Woah ! Never thought I’ll see Léon Bloy in a foreign channel ! Even here, in France, he’s forgotten and forsaken by the educational system so it’s great seeing him there !
I'm currently ploughing through Melmoth the Wanderer and Dracula. I especially like Melmoth the Wanderer, real creepy vibes. Reminds me of The Monk by Matthew Lewis, that was a fantastic read as well.
I read ‘The Woman Who Was Poor” before I was 20. I was tender and innocent. I didn’t even know any bad words. (Yes, that was possible. The source of bad words was men and not even my brother used bad words in front of me.) I mention this only to point out there was nothing in the book to offend or confuse me. It’s effect was to cause me to want to be a saint. Doesn’t sound like the same guy, does it? Maybe it was the effect of his conversion.
I’m not reading anything particular FOR Halloween (meant to but my school work had other plans) but I am reading the Richard Ellman biography of James Joyce and Tropic of Cancer by Henry Miller. Just read Disgrace on your recommendation too and it was excellent thank you!
Currently working my way through the aleph and other stories by Borges (magnificent on a level I did not think possible) and The Moors Last Sigh by salman Rushdie(a very fantastical tale of crooked spice merchants in Cochin narrated by a monstrous man who ages at twice the rate of normal human , really twisted and entertaining read so far.) Ps thanks for introducing 16 year old me to such great authors like Borges, calvino, Mishima etc . Keeps up the good work .
I got this Bloy volume in my last big haul, it's pretty sweet, but i'm filling my time with other stuff for the time being, lots of free kindle horror anthologies, plus a couple gloriously thick tomes of Lovecraft and Poe. Happy Halloween!
For Halloween I've mostly been reading Poe, Lovecraft, and Ligotti stories (and re-listening to Current 93's Very Special Plan reading), but also The Vaults of Yoh Vombis by Clark Ashton Smith, The Possibility of Evil by Shirley Jackson, An Occurence at Owl Creek Bridge by Ambrose Bierce, and re-reading The White People by Arthur Machen. For poetry, I've been binging Crowley and Yeats. Not sure who all here is familiar with the history between those two, but it's wild.
Stumbled across your channel cos I was reading an interview with Deathspell Omega who was talking about Bloy and I have no idea what the hell they’re talking about lol. You mentioned Sade and the only reason I know him is cos of the movie Salo. And DSO mentioned Sade so it looks like I’m on the right track in discovering what these authors are even talking about lol
this is definitely the universe telling me something. I bought this about 3 months ago and keep looking at it judging me, unread, sitting on my bookshelf.
More to be discovered! Indeed, Wakefield published another Bloy volume (by the same translator) called "Sweating Blood." Thanks for this review--loved the "projectile vomiting" description of Bloy's output.
Come Halloween i should be finishing up Yukio Mishima's Spring Snow. So far it's pretty good and interesting. Mishima is a real character i wouldn't have known about without Cliff's recommendation. Much love keep up the good work
You have to understand true Catholicism to understand that hatred is necessary and good. Truly loving the good means that you must hate all that opposes it. Christianity stands apart from the world.
If you plan to read Barbey, I'd recommend "l'Ensorcelée" to start with. About Bloy and Barbey, I read that the latter found Bloy s friendship and extremism a little bit embarrassing at times. He found him a bit too serious
Just read The Lost Writings by Franz Kafka! They're random scribblings he did. Some of them are only 4 or 5 sentences but they are more impactful than most novels!
A few books on the go at the moment. For halloween just started re-reading Red Dragon. Also currently slowly making my way through Tinker, Soldier, Tailor, Spy after recently picking up the latest (and posthumous) John Le Carre book Silverview. And last, but not least, also made a start today on The Letters of Shirley Jackson. Getting into published diaries and letters of late after I recently finished the late hollywood icon Richard Burton's Diaries. I read them after attending an excellent exhibition on Burton at the National Museum Cardiff, Wales.That exhibition is now closed sadly but it was very enlightening and the recreation of some of the books from his extensive personal library in Switzerland was particularly fascinating.
I took your suggestion for Against Nature by Huysmans. I've been reading that, and I am developing an intense interest in these decadent French writers. To tell you the truth, I cant quite put my finger on why this novel holds my attention. Nothing really happens for a while. The protagonist isnt particularly likable. But it is the writing, I think. Beautiful prose. Maybe that's it. I dont really know. I looked at the Wikipedia page for French Decadence and I was intrigued by this concept as it was explained. Why? I was also reading Marcuse's One Dimensional Man last night. It and reading the aforementioned Wikipedia page are turning in my mind in a weird stew that is just the kind of thing that tastes better when left in the fridge a while like good chili. But, of course, even better than food. Nothing like some mental nourishment with a little spice to really bring out the flavor. Happy Thanksgiving!
Bourgeois decadent Yosemite Sam?! And, you're going to miss this place? Where are the 2 of you moving to next? Diary of a Mad Old Man is what we're reading now. The Ipcress File next as well as a host of nyrb noir thrillers.
After finishing the Metamorphosis I decided I needed a break from depressing and isolating books. Just finished War of the Worlds and now halfway through Their Eyes Were Watching God. Generally not interested in love stories but it’s more a story about empowerment plus the writing is great
Just been reading Richard Powers Bewilderment, Colm Toibin's The Magician, Toni Morrison's Song of Solomon and currently reading Damon Galgut's The Promise. Going to read Thomas Ligotti's Songs of the Dead Dreamer and Grimscribe for Halloween.
I've read some of the stories in Disagreeable Tales but have now stopped due to boredom. I had very high hopes of Bloy and as an experienced reader of decadent literature I was expecting work of the highest calibre. Sadly, these stories didn't work for me. That old twist in the tale formula soon becomes pretty tedious to say the least.
Reading Ulysses, and gonna head into Nabokov after that. I did pick up The Elementary Particles based on your review and have added it to the list. Gonna give Against the Day another try sometime early next year. (couldn't get into it the first time) Happy Halloween!
I love how much obscure literature you review that I know and love (mostly Latin American stuff), I bought Disagreeable Tales at a book store in Salt Lake City years ago knowing nothing about it, and fell in love. Currently reading “Sacrificios Humanos” by María Fernanda Ampuero, a contemporary Ecuadorian writer who writes transgressive stories that scare the hell out of me.
I'm currently reading Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House and plan to read Colson Whitehead's Zone One and Toni Morrison's Beloved to round it all out. My spooky reads.
i just read Another kind of Eden by James Lee Burke, one of my favorite authors. A scary, at times confusing, always deeply interesting story, i'd love to know what others think of it. I feel Burke has taken a bit of a turn lately, he was always into the supernatural, the battle between good and evil, but lately something else going on, I struggle to name it, more "out there".
Bloy had his moments of greatness as Huysmans (a lot more) and Barbey d'Aurevilly.. but there are all seen as right wing nowadays.. I mean all this resentment, so much frustration, so conservative.. So I suggest you to check the "other side", from the same era : The Thief by Georges Darien, an author Jarry loved as well (always a good compass), a true anarchist, which is kind of rare and it just tastes like pure freedom still in the most refined way.
I would love to read the book you said "please read now" but I have no idea what you said or how to spell it. Being a nerwe This is what I put in my DuckDuckGo- Maldovar entromene izamore dukosnon I'm pretty sure that's not right.
Big thanks to Ridge for sending me this wallet and supporting the channel! Here’s the site if you want to check them out! > ridge.com/BETTERTHANFOOD
Just finished "By Night In Chile" by Bolaño, friggin' amazing.
He's my favorite writer.
Woah ! Never thought I’ll see Léon Bloy in a foreign channel ! Even here, in France, he’s forgotten and forsaken by the educational system so it’s great seeing him there !
I'm currently ploughing through Melmoth the Wanderer and Dracula. I especially like Melmoth the Wanderer, real creepy vibes. Reminds me of The Monk by Matthew Lewis, that was a fantastic read as well.
Melmoth the Wanderer is fantastic if you can make your way through it. It’s so dense
I read ‘The Woman Who Was Poor” before I was 20. I was tender and innocent. I didn’t even know any bad words. (Yes, that was possible. The source of bad words was men and not even my brother used bad words in front of me.) I mention this only to point out there was nothing in the book to offend or confuse me. It’s effect was to cause me to want to be a saint. Doesn’t sound like the same guy, does it? Maybe it was the effect of his conversion.
I’m not reading anything particular FOR Halloween (meant to but my school work had other plans) but I am reading the Richard Ellman biography of James Joyce and Tropic of Cancer by Henry Miller. Just read Disgrace on your recommendation too and it was excellent thank you!
Just feeling joyful and blissful everytime i listen to your monologes! Love your Videos and the Books you kindly review for us.
Thank you!
Currently working my way through the aleph and other stories by Borges (magnificent on a level I did not think possible) and The Moors Last Sigh by salman Rushdie(a very fantastical tale of crooked spice merchants in Cochin narrated by a monstrous man who ages at twice the rate of normal human , really twisted and entertaining read so far.)
Ps thanks for introducing 16 year old me to such great authors like Borges, calvino, Mishima etc . Keeps up the good work .
I got this Bloy volume in my last big haul, it's pretty sweet, but i'm filling my time with other stuff for the time being, lots of free kindle horror anthologies, plus a couple gloriously thick tomes of Lovecraft and Poe. Happy Halloween!
For Halloween I've mostly been reading Poe, Lovecraft, and Ligotti stories (and re-listening to Current 93's Very Special Plan reading), but also The Vaults of Yoh Vombis by Clark Ashton Smith, The Possibility of Evil by Shirley Jackson, An Occurence at Owl Creek Bridge by Ambrose Bierce, and re-reading The White People by Arthur Machen. For poetry, I've been binging Crowley and Yeats. Not sure who all here is familiar with the history between those two, but it's wild.
Stumbled across your channel cos I was reading an interview with Deathspell Omega who was talking about Bloy and I have no idea what the hell they’re talking about lol. You mentioned Sade and the only reason I know him is cos of the movie Salo. And DSO mentioned Sade so it looks like I’m on the right track in discovering what these authors are even talking about lol
My Halloween read: "The Memory Police" by Yoko Ogawa.
Quiet, surreal, mournful and disturbing but like in a all too realistic kind of way.
this is definitely the universe telling me something. I bought this about 3 months ago and keep looking at it judging me, unread, sitting on my bookshelf.
More to be discovered! Indeed, Wakefield published another Bloy volume (by the same translator) called "Sweating Blood." Thanks for this review--loved the "projectile vomiting" description of Bloy's output.
Come Halloween i should be finishing up Yukio Mishima's Spring Snow. So far it's pretty good and interesting. Mishima is a real character i wouldn't have known about without Cliff's recommendation. Much love keep up the good work
You have to understand true Catholicism to understand that hatred is necessary and good. Truly loving the good means that you must hate all that opposes it. Christianity stands apart from the world.
I recently finished The Houseguest earlier this month, and am now working my way through Unclay by T.F. Powys. Great, bleak read for the fall season!
Reading Thomas Ligotti’s Songs Of A Dead Dreamer. It’s pretty good so far, also reading Suttree.
I'm reading Mario Vargas Llosa's The War of the End of the World. Amazing book!
If you plan to read Barbey, I'd recommend "l'Ensorcelée" to start with.
About Bloy and Barbey, I read that the latter found Bloy s friendship and extremism a little bit embarrassing at times. He found him a bit too serious
Not really for Halloween but I'm reading Luis Bunuel's memoir My Last Sigh. Love your channel!
Just read The Lost Writings by Franz Kafka! They're random scribblings he did. Some of them are only 4 or 5 sentences but they are more impactful than most novels!
Bloy in old age looked like the Lorax.
A few books on the go at the moment. For halloween just started re-reading Red Dragon. Also currently slowly making my way through Tinker, Soldier, Tailor, Spy after recently picking up the latest (and posthumous) John Le Carre book Silverview. And last, but not least, also made a start today on The Letters of Shirley Jackson. Getting into published diaries and letters of late after I recently finished the late hollywood icon Richard Burton's Diaries. I read them after attending an excellent exhibition on Burton at the National Museum Cardiff, Wales.That exhibition is now closed sadly but it was very enlightening and the recreation of some of the books from his extensive personal library in Switzerland was particularly fascinating.
I'm Reading Tolstoy's 'Childhood, Boyhood, Youth'; a heralding start to uncovering the great Russian's delectable fount of literary supremacy.
I took your suggestion for Against Nature by Huysmans. I've been reading that, and I am developing an intense interest in these decadent French writers. To tell you the truth, I cant quite put my finger on why this novel holds my attention. Nothing really happens for a while. The protagonist isnt particularly likable. But it is the writing, I think. Beautiful prose. Maybe that's it. I dont really know. I looked at the Wikipedia page for French Decadence and I was intrigued by this concept as it was explained. Why? I was also reading Marcuse's One Dimensional Man last night. It and reading the aforementioned Wikipedia page are turning in my mind in a weird stew that is just the kind of thing that tastes better when left in the fridge a while like good chili. But, of course, even better than food. Nothing like some mental nourishment with a little spice to really bring out the flavor. Happy Thanksgiving!
Bourgeois decadent Yosemite Sam?! And, you're going to miss this place? Where are the 2 of you moving to next? Diary of a Mad Old Man is what we're reading now. The Ipcress File next as well as a host of nyrb noir thrillers.
wow that book is gorgeous! Have never read Bloy but adding to my list!
After finishing the Metamorphosis I decided I needed a break from depressing and isolating books. Just finished War of the Worlds and now halfway through Their Eyes Were Watching God. Generally not interested in love stories but it’s more a story about empowerment plus the writing is great
Just been reading Richard Powers Bewilderment, Colm Toibin's The Magician, Toni Morrison's Song of Solomon and currently reading Damon Galgut's The Promise. Going to read Thomas Ligotti's Songs of the Dead Dreamer and Grimscribe for Halloween.
I've read some of the stories in Disagreeable Tales but have now stopped due to boredom. I had very high hopes of Bloy and as an experienced reader of decadent literature I was expecting work of the highest calibre. Sadly, these stories didn't work for me. That old twist in the tale formula soon becomes pretty tedious to say the least.
L-F Céline, Jean Genet are the heirs of Bloy. Venom, rage, hatred, abusive parasitism...what a perfect christian he was.
I highly advise the other Bloy collection published by Wakefield Press, "Sweating Blood". It's even grimmer and nastier.
I don't know how you can translate Bloy in English. He has a unique way of using French dark metaphores.
Currently reading The Morning Star by Karl Ove Knausgaard. Just like with My Struggle, there is something hypnotizing about his writer's voice.
Reading Ulysses, and gonna head into Nabokov after that. I did pick up The Elementary Particles based on your review and have added it to the list. Gonna give Against the Day another try sometime early next year. (couldn't get into it the first time) Happy Halloween!
I love how much obscure literature you review that I know and love (mostly Latin American stuff), I bought Disagreeable Tales at a book store in Salt Lake City years ago knowing nothing about it, and fell in love.
Currently reading “Sacrificios Humanos” by María Fernanda Ampuero, a contemporary Ecuadorian writer who writes transgressive stories that scare the hell out of me.
I was drawn to Bloy after studying Jacques and Raissa Maritain and now I can't get enough of him!
Impressive restraint resisting the urge almost instantly to go off on a Bowie tangent.
I am currently reading Mark Z. Danielewski's House of Leaves. What an absolute mindfuck of a book. I have never been more scared of dark hallways.
Wakefield Press is near where I live!
I'm currently reading Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House and plan to read Colson Whitehead's Zone One and Toni Morrison's Beloved to round it all out. My spooky reads.
i just read Another kind of Eden by James Lee Burke, one of my favorite authors. A scary, at times confusing, always deeply interesting story, i'd love to know what others think of it. I feel Burke has taken a bit of a turn lately, he was always into the supernatural, the battle between good and evil, but lately something else going on, I struggle to name it, more "out there".
Been watching a lot of your videos, including this one. Are you on Goodreads?
Crime and Punishment. I quit the first time I read it, but now I think it’s one of the very best ever written.
The Secret History by Donna Tartt - perfect for autumn and Halloween season
Time for me to read "The saga of Gösta Berling" by Lagerlöf😀
Bloy had his moments of greatness as Huysmans (a lot more) and Barbey d'Aurevilly.. but there are all seen as right wing nowadays.. I mean all this resentment, so much frustration, so conservative.. So I suggest you to check the "other side", from the same era : The Thief by Georges Darien, an author Jarry loved as well (always a good compass), a true anarchist, which is kind of rare and it just tastes like pure freedom still in the most refined way.
He is the french Rorschach from _Watchmen_
I'm reading Dune. Did you know that Paul Atreides was originally supposed to be black?
I find nothing Disagreeable about Leon Bloy.....I like your book collection, i have many of same books...
been going through and loving Susan Sontag's Against Interpretation
I would love to read the book you said "please read now" but I have no idea what you said or how to spell it. Being a nerwe
This is what I put in my DuckDuckGo- Maldovar entromene izamore dukosnon
I'm pretty sure that's not right.
Thank's future me.
You might be referring to Les Chants de Maldoror by Isidore Lucien Ducasse (a.k.a. the Comte de Lautréamont). Hope that helped you.
I wonder what you think about the stranger by Albert Camus
Great work on this!
Just started City of God.
Do you know Septentrion de Louis Calaferte ?
Dark, "exceptional taste". Excellent recommendation.
reading the making of a story by alice laplante
Great review. The kind of review he and his work deserve. For further insight, I highly recommend David Bentley Hart's piece on Bloy.
French, decadent, Yosemite Sam. Brilliant! 👍🏻
Reading It by Stephen King for Halloween
Fear and loathing in America, HST
"the good old fashion thing..." lol
So we're going to get a Frankenstein review on Halloween right? :)
Can you tell me the original title in french?
Histoires désobligeantes
@@joanvega2177
Merci!
This author might be too much for me to stomach but super entertaining review nonetheless
Deranged, deep dark humour? Sign me up!
Morning.
Morning!
Léon Blaaa
"C'mon man!" Joe Biden / Better than Food
You get all that from reading one book from Bloy? you have no idea what you're talking about
You're eating your words, speak clearly!!!!!