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/lit/ - Literature

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1867723 No.1867723 [Reply] [Original]

ITT /lit/ nominates a perfect novel. We try to agree on something.

One Hundred Years of Solitude is a perfect novel.

>> No.1867727

why the fuck are there only two names for like, all male characters?

>> No.1867729

The perfect movie: The Wind that Shakes the Barley/Sunshine

>> No.1867734

Watership Down is a perfect novel.

>> No.1867746

>>1867727
have you ever been to latin america? everyone's called luis, juan or jose. true story.

i antivote for one hundred years of solitude.

>>1867729

>irish film/ scifi shit

nope.

>>1867734

dear god

>> No.1867747

OP is a perfect faggot.
All those in accord, say aye!

>> No.1867748

aye

>> No.1867749

>The Wind that Shakes the Barley

If you blew up the reaper base/martyred yourself for the independence movement,

congratuations your a retarded moralfig

>> No.1867750

Hey OP, at least pour some light on the criteria of perfection

and AYE!

>> No.1867753

>>1867729
>Sunshine

until the horrible ending ruins it

>> No.1867755

>>1867753
>horrible ending

No.

>> No.1867758

House of Lulz

>> No.1867759

>>1867755
>No.

Hurr durr Zombies is a HORRIBLE ending, to an otherwise mediocre movie. You can thank Danny Boyle.

He ruined 28 Days Later with a bad ending as well.

>> No.1867761
File: 49 KB, 604x453, 1308581983882.png [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
1867761

Moby Dick.

Don't you fucking deny liking that perfect novel.

>> No.1867764
File: 146 KB, 641x2614, moby dick.png [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
1867764

>>1867761

I don't deny it, it's one of my favorites.

>> No.1867765

>>1867761

Yes Moby Dick is excellent.

>> No.1867768

moby dick is in fact pretty cool

>> No.1867769

>>1867723
Who's that on the pic?

>> No.1867770

that guy looks like neil hagerty

>> No.1867772

Madame Bovary. Hands down.

It's THE perfect novel. I love Moby-Dick, I love War and Peace etc but they're not perfect.

Madame Bovary is perfect.

perfection doesn't mean it's the best

>> No.1867773

>>1867769
Scarecrow

>> No.1867776
File: 10 KB, 208x251, 1308675171659s.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
1867776

There's something fundamentally gripping about Moby Dick. I expected to find it overrated, and I of course knew how the story goes before-hand, but I was still entirely overwhelmed by its sheer intensity.

>> No.1867778

Thus Spoke Zarathustra or Anna Karenina

>> No.1867781

>>1867772

While I've never read that (and I feel now that I SHOULD), you have a point.

Moby Dick is an epic, gripping tale with many themes, elaborate character development, and pivotal suspense - yet beloved, is it the best?

>> No.1867782

>>1867769
Cillian Murphy.

>> No.1867783

>>1867776
I don't even know if I'd call it a novel, given how meandering it is. It's more like a raw bundle of creative power.

>> No.1867784
File: 47 KB, 450x309, cillian murphy.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
1867784

I didn't know Scarecrow was a faggot, but it makes sense since she looks so feminine

Probably good at giving head too, that's a plus

>> No.1867786

>>1867784
>He can't tell the difference between an actor and the roles he plays

Dude, you need help. Put down the lolicon and step away from the computer.

>> No.1867788

>>1867772
>perfection doesn't mean it's the best
>incensedplatonists.controversy.jpg

>> No.1867792

There is potentially greatness to be found within imperfection.

>> No.1867793

>>1867734

I agree. Haven't read Moby Dick yet.

I wonder if we could make a list of 10 books we consider perfect?

>> No.1867798

>>1867792
wow you're like so deep and stuff

>> No.1867803

>>1867798
I know. My other hobbies include interpreting dreams and reading star signs.

>> No.1867810

I don't operate on the Platonist idea of perfection, so, I guess a perfect novel is whatever novel you think is perfect.

Because really, that is the only conclusion that could possibly be reached, ever.

>> No.1867812

HADJI MURAD TIMES A MILLION

>> No.1867813

Infinite Jest

>> No.1867815

>>1867812
I second the shit out of this.

>> No.1867818

>>1867810

Well at least the question can be asked: "What texts at least project the closest projection of the cosmic image of a perfect text?"

>> No.1867825

>>1867812
FUCK YEAH HADJI FUCKING MURAD

BEST DEPICTION OF EAST .VS WEST THEME. DON'T CAVE IN BOYS.

>> No.1867826

Anna Karenina

>> No.1867828

>>1867818

When I answered, I was thinking more in the lines of "What do YOU consider a perfect book?" and the more people mentioning it, the closer it would get to the "perfect" answer.

But I do consider more than one book perfect, or at least the closest to perfect. 10/10 if you will.

>> No.1867830
File: 39 KB, 310x390, dostoevsky.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
1867830

I nominate Crime and Punishment, it practically defines the word 'novel'.

>> No.1867833

Hadji murad garners 3 votes.
Considering /lit/ has only 2 posters, Hadji Murad's superiority is divinely ordained.

this thread is over.

>> No.1867834

>>1867830
NOT LIKE THE BROTHERS KARAMAZOV AND DEMONS SHITS ON IT OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT.

>> No.1867835

>>1867834
AND THE IDIOT.

>> No.1867837
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1867837

I agree with OP.

>> No.1867843

The Idiot is a perfect novel. Haven't read Moby Dick, but it sounds like a good candidate so far.

>> No.1867845

What about In Search of Lost Time?

>> No.1867860

>>1867845
Nope. Tried reading 'Du côté de chez Swann' in Grade 12, and I found it incredibly bland.

>> No.1867861

>>1867835
>>1867834
I think they are all more or less equal, so I ammend my answer. The perfect model is any of Dostoevsky's top 5 works.

>> No.1867862

>>1867843
MOBY-DICK IS SHIT

>> No.1867870

FUCK THIS SHIT!

As I Lay Dying!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

>> No.1867871

>>1867862
ALL CAPS MY OPINION IS IMPORTANT

>> No.1867872

>>1867861
> dostoevksy
> perfect

I'm sorry, no. Dostoevsky is great because he's a crazy fucking Russian. I think he would have been as good as a painter or something. He wasn't a born writer. Tolstoy on the other hand, was a born writer and is way closer to perfection than Dostoevsky.

>> No.1867873

>>1867862
WOULD YOU CARE TO ELABORATE ON that?

>> No.1867874

>>1867872
Tolstoy better than Dostojevski?
>you just went full retard bro

>> No.1867875

>>1867870 (cont with a explanation)
>As I Lay Dying!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Because it made me physically ill.

>> No.1867876

IF WE ALL USE CAPS, CAPSGUY WILL CEASE TO EXIST.

>> No.1867878

Hary POtter

>> No.1867880

>>1867876

Alright enough silliness.

>> No.1867903

>>1867880
your right. this is srs business.

>> No.1867905

>>1867874
Dostoevsky on Anna Karenina (a Tolstoy novel, fyi)

"A flawless work of art"

There you have it.

>> No.1867906

>>1867873
DON'T DEDICATE ALL OF YOUR RESOURCES AND BECOME OBSESSED WITH OUR OWN GREAT WHITE WHALE OR YOU WILL FUCK UP, YEAH YEAH, WE GET IT. YOU MADE IT CLEAR AS FUCKING DAY.

BUT HONESTLY, DO WE NEED ALL THIS CRAP ABOUT THE PHYSIOGNOMIES OF WHALES AND OTHER USELESS INFORMATION FOR PAGES AND PAGES? WHAT DOES IT ADD TO THE STORY? HONESTLY, TELL ME, WHAT DOES IT ADD?

I BET BY THE TIME MOBY-DICK WAS SPOTTED YOU WERE THINKING: "THANK FUCK, FINALLY"

SURE, HE WAS ELOQUENT IN HIS WRITINGS AT TIMES, SOME SCENES ARE UNFORGETTABLE. BUT TO LABEL IT AS THE 'PERFECT' NOVEL WHEN THERE WAS SO MUCH USELESS SHIT IN IT? NO.

>> No.1867909

>>1867876
THAT'S WHAT I WANT, FAGGOT. A BOARD FILLED WITH CAPS IS MY DREAM.

>> No.1867912

Lolita

>> No.1867918

>>1867905
i was't terribly fond of anna karenina, but my friends assure me it's much better in russian, so fyodor might be right.

>> No.1867931

>>1867905
>implying Dostojevski had any idea how good his prose in actuality was

>> No.1867934

TURGENEV ENTERS THE FRAY AS A MASSIVE CONTENDER, BUT GROSSMAN HOLDS HIS HAND OUT IN FRONT OF HIM AND SAYS: "IT'S COOL TURGENEV, I GOT THIS, LIFE AND FATE" BUT SOLZHENITSYN AND BULGAKOV COME RUNNING OUT SAYING "NO WE R BEST SOVIET/RUSSIAN WRITERS AND RUSSIAN WRITERS ARE BEST SO WE'RE THE BEST IN THE WORLD, LOOK AT MY SATIRE"

AND THEN BELY COMES OUT WITH PETERSBURG AND LOOKS STRAIGHT AT FAULKNER AND JOYCE "I CAME FIRST, AND I'M STILL BETTER THAN YOU"

AND GOGOL'S STILL FINDING HIS MISSING NOSE, UNFORTUNATELY COULDN'T MAKE THE COMPETITION.

LERMONTOV COMES UP AND SAYS: "IF YOU WEREN'T ALL SUCH PUSSIES AND ACTUALLY HAD THE BALLS TO DUEL AND I WASN'T SUCH A CHAMP I'D HAVE BEEN THE BEST WRITER, BUT I WAS A REAL MAN AND DIED. SEE, ALL THE BEST RUSSIAN WRITERS DIE IN DUELS, LIKE MY BRO PUSHKIN"

GOTTA GO SHAREMATE WANTS COFFEE, BUT YOU GET THE GIST

RUSSIA = BEST

>> No.1867941
File: 120 KB, 350x334, 1300306568671.png [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
1867941

Atlas Shrugged

>> No.1867942

>>1867912
There it is.

>> No.1867944

>>1867906

YOU'RE MISSING THE POINT BRO

THE STORY CAN BE INTERPRETED IN MANY DIFFERENT WAYS, AND MOBY DICK HAS A LOT OF VERY INTERESTING SYMBOLISM, CONSIDERING THE GREAT WHALE AS A LEVIATHAN, AND TURNING THE STORY INTO A REAL LIFE MONSTER HUNT OF BIBLICAL AFFAIR

A PERSON INTERPRETS THINGS HOW HE WANTS, AND CAN TURN EVERY DAY AFFAIR INTO A LEGENDARY TALE

THIS SEEMINGLY NORMAL WHALING STORY IS ACTUALLY AN EPIC MYTHOS OF LEGENDARY PROPORTION

YOU SEE HE TURNS A NORMAL BORING WHALING STORY INTO A FUCKING OTHERWORLDLY MONSTER HUNT, USING HIS SHIP AS A CHARIOT TO DESTROY THIS POSEIDON SPAWN

>> No.1867951

>>1867944
Or read Hemingway's condensed version.

>> No.1867956 [DELETED] 

>>1867951

CONDENSED? CONDENSE MOTHAFUCKA?

THIS ISN'T MIDDLE SCHOOL BRO, WE READ FOR FUN HERE SILLY NIGGER, THE LONGER THE BETTER

WHY WOULD YOU CONDENSE THAT IMMENSE AND EPIC TALE? FUCKING HEMINGWAY, GOD DAMN PRETTY BOY NEVER SAW A GODDAM WHALE IN HIS LIFE

WHAT? DROVE AN AMBULENCE FOR 2 MONTHS AND QUIT? SOME MILITARY CAREER HUH HUH HUH HUH HUH HUH GO FUCK YOURSELF

>> No.1867958

>>1867956

I really must object to this silliness. Discussion is fine but this is just foolish.

>> No.1867960

>>1867934
Я учусь русскому языке именно чтобы прочитать эти книги. Русская литература лучше всего.

>> No.1867966

FAGS SHOULD NOT BE ALLOWED TO NOMINATE A BOOK IF THEY HAVE ONLY READ A TRANSLATION OF THE WORK. LITERARY STYLE IS AN IMPORTANT PART OF A NOVEL AND MUCH OF IT WILL SIMPLY BE LOST IN ANOTHER LANGUAGE. BASICALLY DON'T CALL SOMETHING PERFECT WHICH YOU DONT KNOW SHIT ABOUT.

>> No.1867973

>>1867966
you heard the man. you are hereby forbidden from offering opinions on books if you aren't fluent in the original language. and if you aren't a literature professor, you might as well leave now, because all your opinions are wrong and no one wants to hear them.

>> No.1867978

>>1867973
OH NO, OPINIONS AND DISCUSSION ARE FINE. BUT FOR THE PURPOSE OF THIS PARTICULAR THREAD, WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT SUPPOSED PERFECTION (KIND OF A STUPID TOPIC, I KNOW) TRANSLATIONFAGS NEED NOT APPLY.

>> No.1867979 [DELETED] 

Bă, romanul perfet e Ion de Liviu Rebreanu.
Ce tot Dostoyevsky, Marquez sau Faulkner?
Dacă nu ai citit Ion, nu știi nimic despre literatură.

>> No.1868000

I am argentinian, and i think one hundred years of solitude is as perfect as a novel can be.


BTW, my name is Julian, and, before you comment, i am whiter than most of you. Not that being black or latino is bad, i just hate fucking stereotypes.

>> No.1868007

>>1868000
so the fuck what? the novel's not written in Argentinian.

>> No.1868009

Crime and Punishment.

>> No.1868010
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1868010

>>1868007

>> No.1868011

in argentina we speak spanish. which happens to be the language the novel is written in.

Can you at least google before answering? you just made yourself look stupid.

>> No.1868142

>>1868000
>>1868011
> i am argentinian
> i am whiter than most of you
> argentina
> white
> huehueheuheuhe

bitch please, troll harder

>> No.1869343

EVERYBODY ABOVE THIS LINE IS A TOTAL MORON FOR NOT NOMINATING THE GREAT GATSBY FOR THAT IS TRULY THE MOST PERFECT NOVEL EVER WRITTEN.

/tread

>> No.1869346
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1869346

>argentina
>white

>> No.1869347

>>1868142
bruh.

bruh.

u trollin so hard.

>> No.1869348

Count of Monte Cristo

>> No.1869367

The Brothers Karamazov.

>> No.1869379

The Baron in the Trees isn't incredibly profound or tricky or anything but I feel like it perfectly accomplished what, as a story, it was supposed to do.

Maybe Pale Fire or Despair so far as Nabokov's works go, I think those were very well-executed.

>> No.1869381

mfw no one has said siddhartha

>> No.1869389

I am American and I think The Recognitions is as perfect as a novel can be.


BTW, my name is John, and, before you comment, I am whiter than most of you. Not that being black or latino is bad, I just hate fucking stereotypes.

>> No.1869398

House of Leaves

Also Magician by Raymond E. Feist

>> No.1869400

>>1869389
>My name is John, and I hate every single one of you. All of you are fat, retarded, no-lifes who spend every second of their day looking at stupid ass pictures. You are everything bad in the world. Honestly, have any of you ever gotten any pussy? I mean, I guess it's fun making fun of people because of your own insecurities, but you all take to a whole new level. This is even worse than jerking off to pictures on facebook.

>> No.1869414

the old man and the sea

is a perfect novel

>> No.1869437

>>1869389
4chan solipsism: I'm the only one on this whole site that's ever had sex. Everyone else here is clearly a neckbeard who could never possibly have intimate contact with other women.

>> No.1869442

>>1869437
>facepalm.epub

>>1868000

>> No.1869455

The idea of a perfect novel makes me think of completeness. Something like The Bros K, To Kill A Mockingbird, Anna Karenina.

>> No.1869466

Every time I think of the answer to this question, I can only think of Wise Blood, for some reason. So I'm nominating Wise Blood.

I know, I'm surprised as well, but I think it may be the perfect novel.

>> No.1869686

Any of these

Watership Down
Great Gatsby
Lolita
Anna Karenina
Moby Dick
Siddhartha
The Brothers Karamozov

>> No.1869692

>>1867843
Goddamn i love The Idiot, only book that has ever made me cry.

>> No.1869706

>>1869686
K Bros is very great, but it certainly isn't perfect. Doesn't have a proper ending, for one thing.

>> No.1869713

I swear to god I'm not trolling, but what the fuck is it with this board and Dostoevsky? Even when I was a teenager, I thought it was stilted and dated, but it seems he is /lit/s favourite author.

I don't understand how people can read Russian in translation in the first place, nor can I understand how people are ignoring the equivalent masterpieces written in English at the same time. Genuine classics of your mothertongue (assuming US/GB/Can/Aus/WTF). Yet a second rate russian existentialist hack is basically fagging this board up all day erryday.

Someone explain to me please. Is it a US thing? Because most Euros can't be arsed with this shit.

>> No.1869723

I am not a fan of Russian literature in whole so I will stick by the nominations of Moby Dick, Gatsby, One Hundred Years of Solitude (haven't read it fully but it has the reputation)

And I nominate Moon & Sixpence and the Odyssey (whatever translation you desire)

>> No.1869745

You know, one of the few books I've seen not get trashed on /lit/ is The Master and Margarita, so that's my vote. Slapstick, suspense, mysticism, satire, adventure, and a whole bunch of other shit, it's got it all.

>>1869713
Dark humor, cynical views, undertones of both secular and religious humanism, and bizarre characters.

>> No.1869750

>>1869723
Odyssey isn't a novel.

>> No.1869753

>>1869750

You are right.

Polite sage

>> No.1869754
File: 341 KB, 500x375, 2011.png [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
1869754

Anyone disliked the Count of Monte Cristo?

>> No.1869766

Aztec

>> No.1869769

>>1869754
It really loses its way after he escapes from prison.

>> No.1869776

Cat's Cradle.

>> No.1869783

>>1869754
i enjoyed it, but the parts describing the count's wealth were padded a little too much, and the author seemed overly fond of the word "tressaillir".

>> No.1869784

>>1869769
I agree. Overall it's a good book, but damn there's a lot of pulp. There are chapters that are exciting and amazing, and others where I just want them to fucking end.

>> No.1869790

Heart of Darkness.
Yeah, it's a novella, but it's a goddamn perfect novella. The descriptions of the darkening jungle that lead up to the realization of the darkness of humanity make every page have meaning. And Kurtz could kick Ahab's ass any day.

>> No.1869813

>And Kurtz could kick Ahab's ass any day.

Scandal!

I am certain you are an intelligent fellow but this hypothesis is misguided.

>> No.1869841

>>1869790
THIS

>> No.1871805

The Winter of our Discontent is the perfect novel

>> No.1871822

>>1869706
well, it is unfinished..

>> No.1872297

>>1867944

THE OTHER THINGS THAT YOU FUCKING RETARDS ARE ALL MISSING OUT ON IS THAT ALL THAT 'USELESS SHIT' IS ACTUALLY AN INTERESTING INSIGHT INTO THE HISTORICAL ACTIVITY OF WHALING - I FOUND THE STUFF ABOUT RENDERING WHALES AND THE PHYSIOGNOMY OF THE BEASTS TO BE FASCINATING. I'M MAYBE HAPPIER STEPPING OUTSIDE OF THE CONSTRAINTS OF TEDIOUS NOVELS WRITTEN FOR PURE DISTRACTION LIKE DOSTOEVSKY OR THOSE CUNTS.

FUCK OFF BACK TO YOUR BARELY-UNDERSTOOD 'RUSSIAN IS BEST' POSTURING, AND PRETENDING YOU HAVE SOME KIND OF INSIGHT INTO RUSSIAN LITERATURE, CAPSCUNT.

[SPOILER]EVEN THOUGH YOU FREELY ADMIT YOU KNOW NEARLY NOTHING OF RUSSIAN HISTORY, BEYOND WHAT YOU'VE READ IN FICTION. SO, DON'T UNDERSTAND THE LANGUAGE, OR THE CULTURE. LOL. JUST FUCKING LOL. [/SPOILER]

>> No.1872304

>>1872297
Please remember, anon, that this is /lit/

Try to be polite. This is just a literature discussion board for heavens sake

>> No.1872683

I nominate Where the Red Fern Grows.

>> No.1874052

>>1872297
I ALSO SAID I READ SOLELY FOR MY ENJOYMENT, YOU FAGGOT. I NEVER PRETEND TO HAVE ANY INSIGHT INTO LITERATURE OR THE CULTURE OF RUSSIA, YOU JUST PULLED THAT OUT OF YOUR ASS.

YOU'RE MAD BECAUSE SOMEONE LIKE ME READS ALL THESE CLASSICS, FOR ENJOYMENT, WHEN PEOPLE LIKE YOU TAKE IT FOR SUPER SERIOUS BUSINESS.

I'M GOING TO BE CONTINUING POSTING AS I AM HERE IN /LIT/ UNTIL I GROW BORED OF IT, AND I DON'T SEE THAT HAPPENING ANY TIME SOON.

FOR SOMEONE WHO IS SAYING HOW LITERARY INEPT I AM, YOU'RE PRETTY FUCKING RETARDED FOR YOUR VIEWS ON DOSTOEVSKY.

>> No.1874068

mumuplayer.com/-lit-

>> No.1874070

>>1867758

The worst part is, that could've been a decent short story if Danielewski wasn't such a douche.

>> No.1874091
File: 47 KB, 416x680, poster_1984_lrg.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
1874091

1984. Although it may not be the most feasible dystopia on the planet, the build up of the novel towards the protagonist possessing some heroic purpose and making a difference on the hopeless situation of his society and that being abruptly knocked down not only by him being betrayed, but by the utter destruction of everything he believed and held dear in a fashion that he had absolutely no power to resist or escape is incredibly powerful. Not only that, the vividness with which the author paints such a bleak world that even this depressing grayscale world can seem utterly enthralling, fundamentally horrifying, and strangely beautiful is truly remarkable.