Best Novel Ever Written

Self | June 25, 2002 | PJ-Comix

[Sabertooth]

However, like it or not, SF is treated as a different genre than novels.

Well, we certainly must conform to whatever the literary/library sages have deemed appropriate for us.

[Huck]

Glad you liked it, Illbay. As for the thread topic, I suppose no one has to guess what my answer is:

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain.

I read it about once a year. I refuse to watch any movie versions of it. I want to preserve the mental imagery produced by the book itself without creating irreversable associations with actors or movie scenes. That would ruin it for me. The character Huck is sort of a hero to me. He is a much better guy than I am, but reading the book always has the effect of reminding me to try harder to be a better person. It's also just a terrific story.

[Illbay]

After all, these are the folks that have been diligent in making sure the libraries are safe for kids to access porn.

[Sword_of_Gideon]

Now I'll sound like an old codger (even though I'm not), but a lot of the blame can be laid at the feet of the mass media. It is almost single handedly responsible for the reduction in attention span. TV shows, videos, thrill rides, comic books, etc. are simply a barage of colors, sounds & textures. In is in effect simply sensory overload. I used to love comic books, I can not bear to open them any more due to the excessive colors & complicated graphics.... it is impossible to discern the plot in the midst. So you have a generation or more raised on that mind set of continuous sensory bombardment & then you ask them to sit, read, think, & comtemplate upon a novel... just doesnt happen anymore. It's strange, as I finished re-reading Farenheit 451 the other day I thought how we won't need minorities to destroy books to control, they'll simply die from inattention due to the mass brainwashing taking place in the mass media.

[Sword_of_Gideon]

Well I remember reading those 3 books (Fear & Loathing, On The Road, & Catcher in the Rye) at roughly the same point in college & I was really considering chucking it all & taking off on a long (and I mean long) excursion. Luckily, I remained in school, had a little more fun than your supposed to, and graduated. Ah, the good old daze.... lucky to be alive actually.

[PJ-Comix]

Exactly right. One reason for the decline in literature today is the need for instant gratification. Look at the EC comic books of the early 50s and they have quite interesting story lines. Today the comix are mostly slam-bang with OVERLOADED graphics. From Here To Eternity takes its time in its exposition which may not be pleasing to current readers. BTW, even though it takes place just prior, during, and right after the Pearl Harbor attack, this novel can't be categorized as a historical novel. It is definitely the unsanitary nitty gritty of real people (especially horny drunk soldiers).

P.S. Dare I say that a lot of the current interest in SF and Fantasy is a form of escapism?

[PJ-Comix]

Check out Shane, the Western novella. It if it was in my power I would REQUIRE the reading of Shane in every public school in the country. Yes, it is a "Western" but it is also MUCH more and transcends that genre. I liked the movie but it just doesn't compare to the book.

[Huck]

Actually, my middle school english class read that book. Maybe it was elementary school, I forget. I liked the book. I realize the Alan Ladd movie is well regarded in the western genre, but I have never seen it.

[PJ-Comix]

I am amazed nobody here mentioned The Thin Red Line and Whistle, the second and third books of James Jones's fabulous From Here to Eternity trilogy!

Yes, I mentioned The Thin Red Line and I also read Whistle. The characters in all three books are the same with slightly changed names. There are even characters based on Jones himself in all 3 books. I also recommend Go To The Widowmaker by Jones which is considered the best book (despite the lame ending) about skin diving ever written. There is even a Widowmaker's cave underwater near Jamaica named after the novel. BTW, I did a lot of research on all of the characters of Go To The Widowmaker and most of them were based on real people. It was fascinating. Apparently Jones had a sexual relationship with his older female mentor who had a big fight with his new wife just like in the novel. One difference though. The fight took place at his mentor's writer's colony in Illinois, not in Jamaica as in the book. It almost cost Jones his marriage. Oh, and his real wife's uncle, was a colorful guy in Pennsylvania who was the basis for a character in a John O'Hara novel.

[HairOfTheDog]

Dare I say that all forms of literature, and most other forms of entertainment are a form of escapism?

You are still acting like a literary bore... You can't even describe Westerns without using quotes, like the word is a smelly dead fish, and Shane is a good one because it "transcends the genre" for you.

Lighten up a bit... as narrowly as you have defined "literature", no wonder you think it is in decline. I don't happen to think it is....

[Aquinasfan]

Brothers Karamazov. It's not as pretentious and boring as it sounds. In fact, it seems to me to be more "modern" than modern novels. Best one I've read anyway.

[HairOfTheDog]

We are all lucky to be alive... I read all those books at the same point in college, funny that I did not get the strong urges to actually chuck it all and head off on an excursion until later in life... last Thursday to be exact, still here, but the urges keep coming and going!

[PJ-Comix]

I'll check it. BTW, it seems that Russia has the best novelists. However, good as those novels are in English, Russian speakers tell me they are even better in the original Russian. I love all of Solzhenitsyn's novels, even his lesser known works. Check out Lenin In Zurich. It is a novel about Lenin in exile in Switzerland. Interesting stuff.

[Aquinasfan]

High School is the biggest reason for the dearth of interest in great literature.

That was true in my case. After high school I used to proudly tell people: "if it's a book I haven't read it." I also hated literature because teachers kept telling me that modern authors were geniuses but couldn't give me a compelling reason as to why.

[PJ-Comix]

Dare I say that all forms of literature, and most other forms of entertainment are a form of escapism?

True but some are definitely more escapist than others. Which is more escapist? A novel about soldiers (based on real characters) facing the rigors of Army life in pre-war Hawaii or Hobbits travelling thru Middle Earth? I enjoyed the latter but identified more with the characters in the former.

[PJ-Comix]

One problem with literature in High School is that the novels are looked at as nothing more than HURDLES you have to jump in order to pass the exams asking questions about them. It's tough to just sit back and enjoy a novel when you know your grade depends on it.

[Sword_of_Gideon]

Lol... don't get me wrong... I still get the urges to chuck it all, but with a family & kids now the noose is pretty tight holding me back. Maybe in another 25 years when I retire the mrs. & I will chuck it all & take off cross country, retracing Kerouac's trip to San Francisco (& maybe then hit Vegas).

[HairOfTheDog]

True but some are definitely more escapist than others.

Escape is escape... it matters little where you go, if you achieve the goal... You are using your own preferences to dictate which forms of escapism actually qualify as quality escapism. Your preferences help you shop when you are at the book store. They mean little to me, I have my own base impulse that make me want to pick up a book and care about its characters for awhile.

The setting of a story makes little difference to me, and it appears to be very important to you. Fine. To me, the story depends on good characters, which can be anywhere and still capture my heart, if they are worthy of it. For me, Tolkien takes his characters to another level, I want to be worthy of them, worthy of being in middle earth, for their duty and honor are unclouded by all that surrounds me... And for a time, I can go there, and be worthy. I put the book down and for a time afterwards, I am a better person.

Escapism? - You bet, entirely and unapologetically . I get the feeling you feel escapism is another smelly fish... It isn't to me. To me, a book that is not an engaging place to escape to is not one I am going to read. Better for me if the story shows me people of great character, but I can care about the sullied ones too, if I am given a reason to care about them. The characters in middle earth are what I love, and I am pleased that they were placed in such an idealic place and time. The author could have placed them anywhere and still made me love them, but if Tolkien had chosen pre-war Hawaii, he couldn't have had them wear the cool cloaks, and that would be a loss.

[HairOfTheDog]

hehehe - Well, I believe that the trip is best taken only in imagination... There are obvious consequences that make it best that we not act it out. But we can [sigh] and think about it.

[Sabertooth]

Which is more escapist? A novel about soldiers (based on real characters) facing the rigors of Army life in pre-war Hawaii or Hobbits travelling thru Middle Earth? I enjoyed the latter but identified more with the characters in the former.

Ah, I'm getting enlightenment!

Great literature is judged by the emotional response of PJ-Comix.

Anyway, here are a few of my favorite works of fiction:

Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion, by Tolkein
(sorry, the Nobel Committee was asleep at the switch, most of the people who love it still don't get it).

Childhood's End, by Arthur C. Clarke
(Revelation meets Science Fiction).

Work of Art, by Sinclair Lewis
(incredibly profound, taught me to see inspiration where we don't usually look for it).

Sidharttha, by Hermann Hesse
(Hadda pick one of his).

The Source, by James Michener
(I know, I know, but I read it in 7th grade, and it sparked my interest in all things Middle Eastern ever since).

Paradise Lost, by John Milton
(I don't care if it's an epic poem, it's breathtaking).

The Last Temptation of Christ, by Nikos Kazantzakis
(Scorsese butchered it worse than he did The Scarlett Letter).

Barabbas, by Par Lagerkvist
(Became a cool Anthony Quinn movie, too)

The Trial, by Franz Kafka
(welcome to the nightmare).

The Maltese Falcon, by Dashiell Hammet
(I liked this one even though I was reading it for a class).

Midworld, by Alan Dean Foster
(totally flawed structure, pedestrian prose, and reads like a first draft, but an absolute guilty pleasure because of the fantastic world he created).

Atlas Shrugged, by Ayn Rand
(couldn't respect the Left after reading it).

Red Nails, by Robert E. Howard
(pulp Sword and Sorcery, a mist of blood seeps from the pages).

Darkness at Noon, by Arthur Koestler
(Liked it better than Ivan Denisovitch, haven't read any other Solzhenitsyn).

There are more, if I think about it.

BTW, PJ, your comments at the top of the thread piqued my interest in From Here to Eternity. An interest that wanes with each subsequent mention.