Vidal is a novelist, not just an explorer of ideas. The main character is genuinely interesting if not always pleasant. He survives truly dangerous situations - both through luck, and through occasional exercise of intelligence. He is in danger from his (literal) witch of a mother, from the Harem and the court Eunuchs in Persia. He survives dangerous journeys, and deadly wars (civil and not) and intrigue in India, China, and in Greece as well.
Yes. Lucky for you, people may be in danger.
Buffy ,'Him'
Literary Buffistas 3: Don't Parse the Blurb, Dear.
There's more to life than watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer! No. Really, there is! Honestly! Here's a place for Buffistas to come and discuss what it is they're reading, their favorite authors and poets. "Geez. Crack a book sometime."
Typo Boy - Oct 15, 2008 8:27:15 am PDT #7766 of 28414
Calli: My people have a saying. A man who trusts can never be betrayed, only mistaken.Avon: Life expectancy among your people must be extremely short.
Ginger - Oct 15, 2008 9:50:21 am PDT #7767 of 28414
"It didn't taste good. It tasted soooo horrible. It tasted like....a vodka martini." - Matilda
This weekend, a headline said "Norbert Batters Mexican Coast." What does it say that my first thought was dragon, not hurricane?
sumi - Oct 15, 2008 10:48:44 am PDT #7768 of 28414
Art Crawl!!!
Norbert?
And we already have Omar building up steam too. (Or so I heard.)
What's the "P" name this year?
Ginger - Oct 15, 2008 10:51:04 am PDT #7769 of 28414
"It didn't taste good. It tasted soooo horrible. It tasted like....a vodka martini." - Matilda
Palin
sumi - Oct 15, 2008 11:11:31 am PDT #7770 of 28414
Art Crawl!!!
Hee.
Hil R. - Oct 15, 2008 7:01:35 pm PDT #7771 of 28414
Sometimes I think I might just move up to Vermont, open a bookstore or a vegan restaurant. Adam Schlesinger, z''l
I think that Ragtime also did the famous-people thing well, but that book was really ... I'm not sure of the word I'm looking for. "Stylized" comes to mind, but it's not exactly what I mean. It's like, it wasn't just random famous people inserted into the ongoing plot; the famous people were part of what held the book together.
Typo Boy - Oct 16, 2008 11:10:35 am PDT #7772 of 28414
Calli: My people have a saying. A man who trusts can never be betrayed, only mistaken.Avon: Life expectancy among your people must be extremely short.
Yeah, Creation has a lot in common with Ragtime. It is *about* makers of history and expounders of new ideas, and the relations between them. Along with Vidal's quirky theory about where this intellectual revolution came from.
Barb - Oct 16, 2008 3:05:34 pm PDT #7773 of 28414
“Not dead yet!”
beth b - Oct 16, 2008 6:32:00 pm PDT #7774 of 28414
oh joy! Oh Rapture ! I have a brain!
That was great
I just sent it to a billion people - I know tey will really enjoy it
Amy - Oct 16, 2008 7:03:15 pm PDT #7775 of 28414
Because books.
plot: A device, the lack of which denotes seriousness on the part of writers.
BWAH. The whole thing was dead on.