I was happy to read a Wall Street Journal article by Lev Grossman entitled “Good Books Don't Have to Be Hard.”
Grossman says that most literary novels from the first half of the Twentieth Century-- by authors such as James Joyce, Virginia Woolf and Henry James—fall into a category literary scholars call Modernist. These authors thought that earlier novels were too neat, with all the loose ends tied up ends, and didn’t reflect how life really was. The Modernists wrote stories that sometimes didn’t have plots one could describe easily, and which sometimes seemed to end abruptly with no real conclusion. Some of their novels contained extensive inner monologues called stream of consciousness. Sometimes it was difficult to follow which character had said a particular line of dialog. Often these authors took pride in the fact that their books were difficult to read. They would not pander to the common reader. They tried to appeal to readers who didn’t mind doing some work.
The automobile, telephone, radio and psychoanalysis had revolutionized the way people of the Twentieth Century traveled, communicated and even how they thought. Modernist authors thought that these changes should be reflected in literature. Just as Modernist artists no longer felt compelled to paint “pretty pictures,” Modernist writers did not feel they needed to entertain.
Grossman writes that times have again changed, and good readable novels are back. He cites such authors as Michael Chabon, Jonathan Lethem, and Richard Price as contemporary authors who use literary language to relate riveting stories in various fiction genres. He notes that Cormac McCarthy, who Grossman says for years “appeared to be the oldest living Modernist in captivity,” has more recent writings that include a serial-killer novel and a work of apocalyptic science fiction..
Take a look at the article, and check some of the other authors Grossman mentions, and then check out their books at the Merrick Library.
Grossman says that most literary novels from the first half of the Twentieth Century-- by authors such as James Joyce, Virginia Woolf and Henry James—fall into a category literary scholars call Modernist. These authors thought that earlier novels were too neat, with all the loose ends tied up ends, and didn’t reflect how life really was. The Modernists wrote stories that sometimes didn’t have plots one could describe easily, and which sometimes seemed to end abruptly with no real conclusion. Some of their novels contained extensive inner monologues called stream of consciousness. Sometimes it was difficult to follow which character had said a particular line of dialog. Often these authors took pride in the fact that their books were difficult to read. They would not pander to the common reader. They tried to appeal to readers who didn’t mind doing some work.
The automobile, telephone, radio and psychoanalysis had revolutionized the way people of the Twentieth Century traveled, communicated and even how they thought. Modernist authors thought that these changes should be reflected in literature. Just as Modernist artists no longer felt compelled to paint “pretty pictures,” Modernist writers did not feel they needed to entertain.
Grossman writes that times have again changed, and good readable novels are back. He cites such authors as Michael Chabon, Jonathan Lethem, and Richard Price as contemporary authors who use literary language to relate riveting stories in various fiction genres. He notes that Cormac McCarthy, who Grossman says for years “appeared to be the oldest living Modernist in captivity,” has more recent writings that include a serial-killer novel and a work of apocalyptic science fiction..
Take a look at the article, and check some of the other authors Grossman mentions, and then check out their books at the Merrick Library.
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