tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6656468.post111701856474668804..comments2024-03-28T13:18:28.238+00:00Comments on Grumpy Old Bookman: There are no Great NovelsMichael Allenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11338398159818400930noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6656468.post-1167425636994339882006-12-29T20:53:00.000+00:002006-12-29T20:53:00.000+00:00The semi-gratuitous citing of Heisenberg's Uncerta...The semi-gratuitous citing of Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle is one of the more unfortunate (though waning in popularity) tendencies of the day, and is almost always the sign, unless it is invoked by a particle physicist in a discussion of particle physics, of a poorly-argued positioned being bolstered by name-dropping undigested arcana (Chaos Theory, anyone?). When everyone can read well enough (or even wants to) to get what's weak in even the strongest novel and interesting in the cheapest dross, the overall argument will be relevant. As it is, it's merely an excuse for lazy readers to champion the latest Nick Hornby while dismissing the lifelong work of a real artist like DeLillo. How can a sytem of comparison be properly discussed or worked out when most people treat books as time-killing, sub-television-type distractions? The irony being that even many of those with a passionate opinion on the matter can't read well enough to get much out of a finer treatment of the issue.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6656468.post-1117134124258830952005-05-26T20:02:00.000+01:002005-05-26T20:02:00.000+01:00It all boils down to what Piaget pointed out with ...It all boils down to what Piaget pointed out with six week old infants - preference.<BR/><BR/>I've had Salman Rushdie's Satanic Verses on the shelf for some fifteen years now and I can't get beyond page five. This is not due to it being 'crap' (even though that first time 15 years ago I did think that) it's because I'm not in the right frame of mind to read it and I find that this can occur. There are many times I get all excited with new books I've borrowed from my local library only to open them up and think 'okay'. Milan Kundera is another author I have tried to befriend but, to me, reading him is like having a root canal. This can be due English translation, I don't know, but I got far with him.<BR/><BR/><BR/>Sometimes I'll be asked if I've read a particular author's work and I'll feel like an imbecile when I say I haven't. On many occasions I've come across people who simply like to list names, they're like celebrity name droppers at parties.<BR/><BR/>I can't say I'm into romance fiction (Harlequin Mills & Boon stuff)and even though many think these medium is 'piss easy' to write, it's not. It's better, in my mind, for people to read than not to read and if they happen to prefer romance (for argument's sake) then this serves a purpose as well.Dee Jourhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03292268023897537647noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6656468.post-1117120980475092732005-05-26T16:23:00.000+01:002005-05-26T16:23:00.000+01:00A novel exists as a physical object, a book. But t...<I>A novel exists as a physical object, a book. But the emotion which a novel creates is not of a fixed quantity or quality.</I><BR/><BR/>Not according to Immanuel Kant's <I>Critique of Judgement</I>. Kant claims that although the notion of beauty is subjective, there is beauty that is <B>universally subjective</B>, meaning that there are certain works of art (including written art) that we are able to claim are beautiful to Everyman. In these cases, we can say rightfully that others <I>should</I> enjoy the beauty, too; and if they don't, it's their taste that needs tuning. <BR/><BR/>Fortunately, Kant doesn't start picking out examples.Simon Roy Hugheshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04599339564391142171noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6656468.post-1117117087801893172005-05-26T15:18:00.000+01:002005-05-26T15:18:00.000+01:00Nobody knows the answer to this stuff. I have been...Nobody knows the answer to this stuff. I have been assured by all that Richard Wagner wrote great operas, for instance; but despite a through professional training and years as a performing musician, I find the <I>Ring</I> unlistenable. I find most other operas tedious, too, except for Mozart's. Same with books. If <I>Finnegan's Wake</I> is so great, why can't I read it? Why is Mark Twain easy to read and Thackeray a screaming bore? Why does one perfectly nice-looking redhead put me to sleep and another send me into helpless convulsions of priapic delirium? The whole discussion has never impressed me as productive. In the end, I am with the amateurs. I don't know much, but I know what I like.archerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07585829829302449682noreply@blogger.com