Book List With A Stiff Upper Lip...

[Brian]

The Guardian's Top 100:

http://books.guardian.co.uk/news/arti...

Published in 2002.

Off to find tea and crumpets.

[Alex]

I like this list.

[Brian]

It's one of the better ones.

I'm still kind of angry that Hemingway only gets "The Old Man and the Sea," and Dostoyevski gets six novels. I'm pretty sure that's how Hemingway would have wanted it, but I'm a little miffed that British people have such a low opinion of American authors.

They compensated by having two Faulkner novels.

Plus, you would think Dickens would get more love than just "Great Expectations."

[Xysea]

I am shocked there were so few American authors as well. Was there even one American woman?

I can think of several who would qualify.

It was Brit heavy, but I expected that.

[Alex]

I'm not complaining about the choice of Dickens. That's my fave. And, funny enough, I'm not a fan of Hemingway but did enjoy Old Man and the Sea. The thing I liked about this list was how it had books and authors from all over the world. I mean, how would I know anything about Japanese classic literature? So, now I've got one to try. Hopefully in translation because I don't read Japanese. LOL!!

[Christine]

I thought Dictee (Korean with Japanese themes) and the play M. Butterfly were excellent (Asian-lit) subversive texts. China looks fantastically subversive on film...like Ju Dou...oh, love it. I need recommendations for contemporary Chinese (in translation or English) fiction, though. Haven't traveled that far off Maxine Hong Kingston's "Woman Warrior" there.

Why do discussions of subversion usually go back in time? Why aren't contemporary authors covered more? There's so many good ones...this, now, today, is where American lit can really come out, I think...