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/lit/ - Literature

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2273404 No.2273404 [Reply] [Original]

>a demon appears in front of you
>says he wants to know what the most perfect novel is
>says the only correct answer is the one you honestly believe

>answer truthfully and nothing happens, otherwise you die and he gains control of your body

>> No.2273405

eugene onegin

that pic is really hot for some reawson

>> No.2273407

>>2273405
its not a novel though is it

>> No.2273408

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4an3rpucSos

>> No.2273415

Atlas Shrugged

>> No.2273418

>>2273415
dead instantly.

>> No.2273424

>>2273404
Richard Yates?

>> No.2273425

The Hobbit

>> No.2273429

>>2273407
everyone else seems to think it is

just because it's in verse doesn't make it not a novel

>> No.2273521

The Kite Runner

>> No.2273531

Catch 22

>> No.2273544

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

OR

Of Human Bondage by W. Somerset Maugham

OR

Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse

>> No.2273548

Winnie the Pooh.

>> No.2273553

Edelweiss. Then wonder why I'm trafficking with demons.

>> No.2273564

Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison

>> No.2273566

>>2273548
>novel
>cause of death: severe case of retarded

>> No.2273597

it's proust, btw

>> No.2273609

Proust.

>> No.2273612

>>2273597
>>2273609
I'm only 2 volumes in, but I'd have to agree.

>> No.2273616

The Red and the Black

>> No.2273617

a la recherche du temps perdu by marcel proust

>> No.2273619

since this seems to be rapidly becoming proust general could somebody recommend their preferred translation?

>> No.2273622

I'd have to say all of Proust.

>> No.2273626

>>2273619
There are only like 2 translations afaik.

And the revised revised version of Moncreiff's version.

>> No.2273627

>>2273619
I don't read the most perfect novel ever written in translation, but I hear the first translation, Montcrieff, is the best. So just go buy the Modern Library edition.

>> No.2273629

ditto on the proust

god-tier shit up in diss. i win.

magic genie where my wishes at nigga??!?!?!?!

>> No.2273634

>>2273627
>>2273626

moncrieff then learning french it is

>> No.2273637

>>2273627
My French is O.K., but the fact that I have trouble parsing Proust's sentences in English makes me worry about how hard it would be to do it in French. Maybe in five years I'll be able to tackle it.

>> No.2273640

>>2273619
the one that lydia davis wrote for

not because i have any idea re: its accuracy, just cause lydia davis is rad (also i rlly liked her bovary)

>> No.2273656

>>2273637
I read him in french and it's difficult because my french isn't that great but...the key to Proust is really to read him slowly.

If you find him getting dense or boring, you're just not reading him slow enough. Take your time with Proust...

>> No.2273658

>>2273640

huh, that one flash fiction about mowing the lawn i'm just like "eh" about but she wrote another story about two translators dating or something that was great so i think that's a good sign

>> No.2273810

The Lusiads, it made me happy.

>> No.2273897

This has to be the most clever way a "post your favorite novel" thread has been presented.

>> No.2273901

>>2273658
i feel like describing davis as "flash fiction" is kind of off, because she inhabits the form of super-short fiction so well and puts her own stamp on it. i guess it still is flash fiction, but it never feels like she's writing flash fiction - it just seems like this is the natural product of lydia davis' art, if you follow my drift.

>> No.2273906

I would answer incorrectly, retreat into my subconscious and wait for him take over.

Counter-attack with the godly powers of bipolarity, smite his consciousness, and retain his demon powers.

FUCK THE POLICE.

>> No.2273907
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2273907

The Bible, enjoy the rest of this thread.

>> No.2273913
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2273913

>>2273907
The Quran

>> No.2273914

>>2273907

LOL SO EDGY XD

>> No.2273932
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2273932

>proust
>proust
>french writers...hurr

the correct answer is Bleak House, by Dickens.

>> No.2273950
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2273950

What if I'm too aware of the semantic ambiguity in the question? Will I die because I know I can't possibly be 'correct'? Or will I live, knowing I can't possibly be 'incorrect'?

>> No.2273952

>>2273950

There is no ambiguity except the one you project onto the question. Every definition is up to you, if you can't decipher it it is your fault.

Thus you die.

>> No.2273971

I'm a little ashamed to say this, but I think I would say "I am a cat". I had so much joy reading that book.

>> No.2273982

skylark by kostalanyi

>> No.2273983

Don Quixote

Maybe not most perfect, but greatest.

>> No.2273989

Antagonise that bitch for using a false comparitive

>Most perfect

Win by default. Get to fuck him in the ass.

>> No.2273997

To Kill a Mockingbird

I'm as surprised as you are

>> No.2274000

Dune

>> No.2274002
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2274002

Catcher in the Rye - J.D Salinger

search your feelings you know it to be true

>> No.2274013

>>2273997

Grudgingly, and astonishingly, agreed.

>> No.2274014

I don't know what the most perfect novel is as I have not read all novels.

Hahaha fucking demons.

>> No.2274028

The Count of Monte Cristo

>> No.2274029

>>2273997
Holy fuck

>> No.2274030

Moby Dick.

>> No.2274033

Lord of the Flies.

Is it my favorite? No. Is it one of the greatest things ever written? Hell yes.

Bring it on, demon.

>> No.2274037

>>2273404

The one you like, silly demon.

>> No.2274039

I'd answer 'The Demons' in an attempt to appeal to The demons' vanity and sense of self-worth. 'I like this one!' he'd say, and then he'd make me his sidekick and we'd have sweet adventures together, sending Palahnuik lovers to tortured oblivion and just generally shooting the shit.

Oh and it's a phenomenal novel.

>> No.2274047

Post Office by Bukowski

>> No.2274063
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2274063

Blood Meridian

>> No.2274066

Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

Prove me wrong

>> No.2274075
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2274075

>>2274037 here

Don't think there's such a thing as an objectively perfect novel. Everything has flaws. For example, I really liked The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, but the second part was considerably weaker. I also really liked The Lord of the Rings, but still think it's got too much purple prose and nature description.

>> No.2274076

>>2274075
>the second part was considerably weaker

That's of course just my personal opinion.

>> No.2274079

Moon & Sixpence

>> No.2274081

The Trial

>> No.2274085

Slaughter-house Five

>> No.2274121

>>2274033
>>2274037
>>2274039

Three back to back posts in which all use the word 'demon'. Odd.

>> No.2274131

>you die and he gains control of your body
I'm female and that's my fetish.

>> No.2274145

>>2274131

No one cares. This doesn't make you sound cool or edgy. And being submissive doesn't make you a unique snowflake, quite the opposite rather.

>> No.2274148

Brideshead Revisited

>> No.2274162

A Clockwork Orange

>> No.2274182

>>2274162
This.

>> No.2274185

The Lord of the Rings.

Which I've been meaning to re-read, by the way. Can the demon sentence me to read it for getting the correct answer, or something, so I don't have to delegate time for myself?

>> No.2274218

>>2274081

this is the only correct answer.

>> No.2274229

arc de triomphe

>> No.2274252

Second Foundation. Read it about a dozen times.

>> No.2274257

A Game of Thrones.

>> No.2274267

>>2273622
how long does it take to read 1.5 million words?
swann's way good?

>> No.2274268

>>2273983
i found this to be pretty funny. i didn't think id ever get into it

>> No.2274272

Nineteen Eighty-Four

>> No.2274279

The Count of Monte Cristo

>> No.2274283

>>2274279
The curious incident of the dog in the night time

it was oh so relatable

>> No.2274294

David Copperfield.

>> No.2274497

One that entertains you.

>> No.2274501

The Trial

>> No.2274503

>>2274252
Yeah, it was an epic ending for such a great trilogy.

>> No.2274505

The golden bowl.

>> No.2274515
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2274515

It's the one I keep coming back to.

>> No.2274527

>>2274515
G.K. Chesterton confirmed for devil-trumping genius

>> No.2274542

House of Leaves

>> No.2274551

The Dark by John Mcgahern

>> No.2274564

>>2274279
Another in agreement with this fine opinion.

>> No.2274583
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2274583

>> No.2274585

V.

>> No.2274589

I would rather let myself die than let the devil know what my favorite book is.

>> No.2274593

>>2274589

Do you have some sort of phobia of people knowing what you like? Because that's a pretty fucking stupid comment.

>> No.2274595

Suttree

>> No.2274596

catcher in the rye, and i don't care that it's extremely cliché/popular, it's a fucking great read. i read it three or four times already, and i can't say the same for any other book.

>> No.2274612

Gunther Grass - The Tin Drum

>> No.2274622
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2274622

This one gives me a strange feeling everytime I read it

>> No.2274632

>>2274596

ya i liked catcher too, i never had to read it for school...maybe that's why ppl hate it because they are forced to read it? i dunno...or maybe Holden is too much like them and they hate seeing themselves

>> No.2274637

So much Proust in this thread. Thanks for making my day guys. Now back to "À l'ombre des jeunes filles en fleurs" (just re-reading, relax bros)

>> No.2274640

STEPPENWOLF

>> No.2274662

>>2273404

The most perfect novel would be a transcript of Emma Watson gagging on my cock with graphic descriptions of spit and drool and the glare of her angry eyes as she's helpless to do nothing but feel the phallic head bump against the back of her throat.

>> No.2274666

Siddhartha
or
Infinite Jest
or
Ulysses

>> No.2274671

Mrs. Dalloway

>> No.2274675

>>2274666
(addendum)
or
Franny and Zooey

>> No.2274677

>>2274666

>the only correct answer is the one you honestly believe

>> No.2274679

Fate/stay night: Realtua Nua

>> No.2274686

>>2274677
>most perfect
not really sure what this is trying to mean.

>> No.2274692

The Complete Illustrated Guide to Slaying Hipsters, Academic Elitists, and Worshipers of Western Canon.

>> No.2274703

I'd saaaaay... 1984

>> No.2274710

>Seeking literature perfection.
> use phrase 'most perfect'
> implying

>> No.2274725

>>2274710

105 replies seemed to understand it, why can't u?

>> No.2274732

>>2274725
0/10 get off my /lit/

>> No.2274734

2nd-ing Dune, have fun being wrong, everyone else.

Runner-up: The Calamari Cristo

>> No.2274736

How To Make Popular Shit Threads: By OP

Congrats, you are the /lit/ equivalent of Stephanie Myers.

>> No.2274742

>>2274736


and you aren't even that

>> No.2274745

>>2273544
>>2274666

My niggas.

>> No.2274749

The Good Soldier

>> No.2274868

Anyone saying Proust should go eat a dick

>> No.2274875

Siddhartha is shit and you all know it.

>> No.2274886
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2274886

>>2274593
>>2274589

It's Bridget Jones's Diary, the perfect epistolary novel.

>>2274662
pic related