Book of the Century? - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

Zoe · 06-12-2001, 03:34 AM

<font face="Verdana"><table><TR><TD><FONT SIZE="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Shade of Carn Dûm
Posts: 377</TD><TD></TD></TR></TABLE>
Re: Book of the Century?

<blockquote>Quote:<hr> This is IMHO their primary motivation for despising it! To them, literature should be all about flawed character, darkness, perversion, and depravity, or it is not worth writing. To them, Tolkien's anti-modernist, absolutist, Good vs. Evil views are outmoded and dangerous.<hr></blockquote>
Isn't that generalising just a bit too much? Sure there are critics like this - there are also a lot who aren't.

Anyvague, at risk of being a heretic and getting at best drummed out of the downs, and at worst, burnt at the stake <img src=wink.gif ALT="

"> , I'd suggest that no, the LotR isn't the book of the century. Unfortunately, I can't think of an actual winner - things 'of the century' seem so pointless when few people alive have lived through the whole 20th century, and I doubt there'd be anyone alive who can remember the whole thing clearly. And of course, such lists do tend to be specialised - is there any one book which everyone would like? As in everyone, not just Westerners.

"This sig is proudly quote-free." -Me.
(Also known as eoz, and now has a non-Tolkien forum, called http://pub57.ezboard.com/beverythingelse45161everything else</a>.) </p>

06-12-2001, 03:34 AM	#10
Zoe Wight Join Date: Sep 2000 Posts: 223	<font face="Verdana"><table><TR><TD><FONT SIZE="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Shade of Carn Dûm Posts: 377</TD><TD></TD></TR></TABLE> Re: Book of the Century? <blockquote>*Quote:<hr> This is IMHO their primary motivation for despising it! To them, literature should be all about flawed character, darkness, perversion, and depravity, or it is not worth writing. To them, Tolkien's anti-modernist, absolutist, Good vs. Evil views are outmoded and dangerous.<hr></blockquote> Isn't that generalising just a bit too much? Sure there are critics like this - there are also a lot who aren't. Anyvague, at risk of being a heretic and getting at best drummed out of the downs, and at worst, burnt at the stake <img src=wink.gif ALT=""> , I'd suggest that no, the LotR isn't the book of the century. Unfortunately, I can't think of an actual winner - things 'of the century' seem so pointless when few people alive have lived through the whole 20th century, and I doubt there'd be anyone alive who can remember the whole thing clearly. And of course, such lists do tend to be specialised - is there any one book which everyone would like? As in everyone*, not just Westerners. "This sig is proudly quote-free." -Me. (Also known as eoz, and now has a non-Tolkien forum, called http://pub57.ezboard.com/beverythingelse45161everything else</a>.) </p>