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PaperclipPerfector  3mo ago (text post)   3641 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for January 14, 2024

Do you have a dumb question that you're kind of embarrassed to ask in the main thread? Is there something you're just not sure about?

This is your opportunity to ask questions. No question too simple or too silly.

Culture war topics are accepted, and proposals for a better intro post are appreciated.

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So, what are you reading?

Still on The Master and his Emissary. Not much progress.

I finished up Beloved, which I thought was an astonishing work of literature. The main theme is about how slavery obliterates everything it comes into contact with, and specifically, the identity of the enslaved.

It’s a strange, metaphorical book. There is so much that is open to interpretation that a reader could spend hours thinking about the books true meaning. I see now why it was so popular in high school English classes; it’s an endless ocean for critique and analysis.

I’m onto King Rat by James Clavell. I tried reading Shogun a couple years ago, got about 50% of the way through it, and gave up. I found the plot very slow and the tendency of the Japanese to commit sepuku at the drop of a hat off-putting. King Rat seems much tighter and more interesting so far.

Did you ever finish Monte Cristo?

King Rat is fantastic. Btw, flight lieutenant = captain in the UK, which clarifies some of the dynamics in the story.

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