Well, we certainly must conform to whatever the literary/library sages have deemed appropriate for us.
Posted on 06/25/2002 7:02:06 PM PDT by PJ-Comix
Okay, so far this evening we've had threads about the Worst War Movie Ever Made and about the Best War Movie Ever Made. Now I will ratchet up the discussions a notch with the BEST Novel Ever Written. Remember this is novel which means FICTION. I exclude science fiction from this category. In my opinion novel writing reached a peak in the late 40s and early 50s. Since then we've had some very good novels but not of the quality of that era.
So my nomination for the BEST novel ever written is an easy one: From Here To Eternity by James Jones. If you haven't read it, then READ IT. It is incredible beyond belief. In fact it was so good, that when Norman Mailer read it, he declared it to be better than his own The Naked And The Dead which is quite an admission for a novelist as egotistical as Norman Mailer to make.
One secret for the quality of From Here To Eternity (in addition to it's outstanding writing) is that James Jones based most of the characters on real people (including himself if you look closely). When I read From Here To Eternity I was stunned by the high quality of the writing. It was the only book I have ever read where I slowed down my reading rate because I didn't want to get to the end. I wanted it to go on and on.
Yes, the movie version was great (although the idea that soldiers would pay Donna Reed just for the privelege of chatting with her in private seemed ridiculous) but after you read the novel, it pales in comparison.
Well, we certainly must conform to whatever the literary/library sages have deemed appropriate for us.
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.
P.S. Dare I say that a lot of the current interest in SF and Fantasy is a form of escapism?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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