Originally Posted by
lhbernhardt
Books that changed my life: Back when I was going to junior high school in Berkeley, CA, an English teacher gave me a copy of a book of poetry, Lawrence Ferlinghetti's "A Coney Island of the Mind." One of the classic beat books. I also love Kerouac's "On the Road" and "The Dharma Bums."
The book I keep going back to (and quoting from often) is Milan Kundera's "The Unbearable Lightness of Being." Eternal return; if it happened only once, it might as well never have happened... I love the reason for Sabina's never marching or participating in political demonstrations; I share her rationale! Philosophy disguised as fiction.
L.
I haven't tried Milan Kundera's "The Unbearable Lightness of Being." Your recommendation is enough. I'll get back to you. Wow! I'm starting up a new reading queue that's amazing! Thanks OP!
As for the Ferlingetti and Kerouc, yeah that was part of this discovery of bi-coastal post war literature. The real corker was Bill Burroughs and
Naked Lunch. The clique of these guys, including Alan Ginsberg made a huge impact on me as I was growing up.
I recently re-read
Naked Lunch and it was more relevant to a 50+ than it was to a 20something. It is a difficult read for it's deliberate shock and horrible exploration of human appetites and obsessions. It's also a very "historical" book.