Invisibile world

Interested Party · 5th December 2021, 02:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by A. G. Maisey

No IP, all old keris were not created equal.

IP, if you have not yet read:-

Visible and Invisible Realms-Margaret J.Wiener
ISBN 0-226-88582-8/1,The University of Chicago Press

I suggest that your time would be well spent in doing so.

You recommended this once before. I have been making slow progress through it. Hopefully this winter will be lower stress and with the extra energy I will hit my stride and finish it.

A. G. Maisey · 5th December 2021, 06:40 PM

I am very sorry that you found it heavy going gentlemen, but neither you, Jean, nor you Marco are native English speakers, so to even get through part of a book written in a foreign language is very good going.

Personally, I do not regard this book as particularly academic, it was given to me by Garrett Solyom's wife, she knew the author, and when I got it, I read it in one sitting, since then I've read it again at least once, and I've been back to it numerous times. Unlike many serious books it is totally unpretentious and I think the text flows well.

IP, I assume you are a native English speaker, please forgive me if I am being presumptuous. It is difficult to really settle to reading anything when there are other things calling for our attention, maybe all you need is a bit of the upcoming winter. As Jean & Marco have commented, there is a distinct keris "section" in this book, but in my opinion there is at least as much value for somebody trying to come to terms with the keris in Bali, in the parts of the book that do not mention the keris.

The keris is only a blossom of the Balinese culture, but just as with other blossoms we need to understand the soil from which it has grown, if we wish to understand the flower.

Jean · 5th December 2021, 08:13 PM

Thank you Alan for your understanding, and Marco and IP for your frankness.
Honestly it was not a problem of understanding the text which made it difficult to read in my case but the contents of the text itself which I found quite outside my scope of interest.
I read another book about Bali in the 19th century written by Ide Anak Gde Agung which is much more accessible...
Regards

5th December 2021, 06:40 PM	#2
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 7,056	I am very sorry that you found it heavy going gentlemen, but neither you, Jean, nor you Marco are native English speakers, so to even get through part of a book written in a foreign language is very good going. Personally, I do not regard this book as particularly academic, it was given to me by Garrett Solyom's wife, she knew the author, and when I got it, I read it in one sitting, since then I've read it again at least once, and I've been back to it numerous times. Unlike many serious books it is totally unpretentious and I think the text flows well. IP, I assume you are a native English speaker, please forgive me if I am being presumptuous. It is difficult to really settle to reading anything when there are other things calling for our attention, maybe all you need is a bit of the upcoming winter. As Jean & Marco have commented, there is a distinct keris "section" in this book, but in my opinion there is at least as much value for somebody trying to come to terms with the keris in Bali, in the parts of the book that do not mention the keris. The keris is only a blossom of the Balinese culture, but just as with other blossoms we need to understand the soil from which it has grown, if we wish to understand the flower.

5th December 2021, 08:13 PM	#3
Jean Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 1,740	Thank you Alan for your understanding, and Marco and IP for your frankness. Honestly it was not a problem of understanding the text which made it difficult to read in my case but the contents of the text itself which I found quite outside my scope of interest. I read another book about Bali in the 19th century written by Ide Anak Gde Agung which is much more accessible... Regards