3 Lives | Litsy

Three Lives | Gertrude Stein, Carl Van Vechten

I finished The Hidden Palace, a fun read and have started a couple of other books. Hoping to finish Three Lives today and continue slowly working my way through Doctor Thorne, Baba Yaga Laid an Egg, The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows and as always, Clarissa.

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elizabethlk

Three Lives | Gertrude Stein, Carl Van Vechten

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Our latest #litereads week has come to an end as we wrap up The Gentle Lena by Gertrude Stein. I didn't really like this particular modernist classic, but there were some aspects I thought were worth looking at. You can read my full review in the link below. Be sure to let me know what you thought of this one in the comments.

https://wp.me/p9KSXu-sM

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elizabethlk

Three Lives | Gertrude Stein, Carl Van Vechten

Our most recent #litereads pick was Gertrude Stein's The Gentle Lena, from her short story collection Three Lives (1909). I forgot to post it here, so the review is coming shortly, but you can still read he story and comment if you like!

https://wp.me/p9KSXu-sL

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Godmotherx5

3 Lives | Gertrude Stein

Happy 144th Birthday to Gertrude Stein. 🎊✨🎈🎉🎂

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merelybookish

Three Lives | Gertrude Stein, Carl Van Vechten

One from my #tbrbingo.
#three #novemberbythenumbers @JoeStalksBeck @Tiffy_Reads

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emilyhaldi

Three Lives | Gertrude Stein, Carl Van Vechten

I think I just found my favorite bookstore 😍 If you're in NYC check out Three Lives & Co. in the West Village - it's so quaint and has good variety!

8little_paws Oooh I wasn't familiar with this place!! Good to know. 8y

MyNamesParadise When I'm in NYC some point this summer I'm going to add it to my list! 8y

Lmstraubie 👍 8y

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Cinfhen Looks super charming, will make sure to check it out over the summer. 💕 8y

thegirlwiththelibrarybag 😍😍😍 8y

Nonaroo That is a fantastic bookstore! Every time I go to New York I always make a stop there. 8y

RadicalReader @emilyhaldi what has been your favorite book you got from there? 8y

CherylDeFranceschi I love that store! 8y

Robothugs What a dream place to be 😍 8y

Reviewsbylola Hahahahahaha and this one too. I need to pay attention to names on posts obviously. 8y

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Leniverse

Three Lives | Gertrude Stein, Carl Van Vechten

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I didn't bail, but that was only because I don't like bailing, it was under 200 pages, I needed the book for a reading challenge and couldn't be bothered to track down another. I do not recommend this book to anyone. Gertrude Stein might be worth reading, I don't know, but this particular book sure wasn't.

BraveNewBooks I really enjoyed this one; it practically begs to be read aloud and you really get a sense of how playful Stein was with language and sound.

Tender Buttons

Leniverse @BraveNewBooks Thanks, I'll bear it in mind. Not sure I can cope with more Stein just yet though! 8y

BraveNewBooks @Leniverse just so you hopefully can end on an up note, here are a couple of fun lines from Tender Buttons: BREAKFAST.

A change, a final change includes potatoes. This is no authority for the abuse of cheese. 8y

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Leniverse @BraveNewBooks I am from a country where potatoes get added to every dish, including foreign recipes where no potato naturally belongs, so that first line makes perfect sense to me. The second I'm finding more bewildering. 8y

BraveNewBooks @Leniverse you can read it to mean that adding potatoes to breakfast is no excuse for adding too much (or taking away, depending on which you think of as "abuse"), which is why I like this line. 8y

BraveNewBooks @Leniverse but her work is most fun when you don't work to hard to puzzle out literal meanings, just enjoy the sounds of words together and the series of images and associations they invoke. "Stein‘s style is to writing what sushi is to cooking—not so much an example as a repudiation of the whole idea that still manages to serve the original function." (-Adam Gopnik in the New Yorker a few years ago) 8y

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Leniverse

Three Lives | Gertrude Stein, Carl Van Vechten

...and it gets worse. Rose, having been brought up by "white folks" doesn't have the "wide abandoned laughter", the "earth-born, boundless joy of negroes". But she has retained the "simple, promiscuous immorality of the black people". I might have to find a different book for this challenge.

saresmoore Yeesh. This is upsetting. 8y

Leniverse "Melanctha Herbert was a graceful, pale yellow, intelligent, attractive negress. She had not been raised like Rose by white folks but then she had been half made with real white blood." ??? 8y

Moray_Reads Even when it's "of its time" things like this are difficult to read. I'd be sorely tempted to bail 8y

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CocoReads Ugh. 8y

vivastory I think Gertrude Stein is frankly vastly overrated. Even her linguistic innovations in her prose poetry collection "Tender Buttons" wasn't distinct enough from the poetry of Dadaism & a few other avant-garde groups to be regarded as being terribly innovative. 8y

Leniverse @vivastory This is my first Gertrude Stein. It was her first work as well, I think. She has this device where she keeps repeating certain phrases. It half reminds me of repetition in folk tales, but it doesn't serve the same purpose and I'm really not sure what effect she's going for. 8y

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Leniverse

Three Lives | Gertrude Stein, Carl Van Vechten

I'm doing a #WomensCenturyChallenge: 10 consecutive decades, 10 female authors. My 1900-09 choice is comprised of two short stories and a novella. The first story was ok, but the novella starts off badly. I mean, I know it's the beginning of the 20th C, but WTF Gertrude Stein?!? "Rose" also lost her newborn because she forgot to look after it, and they are sorry but don't think about it for long, as babies "come so often in the negro world"!?

missevievelyn Woah I've never heard of that challenge, it sounds awesome! I might have to try it! 8y

Leniverse @missevievelyn It's great fun! I did the 1800s last year, and going for 1900s this year (but any 10 consecutive decades can be used). For extra challenge use all authors you haven't read before. If you're on Goodreads you'll find the challenge in wonderful group called "Catching up on Classics (and lots more!)". Do join us! 8y

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