This is not a review. Let there be no mistake. I've been reading Gertrude Stein's Three Lives for the better part of a week and I'm only 3/4's of the way through. I will finish this little bastard of a book if it kills me. Why? Because I feel that Gerty is daring me, and I can't turn down a dare.
All of her slang-talkin' and repetitive mess will go to waste if I don't finish this damn book. I can't wait to go to class tonight and find out why I should appreciate this which would under any other circumstance be considered a manic episode.
On the other hand I wonder if Zora Neale Hurston took any inspiration from Stein's use of dialect? In that case it's brilliant and should be exalted. I love me some Hurston.
posted by Andi at 3:19 PM
4 Comments:
Tut Tut Tut! I know how you feel! I think I had to read something by her called "The Making of America's." The entire time I was reading it I knew, knew it was brilliant but I couldn't understand a damn word. I guess its the same reason why I've never read Ulysses.
I have been wanting to read something by Gerty for a long time, but haven't gotten around to it yet. Will I be as turned off as I was after 16 pages of "The Sound and the Fury" by Faulkner? Maybe I should resign as an English major who loves American Lit if I can't overcome these things, but whatever.
Amanda,
I'm glad to say I have seen a bit (a shardy bit) of the light after class last night. Prof showed us several paintings and related Stein's writing to impressionism and cubism. Being a big fan of the arts that made ALL the difference in my understanding of Stein's work. I'm almost tempted to read a bit of Tender Buttons, but then I come to my senses.
Soj,
You will definitely be as turned off as you were reading Faulkner. According to Prof, Gerty's style is really rough and horrible because she was truly avant-garde. Faulkner, Anderson, Hemingway, etc. took elements of what she'd done and made them more palatable. Although, prof did say Sound and the Fury is rough. We're going to read Absolom Absolom.
Post a Comment
<< Home