Books you feel you ought to have read...

[doogal]

I have to admit to two crimes:

1. I stole form our school library. It was the book August 1914 by Alexander Solzhenitsyn.

2. I have never read it beyond chapter two ( at least when I feel confident I say that)

It is in fact three crimes - After more than a decade with the book on my shelf, I had to look up on Amazon how to spell his name correctly to make this post.

I have tried and tried, but the book just will not "open"

Does anyone else struggle with Gt War literature they think they should know?

doogal

p.s

can anyone tell me what happens?

in about three paragraphs.

yours gratefully

[Paul Hederer]

I have to admit to two crimes:

1. I stole form our school library. It was the book August 1914 by Alexander Solzhenitsyn.

2. I have never read it beyond chapter two ( at least when I feel confident I say that)

It is in fact three crimes - After more than a decade with the book on my shelf, I had to look up on Amazon how to spell his name correctly to make this post.

I have tried and tried, but the book just will not "open"

Does anyone else struggle with Gt War literature they think they should know?

doogal

p.s

can anyone tell me what happens?

in about three paragraphs.

yours gratefully

I love "August 1914." I've read it more than once. I tried reading the sequel, "November 1916," and had the same thing happen to me that you describe above.

When in school I failed an English literature class because I just couldn't bring myself to read "The Catcher in the Rye," (which is a bit ironic now that I think about it). I remember in my youthful wisdom telling my teacher it was a form of oppression to make me read the book. Like I said, I failed the class!

I guess my view is read what you want...not all art speaks to us.

Paul

P.S. Any chance of "donating" the book back to the library from where it came?

[truthergw]

I have a fairly cavalier attitude to books. If they don't go, too bad. Some I relegate to reference. I can always look up something in them. Ll-G's memoirs fall into this category. A novel I hand on to friends or stick in the charity box. Lots of my books are on the factual side so I do not necessarily expect them to be a good read. It's a bonus when they are, though.

[David Filsell]

It took me far too many years to realise that there was nobody around who could make you finish a book once started or that it was neither a sin of commision or omission to give up on one. I truth I rarely find one that I don't want to finish, but if, after a chapter or two, I feel my live ebbing away, I just give up. Personally Faulks and Barker are writers that I have totally given up on!

[keithfazzani]

I took August 1914 on holiday some years ago - as it was the only book I took I had to read it - but after the first few chapters I was hooked and couldn't put it down. Like all Russian novels the names are the real pain a little notebook to write them all down helps.

[Waddell]

Doogal,

Don't feel too bad about it, I suspect your in good company. Although I have never knocked off a library book.

My "August 1914" is Robert Graves "Goodbye to all that". I bought it in 2001 and after several attempts, the latest being only a couple of months ago, I am on p.68 Chapter 10.

There's something depressing about his schooldays that just gets me everytime even though I'm nearly out of the woods. I'm not even game to be critical about it as I haven't finished reading it and I know it is highly regarded.

One day I will finish it, as long as something better doesn't come along. Until then it is destined to be the bridesmaid!

Scott.

[1st east yorks]

Scott,

I finished reading 'Goodbye to all that' a few months ago.I agree with you,the first few chapters were hard work but after these the book gets more interesting.It is one of them must read books.Stick with it.

Anthony.

[shinglma]

Birdsong had me bored rigid for the first third. A friend said to stick with it and I'm glad I did.

Mike S

[Michelle Young]

For some reason my personal August 1914 book is The Journal Of Private Fraser, just can't get into it. Just asked OH what his is and he immediately answered The Seven Pillars Of Wisdom

Michelle

[Mark Hone]

I think I got to chapter 10 of 'August 1914' once before giving up. Some of it is quite experimental, I seem to recall, written in the form of a film script. I suspect that Solzhenitsyn is one of those great writers who nobody actually reads. Following his death a newspaper reported that an unabridged English edition of 'The Full Circle' was about to be published 'for masochists'.

I started 'Middlemarch' twice, then settled for the BBC version with the beautiful Juliet Aubrey...

[truthergw]

All of this seems to underline the definition of a classic as a book that nobody wants to read but wishes they had read.

[auchonvillerssomme]

I couldn't get on with August 1914 either but One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich was the first 'grown up' book I read and I still re-visit it every couple of years.

Mick

[aliecoco]

I have to admit to two crimes:

1. I stole form our school library.

Hi Simon,

Sorry, slightly off topic from your question, but I so so so wanted to steal from my library recently! I have the Somme version, but I had managed to get a copy of the Ypres book, by Chris McCarthy, Day by Day Account, which I think is a hard to come by book and quite valuable? I did hand it back......

Mike, I am so glad that I stuck with Birdsong too, although its like a swear word on here at times. But, my life completely changed because of that book as it was my first introduction to WW1 in 1999 and here I still am.

Alie.

PS Simon, any good news yet?!!