I can understand why people would say Kerouac is over-rated due to On the Road, but i don't think you can really class that as a novel in the same way as other authors, its more of a 3 year diary entry than a novel and so i would disagree with those of you attacking it for lack of plot, etc etc. His other novels (also semi-autobiographical) like dharma bums and subterraneans are brilliant. Personally I agree with anyone who answered with Dan Brown.
People like Rowling and Dan Brown and Meyer are not "overrated" - they are only loved by non-literary types (and by literary readers who read them for distraction/entertainment) and not "rated" as high literature by anybody.
For someone to be "overrated" they need to be highly rated to begin with (but they don't deserve such high rate). The one I would say is the most overrated is Mo Yan, this year's Nobel winner who basically is a stooge for the Chinese government who imitates "magical realism" badly. He's not even as good as Alice Hoffman. Nobel Committee did a disservice to humanity by giving the award to Mo Yan.
Domestically I think Arthur Miller is kind of overrated, but I won't say he's the most
"This is the sort of bloody nonsense up with which I will not put." --- Winston Churchill, Winner of Nobel Prize of Literature
Indeed - we mustn't confuse overrated with overpaid.Originally Posted by Mason Pringle
For overrated, I'd nominate DHLawrence. Several times.
Oh God Yes, Mark, I am still not over Women in Love.
Define non-literary types for me. I only ask because of the thread 'Define Literature' There was such a discussion on it and I see now that there may be a level of snobbery on what people read which categorizes them as literary or non-literary so I'm curious.
Before sunlight can shine through a window, the blinds must be raised - American Proverb
The problem with DH Lawrence is his philosophical passages are less interesting than the, um, action of the novel. Nevertheless, there's still some very good stuff in there- who doesn't love the wrestling scene from Women in Love? Ironically it's more erotic than anything in Lady Chatterley's Lover.
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