tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6327348657265652781.post569898107220020547..comments2023-10-03T11:41:21.191+01:00Comments on The Truth About Lies: The Principle of Ultimate IndivisibilityJim Murdochhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12786388638146471193noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6327348657265652781.post-27104837493531348582010-09-10T19:06:18.830+01:002010-09-10T19:06:18.830+01:00Jim, yes, thank you for those words of clarificati...Jim, yes, thank you for those words of clarification on that "grim" dialogue.<br /><br />And for all you readers of Jim's blog-- get The Principle of Ultimate Indivisibility as an ebook (see the Smashwords link at the end of the review) for only $2.99 until 10/31 by using this coupon code at checkout: HJ58M.<br /><br />Thanks!Brent Robisonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06882060411376854563noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6327348657265652781.post-81861575940414860272010-09-08T10:36:30.658+01:002010-09-08T10:36:30.658+01:00Thanks for the comment, C Bosco, yes, I would say ...Thanks for the comment, <b>C Bosco</b>, yes, I would say that Brent is quite font of ironic situations as a basis for storytelling. The fact that some of the stories are interconnected adds dimension to them and so where there was irony to begin with it’s underlined across the entries.<br /><br />So that’s two grims and two no-grims, eh <b>Brent</b>? I really don’t think that ‘grim’ is the right words for any of your stories. The word is defined as:<br /><br />• Unrelenting; rigid. <br />• Uninviting or unnerving in aspect; forbidding: <i>"undoubtedly the grimmest part of him was his iron claw” ( J.M. Barrie). </i><br />• Ghastly; sinister: <i>"He made a grim jest at the horrifying nature of his wound” ( Reginald Pound). </i><br />• Dismal; gloomy: <i>a grim, rainy day. </i><br />• Ferocious; savage: <i>the grim advance of the pillaging army. </i><br /><br />and none of those really fit your stories on the whole. There are some dire situations – the financial straits of the Indian, the Mormon boy by the riverside – but these are aspects of bigger stories.<br /><br>Jim Murdochhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12786388638146471193noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6327348657265652781.post-5352165114203137332010-09-07T18:05:17.584+01:002010-09-07T18:05:17.584+01:00If one can believe the author's own comments a...If one can believe the author's own comments about his work, I want to chime in on the "grim" subject. I'm quite confident the book is really not grim... it has threads of comedy that appear here and there, and it closes with a bit of a wink. Plus, the empathy with characters' struggles raises it above a grim worldview. On another level, the interconnectedness of stories (and of humans) is for me a source of uplifting wonder, and I hope some of that comes through in the book.<br /><br />Thanks, Jim, for the breadth and thoughtfulness of your review.Brent Robisonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06882060411376854563noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6327348657265652781.post-34620913181768946292010-09-07T17:23:14.789+01:002010-09-07T17:23:14.789+01:00This looks like it would be an interesting read. F...This looks like it would be an interesting read. From your review, one theme that caught my eye was a certain irony that accompanies interconnectedness. It really comes across strongly in that excerpt of Harold's reflection of loneliness and his brother.C.B.https://www.blogger.com/profile/07856327879463642659noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6327348657265652781.post-23267541870940945912010-09-07T17:21:09.008+01:002010-09-07T17:21:09.008+01:00Thank you, Kevin. I guess the grims have it.Thank you, <b>Kevin</b>. I guess the grims have it.<br /><br>Jim Murdochhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12786388638146471193noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6327348657265652781.post-15978927267417757952010-09-07T16:00:35.287+01:002010-09-07T16:00:35.287+01:00This is again a terrific review. I resonate with t...This is again a terrific review. I resonate with the grimness of perspective.<br /><br />*******<br />Kevin<br /><a href="http://www.lightningmortgages.com" rel="nofollow">Mortgage Deals</a>kevinsmithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14192550788629436135noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6327348657265652781.post-18575763506979900542010-09-07T12:20:56.095+01:002010-09-07T12:20:56.095+01:00Thanks for the feedback, Djelloul. Nice to hear fr...Thanks for the feedback, <b>Djelloul</b>. Nice to hear from someone else who's read and enjoyed Brent's work.<br /><br>Jim Murdochhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12786388638146471193noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6327348657265652781.post-40768618299883113062010-09-07T03:15:23.704+01:002010-09-07T03:15:23.704+01:00Jim, thank you for giving so much thought to a wri...Jim, thank you for giving so much thought to a writer I greatly admire. I agree that his work is not so much experimental as unconventional. Brent's use of ambiguity makes the whole a great adventure.—Djelloul Marbrookdjelloul marbrookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16447885833849113504noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6327348657265652781.post-86635724586152887132010-09-06T23:07:28.554+01:002010-09-06T23:07:28.554+01:00That's why God invented Amazon wish lists. My ...That's why God invented Amazon wish lists. My in-laws would be lost without mine, <b>Dick</b>.<br /><br>Jim Murdochhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12786388638146471193noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6327348657265652781.post-56050372918039072502010-09-06T22:20:53.206+01:002010-09-06T22:20:53.206+01:00Given the omnivorous nature of the Internet, Jim, ...Given the omnivorous nature of the Internet, Jim, and the fact that most of us Google our names from time to time, it's maybe not so wild a coincidence that the subject of your latest marathon review popped up in its wake. And I'm sure he was gratified by so comprehensive and lucid a representation of his work. Once again I'm going to have to restrain myself from heading up the Amazon in search of the depicted treasures. 'No more books until Christmas' is the directive here!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6327348657265652781.post-9424597619008516112010-09-06T13:07:37.069+01:002010-09-06T13:07:37.069+01:00A strange choice of word, Lis. I wouldn't have...A strange choice of word, <b>Lis</b>. I wouldn't have thought of this as a grim book. Some horrible things happen and most of the characters have something difficult to cope with but they're all getting on with it. So I suppose 'grim' if you define it as 'grin and bear it'.<br /><br>Jim Murdochhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12786388638146471193noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6327348657265652781.post-83542896383649316442010-09-06T06:22:45.409+01:002010-09-06T06:22:45.409+01:00Consider this cup, Jim, a polystyrene cup differen...Consider this cup, Jim, a polystyrene cup different from the one I must consider here at my hospital bedside. <br /><br />This is again a terrific review. I resonate with the grimness of perspective, here. <br /><br />I've been here in Cabrini only for two days now but I'm desperate to get home. Thanks for your comments on my post. <br /><br />I can't send out responses to comments for some reason but I can responds to blogs. I'm using the hospital's server and it cuts in and out. <br /><br />Thanks, Jim.Elisabethhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04015624747225433940noreply@blogger.com