tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19039943.post2171245478412900125..comments2024-03-28T12:39:47.394-04:00Comments on THE BLOG: THE SLEDGEHAMMER JUSTICE OF MIN MAN SENTENCESRumpolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08380575650255695462noreply@blogger.comBlogger35125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19039943.post-20715923944841179202013-12-28T13:43:18.788-05:002013-12-28T13:43:18.788-05:00No mention of Saul Bellow's The Adventures of ...No mention of Saul Bellow's The Adventures of Augie March? Bellow's masterpiece must be on the list. Indeed, any list omitting it is amatuer, to say the least.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19039943.post-85148061733106022552013-12-28T13:39:40.832-05:002013-12-28T13:39:40.832-05:00yes of course. My mistake. I was multitasking, but...yes of course. My mistake. I was multitasking, but that is not an excuse. Good catch. Rumpolehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08380575650255695462noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19039943.post-61846048010762579602013-12-28T12:27:56.496-05:002013-12-28T12:27:56.496-05:00Rumpole, Naked and the Dead us by Normal Mailer no...Rumpole, Naked and the Dead us by Normal Mailer not Henry Miller.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19039943.post-16205535055317496732013-12-28T10:36:11.100-05:002013-12-28T10:36:11.100-05:00I second the nomination for "To Kill a Mockin...I second the nomination for "To Kill a Mockingbird."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19039943.post-50010630343653488192013-12-28T10:11:26.926-05:002013-12-28T10:11:26.926-05:00I'm very much looking forward to your list and...I'm very much looking forward to your list and continuing the discussion. Please consider, if you've read it, Portrait of a Lady for top 10 (I like Golden Bowl even better, most people don't). Thanks for keeping an open mind.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19039943.post-1708956947739602222013-12-28T08:55:14.503-05:002013-12-28T08:55:14.503-05:00You are correct in everything you write. So I ask ...You are correct in everything you write. So I ask this- watch my top ten list and then tell me which Novel House of Mirth should supplant? I think I would put House of Mirth in the 25-35 range of 100 greatest American Novels (I have give this some additional thought since last night). But I cannot see it breaking the top ten. Watch and then we shall discuss.Rumpolehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08380575650255695462noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19039943.post-66102184663652282432013-12-28T05:06:51.574-05:002013-12-28T05:06:51.574-05:00I take your distinction between great novels and t...I take your distinction between great novels and those that change your life. I agree that the Smedley and Arnow books aren't great in your definition; they are merely books that changed my life. I believe House of Mirth is great for the purpose of the first category. Lily Bart's tragic fall doesn't occur against the back-drop of war or whaling; it occurs against the back-drop available to her and to Wharton. It is a characteristically American novel about a woman of youth, strength, beauty and intelligence brought to ruin by her own weaknesses and the rigidities of a patriarchal class system. The language is beautiful, I learn something new every time I read it, Lily's tragic trajectory never fails to engage and horrify me.<br /><br />Clearly what troubles me is that your list may include no works by women. I don't believe this is because women didn't write great novels. I think it's because those who define the canon tend to be men.<br /><br />Most people find greatness, in your first meaning, in novels with heroes they identify with, handling conflict of a kind that engages them. That is as true of women as it is of men. It doesn't really matter who writes the book; for example, I believe Henry James' Portrait of a Lady is a great book, for a great many reasons, among them that I can identify with Isabel Archer and her pursuit of an authentic and autonomous life, the mistakes she made in the pursuit, the horror at discovering her mistakes.<br /><br />Rumpole, if you have a daughter, you will want her to find greatness in art forms that represent and inspire her. You will want her to define the canon.<br /><br />The Dollmaker is about a woman of real greatness, a tall strong artist (an Appalachian wood sculptor) who ran the family farm, but lost her art and ability to care for her kids when (due to social convention) she followed her husband to the Detroit factory slums during WWII. This is not a book about her husband's valiant contribution to the war effort. It's a book about a true heroine's tragic choice with universal implications.<br /><br />Deciding what is a great novel isn't like deciding who is a great ballplayer. The latter is based largely on statistics or other reasonably objective criteria. The former is, to a large degree, subjective. <br /><br />I'm a woman blog reader. I'd like to see my subjectivity represented in your list.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19039943.post-62210728145335701332013-12-27T22:23:00.695-05:002013-12-27T22:23:00.695-05:00John Irving - Widow for one year is his all time b...John Irving - Widow for one year is his all time best. A fantastic American Novel. Simply perfect. Is in my top ten personally, but I cannot justify putting it in my all time top ten. Rumpolehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08380575650255695462noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19039943.post-50219483821777473732013-12-27T22:19:47.956-05:002013-12-27T22:19:47.956-05:00That should read Daughter of EARTH. That should read Daughter of EARTH. Rumpolehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08380575650255695462noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19039943.post-76138901986324107012013-12-27T22:18:52.560-05:002013-12-27T22:18:52.560-05:00Of course. I am exceptionally well read. Indeed, I...Of course. I am exceptionally well read. Indeed, I am the most well read individual you will ever have the honour of corresponding with. There is a difference between a great novel and a novel that is one of the greatest of all time. There are many great novels, indeed great books. I am a fervent believer that the great books that change your life choose you as much as you choose them. And I will tell you that the greatest books that have changed my life are (mostly) not among the top ten greatest American Novels that I have selected. So while I respect your choices and honor them if they are your favourite novels. <br />House of Mirth- Lily Bart (?)- the choices she makes. Wonderful novel. Wharton's best. Daughter of Mirth - I've only read once, a long time ago. I recall it was autobiographical in nature for the author. An American Indian woman's youth and coming of age, no? <br />The Dollmaker- Kentucky or Appalachia, WWII era story of a woman and her family. Three novels with women heroines. Three very good, ,very different novels. None of them top ten of all time. <br />Do they compare to Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison, or SLaughterhouse Five by Vonnegurt or Pale Fire by Nabakov or the Naked and the Dead by Henry Miller? No, not in my opinion. Well maybe House of Mirth compares. <br /><br />Anyway, that's one blogger's opinion. Rumpolehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08380575650255695462noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19039943.post-83103762232130943182013-12-27T22:06:51.695-05:002013-12-27T22:06:51.695-05:00Early John Irving: A Prayer for Owen Meany, the Wo...Early John Irving: A Prayer for Owen Meany, the World According to Garp and Cider House Rules. Loyal Judicial Readernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19039943.post-35996187737851811262013-12-27T22:00:26.899-05:002013-12-27T22:00:26.899-05:00have you read them?have you read them?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19039943.post-81779803328424776662013-12-27T19:52:01.216-05:002013-12-27T19:52:01.216-05:00I am sorry. NONE of those have a snowball's ch...I am sorry. NONE of those have a snowball's chance in hell of making a top ten list of greatest American Novels. Rumpolehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08380575650255695462noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19039943.post-70923524406094794852013-12-27T19:21:55.078-05:002013-12-27T19:21:55.078-05:00Edith Wharton, House of Mirth; Agnes Smedley, Daug...Edith Wharton, House of Mirth; Agnes Smedley, Daughter of Earth; Harriet Arnow, The DollmakerAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19039943.post-17776506749998339802013-12-27T17:43:32.327-05:002013-12-27T17:43:32.327-05:00Huck FinnHuck FinnAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19039943.post-8658516909062900132013-12-27T17:10:57.659-05:002013-12-27T17:10:57.659-05:00No Bonfire Of The Vanities? ShameNo Bonfire Of The Vanities? ShameAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19039943.post-6451652493470434462013-12-27T15:18:57.247-05:002013-12-27T15:18:57.247-05:00Hemingway unreadable? Moby Dick unreadable?
I don...Hemingway unreadable? Moby Dick unreadable?<br /><br />I don't know where to start.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19039943.post-62163196805169546302013-12-27T14:54:54.088-05:002013-12-27T14:54:54.088-05:00Great American books and easy to get through: The...Great American books and easy to get through: The Great Gatsby, The Pearl, The Old Man and the Sea, and The Red Badge of Courage. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19039943.post-10621373799292236132013-12-27T14:10:53.965-05:002013-12-27T14:10:53.965-05:00Catch-22, Moby Dick, and The Sun Also Rises are th...Catch-22, Moby Dick, and The Sun Also Rises are three of my absolute favorites! If you're stuck, try them as "books on tape" at least for a first go through. Moby Dick in particular has a fantastic narration done by Frank Mueller. And for God's sake Vonnegut needs make the list. Slaughterhouse-5 of course is eponymous but Cat's Cradle was even better. I could go on all day...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19039943.post-81121587500929132772013-12-27T12:39:20.163-05:002013-12-27T12:39:20.163-05:00Rumpole: I think this video presentation by Hank C...Rumpole: I think this video presentation by Hank Coxe on prison terms for juveniles to be a "must watch" and forward it on.<br /><br /><br />http://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=5bHQ0l5QldQ&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3D5bHQ0l5QldQ%26feature%3Dyoutu.be<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19039943.post-62505603663763954192013-12-27T12:31:46.162-05:002013-12-27T12:31:46.162-05:00To Kill a Mockingbird has tobe on the listTo Kill a Mockingbird has tobe on the listDSnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19039943.post-71603185317133142092013-12-27T12:20:43.354-05:002013-12-27T12:20:43.354-05:00Believing I know something about your tastes from ...Believing I know something about your tastes from reading the blog, I'm betting the Updike Rabbit novels will have a prominent place in your list. I personally think that On the Road, admittedly not the most well-written American novel, has to be high on the list as capturing the American need to set off for a new place, reinvent ourselves, be always in motion, always looking for the next thing.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19039943.post-53323795937385253912013-12-27T12:16:40.630-05:002013-12-27T12:16:40.630-05:00All four of the rabbit books by Updike must be on ...All four of the rabbit books by Updike must be on listAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19039943.post-56769605425734633992013-12-27T12:10:38.911-05:002013-12-27T12:10:38.911-05:00Another GAM I cannot make it though and thus will ...Another GAM I cannot make it though and thus will not be on my list: Moby Dick. Unreadable. Don't even try to argue with me on this. Rumpolehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08380575650255695462noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19039943.post-617134556742432592013-12-27T12:09:09.951-05:002013-12-27T12:09:09.951-05:00accepting nominations. Catch-22. Iconic. Title ent...accepting nominations. Catch-22. Iconic. Title entered the american lexicon. But a Catch-22: I could never make it through the damn book. <br /><br />Catcher in the Rye secure on the list- but what position in 1-10?Rumpolehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08380575650255695462noreply@blogger.com