I just stumbled across across your video and feel moved to comment on several things. The Anatomy of Melancholy is probably my favorite book of all time. I have read it cover to cover twice (in the NYRB edition) and favorite parts many times. It is very important to read the 100+ page introduction carefully. It is very difficult to classify this work, and I have been long interested in other people's reactions to it. I acknowledge that it is not a book for everyone, but many seem unable to grasp what it is about. (IMHO, of course) What do I love about it? I love the language, the vocabulary, the subject matter, and the astonishing personality of the author. The Anatomy is a comprehensive overview of all human experience and behavior, in all its madness and tears and weirdness,(and of course mental illness) explored and organized by a man whose wise perspective was arrived at through reading and a love of books and learning. There is a lot more to say about it than I can go into here, but there is in its pages a strong element of humor as well, which should be readily apparent simply by reading the chapter titles of the section on Love Melancholy. The large chapter called A Digression on Air is not to be missed if this sort of expansive, free ranging writing is your cup of tea. I believe the title of Patrick Leigh Fermor's second volume of his travel memoir, Between the Woods and Water, is a very slightly modified quotation from The Anatomy of Melancholy. If you want a citation, I can probably find it. Just a couple of years ago, I discovered PLF by chance when I bought the first volume on a whim at a thrift store for $1. I had never heard of the author before. It is one of the most enjoyable books I have ever read. (I have not read the third volume yet.) I have enjoyed many of these NYRB editions. The most significant recent one is the massive and extraordinary memoir by Konstantin Paustovsky, "The Story of a Life," the first half of which has been published in a new translation by NYRB. I highly recommend it. I studied Russian Lang. and Lit. many years ago as an undergrad, and have an interest in the time and places the memoir covers - Russia and Ukraine in the twenty-five or so years leading up to the 1917 Revolution, and a bit after. Politics and history, however, are peripheral elements to the narrative, which focuses on people, personal events, a way of life now lost, landscapes, nature, poignant episodes, and so on.
The Anatomy belongs to that special world of literature where individuals sought to exhaust more than survey a topic. The idea of quoting another writer in one’s work because that meant the writer was now shared with one’s readers is almost completely lost from the 19th century on, so Burton can overwhelm many readers as he unveils his encyclopedic reading, observation, and reflection. Thanks for sharing! Cheers, Jack
Thanks, Brandon! Burton can be a yearlong companion for most readers. Leigh Fermor is more of a lifetime companion. Hope you had a nice weekend! Cheers, Jack
I love NYRB Classics. I have about 60. I have the Burton but not wherewithal to read it. Your approach might be a good idea. A Time to Keep Silence is on my radar, but the rest were new to me. NYRB just had a 40% sale and I ordered yesterday. I would have ordered a few more if I had seen this yesterday.
Thanks, Greg! I discovered NYRB around 2014-15 and have really enjoyed reading many of the gems that they brought back into publication or translated into English. What titles did you order from them? Hope you had a great weekend. Cheers, Jack
Wonderful as always Jack. The way you describe Burton- hyper-referential, sprawling, digressive- makes me think of my beloved Montaigne. I'll have to check him out sometime soon.
I can see Burton being a good fit for your reading, Jordan, though he is much more digressive than Montaigne! Thanks, as always, for the kind words. I hope you had a nice weekend. Cheers, Jack
I've only read a handful of NYRB classics. I recently read War and the Iliad after reading The Iliad. It was interesting. Two I really enjoyed were Memories: From Moscow to the Black Sea by Teffi and Defeat: Napoleon's Russian Campaign by Philippe-Paul de Ségur (though I didn't read the second in the NYRB edition).
I usually have an eye out for the various books from Teffi they have published, but I have only been able to read her stories from anthologies. Thanks for recommending the book on Napoleon in Russia, that will be new to me. I hope you have a great week, Amanda! Cheers, Jack
I liked the NYRB Classic books. Of which I have around twenty. Some include: The New York Stories of Elizabeth Wharton. Berlin Alexanderplatz Blindness by Henry Green The Glass Bees by Ernst Junger. Published in 1960. Dismissed because it lacked contemporary revelance. SciFi book. I read Ernst Junger memoir of his WWI experience. Several Vasily Grossman novels I have Custine book: Empire of the Czar.
Thanks, Alan. I had no idea Ernst Junger wrote science fiction in addition to Storm of Steel. I really enjoy Henry Green and will be showing several of his books on a future shelf. Did you enjoy Berlin Alexanderplatz? I keep an eye out for that one but haven’t found a copy yet. I hope you had a nice birthday weekend! Cheers, Jack
The Highet volume is superb, though I can also recommend first reading Ovid, Tibullus, and Virgil then using Highet to amplify whatever you appreciate most about those. I certainly hope you enjoy the Roman poets, whichever route you choose! Cheers, Jack
I think this was one of my favourites from this series you've been doing! I would love to read Anatomy of Melancholy at some point. I read the first chapter of A Time of Gifts for a seminar, but never read the rest of it. Hopefully I'll cross paths with it again! This was a lot of fun! Hope you're doing well
Thanks, Aaron! Anatomy of Melancholy is something else. I had read about it and found this copy in a used record/CD store. Patrick Leigh Fermor has a wonderful authorial voice, though I don’t know if that first chapter represents it particularly well. Hope you had a great weekend. Cheers, Jack
I just stumbled across across your video and feel moved to comment on several things.
The Anatomy of Melancholy is probably my favorite book of all time. I have read it cover to cover twice (in the NYRB edition) and favorite parts many times. It is very important to read the 100+ page introduction carefully. It is very difficult to classify this work, and I have been long interested in other people's reactions to it. I acknowledge that it is not a book for everyone, but many seem unable to grasp what it is about. (IMHO, of course) What do I love about it? I love the language, the vocabulary, the subject matter, and the astonishing personality of the author. The Anatomy is a comprehensive overview of all human experience and behavior, in all its madness and tears and weirdness,(and of course mental illness) explored and organized by a man whose wise perspective was arrived at through reading and a love of books and learning. There is a lot more to say about it than I can go into here, but there is in its pages a strong element of humor as well, which should be readily apparent simply by reading the chapter titles of the section on Love Melancholy. The large chapter called A Digression on Air is not to be missed if this sort of expansive, free ranging writing is your cup of tea.
I believe the title of Patrick Leigh Fermor's second volume of his travel memoir, Between the Woods and Water, is a very slightly modified quotation from The Anatomy of Melancholy. If you want a citation, I can probably find it. Just a couple of years ago, I discovered PLF by chance when I bought the first volume on a whim at a thrift store for $1. I had never heard of the author before. It is one of the most enjoyable books I have ever read. (I have not read the third volume yet.)
I have enjoyed many of these NYRB editions. The most significant recent one is the massive and extraordinary memoir by Konstantin Paustovsky, "The Story of a Life," the first half of which has been published in a new translation by NYRB. I highly recommend it. I studied Russian Lang. and Lit. many years ago as an undergrad, and have an interest in the time and places the memoir covers - Russia and Ukraine in the twenty-five or so years leading up to the 1917 Revolution, and a bit after. Politics and history, however, are peripheral elements to the narrative, which focuses on people, personal events, a way of life now lost, landscapes, nature, poignant episodes, and so on.
The Anatomy belongs to that special world of literature where individuals sought to exhaust more than survey a topic. The idea of quoting another writer in one’s work because that meant the writer was now shared with one’s readers is almost completely lost from the 19th century on, so Burton can overwhelm many readers as he unveils his encyclopedic reading, observation, and reflection.
Thanks for sharing!
Cheers, Jack
Seriosuly cant get over how good this shelf was. I read so much Nonfiction and yet each of these was so original and so interesting!
Holy cow, The Anatomy of Melacncholy sounds so so good. Adding it and Poets in a Landscape and both Fermor books!
Thanks, Brandon! Burton can be a yearlong companion for most readers. Leigh Fermor is more of a lifetime companion. Hope you had a nice weekend!
Cheers, Jack
I love NYRB Classics. I have about 60. I have the Burton but not wherewithal to read it. Your approach might be a good idea. A Time to Keep Silence is on my radar, but the rest were new to me. NYRB just had a 40% sale and I ordered yesterday. I would have ordered a few more if I had seen this yesterday.
Thanks, Greg! I discovered NYRB around 2014-15 and have really enjoyed reading many of the gems that they brought back into publication or translated into English. What titles did you order from them? Hope you had a great weekend.
Cheers, Jack
Wonderful as always Jack. The way you describe Burton- hyper-referential, sprawling, digressive- makes me think of my beloved Montaigne. I'll have to check him out sometime soon.
I can see Burton being a good fit for your reading, Jordan, though he is much more digressive than Montaigne! Thanks, as always, for the kind words. I hope you had a nice weekend.
Cheers, Jack
I've only read a handful of NYRB classics. I recently read War and the Iliad after reading The Iliad. It was interesting. Two I really enjoyed were Memories: From Moscow to the Black Sea by Teffi and Defeat: Napoleon's Russian Campaign by Philippe-Paul de Ségur (though I didn't read the second in the NYRB edition).
I usually have an eye out for the various books from Teffi they have published, but I have only been able to read her stories from anthologies. Thanks for recommending the book on Napoleon in Russia, that will be new to me. I hope you have a great week, Amanda!
Cheers, Jack
Great to see someone talking about P.L. Fermor. I’ve read A Time to Keep Silence and A Time of Gifts and find him to be an extraordinary writer.
I completely agree, Jeff! Hope you had a great weekend.
Cheers, Jack
I liked the NYRB Classic books. Of which I have around twenty.
Some include:
The New York Stories of Elizabeth Wharton.
Berlin Alexanderplatz
Blindness by Henry Green
The Glass Bees by Ernst Junger. Published in 1960. Dismissed because it lacked contemporary revelance. SciFi book.
I read Ernst Junger memoir of his WWI experience.
Several Vasily Grossman novels
I have Custine book: Empire of the Czar.
Thanks, Alan. I had no idea Ernst Junger wrote science fiction in addition to Storm of Steel. I really enjoy Henry Green and will be showing several of his books on a future shelf. Did you enjoy Berlin Alexanderplatz? I keep an eye out for that one but haven’t found a copy yet.
I hope you had a nice birthday weekend!
Cheers, Jack
wow, I had been looking for an entry point into Roman poetry so I'm really interested in Poets in a Landscape by Gilbert Highet. thanks for the tour!
The Highet volume is superb, though I can also recommend first reading Ovid, Tibullus, and Virgil then using Highet to amplify whatever you appreciate most about those. I certainly hope you enjoy the Roman poets, whichever route you choose!
Cheers, Jack
I think this was one of my favourites from this series you've been doing! I would love to read Anatomy of Melancholy at some point. I read the first chapter of A Time of Gifts for a seminar, but never read the rest of it. Hopefully I'll cross paths with it again!
This was a lot of fun! Hope you're doing well
Thanks, Aaron! Anatomy of Melancholy is something else. I had read about it and found this copy in a used record/CD store. Patrick Leigh Fermor has a wonderful authorial voice, though I don’t know if that first chapter represents it particularly well. Hope you had a great weekend.
Cheers, Jack