Beat writers.

At the minute, I'm reading 'Post Office' by Charles Bukowski, which I'm throughly enjoying. Inspired me to dig out my Burroughs novels.

Any one else like them?

Oh, my. I thought for a minute there you were advising people to beat up writers...

I've read most of "Junkie" (or "Junky"), and tried "On The Road" a few years back (but never really liked it). So, while I admire the ground they broke in literary circles...I don't much care for 'em. That might change sometime.

Taboo # 7 wrote: Oh, my. I thought for a minute there you were advising people to beat up writers...

I've read most of "Junkie" (or "Junky"), and tried "On The Road" a few years back (but never really liked it). So, while I admire the ground they broke in literary circles...I don't much care for 'em. That might change sometime.

ditto

My favourite writer is J.G. Ballard.

i'm about to have a crack at on the road, once i get through my more trival spy thriller.

Ronald Kirsch wrote: i'm about to have a crack at on the road, once i get through my more trival spy thriller.

John Le Carre's?

Ronald Kirsch wrote: i'm about to have a crack at on the road, once i get through my more trival spy thriller.

John Le Carre's?

|| | ||| 6217|| 8 || 3 wrote:

Ronald Kirsch wrote: i'm about to have a crack at on the road, once i get through my more trival spy thriller.

John Le Carre's?

nothing quite as good as that, although i have yet to get his latest one. yes, there is one after the constant gardener. i am currently in a len deighton phase. current book is spy story. i have actually started on the road, and am reading several other books on religion, and one on the history of austria as well. so, who knows when i will actually get around to finishing on the road.

Ronald Kirsch wrote:

|| | ||| 6217|| 8 || 3 wrote:

Ronald Kirsch wrote: i'm about to have a crack at on the road, once i get through my more trival spy thriller.

John Le Carre's?

nothing quite as good as that, although i have yet to get his latest one. yes, there is one after the constant gardener. i am currently in a len deighton phase. current book is spy story. i have actually started on the road, and am reading several other books on religion, and one on the history of austria as well. so, who knows when i will actually get around to finishing on the road.

Just don't

Len Deighton, Jack Higgins, and John Le Carre: excellent spy-fiction writers (always like Higgins the best because he dealt with WWII a lot)

Went through a Frederick Forsyth phase in my early teens, The Day of The Jackel is a classic

Taboo # 7 wrote: Len Deighton, Jack Higgins, and John Le Carre: excellent spy-fiction writers (always like Higgins the best because he dealt with WWII a lot)

Went through a Frederick Forsyth phase in my early teens, The Day of The Jackel is a classic

Can you suggest any really good spy-fiction authors who write about post-Cold War time (tired of the Berlin Wall, Latin America, etc.)? And not something like Mission Impossible movies.

I may turn back to spy fiction after I'll finish Mein Kampf and Conversations with J.G. Ballard.

|| | ||| 6217|| 8 || 3 wrote:

Taboo # 7 wrote: Len Deighton, Jack Higgins, and John Le Carre: excellent spy-fiction writers (always like Higgins the best because he dealt with WWII a lot)

Went through a Frederick Forsyth phase in my early teens, The Day of The Jackel is a classic

Can you suggest any really good spy-fiction authors who write about post-Cold War time (tired of the Berlin Wall, Latin America, etc.)? And not something like Mission Impossible movies.

le carre, starting with the russia house, top film as well, athough it ends differently. i am also pissed off that goethe was replaced with dante.

lately i have been enjoying martin cruz smith and his ardaky series. gorky park, red square, and polar star. i haven't read the next one yet, called havanna bay.

|| | ||| 6217|| 8 || 3 wrote:

Ronald Kirsch wrote:

|| | ||| 6217|| 8 || 3 wrote:

Ronald Kirsch wrote: i'm about to have a crack at on the road, once i get through my more trival spy thriller.

John Le Carre's?

nothing quite as good as that, although i have yet to get his latest one. yes, there is one after the constant gardener. i am currently in a len deighton phase. current book is spy story. i have actually started on the road, and am reading several other books on religion, and one on the history of austria as well. so, who knows when i will actually get around to finishing on the road.

Just don't

why not?

Ronald Kirsch wrote:

|| | ||| 6217|| 8 || 3 wrote:

Ronald Kirsch wrote:

|| | ||| 6217|| 8 || 3 wrote:

Ronald Kirsch wrote: i'm about to have a crack at on the road, once i get through my more trival spy thriller.

John Le Carre's?

nothing quite as good as that, although i have yet to get his latest one. yes, there is one after the constant gardener. i am currently in a len deighton phase. current book is spy story. i have actually started on the road, and am reading several other books on religion, and one on the history of austria as well. so, who knows when i will actually get around to finishing on the road.

Just don't

why not?

I gave up. Well I was 16 when I bought it but still seems boring

|| | ||| 6217|| 8 || 3 wrote:

Taboo # 7 wrote: Len Deighton, Jack Higgins, and John Le Carre: excellent spy-fiction writers (always like Higgins the best because he dealt with WWII a lot)

Went through a Frederick Forsyth phase in my early teens, The Day of The Jackel is a classic

Can you suggest any really good spy-fiction authors who write about post-Cold War time (tired of the Berlin Wall, Latin America, etc.)? And not something like Mission Impossible movies.

I may turn back to spy fiction after I'll finish Mein Kampf and Conversations with J.G. Ballard.

Not really sure about post-Cold War stuff (I grew out of my whole "spy fiction" phase about 1994-1995). I can say that Forsyth is probably the best of the bunch, though I like what little I've read of Le Carre. Higgins doesn't do so well when not dealing with WWII or related topics.

It's been a while since I read any of them. Now that I think about it, The Tailor of Panama by Le Carre is probably worth your time even though it's set in Latin America

Taboo # 7 wrote:

|| | ||| 6217|| 8 || 3 wrote:

Taboo # 7 wrote: Len Deighton, Jack Higgins, and John Le Carre: excellent spy-fiction writers (always like Higgins the best because he dealt with WWII a lot)

Went through a Frederick Forsyth phase in my early teens, The Day of The Jackel is a classic

Can you suggest any really good spy-fiction authors who write about post-Cold War time (tired of the Berlin Wall, Latin America, etc.)? And not something like Mission Impossible movies.

I may turn back to spy fiction after I'll finish Mein Kampf and Conversations with J.G. Ballard.

Not really sure about post-Cold War stuff (I grew out of my whole "spy fiction" phase about 1994-1995). I can say that Forsyth is probably the best of the bunch, though I like what little I've read of Le Carre. Higgins doesn't do so well when not dealing with WWII or related topics.

It's been a while since I read any of them. Now that I think about it, The Tailor of Panama by Le Carre is probably worth your time even though it's set in Latin America

THanks!

the tailor of panama, was more of a commedy a bil along the lines of our man in havanna. i did not enjoy it that much. go and have a look at martin cruz smith. see above.

Ronald Kirsch wrote: the tailor of panama, was more of a commedy a bil along the lines of our man in havanna. i did not enjoy it that much. go and have a look at martin cruz smith. see above.

Okay, thanks

Junkie's a good book. Much more intelligible than Naked Lunch and the later work.

The sequel Queer is a more emotional novel. Both highly reccomended.

Re. On The Road: not a particular favourite of mine but Keourac's first novel, The Town and The City, is much better IMHO. Give that a go.

I read half of On The Road some years back .It's still sitting on the shelf waiting to be finished.

I've got a spoken word track by Burroughs on the Like A Girl I Want You To Keep Coming cd that was released back in about 91.Features New Order doing Sister Ray live in Sau Paulo.That's the only reason i have it AND i'm buggered if i ever listended intently enought to work out what he was on about

i've never read any of the beat writers, but ginsberg and kerouac got their start reading poetry at one of the bars across the street from my old university during their student years. my, how the place has changed since then. now it's more of a 'sports bar.'

i'm reading john irving's 'a prayer for owen meany' and i can't believe i haven't picked it up until now. brilliant.

Read Iving Shaw's [orange]The Trouble Air[/orange].

Kerouac's books that I've read are some of my favourites. It takes awhile to adjust to his style of writing, you sort of have to get inside his head (scary thought based on his bio, he was seriously off the rails!) but his stuff is really evocative of that time and place. "The Subterraneans" gave me a headache though-it's stream of consciousness writing with full stops only at the end of paragraphs.

Seems like there's a lot of parallels between fifties America and today, reading work from that era hits home.

sweetness wrote: Seems like there's a lot of parallels between fifties America and today, reading work from that era hits home.

sometimes it does feel like we've gone back in time to the 1950s....

Christopher Owens wrote: At the minute, I'm reading 'Post Office' by Charles Bukowski, which I'm throughly enjoying. Inspired me to dig out my Burroughs novels.

Any one else like them?

I like Keruoac's Dessolation Angels and a few of his other things. I can't stand to read Burroughs. Bukowski is great, though. If you like Buk you should watch Barfly w/ Mickey Rourke as Buk, Directed ny Coppola.

thrashingtiger wrote:

I like Keruoac's Dessolation Angels and a few of his other things. I can't stand to read Burroughs. Bukowski is great, though. If you like Buk you should watch Barfly w/ Mickey Rourke as Buk, Directed ny Coppola.

Thanks for that recommendation.