The Unquiet Grave - Cyril Connolly BOOK REVIEW

[@tatifeltrin]

Don't you ever stop making these videos, Mr Sargent. We really appreciate your thoughtful reviews!

[@BetterThanFoodBookReviews]

So good to hear from you!! Hope all is well! Thanks!

[@thomastheobscure351]

I cannot accordingly assess how much do I appreciate and admire your effort to talk about and bring books that for most people (I'd say close to 90%) surfing on KZbin are indelibly obscure, bordering on the hermetic. I myself have first heard of Cyril Connoly from one of Cioran's book, ''Drawn and Quartered'', which opened with a quote of his: ''... It is closing-time in the gardens of the West.'' It strikes me as unfathomable that you are determined not to make any compromise with your audience, not to yield to the masses of readers that would rather see you talking about asinine commercial trash scribblings or vomitive young adult books. Your channel is truly a gold-mine in the dark mountains of our actual literary culture, and I hope it will long last. As an ending note to this genuine and heartily eulogy, what do you make of Daniel Barthelme's stories?

[@BetterThanFoodBookReviews]

Good to see you SK, those are very kind words and I appreciate them - Haven't read Barthelme, I'll seek him out, you take care, glad to have you.

[@andie74439]

You have honestly become my favourite person to listen to when it comes to opinions on books. What you're doing is incredible. Thank you.

[@BetterThanFoodBookReviews]

SHOULD ANYONE WANT TRANSLATIONS courtesy of Claire & Tam drive.google.com/file/d/0B8A5LBv1nJC4eng0WTJOaXRXbWc/view?usp=sharing

[@robrenstrom494]

Much appreciated. Untranslated blocks of French, Latin, or whatever European languages dumped into the text is a major pet peeve I have with a lot of older essayists. Like, awesome, you know 5 languages, congratulations. Would it kill you to translate the shit for us mere mortals?

[@thefrancophilereader8943]

It's great to see an artist accept and embrace failure. But it's the dream to produce a masterpiece. I really like how your review of the book is also an introduction to the author. You've sold me on this book.

[@alyssasault2142]

These reviews have helped me find so many amazing books, thank you

[@BetterThanFoodBookReviews]

Great! You're very welcome.

[@daigreatcoat44]

It was a great pleasure to come across this. I'd typed Connolly's name in hopes of finding something and your piece came up first. I think that sadly Connolly did write a masterpiece but never realised that he had. I first came across the book in a second-hand bookshop in London around 1960. Attracted by the title and by John Piper's cover-design I bought the book It was many years before I discovered who "Palinurus" was .I loved the book and still do. I think Connolly is seriously undervalued because of the miscellaneous nature of his work. He was a fine book-reviewer, and an excellent critic. It's really worth trying to track down his collection "The Condemned Playground". Here's a quote which may be slightly inaccurate because I can't trace the text, describing Joyce as "...that last great literary mammoth from whose tusks so many lesser egotists have carved their self-important ivory towers". I wish I'd said that.

[@Wiilxify]

Really surprised me with Mark Sandman there at the end. Been enjoying Morphine for 6 years or so and have never come across anyone who has heard of them. Just, wow. Really enjoying your reviews. I have more than doubled the length of my 'to read' list thanks to you. I will even give Cyril's 100 books a look through, hopefully i have made a dent by the time I'm thirty. Thank you so much.

[@BetterThanFoodBookReviews]

They've been one of my favorites for the better part of a decade. You're very welcome.

[@pintsenz]

Just got my paycheck, looks like I'll be spending most of that because I kept rewatching your videos. Oh boy

[@ccm4100]

My thoughts exactly.

[@sterlingwalter5971]

"we cannot think if we have no time to read." amen to that, and ty.

[@ShaneJamesBordas]

I've been enjoying loads of your reviews since I discovered this channel a couple of weeks ago, but this one especially resonated with me. I have a copy of The Unquiet Grave that I bought in a charity shop a number of years ago and, although I've kept it with me through the various moves I've made since then, not once have I ever been tempted to sit down and read the damn thing... until now. I've been struggling with completing a novel of my own (my first attempt) and some of your observations really hit home. Connolly might be something of a derided figure but if we're discussing him now, I would definitely consider that a success. P.S. The Morphine/Sandman reference at the end was the cherry on top for me!

[@tamvosper7388]

Thanks for the shout out Cliff. By all means link the translation doc if it will be of help to other readers. Great review.

[@ninurtak6071]

Hey, I like your videos, you seem to be very open to very different types of books. Could you do a video about the epic of Gilgamesh? It is the oldest work of literature in human history (from ancient Mesopotamia), but it deals with themes like friendship and mortality that are still very relevant today. I have a short 5-minute video with a very beautiful passage of it on my channel if you're interested. Anyways, good luck and keep up the good work.

[@Orangecrowbarman]

Great review as always man. I recently picked up On Pain due to your review and I've been trying to digest it slowly, especially given the historical context surrounding Junger being what it is.

[@sterlingwalter5971]

Someone providing you w to the translation/s, how sweet.

[@Riddle99-v7q]

Have you ever read some Burroughs? I would be interested in seeing your thoughts on some of his work. :)

[@davidadams6863]

I've just had a look in The Oxford Book of Essays and found Cyril Connolly 'The Ant - Lion ' written in 1939. Thank you for the fascinating reviews~☆

[@iantalbot3727]

Have you read Cronenberg's novel "Consumed"? If you have, you be reviewing that at some point?

[@MrZakatista]

There’s an anecdote in Robert Hughes’ memoir about his meeting Cyril Connolly in London (p 328).

[@CakeForJack]

Been excellent seeing your production and presentation quality increase consistently over the years mate, keep it up!

[@BetterThanFoodBookReviews]

Good to hear from ya Northerner ;)

[@rtredre]

Just came upon this. Great analysis.

[@ThomasSarantos]

Connolly appeared in "Atonement". He's the editor who rejects Briony's novel at the end.

[@soldatheero]

can someone explain the context behind this quote and what he meant? "As bees their sting, so the promiscuous leave behind them in each encounter something of themselves by which they are made to suffer"

[@stopaskingmynameYOUT]

Very nice videos. Your videos are great and I have compiled a great list for books based on your coverage. If Hemingway said too few read this book, I say too few watch these videos. They are great!

[@abdiawl736]

as always your reviews are amazing and push me to think about many things thanks a lot for your hardwork

[@davidjdp123]

Hey! Well, first of all I must start with the politeness I know you hate so much, and tell you that even though I only discovered you a few days ago, in that short spam of time I've come to really appreciate your book reviews, and how they are mainly directed towards a mostly intellectual audience. So congratulations on that! Now, what I wanted to ask you is if you could review One Hundred Years of Solitude as it is a personal favourite of mine. And of course, thank you!

[@rl6807]

Thumbs up for poetry! Also, good review as always.

[@justcomments1239]

Could you do a review of René Daumal's "Mount Analogue". It's my favorite book, but really obscure so no one has really covered it. It's very short because he dies before finishing, leaving it mid sentence!

[@tobiastranetellefsen4203]

Anyone else than me watching this channel that's trying to write novels, short stories, poetry etc.

[@Kyle-ty9xv]

Can you review Clifford the Big Red Dog?

[@jonahvos7394]

I would love to see a Henry Miller review.

[@rorydunagan3814]

Whatever happened to your review of Gummo? I can't find it anywhere and I'm sure I didn't dream it up.

[@BetterThanFoodBookReviews]

I pulled a Kafka and burned it. I was unhappy with the film reviews.

[@neerajsinghchouhan4947]

The link to Cyril's 100 books doesn't work, be good if someone shared another link for the same.... Thanks. Great review, man.

[@BetterThanFoodBookReviews]

Thanks a bunch, updated it, hope you enjoy.

[@96Bluesboy]

Really appreciate your videos man! What do you think about Henry Miller?

[@BetterThanFoodBookReviews]

I have a soft spot for the old perv.

[@Ardavan47]

Just finished Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn, Cant wait to hear what you have to say about him.

[@Ardavan47]

After reading it, get the Ian mcshane narrated version of it, trust me, just listen to the sample on audible. www.audible.com/pd/Classics/Tropic-Of-Cancer-Audiobook/B00309S5JG

[@Roderik46]

If you are reviewing poetry, could you review Rimbaud?

[@BetterThanFoodBookReviews]

Why yes I could.

[@Riddle99-v7q]

Better Than Food: Book Reviews This is gonna be good!

[@solovief]

Yet another great (and for me, timely) review. Enjoying a Florida rainstorm today as well. Maybe the same one?

[@BetterThanFoodBookReviews]

Yup.

[@maximosmagyar9653]

Making the right sacrifices...

[@BetterThanFoodBookReviews]

Someone is paying attention.

[@MrZakatista]

I thought you’d like Australia writer Alan Moorhead.

[@ItsAnGoose]

Phenomenal! Thank you so much for this!

[@somsuvramukherjee]

Another beautiful review. Wait for a new review video all the time. Have you ever thought of reviewing Sapiens and Homo Deus by Yuval Noah Harari? All the best.

[@BetterThanFoodBookReviews]

Have not heard! Gotta find - thanks for watching!

[@vaporreads5095]

So wait... this is fiction or nonfiction?

[@PoppyB2011]

Nice look. Very Patrick Bateman. Let me see your business card.

[@liucara8548]

always go back to those genuis, depressing ones lol

[@johncantwell486]

Great review, but bring the beard back!!!

[@breathevideopro]

Not that I expect you to heed the advice of one KZbinr with a pot leaf photo, but if you haven't read any Henry Miller, you need to get your hands on that shit. I will personally send you my copy of Tropic of Capricorn if you do a review on it. If you like Ligotti, Sade, Dostoevsky, you'll fucking love Miller. Rapey piece of shit he may have been.

[@BetterThanFoodBookReviews]

Man this summer he's the top request. Alright I'll get to it.

[@mitchellhawkes22]

Thinkin about "doin some poetry?" Nah. Tiniest audience, mostly navel gazers -- and none of them subscribers. Literature is hard enough to sit down and understand. Stick with the prose. The best poetry is right in the middle of the prose, anyway.

[@skeeterstanley1272]

dont knock down florida i was born in florida nothing better