[ 3 / biz / cgl / ck / diy / fa / ic / jp / lit / sci / vr / vt ] [ index / top / reports ] [ become a patron ] [ status ]
2023-11: Warosu is now out of extended maintenance.

/lit/ - Literature

View post   
File: 37 KB, 550x210, 19901999.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
4639141 No.4639141 [Reply] [Original]

what was THE greatest 20th century novel?

>> No.4639144

>>4639141
probably ulysses

:)

>> No.4639145

harry potter and the philosopher's stone

>> No.4639146

Finnegans Wake

>> No.4639149

>>4639141

On The Road.

None was more influential.

Kerouac, Chuck Berry and Warhol are the 3 most influential cultural figures of the 20th century.

>> No.4639153

>>4639149
please be trolling

>> No.4639158

The Catcher In the Rye

teens and 20somethings have been complete shitheads ever since

>> No.4639160

>impying it needs to be asked

the trial

>> No.4639180

>>4639141
women and men

>> No.4639203

>>4639149
louis armstrong is influential for the same reasons as chuck berry but moreso

>> No.4639217

Infinite Jest of course!

But probably 'objectively' Ulysses. 'Objectively' in quotes because the idea of anything being the 'best' is pretty much always subjective, but everyone seems to value Ulysses as the greatest thing ever written, and any remotely DEEP novel written since gets compared to it (both my copy of Lot 49 and Gravity's Rainbow feature blurbs comparing them to Joyce's novel).

>> No.4639221

>>4639158
that was actually Bob dylan

>> No.4639229

>>4639203

No sorry.
Not even close.

>> No.4639233

>>4639153
not trolling

>> No.4639236

the great gatsby

or

ulysses

or

the catcher in the rye

>> No.4639247

>>4639229
louis armstrong was the most important pop artist of all time and he set the stage for every following pop artist

and he was a better trumpet player than berry was a guitarist

and he might be more popular idr

and he was black first

and he is still much more respected by the srs business folks of the world

only difference is berry could write songs but armstrong could solo which is not all that different

armstrong also is did more for improvised soloing than probably anyone else

and he was a 10/10 vocalist

don't get me wrong i love chuck berry but armstrong is just more important

>> No.4639255

>>4639247

Just stop.

>> No.4639261

>>4639255
all those things are god's truth bud

>> No.4639262

>>4639247
The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Dylan all cite Berry.

So Berry is more influential on 20th century pop cult.

Louis Armstrong is not even on the level of Jerry Lee Lewis in terms on musical influence.

>> No.4639266

>>4639261

No.

>> No.4639268

>>4639262
the beatles, rolling stones, and dylan are all less important than louis armstrong. do you realize that he basically is the first mega-giant of recorded music who is also considered to be high quality? he's basically the original pop musician.

lol of course a bunch of rock guys cite the rock god as their influence. every jazz musician cites louis armstrong.

>i only listen to rock therefore rock musicians are more important than jazz ones

>> No.4639274

>>4639149
chuck berry was a hack who just tried to copy elvis but failed miserably

>> No.4639278

>>4639274
man you should troll less obviously

>> No.4639315

>>4639268

NO, The Beatles, Stones Dylan influence transcends music, they changes fashion, politics, art, the way people talk and on...

No one cares about jazz.

>> No.4639320

>>4639278
Man you should take things less seriously

>> No.4639321

>>4639315
Excellent post

>they changes politics

>> No.4639328

>>4639321

typo duh....

they did, don't be ignorant.

>> No.4639334

>>4639141
No book has been more influential or fussed over as much as gravity's rainbow so i'm going with that.

>> No.4639340

>>4639334

On The Road is more influential.

>> No.4639344

>>4639328
How did the Beatles change politics, I'm curious

>> No.4639354

>>4639344

google mate.

>> No.4639355

>>4639354
:^)

>> No.4639359

>>4639334
>No book
Of the 20th century, right?

>> No.4639394

Atlas Shrugged.

>> No.4639475

>>4639315
>no one cares about jazz

lol

>> No.4639489
File: 51 KB, 500x333, 1261336317604.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
4639489

>>4639475
>Listening to Kind of Blue atm

>> No.4639504

Probably Ulysses or Great Gatsby, depending on the criteria.

>> No.4639519

>>4639141


you know the 20th century kinda sucked.

>> No.4639560
File: 53 KB, 304x450, dianetics[1].jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
4639560

Prove me wrong.

>> No.4639566

>>4639560
prove it right

>> No.4639567

>>4639560
>Prove me wrong.
Okay, easy.
>The #1 NEW YORK TIMES Bestseller

>> No.4639620

The Satanic Verses

>> No.4639631

>>4639141
On good and evil

>> No.4639634

>>4639631
Beyond good and evil derp

>> No.4639639

>>4639631
>>4639634
Neither one of those is a novel.

>> No.4639647

>>4639639
Or written/published during the 20th century.

>> No.4639653

And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

>> No.4639658

>>4639141
finnegan's snake

>> No.4639662

>>4639149
influential != good

>> No.4639669

>>4639141
Wow, this thread is seriously
shit.

How can you even brand something as the greatest 20th century novel?
Anyway...
>ITT is named every generic contender for something that cannot, and will never be decided

Fuck off with your Fitzgerald, Joyce, Kerouac, Salinger, etc.
It's like a bunch of sophomores at some janky state school taking their first American or British lit. survey in here.

>> No.4639673

Guys. Guys. It was The Sun Also Rises. Chill out.

>> No.4639688

Trolling and /lit/ humor aside, Ulysses. Coming in at number two is In Search of Lost Time. There aren't any other honorable mentions.

>> No.4639714

Berlin Alexanderplatz, Journey to the End of the Night or Gravity's Rainbow

>> No.4639786
File: 61 KB, 430x443, fa.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
4639786

So many angloshits.

>> No.4639796
File: 704 KB, 320x240, g545g.gif [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
4639796

>>4639786
>tells native speakers of a language they are overly focused on their own cultural productions
>has to do it in their language, which he must speak fluently to have any business prospects
>does it on an information superhighway fundamentally structured on their language

How does it feel becoming a quaint colonial province of mighty Anglosphere uber-culture

>> No.4639823

Absolom! Absolom!

>> No.4640121

>>4639669
>Fuck off with your Fitzgerald, Joyce, Kerouac, Salinger, etc.
one of these names is not like the other

>> No.4640129

>>4639315
this post reads like it's from a 8th grader who just got into classic rock

>> No.4640166
File: 152 KB, 597x850, 20000leagues[1].jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
4640166

>> No.4640203

>>4639141
In Search of Lost Time. Or, if you're one of those people who prefers Joyce to Proust, Ulysses I suppose. The Great Gatsby is obviously the correct answer if we are limiting ourselves to U.S. lit.

>> No.4641608

>>4640121

yeah Salinger is terrible.

>> No.4641611

>>4639688

Proust is not literature. The people in his time who called him a charlatan were correct.

>> No.4641620

>>4639688
How could you really suggest Ulysses with a straight face?

>> No.4641680

Wise Blood.

>> No.4641693

>>4641611
no, remembrance of things past is THE novel of last century. there are no exceptions

just look at how weak the other suggestions are in comparison

>> No.4641702

Lolita

>> No.4641719

1984

>> No.4641746

proust
there is no serious writer who wasn't influenced by him afterwards. his style even rubbed off on celine, who claimed to hate him.

>> No.4641762

>>4641693

Yes, it is was THE shittiest novel of the last century.

Terrible. It's not event the best french novel of the past century.

>> No.4641765

Cien años de soledad. (one hundred years of solitude)

>> No.4641768

>>4641746

No. Pls, go back to the circle jerk that is lit academia.

>> No.4641777

Sound and The Fury?

>> No.4641791
File: 161 KB, 640x480, GayDar.png [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
4641791

>>4641768

>my pleb-sensor is on the fritz.

>> No.4641795

>>4641791

Gaydar you mean. Proust is the definition of pleb.

>> No.4641819
File: 87 KB, 466x640, 20-2.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
4641819

>> No.4641822

>>4641768
nah just being honest his influence is huge.

Against Sainte-Beuve also predicted most of the shifts in literary critique that happened in the 2nd part of the 20th century.

>> No.4641838

>>4639688
Ulysses has been the most acclaimed. It always seems to be more acclaimed than actually read, though.

>> No.4641839

>>4641822

No, you're just naive. You probably like James Wood.

>> No.4641843

>>4641822
Pedant.

>> No.4641856

>>4641839
>You probably like James Wood

You say that as if it's bad thing. Does his popularity frighten you?

>> No.4641859

>>4641856

No, his lack of intellect does. He shouldn't be reviewing books.

>> No.4641868

>>4641859
He was educated at Cambridge and is a professor at Harvard.

>> No.4641892

>>4641868

He's not a professor, he has no Phd. He is a great example of a simulation of a critic.

>> No.4641899

>>4641843
how so

>> No.4641980

>>4639180
Ulysses in number one, but Women and Men is number two and rarely gets discussed.

>> No.4644227

>>4641980
>rarely gets discussed
That's because most people don't fee like paying upwards of 100 dollars/euros/pounds for a book. Seriously, why the fuck is it such a rare book?

>> No.4644235

>>4644227
>2014
>Not having rich hippy parents who already own it

>> No.4644255

>>4644227
they have it at my library

i'm going to request it to basically let it sit around for like a year before i read it

but it'll be fine because there's two copies and nobody wants to read them apparently

>> No.4644275

>>4639149
>Warhol>Duchamp

>> No.4644290

Ulysses and The Sun Also Rises for the modern half, Catch-22 and Infinite Jest for the postmodern half.

>> No.4645645

Samuel Beckett's trilogy for the modern half, Gravity's Rainbow for the post-modern half. I'll do you one more and say John Crowley's Little, Big is the greatest fantasy novel of the 20th century.

>> No.4646692

Dune, because it's my favorite. Fuck objectivity, sandworms are where it's at.

>> No.4646709
File: 19 KB, 288x358, greatest genuis of all time.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
4646709

Atlas Shrugged

>> No.4646897

>>4646709
I disagree. The Fountainhead, while not as popular as AS, was more of a masterpiece in every way.

>> No.4646919

This thread epitomizes /shit

>> No.4646948

>>4646692
This nigga know's what's up.

I've always taken perverse pleasure from the way that God Emperor of Dune pretty much successfully argues that fascism can be worthwhile and quietly provides a sort of retroactive defense for the Reich's actions in such a manner as to win over the people who'd fought to defeat it.

>> No.4646953
File: 53 KB, 274x320, juden2.png [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
4646953

>>4646709

>> No.4646962

>>4640121

Obviously. Joyce isn't 3 syllables.

>> No.4646966

>>4639669
Would you look at that. Someone who isn't a complete fucktard.

>> No.4646968

>>4639141
that's [spoilers]subjective[/spoilers]

>> No.4646978
File: 6 KB, 225x225, HipsterBar.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
4646978

>>4641693

>let's say all these famous and influential novels are weak to make myself seem oh so edgy

>> No.4646982

I need to know the criteria by which we judge greatness. Influence on people as a whole?

Highlighting the condition of the human spirit in context of the time? A century is a bit much for that.

The one I enjoyed the most?

This topic is too open and poorly-defined to adequately address.

>> No.4646986

>>4641693
Finally! Something on which we can agree.

>> No.4646988

>>4641620
Read it and find out.

>> No.4647002

>>4646982
NEIL
"'Understanding Poetry,' by Dr. J. Evans
Pritchard, Ph.D. To fully understand
poetry, we must first be fluent with its
meter, rhyme and figures of speech, then
ask two questions: 1) How artfully has
the objective of the poem been rendered
and 2) How important is that objective?
Question 1 rates the poem's perfection;
question 2 rates its importance. And
once these questions have been answered,
determining the poem's greatness becomes
a relatively simple matter."

NEIL
"If the poem's score for perfection is
plotted on the horizontal of a graph and
its importance is plotted on the
vertical, then calculating the total
area of the poem yields the measure of
its greatness."

NEIL
"A sonnet by Byron might score high on
the vertical but only average on the
horizontal. A Shakespearean sonnet, on
the other hand, would score high both
horizontally and vertically, yielding a
massive total area, thereby revealing
the poem to be truly great. As you
proceed through the poetry in this book,
practice this rating method. As your
ability to evaluate poems in this matter
grows, so will, so will your enjoyment
and understanding of poetry."

KEATING
Excrement. That's what I think of Mr. J.
Evans Pritchard. We're not laying pipe.
We're talking about poetry. How can you
describe poetry like American Bandstand?
"Oh, I like Byron. I give him a 42, but
I can't dance to it." Now, I want you to
rip out that page.

KEATING
Go on. Rip out the entire page. You
heard me. Rip it out. Rip it out! Go on.
Rip it out!

KEATING
Thank you, Mr. Dalton. Gentlemen, tell
you what. Don't just tear out that page,
tear out the entire introduction. I want
it gone. History. Leave nothing of it.
Rip it out! Rip! Be gone, J. Evans
Pritchard, Ph.D. Rip. Shred. Tear. Rip
it out! I want to hear nothing but
ripping of Mr. Pritchard. We'll
perforate it, put it on a roll. It's not
the Bible. You're not gonna go to hell
for this. "

>> No.4647017

>>4639823

>> No.4647212

>>4646692
I too agree with the sand worm argument.

>> No.4647716

harry potter and the tree of nothing

>> No.4647741

>>4639160

Not sure if THE greatest 20th century novel (I think that would probably be Ulysses) but definitely the greatest writer

>> No.4649615
File: 111 KB, 701x400, dadrock.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
4649615

>>4639315

>> No.4649631

>all these impotent dicks
>surrounded by their comforting knickknacks
>wallowing in their good taste
>probably /fa/ and flower scented too
>not one of them has read A Rebours
>not one of them has seen their unpostmodernated common hell

>> No.4649644
File: 169 KB, 723x127, National socialism.png [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
4649644

Mein Kampf.

At least it has changed my life

>> No.4649672

>>4649644
>mein kampf
>a novel
shows how retarded /pol/ fags are

>> No.4649676

>>4644290
The best answer ITT

>> No.4649677

>>4649672
>anecdotal fallacy
How retarded.

>> No.4650154
File: 6 KB, 329x141, Untitled.png [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
4650154

>>4639141
The objective list presented by Piero Scaruffi

>> No.4650941

>>4639489
LYING