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/lit/ - Literature

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17192694 No.17192694 [Reply] [Original]

Hey /lit/, I'm taking a course that looks at how contemporary novels write/rewrite history. What do you think of the reading list? Are any of these good?


The Age of Phillis - Honoree Jeffers
Confessions of the Fox - Jordy Rosenberg
Gulliver's Travels - Jonathon Swift
Mad Bad and Dangerous to Know - Samira Ahmed
Thomas Pynchon - Mason and Dixon

>> No.17193061

seems like a pretty fun class.

the age of phillis, confessions of the fox, and mad bad and dangerous to know i had never heard of before this post. to me they look like somewhat niche contemporary fiction, all kind of with the theme of reclaiming various historical figures for some literary use. impossible to predict what those three will be like, could be fun could be very boring.

gulliver's travels and mason and dixon are probably the one's people on this board will know. gulliver's travels less so as that book has kind of decreased in cultural relevance in the past century, it used to be a hugely popular book though. mason and dixon is a late thomas pynchon book. pynchon is best known for his early works from the 60s and 70s but mason and dixon is his most famous late work, came out in the 90s. honestly without that book i'd probably have some slight red flags on this class, but it seems like your professor probably has something cool they're doing because that's on there. it's a huge book though, will be the hardest part of the class reading that.

>> No.17194835

The years of rice and salt by Kim Stanley Robinson is a very good alternative history novel

>> No.17194923

>>17192694
Hahaha, how does Mason and Dixon rewrite history? Have people gotten stupid enough to believe that clocks speculate on the nature of the sea? What is and is not accurate in this novel is fairly obvious, he does not really blur the line or anything.

>> No.17195023

>>17194923
I couldn't tell you the course hasn't happened yet.

>> No.17195146

Why did you switch author and title placement for the last entry?

>> No.17195591

>>17195146
>he’s never heard of Thomas Pynchon by Mason & Dixon

>> No.17195634

>>17195146
i don't know

>> No.17195734

>>17195591
To be fair it is fairly old and somewhat obscure. The sad thing is that he probably thinks he understood Mason & Dixon despite never having read or even heard of the source material.

>> No.17197412

>>17194923
Mason & Dixon's whole deal is about the unreliable narration of history, its a (post) modern retelling of the enlightenment. seems like a really good book for a course like that.