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/lit/ - Literature

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2339023 No.2339023 [Reply] [Original]

I absolutely loved the Dune franchise when I was a teenager,but in going back and reading the first few books in the series I have come to the conclusion that Frank Herbert's prose are absolutely terrible.

What books have you changed your opinion about over the years?

>> No.2339027
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2339027

>>2339023
Not as harsh as I used to be.
I'm also not a teenager anymore.

>> No.2339033

I had a similar experience with Lord of the Rings. When I first read it I thought it was the greatest thing ever. Rereading it later, I still think the story is good, and Tolkien's world-building is unparalleled, but his prose is kind of dull and the pacing is poor.

I haven't read Dune since high school, but I have a feeling that if I did I would probably agree with you.

>> No.2339071

>>2339033
How can you take anyone seriously who talks about "prose"? What the fuck is that supposed to even mean?

>> No.2339099

>>2339071

I'm not sure if it has some technical definition, but I (the person you're responding to) use it to mean "style of writing", where I'm referring specifically to word use and the structure of sentences and paragraphs as opposed to elements like story and characters. I guess you might also consider prose distinct from dialogue.

>> No.2339108

Teenagers have awful taste in literature, and it's a safe bet that anything you read during that time that wasn't assigned to you by a teacher is absolute trash.

>> No.2339121

that was back then when you truly enjoyed reading and where not a pretentious fuck

>> No.2339146

>>2339121
yeah, it's impossible that he's just grown up and naturally developed higher standards by reading books that are actually good.

>> No.2339154

>>2339108

Confirmed for high–normal IQ.

>How does it feel to know you had peers reading great literature and philosophy?

>> No.2339169

I loved Tolkien and Herbert. I dunno why people always say they're shitty writers. They're not as mellifluous as the GIANTS OF ENGLISH LITERATURE but that's not necessarily a deficiency.

I think people are too hung up on the "modern canon" of classics. People read all these great 20th century prose authors and use it as a metric. The most beautiful English prose I ever read was Gibbon, and that takes some getting used to for moderns who have only read recent literary classics. Lovecraft's purpler-than-purple style seems perfectly acceptable to me, once you adjust to it. Even Stapledon's dense prose seems appropriate for what he's writing.

I'm just pleb as fuck.

>> No.2339176

>>2339146
no, those books are actually good