tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8056815460076050228.post1770064822610140244..comments2023-11-22T06:35:25.251-05:00Comments on POE'S DEADLY DAUGHTERS: Durable Literature: The Great American NovelJulia Buckleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10270211923343731659noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8056815460076050228.post-49524631612050249602012-07-25T04:33:57.943-04:002012-07-25T04:33:57.943-04:00These are all awesome novels. I never read some, b...These are all awesome novels. I never read some, but I heard so much about these novels. Huckleberry Finn is my favorite since I already read it and I also do recommend it to anyone especially those who loves adventure.<br /><br /><br />Nieva<br />To visit my website, kindly <a href="http://www.refrigerateurencastrable.com" title="réfrigérateur congélateur" rel="nofollow">click here</a>.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8056815460076050228.post-72030933909746724242012-04-22T22:51:06.964-04:002012-04-22T22:51:06.964-04:00I read Little Women for the 300th time last night ...I read Little Women for the 300th time last night and for the 300th time, I cried when Beth died. Also, I still want to be a writer like Jo. Thank you for that spot-on review.<br /><br /><br />On a side note: I didn't care for "The Help."♥ Debra Lynn ♥https://www.blogger.com/profile/05419497283214499125noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8056815460076050228.post-59767541697232030032012-04-20T16:05:27.538-04:002012-04-20T16:05:27.538-04:00Elizabeth Zelvin wrote: "My point about futur...Elizabeth Zelvin wrote: "My point about future "great" novels is that I'm not sure novels in the age of e-readers and six-week shelf life for books in bookstores will be able to survive long enough to build a reputation over time."<br /><br />The six-week shelf life is a problem, but Amazon has more patience overall with its print books, and since e-books do not take up JJMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13404985455733545060noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8056815460076050228.post-87375429393563669832012-04-20T12:57:30.547-04:002012-04-20T12:57:30.547-04:00My apologies. GMN should have been GAN, Great Ame...My apologies. GMN should have been GAN, <b>G</b>reat <b>A</b>merican <b>N</b>ovel. Should have proof-read more carefully.JJMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13404985455733545060noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8056815460076050228.post-47736494338186551522012-04-20T12:56:06.374-04:002012-04-20T12:56:06.374-04:00"Moby Dick isn't solely set in America. I..."Moby Dick isn't solely set in America. I think that's an unnecessary stricture." I agree with you, Lev, that the stricture is unnecessary, but one could still argue that the Pequod is a small, sea-faring part of America. Once she sets sail, there is no further contact with land, and only a fleeting contact with another ship.<br /><br />I also wonder if the stricture about JJMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13404985455733545060noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8056815460076050228.post-78424205409334962522012-04-19T20:54:57.235-04:002012-04-19T20:54:57.235-04:00Lev, I loved Portrait of a Lady when I read it in ...Lev, I loved Portrait of a Lady when I read it in college--I had a quotation on my bulletin board about Isabel Archer having an unquenchable desire to think well of herself (near the beginning)--but I confess it wasn't until I saw the movie many years later that I realized that it's a story about spouse abuse.Elizabeth Zelvinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13944424094949207841noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8056815460076050228.post-80279974044176433742012-04-19T19:21:31.615-04:002012-04-19T19:21:31.615-04:00Yes, sorry--Cather wrote Antonia. Weird brain thin...Yes, sorry--Cather wrote Antonia. Weird brain thing happening there.<br /><br />But that's a great American book too. :)<br /><br />I only ever taught MOBY DICK in a condensed form in a textbook, so I can't claim to have taught the whole giant novel--but what I read, I loved. Such a beautiful study of obsession, of man versus nature, of basic conflict. And a powerful use of symbolism. Julia Buckleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10270211923343731659noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8056815460076050228.post-81991777158235419182012-04-19T19:05:55.500-04:002012-04-19T19:05:55.500-04:00I agree with all of the above choices. Edna Ferber...I agree with all of the above choices. Edna Ferber wrote some important books, also, including <i>Show Boat</i>, which was made into a musical.Alan Cookhttp://alancook.50megs.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8056815460076050228.post-89771646802945005502012-04-19T18:08:05.353-04:002012-04-19T18:08:05.353-04:00Moby Dick isn't solely set in America. I thin...Moby Dick isn't solely set in America. I think that's an unnecessary stricture. Novels by Americans abotu Americanness should count. I nominate The Portrait of a Lady by James, the all-time classic about the conflict between the New World and Europe. Ditto James Baldwin's Another Country.Lev Raphaelhttp://www.levraphael.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8056815460076050228.post-34448484667137982472012-04-19T17:51:01.377-04:002012-04-19T17:51:01.377-04:00I'm so happy what I wrote has sparked discussi...I'm so happy what I wrote has sparked discussion. My point about future "great" novels is that I'm not sure novels in the age of e-readers and six-week shelf life for books in bookstores will be able to survive long enough to build a reputation over time.Elizabeth Zelvinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13944424094949207841noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8056815460076050228.post-32445457431707026662012-04-19T16:09:40.259-04:002012-04-19T16:09:40.259-04:00Nice commentary on these novels, and I agree with ...Nice commentary on these novels, and I agree with your nominations. I also agree with Diane: great novels are identified only later, not within their own generation. Certainly it took a long time for <i>Moby Dick</i>, my one favourite novel of all the ones I "had" to read in high school. Back then, I read it simply as an adventure tale and fascinating a reflection of a way of life JJMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13404985455733545060noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8056815460076050228.post-421458004114032992012-04-19T15:02:55.270-04:002012-04-19T15:02:55.270-04:00Julia, er, isn't My Antonia by Willa Cather? I...Julia, er, isn't My Antonia by Willa Cather? I wonder how many people outside English classes read either wharton or Cather or even Steinbeck nowadays. I'd put Edna Ferber's Giant in that category too--but I'm not sure I ever read the book. The movie, with James Dean and Elizabeth Taylor, was memorable, but that's another story.Elizabeth Zelvinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13944424094949207841noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8056815460076050228.post-55201061180600944432012-04-19T11:43:07.227-04:002012-04-19T11:43:07.227-04:00Of course there will be more Great American novels...Of course there will be more Great American novels. Not one of the books you or the other posters mentioned were written at the same time period. I'm sure when they were first published that - while readers enjoyed them - they weren't labeled 'great American novels'. That comes with time.Dianehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14500345360900905162noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8056815460076050228.post-11000334298640355772012-04-19T11:10:47.454-04:002012-04-19T11:10:47.454-04:00Yes, a lovely list. I suppose if we judge a novel&...Yes, a lovely list. I suppose if we judge a novel's greatness by how often we think about it and its themes, then I would also add Gatsby (which I've taught so often that I can quote large chunks of it by heart) and also The Scarlet Letter. No one really loves that Puritan setting, but the beautiful things that Hawthorne says about love and forgiveness are never far from my mind.<br /><brJulia Buckleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10270211923343731659noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8056815460076050228.post-31943301112243534732012-04-19T08:56:17.607-04:002012-04-19T08:56:17.607-04:00I enjoyed your comments about each of these novels...I enjoyed your comments about each of these novels. When I was teaching high school English, my students knew that my most hated novel was Moby Dick. Besides its ponderous prose, its value was ruined for me by college professors asking truly inane questions about it on essay tests. I'm surprised The Great Gatsby didn't make your list: nine beautifully condensed chapters about what has Susanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14080938779828043023noreply@blogger.com