Himbeergeist
Buck Fuck Bus
It was mainly coincidence that I went to a reading last night by Keith Gessen.
His name did ring a bell but I don’t think I have ever read one of his essays. He read well, he was often funny and I could concentrate on what he was reading, which is a good sign because during readings I tend to doze off.
What surprised me was that Keith Gessen put some emphasis on internet-porn during his reading and Q&A. Maybe I missed the irony but I thought that internet-porn was an old story that stopped being titillating somewhere in 2000. (Maybe not the images itself but at least the imminent availability of these images, and the grotesque names for the sites, as in Gessen’s novel: the Buck Fuck Bus, all that became as exciting as the Plaboy.)
I still have a book here called “Pornified” about the influence of porn on our daily lives. I never finished the book and from time to time I hide it. I don’t want the cleaning lady to get wrong ideas about me.
After Keith Gessen’s reading a friend of mine and I went to Blaue Gans where I drank too many Himbeergeist.
At 7 am I woke up this morning, but at 9 am I went back to bed again. The whiskey-hangover is the worst, but the Himbeergeist-hangover deserves a second place.
@Jan
Dancing Dwarfs (forgive me not typing that long word), is that a reference to Murakami?A poet-friend of mine once wrote a poet with the dashing title "Pornocracy" (in Dutch: Pornocratie) Long live porn. What would we hide if there wasn't any.
Internet-porn
Oh, you must take a peek at YOU TUBE, for they have rather nice clips about girls kissing each other. Tantalizing stuff, no shit. Really believe you're mistaken bigtime, Arnon: porn is bigger and better then ever on the Internet.So why so shy for that cleaninggirl, for this world awash with all sorts of filth:. Why should you, the man, the man paying the cleaning girl, the rich man paying the poor cleaninggirl, hide some textbook about porn? It is not as if you purpously place some Private-mags around your appartment.
By the way, do you know what that Saint Nicolausfellow (Santa Claus) was really all about? He was all about protecting little cleaning girls from stepping into the twilightzone we call prostitution ( porn in the flesh in the old Myra-days).
Sheers! ( not today, hangover and all;)
(Unfortunately I never read a book by Murakami, he seems to be an interesting writer. Which book of him do you refer too?)
No, I was simply recalling some old memories of mine about King Alcohol.
Thanks, I will try that book first. I like short stories.
@ Jan
Jan, Dens is right to recommend Murakami - if I can judge your nature by now, you'll love it. However, my advice would be - read Norwegian Wood first! His work is an acquired taste, if you read his short stories first you may be wondering what the big deal is. Norwegian Wood eases your way in and once you're in: you're hooked. Also, I recommend a documentary 'Dinner with Murakami' (director: Yan Ting Yuen).Thank you too. I will see what I can get.
Murakami
Haruki Murakami, like Arnon Grunberg, is for the advanced reader.Everyone has his or her favourite, Dens.
Your advice is sound and so is Noa 's, though I would recommend 'the Windup Bird Chronicles'. Weird story and characters
Enjoy !
@Ybe
I don't think Murakami is for the advanced reader at all. What made you conclude this? Acquired taste is different than advanced reader...If you see Dinner with Murakami, you'll see Japanese schoolkids reading his work on a rooftop (choosing to do so, not because they have to - for long his work was not accepted by 'the literary establishment' and therefore not taught in schools) and finding it equally as interesting as a sheep-farmer, even readers all over the world. I would actually argue the opposite. Murakami has almost become pop-culture. And he loves his spaghetti ;)
ps Jan
If you'll be reading in Dutch, try to buy the translations by Elbrich Fennema, she translated directly from his Japanese (and not from English) and the way she did so came across as very sensitive.Thanks again, indeed translations can be tricky. As Norwegian Wood was one of my favorite Beatles songs, I will try that book.
