The other evening my wife and I were chatting with our pastor. The topic of conversation turned to novels and he explained that although she has no sympathetic characters and no happy endings, Flannery O'Connor is his favorite novelist. I have never read any of her works, but I had long intended to. She may have a genius for writing, but without sympathetic characters or happy endings, count me out!
This set me off on a small crisis: Do I have a favorite novel? Do I even like novels at all? As I wracked my brain, I thought of great novels that I never managed to finish (
A Tale of Two Cities,
The Count of Monte Cristo,
Kristin Lavransdatter,
The Brothers Karamazov), novels I finished but wished I hadn't (
Great Expectations,
The Grapes of Wrath, As I Lay Dying), children's novels (
The Chronicles of Narnia,
The Chronicles of Prydain,
The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle), biographies (
Guerilla,
Pitt the Younger), novels I like for some part, most often the ending (
The Scarlet Letter,
Brighton Rock), and novels that were pretty good but perhaps not great (
Many Dimensions,
Dune). But adult novels that are hands-down, unambiguously, sit-up-and-pay-attention, great works? Do I really have any favorites, or am I a literary ignoramus?
Have no fear: my doubts were assuaged and - as my poor wife was trying to go to sleep - I assembled a list of some favorite novels:
C. S. Lewis, The Space Trilogy. Although Lewis considered this a sci-fi series, it is really more fantasy simply set in space. But the result is still excellent. Weaving together Christian theology, Roman mythology, and Arthurian legend, Lewis crafts a story which contains several particularly stunning scenes and brings the
medieval world-view to the modern age.
Walter Miller, A Canticle for Leibowitz. This novel, set in post-apocalyptic America, tells the story of an order of monks which seeks holiness and truth while trying to re-build civilization. The novel addresses questions of faith and science, Church and state, and the dignity of human life, all in a way that hangs together and is moving without being cheesy.
Steven Pressfield, Gates of Fire. I read an advanced reading copy of
Gates of Fire many years ago and re-read it a couple times thereafter. Pressfield's novel of the Battle of Thermopylae is not for everyone - the very first word of the novel is not one for polite company - but he has drunk deeply of both ancient Greek literature and the memoirs of modern soldiers, creating an account of ancient warfare which is convincing on both counts, while also asking big questions about human nature.
Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice. Jane Austen produces vivid and hilarious characters; her writing, though about a society more formal than our own, is deeply witty. But her greatest genius is for understated insights into character and virtue. Her prose flows along in such an enjoyable and almost obvious way that one might miss the keen observations of human nature, observations which might have been termed "common sense" in another age, but are largely lost on our own.
7 comments:
I'm shocked that you didn't already know you your favorites!
If you read Flannery's letters first, her fiction is illuminated!
The Space Trilogy is also one of my favorites! Wonderful choice. Austen's Persuasion is another of my top picks, but Pride and Prejudice has always frustrated me for some reason. I'll have to look into A Canticle for Leibowitz: sounds intriguing! Neat post, Aaron. Thanks for sharing.
PS - A Tale of Two Cities = worth finishing. :)
Kristen L. is also worth finishing -- it makes my top five --- though I would venture to say that it may be more popular with and more instructve for women. Anna Karenina and The Idiot also make the list!
By the way, Tolkien doesn't feature on anywhere on the scale?
I read Kristin Lavransdatter not that long ago, and I noticed at my local library that the first volume of the trilogy was much more worn than the other two volumes. So, you're obviously not alone, Aaron, in failing to finish it.
As for Flannery O'Connor, I just don't get her fiction. A few years ago, I read some of her essays and letters, which were very good. But, when it came to her short stories--I never got to the novels--I just couldn't get past their bizarrerie. In fact, a month or two ago, a friend and I had a brief discussion with my old high school English teacher, which consisted of him telling us that Flanner O'Connor's stories were like parables and our instant and simultaneous reply "But, they're messed-up parables!"
Caitlin, good question about Tolkien. I guess there are two answers: (1) This list of favorites is not in order and is not exhaustive. Tolkien might be added. (2) That having been said, I'm not sure LotR quite makes the cut. I know, I know, stone me... But I think I'm more fascinated by the creation of Middle Earth and its history, culture, geography, etc. than I am by the story itself. The story is good, but great? I'll have to think that over some more.
On a side note, my wife suggested that I simply do not like novels. She argued that the sine qua non of the genre is the 19th or 20th century (largely) domestic novel set in contemporary times. She contends I only like sci fi or historical novels, which are only sub-genre which both indulge in a kind of exotica which is foreign to the novel proper. Pride & Prejudice might fall in the essential category, though it has become something of a foreign curiosity with the passage of time. Notice too that many of the rejected - Tale of Two Cities, Count of MC, Kristin L, Brothers K, Great Expectations, Grapes of Wrath, As I Lay Dying - fall into this traditional category. So perhaps she's right. Then again, I'd argue that two runners up - Scarlet Letter and Brighton Rock - also fall into the classic definition, so perhaps my taste is inclusive after all.
I only mention Tolkien because sometimes I think that his work has become so popularized that it is easy for me to forget what great books they actually are.
By the way, I am with you on the Grapes of Wrath. However, East of Eden - another of Steinbeck's novels - does make my top five. Odd since I can't really stomach anything else he has written.
Aaron, you've inspired me to do some analysis regarding my own favorite novels. I have similar seeming paradoxes: Anna Karenina is in my top 5, but War and Peace is not at all. Brothers K (just now finishing) and Crime and Punishment are wonderful, but I didn't enjoy The Idiot. I thoroughly despise Faulkner but Tom Clancy is my guilty pleasure. Can I count Sir Arthur Conan Doyle?
Thoughtful post as always!
Post a Comment