Three Blockbuster Novels From the 1950s, and Their Remarkable Afterlife

NYT ^ | 9/12/2018 | Sam Tanenhaus

[Borges]

The “space race” was a competition, but with only two rivals — “us” and “them.” And this odd partnership, or dance, spilled over into realms of the imagination, particularly the novel. In the aftermath of Sputnik three towering and best-selling works of fiction by dissident Russians — “Atlas Shrugged,” “Lolita” and “Doctor Zhivago” — were published in quick succession, crowded into an 11-month span, from October 1957 to September 1958. Today, all three still live on, each a universe in itself, read and discussed — and fought over — as if written not in prose but in hieroglyphics or code.

[Yaelle]

Testikov! The most underrated of the great Russian novelists!!

[ChildOfThe60s]

I agree and will add this.

Rand had that Russian talent for using 60 words where 5 would do.

[publius911]

Bookmark

[YogicCowboy]

Yeah, funny. After loving Russia for decades. Nothing to do with Trump beating Clinton, I’m sure.

[YogicCowboy]

Which is why I do not read the vaunted Russian authors.

It has nothing to do with comprehension (99%ile in English).

[YogicCowboy]

Agreed.

[Ciexyz]

Dr. Zhivago has that wonderful scene where Zhivago comes home from war to find his house full of strangers, courtesy of the local Communist Party.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

I remember the movie...

[Maris Crane]

That’s when there was a modicum of civility, real talent and class by those who wrote books.

What have we read lately?

[Covenantor]

[Yardstick]

*bump for later*

[cymbeline]

“Zhivago was more of a popular phenomena than a literary on”

Someone explain what “literary quality” is.

I haven’t read Lolita but am curious why it’s considered by many as a literary masterpiece.

[bert]

——Who is John Galt ?——

“John Gault hasn’t created an about page.”

[NonValueAdded]

Vladimir Putin’s bewitchment of President Trump continues to frustrate intelligence officials and at times hard-liners in his own administration,/i>

BS, 2nd sentence in. Oh, NYT.

[tomkat]

“John Gault hasn’t created an about page.”

Man, remember when folks in here spent time/energy on their profile pages ?
Then along came eight interminable years of that execrable negro seeding .gov with traitors of the deep state, and now what you typed above in jest has become the rule.
It's understandable, but sad nonetheless.

[ought-six]

“On the Beach” was a good read.

[redhead]

Read all three of them. Then. I doubt if I could plow through them now.

[Gamecock]

Overheard at a book club:

Well, not really. After all, she did get together with George Peppard. I mean, Fred.

[Hoffer Rand]

My favorite line in Galt’s speech is at the end where he says something like, “I’ve now been speaking to you for just under an hour.” First time I read that, I thought “wait a minute, I’ve been reading this speech forever,” so I started flipping back through the pages to see how long it had been going. I defy anybody to read that out loud in less than an hour. It cracks me up every time I read it.

[Ohioan]

Not sure that “wonderful” is the right adjective. It certainly illustrated where a third term for Obama might have taken us.