
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Ophelia

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Thanks for the suggestion Devi.

I've seen the film with Dominique Swayne and Jeremy Irons and it is indeed a theme that raises many questions. I thought of reading the book but haven't done so yet.

It is always a good idea to give a link when you suggest a book to be discussed, so here it is:

http://www.amazon.com/Annotated-Lolita- ... 110&sr=1-2
Last edited by Ophelia on Sun Sep 07, 2008 6:43 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Grim

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Nabokov is a literary icon, I have had Lolita in my sights for some time and would love the opportunity to dive into it.

My only concern would be that perhaps the plot is too mature for the forum?
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Ophelia

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By "too mature for the forum" I suppose you are referring tactfully to the main theme? :smile: I see no reason why we couldn't tackle this.

This book has been at the back of my mind for a while, with its reputation of being one of the masterpieces of English literature.
The study of language sounds enticing, and I'm also attracted to the opposition between Europe (Humbert) and America (Lolita, Quilty) and how this is worked out in the novel -which I haven't read yet.

Here is another reference if you don't know the book and want to know what it's about:

http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/lolita/themes.html
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Grim

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That particular link is very useful thank you soo much.

I've ordered the book from Amazon, now we only need a 4th person to agree on Lolita and we can make it official.

Any ideas?
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Lolita

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I would not mind reading Lolita. I have watch the black and white film verison and would love to read the book. So if you need a 4th vote, I am your girl!
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