Tuesday, May 30, 2006

The Book of Lost Books


The Book of Lost Books : An Incomplete History of All the Great Books You'll Never Read by Stuart Kelly

I really looked forward to this book after reading a great review of it in the NY Times. However I found it so boring that I skimmed through the majority of it. Its not that it is a boring book really, its more that I don't have a strong "classics" background and appreciation of these authors.

The chapters are short and list some of the authors achievements and discusses the work that was or may have been lost. Its a great idea for a book!

Hemingway's early work was stolen on a train in Europe while Kafka wanted all of his work burned when he died (although it wasn't). Dickens' last novel was never finished and possible plot lines are discussed.

I really enjoyed the pieces on the authors I was familiar with and learned some interesting things. If you enjoy Greek, and early British literature then this would be a great book for you!

Grade: B

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Good evening. I found the book you latest reviewed interesting because I am actually re-reading a Hemingway book published posthumous. I truly love this book and find it consistent with other Hemingway publications. The Garden of Eden is the book, I really recommend it to any one. Also, the short story, Hills like White Elephants, I really like.
Thanks for posting more environmentally friendly info.

Anonymous said...

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