tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3458341.post2820814711829577625..comments2024-01-06T10:36:04.084-05:00Comments on A Commonplace Blog: The babble of literary gossipD. G. Myershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10659136455045567825noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3458341.post-77560998414452115412013-08-20T12:42:55.613-04:002013-08-20T12:42:55.613-04:00"The gossip is harmless except when it masque... "The gossip is harmless except when it masquerades as knowledge. In literature, it threatens to reduce every novel ever written to a <i>roman à clef</i>. When that happens, the only thing readers will need is a key." <br /> But even in a <i>roman à clef</i>, there is artistry at work (albeit sometimes very little). The key functions to assist the reader in filling in the story or characters (facts or gossip, maybe). The key helps the reader turn the accidents into substance. I can't easily think of a case where the key is the whole thing--maybe <i>Primary Colors</i>? Victorian Barbarianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16996053716446191390noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3458341.post-37311359400105167112013-08-08T10:16:18.679-04:002013-08-08T10:16:18.679-04:00Yes, Mr Rotchin, I am pretty sure Lurie is Jewish....Yes, Mr Rotchin, I am pretty sure Lurie is Jewish. <br /><br />Can’t explain the neglect of Coetzee except to say that there is so much to write about, so much. . . .D. G. Myershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10659136455045567825noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3458341.post-56800240248301716672013-08-08T09:43:47.090-04:002013-08-08T09:43:47.090-04:00Totally unrelated to this post, forgive me, but I ...Totally unrelated to this post, forgive me, but I was wondering Professor Myers if you thought David Lurie, the protagonist of JM Coetzee's novel Disgrace was a Jew. Since I finished the novel the question has been nagging me. There are simply too many allusions and references to ignore. Also, when I searched your blog for insight i was surprised not to find any Coetzee reviews. Am I missing something? B. Glen Rotchinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05815057617780242871noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3458341.post-91273984142316854362013-08-06T19:17:32.757-04:002013-08-06T19:17:32.757-04:00If the facts are irrelevant to the fiction, would ...If the facts are irrelevant to the fiction, would that mean readings of The Sun Also Rises and A Farewell to Arms, just to cite to examples, cannot (or should not) be enriched by an understanding of the real life facts behind the novels? R.T.https://www.blogger.com/profile/13220814349193561823noreply@blogger.com