Mark Twain? Now that's sacrilege...Originally Posted by Brendan Madley
Mark Twain? Now that's sacrilege...
Charlotte Bronte. Jane Eyer was reall dry, and too consticted; I felt that there was no flow. I like the actual story, but if the prose was a bit more interesting, I would have really liked it.
Oh, yes, Meyer definetly. 'Stifled a gasp' is in a book that is considered literature! Flat characters, and everything, I mean... come on.
'Well, what's the worst crime in History? Mass murder? Demolition? Dictatorship? Manipulation?'
'The WORST crime? Well... Actually...
I always thought it was the burning of books.'
But They STILL Haven't Fixed Humpty Dumpty.
I can mention D H Lawrence? In my frank opinion, he was nothing more than a glorified smut peddler, with all the artisitc skill and integrity of road-kill. He is noticed merely because he is shocking, and for no other reason!
"I should only believe in a God that would know how to dance. And when I saw my devil, I found him serious, thorough, profound, solemn: he was the spirit of gravity- through him all things fall. Not by wrath, but by laughter, do we slay. Come, let us slay the spirit of gravity!" - Nietzsche
Three names keep recurring- Hemingway, Jane Austen and Kerouac.
My vote goes to Hemingway. I don't think he was a bad novelist, just overrated. Kerouac is not really overrated because he's generally considered good pop lit rather than University reading list material.
Twain, Hemingway
And also, with all the King mentions, I think it's only fair to list Lovecraft (who may have already been mentioned---I didn't read all 45 pages....)
Hemingway (for his dry and lackluster prose) and quite possibly Chekhov... I just don't see the appeal in his stories. Not that they are bad or have no merit (in fact I can even sometimes enjoy reading one), but he is always termed as the master of the short story, and I can name a hundred short story writers that are better and have much more substance to their stories. Chekhov's stories do not speak to me, and in fact they rarely say anything... at times they seem so pointless (or so obvious). But maybe I am missing the point?
"All gods are homemade, and it is we who pull their strings, and so, give them the power to pull ours." -Aldous Huxley
"Sooner murder an infant in its cradle than nurse unacted desires." -William Blake
Sorry, Hemingway, but I can't get into your booksWhilst I admire that you get to the point, it's kind of hard to read something like that. x
It is amazing how many times Hemingway has been chosen! As far as I know, his reputation among scholars and academics is quite low.
Faulkner!!i just don't get him!i struggle to read his novels just to find myself puzzled at the end,not being quite sure what it was about!
My nomination would be Henry Miller. Seriously. Maybe I'm missing the point of his work, but surely producing a scandal shouldn't be all there is to it...
"Where mind meets matter, both should woo!"Currently reading:
* Paradise Lost by John Milton
Hawthorne - at least House of the Seven Gables really vexed me. I think there was something there, but could never quite place it. Maybe I was too young, it was some years ago, but if I try it again and it has a similar effect, I don't know what I may be driven to do...
I have him on my mind. But no, I decided to try again
As a Hemingway fan, I'd be interested in hearing why people find him overrated? As far as I'm concerned, he has written four classic novels and a number of classic short stories.
His style did vary. He became famous for his detachment as a narrator and working with implied feelings, but give For Whom the Bell Tolls a try if you want Hemingway in another mood, a novel filled with descriptions and inner thinking of its main characters. It also deals explicitly with a number of moral themes.
Old Man and the Sea is Hem at his most sentimental, but it's a beautiful story. And the best of the lot would probably be A Farewell to Arms.
I'm just trying to say that he did not always write in the same manner. If you've never given him a try, look up Indian Camp online and get a feel for his traditionally terse yet highly rich prose.
Hemingway rocks.
Gertrude Stein is COMPLETELY OVERRATED. I do not care how many critics insist that she is some founding member of modernism - her writing is terrible!
"I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen, not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else." - C.S. Lewis
I honestly, REALLY second every word in that quote...
couldn't really put it any better myself!
Heminway is the schiznet!
When life gets hard... Laugh!
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