레이블이 Novel 50 Shades of Gray인 게시물을 표시합니다. 모든 게시물 표시
레이블이 Novel 50 Shades of Gray인 게시물을 표시합니다. 모든 게시물 표시

2013년 11월 28일 목요일

About 'book the 50 shades of grey'|50 Shade of Grey Gets All the Glory, But You Can Find Better Erotica Out There







About 'book the 50 shades of grey'|50 Shade of Grey Gets All the Glory, But You Can Find Better Erotica Out There








               During               my               sophomore               year               of               college,               I               got               to               attend               the               classics               department               end-of-year               party,               where               I               was               introduced               to               the               combination               of               tequila,               lime,               salt,               and               outrageous               drunkenness.

I               had               about               ten               or               eleven               before               I               felt               the               first               one.

By               the               fourteenth,               I               was               shouting               at               the               top               of               my               lungs               that               classics               people               were               the               greatest               people               in               the               world,               and               that               I               would               start               a               major               in               Ancient               Greek               in               September.
               And               since               it               was               the               1970s,               I               drove               home               from               the               party               (with               my               head               out               the               window,               because               I               needed               the               air               on               my               face               so               I               could               see).

I               found               my               car               three               days               later,               intact,               on               the               side               of               a               hill.
               My               drunken               word,               however,               was               my               sober               bond,               and               I               did               four               years               of               Ancient               Greek,               and               a               little               Latin               besides,               over               the               next               two               years.
               I               mention               this               because               I               know               I               sound               hopelessly               pedantic               and               full               of               myself               with               a               title               like               "On               Rereading               the               Iliad."               But               the               reality               is               that               I               read               the               damned               thing               back               when               I               was               in               college,               and               a               lot               of               the               Odyssey,               too,               in               Ancient               Greek.

So               when               I               saw               a               new               translation               of               the               Iliad               at               my               local               library,               I               picked               it               up               to               see               if               I               could               tolerate               reading               it               again.
               Surprisingly,               I               could.

The               epic,               400-page,               24-volume               poem               describing               the               Trojan               War               remains               a               fascinating               read.

Not               that               Homer,               the               blind               poet               who               allegedly               composed               and               recited               the               Iliad               almost               4,000               years               ago,               needs               a               thumbs               up               from               someone               like               me.

But               it               is               remarkable               to               read               the               tale               anew,               thirty-five               years               later.

The               Iliad               hasn't               changed,               but               our               world               certainly               has,               as               the               experience               of               rereading               it               made               clear.
               The               first               thing               to               note               about               the               Iliad               is               its               sheer               length.

If               Homer               had               lived               today,               a               war               correspondent               embedded               with               some               unit               somewhere,               he               wouldn't               have               written               an               epic.

He               would               have               simply               texted,               "We               won."
               The               sheer               voluminousness               of               The               Iliad,               by               contrast,               indicates               the               dramatic               collapse               of               the               attention               span               of               the               average               person.

Who               on               earth               would               have               patience               today,               present               company               excluded,               to               listen               to               someone               talking               about               400               pages               of               war               stories?

Because               the               thing               was               recited,               presumably               around               the               fire               at               night,               instead               of               being               read.

It               just               shows               that               people               back               then-in               the               8th               Century               B.C.E.,               when               the               Iliad               was               composed,               and               in               the               1970s,               when               I               was               first               exposed               to               it-had               a               lot               more               patience               and               a               much               greater               appetite               for               detail,               in               both               of               those               two               ancient               periods.
               Next               is               the               violence.

The               Iliad               is               filled               with               gore.

Spears               jam               through               fighters'               nipples.

Huge               boulders               are               smashed               onto               the               heads               of               enemies.

Helmets               fill               with               blood.

You               get               the               point.

Hector               of               Troy               was               the               first               Travis               Bickle,               turning               to               Zeus               and               say,               in               so               many               words,               "You               talking               to               me?"
               You               could               stick               Agamemnon               and               Achilles               into               Apocalypse               Now               and               hear               either               of               them               say,               "I               love               the               smell               of               napalm               in               the               morning."               Of               course,               they               didn't               have               napalm               back               when               the               Greeks               invaded               Troy,               but               if               they               did,               both               sides               would               have               loved               it.
               Or               maybe               not.

The               fighters               of               the               Iliad               on               both               sides               were               obsessed               with               reputation.

Nobility               as               a               warrior               came               from               confronting               your               enemy               face               to               face,               closing               on               him               with               spear,               rock,               or               fist,               looking               him               in               the               eye,               and               sending               him               straight               to               Hades.

It               was               unacceptable               in               Homer's               world               for               fighters               to               kill               in               dishonorable               ways,               such               as               chucking               your               spear               from               a               distance               into               a               crowd.

If               you               didn't               look               your               victim               in               the               eye,               you               weren't               a               man.
               Reputation               is               everything               to               the               warriors               on               both               sides.

When               they               speak,               and               they               frequently               make               lengthy               speeches               to               persuade               their               comrades               not               to               give               up               the               fight,               they               refer               at               great               length               to               their               noble               fathers               and               grandfathers,               their               countries               of               origin,               of               which               they               are               proud,               and               even               the               quality               of               the               equipment               they               use               for               battle-their               swords,               their               spears,               their               helmets.

Loss               of               life               means               nothing               to               them               compared               with               loss               of               face.
               As               a               result,               the               Trojan               War               as               described               in               the               Iliad               feels               like               a               modern-day               gang               war.

The               whole               thing               started               over               the               capture               of               a               woman.

The               war               has               gone               on               forever-well,               nine               or               ten               years-seemingly               with               no               end               in               sight.

The               killing               is               vicious,               brutal,               and               random.

It               could               be               the               Bloods               and               the               Crips,               or               for               that               matter,               the               Americans               and               the               Taliban               in               Afghanistan.

War               without               end,               amen.
               The               X               factor               in               all               of               this               is               the               role               of               the               Greek               gods.

The               warriors               fight               on,               with               the               understanding               that               their               own               valor               and               martial               skills               mean               nothing               if               the               gods               are               not               on               their               side.

Indeed,               Zeus,               the               greatest               of               the               gods,               and               his               wife,               Hera,               are               actually               supporting               opposite               sides.

My               favorite               moment               in               the               whole               Iliad               is               when               Hera               seduces               Zeus               on               top               of               Mount               Ida,               a               manufactured               cloud               respectfully               protecting               their               privacy,               so               that               Zeus               can               fall               into               a               post-coital               slumber               and               allow               Hera's               favored               warriors               briefly               to               gain               the               upper               hand.

Of               course,               when               he               wakes               up,               he's               thoroughly               annoyed               and               threatens               to               slap               her               down               all               the               way               to               Hades.

Think               Jimmy               Cagney               pushing               the               grapefruit               into               Mae               Clarke's               face               in               The               Public               Enemy.
               The               gods               are               everywhere               in               the               Iliad,               disguising               themselves               as               a               dream,               a               man,               or               a               force               of               nature;               spurring               warriors               to               battle;               or               offering               spiritual               CPR               to               the               wounded.

The               gods               are               not               too               spiritual               to               fail               to               notice               attractive               mortal               men               and               women,               with               whom               they               have               relations               and,               of               course,               offspring.

So               you've               got               gods,               you've               got               men,               and               you've               got               men               descended               from               gods.

It's               a               lot               to               keep               straight,               but               somehow               Homer               does,               and               so               does               his               audience.

There               are               more               warriors               in               the               Iliad               than               there               are               attorneys               in               all               of               John               Grisham's               works               combined.

People               must               have               had               the               ability               to               remember               more               stuff,               without               Facebook               to               keep               track               of               it               all.
               Another               noticeable               feature               of               the               Iliad               is               the               frequent               resort               to               metaphors               drawn               from               the               natural               world.

Fighters,               battles,               and               emotions               are               variously               compared               with               raging               rivers,               gale-force               winds,               strong               horses,               and               all-consuming               fire.

The               warriors               lived               in               a               world               without               technology,               even               though               technology               itself               is               a               word               borrowed               from               Greek.

Back               then,               their               idea               of               technology               was               a               well-made               spear.

The               constant               use               of               metaphors               drawn               from               nature               is               a               fascinating               reminder               of               just               how               removed               from               nature               we               moderns               find               ourselves.
               Like               natural               forces               in               the               Iliad,               emotions               run               rampant               as               well.

The               warriors               are               by               turn               angry,               entertained,               courageous,               fearful,               insolent,               and               sarcastic.

The               gods               are               much               the               same               way,               consumed               by               human               passions               as               they               cavort               and               dine               on               Olympus               or               Mount               Ida.

You               knew               where               you               stood               back               then.

Leaders               didn't               hesitate               to               call               others               among               them               idiots               or               morons               or               worse.

In               fact,               the               lowest               epithet               for               a               warrior               was               to               call               them               a               woman.

Why               not?

Political               correctness               would               not               come               into               existence               for               another               3,100               years.
               You               have               to               admire               the               courage               of               Stephen               Mitchell,               the               translator               of               this               new               version               of               the               Iliad,               and               Free               Press.

As               I               write               these               words,               the               translation               is               in               position               697,779               on               Amazon,               which               means               that               the               book               is               not               selling               as               well               as               50               Shades               of               Grey,               Killing               Lincoln,               every               book               telling               you               why               Obama               is               either               wonderful               or               terrible,               and               697,771               other               books.

It               brings               to               mind               a               comment               by               Robert               Graves,               a               British               classicist               who               realized               as               a               callow               youth               that               if               he               knocked               off               a               couple               of               bestsellers,               he'd               never               have               to               work               again               a               day               in               his               life.

So               he               went               and               wrote               a               book               called               I,               Claudius,               and               then               a               sequel,               Claudius               the               God,               monetizing               his               classical               training               in               a               way               that               must               have               infuriated               his               Oxford               dons.

He               did               in               fact               make               enough               money               from               those               books,               which               later               became               PBS               series,               never               to               have               to               work               again.
               Much               later               in               life,               he,               of               all               people,               addressed               the               New               York               University               School               of               Business,               where               a               student               asked               him               why               he               wrote               poetry,               since               there               was               no               money               in               poetry.
               To               which               Graves               wittily               responded,               "Yes,               but               there's               no               poetry               in               money,               either.
               There               may               not               be               a               ton               of               money               in               translating               or               publishing               the               Stephen               Mitchell               version               of               the               Iliad,               a               magnificent               and               thoroughly               enjoyable               Iliad               for               our               times.

But               I               sure               am               glad               they               did               it.
               And               no,               I'm               not               going               to               give               away               the               ending.

You're               just               going               to               have               to               read               it               for               yourself.






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book the 50 shades of grey
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    1. themeck.blogspot.com/   03/17/2012
      http://themeck.blogspot.com/2012/03/50-shades-of-grey-self-published-e-book.html Twitter / Follow The Meck The Meck Report /Blog www.TheMeck.com
    2. tahliapritchard.wordpress.com/   07/05/2013
      ... with the character of Christian Grey…. 50 Shades Of Grey: Book Review...fix’ the abusive partner. 50 Shades of Grey ...
    3. lindarodante.wordpress.com/   05/08/2012
      ... to her about the book 50 Shades of Grey: No, I didn’t see...just adding to the Roman tendencies of our society. We ...
    4. www.buzzfeed.com/   04/17/2012
      "50 Shades Of Grey" Author Says Talking About The Book Is "Excruciating": EL James gave a rare interview to the "Today" show this morn...
    5. pieface-ruminations.blogspot.com/   08/18/2013
      ...Brigade's campaign to alert people to the dangers facing ... that take inspiration from Fifty Shades of Grey . Ottawa firefighters get...
    6. www.buzzfeed.com/   05/19/2012
      The Least Erotic Reading Of "50 Shades Of Grey" By Gilbert Gottfried: The bestselling-book "50 Shades of Grey", known for st...
    7. slumshollywood.blogspot.com/   07/15/2012
      ... aren’t necessarily drawn to a book like 50 Shades of Grey. Nowadays, the book fan contingent is quite small, so to rake in the bucks...
    8. earlybirdcatchestheworm.wordpress.com/   09/10/2012
      ...since the 50 Shades phenomenon hit the mainstream... of the trilogy...after book review...Christian Grey and...erase the experience of 50 Shades of Grey from...
    9. whispersandconversations.blogspot.com/   04/26/2012
      ...novel 50 Shades of Grey , I...this book, you... the literary...from the world of Christian and Ana. 50 Shades of Grey ...heavy book. Not...
    10. depaulunderground.wordpress.com/   09/26/2012
      Book Review: 50 Shades of Grey by Kathryn... the country by...to another, 50 Shades of Grey is worth the read. The characterization...
    11. Book The 50 Shades Of Grey - Blog Homepage Results

      ...who will play main characters Christian Grey and Anastasia Steele of the popular book series '50 Shades of Grey' have finally been revealed! Charlie Hunnam (Sons of Anarchy) will...
      ...just how much 50 Shades of Grey ( which I have not... the hype created more than 50 years ago. The book I was...
      ...trilogy and see what all the fuss was about. Here is my review of the first book in the trilogy, 50 Shades of Grey, to follow will be 50 Shades Darker and 50 Shades Freed...



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    book the 50 shades of grey