"Great" Books that in Truth Are Tedious
Troy Senik's post on David Brooks's latest column got me thinking about The Great Gatsby. Okay, let me explain that.
Troy said Brooks had written a thoughtful and provocative piece, which of course he hadn't because he's David Brooks and is incapable of doing so. But this insistence by so many smart people that David Brooks is worth reading reminded me how everyone says The Great Gatsby is this fantastic novel. I read it in high school and thought it was dull and unenlightening. Then, in my late twenties, I thought, "Hey, everyone says it's great, and I was just an idiot high school kid, so maybe I was missing something." So I read it again, and it was still dull and unenlightening. My wife, who's a much more astute literary critic than I, had the exact same experience, which is one of the many reasons I love her. I mean, almost nothing happens (he hits someone with a car, right?) to people it's very hard to care about, and then . . . there's not even an "and then." That's it -- almost nothing happens to unsympathetic people. Oh, and there are fancy parties.
Anyway, any other nominations for supposedly great books that actually [edited]? (Can we say "[edited]" on Ricochet? I hope so.)
Editor's note: Ricochet seeks to return our standards of gentility to the year 1957. We therefore discourage the use of the edited word. When it doubt, ask "Would June Cleaver feel ill at ease were I to say this?" You may also ask whether you would use the phrase before the Queen Mother. No other member of the Royal Family may be used as a reliable guide, alas.
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Dec '10
Re: "Great" Books that in Truth Are Tedious
Note to tech support. Add a Comment needs fixing.
Maybe we need to come up with a creative substitute:
Vacuum cleaners are known for their suction, Hoover is a brand of vac, and Hoover also wasn't such a great president (the technocrat!).
Ergo we could say, "It Hoovers," instead? · Jun 30 at 8:52am
Edited on Jun 30 at 09:04 am
New thread! Acceptable Ricochet CoC compliant substitutions for everyday vulgarities. Will you do the honors, Midget?
Jun '10
Re: "Great" Books that in Truth Are Tedious
Claire Berlinski, Ed.
I propose we police this Midget-Faded-Rattlesnake style. Not through banning the word, but through collectively looking appalled and embarrassed.
Is there an emoticon for "looking appalled and embarrassed?"
Jun '10
Re: "Great" Books that in Truth Are Tedious
Misthiocracy
Of course you would, because if you lived in that society you would have been genetically-programmed to love it.
Virtually nobody who lives in that society dislikes it, and the few who manage to "outgrow" their programming are REWARDED rather than punished, by being transferred to a island where they can mingle with like-minded rebels.
Only an outsider can look at that society and judge it wanting. That's why Huxley had to contrive the character of "The Savage", and even he doesn't offer any compelling arguments against the society.
Unlike other dystopian societies (1984, Brazil, etc) the society in BNW "works". That's why the book sucks. · Jun 30 at 6:44am
No, that's why it's a great book. It's easier to describe a dystopian society that's obviously nightmarish. It's more challenging and thought-provoking to invent a utopia that works, where most of the people are happy, and yet it's profoundly unnerving (at least to some of us).
But I guess if you don't find it unnerving then I can see why you wouldn't like the book.
May '10
Re: "Great" Books that in Truth Are Tedious
Catcher in the Rye is trash. As I recall, it's only purpose seemed to be telling teenagers it's alright to be bitter, self-indulgent rebels-without-a-clue.
I happily devoted a paper in college to tearing apart Slaughterhouse 5 as secular humanist propoganda. Vonnegut is a brilliant communicator with little worth saying. As I said in my college paper (which also addressed the book's blatant distortions about the bombing of Dresden), Billy Pilgrim is a Christ-like figures who...
I am a fan of Harrison Bergeron. Vonnegut's stories aren't all bad.
Many of the Arthurian legends are little more than medieval soap operas.
Dec '10
Re: "Great" Books that in Truth Are Tedious
War and Peace.....
Absalom, Absalom
May '10
Re: "Great" Books that in Truth Are Tedious
Um, yes. She spent most of her time at the races and drank a bottle of gin a day. Not maybe the best example. Bet she was a lively conversationalist, though.
PS, might also use it before the Baroness Thatcher, if I ran out of clever things. Cause it is a bit lazy. Butcha know the catchy titles get linked elsewhere (Hot Air, WSJ) right?
Edited on June 30, 2011 at 11:08pmMay '10
Re: "Great" Books that in Truth Are Tedious
Joseph Stanko
Claire Berlinski, Ed.
I propose we police this Midget-Faded-Rattlesnake style. Not through banning the word, but through collectively looking appalled and embarrassed.
Is there an emoticon for "looking appalled and embarrassed?" · Jun 30 at 11:56am
Think the proper expression for any guy caught using an emoticon is appalled and embarrassed. Don't make Crookshanks come over there and use his Fist of Death.
Jul '10
Re: "Great" Books that in Truth Are Tedious
Aw, don't be a hater. :)
Dec '10
Re: "Great" Books that in Truth Are Tedious
Midget Faded Rattlesnake
Uh-oh...
I hate to disappoint you, but I'm with Kennedy on this one (and not just because I have a mad crush on his mysteriously costumed good looks). The vacuum cleaner word is just one of those words I can't bring myself to find offensive.
But out of deference to others, I'll go along with y'all. Or at least try.
Maybe we need to come up with a creative substitute:
Vacuum cleaners are known for their suction, Hoover is a brand of vac, and Hoover also wasn't such a great president (the technocrat!).
Ergo we could say, "It Hoovers," instead? · Jun 30 at 8:52am
Edited on Jun 30 at 09:04 am
I propose that henceforth the word "sucks" be replaced by the phase "toads the wet sprocket".
All in favor?
Feb '11
Re: "Great" Books that in Truth Are Tedious
Has anyone mentioned the most popular and over-rated book of this century ? That would be FACEBOOK.......................
Apr '11
Re: "Great" Books that in Truth Are Tedious
dogsbody
Oranjeman: Not sure what Eco's reputation would be in this regard but having quite enjoyed The Name of the Rose, I slogged through Foucault's Pendulum to no avail. I felt sorry for the paper. · Jun 29 at 3:58pm
Edited on Jun 29 at 03:58 pm
So you actually finished Foucault's Pendulum! I wondered if anyone ever had, besides the author. · Jun 29 at 9:30pm
I finished it. Loved it.
Sep '10
Re: "Great" Books that in Truth Are Tedious
Quote button isn't working, again (along with italics, etc). C. U. Douglas, could you tell us why you loved Foucault's Pendulum?
Apr '11
Re: "Great" Books that in Truth Are Tedious
Well, I always liked conspiracy stories in an ironic sense. It played into that. Eco also threw in games with words and logic that amused me. And I liked the story. Now I'll grant it's been close to 15 years since I read it, but I remember enjoying it a lot.
I should also note that people I encouraged to read the book were less entertained than I. I suppose I am outside the norm with regards to this book.
Edited on July 1, 2011 at 2:46amJun '11
Re: "Great" Books that in Truth Are Tedious
Pseudodionysius
One-Eyed Jack: The Brothers Karamazov
Chuck Colson, who I thought at the time was a good writer (later found out his good stuff was all ghost written), kept mentioning the Brothers until I felt I had to read it. I managed to finish it but I found it a chore. · Jun 29 at 6:43pm
Which translation? Did you read the Richard Pevear version? · Jun 29 at 6:57pm
The edition I have was translated by Constance Garnett.
Jun '11
Re: "Great" Books that in Truth Are Tedious
Great English-language novel: The Forsyte Saga by Galsworthy
Aug '10
Re: "Great" Books that in Truth Are Tedious
Western Chauvinist: Note to tech support. Add a Comment needs fixing.
Maybe we need to come up with a creative substitute:
Vacuum cleaners are known for their suction, Hoover is a brand of vac, and Hoover also wasn't such a great president (the technocrat!).
Ergo we could say, "It Hoovers," instead? · Jun 30 at 8:52am
Edited on Jun 30 at 09:04 am
New thread! Acceptable Ricochet CoC compliant substitutions for everyday vulgarities. Will you do the honors, Midget? · Jun 30 at 11:53am
Yes. I think I will.
The way things are heating up tonight on other threads, it looks like we could use a few good euphemisms 'round here.
Mar '11
Re: "Great" Books that in Truth Are Tedious
Diane Ellis, Ed.
Ha! Maybe I just don't like Tolstoy. He was a weirdo creep, a horrible husband and father, and rewrote the Bible to suit his own fancies. · Jun 30 at 11:03am
Tolstoy was Thomas Jefferson?
I keed, I keed...
May '10
Re: "Great" Books that in Truth Are Tedious
dogsbody
FeliciaB
dogsbody: Regarding the redacted word, it occurs in a famous children's book that was published before 1957:
"Lucy heard Edmund say, 'No, let me do it. It will be more of a sucks for him if I win, and less of a let-down for us all if I fail.' " - Prince Caspian by C. S. Lewis · Jun 30 at 7:06am
Alright, you sucked me in. What part of the book is that in? I wanna go look it up. · Jun 30 at 10:54am
It's the chapter in which the Pevensie children rescue Trumpkin the Dwarf and he acts condescendingly towards them, in the ruins of Cair Paravel. The quote comes just before Edmund lures Trumpkin into a sword fight. · Jun 30 at 11:51am
Found it on pg. 108 in my paperback version! Cool! Thanks!
I vaguely remember reading that several years back and re-reading it at the time thinking I'd mis-read. It's there alright!
Sep '10
Re: "Great" Books that in Truth Are Tedious
Midget Faded Rattlesnake
Western Chauvinist: Note to tech support. Add a Comment needs fixing.
Maybe we need to come up with a creative substitute:
Vacuum cleaners are known for their suction, Hoover is a brand of vac, and Hoover also wasn't such a great president (the technocrat!).
Ergo we could say, "It Hoovers," instead? · Jun 30 at 8:52am
Edited on Jun 30 at 09:04 am
New thread! Acceptable Ricochet CoC compliant substitutions for everyday vulgarities. Will you do the honors, Midget? · Jun 30 at 11:53am
Yes. I think I will.
The way things are heating up tonight on other threads, it looks like we could use a few good euphemisms 'round here. · Jun 30 at 7:35pm
I'd like to enter "Nukewad" as a neologism that could be in the running for an OED update.
May '10
Re: "Great" Books that in Truth Are Tedious
Pseudodionysius
Midget Faded Rattlesnake
Western Chauvinist: Note to tech support. Add a Comment needs fixing.
Maybe we need to come up with a creative substitute:
Vacuum cleaners are known for their suction, Hoover is a brand of vac, and Hoover also wasn't such a great president (the technocrat!).
Ergo we could say, "It Hoovers," instead? · Jun 30 at 8:52am
Edited on Jun 30 at 09:04 am
New thread! Acceptable Ricochet CoC compliant substitutions for everyday vulgarities. Will you do the honors, Midget? · Jun 30 at 11:53am
Yes. I think I will.
The way things are heating up tonight on other threads, it looks like we could use a few good euphemisms 'round here. · Jun 30 at 7:35pm
I'd like to enter "Nukewad" as a neologism that could be in the running for an OED update. · Jun 30 at 11:02pm
At the risk of being Kitty attacked, :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D