Anthony Burgess discussion

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  • Posts: 2,887
    A good New Statesman review of Burgess's "new" book, The Ink Trade: Selected Journalism 1961-1993. I highly recommend The Ink Trade, which I read last month and found every bit as pleasurable and incisive as the previous three collections of Burgess's essays.
  • Posts: 2,887
    The Times Literary Supplement has just published a review by Margaret Drabble of four Burgess books: Beard's Roman Women, Puma, Obscenity and the Arts, and The Black Prince.
  • Posts: 14,799
    Revelator wrote: »
    The Times Literary Supplement has just published a review by Margaret Drabble of four Burgess books: Beard's Roman Women, Puma, Obscenity and the Arts, and The Black Prince.

    Haven't read the others, but Beard's Roman Women is a masterpiece, based on the Myth of Orpheus.
  • Posts: 2,887
    Florida leads the nation in stupidity yet again...
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    RE: Anthony Burgess' original TSWLM draft.
    Didn't SPECTRE's plan involve them trying to have the Queen strip down and bare all on live TV? :))
    Also Bond killed a dead villain by drowning him in shark's fin soup.
    And then he seasoned the soup. :))
    Sounds like a riot!

    There was also a nude James Bond and a nude Henry Kissinger in there. And a boxing kangaroo.
  • Posts: 14,799
    Article about Anthony Burgess and Ian Fleming : https://www.newstatesman.com/culture/2013/03/anthony-burgesss-007-obsession
  • Posts: 14,799
    Just finished The Pianoplayers and there's a short reference to Bond.
  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    Posts: 17,727
    Ludovico wrote: »
    Just finished The Pianoplayers and there's a short reference to Bond.

    Interesting. Care to detail it here, @Ludovico?
  • Posts: 14,799
    Dragonpol wrote: »
    Ludovico wrote: »
    Just finished The Pianoplayers and there's a short reference to Bond.

    Interesting. Care to detail it here, @Ludovico?

    Oh it's just a quick mention by the narrator, a working class woman from Manchester turned high class prostitute (long story) about 007 who can shoot the baddies for Britain (I paraphrase). She was commenting on the story of a shooting during a pursuit between the Italian police and some kidnappers. Absolutely hilarious.
  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    Posts: 17,727
    Ludovico wrote: »
    Dragonpol wrote: »
    Ludovico wrote: »
    Just finished The Pianoplayers and there's a short reference to Bond.

    Interesting. Care to detail it here, @Ludovico?

    Oh it's just a quick mention by the narrator, a working class woman from Manchester turned high class prostitute (long story) about 007 who can shoot the baddies for Britain (I paraphrase). She was commenting on the story of a shooting during a pursuit between the Italian police and some kidnappers. Absolutely hilarious.

    Ah, I see. Thank you, @Ludovico. Always nice to find a Bond reference in a novel you're reading! And if it's in a Burgess novel, even better!
  • Posts: 14,799
    I tried not to give too much away as it's near the end of the novel, but anyway it's hilarious.
  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    Posts: 17,727
    Ludovico wrote: »
    I tried not to give too much away as it's near the end of the novel, but anyway it's hilarious.

    I appreciate that. I imagine Burgess can be a very funny writer based on what I've seen of his work.
  • Posts: 14,799
    He's very funny, even at his darkest.
  • Posts: 14,799
    Today is the anniversary of the death of Anthony Burgess. Some people remember when they were when they learned Kennedy was assassinated, I remember where I was when I learned of Burgess's death.
  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    Posts: 17,727
    Ludovico wrote: »
    Today is the anniversary of the death of Anthony Burgess. Some people remember when they were when they learned Kennedy was assassinated, I remember where I was when I learned of Burgess's death.

    Is there an interesting story to tell there, @Ludovico?
  • Posts: 14,799
    Dragonpol wrote: »
    Ludovico wrote: »
    Today is the anniversary of the death of Anthony Burgess. Some people remember when they were when they learned Kennedy was assassinated, I remember where I was when I learned of Burgess's death.

    Is there an interesting story to tell there, @Ludovico?

    Well, not much it's more personal than fascinating. I had finished A Clockwork Orange earlier that month (I had read it in a weekend) and was reading and rereading it. I had stopped at my friends' place after lunch to walk with them in high school, saw on their TV clips of A Clockwork Orange. Then I noticed it was the news and they were announcing his death.
  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    edited November 2021 Posts: 17,727
    Ludovico wrote: »
    Dragonpol wrote: »
    Ludovico wrote: »
    Today is the anniversary of the death of Anthony Burgess. Some people remember when they were when they learned Kennedy was assassinated, I remember where I was when I learned of Burgess's death.

    Is there an interesting story to tell there, @Ludovico?

    Well, not much it's more personal than fascinating. I had finished A Clockwork Orange earlier that month (I had read it in a weekend) and was reading and rereading it. I had stopped at my friends' place after lunch to walk with them in high school, saw on their TV clips of A Clockwork Orange. Then I noticed it was the news and they were announcing his death.

    I see. That's an interesting enough story and thanks for sharing it, especially as you'd just finished A Clockwork Orange a short time before and were in the process of rereading it.

    It's interesting too that you mention the Kennedy assassination and how people who were alive then remember where they were when they heard it had happened. I only realised today that President Kennedy and Anthony Burgess died on the same day, exactly 30 years apart.
  • MaxCasinoMaxCasino United States
    edited November 2021 Posts: 4,049
    Dragonpol wrote: »
    Ludovico wrote: »
    Dragonpol wrote: »
    Ludovico wrote: »
    Today is the anniversary of the death of Anthony Burgess. Some people remember when they were when they learned Kennedy was assassinated, I remember where I was when I learned of Burgess's death.

    Is there an interesting story to tell there, @Ludovico?

    Well, not much it's more personal than fascinating. I had finished A Clockwork Orange earlier that month (I had read it in a weekend) and was reading and rereading it. I had stopped at my friends' place after lunch to walk with them in high school, saw on their TV clips of A Clockwork Orange. Then I noticed it was the news and they were announcing his death.

    I see. That's an interesting enough story and thanks for sharing it, especially as you'd just finished A Clockwork Orange a short time before and were in the process of rereading it.

    It's interesting too that you mention the Kennedy assassination and how people who were alive then remember where they were when they heard it had happened. I only realised today that President Kennedy and Anthony Burgess died on the same day, exactly 30 years apart.

    If there’s one celebrity death that I remember where I was, it was Robin Williams. I thought it was a joke or another person. What’s ironic about it was my friend had just brought a copy of Aladdin on vhs. As for Anthony Burgess, I was born the same year that he died. I’d love to read his TSWLM screenplay. Sounds like a pure RM adventure.

    [on writing five novels in the space of a year after he was told he had an inoperable brain tumor] It can be done. If you write 2000 words before breakfast, you have the rest of the day to yourself.
  • Posts: 14,799
    MaxCasino wrote: »
    Dragonpol wrote: »
    Ludovico wrote: »
    Dragonpol wrote: »
    Ludovico wrote: »
    Today is the anniversary of the death of Anthony Burgess. Some people remember when they were when they learned Kennedy was assassinated, I remember where I was when I learned of Burgess's death.

    Is there an interesting story to tell there, @Ludovico?

    Well, not much it's more personal than fascinating. I had finished A Clockwork Orange earlier that month (I had read it in a weekend) and was reading and rereading it. I had stopped at my friends' place after lunch to walk with them in high school, saw on their TV clips of A Clockwork Orange. Then I noticed it was the news and they were announcing his death.

    I see. That's an interesting enough story and thanks for sharing it, especially as you'd just finished A Clockwork Orange a short time before and were in the process of rereading it.

    It's interesting too that you mention the Kennedy assassination and how people who were alive then remember where they were when they heard it had happened. I only realised today that President Kennedy and Anthony Burgess died on the same day, exactly 30 years apart.

    If there’s one celebrity death that I remember where I was, it was Robin Williams. I thought it was a joke or another person. What’s ironic about it was my friend had just brought a copy of Aladdin on vhs. As for Anthony Burgess, I was born the same year that he died. I’d love to read his TSWLM screenplay. Sounds like a pure RM adventure.

    [on writing five novels in the space of a year after he was told he had an inoperable brain tumor] It can be done. If you write 2000 words before breakfast, you have the rest of the day to yourself.

    The screenplay is available at the Anthony Burgess Foundation in Manchester. Next time I go there (haven't been since 2013) I'll try to have a look.

    He made up the inoperable brain tumor. Well, somewhat. He was never diagnosed, but the doctors never ruled it out. Burgess was probably suffering from depression.
  • Posts: 14,799
    Fresh from The Anthony Burgess Foundation, Burgess and Bond: https://www.anthonyburgess.org/blog-posts/anthony-burgess-and-james-bond/
  • Posts: 14,799
    More on A Clockwork Orange, a conversation with Andrew Biswell, always interesting:

  • RichardTheBruceRichardTheBruce I'm motivated by my Duty.
    Posts: 12,914
    I came across this novelty item not mentioned earlier I believe.

    Available as a print, with the set-up below proposing Half-Forgotten Classics.

    Standard-Designs-Logo_300x@2x.png?v=1626689779
    Ian Fleming 'On Her
    Majesty's Secret
    Service' Book Cover
    Poster Print
    https://standarddesigns.co.uk/products/ian-fleming-anthony-burgess-half-forgotten-classics-book-cover-poster-print

    Regular price £19.99 GBP
    Here's another in a series of prints of book covers - 'Half-forgotten Classics' - for all of us who've read the book but, um... is it the one with... no, sorry, I can't remember.

    This one's the Ian Fleming James Bond novel 'On Her Majesty's Secret Service' - or was it... er... 'Burgess'? Yes, Burgess. Anthony Burgess was the villain, wasn't he? I'm pretty sure he wanted to take over the world, anyway...
    Size: 16.5 x 11.5 inches, 42 x 29.7 cm
    Professionally printed on 200gsm/120lb premium archival heavy silk paper
    Shipped in a sturdy mailing tube
    The print is sold unframed (the frame in the photo - a standard 40 x 50cm IKEA RIBBA frame - is for illustrational purposes only)
    il_fullxfull.674982162_ce7r_720x@2x.jpg?v=1498559068
    OHMSB_720x@2x.jpg?v=1498559059
  • Posts: 14,799
    It's Good Friday, Easter is coming very soon, I thought I'd share this article about Jesus of Nazareth, which Burgess scripted:https://www.americamagazine.org/arts-culture/2019/03/08/why-jesus-movies-should-be-strange

    I disagree about what the author of the article said in the intro: growing up in Catholic Québec, J of N was THE Easter movie. It had no equal.
  • Posts: 14,799
    I'm rereading Any Old Iron and SMERSH is mentioned, but it's a very different organisation than the one described by Fleming.
  • Posts: 14,799
    From the Anthony Burgess Foundation:
    Kim Sherwood, author of Double or Nothing, the latest James Bond adventure, will be our guest on the Burgess Foundation’s 99 Novels podcast. She’ll be talking about Burgess, Ian Fleming and her own Bond novel.
  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    Posts: 17,727
    Ludovico wrote: »
    From the Anthony Burgess Foundation:
    Kim Sherwood, author of Double or Nothing, the latest James Bond adventure, will be our guest on the Burgess Foundation’s 99 Novels podcast. She’ll be talking about Burgess, Ian Fleming and her own Bond novel.

    Interesting news. I know that Burgess picked Goldfinger as one of the best 99 Novels since the war.
  • Posts: 2,742
    I need to read more Burgess. Only two I've read are A Clockwork Orange and Tremor of Intent. His script of TSWLM is an endless source of fascination for me (the whole thing sounds bonkers, but I can sort of see the tone he was going for from both Tremor of Intent and his views on the Fleming Bond novels vs the films).
  • echoecho 007 in New York
    Posts: 5,921
    If I recall correctly, the woman in his TSWLM script had a facial disfigurement that was psychological and cured by falling in love with Bond...
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