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/lit/ - Literature

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17929905 No.17929905 [Reply] [Original]

Authors whose minor works are better than their most famous works?

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>> No.17929924

Silmarillion is way better than LOTR
Nine Stories is way better than Catcher in the Rye

>> No.17929927

>>17929905
where to begin with mishima?

>> No.17929930

>>17929905
1984 is totally over-praised. I'm sure the setting Orwell created was impressive for its time, but there's really no reason to read it over the countless dystopian sci-fi books that it inspired

>> No.17929960

>>17929930
No dystopia published after 1984 is worth reading. No, that dime thriller Fahrenheit is not worth reading.

>> No.17929961

>>17929927
If you want to really get into Mishima then it's best to read him chronologically. He's an extremely auto-biographical writer (probably unintentionally), so you can see how his style and ideas develop if you start with his first book Confessions of a Mask and go from there. If you just want to try him out though, I would recommend Spring Snow

>> No.17929978

>>17929960
>No dystopia published after 1984 is worth reading

What post-1984 dystopian sci-fis have you read that you didn't think were worth your time?

>> No.17929982

I agree that After the Banquet is overlooked and arguably better than Sailor, but Mishima's major works (particularly the Sea of Fertility, Forbidden Colours, and the Temple of the Golden Pavilion) are on the whole the best of his rather prolific output. Orwell on the other day was definitely a better essayist than a novelist. Burmese Days And The Road to Wigan Pier are by and large far superior to 1984 or Animal Farm.
>>17929927
Either the Sea of Fertility tetralogy or Temple of the Golden Pavilion. The former will give you the most comprehensive overview of his work but the latter is the probably the best Mishima you'll get in a relatively tight package.

>> No.17930036

Discourses on Livy > Prince
Sirens of Titan > Slaughterhouse 5
Narratives of Empire > The City and the Pillar/Creation
Sci-fi Lewis > Narnia
Ancients Evenings > Executioner's Song
Machado's short stories > Brás Cubas
Pessoa's regular poetry > Book of Disquiet
Emily's poems > Wuthering Heights
Saint Anthony and Salammbô >>>>>> Madame Bovary

>> No.17930067

>>17930036
How does one into Flaubert? Should I start with Saint Anthony or Salammbô, and what translation?

>> No.17930173

>>17930067
Salammbô if you like McCarthy
Saint Anthony if you like Joyce
Flaubert was really ahead of his time with both, no idea about English translations.

>> No.17930265

>>17929930
Okay, sure anon. Read the derivative works, not the one that inspired the heap of shit that came after

>> No.17930298

>>17930265
>Reading 1984 instead of WE
Okay, sure anon. Read the derivative work, not the one that inspired the heap of shit that came after.

>> No.17930437

>>17929927
Sailor that Fell from Grace with the Sea, Sea of Fertility Tetralogy, or the Golden Pavilion. There’s also a publication of his short stories titled Death in Midsummer which is a good introduction.

>> No.17930469

>Walk into bookstore, ask where I can find their Orwell shelf
>They direct me to the sci-fi section
REEEEEEEEEEE

>> No.17930918

>>17930469
Based bookstore. Reddit book belongs in reddit section.

>> No.17930959

>>17930918
based

>> No.17930961

>>17930173
Salammbô it is

>> No.17930978

>>17930265
That's not how art works. The first piece of art of a certain style is rarely the best of its kind.

>> No.17930985

>>17930265
How about not reading shit at all, instead of praising one turd over another because that turd was shat out first?

>> No.17930992
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17930992

I wouldn't exactly call it minor, but its far better than zorba

>> No.17931061

>>17929924
Agree with 9 stories. Just picked up simalrillon this makes me hyped

>> No.17931078

>>17929930
1984 and BNW are better than everything that came after. The only place to go after these two is into Soviet sci fi.

>> No.17931100

>>17930173
>>17930036
Salammbo is amazing.

>> No.17931371

>>17931078
1984 is an exciting book but it's pretty shallow. Nothing in it really touches on any deeper themes in an insightful way, and the story itself is not very ambitious. It's a good book, but it's undoubtably beginner tier sci-fi.

>> No.17932455

Desolation Angels in better then On The Road.

>> No.17933042

>>17932455
On The Road isn't even close to being amongst his best work. (Although I'll admit it does encompass all of the themes found in his other books, making it a good introduction to Kerouac)

>> No.17934117

>>17929905
Burmese days is NOT better dan 1984
Homage to catalonia is tho

>> No.17934206

>>17929905
What's orwells best book?

>> No.17934212

>>17929961
the chart says start with "The Sailor Who Fell From Grace". Is that just a meme?

>> No.17934214

Something Happened > Catch 22

>> No.17934218
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17934218

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>> No.17934546

Bump

>> No.17935659

Tender is the night > gatsby

>> No.17935670

>>17934212
Not that guy but no. Sailor is a good intro to him, its where i started. Its succinct, enjoyable, and you get a good taste of his style and themes.