of novels, as collected by American Book Review, can be read here. If there are any you consider missing, I'd be grateful if you posted them as a comment on this post--I'd be delighted to read them.
I suppose most of the obvious classics are there, but also a lot of turgid stuff that might put me off reading further. A few favourites of mine that are missing:
"Far out in the uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable end of the western spiral arm of the Galaxy lies a small unregarded yellow sun." - Douglas Adams, Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy
"When a day that you happen to know is Wednesday starts off by sounding like Sunday, there is something seriously wrong somewhere." - John Wyndham, Day of the Triffids
"Imo set out one day to catch some fish but there was no sea." - Terry Pratchett, Nation
"Not everybody knows how I killed old Phillip Mathers, smashing his jaw in with my spade." - Flann O'Brien, The Third Policeman
" 'Where is he?' " - Susan Cooper, Over Sea Under Stone
I'm also startled, especially in a list so dominated by American writers, to see no Steinbeck. And what does the absence of Chandler or that master of the opening line Elmore Leonard tell us?
I suppose most of the obvious classics are there, but also a lot of turgid stuff that might put me off reading further.
ReplyDeleteA few favourites of mine that are missing:
"Far out in the uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable end of the western spiral arm of the Galaxy lies a small unregarded yellow sun." - Douglas Adams, Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy
"When a day that you happen to know is Wednesday starts off by sounding like Sunday, there is something seriously wrong somewhere." - John Wyndham, Day of the Triffids
"Imo set out one day to catch some fish but there was no sea." - Terry Pratchett, Nation
"Not everybody knows how I killed old Phillip Mathers, smashing his jaw in with my spade." - Flann O'Brien, The Third Policeman
" 'Where is he?' " - Susan Cooper, Over Sea Under Stone
I'm also startled, especially in a list so dominated by American writers, to see no Steinbeck. And what does the absence of Chandler or that master of the opening line Elmore Leonard tell us?