It's been even longer since any of his students have shown promise. The writing itself is not so bad, though the author does do a thing with her possesives that is beginning to drive me nuts. Revitalised by Angela, Swenson's life seems perfect. Jean Thompson A fascinating and extraordinarily moving first novel populated by complex, sympathetic characters and told in such gorgeous, poetic prose that you’ll frequently stop to linger over the sentences. I then skimmed ahead and read the vile scene with the editor (a scene that is vile without being evil in a funny way) and then I read the final trial scene (complete with allusions to Kafka, but Swenson is so unlike K. in Kafka's work -- if he had half of K's constant-struggle cajones, he'd be that much more human, and the book would be that much better. The novel is part of the National Library of Australia. The bigger problem however is the unbelievable characters, and their trajectory. The writing was very good but it was just a story about this man and how his life was destroyed and how he dealt with it. (Her name "Argo(t)" suggests this quality of subculture chic and slang). But the notes on THIS scandal are particularly exquisite. Read this book using Google Play Books app on your PC, android, iOS devices. I read this book because of a recommendation on Ricochet. "[5], Kirkus Reviews said, "An academic comedy of manners as engaging as Richard Russo's Straight Man: Prose once again proves herself one of our great cultural satirists. AbeBooks.com: Blue Angel: A Novel (9780060953713) by Prose, Francine and a great selection of similar New, Used and Collectible Books available now at great prices. It's been years since Swenson, a professor in a New England creative writing program, has published a novel.It's been even longer since any of his students have shown promise. But, as we all know, the road to hell is paved with good intentions. Free download or read online Blue Angel pdf (ePUB) book. I'm halfway through this book, and this lame professor hasn't even gotten to second base with his student. Set against the turbulence of 1960s Chicago, a city in transformation and its legendary jazz scene, Last Night at the Blue Angel is a lush and immensely heartfelt mother-daughter tale about a talented but troubled singer relationship with her precocious ten-year-old daughter. Enter Angela Argo, a pierced, tattooed student with a rare talent for writing. I am struggling to write a review of this book: it is a satire of political correctness gone mad within the highly volatile environment that is a university campus. I guess you could say that Blue Angel is a satire of campus women's empowerment movements and, in particular, the delicately defined issues of sexual harassment and consent. File name: Blue Angel A Novel PS by Francine Prose - Takes On The Shallow Politically Correct Atmosphere Of Academia.pdf Description. But. How shocking, how transgressive, how...completely obnoxious. The National Book Award Finalist from acclaimed New York Times bestselling author Francine Prose—now the major motion picture Submission “Screamingly funny …Blue Angel culminates in a sexual harassment hearing that rivals the Salem witch trials.” —USA Today It has been years since Swenson, a professor in a New England creative writing program, has published a novel. The title alone tells you that Prose is playing with a well-established trope, one explored many times, and that she has something in mind other than letting the reader find out "what happened"--the book is primarily a character study crossed with a satiric send up of political correctness as played out in a creative writing class. I thought this was a very entertaining read. Supposedly they end up having sex in her dorm room at some point, but I don't have time for this shit. It’s so well written, so completely deep into Swenson’s perspective, that you the reader share his tunnel-vision, his blinders, his ego while you judge the events of the book. Never mind all of the women who are actually sexually harassed! WHO WILL THINK OF TEH MENZ?!?!?!!!1. And, better yet, she wants his help. Blue Angel: A Novel. It is worth a look, or a read, despite its failure. (But that means he's a well developed character.) Document Type. I loved this book, thought it was a very witty academic satire and fun spoof on students and terrible writing. But, as we all know, the road to hell is paved with good intentions. Enter Angela Argo, a pierced, tattooed student with a rare talent for writing. A Novel. Midlife crisis is a bitch. A pitch-perfect, wickedly funny satire on academia, it … . List Price: 14.99* * Individual store prices may vary. A pitch-perfect, wickedly funny satire on academia, it is a joy to read. “Blue Angel,” written by Francine Prose (who has the greatest name for a novelist ever), emits the beautiful, multi-colored flames as a large structure falls to ash. But things get out of control in a big way. This book disrespects the noble endeavor of teaching fiction, not to mention (I can only presume) the roilingly conflicted relationships teachers may have with their most alluring students . This is a story about Winter... As the Doctor becomes involved in affairs aboard the Federation Starship Nepotist, his old friend Iris Wildthyme is rescuing old ladies who are being attacked by savage owlsin a shopping mall. And, better yet, … More than thirty years ago, I saw The Blue Angel with Emil Jannings and Marlene Dietrich for a college course and, after reading German comics and soccer magazines my whole life, the first complete German novel I ever read was Heinrich Mann’s Professor Unrat, on which the film was based.A recent viewing of The Blue Angel spurred me to pick up the book again. We’d love your help. The novel is part of the National Library of Australia. Despite Prose’s professional writing and how little seems to have changed since 2000 (or was Prose unusually prescient? I hope that more people will give this book a chance. In this book, I sensed a similar distrust of patience that infected me, so after 90 pages read at regular pace, I skimmed along, soaking up the front-loaded exposition of each chapter, then moving real fast through dialogue in search of plot points -- the dialogue pretty much seemed like it existed solely to move along the plot, like the author wanted to disguise plot propulsion with dramatized scenes, so the chracters talked and then toward the end of chapters, the story progressed. Start by marking “Blue Angel” as Want to Read: Error rating book. Never mind a, I was very torn on this book. EMBED (for wordpress.com hosted blogs and archive.org item tags) Want more? The Blue Angel, ostensibly a story of the downfall of a respectable middle-age academic at the hands of a pretty young cabaret singer, is Sternberg's "most brutal and least humorous" film of his œuvre. said in a special workshop I once attended that writing is a battle to keep the reader from seeing what's in the fridge. Seems like it wants to "tackle" culture-war topics about "political correctness," university responses to sexual harassment on campus, etc., but doesn't take any real stands one way or the other, and this element ends up fe. Is he a villain for engaging in what he actively recognized as misconduct? Suppose with a surname like that one ought to be able to churn out some well put together nar. Publication Date: July 1, 2014. Many of the complaints in other reviews center on the main character not being likable and the book not being laugh-out-loud funny. It has been years since Swenson, a professor in a New England creative writing program, has published a novel. It's been even longer since any of his students have shown promise. Is he a hero of his own making because he finally escaped what he perceived as an intolerable personal and professional situation? by Harper Perennial. It is also the story of her young daughter Sophia. Just a moment while we sign you in to your Goodreads account. He really seems to care if his student is writing "creative" work or if she is a victim of incest asking for help. The human beings could probably seem sort of more like human beings, instead of cartoonish renditions of stereotypically cartoonish character types (frustrated/blocked writing teacher, bestudded seductress nymphet, black student who delivers straight-up attitude in improperly conjugated English, et al.). Read 3 reviews from the world's largest community for readers. I thought this was a very entertaining read. . HarperCollins, 2001 - Fiction - 314 pages. Anyone who has ever taught such a class will recognize the emotional land mines lurking in the seemingly innocent offerings of students who have great ambitions and dreams but do not necessarily have the talent (or the discipline to utilize the talent they do possess) to realize them. Blue angel : a novel Item Preview remove-circle Share or Embed This Item. student likes praise from professor. Blue Angel is a novel written by author Francine Prose that was published in the year 2000. Advanced embedding details, examples, and help! He is a creative writing professor and he has 9 students for the semester. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of, Published It's about as edgy as someone who shows more concern for the few men who might be falsely accused of rape than for the multitudes of women who are actually raped. Last Night at the Blue Angel is a gorgeously written coming of age story and a clear-eyed account of the human damage that great artistry can leave in its wake. . I tried to just focus on the book, and not how reminiscent the story was of things I've been privy to, but it obviously tainted my appreciation of this. Her novel, National Book Award Finalist for Fiction (2000). Download Blue Angel Study Guide. The novel is about the complex relationship between Ted – a 47 years old English professor and his student Angela that evolves as a satire on sexual harassment on college campuses. Deliciously risqué, Blue Angel is a withering take on today's academic mores and a scathing tale that vividly shows what can happen when academic politics collides with political correctness. Blue Angel is a novel written by author Francine Prose that was published in the year 2000. Blue angel : a novel, Francine Prose. Such astutely observed emotionally intelligent dynamics. It has been years since Swenson, a professor in a New England creative writing program, has published a novel. Now I'll read something worth the hours it takes to slowly savor Prose (with a capital "P") by anyone other than Francine. The innards are salacious, for its pretty hard to find empathy with the sap. But first in this book's favor I should say that it's snappy (if never LOL) and very well dramatized. Ms. Prose (an obvious pen name?) Tale as old as time: teacher and student's amorous liaison. every so often as opposed to a side-splitting, rolling- around-on-the-floor fit of laughter. [3] This was Prose's 10th publication. I think it can be all three. . . professor likes student's novel. If I'm not mistaken, this book was a National Book Award finalist and I would also like an opportunity to smack some of those judges around. I've read Prose before, she impressed me then and has done so now. Document Type. [4], Boston Review wrote about the book, "One problem with message-driven theater or literature—presumably, Prose's message is that legislating matters of the heart sets a dangerous precedent in terms of privacy and freedom—is that it quickly dates itself. Having finished this novel a while back, I'm curious to hear how the readers of "Blue Angel" perceive Professor Swenson. These people need to more wicked - how can a guy who is so complacent do what he does? For me, the humor was there in Prose's sharp observations and exaggerations when it came to her characters and academia in general... so, more of an appreciative "HA!" Francine Prose's novel "Blue Angel" features a 47-year-old English professor whose infidelity is orchestrated by one of his students. Angela is just the thing Swenson needs. Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read. One inevitable to draw comparisons to Lolita or even the lesser know Mamet's Oleanna, but this stands very much on its own perversely shapely legs. It took me two days to read this book and I feel like it's two days that I would like to demand the author give me back. Directed by Josef von Sternberg. Advanced embedding details, examples, and help! Even the scenes in the writing class were funny and interesting. And at other times, I couldn't stand him. While I initially found the book interesting, I got somewhat bored when it an Oleanna turn of sorts. For me, the humor was there in Prose's sharp observations and exaggerations when it came to her characters and academia in general... so, more of an appreciative "HA!" This is the first of her novels I've read. . I haven't been sold on the story. The story has some very ironic/funny parts which had me laughing outloud at the way he was thinking. I find the negative comments about this novel mystifying--it's a brilliant satire, and was deservedly nominated for a National Book Award (a prize rarely given to comic novels or satires). (Her name "Argo(t)" suggests this quality of subculture chic and slang). Prose does a good job giving us a glimpse into academia and marriage. Authors. And, better yet, she wants his help. Everything is told from the professor's point of view, he is telling the story about what happens to him. While I initially found the book interesting, I got somewhat bored when it an Oleanna turn of sorts. 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