I vote yes, and hold up as examples any of the five great novels by Sinclair Lewis: "Main Street," "Dodsworth," "Babbitt," "Arrowsmith," and "Elmer Gantry." Not badly written, exactly, but a wretchedly awkward style. For that matter, I hold up a couple of older and even more lamely written novels as examples: James Fenimore Cooper's "The Last of the Mohicans" and "The Red Rover." Mark Twain to the contrary notwithstanding.
I vote nay because differentiating between writing and quality in books is tough for me to understand. Few well written books are considered bad would be the argument. William Gass being the prime example.
As Roger notes, some older books look badly written to us 'cause the style was so much different than what is in fashion now. And, yet, there can be much merriment and edification therein. Examples: Most of the work of Daniel Defoe, and that of the other great early novelists in English -- Sterne, Fielding, Richardson -- and most of the early Americans, too -- Susannah Rowson's "Charlotte Temple" is no great work of prose, but it's a brilliant novel about what happened to girls who let themselves be swayed by sweet-talking Revolutionary soldiers.
The novels from two hundred or more years ago that we still consider fine writing today show that they are, in fact, brilliant. I'm referring to Jane Austen's novels.
I vote yes, and hold up as examples any of the five great novels by Sinclair Lewis: "Main Street," "Dodsworth," "Babbitt," "Arrowsmith," and "Elmer Gantry." Not badly written, exactly, but a wretchedly awkward style. For that matter, I hold up a couple of older and even more lamely written novels as examples: James Fenimore Cooper's "The Last of the Mohicans" and "The Red Rover." Mark Twain to the contrary notwithstanding.
ReplyDeleteI vote nay because differentiating between writing and quality in books is tough for me to understand. Few well written books are considered bad would be the argument. William Gass being the prime example.
ReplyDeleteAs Roger notes, some older books look badly written to us 'cause the style was so much different than what is in fashion now. And, yet, there can be much merriment and edification therein. Examples: Most of the work of Daniel Defoe, and that of the other great early novelists in English -- Sterne, Fielding, Richardson -- and most of the early Americans, too -- Susannah Rowson's "Charlotte Temple" is no great work of prose, but it's a brilliant novel about what happened to girls who let themselves be swayed by sweet-talking Revolutionary soldiers.
ReplyDeleteThe novels from two hundred or more years ago that we still consider fine writing today show that they are, in fact, brilliant. I'm referring to Jane Austen's novels.