Dix sent this to me and it's interesting in that it has some novels on it that are only a few years old. Some books I've read and they are favorites of mine, such as To Kill a Mockingbird, others I have but haven't read, such as Zadie Smith's White Teeth (maybe this will provide me with an impetus to read them) and others I've never heard of, such as Flann O'Brien's At Swim-Two-Birds. Others I've tried to read but have never been able to, such as Toni Morrison's Beloved which my son assures me is good but I've started it at least six times and have never been able to finish it.
babelbabe: Possession is on this list -- deservedly so.
My only real problem with it is that Time probably should have called it the All-Time 100 Novels of Western Literature as there aren't many non-western writers on here and none whose work isn't in English. Otherwise, it's an interesting and fun list and will lead to me reading even more.
6 comments:
It does say that the list is English language only and I'm guessing that it's English language only because the list is picked by their book critics and I doubt they've read anything that wasn't written in English. Plus Time Magazine wouldn't review books not written in English.
I can't get through Beloved either. In fact I've never finished a Toni Morrison book. She's work to read and I guess that's not always a bad thing but I haven't been able to discipline myself enough to slog through her books.
And I'll tell you a secret. I'm a Mississippian who can't seem to read and enjoy Faulkner. Most of his stuff bores the crap out of me.
You realize that's a sin to be from Mississippi and not love Faulkner, right? :)
I didn't notice the English language -- should have read the article as well as the list.
I loved Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye and Song of Solomon but everything after that I've just not been able to get through.
beloved creeped me out.
and there are some i haven't heard of either - not that i am wildly compelled to go hunt them down right now...
remember all the furor about six years ago when i think it was penguin released their greatest 100 novels of all time?
Oh you'd be surprised at how many Mississippians just can't bear to read Faulkner. I have a friend who grew up in Lafayette County just outside of Oxford and he tells me all the time how reading Faulkner is nothing but torture.
We keep copies of Faulkner books in our homes though because it's rather expected of us.
bb: I do remember all the furor over tha last. I have never gotten to a point in Beloved where it could creep me out because I've never gotten past page 4.
Dix: I would expect nothing less of you than to have Faulkner in your home.:) I loved Absalom, Absalom and The Sound and the Fury but I know not everyone does. My sister couldn't stand them.
Yet another Mississippian here...
I like Welty's novels more than I do Faulkner's. I do like Faulkner's short stories though.
Regarding At Swim-Two-Birds: I read the list too & thought that the description of the novel was intriguing. I did some searching, saw it's highly considered, and then bought the book a few days ago.
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