Well, it's Columbus Day, and some of us intrepid bloggers are still working. While we wait for that first cup of coffee to kick in, let's review the best comments I received on classic novels we can't stand. By popular vote, Steinbeck is the author with the most works no one wanted to read. Anyway, here are the highlights of our fun-filled foray into negativity:
I absolutely *HATE* John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath. A whole chapter dedicated to a turtle crossing the road! Kill me!
[On Madame Bovary] This sister bored me with her constant mental complaints about the countryside, her life of comfort, her boredom.
[On Moby Dick] I'd like to slap Raymond Weaver for instigating the Melville Revival.
I have listened to Jane Austen and seen a movie or two. I keep waiting for something to happen. It never does.
Thomas Hardy's Jude the Obscure. I HATE SUE!
here's another vote for Portrait of the Artist of a Young Man. More like Portrait of How to Make Me Fall Asleep Instantly. Plus he has lice? em, ew.
I threw "Of Mice and Men" across the room.
Ulysses by James Joyce. To quote Coleridge (Biographia Literaria), "reads with the grace of a ship afloat on a warm, moist sea of glue."
[On The Killer Angels] It reads like a list of names and dates and as for taking place during a war, the most exciting moments are when General Lee has indigestion!
And my absolute favorite: Ethan Frome. Sorry - suicide by toboggan is just lame.
What do you think? Did we miss any? Are there any of these classics you'd like to defend? Make your stance in the comments.
No Catcher in the Rye on this list? How odd.
Posted by: Joseph J. Finn | October 12, 2009 at 10:23 AM
How about ATLAS SHRUGGED, the favorite novel of illiterate, solipsistic fascists everywhere?
Posted by: Sean | October 12, 2009 at 02:30 PM
I think I mentioned Catcher in the Rye in the original. TERRIBLE!!!
Posted by: Alison | October 13, 2009 at 12:52 PM
I must admit, I really liked Of Mice and Men. It's a simple story, but it sets a great scene and says a lot about friendship. And, shockingly, when I taught the book, a good 20% of my students liked it, too. (That's a large percentage, believe me.)
Posted by: Lauren | October 14, 2009 at 09:48 PM
I’m just trying to clarify slot size calculations and how to roll it up to figuring out the number of requires servers in an HA cluster.
Posted by: cheap jerseys | June 25, 2011 at 04:53 AM
Nike i Beijing Sanlitun C5 Art Park lansert den nye Nike Free Run + NIKE GRATIS 4.0 og joggesko. NIKE GRATIS teknologi ved å gjenopprette den naturlige bevegelsen av foten, analog barbent trening, for å styrke foten fasthet, fleksibilitet og balanse, musklene blir mer robust.
Posted by: Nike Free Run Sko | September 11, 2012 at 03:00 AM