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/lit/ - Literature

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1246111 No.1246111 [Reply] [Original]

Favourite novel written within the past 20 years?
And let's try not to turn this into a contemporary literature is fucking awful thread, okay folks?

>> No.1246113

2666


Also DEM FUCKING LEGS

>> No.1246115

The Book Thief. YA, but I don't give a fuck.

>> No.1246116

Might be like 22 years or something, but Bonfire of the Vanities.

>> No.1246129

>>1246113
You like that? I think she's too thin.

It never occurred to me until now that most of what I've read was written between 1940 and 1980, so I'm struggling here...

I'm gonna say Before They Are Hanged by Joe Abercrombie. Most gripping thing I've read all year.

>> No.1246135

God damn, her feet are huge.

>> No.1246136

>>1246129
Not original poster but I love it, she's got the ideal body imho.

And I recently read and really enjoyed Twenty Fragments of a Ravenous Youth

>> No.1246200 [DELETED] 
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1246200

>> No.1246224

The Iron Council, by China Mieville.

Socialist fantasy, fuck yeah.

>> No.1246240

Fuck, it's hard to choose... maybe Kraken by Mieville..?

That was an awesome book.

>> No.1246257

Whatever Cormac McCarthy has written aside from The Road. Pretty much every other author is wal-mart book aisle bullshit.

>> No.1246262

The Book of Dave by Will Self.

>> No.1246315

I know I will get a lot of flaming for this, but for some reason the first thing that came to mind within period is Cloud Street by Tim Winton. More things would come to mind if I thought about it, but that is the first thing within the confines of the last 20 years to come to mind.

>> No.1246321

>>1246315
Sorry, proper name is Cloudstreet, my mistake

>> No.1246323

>>1246224
>>1246240
Fine, I'll get on the bandwagon.

The City and the City, by China Miéville

>> No.1246326

Infinite Jest

(duh?)

>> No.1246339

>>1246326
This.

>> No.1246350
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1246350

>> No.1246359

Girl in OPs pic looks like a people pasghetti.

And contemporary literature is fucking awful.

I like my women and my novels to have a little more meat on their bones.

>> No.1246366

I've decided that OP's definition of 20 years is flexible.. Blood Meridian

>> No.1246369

2666 or The Satanic Verses.

>> No.1246399

My novel.

>> No.1246401

>>1246359

>And contemporary literature is fucking awful.

lemme guess, you're a male, under 25, who's working his way through "the essentials". When you here contemporary lit, all you think is Twilight and DiVinci Code.

>> No.1246409

>>1246401
All the way wrong. You're a dunce.

>> No.1246410

>>1246401

dude, at least try to make sense please

>> No.1246481

>>1246401
>here

>> No.1246502
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1246502

The Tunnel by William H. Gass.

This book was so brilliantly written I couldn't help but read the last half out-loud because of how fucking great it sounded.

>> No.1246545

Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro. Very impressive.

>> No.1246549

>>1246502

lol I wish I could have been a fly on the wall when you were being such a faggot

>> No.1246589
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1246589

I dont know how is the name in english

>> No.1246640

I've propped for Accidental Tourist before (I think it's slightly past the 20 year cutoff, though).

I'm prejudiced partly because there's so much good stuff just now coming out in English -- Hans Fallada, unexpurgated, for instance -- or fresh new translations of old classics that I've been paying a lot less attention to what's being written now.

Again, not to slag on people writing today - I'm just discovering that there's a lot more to get caught up with from previous eras than I ever dreamed.

>> No.1246665

>>1246589

The translation called it "Blindness"
It is indeed a very very good book.

>> No.1246672

Honestly?
Small Gods by Terry Pratchett

>> No.1246707

Kavalier and Clay

kanye shrug

>> No.1246713

Past 20 Years: Watchmen by Alan Moore
Past 50 Years: Dune by Frank Herbert

Also, I don't mind contemporary literature, but I abhor literature that attempts to break all of the rules and does it mediocrely to no purpose (i.e. Faulkner's The Sound and The Fury).

>> No.1246716

>>1246713
OP said books, not cartoons.

>> No.1246719

>>1246111
Da Vinci Code.

>> No.1246721

>>1246713
You list a comic and Dune, then call Faulkner mediocre? Leave /lit/ forever.

>> No.1246725

>>1246721

...and kill yourself on the way out

>> No.1246740

>>1246713

Sci-Fi nerd with no literary taste detected.

>> No.1246753

All of these books suck except for Remains of the Day and everyone on lit is pathetic.

Real suggestions please.

>> No.1246762
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1246762

>>1246753

>claiming to have read every book in this thread

>> No.1246767

Birthday Letters

>> No.1246769

How about every book Paul Auster or William T. Vollmann has ever written?

>> No.1246775

>>1246769
Seconding Auster. I just finished In the Country of Last Things and thought it was wonderful.

>> No.1246776

Cloud Atlas was excellent. His newest book was fantastic also.

>> No.1246781

Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell was the most fun book I've read from the last 20 years. Pretty sad, though.

>> No.1246785

I really like Tao Lin.

>> No.1246790

>>1246785
Get the fuck out, Tao.

>> No.1246798

>>1246790
Hey, no need to be so harsh. Please try to be Lin-ient.

>> No.1246804

Twilight

>> No.1246835

>>1246716
>>1246721
>>1246725
>>1246740

1. Snobbish much?

2. Watchmen and Dune both explore the innermost thoughts of intelligent human beings in a novel way while at the same time dissecting how societies work - a topic that fascinates me. The Sound and The Fury was Faulkner's incoherent attempt to describe an idiot's psyche (which I thought he failed at) along with the psyche of an emotionally disturbed young man (which I thought he did reasonably well). At the end, though it was merely that - no greater significance. One could argue that this was Faulkner's point, that human life has no greater significance. Personally, I find that an uninteresting and foolish philosophy - hence my dislike of that novel in particular. Finally, I believe that Faulkner was a much better writer when he conformed to the 'rules' of literature as he did in "Barn Burning" which I found an interesting character study of a young boy. In The Sound and The Fury, however, he broke the rules, but not successfully imho. I also believe he had a bit of a warped personality and internal biases due to growing up in the South and being an outsider (i.e. wearing a cape around a small town).

3. Frank Herbert is far superior to Faulkner in terms of original thought, social analysis, environmental analysis, writing capability and understanding of the human psyche (both individual and collective) in my opinion - and I hope you would agree at least in part.

4. I am not a science fiction nerd - and I do believe I have legitimate grounds for my argument.

>> No.1246856
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1246856

This one.

>> No.1246859

>>1246835
>>1246713
I like you.

>> No.1246866

>>1246859
>BrianHerbert

>> No.1246869
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1246869

>>1246866

>> No.1246881

>>1246589
I cant agree more

>> No.1246888

>>1246835
>I thought he failed in portraying the mind of an idiot
Based on your two posts in this thread, it's clear that you are the person most qualified to comment on the mindset of an idiot. I defer to you here.

>Herbert wrote more realistic and relatable characters and plots
Yep, because Space Arabs and Space Worms are totally relatable and realistic. Thanks for playing.

>> No.1246904

eh fuck the haters i liked mccarthy's, the road.

>> No.1246905
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1246905

>>1246835
I'd save your energy, bro. There's a reason why people here are e/lit/ists. Any mention of Watchmen and they see red. "herp derp not literature." Actually, it is - just not 'as much' literature as Joyce, for example.

Dune I thought was fairly enjoyable; however, even though in its day it was the sci-fi equivalent of LotR, nowadays it's not really the king any more.

I respect your decisions though, bro. I'm a fan of both Watchmen and Dune.

>> No.1246917

>>1246835

You're using a lot of words, but saying very little. You are young, and don't understand literature. You're argument is 100% invalid. This is not the board for you.

>> No.1246918

>>1246881
But, in my opinion, The Gospel According to Jesus Cristo is better than all of the Saramago. Really Epic.

Only brazilians and portugueses can appreciate Saramago?

>> No.1246919

>>1246918

The Jesus Christ book was my favorite Saramago, albiet I've only read five of his books. I'm from New Jersey.

Nothing worse than people making distinctions based on nationality, whether positive or negative.

>> No.1246924
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1246924

>Frank Herbert is far superior to Faulkner

>> No.1246930

>>1246905
You say "herp derp." You don't belong here. That's why you like Watchmen and think it is literature. That's why you think Dune is somehow literary.

>> No.1246945

>>1246917
You're using fewer words, yet you're saying nothing at all, aside from insults.

I like how the Dunefag actually gives reasons for why he likes Herbert over Faulkner, yet the elitists are just calling him young and stupid.
If you aren't ready to back your opinion with reasoning, I'd say this board is not for you.

>> No.1246946
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1246946

>Frank Herbert
>superior to Faulkner in terms of social analysis

>> No.1246951
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1246951

>>1246945

You're right, I should spend my time arguing with an idiot. How about he just grows up? This is a common trait in dumb kids, they form an "argument" stating bullshit like "explore the innermost thoughts of intelligent human beings in a novel way while at the same time dissecting how societies work" (mind you this is to describe fucking Watchmen) and then expect YOU to counter that. That's too stupid to counter. Go read the last five decades of American literary analysis. You're fucking comparaing William Faulkner to sand worms and blue penis.

>> No.1246953

>>1246945
What do you want us to argue with? He said that "the spice must flow" is somehow better social analysis than anything Faulkner's ever written. Faulkner, a master of family, community, alienation, and people, loses to a guy who wrote a cheesy Space Opera allegory of peak oil?

>> No.1246955

>>1246888
>Based on your two posts in this thread, it's clear that you are the person most qualified to comment on the mindset of an idiot. I defer to you here.
Not really a counter argument, but I see you can use the keyboard.

>Yep, because Space Arabs and Space Worms are totally relatable and realistic. Thanks for playing.
Just because the vehicle to convey character interactions is a little out of this world, doesn't mean the interactions and social insight aren't there. Way to only see the surface. How much do you actually read anyway?

>> No.1246959

>>1246955

This is why /lit/ will always suck: SciFi, fantasy, and comic book kids. Dune is not literature to begin with, it's not even elligible for the discussion.

>> No.1246961

Ad hominems. Ad hominems everywhere.

>> No.1246966
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1246966

>>1246961

Yea, well, look who's talking Mr. Smart-Pants latin speaker.

>> No.1246973

Look man, I enjoy Frank Herbert and am a huge Watchmen fan. As a prospective high school English teacher, I would consider teaching them in class, as a fun reward or bonus assignment or something.

But there's no way Herbert trumps Faulkner, who's possibly the greatest American author to date.

Expand on what you mean by:
>terms of original thought, social analysis, environmental analysis, writing capability and understanding of the human psyche

What are Herbert's shining examples of this?
I think you're baldly wrong on all counts.

>> No.1246981

>>1246930
>>1246959

>Dune
>Not literature

This is elitism at its worst. At least with Watchmen I could understand your argument (despite it being flawed) - but now you're so far up your own ass that you can't even be reasoned with.

>> No.1246985
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1246985

Literature is art
the goal of art is to entertain by way of feeling and emotion
Herbert is far more entertaining than Faulkner
Herbert is far superior to Faulkner

>> No.1246988
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1246988

guise what is literature???

and if anyone suggests a definition which includes things such as what's in the picture I will come and shit on their doorstep

>> No.1246993

>>1246985
>the goal of art is to entertain

>> No.1246995

>>1246988

It is shaped by inescapable social ideologies. Our value judgments refer in the end not simply to private taste, but to the assumptions by which certain social groups exercise and maintain power over others.

Now that we've completely politicized this art form, castrating its affective power, let's all ignore Deep&Edgy like the true intellectuals we are.

>> No.1246997

>>1246995
>It is shaped by inescapable social ideologies. Our value judgments refer in the end not simply to private taste, but to the assumptions by which certain social groups exercise and maintain power over others.
Holy shit guys I did not know that literature, along with everything else, is ideological. That is a new one on me. Thank you Terry Eagleton, that was a profound insight into what we deem to be literature.

You do have a beautifully convulted way of saying "literature is ideological" though bro I'll give you that.

>> No.1246998

http://hubpages.com/hub/Top-10-Novels-Ive-Read

>> No.1246999
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1246999

>Herbert is a superior author to Faulkner

>> No.1247003
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1247003

>>1246997
>he can't tell Anonymous seemingly disagrees with aspects of this outlook
>he can't read the second sentence of the post

>he's Deep&Edgy

>> No.1247004

>>1246998
I stumbled at bit when I reached #2. It's out of place, but The Stand was massively entertaining so I let it slide. Then I saw number one and would have spit my beverage at the screen had I been drinking one.

>> No.1247008

>>1247003
>mfw when I read over you post again and I make out that that's what you were doing but you didn't do it very well

>> No.1247012

>>1247008

And anyway, affective power is going to be determined by ideology

>> No.1247017

/lit/ - discussion of books written in the last 20 years becomes a referendum on Faulkner

>> No.1247022

>>1247003
but I do apologise for jumping the gun

>> No.1247026

>Favourite novel written within the past 20 years?
>And let's try not to turn this into a contemporary literature is fucking awful thread, okay folks?

Is it fair to assume that the OP did not want an argument in general? Come on, guys, what the fuck are you trying to accomplish. Post your favorite books and stop being such douchebags.

I don't know what my favorite novel is... it always changes. I don't know how recent it was but I loved The Dispossessed.
Of course, there's also The Road and Paul Austers The Book of Illusions, etc. I think Jurassic Park is too old, but whatever, I loved it. I really am rambling but I have completely incongruous tastes - I like philosophy and dark books, but one of my favorites is The BFG by Roald Dahl. I am not ashamed.

>> No.1247063

I enjoyed Under the Dome
Hope I don't offend anyone with my Walmart bestseller.

>> No.1247080

The Tunnel by William Gass.

>> No.1247325

Delillo's White Noise. A lot of people think it's vapid
but that's exactly the point. He's pointing out the vapidity of consumer culture. Well written, fun to read, recent.

>> No.1247416

The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet by David Mitchell made me want to read

>> No.1247433

Blindness by Saramago.

>> No.1247452

The Corrections

>> No.1247468

Felicia's Journey -- William Trevor

>> No.1247484

>>1247452
Have you read any other Franzen? Is anything else worth reading?

>> No.1247490
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1247490

uh huh

>> No.1247498

the heart is deceitful above all things by jt leroy or a fine balance by rohinton mistry but if you read either don't forget your prozac

>> No.1247499

Freedom is better than The Corrections, imo. Although I found it to be faintly misogynistic

>> No.1247925

I liked The Hours by Michael Cunningham. airport bookstore fodder but still well written.
The Legend of the Ten Elemental Masters by Nick Smith or the The Legend of Huma by Richard A. Knaak are good as well.
Maybe I should just throw the TaoLin (towel in.... get it?

>> No.1248149

The Average American Male

>> No.1248163

>>1248149
I really loved that book, but when I loaned it to my friends they were horrified. :( I am glad there is somebody out there who didn't hate it.

>> No.1248165

A Million Little Pieces

>> No.1248203
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1248203

The best novel is obviously Mason & Dixon. No other author could even begin to compete. All other works are laughable and breezy in comparison. They are just the fragile stretches of lackluster minds groping hopelessly for readership/authorship in a frighteningly barbaric world of uncertainties.

Second best is Zadie Smith. White Teeth is great. It's historically piercing and scientifically distressing with out being all post-post about it.

>> No.1248205

>implying that I read anything other than classics

>> No.1248206

>>1248203
I'm afraid I have to agree with that.

>> No.1248225

>>1248203

I was about to call you out for naming a book that wasn't written in the last 20 years, but then I looked it up and Mason & Dixon was written in 1997. For some reason I thought it was much older than that.

So it's now a definite contender for the title in my mind as well. I think Infinite Jest is still my favourite, though.