Do you agree with Modern Library's list of top hundred novels of the 20th century? the poll was conducted in 1998 but I found some very interesting books omitted from the list. For instance, the Lord of the Rings never made it into the top 100 of the critical list, the work being cited as not literary enough. On the other hand, Finnegan's wake, a work barely anyone remotely understood was included on the list.
1. ULYSSES by James Joyce
2. THE GREAT GATSBY by F. Scott Fitzgerald
3. A PORTRAIT OF THE ARTIST AS A YOUNG MAN by James Joyce
4. LOLITA by Vladimir Nabokov
5. BRAVE NEW WORLD by Aldous Huxley
6. THE SOUND AND THE FURY by William Faulkner
7. CATCH-22 by Joseph Heller
8. DARKNESS AT NOON by Arthur Koestler
9. SONS AND LOVERS by D.H. Lawrence
10. THE GRAPES OF WRATH by John Steinbeck
READER'S TOP TEN:
1. ATLAS SHRUGGED by Ayn Rand
2. THE FOUNTAINHEAD by Ayn Rand
3. BATTLEFIELD EARTH by L. Ron Hubbard
4. THE LORD OF THE RINGS by J.R.R. Tolkien
5. TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD by Harper Lee
6. 1984 by George Orwell
7. ANTHEM by Ayn Rand
8. WE THE LIVING by Ayn Rand
9. MISSION EARTH by L. Ron Hubbard
10.FEAR by L. Ron Hubbard
Buddy Holly returns with his delicate witticism :bigclap:
Yes, too much of Ron Hubbard on the Reader's list.
Hey, I am reading 'A Confederacy of Dunces' and I laughing from my belly...this book so far is a cracking nut job. From the reviews, I infer it must be the only screwball comedy to be considered literature.
That's top US/English novels, not top novels Lord of the rings is more suitable for "fan's favorite" type of things, so no surprise it was omitted here.
Why should a work that is imaginative be unnoticed critically? Is it purely because it speaks of a world with black and white characters? Or is it because it hasn't any interior monologues like Faulkner and Woolf? It is rich with social themes, and what about the epic scale at which the details of the land, their history, their languages were fully developed. Tolkien wrote books explaining his books. Does it not connect to reality as we know it? (if that is the basis of critical appreciation) with its strong themes(the corruption caused by Absolute Power, the frailty of human nature) and metaphors (short hobbits as symbols of simplicity and humility; a true king bereft of his powers and working with the people in Aragon; a dark lord who makes a puppet of men those who are lured to the glean of his ring of power).
All of these show LOTR relates to the world we live in, while still working from the genre of fantasy. With its underlying philosophy, the author converts a plot based adventure into something more remarkable and inspiring than a Dan Brown or Stephen King novel. For me, LOTR and its universe will always be literary and capable of critical appreciation because of how layered it is. Perhaps the only book in the Reader's List I would really like to have had included in the critical one.
I thoroughly ignored the Readers' list after reading the first 10. Not worth commenting. About the other one, it seems (as most lists tend to be) biased towards older stuff. There is close to nothing post-modern or post-post-modern. I mean, no Pynchon, DeLillo, McCarthy, DFW's "Infinite Jest"? It's more like a "best 100 novels before the 70s" list.
Sorry, bad explanation on my part. Mostly Harmless was part of the package, even though a separate book, "The fifth book in the increasingly inaccurately named trilogy HHGTTG". I got all five at once. The last one was not my favourite, though. Hard to separate between the first four. They were all fantastic.
Have you read Adams' other works? The Dirk Gently novels were also splendid, IMO.
It's not a transcript. Anyway, I'm not going to claim it belongs among the very best novels ever made, I just think that everyone should try reading it. If you're not sold after the first 50 pages then you can drop the rest. But give it a chance. I derived more pleasure from it than the rest of the list combined.
Purely based on the writing style, 1984 is better than Brave New World.
No idea how Of Human Bondage is ranked so low in the non-readers' list; it's one of the best novels I've read in the past 3 years. Also, the absence of the Satanic Verses from the list is a joke.
Won't comment further; don't wanna be accused of elitism again.
One book I would have included is Lord of the Flies. It is a major work and it has had a lot of influence, I believe... And what about Hemingway?
James Joyce for me is a nightmare to read. I can understand that some people might be attracted to that type of literature, but to consider this as a somehow "superior" form of literature... I think that's a rather good indication of snobbery... (I think it's pretty ridiculous in the first place to "rank" novels, although it is possible to identify a number of key works that had a lot of influence).
Now, regarding whether the Lord of the Rings should or shouldn't have been included... To be honest, if The Grapes of Wrath is considered literary enough and complex enough, then I don't see why LOTR shouldn't be included. The Grapes of Wrath was one of the five books I had to study to get my teachers' qualification, so I basically studied it to death for a year... And I do like it, but I don't think it's a particularly complex or highly "literary" book. It's quite simplistic really. It did have a huge influence, but then again, so did Tolkien's books. The only big difference is that it is representative of an era and it can be quoted as a reference to anyone studying the Great Depression.
No top 100 can satisfy all tastes, it may be pretty pointless unless the one making the top 100 list is close to your own taste.
I am pretty divirsified myself, not snobbish to look down on entertainment litterature but also ready for a challenge and more "heavy litterature". I think Time magazine had a better top 100 of the english language or something, it was quite good.
Also, I am just happy Vonnegut appeared on that list. That man was a humoristic simple genius, his book contained philosophical gems for the ages.
It is however a joke to not have Blood Meridian on that list, the greatest american novel ever written.
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