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From a public online vote(Guardian readers?)1984 came top. Now does that say something about how people are feeling?
The 10 books which the public felt best defined the 20th century, in order of publication, were:
Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists by Robert Tressell
The Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell
The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
The Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger
Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
Bridget Jones's Diary by Helen Fielding
I can see why so many of those books were selected.
The Great Gatsby (a favourite) with the two worlds of the rich and the 'poor', the poor man who gains wealth to show the woman he loved that he can be what she wanted, but it's still not enough in the end.
I suspect Carol, it's more about what people think they are supposed to say. How may of the people who voted have actually read 1984?. I certainly haven't. The only book I have read in the list is Heart of Darkness, and that was for my OU course.
How did Bridget Jones get in there?. Especially when it is a reworking of a nineteenth century novel (unashamed as well).
Catch 22 was unreadable , i wonder why "to kill a mocking Bird "was not there, Grapes of Wrath is a good read the rest who knows? As for Bridget Jones , give us a break
Excuse me if I put on my teacher hat here. Ive actually taught the first 8 books at some time over the last *cough* years and I can claim to have read them all. So just to be even more unbearable, heres a quiz based on these ten writers and books. Easy peasy...
1. Which of these writers failed to graduate from Stanford University?
2. Which book title is taken from Shakespeare?
3. Who died of typhus?
4. Who was born in 1923?
5. Who was born Eric Arthur Blair?
6. Whose father was a mill manager?
7. For whom was English his/her third language?
8. Who wrote one of these books in Hastings and St Leonards?
9. For whom is this their only novel?
10. Whose wife was diagnosed as schizophrenic?
Great start Carol. You have to be a F Scott Fitzgerald fan. Didn't he leave Zelda in a clinic in Switzerland and take up with another woman back in the states?
'fraid not Carol. I know she wrote it in an incredibly short time after developing the character in her column in the Independent, but not in Hastings. (I know, I know, I can be insufferable sometimes!)
I would actually say '1984' would define how a lot of us are feeling right now. The hypocrisy that's being thrown around by politians is unbelievable, and as for the changing language to control how people think - don't even get me started (TT knows what I'm like when I get a bee in my bonnet). It's no real surprise that this book made it to the top. I've read it, and liked it. George Orwell was a prophet, in my opinion.
As for the best writer of the 20th century, that's open to debate.
We live in a country of democracy where we are allowed to say what we believe and think (as long as it isn't unacceptably offensive) with out fear. As a member of Amnesty International some of the appeals I have sent the world over is heart breaking.
As my sister said yesterday:
"You know, if you lived somewhere like Russia, you would have been killed to silence you by now because of what you do".
Stirling, yes, I'm right with you on that one - but - and it's a big but - I keep a regular eye on Reporters Without Borders (www.rsf.org) who keep tabs on countries' press freedom violations. There are a lot. I know for a fact (from www.worldcantwait.net) that the 5th October was an important day for the USA as there were hundreds of demonstrations nationwide against the Bush administration - but I didn't see a single TV news report about it. It led me to firmly believe we are being censored in this country to keep the politicians and the big-wigs sweet. I'm sorry if you disagree, but the Reporters Without Borders press freedom index is right here if you want to have a look http://www.rsf.org/rubrique.php3?id_rubrique=639 - the United Kingdon is right down at number 27 in terms of the freedom journalists have here. OK, North Korea is last at 168, but number 27 is still not great in a country that professes to enjoy freedom of the press and speech.
'1984' was a work of genius. If only George Orwell could see how right he turned out to be.
Comments
From a public online vote(Guardian readers?)1984 came top. Now does that say something about how people are feeling?
The 10 books which the public felt best defined the 20th century, in order of publication, were:
Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists by Robert Tressell
The Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell
The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
The Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger
Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
Bridget Jones's Diary by Helen Fielding
The Great Gatsby (a favourite) with the two worlds of the rich and the 'poor', the poor man who gains wealth to show the woman he loved that he can be what she wanted, but it's still not enough in the end.
How did Bridget Jones get in there?. Especially when it is a reworking of a nineteenth century novel (unashamed as well).
Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't the majority American writers?.
As for Bridget Jones's Diary, Helen Fielding achieved a tremendous feat she took literature at it's best and turned it into chick-lit.
1. Which of these writers failed to graduate from Stanford University?
2. Which book title is taken from Shakespeare?
3. Who died of typhus?
4. Who was born in 1923?
5. Who was born Eric Arthur Blair?
6. Whose father was a mill manager?
7. For whom was English his/her third language?
8. Who wrote one of these books in Hastings and St Leonards?
9. For whom is this their only novel?
10. Whose wife was diagnosed as schizophrenic?
And Brave New World is a phrase from The Tempest.
Catcher in the Rye was Salinger's only novel, though I think he did some other bits and pieces.
Rich
1. Steinbeck
2. Brave New World
3. Anne Frank
4. Heller
5. Orwell
6. Fielding
7. Conrad
8. Tressell
9. Salinger
10. Fitzgerald.
As for the best writer of the 20th century, that's open to debate.
We live in a country of democracy where we are allowed to say what we believe and think (as long as it isn't unacceptably offensive) with out fear. As a member of Amnesty International some of the appeals I have sent the world over is heart breaking.
As my sister said yesterday:
"You know, if you lived somewhere like Russia, you would have been killed to silence you by now because of what you do".
'1984' was a work of genius. If only George Orwell could see how right he turned out to be.
George Orwell possessed more than good author perception. His insight is monumental.