tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8011557877105021955.post5111264693891834901..comments2024-03-25T22:59:30.053+00:00Comments on Desperate Reader: The Good Soldier - Ford Madox FordDesperate Readerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15708411387912078122noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8011557877105021955.post-10098383411920276562012-11-03T13:24:31.130+00:002012-11-03T13:24:31.130+00:00I read The Good Soldier several years ago for an o...I read The Good Soldier several years ago for an online reading group and absolutely loved it. My sister-in-law gave me the audio book version for my birthday this year and I spent many happy hours enjoying its wily craftiness again. I'm completely with you - all first person narrators are unreliable, in that they get to tell the story they way they want to. What would the fun be, if they didn't?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8011557877105021955.post-34802927661694660062012-10-08T23:19:19.136+01:002012-10-08T23:19:19.136+01:00It seems I am a fan of adding two letters where on...It seems I am a fan of adding two letters where one would do. I get so paranoid about it but it doesn't seem to stop me at all. Sigh. Desperate Readerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15708411387912078122noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8011557877105021955.post-4074580262046294862012-10-08T21:15:32.856+01:002012-10-08T21:15:32.856+01:00Oops, I meant boo-boo. See?Oops, I meant boo-boo. See?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8011557877105021955.post-33470688003893663592012-10-08T21:14:56.927+01:002012-10-08T21:14:56.927+01:00Me again, and I was happy to be able to help a fel...Me again, and I was happy to be able to help a fellow D'OH-speller. I make similar mistakes all the time. My biggest boo-book was writing Fullbright in a Fulbright application. Sigh.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8011557877105021955.post-90267229986325963662012-10-08T21:00:40.100+01:002012-10-08T21:00:40.100+01:00I really did enjoy it Harriet. The Cornflower disc...I really did enjoy it Harriet. The Cornflower discussion surprised me - I hadn't expected opinion to be so polarised. I quite understand the people who just wanted to give the characters a good shake and tell them to get on with it, I've actually sworn at the book I'm currently reading I find it so frustrating, I struggle with the idea of Ford as a bad story teller though. Perhaps that's because like you I quite enjoy an unreliable narrator - especially one as fascinating as Dowell, I was amused, and could easily be convinced, by the theory that he's a murderer. I wondered if he too was in love with Edward? So many questions, and such a good book! Desperate Readerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15708411387912078122noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8011557877105021955.post-87207383243504466372012-10-08T20:31:35.726+01:002012-10-08T20:31:35.726+01:00Oh dear, how very embarrassing. Thank you for the ...Oh dear, how very embarrassing. Thank you for the nudge - I have gone back and thoroughly corrected (I hope) now. Desperate Readerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15708411387912078122noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8011557877105021955.post-22189412576928656462012-10-08T20:18:05.368+01:002012-10-08T20:18:05.368+01:00One "d." Madox. ;-)One "d." Madox. ;-)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8011557877105021955.post-79421059775688444722012-10-08T08:03:04.208+01:002012-10-08T08:03:04.208+01:00I am so happy that you enjoyed this wonderful nove...I am so happy that you enjoyed this wonderful novel. If you have looked at the Cornflower discussion you will see that I praised it to the skies and was roundly contradicted by a large number of other readers. I adore unreliable narrators and books that make you think, which apparently is not the case with many of the Cornflower commentators. I have got a copy of Parade's End, as I loved the TV adaptation, and you've reminded me it's time to make a start on it. Thanks!harriethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04470091985662379182noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8011557877105021955.post-21263781393109529812012-10-07T22:10:47.156+01:002012-10-07T22:10:47.156+01:00Unreliable narrator isn't a term I'm very ...Unreliable narrator isn't a term I'm very comfortable with, like Modernism I think it's the kind of thing that can put you off, and really - what narrator is reliable? I will go and investigate on Cornflower to see what others thought and why. <br /><br />I like spoilers so a book with a non linear narrative that gives away the end almost before it's begun will generally appeal to me, I also found Leonora a particularly satisfactory character (if not always likeable). If I had a niggle at all it would be the high body count - but knowing you didn't like it just makes me want to go back and read it more so I can work out why. Desperate Readerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15708411387912078122noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8011557877105021955.post-1491864052195751342012-10-07T19:24:04.603+01:002012-10-07T19:24:04.603+01:00I always find the Unreliable Narrator hard to get ...I always find the Unreliable Narrator hard to get on with, and was quite unhappy with this book, so much so that I'm unkeen to give it another go. It was read on Cornflower's book group some time ago, and I was utterly delighted to find that I was Not Alone......Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8011557877105021955.post-29257734257491874402012-10-07T19:02:33.389+01:002012-10-07T19:02:33.389+01:00I loved it Annabel, and so many questions - it sho...I loved it Annabel, and so many questions - it should be such a good book to discuss.Desperate Readerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15708411387912078122noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8011557877105021955.post-9720903664044662082012-10-07T18:49:12.567+01:002012-10-07T18:49:12.567+01:00What serendipity! I am just about to start reading...What serendipity! I am just about to start reading this for our book group this month. I'm really looking forward to it.Annabel (gaskella)http://gaskella.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.com