tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post2133499803152691294..comments2024-03-29T01:43:05.524-04:00Comments on Patricia Abbott (pattinase): Whose First Book at an Early Age Sent You Reeling?pattinase (abbott)http://www.blogger.com/profile/02916037185235335846noreply@blogger.comBlogger25125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-58749438273144994162012-09-18T22:01:35.869-04:002012-09-18T22:01:35.869-04:00I remember reading that one too. It really was sho...I remember reading that one too. It really was shocking at the time. pattinase (abbott)https://www.blogger.com/profile/02916037185235335846noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-41334289440938574692012-09-18T21:43:34.960-04:002012-09-18T21:43:34.960-04:00Forever Amber, by Kathleen Windsor, about 1948. I ...Forever Amber, by Kathleen Windsor, about 1948. I learned about sex, reading it by flashlight.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-6604543331839333922012-09-18T10:22:22.725-04:002012-09-18T10:22:22.725-04:00C. M. Kornbluth was writing work somewhat comparab...C. M. Kornbluth was writing work somewhat comparable to his adult work at 16...and his adult work at his best was brilliant.<br /><br />But writing fiction, at least, tends to out the age of the writer...Hinton's works certainly read to me as the works of a teen. Jane Gaskell's as well.<br /><br />Among first novels...Fritz Leiber's CONJURE WIFE and Robert Bloch's THE SCARF...but they weren't kids by then...<br /><br />Todd Masonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01815516018079824802noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-51283874707378768312012-09-17T16:59:44.508-04:002012-09-17T16:59:44.508-04:00That's it. What constitutes young? I should ha...That's it. What constitutes young? I should have specified. pattinase (abbott)https://www.blogger.com/profile/02916037185235335846noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-39060028428842846662012-09-17T16:49:43.824-04:002012-09-17T16:49:43.824-04:00Yes, but...you asked about young writers. Sorry, ...Yes, but...you asked about <i>young</i> writers. Sorry, but no way I can consider 35 (or Salinger's 30+) young. To me we're talking teens or early 20's. Karen Russell, yes; Carson McCullers, absolutely yes.<br /><br />THE 158-POUND MARRIAGE (which I have not read) is the third Irving.<br /><br />Jeff M.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-9217749502611528772012-09-17T16:02:06.457-04:002012-09-17T16:02:06.457-04:00I think Irving's first three books SETTING FRE...I think Irving's first three books SETTING FREE, WATER METHOD MAN and I forget the third, were among his best. REVOLUTIONARY ROAD would make my top ten book list. <br />The other two I need to check out but my husband just read AGE OF MIRACLES. pattinase (abbott)https://www.blogger.com/profile/02916037185235335846noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-87723242459942830332012-09-17T15:45:28.806-04:002012-09-17T15:45:28.806-04:00If you're looking for a young writer who had i...If you're looking for a young writer who had insights beyond his or her years then I'll pick Richard Yates' <i>Revolutionary Road</i> published when he was 35.<br /><br />If you're talking about a first time author who had a flair with words and was entertaining to boot I'll pick SETTING FREE THE BEARS by John Irving. He's since lost the "entertaining to boot" part. I also think Karen Russell's first book of short stories (ST LUCY'S HOME FOR GRILS RAISED BY WOLVES) is astounding in its originality and skill with language.<br /><br />If it's just any old first time book I thought BOXER BEETLE by Ned Beauman was one of the most original AND entertaining AND insightful debut novels I've read in a very long time. (Yes, I know, I keep talking about this book repeatedly.)J F Norrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06473487417479127354noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-18226357110490062422012-09-17T14:55:25.625-04:002012-09-17T14:55:25.625-04:00Good list, Erik!Good list, Erik!pattinase (abbott)https://www.blogger.com/profile/02916037185235335846noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-21251742184363788532012-09-17T14:43:07.640-04:002012-09-17T14:43:07.640-04:00Harper Lee pops up, Flannery O'Connor's Wi...Harper Lee pops up, Flannery O'Connor's <i>Wise Blood</i>, Carson McCullers' <i>The Heart is a Lonely Hunter</i> and the "young" Wm S. Burroughs' book, <i>Junkie</i>. I still gleefully enjoy all of these. Erik Donald Francehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02332500850365598564noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-69680601736651991032012-09-17T12:02:00.559-04:002012-09-17T12:02:00.559-04:00Although I took courses on World War 1, World War ...Although I took courses on World War 1, World War 2, Nazi Germany and Vietnam, I have never been much of a war reader. Phil is though. I will mention these. pattinase (abbott)https://www.blogger.com/profile/02916037185235335846noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-6285364243756243552012-09-17T12:00:40.793-04:002012-09-17T12:00:40.793-04:00And that is one creepy thing to think about. And that is one creepy thing to think about. pattinase (abbott)https://www.blogger.com/profile/02916037185235335846noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-72186435866469948362012-09-17T11:57:46.767-04:002012-09-17T11:57:46.767-04:00Loved A FAN'S NOTES too. And I've never b...Loved A FAN'S NOTES too. And I've never been able to read Pynchon either. Jim Carroll is another good choice. <br /><br />S. E. Hinton wrote THE OUTSIDERS in her teens. She started it in high school and was a college freshman when it came out. Joyce Maynard's LOOKING BACK was published before she was 20. It was the article leading to the book that got Salinger's attention.<br /><br />Jeff M.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-4487461856397388772012-09-17T11:15:15.405-04:002012-09-17T11:15:15.405-04:00Further: Burgett was a lifelong Michiganer so you ...Further: Burgett was a lifelong Michiganer so you may have heard of him.<br /><br />I just found an online trip diary by a guy who visited Burgett and shot his nickel-plated .45. I remember Burgett writing about that gun. http://www.ww2airborne.net/clancy/506_usa08visit_us.html<br /><br />Burgett wrote three more books about the war. During the Battle of the Bulge Burgett and his unit had won a gunfight and a couple Germans were alive and wounded. Burgett casually pulled out his pistol to shoot one of the Germans. He stopped when a fellow soldier asked "What are you doing?" Probably the same pistol.Gerardnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-75418582941134884392012-09-17T11:10:11.569-04:002012-09-17T11:10:11.569-04:00Donald Burgett's memoir about the Normandy inv...Donald Burgett's memoir about the Normandy invasion, <i>Currahee!</i>. I bought the reprint, <i>As Eagles Screamed</i>when I was 12 or so and devoured it.<br /><br />Before that book all my knowledge of World War II was the bloodless film and TV versions, or survey books from the library.Gerardnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-24029042840141408992012-09-17T10:49:35.139-04:002012-09-17T10:49:35.139-04:00I have read that book many times although not rece...I have read that book many times although not recently. It is one of those "special" books that never lets go of you. pattinase (abbott)https://www.blogger.com/profile/02916037185235335846noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-54667214736821068972012-09-17T10:21:58.412-04:002012-09-17T10:21:58.412-04:00Fred Exley's A Fan's Notes. It was my plea...Fred Exley's A Fan's Notes. It was my pleasure years later to get drunk with him a number of times when I got to tell him how much his book meant to me.Ed Gormanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06126267358266480356noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-56903999065526798592012-09-17T09:48:30.164-04:002012-09-17T09:48:30.164-04:00Probably Cather in the Rye. There may have been so...Probably Cather in the Rye. There may have been something earlier that hasn 't yet popped to mind. Joe Baronehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10275991273751678636noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-8501268394128221572012-09-17T09:40:45.370-04:002012-09-17T09:40:45.370-04:00Loved Max Schulman. Have never been able to read P...Loved Max Schulman. Have never been able to read Pyncheon. Not ever the CRYING OF LOT 49. Bonjour was terrific. <br />I have read a little Delany but not sure if it was the early stuff. pattinase (abbott)https://www.blogger.com/profile/02916037185235335846noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-69220438799675945222012-09-17T09:32:15.970-04:002012-09-17T09:32:15.970-04:00MY BROTHER WAS AN ONLY CHILD by Jack Douglas warpe...MY BROTHER WAS AN ONLY CHILD by Jack Douglas warped me for life. Then I discovered Max Shulman.Jerry Househttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09482856733981933159noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-38251527847913412422012-09-17T09:15:12.853-04:002012-09-17T09:15:12.853-04:00Hum, I'm not sure. I thought Poorhouse fair wa...Hum, I'm not sure. I thought Poorhouse fair was pretty bad. Samuel Delany's early stuff was pretty good.Charles Gramlichhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02052592247572253641noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-44637462827801887042012-09-17T08:32:54.642-04:002012-09-17T08:32:54.642-04:00I thought about how I really liked BONJOUR TRISTES...I thought about how I really liked BONJOUR TRISTESSE by Francoise Sagan but that didn't knock me out, I was most impressed by how simple it was. A really controlled little story.<br /><br />I was probably 21 when I read The Basketball Diaries and everything about it impressed me. His digressions, his loose, cocky style, his rhythms. It was probably also a back door introduction to New York poetry.Dan_Lufthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05096055160420981482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-85347796273835706192012-09-17T08:30:05.487-04:002012-09-17T08:30:05.487-04:00V. by Thomas Pynchon. Not only is it a very funny...V. by Thomas Pynchon. Not only is it a very funny novel, V. became the subject of one of Bill Crider's papers (especially the part about alligators in the sewers) that lead to hundreds of items of alligator paraphernalia regularly arriving in Bill's mail box. Georgehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04546161337366365635noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-59171195512287360252012-09-17T08:15:07.949-04:002012-09-17T08:15:07.949-04:00And on a dare, Margot.
I have a copy of that book,...And on a dare, Margot.<br />I have a copy of that book, Prashant, sitting right here, but the print is too small. I must seek out another. pattinase (abbott)https://www.blogger.com/profile/02916037185235335846noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-70110318690360323802012-09-17T07:55:34.038-04:002012-09-17T07:55:34.038-04:00Salman Rushdie was already a well-known writer whe...Salman Rushdie was already a well-known writer when he wrote MIDNIGHT’S CHILDREN at 33 and it is, in my opinion, one of the grandest novels I have read till date. Its narrative power continues to hold me in awe. I’m not surprised it was voted the Booker of Bookers.Prashant C. Trikannadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16079354501998741758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-21756829546186968802012-09-17T07:55:33.493-04:002012-09-17T07:55:33.493-04:00Patti - Your post made me think of Mary Shelley...Patti - Your post made me think of Mary Shelley's <i>Frankenstein</i> which she wrote (or so I've heard) at 18. A classic novel written by someone that young! Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com