Faulkner? Steinbeck?... Twain?

[Zee.]

I'm a big fan of Faulkner. Something about his work just settles something in me - I feel something i rarely feel when I read books, when I read his work.

I'm about to read East of Eden. I've read very little of Steinbeck's work so i'm excited to do that. I was wondering if anyone could recommend any author's similar to the above.

I've never read any of Mark Twain's work and would like to know your views on it etc

I've eyed Anna Karenina for years. However, i've never picked it up largely because War and Peace somewhat turned me off Tolstoy.

I have a long list next to my bed of books I plan on reading this year, and would love to add your suggestions to them - if you wish to make one.

Thanks

[weltanschauung]

if war and peace turned you off, anna karenina will make you never want to read dead souls. dont read dead souls either, or you'll never get to diary of a madman.
also, dont read the nose or you'll hate the unavoidable reference to kafka's metamorphosis, which rules. btw, the castle, the process, a hunger artist are gr8; amerika wasnt so fabulous.
if youd like to stretch the agony switching from claustrophobia to despair, after sartre's the wall you can cross the road to kierkegaard's diaries and then some entertainment with laclos' dangerous liaisons. then, get some ice cream.

[Zee.]

Well that wasn't pleasant.

[PoeticPassions]

I never liked Mark Twain (when I was younger) and do not really have any great recommendations, but I am thinking I should revisit some of his work... since I really haven't read much except Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn. I would like to read The Mysterious Stranger and Eve's Diary (a fictionalized look into the diaries of the Bible's Eve; her meeting of Adam, and 40 years after her fall... sounds interesting :))

As for Tolstoy: I read ANNA KARENINA a long time ago, and to this day it is one of my favorite novels... though I could never get through WAR AND PEACE. I don't think the latter should discourage you from the former, and I sure hope you like EAST OF EDEN (Steinbeck's best, in my opinion).

[Zee.]

Thank you :]

[manolia]

I remember reading Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn a long time ago. I liked them very much :thumbs_up I have recently bought a copy in english and i'll read them again sometime.

As for Steinbeck, i've read Cannery row, can't say i liked it though. I really loved "Of mice and men"..what a sad story..i mean genuinely sad.
I have seen the film based on East of Eden and if that helps the story is great..

As for Anna Karenina it is a great book! Do read it. I haven't read War and peace yet (so i can't be sure of what it was that turned you off - was it the style of writing or the length?). If you chose to read AK be sure to pick the best translation available (i picked a bad greek translation and everyone was like "oh you read that translation" and i was like "gee thanks now you tell me") but still it didn't spoil things much. And do watch the film adaptation once you finish the book. The one with V Leigh. :D

[Mariamosis]

I'm a big fan of Faulkner. Something about his work just settles something in me - I feel something i rarely feel when I read books, when I read his work.

I'm about to read East of Eden. I've read very little of Steinbeck's work so i'm excited to do that. I was wondering if anyone could recommend any author's similar to the above.

I've never read any of Mark Twain's work and would like to know your views on it etc

I've eyed Anna Karenina for years. However, i've never picked it up largely because War and Peace somewhat turned me off Tolstoy.

I have a long list next to my bed of books I plan on reading this year, and would love to add your suggestions to them - if you wish to make one.

Thanks

I have never read Faulkner, but have intentions of doing so.
Steinbeck, however, is a favorite author of mine. East of Eden is a great book, although, in my opinion Grapes of Wrath is the ultimate Steinbeck. Tortilla Flat and Sweet Thursday have a great slew of memorable characters as well as a jocular edge about them. But... of course I would recommend ANY and ALL Steinbeck given my prejudiced view on his work.

I recently finished Puddn'head Wilson by Mark Twain, and found it very intriguing. Since I haven't read hardly anything by the man, I would guess that Puddn'head Wilson would be a good story to pull you towards other works by him.

I don't know your particular taste, but I suggest Thomas Hardy (perhaps Mayor of Casterbridge) and anything by Jules Verne.... and definitely Vonnegut (filled with satire)

[weltanschauung]

Well that wasn't pleasant.


"A little more than kin, and less than kind"?
;)



"There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so". ...

[country doctor]

I've never read any of Mark Twain's work and would like to know your views on it etc


you are doing yourself a disservice if you don't read 'huck finn'. it is hilarious, and should be in anyone's top five in 'american' books. arguably number one. the masterpiece by one of america's masters.

[Zee.]

Alright, made a list of your suggestions. I'll get around to them, hopefully soon.
I'll post what I thought of them on this thread at a much later date haha

[Virgil]

Oh Huck Finn is a great read. I've always maintained Twain kind of screwed up the ending, but besides that it's beautifully written. Tom Sawyer is a lot of fun, though not very deep. Anna Karenina is one of the greatest novels of all time and better than War and Peace. Highly recommend it. I've read the shorter works of Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men, The Pearl, Cannary Row, and a few others. He's ok, but it's never inspired me to try his long novels. But there are people who swear by them.

[Bumbeli]

if war and peace turned you off, anna karenina will make you never want to read dead souls. dont read dead souls either, or you'll never get to diary of a madman.
also, dont read the nose or you'll hate the unavoidable reference to kafka's metamorphosis, which rules. btw, the castle, the process, a hunger artist are gr8; amerika wasnt so fabulous.
if youd like to stretch the agony switching from claustrophobia to despair, after sartre's the wall you can cross the road to kierkegaard's diaries and then some entertainment with laclos' dangerous liaisons. then, get some ice cream.

Yeah, don't do that. Kafka is overrated imho.
Don't let "War and Peace" keep you from reading "Anna Karenina", it is such a great book and quite different from War and Peace.
Sartre was one of my favourite writers quite some time ago, I still read some of his plays sometimes and still enjoy them.

Other books I enjoyed were "In search of lost time" by Proust (you gotta have a lot of time for that one", "Madame Bovary" and "La education sentimentale" by Flaubert, everything by Dostoewsky and "Ulyssess" by J. Joyce. That would be novels I enjoyed most.

[BlueSkyGB]

I'm a Steinbeck fan...Cannery Row and the short story/novella Tortilla Flats just somehow connected to me....
Faulkner ...well I cannot seem to stop thinking about Faulkner's own life whenever I read him...

[mono]

As ashamed as I feel to admit it, I have read no Faulkner, an author, like Proust, I have neglected for some time. As much attention as The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer attracted, I actually enjoyed Twain's short stories more; PoeticPassions recommended a few short stories I would highly recommend - very dark humor and easy to understand (but the reader can take it to different levels - what makes it epic).
Tolstoy's War and Peace, indeed, read with as much density as a boulder; Anna Karenina I consider one of my favorite novels of all time, and, though also a bit dense, I consider it a must-read! :nod:
Good luck! ;)

[rozreads]

You have not ready experienced Twain until you have read the 'travel books'...Roughing It, A Tramp Abroad, The Innocents Abroad, Following the Equator. He is the master of satire.

[weltanschauung]

i really dont understand the hype about anna karenina. its just long and detailed, but it has no depth. none.
and someone said something about kafka being overrated and boring: LOL.
i guess next people will say that lord of the rings is meaningless, that proust is prolix and huxley was just some hippie http://l.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/mesg/emoticons7/78.gif

[mayneverhave]

I'm at odds with some others that have posted here.

I'm largely a Faulkner fan (as might be obvious), and recommend anything in his oeuvre, including As I Lay Dying, The Sound and the Fury, Absalom, Absalom!, and Light in August.

Twain, I cannot speak of lucidly - the last time I read Huckleberry Finn was in High school.

As for Steinbeck, I found the Grapes of Wrath rather boring and unaffecting. It functioned as a social commentary, but I was greatly underwhelmed by its attempt at such an epic scope. Perhaps I am biased. I read the novel in between selections from Hemingway and Faulkner that I both found to be fantastic, and Grapes was a completely different kind of story. I remember liking Of Mice and Men, however, so maybe Steinbeck has hope.

[Bumbeli]

I really do think Kafka is overrated, except for the Metamorphosis I enjoyed none of his book. Not gonna argue about Proust though, he is great.
Right now I'm torn between reading Grapes of Wrath, As I lay dying and The Sound and the Fury, and I just started the latter one, it's kinda weird. Maybe my english can't live up to it's full extent, but I'm not really into it yet.

[fb0252]

i'm always puzzled by people who say they like Steinbeck and dislike Kafka or War and Peace, etc. How can this be? For me Mice and Men was enough Steinbeck. Positively the worst thing I have ever been forced to read (for an assignment.) I consider Faulkner little better. E.g. As I Lay Dying has a few powerful images that stay with you and that about covers it. Try Hamlet for the Ophelia scene or the funeral in Ulysses to cure you of praising of Faulkner's simplistic work. Someone find an intelligent Faulkner or Steinbeck line in As I Lay Dying or Mice and Men, and post it here, please.. Start Kafka off with "The Trial". For those who "dislike" War And Peace, read the book, then report back.

[crystalmoonshin]

Do read Mark Twain!!! Some of my faves are "The Prince and the Pauper" and "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court". :)

[book_jones]

Faulkner, Steinbeck, and Twain are probably my top three favorate authors, or at least very close to the top! You shoudl definately read them.

[Apocrypha75]

I haven't read any Faulkner yet (I know -- the shame!) and I've only read Steinbecks 'Of Mice and Men' which was good but fleeting. I need to tackle some of his more substantial works.

However, I would like to sing the praise of Mark Twain whom I am more familiar with. I've read Adventures of Huck Finn/Tom Sawyer and he is a really brilliant writer. I think Huck Finn is the better of the two and rightly regarded as a classic. Twain's ability to create such vivid and memorable characters, and to establish them in so few words is one of his many talents. He is also a master at descriptive writing and uses language so well. He is also a very funny writer, I guarantee you will chuckle throughout those books; Huck Finn had me crying with laughter!! Don't be fooled though, he doesn't shy away from the darker side of life and (especially in the case of Huck Finn) he has something to say. I personally look forward to reading more of his work.

Snap! I too have Anna Karenina looming large upon my book shelf. I have a love/hate relationship with Russian Lit (meaning I'm not utterly convinced) , so I'm dubious, yet strangely compelled to read it; I'm sure I will take a stab at some point. ;)

[Mathor]

John Steinbeck and William Faulkner are two of my favorite authors. Both are seen as often "boring" by critics. I do not understand this! If anything, The Sound And The Fury and Travels With Charlie made me WANT to start reading long ago.

EDIT: and i really respect Mark Twain, and have been too busy to experience his work thoroughly enough.

[kelby_lake]

Haven't read any Faulkner. Twain seems a bit annoying.

[kelby_lake]

Someone find an intelligent Faulkner or Steinbeck line in As I Lay Dying or Mice and Men, and post it here, please..

Slim looked through George and beyond him. "Ain't many guys ... travel around together," he mused. "I don't know why. Maybe ever'body inthe whole damn world is scared of each other."

And those poor puppies! :bawling::bawling:

[prendrelemick]

Crikey! you're going to need a Terry Prachett after that lot.

[Lulya]

I have red The adventure of Tom sawyer, and also Eve's diary..I really enjoyed reading them, and by the way I was interesting on Eve's diary. I am planning to read Adam's diary..becuase they say Eve's and Adam's diary they are completing each others..

but I can tell you all Mark Twain is indeed a great writer..

[mal4mac]

I really enjoyed War & Peace and Anna Karenina. What turned you off W&P? Might it have been a poor translation? I recommend the Maude translation. I've only read one Faulkner - As I Lay Dying- and found it a strange & difficult piece - but an interesting, involving one. So if you like that strange, difficult, Christ-obsessed, inwardness, try Joyce's "Portrait". Steinbeck is a much more straightforward realist, if you like "Grapes" you should *really* like Dickens' big works (check out the currently very active Dickens thread for recommendations!) Dickens has Steinbeck's social commentary and straightforward prose, but adds interesting characters & humour (though Steinbeck injects great humour into shorter non-epics like Cannery Row...). Don't let Weltanschauung put you off Kafka - if you like Faulkner, you may like "Metamorphosis and other stories".

[keilj]

Well, you named my 2 favorite authors of all time, in Twain and Steinbeck, so I have to chime in

Steinbeck, I'd recommend (in order)
Cannery Row
Grapes of Wrath
East of Eden
In Dubious Battle
Sweet Thursday
The Red Pony

Twain
his autobiography
The Innocents Abroad
Roughing It (it's a little plodding at points, but trust me, it is worth it - TONS of humorous passages throughout)
biography of Joan of Arc
Letters from Earth (get an old copy, not the latest edition. the latest edition is missing a lot of material)


I'm astonished at how few people in this thread have read Twain - but that is neither here nor there

[dfloyd]

Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn are the standards which everyone should read. After those, a Connecticut Yankee is my favorite fiction. Pudd'n Head Wilson is enjoyable, as are Twain's short stories. As a very young man, the Prince and the Pauper was a favorite. The travel books are full of satire and should also be read: A Tramp Abroad, Innocents Abroad are hilairious. Twain's early experinces as a Mississippi river boat pilot are told in Life on the Mississippi. His experiences in Nevada are detailed in Roughing It. What the Hell, just do like I did and read all of Twain!

On to Tolstoy - Never let the length of a book deter you. For years I ignored War and Peace because of its length, but it's really quite good, and should be read by any serious reader. Anna Karenina is an easier read and is a good, long Tolstory to start with. Resurrection is his last novel and gives more of Tolstoy's philosophy than his other long novels. Childhood, Boyhood, and Youth are three short autobiographical novels which, when put together in one book, make a long one. While I enjoy Dostoyevsky more that Tolstoy, Count Leo should be on everyone's reading list.

[johnw1]

i really dont understand the hype about anna karenina. its just long and detailed, but it has no depth. none.
and someone said something about kafka being overrated and boring: LOL.
i guess next people will say that lord of the rings is meaningless, that proust is prolix and huxley was just some hippie http://l.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/mesg/emoticons7/78.gif

Couldn't disagree more RE. Anna Karenina - how come you feel there is a lack of depth?? Tolstoy draws wonderful complex characters of all different sorts (say Anna husband Karenin for example or Levin) and there's so much emotion in it too.

As for Faulkner, I've been put off him since reading The Sound and the Fury at uni - I can't remember a book I've found harder to get through. It's a very interesting modernist experiment but, after the novelty wears out, reading it is like pulling teeth. I'm not anti-stream-of-consciousness by the way (A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, for example, I loved) but this was a bridge too far for me personally.

[dfloyd]

writers do, he wrote some very bad stuff. Absolom! Absolom! is one of my favorites, but the one every one around here seems to like, As I Lay Dying, I could never get into, although I did finally finish it. It's not that it's hard to read, but it seems to be how the Joad family of Grapes of Wrath would handle a funeral.

[mal4mac]

Couldn't disagree more RE. Anna Karenina - how come you feel there is a lack of depth?? Tolstoy draws wonderful complex characters of all different sorts (say Anna husband Karenin for example or Levin) ...

I couldn't agree more with your disagreement! Is there any deeper character in literature than Levin... representing Tolstoy himself at the height of his struggles with Schopenhauer, Kant, and Christianity...

[johnw1]

I couldn't agree more with your disagreement! Is there any deeper character in literature than Levin... representing Tolstoy himself at the height of his struggles with Schopenhauer, Kant, and Christianity...

Only perhaps bettered by Pierre and Prince Andrei although there's not a huge amount in it. Yeah I think there's a lot of Tolstoy invested in Levin - down to the private diary he hands over to his bride to be just before the wedding. I loved the scene where Levin joins in with the haymaking, and I think Tolstoy's ideals come through a lot in that. There seems to be a restlessness with Tolstoy's best characters, always questioning and transforming themselves spiritually and emotionally - even at the end I suspect Levin has not found lasting comfort in Christianity, he doesn't have Kitty's simple nature and is probably a natural skeptic...