Sunday, March 09, 2008

Book meme

Leslee tagged me for this. I quite like it as it doesn't require a lot of thought or jumping through hoops, but it's rather interesting to see what people are reading and also if they don't tell you beforehand, trying to guess what it might be.

The rules go like this:

1. Pick up the book you are reading, or else the nearest book (of at least 123 pages).
2. Open the book to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the next three sentences (I'm going to do seven, I'll tell you why...)
5. Tag five people.

So, here goes.

' Now, frankly, we artists do not normally write well when we are distraught, if we can bestir ourselves to write at all. But my famous elegy is a glorious exception. Though composed rapidly, it's a better elegy than Milton's to Edward King or Shelley's on the death of Keats, which is pure dreck - revolting, sentimental dreck. 'Oh weep for Adonais, he is dead.' What kind of shit is that? Adonais instead of Adonis? Shelley needed that extra syllable?'

Now, to make this meme more interesting, I'm inviting submissions for what the book is, which is why I made the extract a bit longer. Clue: It's a biblical character narrating, and the author died in 1999, on my birthday, I just found out.

I'll publish the answer... when I feel like it, if no one gets it first, and decide who to tag then!

9 comments:

Pam said...

Well, I'll start the ball rolling: I have no idea! How feeble. A Biblical narrator (King David?) who wrote an elegy that he/she thought was better than Milton, Keats or Shelley? Strange...

Lucy said...

Getting warm. Yes, it is King David. Modern writer writing in the Jewish- American idiom...

leslee said...

Very clever! I love the creative variations on this theme. (But I have no idea what this is from - very entertaining, though.)

Ramesh Gandhi said...

I thought of Faulkner's Absalom Absalom - but no - he's not in the Jewish American idiom, and he died in the 60s - so I'm stumped. Interesting meme.

BTW, that animal on the liqueur bottle was a musk deer, not a sheep. ;)

Unknown said...

A wild guess: Norman Mailer.

stitchwort said...

Dunno who/what it is, but I rather agree about the Shelley.

Laura Frankstone said...

This is not about that, but just a report of a complete coup de foudre on reading your blog today! (I should be packing for Paris, but you see how it is .) Your blog is wonderful!! I love the limebark collage ---such texture, such gloriously subtle color, and what a fabulous composition. The horses' eyes----exquisite. Speaking of eyes, then, your own is amazing. I'm adding you to my writer blogs list on my own blog and I'm subscribing to you via Bloglines and I'm very happy, as you've guessed, to have (re)found Box Elder.

Marly Youmans said...

I'm going to say Joseph Heller, "God Knows": it's a guess as I haven't read the book.

Had to add something to today's post just because of you! Can't a person get away with being lazy now and then?

Lucy said...

Hooray and bravo for Marly, who came up with the right answer within 24 hours. It is indeed 'God knows', and I will post about it as soon as I have completed my lesson plans for tomorrow.
Marly, this is my way of being lazy!

Nancy - I'm not sure a musk deer is much more appetising than a sheep...

Plutarch, I regret to say I hve led a sheltered life and have never read any Norman Mailer at all, but wild surmises are always welcome!

Stitchwort - glad to have struck a chord. Percy Bysshe had his moments but that wasn't one of them in my opinion!

Laurelines, thank you, how nice! I'll return the compliment erelong.