Bryan's among them. (Glad to see that Ian Rankin and I agree about The Road. "How can a book be harrowing and pedestrian at the same time?" Good question.)
Lord, that was hilarious -- thanks for the link, Frank. My favorite was the comment about Woolf's "The Waves": 'the novel was all that, and so much less.'
I've hated many supposedly 'great' novels, but the first one that comes to mind is "Women in Love" by D.H. Lawrence. Pretentious, overwritten, just plain BAD! I adored "Sons and Lovers" (read it when I was 17), so p'raps I was just too old at 22 to dig "WiL", but it sure turned me off Lawrence.....
You think that's bad, Susan? Try The Plumed Serpent. Jaw-droppingly awful. Though there is splendid description of peonies after a rain, which shows Lawrence at his incomparable best. His best work is his short stories and his poems, though I hear the plays are also good. Also, his travel books are wonderful. He thought with his pen in his hand and hence is very uneven.
Lord, that was hilarious -- thanks for the link, Frank. My favorite was the comment about Woolf's "The Waves": 'the novel was all that, and so much less.'
ReplyDeleteI've hated many supposedly 'great' novels, but the first one that comes to mind is "Women in Love" by D.H. Lawrence. Pretentious, overwritten, just plain BAD! I adored "Sons and Lovers" (read it when I was 17), so p'raps I was just too old at 22 to dig "WiL", but it sure turned me off Lawrence.....
You think that's bad, Susan? Try The Plumed Serpent. Jaw-droppingly awful. Though there is splendid description of peonies after a rain, which shows Lawrence at his incomparable best. His best work is his short stories and his poems, though I hear the plays are also good. Also, his travel books are wonderful. He thought with his pen in his hand and hence is very uneven.
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