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Cruddy
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I say again, those that can, do.
As for the Joyce V Grisham thing - of course best sellers are not great literature.
That's because great literature isn't as funny, witty, down to earth or lively as a best seller.
Personally I've yet to open any HP - but I don't look down on it because people enjoy it.
So how's about it, Agathon? Is there a story in that cynical hide of yours?
COULD YOU ENTERTAIN PEOPLE TO THE SAME LEVEL AS J K ROWLING????
C'mon, prove me wrong. I dare you.
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Elok
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Land of Ramen Dragons
Mar 2003
time: 00:29
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quote:
Originally posted by Agathon
No I didn't read it properly. 
I agree - they are kids' books. 
*Stands back in his fireproof coat* |
Don't flatter yourself, Red. On this board, that kind of comment is so frequent as to become background noise...
Anyway, while I personally hate the marketing glut surrounding potter(it's become another Pokemon in terms of sheer crass merchandising), I don't see what's so hateful about the books themselves. Rowling obviously owes a lot to Dahl, maybe a little bit to Tolkien, but the style isn't sleep-inducing and there are no ripoffs that I detected. I've read the first four.
Comparing them to Huck Finn is just apples and oranges. She obviously did not set out with any kind of scathing social commentary in mind. It's just a story. If you expect profound insight from a children's book you have issues.
And it's absolute Shakespeare compared to what's written for adults. Within the genre there's nothing too noteworthy-or is Marion Zimmer Bradley's sad pseudo-erotica somehow literature? How about Anne Rice? Is there any GOOD fantasy writer for adults? Maybe Anne McCaffrey once, but nowadays...meh.
Outside the immediate genre of fantasy, you have Clancy and the airplane-ride filler material crew, who have all the sparkle and insightfullness of a washing machine. I think adult interest in Potter might just be a manifestation of the general crappiness of other reading material. Don't forget that a lot of parents keep tabs on what their children read and get hooked on the series that way when they would ordinarily be watching 'Survivor:Croatia,' or whatever.
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Seeker
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London Ontario
Jan 1970
time: 00:29
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War and Peace...bah....Is character sketch and maundering about mere human feelings and relations supposed to be 'great'? I went in looking for battles, sex, betrayal, and ego-feeding escapism. I found Prince Andrei, a humanist, trying to maintain his relationship with his 'ancien regime' father. I found endless pages of how great it is to be young and innocent in the Natasha character sketches. I found her 'corruption' to be trite and not stimulating to my 21 century sensibilities. OMG, she ALMOST broke her engagement! Stop the presses Tolstoy! And his ridicule and dismissal of military science and technology "....It always comes down to one brave lad in the front rank who shouts "Hurrah!"'
Although I did like the rascally Hussar who ties an officer to the back of a bear.
I rank Hesse the greatest novelist even though his novels are almost exactly the same in different settings. I rank Lovecraft the second because he comes closest to true escapism, true wonder and fantasy, leaving the techniques of 'great' writers who care about human characterization and relations over atmosphere.
Short Version: War and Peace is boring, mostly. I would much rather read some hack fantasy from the 70s than about a bunch of silly aristocrats having silly relationships. For hundreds of pages. Heck, I would much rather read Livy.
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gunkulator
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Can't believe such an obvious troll has made it to four pages already - and I'm helping it!
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21-06-2003 23:26
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