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RF Generation Message Board | Other | Media Room (Moderator: wildbil52) | The Sea by John Banville discussion thread 0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic. « previous next »
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Author Topic: The Sea by John Banville discussion thread  (Read 3617 times)
techwizard
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« on: June 07, 2015, 03:21:15 PM »

Grayghost81 and I at some point soon (probably within the next week or 2) are planning on starting this book as another bookclub type read-through like we did with 1Q84 if anyone would like to join us. don't forget to support your local library if you don't feel like buying a copy!

This one is much shorter than 1Q84 at 195 pages (in the paperback edition from Vintage). It was published in 2005 and was the winner of the Man Booker prize. From the blurb on the back:

"In this luminous new novel about love, loss, and the unpredictable power of memory, John Banville introduces us to Max Morden, a middle-aged Irishman who has gone back to the seaside town where he spent his summer holidays as a child to cope with the recent loss of his wife. It is also a return to the place where he met the Graces, the well-heeled family with whom he experienced the strange suddenness of both love and death for the first time. What Max comes to understand about the past, and about its indelible effects on him, is at the center of this elegiac, gorgeously written novel - among the finest we have had from this masterful writer."

« Last Edit: June 07, 2015, 03:57:55 PM by techwizard » Logged
nupoile
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« Reply #1 on: June 07, 2015, 06:48:02 PM »

I would certainly be up for reading along with the RFG Bookclub. I only seem to have time for audio books nowadays though, and The Sea is not one that my library has.

Most of the time you guys bring up books, I check to see if the library has them, ours has a pretty good selection of audio books.
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GrayGhost81
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« Reply #2 on: June 07, 2015, 08:57:05 PM »

Putting together another Amazon order of Godzilla Blu-Rays, food, and cheap books. Will probably have a copy by the end of the week.
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techwizard
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« Reply #3 on: June 14, 2015, 12:29:56 AM »

Started the first two pages of this, it's beautifully written. I'm hoping to put more time into it soon but I don't want to jump in too deep before GrayGhost's copy shows up.
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GrayGhost81
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« Reply #4 on: June 14, 2015, 08:10:04 AM »

Thanks, I actually got my copy in the mail a few days ago but haven't had a chance to start it yet. I'd like to get going on it today but it's my wife's birthday so she's the star today. Worst case is I'll start it tomorrow morning. Looking forward to something shorter after the tome that was 1Q84.
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techwizard
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« Reply #5 on: June 14, 2015, 10:40:07 AM »

Thanks, I actually got my copy in the mail a few days ago but haven't had a chance to start it yet. I'd like to get going on it today but it's my wife's birthday so she's the star today. Worst case is I'll start it tomorrow morning. Looking forward to something shorter after the tome that was 1Q84.

no rush Smiley I'll probably put some more time into it today then, I shouldn't be too far ahead after only a day's head start.
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techwizard
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« Reply #6 on: June 14, 2015, 05:14:51 PM »

20 pages in, loving it so far. i'm trying to use page markers like these:

to mark off any quotes i like or passages that seem important. in the first 20 pages i've already used 7 of them and could probably have used more if i didn't try to limit myself a bit.

i'm getting such a strong resemblance to Dear Esther from this book. It has a surreal quality to it, describing a man's experience in this small seaside town at various stages of life and death. i have no idea what the plot is yet as there has only been one or two significant events described which so far seem unconnected. all i know is that i love the way this is written and look forward to more.

Quote
I walk down Station Road in the sunlit emptiness of afternoon. The beach at the foot of the hill was a fawn shimmer under indigo. At the seaside all is narrow horizontals, the world reduced to a few long straight lines pressed between earth and sky.

edit: 30 pages in now, went back to the beginning to skim over these first 30 pages with google at hand. There are a lot of words and references here that i don't know, but also quite a few that i do know so it's not too hard to follow. i definitely recommend having a dictionary or google handy though.
« Last Edit: June 14, 2015, 08:31:40 PM by techwizard » Logged
GrayGhost81
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« Reply #7 on: June 17, 2015, 07:19:59 PM »

edit: 30 pages in now, went back to the beginning to skim over these first 30 pages with google at hand. There are a lot of words and references here that i don't know, but also quite a few that i do know so it's not too hard to follow. i definitely recommend having a dictionary or google handy though.

I am also enjoying the book, but I wouldn't be able to tell you what's going on. I think I might just start over this weekend. I've been reading it in too much of a disjointed way.
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techwizard
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« Reply #8 on: June 17, 2015, 07:35:40 PM »

edit: 30 pages in now, went back to the beginning to skim over these first 30 pages with google at hand. There are a lot of words and references here that i don't know, but also quite a few that i do know so it's not too hard to follow. i definitely recommend having a dictionary or google handy though.

I am also enjoying the book, but I wouldn't be able to tell you what's going on. I think I might just start over this weekend. I've been reading it in too much of a disjointed way.

i feel sort of the same, so far i'm not minding the lack of plot though as the writing is so well done. i've had multiple times where i re-read whole paragraphs because i didn't feel like i quite understood it. i don't think i'll restart right now, but i probably will read it a second time after finishing it once, assuming i continue to like it through to the end.

edit: about 80 pages in now, this book is very depressing but i can't get enough of it.
« Last Edit: June 17, 2015, 10:04:34 PM by techwizard » Logged
techwizard
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« Reply #9 on: June 20, 2015, 05:34:59 PM »

120 pages in, so far i feel strongly that the main theme of this book is:
Spoiler (hover to show)
« Last Edit: June 20, 2015, 05:36:32 PM by techwizard » Logged
techwizard
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« Reply #10 on: June 21, 2015, 10:31:04 PM »

finished! i really enjoyed that, though it was depressing through and through. many great passages though, lots to think about. i went a little nuts with the markers, see pics below.


* DSC03981.JPG (441.39 KB, 776x1024 - viewed 338 times.)

* DSC03983.JPG (137.58 KB, 402x1024 - viewed 242 times.)
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GrayGhost81
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« Reply #11 on: June 22, 2015, 07:10:07 AM »

Nice job man. I really haven't had a chance to get back into it, but I'm going to either devote an entire evening or a Saturday to carefully going through it like you did. I'm glad you enjoyed it.
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