tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post1098692097734588204..comments2024-03-28T09:33:29.705+00:00Comments on Clothes In Books: House of Names by Colm ToibinClothes In Bookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14680610242823846662noreply@blogger.comBlogger21125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-90778002931893869012017-06-26T22:42:31.506+01:002017-06-26T22:42:31.506+01:00You are certainly doing a good job convincing me. ...You are certainly doing a good job convincing me. Not a huge Doctor Who fan, but when I did watch I always preferred historical stories to aliens. Clothes In Bookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14680610242823846662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-48019713470998516002017-06-24T07:31:52.828+01:002017-06-24T07:31:52.828+01:00I think that you'd probably like THE MYTH MAKE...I think that you'd probably like THE MYTH MAKERS. Cotton also wrote novelisations for THE ROMANS, where Tacitus must decide whether or not to include some documents containing The Doctor and his friends in his history of Rome (specifically the bit about Nero and the Fire). Cotton also did THE GUNFIGHTERS, with Doc Holiday narrating the story of the Tardis crew's misadventures at the Gunfight at the OK Corralto the doubting journalist Ned Buntline. Some of the more root-faced fans of the show have a Love/Hate relationship with the books because they think that the books should be grimly serious adaptions of the episodes in question rather than the laugh riots that they are. I recommend them all highly.<br /><br />ggaryAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-86797980721748348082017-06-23T11:59:18.331+01:002017-06-23T11:59:18.331+01:00Now actually - NO! Netball was the one sport I was...Now actually - NO! Netball was the one sport I was good at (my mother was a top player in her day, I may have inherited...) But I can say I was beyond terrible at tennis. And as an adult when occasionally someone would suggest a game, I would say 'I'm really bad', and you know how everyone says 'oh us too, we're not serious players etc etc'. And after I had been persuaded to join in they would say 'Oh, yes, you ARE really bad.'<br />And I can barely swim, it was such a relief when my children could swim well enough for me not to have to worry about rescuing them, and also to think perhaps they can rescue me. Clothes In Bookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14680610242823846662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-8066628288946347752017-06-23T11:49:24.094+01:002017-06-23T11:49:24.094+01:00And were you also among the last to pick for the n...And were you also among the last to pick for the netball teams? I have to know!Christinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16510409974009816550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-12624573898171579102017-06-23T11:44:47.907+01:002017-06-23T11:44:47.907+01:00Prashant, I think you would - the sweeping story, ...Prashant, I think you would - the sweeping story, the heroics and the cruelty - it's not everyone's cup of tea, but if you like the sound of it you will probably like the book. Clothes In Bookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14680610242823846662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-409173486639014802017-06-23T11:43:37.972+01:002017-06-23T11:43:37.972+01:00You can safely live without - I read it so you don...You can safely live without - I read it so you don't have to...Clothes In Bookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14680610242823846662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-5352139939098844882017-06-23T11:42:58.428+01:002017-06-23T11:42:58.428+01:00Oh yes exactly, that's so true! Perfect analog...Oh yes exactly, that's so true! Perfect analogy with YA. Who WILL take Helen to the Prom?<br />And I can't believe someone is recommending Doctor Who book adaptations for the second time in a week! Daniel spoke of one as his 'only good book' in the Verdict of Us All post - and the author of the book came in to comment too, taking it in all in good part. (Daniel was talking about the series being by different people, and this one author he preferred to avoid). I have ordered that one to read. Do I need to look these up too....? I do like the bits you quote.Clothes In Bookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14680610242823846662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-53842821856754678762017-06-23T11:38:05.726+01:002017-06-23T11:38:05.726+01:00I so wish I could sing, its the one talent I would...I so wish I could sing, its the one talent I would love to have, though am completely lacking. I was told to mouth the words at group singing events at school so as not to put off the others.<br />And yes, Chrissie, that's how I feel too, though I know others feel quite differently. Clothes In Bookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14680610242823846662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-43438282660062583122017-06-22T21:07:55.404+01:002017-06-22T21:07:55.404+01:00For me there was a kind of flatness about Brooklyn...For me there was a kind of flatness about Brooklyn and Nora Webster, as if they were emotionally underpowered somehow.<br />Sadly I cannot sing at all either. Christinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16510409974009816550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-53269580482533287022017-06-22T17:47:36.704+01:002017-06-22T17:47:36.704+01:00Moira, with that first line I'd have been suck...Moira, with that first line I'd have been sucked into this book as well. I think I'd like this one.Prashant C. Trikannadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16079354501998741758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-19702799014656427632017-06-21T23:11:51.318+01:002017-06-21T23:11:51.318+01:00I am with Col, I can avoid this one. No temptation...I am with Col, I can avoid this one. No temptation here. But I am not surprised that you liked it.TracyKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08303342674824383688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-82610965432483323182017-06-21T21:15:26.844+01:002017-06-21T21:15:26.844+01:00There are times when I think that the best sort of...There are times when I think that the best sort of book to tell these ancient stories in would be a YA novel. These classic characters do come across as very adolescent at times. "This is the END! I will never forgive you EVER! I'm going to hate you forever and ever and ever and EVER!!! I'm just going to sit here and SULK from now on...." I can't help thinking that if all of those concerned had been given a good clip round the ear and told to act their age, then the Trojan War need never have taken place!<br /><br />Talking about these different versions of Greek Myths reminded me of another one. Between the '70s and '80s Target books produced a series of adaptions of DOCTOR WHO stories that had been shown by the BBC. They varied enormously in tone, content and style as they were often adapted into prose by the writers of the original screenplays. Back in the mid-'80s Donald Cotton produced a version of the story that he had written for William Hartnell, and it's a corker. THE MYTH MAKERS is a retelling of the Trojan War in 142 pages, with chapter titles like ZEUS EX MACHINA/ SMALL PROPHET, QUICK RETURN / TEMPLE FUGIT and A DOCTOR IN THE HORSE. Wonderfully arch in tone, it's full of deliberate anachronisms and deserves to be remembered for thumbnail character sketches (from Homer, who narrates the book) like...<br /><br />ACHILLES: 'He had that look of Narcissistic petulance one often sees on the face of health fanatics, or on male models who pose for morally suspect sculptors. I believe the Greeks have a word for it nowadays'.<br /><br />or<br /><br />ODYSSEUS: 'He had the great advantage, you see, of enjoying violence for its own sake; and that with a pure, clear-sighted unswerving devotion, undistracted by any weak-kneed moral considerations! That's the way to succeed in life, you know: never see anyone's point of view but your own and you'll romp home past the winning post. Bound to! But it's a difficult trick, and one that I've never quite got the hang of.'<br /><br />ggaryAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-17531630852812550672017-06-21T17:07:46.359+01:002017-06-21T17:07:46.359+01:00It's probably the greatest regret of my life t...It's probably the greatest regret of my life that I can't carry a tune in a bucket. Oh, I can empathize. When I hear music I really want to sing (as a kid, I saw an old Lily Pons movie and wanted with all my heart to be able to sing The Bell Song as she could), I am so sad I can't. Only in the car alone where no one can hear!carrpshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16726596939143045758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-87215076214179284582017-06-21T09:39:16.156+01:002017-06-21T09:39:16.156+01:00Bill, I am taking an opera-singing bow at your com...Bill, I am taking an opera-singing bow at your comment!Clothes In Bookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14680610242823846662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-58631300123930258972017-06-21T09:38:50.346+01:002017-06-21T09:38:50.346+01:00Yes - I bet your Dad would have read Toibin though...Yes - I bet your Dad would have read Toibin though. Clothes In Bookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14680610242823846662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-37002562035323179982017-06-21T09:38:34.350+01:002017-06-21T09:38:34.350+01:00It is SUCH a pity that I cannot sing at all. I fee...It is SUCH a pity that I cannot sing at all. I feel the world lost a great diva ;).That's interesting that you felt the same about his books - I know so many people really like them. But I now think he is best suited to Ancient Greece...Clothes In Bookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14680610242823846662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-16397943497271535882017-06-21T09:37:00.130+01:002017-06-21T09:37:00.130+01:00Indeed Margot, they are such iconic figures, and y...Indeed Margot, they are such iconic figures, and yet so real, with real feelings - Toibin does such a good job of making them even more real to us.Clothes In Bookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14680610242823846662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-56301662970686118022017-06-21T05:29:48.573+01:002017-06-21T05:29:48.573+01:00Moira, I cannot resist. You would have been electr...Moira, I cannot resist. You would have been electrifying.Bill Selneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17268006369157307593noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-18140804434010097932017-06-20T19:22:05.277+01:002017-06-20T19:22:05.277+01:00One to avoid to be sure....One to avoid to be sure....col2910https://www.blogger.com/profile/06422138069939709043noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-83102765848951180682017-06-20T17:50:41.244+01:002017-06-20T17:50:41.244+01:00Wow, Moira! The thought of you in the role of Elec...Wow, Moira! The thought of you in the role of Electra is quite something! I am with you about Brooklyn - and I felt the same about Nora Webster - but this sounds quite different. Christinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16510409974009816550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-6416499890033045942017-06-20T12:23:04.862+01:002017-06-20T12:23:04.862+01:00That's the thing about these fictional re-tell...That's the thing about these fictional re-tellings, isn't it, Moira? They can go more deeply into the characters and really let you get to know them as people. And the writing style really does work well for this sort of story. Glad you enjoyed this.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com