Evidently, Bowie actually did read books. That list is not some airhead celebrity book club thing. And I think there are some surprising choices, especially along kinda cultural conservative lines.
Start with the number three choice: Room at the Top, the 1959 novel that kicked off an 'angry young man' wave of British novels with working class heroes rebelling at the social hierarchy. We have an overload of alienated young men again today, only today they don't seem to be producing quality literature.
I'll overlook the Howard Zinn dishonest embarrassment because RATT and some of the other picks are just that good.
You expect to see classics like 1984 and The Iliad, so no surprise there. But Faulkner's As I Lay Dying? How did a modern English guy develop a taste for Southern Gothic?
Seeing The Master and Margarita makes we wonder if there might be a Mick Jagger tie-in, since that book inspired The Stones' Sympathy For the Devil, the most historically literate rock song of all time.
Lolita is another one that might have a backstory. Most people who have heard of that book have no idea it has a political subtext. If you're one of them, then I highly recommend the memoir Reading Lolita In Tehran, or just watch this interview.
Darkness at Noon, The Waste Land, and The 42nd Parallel are works of the political and cultural right, hands down. Really, Bowie was risking social banishment by including those on his list. Good for him.
Rebel Rebel, you continue to surprise and delight.
12 comments:
Of course he was in "The Hunger", and an entire generation worried about the correct pronunciation of his last name.
I never got around to that one, although I do approve of the lovely French lady he co-starred with, and I see the film is said to be in the "erotic horror" category. Hum. If there is any skin in that flick I'll catch it somewhere on line. Thanks!
Don't worry there is.
Yeah with Catherine D. and Susan Saranwrap, it'll keep you up.
That's good to know, thanks! My confidence in the film industry is restored. Also, her politics aside, Susan S. has a definite appeal. I recall a scene with her running in the drenching rain wearing only a thin nightie, and ... she ... what was I saying? I lost track of my thoughts.
Try " Atlantic City" with Sarandon and Lancaster.
Another good one!
Oddly enough I'm optimistic about the national situation!
The election race will go back-and-forth, and people on both sides seem pretty agreeable with it for now. But if election night turns into another election month, all bets are off.
Agreed
I am learning to fly a drone and become tech support savvy, a thousand apologies!
No need to apologize. It's always good to learn a new trade.
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