100 list
Posted by Art on July 22, 1998 at 15:40:04:
In response to there's a great discussion..., written by Kate on July 22, 1998 at 10:06:23
The Times discussion IS very interesting. But I can easily do without Gravity's Rainbow on the list, and I think there's a very good reason it's not included. It's a book only an academic could like: you could easily spend years beavering around puzzling out the different references it contains, and the prose is almost impenetrable. But I must say that Ulysses is inevitable as the top choice. John Updike considers it one of the 10 great literary works of the last 1000 years, along with the plays of Shakespeare and, having read Ulysses several times myself, I can only add my own agreement (for what little THAT may be worth). Ulysses contains the finest verbal texture since Shakespeare, and is really pretty accessible as a book and story, particularly if you ignore the massive superstructure of criticism that has built up around it. Dive in, start reading it, grind through it, and I bet you'll come to enjoy it, Jane.
- Thanks for the encouragement, I'll try Ulysses! (nfm) Jane 17:56:30 7/22/98
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