TOO LOUD A SOLITUDE by Bohumil Hrabal
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- Опубліковано 25 січ 2021
- Buy me a coffee: ko-fi.com/leafbyleaf
Paperback, 102 pages
Published 1992 by Harcourt (first published 1976)
Original Title: Příliš hlučná samota
ISBN: 0156904586
/ 868410.too_loud_a_soli...
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#leafbyleaf #bookreview #tooloudasolitude #bohumilhrabal
I read this several years ago and had almost forgotten how beautiful it is. You can’t do much better when looking for short books. Great recommendation.
I am so happy to have had it brought to my attention. This is one of those that I will read every few years or so.
The first time I read this book I was 17, after 15 years I still reread it occasionally! Mr. Hrabal really knew what it feel like to be a bookworm.
The feeling of joy , emotion and solitude
Yes! This is certainly one of those lifestyle-affirming pieces to keep on hand.
I don't know what it is about Czechoslovakia, but it produced some of the greatest writers, certainly some of my favorites: Milan Kundera, Carl Capek, Bohumil Hrabal, Vaclav Havel, Kafka, and so many others. An idea for an episode / series? 😉
Not a bad idea at all 😉
Calm down Beavis .. except for Kafka and maybe Karel Capek i don't see much "greatness.."
Thanks very much for your interesting comments on this beautifull book !
My pleasure!
I just finished Closely Observed Trains last week; a customer at my bookshop thought I'd like it and gave it to me. Absolutely phenomenal writer - I'm almost embarrassed I'd not only never read, but had never even heard of Bohumil Hrabal. Really wonderful stuff.
Same here-I couldn’t believe I’d never read him before. Can’t wait to explore more of his work!
Hrabal should be considered as innovative as Thomas Bernhard. He seems to have invented a style of narration unique to him. His works seem driven forward by non-sensical humorous anecdotes that build to ecstatic sadness.
That is so well put!
@@LeafbyLeaf if you are interested in similar in longer format you should look at Jaroslav Hašek
Added to the list. Thanks! 🙏
I see the berhard parallel, too. Especially, the long, ranting narratives. Dancing lessons for the advanced in age is a single sentence.
I have to say this video inspired me and I immediately bought the book after seeing it. I just finished it last night, and I loved it. It is a splendid book. Some parts I read to myself out loud, I usually read in Spanish, but the English translation was so beautiful, and the ideas of Hrabal so magnificent, that I was, as the character, savouring each sentence. I came back to see the review again, now that I know the book, and I totally agree with you, I'm extremely happy to be a reader, just for books like this one. I feel a bit weird, but these are fascinating sensations, as I have completed three very different books these last three days: Dune, from Herbert, El Aleph, from Borges, and Too loud a solitude. Three completely different worlds. All of them great.
"The Aleph" is my absolute favorite Borges story! I did a long close-reading essay of it in grad school. Here's to being grateful readers!
Oh, it's like Stoner. I'm reading it.
Different execution, but the same themes and power. Read on!
You just made my TBR list one book longer. Thank you! This sounds really interesting; will definitely read it soon.
You’re most certainly welcome! You will enjoy it!
I read it about two years ago. Your video made think of it in new different ways. And made me want to read it again, of course.
👊🙏
I've just recently "stumbled" upon y our channel, browsing as I do, always trying to find new and as well more intensely motivated writers such as I, and in doing so finding someone who loves literature and sees no issue dedicating one's life to mastering writing, if such a "thing" is possible, and finding ultimate joy not in the final destination but in the journey itself, that is where the true beauty and intricate skill dwells. Tapping into it is a pleasure and presenting it on paper creating a text, fiction, non-fiction either will do, this is the task that I've set myself upon and as I try my best perfecting this art ,"spending my life trying to master writing, wouldn't be a life wasted, by no means would that be considered a waste". I awake each day unable to wait for a chance to read and as well write, to create something from letters that transform into words, then form sentences, breaking upon the wall like a wave crashing that brings out my thoughts as a paragraph, maturing into chapters that makes this a true means to a great end a complete book. A books that was blank pages, then through creation turns into a massive collection of ideas gathered in one space that speaks to the world as one piece, one substance, one idea that thrives and lives in our hearts and minds. Luck as well some fortune has played its hand and pushed me to watch your channel "leaf by leaf", what a great title by the way, this hand that was dealt to me, the set of cards that turned out to be four of a kind has beat all other hands in my life's interest and moved me to write. As well like minded people only add to my skill and given me insights that are well worth the time spent. Thanks again and always keep writing and pushing forwards.
This is such a beautiful display of a life well lived. You're absolutely correct--it's about the journey. Reading and writing as their own rewards. One of the richest meditations on this was Harold Bloom's The Anatomy of Influence: Literature As a Way of Life. So glad you found me out here!
Another of Hrabal’s gem is ‘Closely Watched Trains’.
Discovered him a few years ago.
I’ve got all his books on my list now-but I’ll prioritize that one!
I just came across your channel and it rules. I'm gunna start reading. Thank you my friend.
Thanks! My pleasure!
I just read this. It's so satisfying to find such incredible literature after a long lifetime of reading.
Yes, yes, yes!
Thank you so much for this review. I just finished this book and thought it was extraordinary! I came upon this book referenced in The Sentence by Louise Erdrich. Serendipity indeed.
My pleasure! This is indeed an extraordinary little book. I've had The Sentence on my TBR since it came out. You've just bumped its priority!
Thanks for this! Enjoying your channel. Recently savored Stoner. Looking forward to your Concavity episode.
Glad you enjoyed it (the video and Stoner). That GC episode should be posted in early February, and my IJ video will go up on Tuesday.
It’s been in my wish list for a while, no more procrastinating!
I'm rooting for you!
cant help but see a similarity to Delillo's waste management executive in Underworld
Super grateful for this video! For myself and for whoever happens upon this book and wants to know more. Thank you. Kind of a cheap question, but what do you make of the ending/final line?
As her name ends up being the Greek word for light, I take this to mean he finally “saw the light”-or ascended into a form of Paradise, to continue the Dante analogy.
Have you read any Álvaro Mutis? The Adventures and Misadventures of Maqroll is one of the best books I have ever read. If you like Borges, Conrad or Márquez, Mutis is a must read.
Someone recently alerted me to this book and when I saw that NYRB had reissued it, it felt like Christmas! It's near the top of the TBR.
Mutis has ascended to the top of my pantheon. Even Brossard fails to threaten his place.
Conrad, too, remains near the top.
Well then! Sounds like I need to re-evaluate my priorities!
The quote you started with is a KNOCKOUT.
Yes!
Thanks for another great video Chris! Hit me with it straight bud, better than Stoner??😁
I’d have to say no, since I’m forced to choose. But in the same league.
One of the awesomest book I've ever read! Can I ask you a favour? Can you make a video on beowulf? Because I'm studying this epic poem in these days. Thanks for your precious videos!
Yes, this little gem is amazing indeed! Yeesh--Beowulf? It has been quite some time for me, though I did enjoy my Seamus Heaney translation. Which translation/edition are you using?
@@LeafbyLeaf , seamus heaney!
Right on! Well, I'll see what I can do. Can't promise anything soon though.
Someone mentioned Stoner, the book in which the phrase "he performed his love" appears. A writer should be critically laughed out of court for that alone.
Haha! I tend to like prose like that; the more ornate style of, say, Thomas Wolfe.
@@LeafbyLeaf More power to you, sir. It would be very tedious if everyone liked the exact same list of books. I came to your channel while surfing for Hrabal material. One of the reasons I like Hrabal is that he had so many jobs and mcjobs.
Totally agree with you. I need to move onto some more Hrabal.
Hrabal = God. The Belgian actor Koen van Kaam (Theater Zuidpool) made a beautiful staging of Too loud a solitude. I've seen it twice, both times I cried my eyes ou. Van Kaam is a brilliant actor. Ah, I see it's on again this season, I'll make sure to go again! www.zuidpool.be/nl/producties/284/al-te-luide-eenzaamheid/theater-zuidpool
Very cool! Thanks for letting me know about this.
HAHAHA i love the hrabal joke thanks for that.
I told my wife about that joke and she just shook her head. Haha!
Your ideas about Hitler are crazy and ill-informed. Hitler loved Nietszche. He would never dump that philosopher's books. You just blab out "facts" that are based on your glib fancy.