/lit/ - Literature

do you want something dealing with breakups or just some light escapism?

>>8687

Ulysses by James Joyce

>>8691

I was thinking something that would help my friend see beyond his actual situation. You know the guy has been emotionally stuck since the break-up and is uncappable of seeing further this point, he is tucked in the past.

I want to give him a book that would help him to get some perspective, to help him keep going.

Inherent Vice hit that bittersweet spot for me as it deals with a man thrown into an insane, mysterious, and paranoid world of conspiracy in order to find the truth about his ex. Themes of the past, intertwined fates, etc.

>>8703

Inherent Vice … man. That seems like such an odd recommendation. A protagonist in a hard-boiled noir genera is damned difficult to write both well and believably.

There is a scene where Doc confronts an extremely dangerous criminal syndicate managing director to negotiate the fate of some product availability. His delivery fee offer consists of forgiving a minor debt, and the debtor being left alone forevermore. Quite cheap, and you can almost hear the gang leader thinking: "Is this guy for real?"

But Doc remains a believable hero throughout. He is something of a study in making the best of a bad situation in a crazy difficult world, not giving up, and all the while keeping true to ones integrity. It's all something of a theme in Pynchon's work; how he manages to write this is incredible.

So, while it appears to be something of a suggestion out of left field, I'll second this. Pynchon can be read as generally inspirational, and covers the difficulty of moving on from that-one-Ex in Inherent Vice too.

>>8687

Get him a copy of Sophocles' Oedipus Rex, and say, "At least you didn't fuck your mom."

>>8711

If it all adds up to integrity and all that I'm not missing out on anything.

>>8715

But there's more to it. See >>8703. Even if you ignore the personal themes of lost love and moving on, there's still the political/social commentary set on by the strange and seemingly hostile environment of the 70's in the aftermath of the prior decade. Infiltration, conspiracy, and paranoia are also major themes of the novel.

>>8710

But his mom is hot, though

>>8711

I haven't read the book, but I had to sit through that god awful film and it was one of the most painful cinematic experiences of my life. The story was all over the place and way too complicated to follow and it dragged on way too long. The horrible attempts at humor were just the salt in the wounds. It's like if the Big Lebowski were at least twice as long, had a ridiculously convoluted plot that it presented in a completely disjointed and incoherent way—and then it couldn't even succeed in its comic relief.

Maybe it's good if you've read the novel and know what's going on, but I certainly would never recommend this to anyone who doesn't know what it's about.

>>8729

I'm sorry to hear you didn't enjoy it. I love the film, and I didn't read the novel beforehand. I was interested because of the director, Paul Thomas Anderson. This trailer also hooked me in immediately.

The plot, while definitely all over the place, is pretty simple. It's a story of a man learning to let go and live in a world of uncertainty, but hope. There's just various names being thrown around and it's easy to lose track of who's who, and more importantly, what they're intentions are.

It is a hard movie to recommend, but it's very well done and a strong adaptation of the source material. Inherent Vice certainly isn't for everyone, but if you like slow burn movies and feeling paranoid, it's fantastic.

>>8730

Forgot the trailer. And there's a shitload of typos in my post, but I'm too tired to care. I swear I'm not an illiterate nigger.

>>8731

>>8730

I only notice 3 maybe 4 errors.

but hope

There's

they're

Maybe the appositive in the third sentence

>>8745

Scratch that: the appositive is fine. Maybe a misplace comma, on another examination. A lot of compound sentences, that's for sure.

>>8730

The hero didn't seem to be holding on to much, or lack knowledge about living.

>>8730

>>8731

I might give it a second chance, since it's probably unfair to judge a film when my only experience with it was on a bad day when I really wasn't in the mood for the cinema. I may have just been in the wrong mindset to fully appreciate it, but the thought of the film still brings back some horribly monotonous memories of an uncomfortable chair and utter hopelessness of any foreseeable resolution.

>>8748

Well, considering he didn't get back with his mess of an ex and was determined to find the truth, I'd say he held on to something.

>>8750

Don't worry about not liking it, and certainly don't force yourself to watch it. Grab a drink, a strong drink, relax, and just let go. You'll be engrossed in no time. Hopefully.

>>8745

>>8746

Fuck you. Thanks babe. Gotta maintain some standard.

>>8700

not a book. but i think my freshly divorcing dad found some of that watching this

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sideways

i assume the book might be kinda like that.

OP here.

Lutking the board, i found Meditations by Marcus Aurelius, and it seems like a good book for the situstion. Would you guys reccomend it?

>>8754

i would.

>>8752

Well I certainly wouldn't force myself to enjoy it or watch it, but I just think it might be good if I watch it in the right mood.

>>8754

>Lutking

Most lutzy indeed, you can say that again.

>Meditations by Marcus Aurelius?

I read this but it comes across to me as a bunch of loose wandering blather, nothing deep. It's not bad per se, but I think it only works for certain kinds of people: religious minded, spirituality seekers, philosophy nuts, and historical junkies. I came at it from the historical junkie angle, finding Aurelius moderately interesting to listen to as the musings of an emperor. Yet, I didn't find any textbook to living, much less anything to use as a solid guide past a relationship crash. These might be in there somewhere, for someone with the right ear. If you are not sure this fits your friend I would avoid. Most likely he would give it a ten page skimming and drop it forever.

>>8754

>>8757

There are more than a few stoic texts, but 3 of the big ones are Seneca's Letters, Discourses by Epictatus, and Meditations by Marcus Aurelius. The thing is, those first two were written to actually be read and disseminated. Letters is a series of fictional letters about how to live one's life, and Discourses is basically just written down lectures that Epictetus gave. Meditations is an interesting book, but it's basically the random notes that Marcus Aurelius wrote to himself to remind himself to be humble and calm and shit like that.

If you want something Stoic (which would probably be worth doing in this situation), I'd probably recommend Seneca's Letters before Meditations.