Author Topic: Author! Author! (Read 360651 times)

pedln · « **Reply #2400 on:** October 05, 2011, 03:12:22 PM »

Sorry, Traude, it is not Mary Lee Settle. Though published in 1978, I believe it was the author's paperback that won the National Book Award a year or two later.

I can't believe that you don't know this book which has been so positively reviewed. Here is just one example:

Quote

The main story in this not-named book […] is of a man with a famous mother, a man who reaches toward fame himself. XXX is the black sheep daughter of an aristocratic New England family; she becomes, almost by accident, a feminist leader ahead of her time. Her son, YYYY (named for a father he never saw), has high ambitions for his artistic career, but he has an even higher, obsessive devotion to his wife and children. Surrounding YYY and XXX are a wide assortment of people: schoolteachers and whores, wrestlers and radicals, editors and assassins, transsexuals and rapists, and husbands and wives. It is the author's special gift that all his characters, even the least lovable among them, are portrayed not just vividly but affectionately.

In the film, the actress who plays YYY's mother and the actor/actress? who plays his best friend were both nominated for best supporting actress and actor. Also in the film were two old favorites Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy.

straudetwo · « **Reply #2401 on:** October 06, 2011, 02:09:41 PM »

Ahhhhhhh,

John Irving, The World according to Garp

pedln · « **Reply #2402 on:** October 06, 2011, 07:57:48 PM »

Ahhhhhhhh, Thank you, Traude. Yes yes yes

WINNER!!!! WINNER!!!! WINNER!!!!

roshanarose · « **Reply #2403 on:** October 07, 2011, 12:01:01 AM »

YEEEHHHAAAHHHH - Straude Two - Well Done {{ }}

Frybabe · « **Reply #2404 on:** October 07, 2011, 12:02:39 AM »

Well done, Traude.

roshanarose · « **Reply #2405 on:** October 07, 2011, 12:03:18 AM »

pedln - Now you can tell me how Glen got pregnant. Was it something to do with a car? Great film and I loved the book equally. I find Robin Williams annoying sometimes but he was very good in "Garp" and, another favourite, "The Fisher King".

PatH · « **Reply #2406 on:** October 07, 2011, 12:11:15 AM »

Thank goodness you got it, Traude. That was driving me bananas.

pedln · « **Reply #2407 on:** October 07, 2011, 10:53:36 AM »

Traude, are you sure you haven't read this book?

This was a fun one to do. I've only read a few John Irving books, but learned a lot about John Irving during the research process for this game. Interestingly, in one of the online polls, A Prayer for Owen Meany was rated the favorite, with Garp following immediately behind. That would be my thinking also. Irving insisted that the film version of Owen Meany be retitled (Simon Birch) as it differed from the book.

straudetwo · « **Reply #2408 on:** October 07, 2011, 11:03:48 PM »

pedln,
Thank you. Your research was excellent and so were the clues. But, speaking for myself, it was a hard nut to crack.
Some bells were ringing, faintly and not in harmony. I think I had deliberately closed my mind to Irving. Your last clue about New England shook me awake - with a bit of a shudder.
Because, you see, I don't like John Irving's writings, and if that makes me a heretic, so be it.

God knows I tried.

No, I did not read Garp and I knew nothing about the movie. I've held the library book in my hand and leafed through it and picked it up a few times. There were many strands to the plot, I recall. Yet I simply could not tune into the sensibilities of the author (wrestling appalls me), or how humor of all tings can be found in a horrendous accident. That's when I stopped. I tried The Hotel New Hampshire when it was chosen by our live book group, years ago. It deals with themes Irving has focused on in other books - private education in institutions resembling Phillips Exeter Academy here in Mass., to which he had personal, familial connections. Variations on a number of themes recur in his books; he is a very forceful writer, and you can see that in his piercing, passionate eyes. I made one last attempt, A Prayer for Owen Meany, which I actually finished.

Forgive me for being candid. Of course this is a question of taste and we know that there is no accounting for our differences - de gustibus non est disputandum.

Please give me a day or two to come up with an equally absorbing quiz with similarly seductive clues

.

roshanarose · « **Reply #2409 on:** October 07, 2011, 11:34:04 PM »

straudetwo - Candour needs to be applauded, not forgiven.

PatH · « **Reply #2410 on:** October 08, 2011, 02:46:42 PM »

I really like how we get such a spectrum of opinions about a book on this site. I learn both from the "likes" and the "dislikes".

roshanarose · « **Reply #2411 on:** October 16, 2011, 01:04:13 AM »

Has anyone seen my mate, Gumtree?

PatH · « **Reply #2412 on:** October 16, 2011, 01:40:46 AM »

I see she hasn't posted since Oct 6, and the same on the other site. I wonder if she's all right?

roshanarose · « **Reply #2413 on:** October 16, 2011, 08:02:28 PM »

Gum - We need to know that you are OK.

PatH · « **Reply #2414 on:** October 16, 2011, 08:39:34 PM »

I just sent her a Personal Message (her email is hidden) asking her. These also generate an email, so if anyone's looking, it should get through.

straudetwo · « **Reply #2415 on:** October 16, 2011, 10:40:26 PM »

Please forgive the delay in my suggesting a new quiz. I am very sorry, but I was torn between several different choices, unable to decide. This evening I found the inspiration in my own book case. This is one that I can present with confidence, and you will have an easy time as we get going, I promise.

Author : World-renowned, passionate author has written novels, essays, short stories, non fiction and poetry.

Book : Acclaim came with the first novel. It describes a failed marriage.

Characters : The unhappy couple and their servants.

rosemarykaye · « **Reply #2416 on:** October 17, 2011, 06:40:08 AM »

Wild guess - Flaubert - Madame Bovary?

straudetwo · « **Reply #2417 on:** October 17, 2011, 11:47:52 PM »

Sorry, Rosemary, it's not Flaubert.
New clues follow tomorrow.

straudetwo · « **Reply #2418 on:** October 18, 2011, 07:55:31 PM »

New clues

We need to concentrate on the author first.

A great deal of the author's voluminous body of work is autobiographical.
The author's intense commitment to social justice, severe criticism of repressive regimes, and concern for the dispossessed all over the world is well known -- but has not always been 'popular'.
Despite this serious engagement in the topics of the day the author has consistently avoided being identified with movements or ideologies, political or literary.

In addition to the information in the first clue, the author also wrote science fiction and children's literature.

The book, as stated, put the author on the literary "map" but the magnum opus was yet to come.
There is nothing special about the unhappy couple in that first book - except their particular circumstances.

All wild guesses are welcome !

roshanarose · « **Reply #2419 on:** October 18, 2011, 09:48:42 PM »

Sounds a bit like that Russian man who was sent to Siberia. I know him but can't remember how to spell his name.

The author could be Russian, or perhaps Scandinavian.

PatH · « **Reply #2420 on:** October 18, 2011, 10:12:30 PM »

This is tantalizing. I really feel like I should know it.

Frybabe · « **Reply #2421 on:** October 19, 2011, 12:07:52 AM »

Do you mean Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, Roshanarose? I remember when Gulag came out. Did anyone read it? He wrote quite a bit. Sorry to say I've never read any of his works.

PatH · « **Reply #2422 on:** October 19, 2011, 09:54:40 AM »

Quote from: straudetwo on October 18, 2011, 07:55:31 PM

All wild guesses are welcome !

Well, my really wild guess would be Yevgeny Zamyatin, but he only sort of fits. And the only one of his many books I know anything about is We, which wouldn't be the right book. And I don't think he wrote poetry.

straudetwo · « **Reply #2423 on:** October 19, 2011, 10:32:14 AM »

Thank you for your posts. I'm off to an appointment but will answer when I get back.

A quick word before you continue your diligent search : Our author is neither Russian nor Scandinavian.

In haste, Traude

Frybabe · « **Reply #2424 on:** October 19, 2011, 12:37:11 PM »

Quote

Author : World-renowned, passionate author has written novels, essays, short stories, non fiction and poetry.

Semi describes Rudyard Kipling or C. S. Lewis. The additional information makes me doubt them, however. I am throwing them out there just to rule them out, I guess.

roshanarose · « **Reply #2425 on:** October 19, 2011, 08:36:48 PM »

Thanks for the elimination of the Russian and the Scandinavians, Straude.

Yes, you were right it was Solzhenitsyn I was thinking of, and No, I haven't read any of his books.

straudetwo · « **Reply #2426 on:** October 19, 2011, 10:57:31 PM »

Eliminating Russians and Scandinavians has brought us in to closer proximity to our author.

As for Communist leanings, several European and other authors veered left, many in their youth, only to abandon it later. One writer who remained firmly on the side of the downtrodden in favor of socialism was the 1998 Nobel Prize winner José Saramago. As far as I know from the writings of his I read, his ideology did not spill over in to his work.

New clues.

Our author is still alive.

The large readership of the author's fiction did not like the switch to science fiction (and I was one of them, I confess), but for the author it was the most important, according to a statement to the press.

The author won many prizes, including the Nobel Prize.

Regarding the book : A Swedish company made a movie of the story in 1981.

I hope this helps.
ake heart ! The record shows clearly that you have unearthed more complicated puzzle than this one.

pedln · « **Reply #2427 on:** October 20, 2011, 11:19:00 AM »

Margaret Atwood?

straudetwo · « **Reply #2428 on:** October 20, 2011, 11:55:24 AM »

pedln, Now we are getting somewhere !!

It's not Atwood but you are on the right track !

JoanK · « **Reply #2429 on:** October 20, 2011, 04:04:53 PM »

A Canadian? Robertson Davies? Doesan't really fit!)

PatH · « **Reply #2430 on:** October 20, 2011, 04:45:59 PM »

Davies didn't ever turn to Science Fiction.

On the other hand, though it's no longer relevant, Kipling actually did write several Sci-Fi short stories. They mostly concern members of the Old Boy's Establishment setting things "right" behind the scenes.

straudetwo · « **Reply #2431 on:** October 20, 2011, 05:13:10 PM »

Unfortunately, you have turned away from the "breakthrough", Atwood -- but we are not looking for a Canadian author.

PatH, that's right. Also, Robertson Davies did not receive the Nobel Prize.

Will check back later this evening. Please don't give up!

Frybabe · « **Reply #2432 on:** October 20, 2011, 06:47:50 PM »

Oh, gosh. I missed the Nobel Prize clue, but it still doesn't help. I thought of Carl Sagon, but his is no longer physically with us, and I don't know if he ever won a Nobel Prize. Must think. If this person is still alive, then the prize was relatively recent. Doris Lessing is still hanging in there, but no SciFi to my knowledge. Must think more!

PatH · « **Reply #2433 on:** October 20, 2011, 07:16:02 PM »

OOHHHH! Frybabe, I'm sure you've got it.

Yes, Doris Lessing did write some Science Fiction--a series of books, overall title Canopus in Argos. I tried the first one, Shikasta, and couldn't get into it. Two of them have been made into operas with music by Philip Glass (The Making of the Representative for Planet 8, and The Marriages between zones Three, Four, and Five)

I knew that as the resident Sci-Fi nut, I would be embarrassed when someone else got this, and I am.

Good for you, Frybabe.

straudetwo · « **Reply #2434 on:** October 20, 2011, 10:01:44 PM »

Winner ! Winner! for the author. Brava, Frybabe . Doris Lessing is right, a summary of clues no longer
necessary.
I took pains to avoid personal pronouns (did you notice?). The first guesses were all for males, and dead ones at that. So I was pleased when pedln guessed Atwood. I considered that a 'breakthrough' because of the gender, not as pointing toward geographical provenance.

The magnum opus is, of course, The Golden Notebook, which was praised by the critics and instantly seized on by the feminists of the day when it was published in 1962. and hailed as a feminist classic -- to Lessing's chagrin. She herself preferred the science fiction Canopus in Argos sequence. I thought PatH would surely guess it because of her knowledge of science fiction.

More tomorrow about the book, Lessing's first and easy to guess.

Thank you all.

P.S. and off-topic : We have not seen Gumtree hereabouts for a while. Is she all right ? Does anyone know ?

PatH · « **Reply #2435 on:** October 20, 2011, 11:45:51 PM »

I wasn't even close to guessing, even though I knew all the relevant facts. A clear win for Frybabe. That was an excellent quiz--meaty and interesting.

Gumtree hasn't been online since Oct 6, including in the Latin course she's taking. Her email address is hidden, but I sent her a personal message on the 16th (which also generates an email). No answer.

If anyone can think of any other way to contact her, please share.

rosemarykaye · « **Reply #2436 on:** October 21, 2011, 02:19:30 AM »

Well done Frybabe! All I could think of was Nadine Gordimer and she didn't fit.

No ideas as to how to contact Gumtree, I hope she is OK. Let's hope it's just computer problems.

Rosemary

pedln · « **Reply #2437 on:** October 21, 2011, 01:10:25 PM »

Good job, Frybabe, and a good choice, Traude.

Contests like these teach me so much about what I don't know.

Gumtree lives in Perth?

straudetwo · « **Reply #2438 on:** October 21, 2011, 02:45:45 PM »

Thank you, PatH and pedln.. And I agree, Frybabe [/i] deserves the credit.

The book is titled The Grass is Singing, was published in 1950 and is more a novella than a novel. It caused consternation because it exposes the racial tension, hidden prejudice and, most especially, the fear of whites of black power in the former Southern Rhodesia (where the super-prolific, beloved Scottish author Alexander McCall Smith wa born and raised).

I chose this book because I believe it shows the author's uncompromising stance in favor of racial and gender equality at an early time in contemporary history, and tswetting her course.
Incidentally, the movie adaptation of the story made in 1981 by a Swedish company was filmed in Zambia and featured John Thaw, )Inspector Morse), American Karen Black, and John Kani as Moses.

This was fun for me to do and more 'findable' than the other possibilities I had tentatively considered. Thank you for guessing.

PatH · « **Reply #2439 on:** October 21, 2011, 02:49:50 PM »

Quote from: pedln on October 21, 2011, 01:10:25 PM

Gumtree lives in Perth?

Yes. She and I worked out recently that we're only about 600 miles away from being exactly antipodal.

News:

Author Topic: Author! Author! (Read 360651 times)