THE GREATEST NOVEL OF OUR TIME
I was recently asked what I though was the greatest novel of our time — an appropriate question given that I’ve just released my own novel, THE EDGE OF MADNESS (Aignos 2020)?
According to Wikipedia, “A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, normally written in prose form, and which is typically published as a book.” Okay. According to the online Dictionary, it’s “a fictitious prose narrative of book length, typically representing character and action with some degree of realism.” So what is a novel — Fictitious. Long. A book containing characters and action of some degree of realism. Well, THE EDGE OF MADNESS clearly fits that definition; however, I have to say that the greatest novel of our time would have to be the life and times of Donald Trump as presented in the the media. Yep. It’s all there: Fiction galore. Long (three years plus so far and, well, “ongoing”). A long list of characters and action with some degree of realism. Book, you say? Try TRUMP: THE ART OF THE DEAL by Donald Trump, or better yet the increasing number of published books surrounding him and his times as President of the United States of America. It would be hard to write a better “novel” or novel series, I think.
A challenge to that would be Truman Capote and IN COLD BLOOD. It’s said that Truman wrote the book as a literary experiment, wanted to write a “nonfiction novel.” Now there’s a novel thought: nonfiction fiction. Or should that be fictitious non-fiction? An author colleague of mine, Helen R. Davis wrote what she calls an “alt-history novel,” CLEOPATRA UNCONQUERED (Savant 2015) followed by CLEOPATRA VICTORIOUS (Savant 2019) which relatively closely follows the historical life of Cleopatra up to the Battle of Actium after which Cleopatra and Antony historically commit suicide. But in her novels, they don’t. In fact (is that the right phrase?), they win and Octavius (later Augustus) dies. Given this kind of blurring between fiction and nonfiction, I’m inclined to stick even stronger with my choice for the greatest novel of our time.
But I digress (or do I, really — there’s that idea of “real” mucking things up again): When I wrote THE EDGE OF MADNESS, I projected what I imagined to be the socio-political narrative of the late 1980’s into TOTAL MELTDOWN and it’s sequel THE EDGE OF MADNESS. Sort of like what Truman did with his infamous “nonfiction novel” and Helen did with her Cleopatra series. Futuring has always been an interest of mine, and, if anything, THE EDGE OF MADNESS is a future relationship novel. Have I invented something new (i.e. “novel”)? Maybe…see for yourself and let me know. Want a teaser? Check out my publisher’s “Video Book Preview” at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Je6CC... and give it a “like” (thumbs up) if you’re so inclined!
According to Wikipedia, “A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, normally written in prose form, and which is typically published as a book.” Okay. According to the online Dictionary, it’s “a fictitious prose narrative of book length, typically representing character and action with some degree of realism.” So what is a novel — Fictitious. Long. A book containing characters and action of some degree of realism. Well, THE EDGE OF MADNESS clearly fits that definition; however, I have to say that the greatest novel of our time would have to be the life and times of Donald Trump as presented in the the media. Yep. It’s all there: Fiction galore. Long (three years plus so far and, well, “ongoing”). A long list of characters and action with some degree of realism. Book, you say? Try TRUMP: THE ART OF THE DEAL by Donald Trump, or better yet the increasing number of published books surrounding him and his times as President of the United States of America. It would be hard to write a better “novel” or novel series, I think.
A challenge to that would be Truman Capote and IN COLD BLOOD. It’s said that Truman wrote the book as a literary experiment, wanted to write a “nonfiction novel.” Now there’s a novel thought: nonfiction fiction. Or should that be fictitious non-fiction? An author colleague of mine, Helen R. Davis wrote what she calls an “alt-history novel,” CLEOPATRA UNCONQUERED (Savant 2015) followed by CLEOPATRA VICTORIOUS (Savant 2019) which relatively closely follows the historical life of Cleopatra up to the Battle of Actium after which Cleopatra and Antony historically commit suicide. But in her novels, they don’t. In fact (is that the right phrase?), they win and Octavius (later Augustus) dies. Given this kind of blurring between fiction and nonfiction, I’m inclined to stick even stronger with my choice for the greatest novel of our time.
But I digress (or do I, really — there’s that idea of “real” mucking things up again): When I wrote THE EDGE OF MADNESS, I projected what I imagined to be the socio-political narrative of the late 1980’s into TOTAL MELTDOWN and it’s sequel THE EDGE OF MADNESS. Sort of like what Truman did with his infamous “nonfiction novel” and Helen did with her Cleopatra series. Futuring has always been an interest of mine, and, if anything, THE EDGE OF MADNESS is a future relationship novel. Have I invented something new (i.e. “novel”)? Maybe…see for yourself and let me know. Want a teaser? Check out my publisher’s “Video Book Preview” at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Je6CC... and give it a “like” (thumbs up) if you’re so inclined!
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