I'll second!Originally Posted by NotWoodhouse
As far as other 'classic' literature goes, I'd say Orwell is overrated in my eyes.
I'll second!
As far as other 'classic' literature goes, I'd say Orwell is overrated in my eyes.
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I'd have to nominate Nathaniel Hawthorne.
I'll second!
I must agree with PabloQ that such one-line comments are completely useless... if not inane. "That Mozart guy was over-rated" "Yeah, and Raphael couldn't hold a candle to Bob Ross".Personal opinions are fine... but when they seemingly contradict the opinions of generations of literary figures: writers, critics, scholars, literature lovers... then it would seem that one might feel somewhat obliged to offer up something along the line of reasoning behind such blanket statements. You feel Nathaniel Hawthorne is over-rated? Why? What books have you read by him? Who would you compare him with by way of comparison and contrast. I find it interesting that JBI got taken to task for having taken the time to offer up a reasoned analysis of why he didn't like the harry Potter novels... but we still get these continual comments dismissing Hawthorne, Hemingway, Joyce, Proust, and the like.
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I'd have to nominate Nathaniel Hawthorne.
I'll second!
I must agree with PabloQ that such one-line comments are completely useless... if not inane. "That Mozart guy was over-rated" "Yeah, and Raphael couldn't hold a candle to Bob Ross".
couldn't have said it better myself!
Meh, I'll say that outside of perhaps The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne isn't that great. Just try reading The Great Stone Face without being bored to tears by the long predictable drone of the tale.
Still, not the most overrated ever - tastes differ of course.
I would say, perhaps Poe or someone would be more overrated. Hawthorne is only remembered pretty much for a handful of stories and one novel anyway.
Neither did I, but I've checked it once on IMDB.
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Do I have to dislike some author's books to say she's overrated? Because I love Harry Potter -books but I do think J.K. Rowling might be a little overrated. I mean obviously she has a great imagination but still I don't really get how it has got so popular.
J D Salinger
Why? His reputation is built on ONE book for heaven's sake. A book I hated with a deep passion. His protagonist has nothing to say to me, there's no common ground between us. He moves through a landscape I don't recognise, meeting people I cannot believe in. Thats the plot, as for his writing, its adequate nothing more. Where's the body of work so that we can judge him and compare him with others? What is there to go on? a few forgettable short stories and a couple of mediocre novellas.
There, rant over.
I originally had a response drawn out about wanting to punch you in the face, etc., but I thought it would be better to just leave it out. I don't believe a small body of work should be taken into consideration when discussing who's overrated and who isn't.
Would you say the same about Harper Lee, who has even LESS out..? Or John Kennedy Toole who has only written one novel, that just so happened to have won the Pulitzer Prize, that is one of the most original, genius bodies of literature I've ever had the pleasure of reading?
It is one thing to dislike a writing style or the premise of a novel, but to discredit someone's like-ability because of the amount they've written is absolutely absurd.
How do you think I feel? Salinger is my favorite author and he teases us with one novel and a bunch of shorter stuff. All the while, everyone knows he has 50 years of writing locked away in filing cabinets, waiting for him to die before they're published.
But to answer the OP's question, my vote goes to Kerouac... I don't mind stream of conscious writing; in fact, I really enjoy it. My problem is he does a terrible job of it. The story could be extremely interesting, but I get the feeling I'm reading the cliff-notes version of his journey. I had to struggle to keep myself interested.
And I hate to say it, but Nabokov. The opening lines of Lolita are genius... in fact, I'd say one of my all-time favorites. However, the quality of writing falls off a cliff, with some exceptions of brilliance. The ability is there, but it doesn't shine through on every page.
EDIT: Just to clarify re: Toole - He has another novel called The Neon Bible; however, it was written when he was 16 and only published years after his death, due to the immense pressure from other family members who wanted to cash in on their ownership rights.
Last edited by Mag Master 21; 02-02-2009 at 12:33 PM.
This being the first day of a period of time I have set aside for reading In Search of Lost Time, is reassuring. Tho I have read the first two volumes a LONG time ago and am not detered by Prousts style at all since it IS a work of art we are talking about here. That is what distinguishes literature from commercial entertainment. Proust's unprecedented exploration of how we experience the self as it moves through time requires his style. One of the definitions of art is the concept of form and substance as being unified.Yeah, I don't really see Proust as being difficult or tedious.. Mind you I have only read in translation but still.. I thought In Search of Lost Time was amazing.. One of my favourite books..
I agree with you though.. If you go by academic circles you really can't say an author is overrated, maybe you just can say you didn't enjoy that work, or understand it.. I know there are famous authors I don't like in the slightest.. but I still don't view them as overrated really, just not my cup of tea...
I find readership of literature who's expectations are foremost to be entertained, boring and tedious. ( As per the martyred rock god who railed against the overweening need to be entertained...)
In My HO, as I attempt to appreciate a work that is generally accepted as literary art, it is for sure is excusable to be put off by subject content or ideas expressed that does not rest well with my personal mores or taste...but if I do not otherwise "connect" (in Forster's sense of the word), it is a failure on my part, not the authors...
How's that for venting
If any author has been claimed to be "the best", then maybe in a sense he's overrated.
Writers that I didn't enjoy as much as the hype made me expect to include Virginia Woolf, James Joyce, Franz Kafka (although Metamorphosis redeemed him somewhat) John Steinbeck and Vladimir Nabokov.
"Books don't offer real escape but they can stop a mind scratching itself raw." David Mitchell
I guess Twilight is not a classic XD (Thank God!) but so many people are reading these books nowadays.. and I don't like the way it's written... there's nothing special in it :S For me, she writes similar to other american writers, like R.L.Stine...
Looking back, I'll say this on my choice selection which others have unpleasantly (on my part) acknowledged I have left out. I consider Hawthorne an overrated writer due to the fact that his motifs that have been integrated throughout the work The Scarlet Letter. Children, nature, the struggle between good and evil, and what should be considered social appropriate was better phrased by Shakespeare before Hawthorne and virtually blown out of league with both of your aforementioned authors, Joyce and Proust. Two individuals who I happen to appreciate the depth of their prose. Both are known either way, whether you enjoy their prose or not. Both have attempted a new form to show correlation between reality and thought and even have expressed the motifs Hawthorne had, which I've already expressed, only these other two authors were able to show flexibility. So when comparing Hawthorne to Joyce, what has Hawthorne done? Essentially nothing in my personal opinion and the same can be said or Orwell whose allegorical expression could have been soaked with literary hostilities and have that be the charge of new world orders in discussions. Ah well, it's mere food for thought.I'd have to nominate Nathaniel Hawthorne.
I'll second!
I must agree with PabloQ that such one-line comments are completely useless... if not inane. "That Mozart guy was over-rated" "Yeah, and Raphael couldn't hold a candle to Bob Ross".
I AM THE BOY
THAT CAN ENJOY
INVISIBILITY.
[QUOTE=Mag Master 21;667523]I originally had a response drawn out about wanting to punch you in the face, etc., but I thought it would be better to just leave it out. I don't believe a small body of work should be taken into consideration when discussing who's overrated and who isn't.
Would you say the same about Harper Lee, who has even LESS out..? Or John Kennedy Toole who has only written one novel, that just so happened to have won the Pulitzer Prize, that is one of the most original, genius bodies of literature I've ever had the pleasure of reading?
It is one thing to dislike a writing style or the premise of a novel, but to discredit someone's like-ability because of the amount they've written is absolutely absurd.
How do you think I feel? Salinger is my favorite author and he teases us with one novel and a bunch of shorter stuff. All the while, everyone knows he has 50 years of writing locked away in filing cabinets, waiting for him to die before they're published.
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Its OK Mag Master, my post was entirely a personal rant. Your points are well made and probably pertinent. Well done for defending your favourite author.
I wasn't trying to discredit his like-ability, just his "rating". If his fifty years of unpublished stuff is brilliant, fair enough, he'll confirm the exalted place he holds. If its disappointing then he's overrated, a one hit wonder.
Harper Lee is overrated. Everyone drones on and on about how brilliant Mockingbird is when it is fairly bland and preachy.
I think that Lolita is one of the best examples of writing I have ever read. And he totally thrashes some English authors and it's not his first language!
English was Nabokov's first language. He spoke both English and French before he started learning Russian at age eight. Nabokov also trashed many Russian writers.
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