The Greatest Novel of the 20th Century [Archive]

thatpfunk

08-31-2005, 01:43 PM

[ QUOTE ]
The Sound and the Fury.

It's just brilliant.

[/ QUOTE ]

i'm pretty particular about things and i respect your opinion (and obviously that of many others) but i think it is the biggest piece of garbage. I've read through it too many times wanting to shoot myself more and more with each unbearable word.

I would actually be interested to hear someone who respects it (as you obviously do) explain why they hold it in such high regard.

InchoateHand

08-31-2005, 01:50 PM

Because its the stepping stone to Absolom Absolom , the real reason we read Faulkner.

fsuplayer

08-31-2005, 01:52 PM

[ QUOTE ]
I like OOT's literary kick.

OFOTCN is my vote. It is as close to the perfect novel as I have read.

[/ QUOTE ]

my fiance, who is a literature major will probably laugh at me, but what is OFOTCN?

InchoateHand

08-31-2005, 01:53 PM

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

CD56

08-31-2005, 01:54 PM

I would vote for Blindness, with Catch-22 and Mockingbird also receiving votes.

TheBlueMonster

08-31-2005, 01:55 PM

[ QUOTE ]
Ulysses by Joyce.

[/ QUOTE ]
Yup. While many people are posting their favorites, no one can refute Ulysses as the most important work of this past century. Far more qualified people than our resident "experts" on OOT have almost unanimously declared this book #1.

TheBlueMonster

08-31-2005, 01:59 PM

[ QUOTE ]
OFOTCN is my vote. It is as close to the perfect novel as I have read.

[/ QUOTE ]
This is the greatest novel of the 20th Century? It might be your favorite, but it's not the greatest. Don't get me wrong, I really loved the book too, but it's a little dated at this point; when people that were rebelling against the establishment became the thing they were fighting. It's like saying "The Electric Kool Aid Acid Test" is the greatest piece of journalism.

KJS

08-31-2005, 01:59 PM

The Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison.

KJS

InchoateHand

08-31-2005, 01:59 PM

You are none too bright. This is a thread soliciting opinions. And the group think in the conservative literary establishment is almost as enormous as that at the RNC.

But let me guess, you are now going to claim to have read Ulysses, right?

How does one become qualified? Get literary degrees? Write books? Write criticism? Read?

Shutup already you elitist little prick.

Many people can refute Ulysses as the most important work of this past century. Many people have, and many people will continue to do so.

Is "Greatest" the "most influential on the literary establishment?" Seems like a pretty constrictive definition there, friend.

dibbs

08-31-2005, 02:04 PM

"The Greatest" threads are kind of vague, well they are to me anyways. I guess they could be more specifically titled, like "The most influential X and why" or whatever, they often do seem to turn into favorites threads, which is still pretty interesting.

Ulysses is definitly one of my favorite books of all time as well, and I still don't understand close to all of it after reading it several times. Just reread Portrait too, not nearly as intense or perfectly crafted but a great read.

scott8

08-31-2005, 02:04 PM

I thought Catch 22 was good for the 1st half and unbearable for the second.

InchoateHand

08-31-2005, 02:08 PM

Finnegans Wake got me. One of my many regrets from undergrad, before I become overly specialized in my present pursuits, was not taking a Joyce class on offer, from an absolutely excellent professor, that would have at least partially unlocked this complex and compelling, though ultimately too confounding, work for me.

thatpfunk

08-31-2005, 02:09 PM

roflmao... what major themes of OFOTCN are outdated?

there is a little "more" to it than rebelling against the establishment. i mean jesus, did you even read the book or just watch the movie? it questions and tears at the fabric in which American society is based upon. the american dream is "outdated"? gee, i better go let some people know.

the form, structure, etc is spectacular as well.

TheBlueMonster

08-31-2005, 02:10 PM

[ QUOTE ]
You are none too bright. This is a thread soliciting opinions.

[/ QUOTE ]
Wow, thanks for the hostility. If it were solicting opinions it would ask for your favorite novel of the 20th century or one that influenced/inspired you the most.
[ QUOTE ]

But let me guess, you are now going to claim to have read Ulysses, right?
How does one become qualified? Get literary degrees? Write books? Write criticism? Read?

[/ QUOTE ]
I have read sections of the novel and I don't claim to understand everything about it, but in claiming that it's the greatest I'm not stating my OPINION, but rather a widely held stance by most reputable literary critics.
And these critics got to the position of having their opinions listened to because they know what they're talking about.
Literary and art criticism are not as subjecive as most people think. Obviously critics are in turn criticized for having the"ivory tower" mindset, but there is a reason why they can claim one pice of work better than the other.
[ QUOTE ]

Shutup already you elitist little prick.

[/ QUOTE ]
You just hurt your argument here buddy. Responding with unfounded personal animostiy to this situation? You're just an ass.

TheBlueMonster

08-31-2005, 02:12 PM

[ QUOTE ]
there is a little "more" to it than rebelling against the establishment. i mean jesus, did you even read the book or just watch the movie?

[/ QUOTE ]
I've read the book.
For someone so into reading, I guess you didn't really read my post. I mentioned that SOME parts were dated, not the whole thing. I said nothing about the other themes that still hold true.

InchoateHand

08-31-2005, 02:12 PM

[ QUOTE ]
Literary and art criticism are not as subjecive as most people think.

[/ QUOTE ]

If I was the sort of person who could roll on the floor and laugh my ass off, I would be doing it now. Instead I'll just nod my head a little sadly, and encourage you to read more than excerpts. And maybe talk to one of those crazy "literary" critics about subjectivity. And its absolute nature.

TheBlueMonster

08-31-2005, 02:13 PM

[ QUOTE ]
The Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison.

[/ QUOTE ]
Yes. Perhaps one of the most important.

InchoateHand

08-31-2005, 02:14 PM

Really, how so?

TheBlueMonster

08-31-2005, 02:16 PM

[ QUOTE ]
If I was the sort of person who could roll on the floor and laugh my ass off, I would be doing it now.

[/ QUOTE ]
YOu don't strike me as that, just a world class [censored] for attacking me for expressing a viewpoint that you (for some reason) find personally offensive.

I'm not going to get into a debate with you here. I would love nothing better than to set you up in an email correspondance with some REAL literary experts, but I don't think they'd appreciate being harrassed by someone who calls them a "prick"

dibbs

08-31-2005, 02:17 PM

Wake owned me, I can't even begin to comprehend it. We discussed it briefly in a survey course but since most people in the class just about vomited upon seeing it not much time was devoted to it. I really wish we had a Joyce class offered at my school. Happy birthday BTW.

thatpfunk

08-31-2005, 02:20 PM

[ QUOTE ]
I have read sections of the novel and I don't claim to understand everything about it, but in claiming that it's the greatest I'm not stating my OPINION, but rather a widely held stance by most reputable literary critics.
And these critics got to the position of having their opinions listened to because they know what they're talking about.
Literary and art criticism are not as subjecive as most people think.

[/ QUOTE ]

sorry man, you're catching a lot of heat here, but this might be the saddest thing I have ever heard anyone say.

aside from your stance on life and art, um, TONS of qualified critics can refute Ulysses. Which literary community are you listening to, the modernists, the postmodernists? the writers themselves? the professional essaysists? professors?

Take the elliot's Wasteland as an example. Many modernists view it as the greatest poetic accomplishment in the history of the english language. Meanwhile one who is more postmodernly inclined might call it forced, contrived and stilted (no thread hijacks please, if anyone wants to discuss the merits of the wasteland, we can do so in the other thread)

they are opinions, and if the effort and thought and background has been put in to their development, then they are valid.

what a way to go through life, sheesh.

LetYouDown

08-31-2005, 02:24 PM

Finnegan's Wake has always stumped me. I don't understand how anyone can read through that...every time I get a few pages deep, my head hurts. How many people can actually read that book and follow it start to finish? I'd wager not many.

thatpfunk

08-31-2005, 02:26 PM

[ QUOTE ]

I've read the book.
For someone so into reading, I guess you didn't really read my post. I mentioned that SOME parts were dated, not the whole thing. I said nothing about the other themes that still hold true.

[/ QUOTE ] [ QUOTE ]
Don't get me wrong, I really loved the book too, but it's a little dated at this point; when people that were rebelling against the establishment became the thing they were fighting.

[/ QUOTE ]

um, i think i read fine.

TheBlueMonster

08-31-2005, 02:29 PM

Wow, I've never gotten pissed off at people on this message board before. You're the one who started this "controversy" by declaring this thread "The Greatest Novel of the 20th Century" not, as I said "My favorite" or "most influential."
I was simply stating the WIDELY HELD OPINION. Of course people disagree and their points are perfectly valid. I never said they weren't. Maybe it's just my literary training that prompts me to read everything closely. You and my other attacker have oviously not read my entire post/s nor the context in which they appeared, but rather took pieces that offended you or made you angry and responded to them as a stand-alone excerpt. Look at the larger picture, look what I was responding to, understand the tone, actually read the Words.

I understand how important it is to be careful with your word selection.

TheBlueMonster

08-31-2005, 02:32 PM

Sigh, I should have been more careful with my exact wording. I did put my foot in my mouth here. /images/graemlins/blush.gif

I was just too irritated with the other poster to really put much thought into my kneejerk response to you.

I love making enemies on this website. /images/graemlins/mad.gif

thatpfunk

08-31-2005, 02:35 PM

[ QUOTE ]
I was simply stating the WIDELY HELD OPINION. Of course people disagree and their points are perfectly valid. I never said they weren't.

[/ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
no one can refute Ulysses as the most important work of this past century. Far more qualified people than our resident "experts" on OOT have almost unanimously declared this book #1.

[/ QUOTE ]

Whatever you say bud.

[ QUOTE ]
Maybe it's just my literary training that prompts me to read everything closely...
I understand how important it is to be careful with your word selection.

[/ QUOTE ]

wow.

thatpfunk

08-31-2005, 02:37 PM

not an enemy, i haven't been trying to attack you personally. i just take a few things seriously, this happens to be one of them.

Duffman

08-31-2005, 02:45 PM

I think 1984 is up there.

TheBlueMonster

08-31-2005, 02:54 PM

I don't understand the point of your posts. your 2 word responses leave much to be desired.

TheBlueMonster

08-31-2005, 02:56 PM

[ QUOTE ]
i just take a few things seriously, this happens to be one of them.

[/ QUOTE ]
If you take this seriously, make it a favorite/what do you think is.... post. Not a definitive "the greatest is." Sorry to catch you on semantics, but my original response was based on The Greatest criteria.

thatpfunk

08-31-2005, 03:03 PM

[ QUOTE ]
I don't understand the point of your posts. your 2 word responses leave much to be desired.

[/ QUOTE ]

well the bolded quotes point out your blatant contradictions.

RacersEdge

08-31-2005, 03:08 PM

[ QUOTE ]
20th century novels...

[/ QUOTE ]

OK, I'll change it to Great Gatsby.

Twitch1977

08-31-2005, 03:11 PM

I haven't read a lot of what would be considered the 'greatest books ever written blah blah blah.' But I have read and enjoyed both 'Of Mice And Men' and 'To Kill A Mockingbird.'

Also as a kid I use to love that books 'Bunnicula' and there was a book called 'I Want Turtles' or something like that, they both kicked some serious ass.

So they get my votes.

T

Duffman

08-31-2005, 03:11 PM

[ QUOTE ]
I don't understand the point of your posts. your 2 word responses leave much to be desired.

[/ QUOTE ]

Sorry,

I haven't read many of the books posted above so I can't attest to how 1984 stands up against them, but in it's own right I think its a great novel.

The concepts in the book are nowhere near outdated. In fact I think that they stand true today more than ever. And the fact that Orwell wrote it a around 50 years ago(I think) is amazing in itself.

It's a perfect and complete novel. Nothing is left to be desired. This novel could've easily been another run of the mill Science fiction novel, but it is clear Orwell never set out to write a spook story, but rather a great novel that shows a human struggle like no other.

I feel like I just answered a test question(rather crappy too).

Danenania

08-31-2005, 03:14 PM

To me the word "greatest" belongs to the historical realm. So which book of the 20th century is most important to the history of the novel? In answering I must agree with TheBlueMonster that it would have to be Ulysses, even though I haven't read the book. I've read enough about the book, however, to know that it revolutionized the form of the novel and took it into a whole new category of human existence (the depths of cognition) as well as taking the English language to heights never before dreamed of. This novel achieved more for its form than any other in its century.

The point is arguable. In fact, I feel for example that Kafka is a greater novelist than Joyce, and the most important writer of the modern era in his collective work, but none of his individual novels can stand up to the greatness of Ulysses on its own. But however arguable, this question is not a subjective one. As TBM said, terms like "best" or "favorite" could be subjective, but "greatest" must be argued on the basis of history, which doesn't exist unless we grant it objectivity. We must examine the historical "facts" that we all subscribe to and then choose the best we can.

cdxx

08-31-2005, 03:18 PM

i can't believe noone suggested cat's cradle or slaughterhouse 5. i'd also probably put Heart of Darkness, Clockwork Orange, and For Whom the Bell Tolls in top 10.

InchoateHand

08-31-2005, 03:20 PM

That your argument ("greatest" is inextricably linked to "the historical," as an ontologically existant discrete category of knowledge) is predicated on a wholly individual, and dare I say arbitrary, position, makes this post all the more funny. Sorry, don't mean to be an ass, but this sort of statement is laughable to anyone who likes books, and even more so to those of us who make a career out of studying them.

PTjvs

08-31-2005, 03:26 PM

[ QUOTE ]
i can't believe noone suggested cat's cradle or slaughterhouse 5. i'd also probably put Heart of Darkness, Clockwork Orange, and For Whom the Bell Tolls in top 10.

[/ QUOTE ]

You can argue that Heart of Darkness if too short to be considered a novel.

jvs

thatpfunk

08-31-2005, 03:27 PM

I like the HofD call. Haven't thought about that one in a while.

Danenania

08-31-2005, 03:29 PM

[ QUOTE ]
That your argument ("greatest" is inextricably linked to "the historical," as an ontologically existant discrete category of knowledge) is predicated on a wholly individual, and dare I say arbitrary, position, makes this post all the more funny. Sorry, don't mean to be an ass, but this sort of statement is laughable to anyone who likes books, and even more so to those of us who make a career out of studying them.

[/ QUOTE ]

So then why should your subjective, dare I say arbitrary, definition of "greatest" be any less laughable to me? I could laugh but I prefer a reasonable dialogue. Note I never denied the individual nature of my argument. The first words of my post are "To me".

cdxx

08-31-2005, 03:37 PM

i think most people would consider it just long enough.

InchoateHand

08-31-2005, 03:37 PM

That's exactly it. Mine isn't any less subjective, which is why this has the potential to be an interesting thread, rather than a dumping point for hollow little truisms that proclaim Ulysses the "irrefutably" greatest work.

I didn't offer a definition of "greatest," I just replied with some of the works (including Ulysses ) that that word connotes to me. Someone else said One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, at which point that person was told they were "wrong," because the "real experts" all agree. I don't think blatant (and underinformed) group-think has much of a place in the discussion, and I remain curious as to the opinions regarding the "Greatest Novel of the 20th Century" amongst OOTs individual imaginations.

TheBlueMonster

08-31-2005, 03:39 PM

lol, I wasn't talking to you....but nice response!

Danenania

08-31-2005, 03:48 PM

You are not disagreeing with me then. All I've said is that when "greatness" is used in a historical sense (which is how I tend to think of it), I believe Ulysses to be the greatest.

We simply answer the question on two different levels (ala the perspective diversity that you are supposedly defending) and yet which one of us does the belittling? Does my individual imagination not count?

bobman0330

08-31-2005, 03:48 PM

The Once and Future King... so good.

Heart of Darkness is a novella.

WDC

08-31-2005, 03:49 PM

Going after Cacciato
All Quiet on the Western Front
Breakfast of Champions
Catch 22
The Brothers K

These should all get some votes.

thatpfunk

08-31-2005, 03:55 PM

[ QUOTE ]

Heart of Darkness is a novella.

[/ QUOTE ]

Curious: is there a set number of words/chapters/pages/something? that determines this? For instance, had Konrad been able to draw it out something like eight and a half more pages or 3500 more words would it be considered a novel? What about short stories? Is it just something people eventually agree upon?

bobman0330

08-31-2005, 04:08 PM

If the Barnes & Noble Classics edition contains other short stories, it's not a novel. That's what I go on.

Reef

08-31-2005, 04:13 PM

definetaly not most important, but best read:

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

InchoateHand

08-31-2005, 04:22 PM

Not 20th Century either.

CORed

08-31-2005, 04:22 PM

[ QUOTE ]
definetaly not most important, but best read:

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

[/ QUOTE ]

That's 19th century IIRC.

Some people in the science ficttin community cite is as the first science fiction novel.

canis582

08-31-2005, 04:58 PM

Three that havent been mentioned:

A Prayer for Owen Meany

The Power and the Glory

and

A Clockwork Orange

bobman0330

08-31-2005, 05:44 PM

[ QUOTE ]
Three that havent been mentioned:

A Prayer for Owen Meany

The Power and the Glory

and

A Clockwork Orange

[/ QUOTE ]

Hey, good point. I'm going to change my answer to the Power and the Glory or the End of the Affair. Both amazing.

cdxx

08-31-2005, 08:06 PM

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]

Heart of Darkness is a novella.

[/ QUOTE ]

Curious: is there a set number of words/chapters/pages/something? that determines this? For instance, had Konrad been able to draw it out something like eight and a half more pages or 3500 more words would it be considered a novel? What about short stories? Is it just something people eventually agree upon?

[/ QUOTE ]

literature purists will tell you that novellas are 30k-40k words while novels have 60k minimum. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Novella other purists will tell you it's all about the number of plots/events/etc. think Great Expectations vs. a Seinfeld episode. this is, of course, not exactly common knowledge, and hardly standard classification.

back when i cared about things like this, i strongly believed that it is the author's discretion to properly assign his work to a category. if he meant it as a novel, let him call it a novel and abuse the notion if he really wants to do so. it really doesn't mean much. it's like saying that a movie cannot be nominated for an oscar if it has more than one talking pig in it.

RacersEdge

08-31-2005, 09:16 PM

No love for Great Gatsby huh? Maybe too American, but I really liked the characters in it.

Sidenote: the first time I read it, I missed Nick's homosexual scene.

Dominic

08-31-2005, 10:30 PM

Lolita
The Grapes of Wrath
Farewell My Lovely
Cryptonomicon by Neil Stephenson
In Cold Blood (I know, I know, but it reads like a novel)
Mile Zero by Thomas Sanchez
The Hobbit
Nostromo

And I'll add Dubliners to the list, even though it's really a collection of short stories. But I'm adding it because it includes "The Dead," the greatest piece of literature ever written in the English Language.

And yes, I mean it!
/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

garyjacosta

08-31-2005, 10:39 PM

In all seriousness, I submit Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Inspired the youth of the world to get excited about reading. And a damn fine book if you ask me.

I wouldn't defend it as the greatest, but I think it is a top 10 choice with regards to importance.

raisins

08-31-2005, 11:11 PM

My favorite novels of the 20th century are two by Cormac McCarthy: Blood Meridian and Suttree. Blood Meridian edges out as the top pick, although Suttree has the finest ending I have ever read. He's just a flat out great writer: big themes, incredible style, honest dialogue, engaging stories. His style is a bit demanding, not as much as the modernists, but bring a dictionary, he difinitely has a taste for the arcane: words, facts, references.

raisins

P.S. If you like Blood Meridian you will be surprised to find out how closely based on a true stroy it is. The book that tells most of the original story is My Confession: The Recollections of a Rogue by Samuel Chamberlain.

Jules22

09-01-2005, 12:44 AM

THE GREAT GATSBY BY F. SCOTT FITZGERALD

only one i havent seen listed that was really really good. i also enjoyed animal farm, 1984, grapes of wrath, of mice and men. but i gotta tell you, the great gatsby has to be the best novel ive ever read, its just so powerful.

Blarg

09-01-2005, 01:00 AM

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
i can't believe noone suggested cat's cradle or slaughterhouse 5. i'd also probably put Heart of Darkness, Clockwork Orange, and For Whom the Bell Tolls in top 10.

[/ QUOTE ]

You can argue that Heart of Darkness if too short to be considered a novel.

jvs

[/ QUOTE ]

This one jumped out at me too.

Blarg

09-01-2005, 01:04 AM

[ QUOTE ]
In all seriousness, I submit Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Inspired the youth of the world to get excited about reading. And a damn fine book if you ask me.

I wouldn't defend it as the greatest, but I think it is a top 10 choice with regards to importance.

[/ QUOTE ]

In that case I nominate The Amazing Spiderman.

LOL

KDawgCometh

09-01-2005, 01:36 AM

now, by no means am I saying that it was one of the greatest novels of the 20th century, but it has always been one of my favorite books, THe Alchemist by Paulo Coelho, if you haven't read it, you really should, well written and just a good read overall

diebitter

09-01-2005, 06:03 AM

Dr. StrangeloveX

09-01-2005, 06:56 AM

"When I read something saying I've not done anything as good as Catch-22 I'm tempted to reply, 'Who has?'"

joseph heller

daveymck

09-01-2005, 08:34 AM

No mention for Animal Farm yet, or Lord of The Rings.

Like all these threads its all subjective.

We had to read Of Mice and Men at School was ok but wouldnt put it as thta good a book.

Peter666

09-01-2005, 09:46 AM

"Does my individual imagination not count?"

No it does not. You and Blue Monster are just rehashing things said by hack critics. InChoate is absolutely right. Bely's "Petersburg" preceded "Ulysses" too.

"Cuckoo's Nest" is a very good choice. I like "Brideshead Revisited" and the stylistics of Waugh in general. For novellas, I'll take "Animal Farm" by Orwell and "The Loved One" by Waugh.

It won't qualify as a novel, but the "Gulag Archipelago" by Solzhenitsyn is the most important work of the 20th Century.

stigmata

09-01-2005, 09:50 AM

[ QUOTE ]
The Once and Future King

[/ QUOTE ]

This is a terribly underrated book. Cathc 22 is terribly overrated in my opinion.

I also read "Of Mice & Men" at school and didn't care for it, but go back and read Steinbeck as an adult and you will understand its beauty.

Right now, my vote goes for "The Magic Mountain", although I will probably give a different answer in 5 minutes
/images/graemlins/wink.gif

ChipWrecked

09-01-2005, 10:02 AM

[ QUOTE ]
Lord of The Rings.

[/ QUOTE ]

Won Amazon's 'Best book of the milennium' poll a few years back.

The Bible got more votes, but was of course the wrong milennium.

John Ho

09-01-2005, 10:24 AM

Huck Finn for American novels. There are interesting themes throughout but it is also a very fun book to read.

Honestly I can't say the same for Ulysses, Great Gatsby, or even Catcher in the Rye.

John Ho

09-01-2005, 10:28 AM

The Hobbit? Ouch.

/images/graemlins/smile.gif

[ QUOTE ]
Lolita
The Grapes of Wrath
Farewell My Lovely
Cryptonomicon by Neil Stephenson
In Cold Blood (I know, I know, but it reads like a novel)
Mile Zero by Thomas Sanchez
The Hobbit
Nostromo

And I'll add Dubliners to the list, even though it's really a collection of short stories. But I'm adding it because it includes "The Dead," the greatest piece of literature ever written in the English Language.

And yes, I mean it!
/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

ReadyEddie

09-01-2005, 11:32 AM

One Hundred Years Of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez.

Probably biased because i'm Colombian and a lot of the book might be lost to outsiders but best book i've ever read and I think everyone should pick it up.

plummy1013

09-01-2005, 02:53 PM

Maybe I'm just really geeky but I am a big fan of The Lord of the Rings. It really depends on what you mean by "greatest" because LOTR has entertained many people for many years, but does this make it great? Another one that I really enjoyed is All Quiet on the Western Front.

thatpfunk

09-01-2005, 06:19 PM

[ QUOTE ]
One Hundred Years Of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez.

Probably biased because i'm Colombian and a lot of the book might be lost to outsiders but best book i've ever read and I think everyone should pick it up.

[/ QUOTE ]

I've been meaning to get this. Thanks for the reminder.

balkii

09-01-2005, 07:13 PM

http://www.memoriesofrhodesia.com/images/books/w-death%20cover.jpg

THE WHISPERING DEATH
Daniel Carney

WHISPERING DEATH

From the haunted rocks of Devil's Playground through the scrub and bush of Rhodesia to the blood-stained river bed. Terickk Hurndell and Katchemu, his old Matabele tracker, pursue a lone vendetta ...

Their quarry a band of terrorists led by the albino called The Whispering Death who used Terick's fiancee for a brutal, ritual murder. This is the man Terick has sworn to kill.

nate1729

09-07-2005, 02:16 AM

Looks like the Lord finally took mercy on this thread and let some people mention Gabriel Garcia F***ing Marquez. I'm more of a Love in the Time of Cholera guy, but I should mention that I haven't read One Hundred Years of Solitude. (I have a hard time with long novels and novels that require me to keep a ton of characters straight.)

I mean, geez, did we really need like 75 posts of fourth-rate philosophy of art / people claiming that Kesey wrote a better novel than Joyce did?

bort411

09-07-2005, 02:18 AM

[ QUOTE ]
The Sound and the Fury.

It's just brilliant.

[/ QUOTE ]

MCS

09-07-2005, 03:24 AM

[ QUOTE ]
You and Blue Monster are just rehashing things said by hack critics.

[/ QUOTE ]

What do non-hack critics say?

My answer is Ulysses, which is based on a summary of the (seemingly) informed opinions I can find on teh IntArnet. Whenever I wonder about the "greatest" anything, my answer is almost always the educated consensus.

I'm very rarely qualified enough to consider my own opinion.

oreogod

09-07-2005, 05:45 AM

[ QUOTE ]
Cuckoo's Nest is great. For the "important" novels, I'm going with The Plague (Camus).

For my fave, tho, it's Farewell, My Lovely (Chandler).

[/ QUOTE ]

Just getting ready to read the Plague, heard good things about it. Also got Journal of the Plague Year by Defoe

oreogod

09-07-2005, 05:53 AM

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You and my other attacker have oviously not read my entire post/s nor the context in which they appeared, but rather took pieces that offended you or made you angry and responded to them as a stand-alone excerpt.

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Sounds familiar (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e9/Naziswastika.png/100px-Naziswastika.png)

Jack of Arcades

09-07-2005, 06:32 AM

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20th century novels...

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OK, I'll change it to Great Gatsby.

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Uggggggh.

That's not even the greatest novel turned into a movie with Robert Redford.

Anyway I'll agree with thatpfunk and go with Cuckoo's nest.