[silk] For the Arundhati Roy haters out there
Absolutely classic, thanks to Atanu Dey for pointing me (and the rest of india-gii) to it. http://exile.ru/articles/detail.php?ARTICLE_ID=6487IBLOCK_ID=35 Great Literary Frauds of Our Time By John Dolan Too bad it compares the dog of small minded mallus to to kill a mockingbird - which was much better written than this one. And was actually sincere.
Re: [silk] For the Arundhati Roy haters out there
--- On Tue, 23/3/10, Suresh Ramasubramanian sur...@hserus.net wrote: From: Suresh Ramasubramanian sur...@hserus.net Subject: [silk] For the Arundhati Roy haters out there To: silklist@lists.hserus.net Date: Tuesday, 23 March, 2010, 6:44 Absolutely classic, thanks to Atanu Dey for pointing me (and the rest of india-gii) to it. http://exile.ru/articles/detail.php?ARTICLE_ID=6487IBLOCK_ID=35 Great Literary Frauds of Our Time By John Dolan Too bad it compares the dog of small minded mallus to to kill a mockingbird - which was much better written than this one. And was actually sincere. ++ From an Arundhati-Roy hater, who hates the review ++ Absolutely classic? Suresh, you git, what's wrong with you? A series of vicious remarks, no before and after, no backing for the statements made, and that's absolutely classic? If you are so easily turned on, I'm writing to you separately with URLs that you really must read. This particular essay sucks. It sneers with no pause, smiles mysteriously and significantly and uses its elbows and winks like it was going out of fashion. Just watch this (an extract from the review, with comments added after //): And she is a fraud. //Why? Because the essay says so; because she said, once, in an interview a long time ago, that she liked the book To Kill A Mockingbird. Because she's from a long line of Indian do-gooders who piss off the Amerikan Kulturnyi like the writer of the essay. A literary careerist who has parlayed an overwritten melodrama into unearned fame; //'Overwritten melodrama': fair dinkum; 'unearned fame': what's earned fame, smart-ass? a child of privilege whose early experiments in poverty were no more than a smart career move; //Believe; I said it. Her background is not unknown to many here. She was born to privilege, but hardly got to see much of it. Smart career move? Difficult to refute, since there's not even a half-assed attempt at justifying it. and a fake saint who fucked her way to fame and survives, in spite of her complete lack of talent, because her crude scolding warms the heart of old British lefties who love it when their tame Indian slaves get up on their hind legs to denounce the bloody Americans, who oppress the world so much less skillfully than they used to.//Wow. Without the exclamation mark. Fake, fucking and leftie-beloved; all the entry tickets to the American Hall of Fame, all in one package. Why fake? She's no saint. What saint? Hey, don't go dumb on me. I already said I'd had enough of Indian saints like Ghandi, Nehru and Baghwan Rajneesh (OK, OK, he didn't say Ghandi, he did say Baghwan; he doesn't like these Hindoo creeps getting into Pat Robertson territory). Fucked her way to fame? Just a bald statement, presumably meaningful because she's female; would it even have come up for a male author? In any case, that's a disqualification for America and Americans, or for anyone in the western world? That's news. The reviewer mentions Updike. NOT a good idea, reviewer mio, about as smart as her mentioning To Kill a Mockingbird where all the culture vultures could pick it up. Leftie-beloved? Ah, now we're getting there. That's what this piece of shit is all about, isn't it? It's about all of these bastards who went neutral on us when we were fighting the VC and quelling dissent in Guatemala, and getting a handle on those pesky rebels in Nicaragua. They and their British, homosexual, leftie fans. All against the Amurrican way of life. What they need is the bomb. End of quote, end of breathless rush to immortalise essay. Suresh, you really like this? Honestly? I need to hear you say that once again.
Re: [silk] For the Arundhati Roy haters out there
Indrajit Gupta [23/03/10 09:43 +0530]: End of quote, end of breathless rush to immortalise essay. Suresh, you really like this? Honestly? I need to hear you say that once again. i would say that a lot of it - such as the copy of to kill a mockingbird - is true enough yes it is more vicious than I care for - but that's more or less in the fight fire with fire realm
Re: [silk] For the Arundhati Roy haters out there
Is anyone else seeing the giveaway in bold at the very top of the page: Brought to you by Enron? -- Pavithra Sankaran
Re: [silk] For the Arundhati Roy haters out there
On Tue, Mar 23, 2010 at 9:43 AM, Indrajit Gupta bonoba...@yahoo.co.inwrote: Absolutely classic? Suresh, you git, what's wrong with you? A series of vicious remarks, no before and after, no backing for the statements made, and that's absolutely classic? Suresh, you really like this? While I might not express myself with such vehemence, I do feel that the essay is not a well-thought-out, logical or reasonable one, for all the reasons IG mentions. And I too ask the question, Why are F*me and F*ck interchangeable 4-letter words only when it comes to famous women? However...to compare the God Of Small Things (this may be the first time in several years that this novel's ACTUAL name is mentioned without spoofing it) with To Kill A Mockingbird isI'm sorry, I'm no Arundhati Roy, I can't find a telling enough simile. To Kill A Mockingbird is permeated throughout by two rare characteristics: good writing, and goodness. Apparently Gregory Peck was, in real life, a person like Atticus Finch; it's the goodness of his character, and the innocence of the narrator, and the skill with which it's brought out by the author, that lifts this book to the level of good literature. Now, Bonobashi has turned into Suresh-bashiIf Suresh likes it, IG, he has a right to his opinion...er, by the way, what's a git? Pavithra, good point :) Deepa.
Re: [silk] For the Arundhati Roy haters out there
--- On Tue, 23/3/10, Suresh Ramasubramanian sur...@hserus.net wrote: From: Suresh Ramasubramanian sur...@hserus.net Subject: Re: [silk] For the Arundhati Roy haters out there To: silklist@lists.hserus.net Date: Tuesday, 23 March, 2010, 9:52 Indrajit Gupta [23/03/10 09:43 +0530]: End of quote, end of breathless rush to immortalise essay. Suresh, you really like this? Honestly? I need to hear you say that once again. i would say that a lot of it - such as the copy of to kill a mockingbird - is true enough yes it is more vicious than I care for - but that's more or less in the fight fire with fire realm Oh no, please, not that one; it is the ends that count, not the means, argument. Please, please, please; it's nicer being dragged through a hedge backwards than to go into this chestnut. I surrender. burn that fucking witch (emphasise on the verb: good women don't do it except with their husbands, one husband at a time) at the stake, and cut off the right hands of all women who come out of the kitchen and learn to read and write. You got it, champ.
Re: [silk] For the Arundhati Roy haters out there
--- On Tue, 23/3/10, Pavithra Sankaran forpavit...@yahoo.com wrote: From: Pavithra Sankaran forpavit...@yahoo.com Subject: Re: [silk] For the Arundhati Roy haters out there To: silklist@lists.hserus.net Date: Tuesday, 23 March, 2010, 9:59 Is anyone else seeing the giveaway in bold at the very top of the page: Brought to you by Enron? -- Pavithra Sankaran Naah. Now don't spoil things; it's too much fun to jump on Suresh. Go away. Go and read the rest of the soft-porn on the magazine. You'll find those on the margins.
Re: [silk] For the Arundhati Roy haters out there
Arundhati Roy is an over-hyped writer and an unbalanced demagogue (my opinion) *To Kill a Mockingbird* is a book I like very much. The article Suresh sent is a coarse version of A Roy's polemics. Suresh is free to like it. We are free to think it is poisonous trash that has little credibility. Then we see the Enron stamp. End of discussion.
Re: [silk] For the Arundhati Roy haters out there
--- On Tue, 23/3/10, Deepa Mohan mohande...@gmail.com wrote: From: Deepa Mohan mohande...@gmail.com Subject: Re: [silk] For the Arundhati Roy haters out there To: silklist@lists.hserus.net Date: Tuesday, 23 March, 2010, 10:07 On Tue, Mar 23, 2010 at 9:43 AM, Indrajit Gupta bonoba...@yahoo.co.in wrote: Absolutely classic? Suresh, you git, what's wrong with you? A series of vicious remarks, no before and after, no backing for the statements made, and that's absolutely classic? Suresh, you really like this? While I might not express myself with such vehemence, I do feel that the essay is not a well-thought-out, logical or reasonable one, for all the reasons IG mentions. And I too ask the question, Why are F*me and F*ck interchangeable 4-letter words only when it comes to famous women? However...to compare the God Of Small Things (this may be the first time in several years that this novel's ACTUAL name is mentioned without spoofing it) with To Kill A Mockingbird isI'm sorry, I'm no Arundhati Roy, I can't find a telling enough simile. To Kill A Mockingbird is permeated throughout by two rare characteristics: good writing, and goodness. Apparently Gregory Peck was, in real life, a person like Atticus Finch; it's the goodness of his character, and the innocence of the narrator, and the skill with which it's brought out by the author, that lifts this book to the level of good literature. Now, Bonobashi has turned into Suresh-bashiIf Suresh likes it, IG, he has a right to his opinion...er, by the way, what's a git? Pavithra, good point :) === Hey, that's OK, D., Suresh liked the review, and he has a right to his opinion; I didn't, and I have a right to mine. Suresh put up a scurrilous review, scurrilous in every sense of the word, not his own, somebody else's poisonous little epistle. I responded with my own bit of poison, which has at least the virtue of being entirely my own bit of hate. bonobashi
Re: [silk] For the Arundhati Roy haters out there
having seen To kill a mockingbird 32 times (kept the netflix dvd for 3 months) i have to agree: atticus finch was an amazing character played with great conviction by gregory peck. I really disliked the reviewer's style. also if she Fucked her way she did fuck men didn't she-how do we know they weren't fucking her on the way up? or was he jealous because she didn't? just wondering why a one-hit wonder is so terrible - that is a lot better than the total miss that most of us seem to enjoy! it is ok if he didn't like the book or her politics - icons tend to have feet of clay. On Mon, Mar 22, 2010 at 9:37 PM, Deepa Mohan mohande...@gmail.com wrote: On Tue, Mar 23, 2010 at 9:43 AM, Indrajit Gupta bonoba...@yahoo.co.inwrote: Absolutely classic? Suresh, you git, what's wrong with you? A series of vicious remarks, no before and after, no backing for the statements made, and that's absolutely classic? Suresh, you really like this? While I might not express myself with such vehemence, I do feel that the essay is not a well-thought-out, logical or reasonable one, for all the reasons IG mentions. And I too ask the question, Why are F*me and F*ck interchangeable 4-letter words only when it comes to famous women? However...to compare the God Of Small Things (this may be the first time in several years that this novel's ACTUAL name is mentioned without spoofing it) with To Kill A Mockingbird isI'm sorry, I'm no Arundhati Roy, I can't find a telling enough simile. To Kill A Mockingbird is permeated throughout by two rare characteristics: good writing, and goodness. Apparently Gregory Peck was, in real life, a person like Atticus Finch; it's the goodness of his character, and the innocence of the narrator, and the skill with which it's brought out by the author, that lifts this book to the level of good literature. Now, Bonobashi has turned into Suresh-bashiIf Suresh likes it, IG, he has a right to his opinion...er, by the way, what's a git? Pavithra, good point :) Deepa.
Re: [silk] For the Arundhati Roy haters out there
Deepa Mohan [23/03/10 10:07 +0530]: To Kill A Mockingbird is permeated throughout by two rare characteristics: good writing, and goodness. Apparently Gregory Peck was, in real life, a person like Atticus Finch; it's the goodness of his character, and the innocence of the narrator, and the skill with which it's brought out by the author, that lifts this book to the level of good literature. Which is why to kill a mockingbird is still a genuine hit - even today. And i have a much thumbed copy with me. Taking all the ingredients of a successful recipe doesnt always guarantee a dish of the same quality
Re: [silk] For the Arundhati Roy haters out there
Netflix complained that i wasn't letting anybody else see it:-) definitely will read it. On Mon, Mar 22, 2010 at 10:17 PM, Deepa Mohan mohande...@gmail.com wrote: On Tue, Mar 23, 2010 at 10:19 AM, Radhika, Y. radhik...@gmail.com wrote: having seen To kill a mockingbird 32 times (kept the netflix dvd for 3 months) i have to agree: atticus finch was an amazing character played with great conviction by gregory peck. Radhika, I hope you've also read the book..if you haven't do so eftsoons and right speedily, as any Wodehouse character would say. Once in a rare while you come across a book and a movie which are as good as each other...this is one of them. The book comes alive in the movie. It's also wonderful to see children depicted as children and not as mini-adults. R K Narayan and Bill Watterson have this gift, too. And why did you keep the DVD only for 3 months?! The book and the movie still have the power to bring tears to my eyes. After this, the next time I felt like this was when I finished The Remains of the Day. That was powerful writing too. Deepa.
Re: [silk] For the Arundhati Roy haters out there
Deepa Mohan [23/03/10 10:47 +0530]: It's also wonderful to see children depicted as children and not as mini-adults. R K Narayan and Bill Watterson have this gift, too. my favorite in that genre is not even to kill a mockingbird its betty smith's a tree grows in brooklyn if any of you can find the book + has a spare copy. mine disappeared 8 years ago when i was moving house and i had that for years, read it multiple times
[silk] For the Arundhati Roy haters out there
, and goodness. Apparently Gregory Peck was, in real life, a person like Atticus Finch; it's the goodness of his character, and the innocence of the narrator, and the skill with which it's brought out by the author, that lifts this book to the level of good literature. Now, Bonobashi has turned into Suresh-bashiIf Suresh likes it, IG, he has a right to his opinion...er, by the way, what's a git? Pavithra, good point :) === Hey, that's OK, D., Suresh liked the review, and he has a right to his opinion; I didn't, and I have a right to mine. Suresh put up a scurrilous review, scurrilous in every sense of the word, not his own, somebody else's poisonous little epistle. I responded with my own bit of poison, which has at least the virtue of being entirely my own bit of hate. bonobashi -- Message: 10 Date: Mon, 22 Mar 2010 21:49:30 -0700 From: Radhika, Y. radhik...@gmail.com To: silklist@lists.hserus.net Subject: Re: [silk] For the Arundhati Roy haters out there Message-ID: 831fd3761003222149y749d6ec8o92869cc374b24...@mail.gmail.com Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 having seen To kill a mockingbird 32 times (kept the netflix dvd for 3 months) i have to agree: atticus finch was an amazing character played with great conviction by gregory peck. I really disliked the reviewer's style. also if she Fucked her way she did fuck men didn't she-how do we know they weren't fucking her on the way up? or was he jealous because she didn't? just wondering why a one-hit wonder is so terrible - that is a lot better than the total miss that most of us seem to enjoy! it is ok if he didn't like the book or her politics - icons tend to have feet of clay. On Mon, Mar 22, 2010 at 9:37 PM, Deepa Mohan mohande...@gmail.com wrote: On Tue, Mar 23, 2010 at 9:43 AM, Indrajit Gupta bonoba...@yahoo.co.inwrote: Absolutely classic? Suresh, you git, what's wrong with you? A series of vicious remarks, no before and after, no backing for the statements made, and that's absolutely classic? Suresh, you really like this? While I might not express myself with such vehemence, I do feel that the essay is not a well-thought-out, logical or reasonable one, for all the reasons IG mentions. And I too ask the question, Why are F*me and F*ck interchangeable 4-letter words only when it comes to famous women? However...to compare the God Of Small Things (this may be the first time in several years that this novel's ACTUAL name is mentioned without spoofing it) with To Kill A Mockingbird isI'm sorry, I'm no Arundhati Roy, I can't find a telling enough simile. To Kill A Mockingbird is permeated throughout by two rare characteristics: good writing, and goodness. Apparently Gregory Peck was, in real life, a person like Atticus Finch; it's the goodness of his character, and the innocence of the narrator, and the skill with which it's brought out by the author, that lifts this book to the level of good literature. Now, Bonobashi has turned into Suresh-bashiIf Suresh likes it, IG, he has a right to his opinion...er, by the way, what's a git? Pavithra, good point :) Deepa. -- next part -- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.hserus.net/pipermail/silklist/attachments/ 20100322/e299de5f/attachment.htm -- Message: 11 Date: Mon, 22 Mar 2010 22:02:10 -0700 From: Suresh Ramasubramanian sur...@hserus.net To: silklist@lists.hserus.net Subject: Re: [silk] For the Arundhati Roy haters out there Message-ID: 20100323050210.ga5...@hserus.net Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii; format=flowed Deepa Mohan [23/03/10 10:07 +0530]: To Kill A Mockingbird is permeated throughout by two rare characteristics: good writing, and goodness. Apparently Gregory Peck was, in real life, a person like Atticus Finch; it's the goodness of his character, and the innocence of the narrator, and the skill with which it's brought out by the author, that lifts this book to the level of good literature. Which is why to kill a mockingbird is still a genuine hit - even today. And i have a much thumbed copy with me. Taking all the ingredients of a successful recipe doesnt always guarantee a dish of the same quality -- Message: 12 Date: Tue, 23 Mar 2010 10:47:03 +0530 From: Deepa Mohan mohande...@gmail.com To: silklist@lists.hserus.net Subject: Re: [silk] For the Arundhati Roy haters out there Message-ID: f6955a93100317t4edb8c04we239a39409934...@mail.gmail.com Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 On Tue, Mar 23, 2010 at 10:19 AM, Radhika, Y. radhik...@gmail.com wrote: having seen To kill a mockingbird 32 times (kept the netflix dvd for 3 months) i have to agree: atticus finch was an amazing character played with great conviction
[silk] Mockingbird, Brooklyn etc.
Changed the title line because I think we've exhausted our vitriol on the Enron stooge (A. Roy merits a sad sigh, not vitriol) I have a copy of *To Kill a Mockingbird* (alas, a new one) but I would love to find copies of - *A Tree grows in Brooklyn*, Betty Smith - *84 Charing Cross Road, *Helen Hanff (I think) - *Onions in the Stew*, Betty Macdonald (not even available on Amazon) - *Scruffy, *Paul Gallico (much better than the slightly forced Mrs. Harris stories, not that those weren't good in their day and age) Any pointers? J.A.P.
Re: [silk] For the Arundhati Roy haters out there
--- On Tue, 23/3/10, Shoba Narayan narayan.sh...@gmail.com wrote: From: Shoba Narayan narayan.sh...@gmail.com Subject: [silk] For the Arundhati Roy haters out there To: silklist@lists.hserus.net Date: Tuesday, 23 March, 2010, 11:04 I LOVED God of Small Things. It was magically written and beautifully crafted. As a piece of fiction, it is quite wonderful. Re: what Roy did post her Booker-fame is the object of much of this discussion, it seems like. A lot of people hate her polemics and I have no argument with that. But if you are a writer who has only one book in you and if that book so happens to be a global bestseller and a critics' darling, you have two options of what to do with your fame: you can do a Salinger and live like a hermit in New Hampshire. Or you can turn activist. I would choose the latter. I may not agree with all of Roy's politics but at least she has decided to use her fame for some cause (misguided or not-- and as it happens, I don't find her causes misguided either). So, all you Arundhati Roy haters can go stuff yourselves How's that for a spirited response? :) Shoba How's that? As stuff goes, great stuff.
Re: [silk] Mockingbird, Brooklyn etc.
--- On Tue, 23/3/10, J. Alfred Prufrock another.prufr...@gmail.com wrote: From: J. Alfred Prufrock another.prufr...@gmail.com Subject: [silk] Mockingbird, Brooklyn etc. To: silklist@lists.hserus.net Date: Tuesday, 23 March, 2010, 11:06 Changed the title line because I think we've exhausted our vitriol on the Enron stooge (A. Roy merits a sad sigh, not vitriol) I have a copy of To Kill a Mockingbird (alas, a new one) but I would love to find copies of - A Tree grows in Brooklyn, Betty Smith - 84 Charing Cross Road, Helen Hanff (I think) - Onions in the Stew, Betty Macdonald (not even available on Amazon) - Scruffy, Paul Gallico (much better than the slightly forced Mrs. Harris stories, not that those weren't good in their day and age) Any pointers? J.A.P. Forgive me for continuing to labour a dead horse - this will be the last time, I promise. A. Roy, like everybody else, deserves treatment on merit, not a pre-selected response ready to jump out of the box on demand. That is what that bloody review was, a clumsily put together bunch of prejudices and locker-room mental calisthenics masquerading as art criticism. I hate a bad hatchet job.
Re: [silk] For the Arundhati Roy haters out there
On Tue, Mar 23, 2010 at 11:04 AM, Shoba Narayan narayan.sh...@gmail.com wrote: So, all you Arundhati Roy haters can go stuff yourselves How's that for a spirited response? :) I personally disagree, but De Gustibus and so forth. Meanwhile, I would greatly appreciate it if you would trim the unnecessary parts of your response (you quoted a ~600 line digest in its entirety in your response) Udhay -- ((Udhay Shankar N)) ((udhay @ pobox.com)) ((www.digeratus.com))
