LAURA WARHOLIC by Alexander Theroux

[@haroldniver]

I just picked this up in a bookshop a couple of days ago, for only $7, brand new. Can’t wait to dig in.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Great find! Do let me know what you think.

[@arafatsafin650]

Hi. Thanks for introducing me to Theroux. I am loving this guy. He quoted two of my favourtie writers-Pessoa and Cioran-within the first four pages of this book. His essays are amazing and the way he makes fun off all kinds of people is the best. However in page 106, he wrote this line about Laura's mother, "A large pile of lurid paperbacks and trashy beach-reads, "shopping and screwing" novels as Discknickers called them, filled an old deal bookcase with titles like Kiss My Fist, Pit Shop Nympho, Shameless Honeymoon, Sailor's Luck, I Married a Dead Man, Mattress Lunch, Muscle Lover, Tamed Warrioress, Slave Beauty, Glass Dildo, Sheikh of the Desert, GRAVITY'S RAINBOW, Nora's Purple Cushion, Provincetown Moon, Drowsy Mall, Dale's Three Husbands, Raoul's Passion, Heroine Hedy, and Polly's Millionaire Boob, stacks of them, all with iridescent covers exclusively written for those forty million women in America on the last frontier of their sex lives." What do you think about Theroux calling Gravity's Rainbow a lurid paperback and trashy beach-read exclusively written for ugly fat sexless aging women? I haven't read any Pynchon or any other Theroux myself but I know Darconville's cat has been likened to Gravity's Rainbow by some critics.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

My pleasure! I'm surprised I didn't say something about the jab at GR in this video. First though, I should make clear that DC and GR are two completely different projects and I wouldn't liken them to one another. As for GR showing up on the bookcase of terrible books, I think it was equal parts (a) good fun, (b) jealousy at the success of Pynchon, and (c) one of a series of swipes Theroux has taken at Melanie Jackson, Pynchon's wife.

[@AlexanderLaurence]

Minot Warholic was a character based slightly on me. When I read the full book in 2007, I found a lot of references to my own life, but not all things matched up. I have never met Alexander Theroux in my life, but I may have spoken to him on the phone.

[@AlexanderLaurence]

A lot of this is mentioned in the Steve Moore book.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Well, hello there! I read about you in Steven Moore’s forthcoming book (and the insider information you provided). He pointed out that Minot was based partly on you and some other people. He also cited you as shedding light on how overblown the Laura character is, which led to a conclusion that, once Theroux is done with a character they are pretty much unidentifiable from the real person. I try to stick the the books and not necessarily the author as person, but I do find it unfortunate that real people got put in the crosshairs. I am certain, however, that you are nothing like Minot. Thanks for dropping by. I’d love to talk sometime about the old Cups days!

[@Focaminante]

Have you given any thought to setting up a publishing house? I don’t how complicated that would be in the US, but I have one here in Colombia and we publish whenever we have the means to do so. You seem to have a vocation for promoting little known and hard-to-find authors, I’m sure most of these, or their heirs, would be willing to be facilitate the process so that these books can have an effective circulation. This KZbin channel already gives you an edge promotion-wise.

[@estebanmejia3473]

¡Hola!, soy de Colombia. Me interesa saber como se llama tu casa editorial sí no te molesta

[@Focaminante]

@@estebanmejia3473 Hola Esteban. Por supuesto, la puedes buscar como Favila Editorial.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Focaminante hmmmmmm, veeeeerrrryyy interesting idea. :-)

[@johnsteffney2229]

Splendiferous exposition, as usual. Your two most favorite novels, of course, are The Recognitions and Gravity’s Rainbow. This is mine. Based on having read more than four thousand, including Sterne, Proust, Joyce, and Nabokov. “Genius” is used much too loosely these days. Even by Bloom, whose book by that title spans a hundred writers. Thereux, however, does fit the bill. Beyond that, Laura Warholic is the only novel whose ending caused me to cry.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

I feel honored to have been given the accolade "Splendiferous exposition" by someone so very well read--thank you!

[@TheCollidescopePodcast]

Amazing! You definitely did not disappoint with this video review and I think you captured its voluminous essence perfectly, making me appreciate this unique masterpiece all the more more. So many great points and and so much insight, I don't even know where to start. With this, I trust you'll be able to remove the stones out of at least some sensitive readers' eyes. Buh-buh-buh-bravo!!! Thanks for the generous, plug by the way!

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Thanks, George! That means a lot coming from you. Solid book!

[@TheCollidescopePodcast]

@@LeafbyLeaf Solid enough to crack a skull!

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Or glume, incrassacate, ablende, hamesuck, or thropple a skull!

[@bedet]

This is such a great book. It's stuck with me in ways few books do. Fantastic review!

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Thanks, Dan! Glad you enjoyed the book (and the video)!

[@marinamaccagni5253]

Yes! I read it! Great book! Always waiting to put my hands on darconville's cat! Finally someone not afraid of making videos on august 15th! I hate august, the most boring month of the year!

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Awesome! Glad you managed to get your hands on this one. I’ll be posting my video of Darconville’s Cat in two weeks. Your complaint about August cracked me up. My birthday is in August but it’s also the hottest month here (I cannot stand to be hot).

[@liquidpebbles7475]

Youre making me really interested in Theroux, any rec on what should I try first?

[@MarcNash]

Strabismus/ strabismic is one of my favourite words and I use it in most if not all of my own novels. I particularly liked your phrase "The Dave Chapelle of maximalist fiction" :-)

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Wicked sweet! I’ll have another “wall of words” in my upcoming Darconville’s Cat review.

[@MarcNash]

@@LeafbyLeaf when I read DC I started writing down the words I didn't know rather than break off reading to go look them up as I came across them. I stopped after about 50!

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Marc Nash 😜

[@rickharsch8797]

I very much appreciate the sentiment vis a vis taking the whole mess, I think mostly for the same reasons, but also in some manner in opposition to the artifice of artifice.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Thanks, Rick! Artifice of artifice.

[@darkandobscurity4241]

I wish I could lay my hands on that book, or any other Alexander Theroux, but it's next to impossible to find any of his books here. I hope someday I would read one of his books.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Yeah, that’s the only drawback. Where are you?

[@darkandobscurity4241]

@@LeafbyLeaf I'm from Chile

[@cojojojo1222]

@@darkandobscurity4241 Book depository/amazon might be your friend, or check your local library. If all else fails contact one of the most read person I know(from Chile) www.goodreads.com/author/show/6440536.Berna_Ojeda_Labourdette

[@wesleyallen2593]

I need to hear this talk with Silverblatt!

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Oops-I forgot to put that link in the description. It’s there now!

[@wesleyallen2593]

@@LeafbyLeaf Thanks, man! Also enjoyed your biblical allusions in this review.

[@dcdc139]

for future reference kzbin.info/www/bejne/pIKmqqSDlNF5oc0

[@dcdc139]

After listening to your review, I think that I'll give this one another shot. Theroux is what this ex-colleague of mine would sound like if he became a writer. At one point, it became too much for me, even if there were a few passages that had me laughing out loud and even if Darconville's Cat is one of my favorites

[@LeafbyLeaf]

This one is definitely more vitriolic than DC, which is the crowning achievement of Theroux's oeuvre. There were cringe-inducing moments for me, too, but I couldn't look away--like a rubbernecker at a car wreck.

[@cntrlrb20]

1:30 in and he’s comparing readers of this book to rubberneckers and now I have to prove how badass I am by listening to the rest of the lecture and maybe reading the book... Edit: “In a way, he strikes me as the Dave Chapelle of maximalist fiction in this book...” When I was a freshman in college I realized the parallels between great writers and great standup comedians. Only difference is the standup comedians are on Netflix. At that point I bought a Netflix subscription. Just to become more literary.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

This is your best comment yet.

[@cojojojo1222]

There is only a way up from this review(your greatest). Would you consider reviewing Ulyses by Joyce?(my favorite maximalist)

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Thanks! Yes-Ulysses is in queue with my western core series.

[@jD-P8g3s]

Darconville's Cat in hb and pb, wha?

[@LeafbyLeaf]

😁 And my DC review will be posted on the 28th!

[@helpyourcattodrive]

I’m glad I’m a scientist/atheist literary enthusiast.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

I’m thankful for people like you-Edward O. Wilson, for example.

[@ClearOutSamskaras]

8:37 Hiding one's skill.

[@bjwnashe5589]

Um, I think I'll stick with Paul Theroux.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Fair enough, fair enough. Which is your favorite of Paul’s?

[@bjwnashe5589]

Leaf by Leaf There are two favorites. The Great Railway Bazaar is a classic work of travel literature (a genre which is well worth exploring). Also, Sir Vidia's Shadow is a wonderful book, about Theroux's friendship (and falling out) with V.S. Naipaul. Naipaul is a problematic individual, but also one of the greatest writers of the 20th century. Highly recommend his work. And I must say that I love your channel. Always enjoy your intelligent reflections on fine books. Keep up the good work, my friend.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

I’ve been wanting to check out Mother Land for a while to get some more insight into this interesting family. Thanks for the recommendations and compliments!

[@EveryoneWhoReadsitMustConverse]

Making readers accomplices in imaginative exercise..I love this, sir! I am intrigued and may have to put this on the tbr... Thanks!

[@LeafbyLeaf]

It’s the only Theroux novel not o.p. so act fast!

[@EveryoneWhoReadsitMustConverse]

@@LeafbyLeaf thanks for the heads up