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About the Author

Peter Coviello is professor of English at the University of Illinois at Chicago. His most recent books include Long Players: A Love Story in Eighteen Songs (2018) and Make Yourselves Gods: Mormons and the Unfinished Business of American Secularism (2019).

Obras de Peter Coviello

Associated Works

Billy Budd, Bartleby, and Other Stories (2016) — Introdução, algumas edições247 cópias
Americanist Approaches to The Book of Mormon (2019) — Contribuinte — 10 cópias

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Is There God After Prince? by Peter Coviello is a collection of essays that, while being less academic than a lot of criticism, still has the language, periodically, of academia. That does not keep this from being both accessible and interesting, it just makes it a little deeper (whatever that means to you).

I'll get the one little negative out of the way and explain why it isn't a big deal. There is a bit of repetition from essay to essay, which might bother some readers if they plan to read straight through. Two reasons should keep the potential annoyance from bothering you too much. First, these are essays, meant to be self-contained prose pieces. Closely coupled with that is the second, some of these were previously published (though likely reworked for this collection) which means there were no other Coviello essays to have possibly just read. So when you read these, just start every one as a new text, not as part of the whole that is the book.

Okay, what I particularly enjoyed in these essays is what I also enjoyed in one of his previous books, Vineland Reread, namely offering perspective with the acknowledgement that not only will yours be different, but that in a different point in his own life it will be different. A song I heard in 1976 then again in 1996, then 2016 will all mean different things to me, though each successive hearing will also bring back memories. My high school senior self in '76, my twice divorced but in grad school self in '96, and my "OMG I'm almost 60" self in '16. Each understanding of the song is valid, even if no longer valid for me now. And don't even ask about the deterioration of my dance moves!

Coviello has some similar musical tastes as I do, though I certainly don't fully agree with his assessment (only semi-serious, I hope) of the boomer generation. While I don't generally think of the (sometimes heated but usually friendly) debates about the merits of a song/film/book/etc as fights (his preferred term) I can see why he might choose that term. At most I might use argument, but for most of my life and places I lived, fights were physical and the most physical mine have been involves the possible tossing of a drink, but that is another story. The point is, if you have ever passionately argued with friends about the merits of something, almost anything, knowing that you're both being hyperbolic but still insisting on having the exchange, then you will appreciate these essays.

I would also suggest reading these more with an eye toward understanding where he is coming from rather than whether you agree or disagree. That will allow you, even if you do disagree with something, to at least find some common ground. It is that common ground from which you can then reflect on times in your life that might be similar, or feelings that are relatable.

Since I am a big Prince fan I absolutely loved every mention of him and his music. I also added a couple books to my list of ones to find and read, and I revisited some songs and artists I haven't listened to in a while. So there is an odd mix of nostalgia and our current world, how do I now hear that 1976 song when so many things, politically, socially, culturally seem precariously close to some cliff over the abyss?

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.
… (mais)
½
 
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pomo58 | Jul 18, 2023 |
Vineland Reread by Peter Coviello is both a critical work on Vineland as well as an argument for rereading books in general. Yet it also does so many other things as well.

I'm not sure that this will appeal to anyone who hasn't read Vineland, though I think that it might still work if the reader is more interested in how the various readings work as compared to the readings as critiques of the book. That probably makes no sense, so let me try to explain what I mean.

The readings of Vineland that Coviello uses are from very different and specific periods, both of his life and of the world at large. What he brings to each reading and the world he is inhabiting at the time shape what aspects of the novel speak to him the most. In that way each reading is largely a separate critique coming from a different perspective. Without having read Vineland the critiques may still mean something to the reader of this book (due in large part to how well Coviello sets everything up) but just as likely not. What each reading can do, whether one has read Vineland or not, is illustrate the different ways into any novel. I think this applies equally to someone rereading the same novel at different times or several different people finding different paths into the same novel. In other words, even without prior knowledge of Vineland I think a reader can gain a lot about how we read any book based on where we are in life and what is happening around us.

Yeah, I'm not sure my explanation really made anything any clearer, sorry. So, for readers of Vineland and Pynchon this work offers several ways to appreciate (maybe not like, that is far too subjective) the book that they may not have considered. I happen to be one of those who enjoyed Vineland, enough to have read it twice before getting Coviello's and again while reading it. I will also admit to being someone who regularly rereads books, so I could easily relate to a lot of what he was talking about.

I highly recommend this to readers of Pynchon and Vineland, whether you cared for the book or not. In fact, if you didn't care for it but also didn't hate it, I think this is an ideal book for you. If you are the kind of reader who can enjoy a critical book about a work you haven't read, and you haven't read Vineland, I think there is enough here to reward a reading, and it may entice you to read Vineland.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.
… (mais)
 
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pomo58 | Sep 7, 2020 |
*Book received through Penguin Publishing's First To Read Program*

This book was actually quite disappointing. It shall be joining my small shelf of 'did not finish' books, unfortunately.
 
Marcado
managedbybooks | outras 2 resenhas | Jul 25, 2019 |
This book wasn’t what I was expecting. Based on the description here and the back cover, it seemed like a book I would enjoy. However, I couldn’t get into this and ended up abandoning it.

*I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.*
 
Marcado
JaxlynLeigh | outras 2 resenhas | Jul 3, 2019 |

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Obras
6
Also by
2
Membros
92
Popularidade
#202,476
Avaliação
½ 3.7
Resenhas
5
ISBNs
17

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