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OscarWilde

I was reading 'Immortality' by Milan Kundera, but I wasn't in the mood for philosophy dressed in mystical fantasy. So I switched to something brain dead like Clive Cussler's* 'Valhalla Rising'.

Anywhooo... before I switched gears from intellectualism to brain dead reading, I remember some phrases from 'Immortality'. One, which I decided to use in my signature here. Here it is again with more of the prior and proceeding passages:

'What name to give to this attitude? Cowardice? No. Cowards are afraid of dying and will fight to survive. Nobility? Undoubtedly, if he had acted out of regard for his fellows.
'... What was it then? She couldn't say. Only one thing seemed certain: on a sinking ship where it was necessary to fight in order to board a lifeboat, Father would have been condemned in advance.
'...Yes. That much was certain. The question that arises is this: had Father hated the people on the ship...
'No... Hate traps us by binding us too tightly to our adversary. ...it was precisely this kind of intimacy that Father found repugnant. The melee on the ship filled him with such disgust that he preferred to drown. The physical contact with people who struck and trampled and killed one another seemed far worse to him then solitary death in the purity of the waters.
'...and in its place a phrase came into her mind: I cannot hate them because nothing binds me to them; I have nothing in common with them.'
- Chapter 5, Immortality, by Milan Kundera
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'An urban myth. Like the dyslexic devil worshipper who sold his soul to Santa.' - Robert Rankin (Raiders of the Lost Car Park)

'Hate traps us by binding us too tightly to our adversary.' - Milan Kundera (Immortality)

FondueDaredevil · Posted: Fri May 27, 2005 8:41 am Post subject:

That is an great quote and a terrific philosophical observation.

Hey OW, ever read, "Dune Messiah"? It's full of stuff like that. I had a desk calendar in college, the kind that was large and covered most of the desk, and as I read the Herbert book I would write quotes on my calendar. By the end of November you could barely see the dates on the calendar!
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OscarWilde · Posted: Fri May 27, 2005 8:44 am Post subject:

FondueDaredevil · Posted: Fri May 27, 2005 8:46 am Post subject:

OscarWilde · Posted: Fri May 27, 2005 8:56 am Post subject:

Forgot my footnote regarding Clive Cussler. As many of you probably know by now, Clive Cussler's book, Sahara, has been made into a movie.
Now, if you've read Cussler's books, you probably know that his books are the epitome of formulaic writing. His story arcs are exactly the same. Dirk Pitt always gets righteously pissed off at the bad guys and is going to dish out some ass kicking. And also, if you ever want to know about 'Dues Ex-Machina', basically every time Dirk Pitt and gang get out of some sticky situation, it defines the latin (or is it greek?) phrase.

None the less, his books are a fun breezy read. It's contemporary heroic romanticism. Much like JRR Tolkein's LOTR, where the good guys are amazingly god like when they stand tall and stare out into the distance with their deep penetrating eyes, and you feel goose bumps and a touch of homo-erotic desires for the leading male characters. And don't tell me LOTR is not heroic romanticism. Even Tolkein says his books can be read as that type of genre if one neglects the 'history' he has behind the story.
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'An urban myth. Like the dyslexic devil worshipper who sold his soul to Santa.' - Robert Rankin (Raiders of the Lost Car Park)

'Hate traps us by binding us too tightly to our adversary.' - Milan Kundera (Immortality)

OscarWilde · Posted: Fri May 27, 2005 8:59 am Post subject:

OscarWilde · Posted: Sat Mar 11, 2006 11:22 pm Post subject:

Well, i'm reading Dune at the moment. Then I shall get Dune Messiah and read that when I'm done reading Dune.
You will get to read my opinion of Dune in a few days. How smammy!
_________________
'An urban myth. Like the dyslexic devil worshipper who sold his soul to Santa.' - Robert Rankin (Raiders of the Lost Car Park)

'Hate traps us by binding us too tightly to our adversary.' - Milan Kundera (Immortality)