I feel like Iris Murdoch’s Black Prince was written as a response of sorts to Nabokov’s Lolita. The flowery style in Black Prince reads nearly like a parody of HH, and the plot is weirdly similar. In both books you have the protagonist and his shadow nemesis, and the protagonist in both books are unsuccessful writers while the nemesis is successful and rich. And then there is the jilted middle aged woman who play largely the same role in both books, albeit with different endings.
feynman’s lectures. i’ve always figured it was hype, but it turned out to be even better than the hype. i’m really pissed entire classes aren’t offered based on these lectures because they’re honest to god the most beautiful things i’ve read. specifically, i’m referring to vol 2 of the lectures (on electromagnetism), chapters 1-5, 13,16,17,18, and the first part of vol 3 on quantum physics.
Donna Tartt’s The Goldfinch.
There’s a lot of stuff about how art and culture are worth living for no matter what the cost, which is just so quaint. there are characters in it who suddenly go from failed actor with a murky educational background to working in finance and raising a family. to me that sounds like pure fiction.
the book was published in 2013, post financial crisis of 2008, but the world it refers to is fundamentally the economically vibrant one of the late 80s and 90s, where “slackers” could still get by doing…whatever, like working in a video store I guess. nowadays those people would be living in cars or worse.
imo the story does seem to lose it’s impetus after bunny’s funeral. the last third was bit of a slog. and imo richard alone was not enough to carry the story, and it was boring to read about his anxieties and drug binges. but i don’t do drugs so maybe the drug sections would resonate with somebody who does.
however, i still love the book because of the characters and the world they inhabit. it captures, i think, something ineffable about being young and being in love, not just with people but with the world and the mystery of the world.