April 24, 2007

Gratuitous Llama Literary Observation

Vanity Fair.jpg

Just by way of applying the damper rods before this blog goes all China-Syndrome in its insanity this afternoon (I'm still gurgling and shuddering over "Maya Anjelou awesome goth chick swimwear"), I thought I'd mention two interrelated things:

First, I had never read Thackery's Vanity Fair before, even though I was an English major in college and have been an avid reader forever. All I can say is that Victorian novelists were not in favor at The People's Glorious Soviet of Middletown and VF simply never made it on to my list afterwards.

Second, I am now in the middle of reading Vanity Fair and am thoroughly enjoying it. Thackery's got a flippant yet not overly cruel narrative style that is a positive delight and quite a bit different from any other Victorian I've come across in my puff. And the story he's building up is getting more wicked and witty all the time. I find myself regretting that I hadn't come across this gem earlier.

Okay, that's about it. And now back to the madness.

Posted by Robert at April 24, 2007 02:37 PM | TrackBack
Comments

I loved Vanity Fair so much I even named a pet Japanese fighting fish Makepeace.

Posted by: Mrs. Peperium at April 24, 2007 03:18 PM

Alas, fellow English major here who's also never read that book.

Send me yours when you're done, willya?

Posted by: GroovyVic at April 24, 2007 04:05 PM

Thackery made illustrated initial letters (as in illuminated medieval manuscipts) for Vanity Fair's chapters, and snuck even more subtle satire into the pictures - it's worth tracking down an edition that reprints them -- I know one existed long ago when I wrote a senior paper on them.

Posted by: Kelly at April 24, 2007 05:07 PM

I took a Victorian Novel class at ND's sister school, St. Mary's. I was the only guy in the class.

Vanity Fair, Hardy's Return of the Native, and Trollope's Can You Forgive Her.

I remember nothing of any of them.

Posted by: The Colossus at April 25, 2007 02:29 PM