... the cynical and self-regarding cast of main characters may represent a realistic depiction of modern American middle-class life (how sad if so) ...
This depiction has become one of the cliches of contemporary American fiction, a sour counterpart to the sentimentality of Victorian fiction. I remember having Sunday dinner at the home of Steve and Thayla Walden outside Elko, NV. It was a development, only with the best front-yard view I've ever seen: a spectacular view of the Ruby Range (see below). Steve worked for a gold mine, and he told me about the various things he and Thayla did together, and I mentioned to him that much American fiction these days had to do how empty the lives of those living in the American suburbs were. Steve's response? "Guess I'm too busy having a good time to notice how empty my life is."
I agree with your friend Steve. (And I love Elko, it's one of the most interesting places in NV. Last time I was there I had a long conversation in the parking lot with, believe it or not, a couple who had moved to Elko from my own town in WI; we knew some folks in common, even.)
ReplyDeleteThis cliche of cynical and narcissistic main characters is one of the reasons I don't find much mainstream American lit fiction very interesting anymore. It's also why I think Philip Roth is one of our currently most overrated novelists. Which I know is heresy in some corners, but oh well.
We are fellow heretics, Art.
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