Saturday, November 05, 2005

TIME's All Time 100 Novels

Here's the sure-to-be-controversial list I discovered today:
"TIME critics Lev Grossman and Richard Lacayo pick the 100 best English-language novels from 1923 to the present" Why 1923 you ask? Well, that's when TIME magazine began operations. Lacayo explains that "that Ulysses (1922) doesn't make the cut." Too bad, I guess. The mission statement is pretty good, too: "Lists like this one have two purposes. One is to instruct. The other of course is to enrage. We're bracing ourselves for the e-mails that start out: "You moron! You pathetic bourgeoise insect! How could you have left off...(insert title here)." We say Mrs. Dalloway. You say Mrs. Bridge. We say Naked Lunch. You say Breakfast at Tiffanys. Let's call the whole thing off? Just the opposite—bring it on. Sometimes judgment is best formed under fire. But please, no e-mails about Ulysses. Rules are rules" Check out the whole list here. The biggest omission, I think, is Canadian content. There's only one! (Atwood's Blind Assassin) I think that, by now, Canadian literature has a greater impact on the world than that. No Margaret Laurence? No Alice Munro? No Moredecai Richler? Furthermore, as far as I can tell, the list is 98% British or American. Salman Rushdie and Atwood are the only exceptions; why not call it a list of "100 novels from British or American Authors"? Are Rushdie's and Atwood's books that good that they had to change the list criteria? There are certainly other books written in English that deserve attention. What about Nobel Prize winner J.M. Coetzee? Well, that's the end of my rant. I really feel that Barney's Version by Richler should have made it; otherwise, my favourite book on this list would have to be Lucky Jim by Kingsley Amis. My dad will like the fact that Atonement by Ian McEwan is on there, and my friend Deanna will appreciate the presence of Their Eyes Were Watching God. This will certainly give me some ideas for books to read, as I am either unfamiliar with or haven't read most of the books on this list. Let the discussion begin!

2 comments:

Garry said...

Bonnie tells me that Malcolm Lowry was Canadian, so that's two.

Dean Ziegler said...

Wow, I'm surprised that a graphic novel (The Watchmen) made the list.