/lit/ - Literature

>>22126920

>>21541859
The Silmarillion is wonderful! It's like reading a history epic only better because it's the result of one man's unrelenting autism. It is peak fantasy and the highest tier of worldbuilding ever achieved. What I love the most about it is that you can zoom in on specific chapters and get even more detail out of them, like children of Hurin and fall of Gondolin, which I'm planning on reading soon.
Till We Have Faces is my favorite book of all time. I've only read 50 books so far, but I seriously doubt any book will even come close to matching it ever again. The characters, the story, the themes, I love them all. There are pleanty of books that you can read that don't have a single beautiful line in them. In TWHF, you can't go a chapter without finding a line like that; what's more is that there is so much weight behind all of the lines. It's hard for me to actually talk about the book because I have so many thoughts on it that it's hard to keep track. Since I read it, I'm not sure there's been a single week that's gone by since I haven't thought about it. Donna Tartt said
>It is is better to know one book intimately than a hundred superficially.
I agree, and for me, it's Till We Have Faces

>>21307608
>damn bitch you really live like this?

This is my favorite book

>>20288795
I haven't read it yet, fren. Joyce, like James, is pretty far down the list of authors I'm working through. My shitpost about James is based soley off what I've heard other anons say. It seems to me that many, many people dislike him. I've only read a few passages from him, and from those few, I found him delightful. The prose is longwinded and overly verbose, but it still felt elegant and comfy to read. What I'm seeing is that people say it's bad for the same reasons people say it's good, that makes be believe that either everyone that says it's bad got filtered or everyone that says it's good is an idiot. I don't know which is true, but I'm more inclined to believe that James is a "Great" because the few things I've read were enjoyable.
What I personally think makes something great is the weight of the beauty of the words. What they convey as as important as the way its being said. Prose that is elegant or wonderful and also has a huge amount of meaning they hold up is great. Moby Dick is great because all the beautiful passages carry this lovesong for whales, whaling, nautical lore, etc. To the point that it makes me question if Melville was autistic about whales. And that's friggen great. Ulysses is great (haven't read it yet) because of that single "Yes" passage, which I came across and is one of the best lines I've ever seen. LotR is great becauae behind all of the comfy words about the journey and the world, it's a story about heroism, brotherhood, honor, friendship, and love. Till We Have Faces (my favorite book(I also think it's the greateat ever)pic related(I use every opportunity I have to shill this book because it's the best)))) is great because there are countless beautiful lines, but every single one of them carries this tragic undertone about love and loss, because that's what the plot and themes are about, aswell as having many, many layers you can pick apart that have to do with faith and the progression of religion and the author (C.S.Lewis') personal theology and philosophy.
It seems to me that Henry James is great because he writes about the human experience in a way that makes the banal seem grand.

I could be wrong, fren, but knowing me, I'm probably not
>Verification not required.

>>20151716
The set I bought was called "the Complete BotNS". It seems to me like it's a direct sequel and I'm planning on starting urth immediately after I'm done with Citadel in a few weeks. I've never been advised to do otherwise

>>20151707
Many people, himself(and myself) including, consider it to be his magnum opus. I won't spoil what it's about since you already committed to reading it, but I'll give a quick word about it incase other anons want to pick it up. It does sort of fit in line with this general, mythology is basically the original fantasy, if you look at it that way. Don't read the next paragraph if you want to go in completely blind

Till We Have Faces is a retelling of the greek myth of cupid and psyche. When Lewis read the myth, he was annoyed about some of the characters behaving irrationally and with simple(boring) motivations. His work retells the story from the perspective of psyche's sister- and it's told in a northern barbarian kingdom instead of greece. The narrative, the themes, and the characters (and their motivations) all are very complex. Lewis has a deep understanding of religion, not only his own, but greek mythology and philosophy aswell. All of this blends together to create a very compelling theme and tone. What I love the most about it, tho, is the language. There are many books you can read from start to finish without encountering a single beautiful line. This book cannot go a chapter without a line or passage that is drenched in beauty. There are so many of these lines I recall on a daily basis, not only because they're beautifully written, but because they all have so much weight behind them. I've not read all that much in my life, only like 50 books so far, but Till We Have Faces is the greatest one I've encountered yet. Other works are going to have to fight tooth and nail to take that mantle away from it. Actual 10/10 in my eyes. Kino in literary form

>>20036604
Is this henry james? Fucking kek

>>20036626
That's pretty neat, what's it from?

One of my favorites portions (there are dozens of lines in this book tho)
>The years, doubtless, went round then as now, but in my memory it seems to have been all springs and summers. I think the almonds and the cherries blossomed earlier in those years and the blossoms lasted longer; how they hung on in such winds I don’t know, for I see the boughs always rocking and dancing against blue-and-white skies, and their shadows flowing water-like over all the hills and valleys of Psyche’s body. I wanted to be a wife so that I could have been her real mother. I wanted to be a boy so that she could be in love with me. I wanted her to be my full sister instead of my half sister. I wanted her to be a slave so that I could set her free and make her rich.

>>19804780

Narnia is fine, but this is exquisite