Friday, June 13, 2008

In praise of ...

... John P. Marquand. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

In terms of his ability to portray fictionally how real people actually live and feel, Marquand at least approaches greatness.

3 comments:

  1. My God, that I should live to see this, praise of Marquand in the public prints (or pixels). He is my favorite novelist. I know, I know -- there are all those "greats" who are greater, and I admit it. I can even see sometimes why they are greater. But Marquand was (and is), like Maugham, good if not great. Very good. There is almost no time that I am not re-reading one of his novels, and even now, on a trip visiting my daughter's family, I am re-reading "B.F.'s Daughter." His best is supposed to be the Pulitzer-winning "The Late George Apley," but my heart belongs to "Wickford Point," which I have read, I believe, six times.

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  2. Anonymous4:21 PM

    Actually, funnily enough, I also just turned in a lengthy piece on John P. Marquand. He's truly an underrated writer denied his rightful glory by the snobs who couldn't wrap their head around the man (a) writing for a popular audience or (b) sitting on the Book-of-the-Month Club board.

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