wendyt@pyramid.UUCP (Wendy Thrash) (03/04/86)
_The Sot-Weed Factor_ was my introduction to Barth. The first hundred pages or so were rough sledding, but well worth it -- it remains the funniest book I've ever read. BTW, I read the book several years ago because I thought I remembered hearing someone do an interview with Bill Walton in which someone asked one of those, "Who would you like to be...," questions, and he replied "Henry Burlingame." Did anyone else hear this, or was I the victim of some strange, drug-induced fantasy. Should I have posted this to net.sport.hoops? :-)
boyajian@akov68.DEC (JERRY BOYAJIAN) (03/04/86)
> From: brl-smoke!floyd > I am curious about anyone's comments about John Barth. I got a copy > of "The Sot-Weed Factor" in the same way. Having not had enough time > to read either of them (time.. I never have the time to read all > the stuff I would like to) I am interested to find out if I should > make the effort sooner. I first read Barth in college when my professor for my Colonial America course assigned us THE SOT-WEED FACTOR (he thought reading a novel about the times would be as worthwhile as yet another history book). I didn't know what to expect from the book and I enjoyed it thoroughly. It's worth your while to read it, and is more "accessible" than Pynchon or Vonnegut. I've since read CHIMERA and GILES, GOAT-BOY and liked those two as well. I've got copies of THE FLOATING OPERA and END OF THE ROAD, but haven't as yet gotten to them, nor have I managed to re-read SOT-WEED, which I have promised myself to do one of these days. That same professor, for a different class (Revolutionary America), also assigned ARUNDEL by Kenneth Roberts, which led to a "love affair" with his books as well. --- jayembee (Jerry Boyajian, DEC, Acton-Nagog, MA) UUCP: {decvax|ihnp4|allegra|ucbvax|...} !decwrl!dec-rhea!dec-akov68!boyajian ARPA: boyajian%akov68.DEC@DECWRL.DEC.COM