I’m talking works by Kurt Vonnegut, Isaac Asimov, Joseph Heller, Stephen King, Art Spiegelman, Elie Wiesel, Daniel Keyes, etc. I haven’t read any from these I’ve mentioned, I just have a bias that tells me they’re overrated trash. I think it’s quite common on american “classics” (not just books but also films) a certain political defeatism or instead a very liberal surface level criticism of “bad things” (Steinbeck stays winning). And then these barren ideas get louded as incredible literature classics (which makes sense as far as the rulling class’s efforts for maintaining the status quo are concerned).
But as I’ve said this is my analysis a priori of having read such novels, but are there actually redeeming qualities on those novels that make them worthy of pursuing? I’m not that interested in style but I can see that some of the authors mentioned have that idiosyncrasy going for them. Also I’m sure some do get the problems they’re writing about and maybe that analysis, even if it doesn’t go all the way, is a good enough quality.
(I write this about american novels in particular but it clearly expands to other ‘classics’. Unfortunately I have read stuff by that Orwell fella which is a clear perpetrator of the crimes I’ve mentioned. I focused on the american side because most of the ‘classics’ lists are filled with them (they’re anglocentric in general but more american-sided))
Steinbeck is awesome, Vonnegut is great as well, Asimov is good, but the misogyny and bigotry of the times tend to shine through. So that’s worth taking into account.
So depends on the exact classics. Mark Twain is probably my favorite fiction author overall and is a classic American novelist. Art Spieglmen is also quite good, as is Asimov (haven’t read a massive amount of Asimov but of what I have). Never been a big fan of Elie Wiesel or his writing style (it’s often confusing at times in a sense. The time frame and the passage of the plot I mean) Two other sorta classic (I mean if Vonnegut, King and Asimov are considered classics) American novelist I want to recommend is Flannery O’Conner and Shirley Jackson. Nearly everything either or them wrote is absolutely fantastic, both have taken the ability to use un-nearving plots along with a writing style that compliments that
and as for the political and messaging components, sure some do have some bias like that but others don’t. It depends upon who you read. And I think even with that bias, it could still be enjoyed. It’s like, just because Shakespeare wrote to make the royalty happy doesn’t mean Macbeth can’t be enjoyed. And for something like background bias (being American in this case) just because Geoffrey Chaucer came from the aristocracy also doesn’t make the Canterbury Tales any less enjoyable. It has to be looked past in some cases but in many others, it’s a false assumption that because they are western that they have a bad messaging politically.
Speaking of politics, have you read any William Gaddis? I’ve recently come across his work but have yet to grab anything. The Wikipedia synopsis:
J R tells the story of the eponymous J R Vansant, an 11-year-old schoolboy who obscures his identity through payphone calls and postal money orders in order to parlay penny stock holdings into a fortune on paper. The novel broadly satirizes what Gaddis called “the American dream turned inside out”. One critic called it “the greatest satirical novel in American literature.”…
Sounds good, although like the OP, I’m a bit cautious that it’ll be a very liberal, finger-wagging tale about the excesses of the stock market without a real criticism of capitalism. Could still be fun.
I haven’t personally read it but, no harm in trying. If you don’t enjoy it, you don’t have to keep reading it
You’re trying really hard to sound smart. If you want to critique the literature, do it, but don’t expect points for saying “American = bad amirite?” without having even read anything. It’s so cliché.
I’m sorry if I came across like that. I’m not criticizing the literature, I’m trying to ask to those who are familiar with it if my preconceived ideas hold true since that has been my experience with other works of the kind (and even in other art forms). From that experience I know that I have to be weary particularly of louded american works, I’m not outright saying american equals bad.
With that said, have you read something from the authors I’ve highlighted and if so what were your thoughts on their work?
I’m annoyed by your tone. You’re throwing around awfully harsh language towards authors you’ve never read. Why? They are lauded for a reason. (It’s spelled lauded btw.)
I’ve read many of the authors you mentioned, and most of what I’ve read has been quite good.
You might not care about some of the themes because I assume you’re not American, or you could just not like the style of writing. It happens.
I didn’t really like Crime and Punishment by Dostoevsky. It wasn’t overrated trash or without any redeeming qualities. It just wasn’t my tempo.
Read what you like.
I didn’t really like Crime and Punishment by Dostoevsky. It wasn’t overrated trash or without any redeeming qualities. It just wasn’t my tempo.
You know how internet edgelords see edgy characters in movies and TV shows and are all like “literally me fr fr”? I did that with Raskolnikov when I read Crime and Punishment back in college.
