Prague by Arthur Phillips C/D

Pay particular attention to the character of Mark: his obsession with nostalgia makes him, in my opinion, one of the greatest, most memorable modern literary characters.

Hmmm.

The coolest thing? I met Arthur Phillips, and he's not pretentious at all. I think he did a great job of writing characters who embody the spirit of that time, without making it about his experience any more than was necessary (he actually admitted when asked that he had written himself into the book: as a saxophonist playing in a jazz club in a very fleeting scene). He's very much poking fun at these people and this time, while still making it feel nostalgic for those who were "there."

The only thing I was really mad about was that he wrote this book before I did.

Ooooo I could go on and on, but I'll stop. Read it if you want to...

I'm not sure that I've actually participated in a non-college-related book group, should be interesting!

Haven't read the book though.

I'm enjoying it so far. I don't find the characters sympathetic at all, but I'm trying to tell myself that shouldn't be a requirement anyway.

Huh, I'm surprised that he came out with a new novel (Angelica) and I didn't hear anything about it. Looks interesting?

(I liked Prague and kind of loved the Egyptologist, btw)

(I liked Prague and kind of loved the Egyptologist, btw)

I felt the same way(wasn't Egyptologist terrific?) and the new book surprised me also...I think it's gotten very favorable reviews but while I thought it was technically very good, I didn't really connect with it. It is somewhat cold and clinical feeling.

Hmmm, I spent five years in Prague wondering if I shouldn't be somewhere further East or if I didn't come too late. I know I should read this but I suspect it'll be a little too familiar.

I remember when this came out in Prague, pretty much the talk of the (expat) town, everybdoy patting each other on the back for being where it was at.

Angelica is so good.

you liked? i was about to pick that up the other day

Yeah, best fiction I've read in awhile.

"The Song Is You"

Julian Donahue is in love with his iPod.

Each song that shuffles through "this greatest of all human inventions" triggers a memory—there are songs for the girls from when he was single; there’s the one for the day he met his wife-to-be, and another for the day his son was born. But when his family falls apart, even music loses its hold on him, and he has nothing.

Until one snowy night in Brooklyn, when his life’s soundtrack—and life itself—starts to play again. He stumbles into a bar and sees Cait O’Dwyer, a flame haired Irish rock singer performing with her band, and a strange and unlikely love affair is ignited.

Over the next few months, their passion for music and each other is played out, though they never meet. In cryptic e-mails, text messages, cellphone videos, and lyrics posted on Cait’s website, they find something in their bizarre friendship that they cannot find anywhere else. Cait’s star is on the rise, and Julian gently guides her along her path to fame—but always from a distance—and she responds to the one voice who understands her, more than a fan, but still less than a lover.

As their feelings grow more feverish, keeping a safe distance becomes impossible. What follows is a love story and a uniquely heart-breaking dark comedy about obsession and loss.

The Song Is You is a closely observed tale of love in the digital age that blurs the line between the longing for intimacy and the longing for oblivion.

oh man, i've liked all his other books but this sounds terrible.

wow wtf

http://www.avclub.com/articles/the-song-is-you,26259/

good review at the av club, but i still don't know if i can make it past the premise.

it got a good review in the NYT book review, by another author, not some "professional" reviewer

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/12/books/review/Christensen-t.html?ref=review

just read the egyptologist and angelica, need to add prague and (i guess) this new one to my library hold list

xp wau im a big fan of kate christensen too (nyt reviewer). her liking it is enough for me to hit my library 4 this

i haven't read any kate christensen but i'll check her out.

that review does put some of my fears to rest but i'd almost rather read a musician's review of this than an author's, you know?

fiction about music is usually pretty iffy, i agree, but the NYT review sounds promising

got abt 40 pgs into this yesterday and im diggin it.

Julian Donahue is in love with his iPod.

just seein ^this^ again on the inside flap tho made me want to close it immediately

finished it tonight. honestly, it was great and i agree w/ the nyt review wholeheartedly.

huh just finished the song is you and found it pretty disappointing, though the problem wasn't so much the writing but that i wasn't really interested in the story and didn't understand the characters (particularly the main female character). some of the music stuff was decently done, especially the song lyrics and the more cynical stuff about audiences and band relationships. but there was a fair amount of embarrassing music stuff too, like terrible joke band names and a lot of really overromanticized stuff about performance (though this fits in with the overall tone of the book).

actually the writing was a lot more ornate than his other books too. the egyptologist is still my fave

yea tbqh i would still rate them something like:

egyptologist>>>prague>tsiy>>>>>>>>>>angelica

tho i like them all.

i think the song is you is a bit of a fantasy incorporating nice concepts abt obsession & playfulness juxtoposed against idk social norms and being a stalker that i really dug. did not really feel the character of the brother and the 'incident' but the main f and main m both worked for me.

basically the nyt review nailed how i feel more eloquently than i ever could which i why i just cited to that again

dude has an interesting article in the newest issue of the believer (the music issue) about the pitfalls of writing about music. it's short enough that you can read it in the bookstore without buying the mag.

oh it's also right here:
http://www.believermag.com/issues/200907/?read=article_phillips

i liked prague, definitely a lighter read than i usually go for. i kinda forgot about it tho, sounds like i should check some of these other titles out.

i'm enjoying 'the song is you' so far, despite my misgivings.

new one sounds pretty entertaining:
http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9781400066476

i guess they're not playing marketing games with it anymore

guess i put this on a shakespeare thread instead of here:

http://vimeo.com/17116790

i'm guessing arthur phillips is playing games here, and his next book is going to be fakespeare?

― bows don't kill people, arrows do (Jordan), Monday, January 3, 2011 3:30 PM (1 month ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

oh i didn't see that. also can't watch it right now.

it's relatively amazing to me how phillips can regularly pick topics/genres that i would otherwise never seek out & yet i enjoy them.

memoir & coming-of-age mixed w/ fakespeare? ugh right, but im 100+ pgs in and into it

suddenly just remembered this guy and wondered where he's been ... 7 years since his last book

Afaik he's been writing for tv (like that Bloodline show), and working on adaptations of his novels for Hollywood, ie making that real money.

i kind of forgot about arthur phillips but i was looking for something to read and apparently he published a new novel in february - "the king at the edge of the world." gonna check it out.

huh, report back!

I loved it, my fave new novel in awhile.

yeah "the king at the edge of the world" was very good. best "literary fiction" i've read in a long while.

Glad you enjoyed it!

After finishing The King at the Edge of the World I thought I could stand to read some more by this guy, I guess I'll pick up The Egyptologist next.