The Sot-Weed Factor by John Barth
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- Опубліковано 1 жов 2024
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Paperback, 758 pages
Published 1987 by Anchor (first published 1960)
ISBN13: 9780385240888
#leafbyleaf #bookreview #johnbarth #thesotweedfactor
Came back to this video sadly after Mr. Barth's passing. RIP, truly my favorite novel of all time.
Indeed, RIP, Mr. Barth. What a legacy!
Oddly enough, I live in John Barth's house in Buffalo, NY.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I read this book over the summer. One of my favorite books ever. I literally couldn’t put it down. It’s an underrated classic
Agreed!
God, I love this book. What a pleasant surprise to see this discussed here. Hope it encourages more Barth readership.
Hear! Hear! (There will be more videos on Barth this year.)
I just got into reading books about 6 months ago and upon finding your channel was pleasantly surprised to find someone so enthusiastic about reading. My journey into literature began 6 months ago with reading The Sorrows of Young Werther and at the current moment I am reading The Pensees from Pascal. Happy to have found your channel.
It has been some time since I've read those 2 books. I went through a huge philosophy phase in 2012, and I was quite taken with Pascal. Goethe, of course, is a giant. I'm so happy to hear you've been inspired to pursue the literary life. Happy reading!
Check out Cliff Sargent and Scott Bradfield too. They both make excellent content as well.
RIP John Barth
Indeed. RIP, Mr. Barth. Thanks for all you've given!
Reading this right now! 200pgs in. The politics are hard to follow but there are just some amazingly funny episodes every few pages. Really amazing book. I think it’s the funniest I’ve ever read. Do you have funny books you enjoy?
Excellent! I've always found that funny books are really tough to do. For whatever reason. Other than Calvin & Hobbes, Rabelais, and Sterne, I am hard-pressed to come up with a list of funny books. There are of course different shades of funnyness: there's Dickens who practically invented the modern comedy novel; there's Wodehouse whose British humor is hit and miss for me; and there's the black humor and satire that you find in Nabokov, Gass, Barth, et al. I find the latter more my speed. Good question, though. I'm sure I'm overlooking some titles.
@@LeafbyLeaf sterne and rabelais are high up in my top priority list! I got a beautiful bilingual original french and modern french edition last month in france but left it behind at my cousin’s. V annoyed at myself! Sterne is sitting on my shelf eagerly awaiting i read him haha!
@@LeafbyLeaf and ofc love calvin and hobbes! And nabokov!
It's Mik-uhl-mus, not Michael-mas. Still in use among British public schools and Oxford and Cambridge colleges to designate what Americans would call the fall semester.
Ahhh, thanks so much!
*And skein is skane .
I also like Floating Opera and Giles the Goat Boy.
Same! I hope to get a video of GGB up here soon.
Great to see you cover Barth (I remember a brief mention of The Floating Opera in an earlier video)… I found the grittiness of The End of the Road, which I think may be a one-off to the rest of his work, so satisfying I never felt compelled to get into his later playful and massive work… I like the discussion of place and how it tied into this writer for you, I believe Stephen Dixon may have been from the same region or at least worked there for a while
Thanks, man! Always a pleasure having you drop by!
You should read François Rabelais or Kristin lavranstadatter I’d be very interested in what you have to say thank you so much you are such an inspiration😊
Thanks so much! I’ve put my duty in with Rabelais many years ago-but I’d gladly revisit. I’ve been wanting to do a video on Gargantua and Pantagruel AND Tristram Shandy to highlight two early foundation stones in modernist novels. But, so many books, so little time. As for Undset, I’ve been wanting to get around to her for years. Thanks for your kind words!
I've come to know john barth in the same way as you, by finding yale courses on American authors.
Those Yale courses are great!
Do you have any books about understanding poetry ?
How to read poetry like a professor by Thomas C Foster. How to read a poem by Edward Hirsch. A poetry handbook by Mary Oliver. How to read a poem by Terry Eagleton.
One of my favorite novels and writers. Something about his playfulness, his diction, his interweaving and juggling of the varied plot lines and stories within stories, does it for me like few authors can. One thing to emphasis with “The Sot-Weed Factor” is just how hysterical it is. Nearly impossible to go more than a few pages without at least smirking, if not outright belly laughing. Thoroughly enjoyed your review (and channel)! Would definitely recommend “The Tidewater Tales” if you haven’t read it already. And as a Marylander, I love watching interviews of Barth and hearing his Maryland accent. Barth is simply a wonderful chap!
Oh, yes--Tidewater Tales is on the list! That Eastern Shore accent is pleasing to my ears as well. Reminds me of many of my family members who go "downy ocean" and drink "wudder" etc. :)
@@LeafbyLeaf Hun.
Rereading this book, and god is it hilarious and poignant. Unfortunately i feel a bit of kinship with our hapless protagonist, but love his exploits!
It’s such a vast and rich book! Happy reading!
The only Barth I’ve read was Giles Goat-Boy (found it for $1). It really gave me a love for over-bloated novels. It would be cool to see a review on it!
Nice find! I believe _GGB_ will be the next Barth I do!
Thanks! Currently reading Giles Goat-Boy which got me thinking about this one again, and your video has definitely backed up my thought I should read it again.
This is getting added this to my list. I'm psyched that it seems to be getting reprinted in August by the same folks reprinting Miss Mackintosh, My Darling the following month. Thank you for continuing to wield your laser pointer in the endless stacks of literature!
The resurrected Dalkey via Deep Vellum is doing great things! Happy reading!
I'm still patiently waiting for Miss Macintosh 😅
I’m currently on Page 121 and am loving it! His control over the language is enviable.
Barth is such a treasure!
Thank you for this great video, Chris! I just finished this masterpiece in my reading of John Barth’s work to celebrate his passing. This book has so many layers to unravel - For example, Can it be considered also a sort of reinterpretation of Goethe’s Faust? Burlingame is clearly a Mephistofelian character (someone even says jn the book he expects to see hoofs and not feet in him), Eben is losing innocence as Faust, there is the Joan Toast character remembering Margherita fall into misery and despair. And so many philosophical sentences and dilemmas that are at the heart of Goethe’s masterpiece.
What do you think of this idea?
One of my all time favorites!!
Great video. If you like Barth, I really can’t recommend enough that you try Gene Wolfe. He’s more on the actual genre side of things with sci fi and fantasy, but he’s an incredible prose stylist, is obsessively specific and careful with language and words, and draws on that great wealth of story that Barth does. They feel like cousins, as does Nabokov and Borges.
I get recommended Wolfe very often and I got a copy of the Fifth Head of Cerberus. One day!
The Ocean of the Stream of Story!
I don't remember much of the book. I remember that I found a strong link to Mason & Dixon, but found the latter superior, I remember all kinds of touching points between the novels that I don't remember anymore in detail and the only scene that I vividly remember is the one when they exchange slang terms for prostitutes over many pages and I laughed until tears came into my eyes
Oh, yeah--that is a great section of the book. A list worthy of Rabelais! I, too, loved Mason & Dixon. I want to eventually do a video comparing and contrasting The Sot-Weed Factor, Mason & Dixon, and Vollmann's Argall.
I share your love of "Lost in the Funhouse." Turned me into an instant John Barth fan when I first read it in college.
_High five_! I'm still stuck in the funhouse...
When I first discovered those open Yale courses, I immediately gravitated toward the one you mention here - The American Novel since 1945: I would listen to each lecture on my long commute - so it's nice that you reference it. I hope everyone who hasn't watched/listened to those lectures can find the time to do so. Also want to add that your breakdown of Barth is similar to your previous videos in that it's amazingly well done!
I remember listening to the one on blood meridian. The lecturer asked the students what they thought of the book. The one student comment was "I thought the judge was creepy". Really? "Creepy"? You get to Yale and all you can come up with is that? I couldn't finish listening to that lecture and in fact it put me off the whole course
The power and politics in today's world course is amazing though. As are the ones on the American civil war and the early middle ages
I had never heard of John Barth until Scott Bradfield made a couple of videos about him. I listened to Kevin Pariseau reading the first 3 novels on Audible and was blown away. He really brings The Sot-Weed Factor to life. How Barth held it all together I'll never know. I am sure he would have been cancelled if he had written it today. With all the rape and prostitution I am sure it would be written off as misogynistic.
You're likely quite right about cancel culture, which has a core of good intentions--but like every initiative gets spoiled by a bad batch (of McCarthyists, et al.). This is partly what I referring to in my comments on the fraught and misunderstood genre of satire. Swift wouldn't make it in today's excessive litertalism either. Nonetheless, this type of literature, while _appearing_ to be making fun of rape is actually magnifying a shameful part of human nature and history. In any case, Barth deserves much, much more attention today!
@@LeafbyLeaf True. It's sad when people do this or conversely cop heat for criticising a book for the quality of the writing which has gained kudos because the storyline is about a cause celebre. (Scott Bradfield's essay 'Why I Hate Toni Morrison's Beloved' being a case in point).
so clever and so funny, i laughed out loud many times reading this
Yes, yes!
can I just say I adore your channel and appreciate the work you put in and your videos are truly some of the best on UA-cam in my opinion.
(For some reason UA-cam classified this as spam, so I'm just getting to it!) Thank you so much! I really appreciate your kind words!
I’ve read sotweed, chimera, and floating opera. Which of his do you suggest I pick up next?
Giles Goat Boy!
I read The Floating Opera a few months ago, and I ended up with more questions than answers but it was an excellently crafted novel. It didn't blow me away but some scenes and quotes still stick with me today. Is there a more entry level Barth you would recommend, and do you think The Sot Weed Factor would fit that bill? Thanks for the great content.
Contrary to appearances and inferences, The Sot-Weed Factor is not an opaque, dense tone; it is rarely a crisp, direct, and lively black humor adventure!
@@LeafbyLeaf Thank you, I will try it out! Have a great weekend!
No problem. You, too! Happy reading!
Thanks for the video! More John Barth, please.
You’re welcome! I’ll see to it!
Giles Goat Boy is so awesome.
Hello sir it's me, John. I was the one who asked you about Bergman and The Seventh Seal, and I asked you about Bach. My old account named 2001 Space is lost. So I am still here and watch your video.
I wanna you about Ben Hur book ?
Have you read it, if you have , do you like it ?
Thanks 🙏❤
Hey there! Great to hear from you again. I have not read Ben Hur yet, but perhaps one day soon I will!
This was the very first novel in my very first Freshman college English class. Talk about culture shock!
That’s amZing! Hahaha-I’d love to meet that teacher!
I found out about the Sot-Weed Factor by reading a 1965 article where it mentions Lesley Gore (one of my favorite singers) being "engrossed in reading" the book. 😊 I had to order it through interlibrary loan and it took weeks to arrive, but I finally started it and I'm enjoying it so far!
What a neat avenue to the book. Enjoy!
I read Lost in the Funhouse last year (right before reading David Foster Wallace's 'Westward...' story that was a response to it). Both of those stories felt so meta and trippy and academic that I think like I only partially understood them and what they were trying to do. So I haven't really had the urge to go back to John Barth. Should I? Is S-WF the place to start with Barth?
Yes, Sot-Weed Factor is an excellent starting point. Barth is interested in regaling the reader with adventure tales and good, hearty humor. You'll find that the meta/academic stuff in way more relegated to the background in SWF. Enjoy!
John Barth teaches us how to read, and so do you. Thank you for these videos.
Very kind of you to say. It is a pleasure!
Thanks for the excellent appreciation of one of my favorite books -- one that is unfortunately not as well known as it should be. All I can add is that one doesn't really get a sense from your discussion as to how bat sh*t crazy this book is.
It’s a shame because Michael Silverblatt was all set to record a discussion specifically about John Barth with me in my library. But he got seriously ill when he arrived in NC and had to be hospitalized. Once he’s rehabilitated out there in L. A. I’m going to fly out and we will record the conversation in HIS library!
Let’s get The Sotweed Factor available in audio form! I’ll gladly read it. It’s too good for it to not be available in audio
Hard agree!
History is hysteria!
I like that!
14:56 It’s always fun when books take on a life of their own as you’re writing them
Lost In The Funhouse is, well, a lot of fun to get lost in. I've always wondered why it's not in Bloom's canon. But this other Künstlerroman of his is. Now I must get my hands on a copy of The Sot-Weed Factor, so thanks as usual for uinintentionally helping me squander my hard-earned wages- why save it for a rainy day when one can spend said day reading?
Bloom made some interesting omissions here and there, for sure. And trust me--I know all about squandering those hard-earned wages on reading material!
One of the big ones I have yet to read, will get to it asap, just started 'The Books of Jacob' by Olga Tokarczuk, Nobel winner in 2018, 964 pages, she is dazzling, try 'Drive Your Plow Over' and 'Flights' both masterpieces. Also just finished 'The Nix' by Nathan Hill, 700+ pages that kept me turning pages till the end, excellent book.
Coincidentally, I procured Drive Your Plow, Flights, and The Books of Jacob. I've only read the first so far and I quite liked it (the Blake-inspired structure of course won me over). I plan to read Flights and Books of Jacob over the next couple months and then do a video on all 3 in the summer.
@@LeafbyLeaf Can't wait, about 1/2 through Books of Jacob - absolutely love it.
As I re-listen to this and the Barth quote at around 8:00 I see that blurring the distinction between form and content is definitely a good description of his writing in my view
I agree! The description comes straight from his _Friday Book_ of essays.
I've heard it's a great book. I've read some of Barth's shorter fiction.
Barth is wonderful!
The new edition of this book, due to be released next week, has been moved to November of this year.
I think every since book I've preordered for this year has been pushed back by at least a month each. Supply-chain pandemic.
Oh cool didn’t think anyone was gonna read and discus and explain and review this behemoth. Although, I couldn’t get through, “The Floating Opera,” “The End of the Road” or “The Last Voyage of Somebody the Sailor.”
Someone had to do it!
@@LeafbyLeaf 😄 indeed.
Great content, as we have all come to expect on this channel. This is another of many lxl videos that make me want to read a book I never really considered reading before.
Thanks so much, Jeffrey! It’s such a pleasure. Hope you have a great weekend.
I found this commentary not only illuminating but very persuasive in convincing me to pursue John Barth. So 'The Sot Weed Factor' is on my list for 2023. Thus far I have only read 'Lost in the Funhouse' and a buddy of mine at William and Mary often pushed me toward Barth. I am re-reading War and Peace and shall spend time on that video of yours. Well done and thanks!
I have a beautiful, signed leather bound copy that I’ve been meaning to get to for sometime. I just started it last night and just now discovered that Mr. Barth has passed. It will make this reading all the more special and I want to express my gratitude for this beautiful work, and honor of the great man’s memory!
Awesome book! I read it last Summer. Amazing review as always!
Yay! All my best!
Managed to snag a tiny English hardback copy off of EBay not long ago. Need to get around to Barth at some point. Own four of his novels that are languishing on my shelves. Maybe this bad boy will finally get his time in the spotlight, at least after I finish Mircea Cartarescu’s Nostalgia.
I picked up and read The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois on your recommendation. One of my professors did too. Can’t say I liked it as much as you. My professor wasn’t a fan either. Think the prose was a bit flat overall, and the plot and characters didn’t grip me much either. Though I have a feeling the latter two issues are a me problem, and not so much the novels fault. Judging by the Archival Coda at the end: “This is a black feminist novel. I am unapologetic about that”, I’m probably not the intended audience. I’m male, white and most of all European, so the intense focus on American race relations doesn’t resonate as strongly with me as it would with an American reader, especially one who also resonated with the racial and feminist aspects of the text. Cheers anyway.
Another great video.
Congratulations on snagging a hardcover of Sot-Weed Factor! They are quite costly for the most part from what I see.
As for the Jeffers book, I think my sadly innate sensitivity to American racism is for sure a factor. I also saw the connections with Alice Walker, Toni Morrison (whom Jeffers reveres), Zora Neale Hurston, et al. Her poetry is still much, much stronger than her maiden voyage into prose. Your and your professor's responses to the book are completely understandable. For myself, her explicit identification of the book as a work of Black feminism, etc., is an opportunity to see the world through I lens I probably only could view through a piece of literature. But--hey--there are plenty of books out there for us all!
All my best to you!
@@LeafbyLeaf I completely agree. It’s why I chose to go through the whole thing and explicitly believe the novel is inarguably quite good, just not my cup of tea. Nonetheless I was glad to have read it and look forward to whatever she chooses to write next. Whether or not I found it was for me it was inarguably a strong first effort in novel writing and whatever she does next is most likely going to be worth looking into.
Love this. I’m getting a copy for sure and adding it to my list. Thank you.
Thanks! You won't be disappointed!
one of my favourites
morning Chris. thank you for uploading. any possibility you’ll cover john hawkes in future, oh also gerald murnane !
Actually-both of them are on deck for this year!
@@LeafbyLeaf woooooo!
I love #DavidFosterWallace, and DFW speaks highly of #JohnBarth, just as you do #LeafByLeaf. So, maybe I'll dip my toe into Lost In The Funhouse. Thank you! 📚
Hear, hear! My pleasure. All best to you!
I would never had waded into DFW had I not learned of his admiration for Barth.
@@rosezingleman5007 Thank you, Rose
I read The Sot-Weed Factor as an undergraduate, not for a literature class, but for a history class, a class in Colonial American history taught by the late Michael Kammen. He was convinced that the chaos of colonial society described in the book was an accurate depiction of the reality of late 17th century life in Colonial Maryland. It's been decades since I read it, and my cheap paperback copy is long lost, so before I can reread it, I'll first have to embark on a search for a used hardback in decent shape. So, a mini project all itself to look forward to.
Best of luck procuring a reasonably-priced hardcover! Barth did a tremendous amount of research into the archives of Maryland history and beyond, so your late professor was very keen in his decision. All my best to you!
I dated a guy whose academic father had given it to him in high school. He handed it on to me, and I gave it to my Marylander fiancé who was ignorant of it. I lived in suburban DC for decades after we married and I really loved tromping around the Eastern Shore. On a trip to a call center in Salisbury to train the night shift workers I noticed how bored they were and gave them my copy of Sot-Weed as a remedy. It’s such a funny book. The mid-Atlantic region in general is entirely neglected by historians outside of the Carroll family archivists and the [recently nutty] types at G’town, so it must’ve seemed necessary to Barth to fabricate the Marylandiad.
I also love “Giles,” the antidote to the dreary academy.
Thanks for sharing this, Rose! GGB is a great book! Perhaps a video of it is in short order.
Good exposition. I'm procuring a copy.
Happy reading!
Really looking forward to the re-release later this year!
Yes!
Great vid, great channel
Thanks so much!
The Kathasaritsagara!
I need to address my (lack of) eastern lit knowledge at some point.
Coming out in a new paperback edition this August! Can't wait!
Well well well!
@@LeafbyLeaf It's from Dalkey Archive Essentials. They are also publishing a new edition of Miss McIntosh, My Darling in late August. Did I make your day?
I did know about the forthcoming reissue of MMMD. But I didn’t know about the Barth!
A new edition of At Swim-Two Birds is coming out by Dalkey Archive also. It’s a great year for reprints
@@LeafbyLeaf And wouldn't it be great if they could somehow do "Darconville's Cat!"
You need an Amazon affiliate link. I buy a lot of the stuff you review
I presume this would be a means of getting some change in my pocket if people click the link and make a purchase, eh?
@@LeafbyLeaf yeah, exactly that. Might be able to rock that top shelf tea if it works out well
Thanks for the recommendation. I’ll have to check it out!
OK, I think I did it!
Looooovvveee Barth
Hear, hear!
Great video, made me want to get this one and reread lost in the funhouse
Happy reading!
@@LeafbyLeaf thanks! Also:
1) I am curious to hear more of your thoughts on lost in the funhouse.
2) I still have to fully listen to and reply to your GR video, which is definitely worthy of the book!
good morning
Bonjour!
@@LeafbyLeaf morn
Top o’ to ye!
Great pick, I’ve been reading to read this one for a while.
It’s waiting for you! 😁
@@LeafbyLeaf I enjoy your channel. I review books on my channel if you’re interested, I have some Cormac McCarthy reviews(my favorite author). Also I review books on Goodreads; Lucio Mellace is the name and the profile is Man Above A Sea Of Fog by Caspar Friederich.
Just friended you on GR!
@@LeafbyLeaf Hey Chris, really appreciate you friending me. Sent you message.