Hardcover, 60 pages
English language
Published April 7, 1996 by Macmillan - USA.
Hamlet is one of Shakespeare's greatest plays, adits hero, the tragic prince caught between action and the consequence, destiny and dream, is his most complex and enigmatic character. --front flap
Humour and anger work well together.
Came out of it not feeling as if I learned much that is totally new, but was much more convinced of what I did know and believe.
Fascinating, with many insights and connections I had never come across before. Shame the middle sags with the smaller, less propulsive politicking of the ruling classes.
A really interesting fictional account of what would have happened if Michaelangelo had built a bridge for the sultan of Constantinople.
Funny, rollicking, and provocative—the ludicrous extremes in The Sellout seem to me (ha! a white Canadian) a true and cutting way to speak of the unspeakable: the living, pervasive, and complicated racism of the United States.
I found the first two books intriguing, capable of involving me in the mysteries of Area X, the Southern Reach, and the bizarre personalities pulled into—and feeding—that vortex. The third book, Acceptance, felt unnecessary, and I found myself less and less interested in what I had been so interested in before.
I enjoyed this book quite a lot. It was easy to read and follow, so I often read more than I told myself I would before bed. These Hallowed Halls is well worthwhile. Recommended.
The novel, based on the true history of Sewanee, The University of the South, centers on its founding in rural Tennessee around the time of the American Civil War. The setting allows for a great deal of drama of all sorts—personal, political, racial, economic—as the large cast of characters work to overcome the turmoil of the war and emancipation, working in new and uncertain circumstances, hoping to lay the foundations for a future—which they all understand differently. Will the university survive? If so, will it become a bastion of the supremacist South? Will it be a place of meeting for young men of the North and South? A military school or a seminary? A place of …
I enjoyed this book quite a lot. It was easy to read and follow, so I often read more than I told myself I would before bed. These Hallowed Halls is well worthwhile. Recommended.
The novel, based on the true history of Sewanee, The University of the South, centers on its founding in rural Tennessee around the time of the American Civil War. The setting allows for a great deal of drama of all sorts—personal, political, racial, economic—as the large cast of characters work to overcome the turmoil of the war and emancipation, working in new and uncertain circumstances, hoping to lay the foundations for a future—which they all understand differently. Will the university survive? If so, will it become a bastion of the supremacist South? Will it be a place of meeting for young men of the North and South? A military school or a seminary? A place of hope and community for freedmen, or merely another extension of racist oppression? And who will provide all those young boys—and oldboys—with whiskey?
I found it fascinating to read the major events in the plot from the different points of view of each character—a Bishop, a moonshiner, former slaves, children of war-ruined planters, for example—and see how differences in class, culture, race, and sex shape how they understand and live out their lives. Which is not to say that the characters only represent various parts of the post-Civil-War South; they are their own people, complicated within themselves and in their relationships and histories. Most are characters you can sympathize with; a few, you can understand—but still dislike.
Nice interplay between the leading characters, Peko and Smile are different yet move in parallel in a literal yin-yang spiral (it's in the story's logo after all). The game of Ping Pong as a stage for different personalities, intertwined goals and needs between players, coaches, spectators. The actual match sketches are proof of Matsumoto knowing what he's drawing about; a fine line between impressionistic blurs and hard black/white realism.
Interesting ideas on the physical nature of Logic, I felt it constrained itself in the safer what-ifs. The story remained in the safer territory of safeguarding Logic instead of boldly turning it upside down to see what would happen. When the correctness, identity and physicality of actual Logic is at stake, it'd be more interesting to see what its breach would entail.
It's a strange feeling, to read a first-person story about the kidnapping and long-term molestation of a kid and to feel shame for the enjoyment the words and phrases elicit. I've never before come across so many beautiful unknown words. I felt bad for the chuckles Nabokov brought out of me through this story and I'm not sure if to thank him for the relief he allowed me in this difficult story or curse him for making me feel a sympathizer-by-laughter with a self-confessed paedophile.
It's high artistry talking about sexual infatuation with a kid, describing sexual acts in no ambiguous terms and yet, somehow, to avoid becoming vulgar. Again, admire the writer and despise the character even more for his eloquence.
There is a progression for the protagonist in the story. In the beginning he sees "nymphets" as far and between exceptions, frozen islands in the flowing sea …
It's a strange feeling, to read a first-person story about the kidnapping and long-term molestation of a kid and to feel shame for the enjoyment the words and phrases elicit. I've never before come across so many beautiful unknown words. I felt bad for the chuckles Nabokov brought out of me through this story and I'm not sure if to thank him for the relief he allowed me in this difficult story or curse him for making me feel a sympathizer-by-laughter with a self-confessed paedophile.
It's high artistry talking about sexual infatuation with a kid, describing sexual acts in no ambiguous terms and yet, somehow, to avoid becoming vulgar. Again, admire the writer and despise the character even more for his eloquence.
There is a progression for the protagonist in the story. In the beginning he sees "nymphets" as far and between exceptions, frozen islands in the flowing sea of natural ageing. Towards the end they're everywhere around him, the rule that for him seems to be the norm, that he has to ignore while he focuses on his own captive, caged prize while time still permits. Throughout the story his confessions to himself and to his captors, even to Dolores, are futile. Him realizing this fact makes him even sadder in his de-facto unforgivable role.
One more story by Inio Asano that I peeled through its layers in repeated readings. The story leaves bits and pieces throughout to be connected later on. I caught many subtle hints only during my second read-through, I really needed the hindsight to make things click. You need to pay attention or you'll miss important connective tissue.
The two protagonists, each carry different issues, each one tries an approach that simultaneously abuses the other but, crucially, themselves as well. In the end there is progress and a kind of salvation for all those involved, call it surviving puberty, call it surviving love.
Inio Asano's signature photo-realistic images are once again used masterfully. Probably his most daring depictions I've read so far, yet never feel out of place or over the top. Everything felt grounded on reality. Characters are coupled with meaningful locations and an overarching song to bind them all …
One more story by Inio Asano that I peeled through its layers in repeated readings. The story leaves bits and pieces throughout to be connected later on. I caught many subtle hints only during my second read-through, I really needed the hindsight to make things click. You need to pay attention or you'll miss important connective tissue.
The two protagonists, each carry different issues, each one tries an approach that simultaneously abuses the other but, crucially, themselves as well. In the end there is progress and a kind of salvation for all those involved, call it surviving puberty, call it surviving love.
Inio Asano's signature photo-realistic images are once again used masterfully. Probably his most daring depictions I've read so far, yet never feel out of place or over the top. Everything felt grounded on reality. Characters are coupled with meaningful locations and an overarching song to bind them all together.
Very nice short story on breaking up and letting go.
You can read it in its entirety here.
Ο Νανόπουλος βγάζει, μέσω της πένας του Προβατά, έναν ασυγκράτητο ενθουσιασμό για το απόλυτο πάθος και το διαρκή στόχο της ζωής του, την Επιστημονική Αλήθεια. Ως επί των πλείστων ο ενθουσιασμός αυτός είναι μεταδοτικός, τουλάχιστον στην αρχή του βιβλίου. Παρουσιάζεται η εντυπωσιακότατη πορεία του στα διάφορα επιστημονικά κέντρα του κόσμου και οι συνεργασίες του με ομάδες που ασχολήθηκαν με διάφορες επιστημονικές θεωρίες αιχμής, γενικά εστιασμένες στη προσέγγιση της Θεωρίας Χορδών.
Τι ένιωθα να μου λείπει από την αφήγηση:
- Αίσθηση του μέτρου όσον αφορά την προβολή των προσωπικών και ομαδικών επιστημονικών επιτευγμάτων. Δεν είμαι σε θέση για αμφισβητήσω τη σπουδαιότητα των δημοσιεύσεών του, από την άλλη μου χτύπησε άσχημα ο χαρακτηρισμός όλων των δημοσιεύσεών του σαν απόλυτα επαναστατικές, συνέχεια. Σε κάποιο σημείο το σχολιάζει και ο ίδιος, μόνο που απλά δικαιολογεί την επιλογή των χαρακτηρισμών αυτών σαν αιτιολογημένη.
- Στον αντίποδα, θα με ενδιέφερε πολύ η αναφορά σε περιπτώσεις που …
Ο Νανόπουλος βγάζει, μέσω της πένας του Προβατά, έναν ασυγκράτητο ενθουσιασμό για το απόλυτο πάθος και το διαρκή στόχο της ζωής του, την Επιστημονική Αλήθεια. Ως επί των πλείστων ο ενθουσιασμός αυτός είναι μεταδοτικός, τουλάχιστον στην αρχή του βιβλίου. Παρουσιάζεται η εντυπωσιακότατη πορεία του στα διάφορα επιστημονικά κέντρα του κόσμου και οι συνεργασίες του με ομάδες που ασχολήθηκαν με διάφορες επιστημονικές θεωρίες αιχμής, γενικά εστιασμένες στη προσέγγιση της Θεωρίας Χορδών.
Τι ένιωθα να μου λείπει από την αφήγηση:
- Αίσθηση του μέτρου όσον αφορά την προβολή των προσωπικών και ομαδικών επιστημονικών επιτευγμάτων. Δεν είμαι σε θέση για αμφισβητήσω τη σπουδαιότητα των δημοσιεύσεών του, από την άλλη μου χτύπησε άσχημα ο χαρακτηρισμός όλων των δημοσιεύσεών του σαν απόλυτα επαναστατικές, συνέχεια. Σε κάποιο σημείο το σχολιάζει και ο ίδιος, μόνο που απλά δικαιολογεί την επιλογή των χαρακτηρισμών αυτών σαν αιτιολογημένη.
- Στον αντίποδα, θα με ενδιέφερε πολύ η αναφορά σε περιπτώσεις που έσφαλε επιστημονικά, και ο τρόπος που αυτά τα λάθη τον βοήθησαν στην μετέπειτα ανοδική του πορεία. Πιστεύω ότι η πρόοδος (επιστημονικά αλλά και προσωπικά) εμπεριέχει και την ικανότητα για αναπροσαρμογή και αλλαγή πορείας.
- Εμβάθυνση στο γιατί ακριβώς ήταν ρηξικέλευθες οι ανακαλύψεις στις οποίες συμμετείχε, μια επιπλέον σύνδεση με την επιστημονική πραγματικότητα που συνέτρεχε την περίοδο των ανακαλύψεών του.
- Η σχέση του με την ελληνική επιστημονική κοινότητα και πως αυτή άλλαξε σε βάθος χρόνου ώστε να καταλήξει στην αποδοχή της έδρας της Ακαδημίας Αθηνών. Χωρίς να έχω κάποιο reference αυτή τη στιγμή, είχα την εντύπωση ότι ουκ ολίγες φορές είχε πικραθεί με την ελληνική ακαδημαϊκή κοινότητα. Θα ήθελα να μάθω αν αυτό ισχύει και αν όντως ισχύει τι άλλαξε ώστε να καταλήξει πρόεδρος της Ακαδημίας Αθηνών.
- Προς το τέλος του βιβλίου ένιωσα να διαπράττει την ύβρη της τελεσίδικης σιγουριάς για την κατοχή της απόλυτης γνώσης. Σχεδόν σαν να λέει "τα ανακαλύψαμε όλα, τα γνωρίζουμε όλα, δεν μένει κάτι άλλο για τους υπόλοιπους, game over" και μάλιστα με χροιά πρώτου προσώπου.
I've never read such a colourful noire detective story before. Luscious retrofuturistic architecture with bold colour contrasts that never feels out of place and time. The brilliance and variety of the endless stream of costumes & masquerades transcend in audacity even the Fifth Element's wardrobe. The clean, flat drawings capture both the details of characters and settings while bringing alive the dynamism of the story's many energetic sequences.
The story is highly topical, a what-if scenario on the near-future state of on-line privacy. Lots of interesting extrapolations on how things could become, new social norms & balances, new behaviours, new realities that never feel far off from our own. Lots of funny chuckles both from the story's twists and from references to our own era.
A gentle yet deep introduction to the art of Comics, using comics. Starting from a simple definition, it quickly does away with plain technical matters and confidently veers into the history (from ancient Egypt and pre-Colombian South America until today), philosophy and semiology of the medium. It does so while adhering to a solid and well-rounded narrative that binds everything together effortlessly. It never feels like a dry academic work.
What different approaches do Comics employ to communicate their story, their meaning? What means are there to draw in the reader and thus to complete the communication between the artist and the viewer? Lots of examples are shown to explain differences and concepts of the art.
If you're interested in discovering the world of comics or expanding your perception of them, I cannot suggest Understanding Comics enough.
Better progression, deeper story, more complex and substantial characters than the movie.
