(no subject)
Mar. 5th, 2012 11:34 amA few weeks ago, I was having (delicious vegetarian dim sum) lunch with ![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
schiarire.
"HAVE YOU READ THE POSSESSED YET?" said Ji.
". . . the Chaim Potok book?" said I, having a brain-blank and mistaking it for The Promise.
". . . no," said Ji, "the grad student chronicle about Russian literature where she applies for a grant to go to Russia to investigate Tolstoy's SUSPICIOUS DEATH!"
Me: "Sounds reasonable."
Ji: "He was eighty-two . . . and he died of old age . . ."
So I went and got The Possessed out of the library and in short order was texting Ji deep thoughts that mostly consisted of LOLOLOLOL, because Elif Batuman is one of those people who has the gift of making anything seem completely hilarious, including the travails of being a grad student with an obsession for Russian literature.
My favorite bit, and the one that had me laughing the hardest, was probably the chapter in which she organizes an Isaac Babel conference. This is a.) because I know more about Isaac Babel than I do about most other Russian writers (HE JUST WANTED SOME COFFEE) and b.) because there is nothing more inherently ridiculous than the process of organizing an academic conference.
This chapter also guest stars Grad Student Skywalker, with the crush on Isaac Babel's ninety-year-old former mistress ("I don't care, she is so hot, you don't understand") and Isaac Babel's daughter who TALKS LIKE DEATH ("JANET, IS IT TRUE THAT YOU DESPISE ME?" "You and I have barely had any interactions . . ." "Even so, I had the impression -- that you DESPISE ME.") so really there is no way for it not to be brilliant. Seriously, read the book just for this chapter alone. IT'S WORTH IT.
I will admit I was sort of taken aback by the final chapter of the book, in which a grad student who had previously just been one of the rotating cast of wacky university characters suddenly turned out to be a fatally charismatic Byron who ruins the lives of everyone he touches. This is great for discussing Dostoevsky, but a little . . . perplexing . . . but maybe it's just a grad school experience I cannot really relate to. Either I have never met any fatally charismatic Byrons, or I just didn't notice they were around . . .?
IT'S STILL ENTERTAINING THOUGH so if you are the kind of person who enjoys watching people dork out about books, or alternately just enjoys laughing your head off, I cannot recommend The Possessed enough!
schiarire."HAVE YOU READ THE POSSESSED YET?" said Ji.
". . . the Chaim Potok book?" said I, having a brain-blank and mistaking it for The Promise.
". . . no," said Ji, "the grad student chronicle about Russian literature where she applies for a grant to go to Russia to investigate Tolstoy's SUSPICIOUS DEATH!"
Me: "Sounds reasonable."
Ji: "He was eighty-two . . . and he died of old age . . ."
So I went and got The Possessed out of the library and in short order was texting Ji deep thoughts that mostly consisted of LOLOLOLOL, because Elif Batuman is one of those people who has the gift of making anything seem completely hilarious, including the travails of being a grad student with an obsession for Russian literature.
My favorite bit, and the one that had me laughing the hardest, was probably the chapter in which she organizes an Isaac Babel conference. This is a.) because I know more about Isaac Babel than I do about most other Russian writers (HE JUST WANTED SOME COFFEE) and b.) because there is nothing more inherently ridiculous than the process of organizing an academic conference.
This chapter also guest stars Grad Student Skywalker, with the crush on Isaac Babel's ninety-year-old former mistress ("I don't care, she is so hot, you don't understand") and Isaac Babel's daughter who TALKS LIKE DEATH ("JANET, IS IT TRUE THAT YOU DESPISE ME?" "You and I have barely had any interactions . . ." "Even so, I had the impression -- that you DESPISE ME.") so really there is no way for it not to be brilliant. Seriously, read the book just for this chapter alone. IT'S WORTH IT.
I will admit I was sort of taken aback by the final chapter of the book, in which a grad student who had previously just been one of the rotating cast of wacky university characters suddenly turned out to be a fatally charismatic Byron who ruins the lives of everyone he touches. This is great for discussing Dostoevsky, but a little . . . perplexing . . . but maybe it's just a grad school experience I cannot really relate to. Either I have never met any fatally charismatic Byrons, or I just didn't notice they were around . . .?
IT'S STILL ENTERTAINING THOUGH so if you are the kind of person who enjoys watching people dork out about books, or alternately just enjoys laughing your head off, I cannot recommend The Possessed enough!
