So, what's the best novel of 21th century so far?
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So, what's the best novel of 21th century so far?
So, what's the best novel of 21th century so far?
Thalidomide Vintage Ad Shirt $22.14 |
CRIME Shirt $21.68 |
Thalidomide Vintage Ad Shirt $22.14 |
Mine.
Obviously my diary tbh or my unabridged complete collection of shitposts.
It Ends With Us.
Are you memeing, or is it actually good? I've been meaning to read it. It has to be popular for a reason right?
Yes he is memeing lol. It’s popular because it’s romance slop that blew up on Tiktok.
I think they lobotomised you too much
No competition
This was the first of seven Houellebecq novels that I ran out of steam on. Maybe it's because I have no interest in science fiction, but I had to set it down in 2021. Trying again in a couple weeks, hoping to enjoy it more.
Giochi dell'eternità by Antonio Moresco
>21th century
Haignes Porter and the Paleontologicians Mud,
a genuinely groundbreaking work
Ducks, Newburyport
how is the translation?
It is mine, but I haven't finished it yet.
So maybe it doesn't count.
Here is opening paragraphs.
Once there lived a man who never seemed to have any luck. In our story today we see him in the grey distance. Standing before that great, ornate, brick built edifice, stretching high into the air, full of columns and arches and domes. It is much more grand than it needs to be. It is the central train station. And we can just about see Eddie emerging from the tall entrance and making his way down the steps. He is wearing his very best clothes, but he is far too far away for us to see this. Eddie is looking around now. Checking his little map. He can see where the vast train station is on the map, and where he has to get to, but he can’t work out which direction things are in. And now he is looking up towards us. He sees the road he has to take is the one going up the hill. The sky is concrete grey, and marred with dark patches. Eddie treads steadily up the hill. Little shops on either side of him. Eddie pays them no mind.
‘COMING IN?’ burst a rough northern voice, startling Eddie. He turned to see a huge faced man standing in a shop doorway. This man, tall and well built, stepped back, into the shop, opening up the dark doorway. The man, dressed in white like a doctor, dirty white, gestured to Eddie to come in, smiled at him, and snarled at him all at once. Eddie’s mouth drooped open. He registered that the shop was a butchers. Eddie was a vegetarian. Butcher’s shops were not his thing at all. It was dark inside the shop, but Eddie could see the cuts of meat inside behind the glass display cases.
You used a great deal of thresholdy words, in between commonplace and over-pompous and, while I usually admire this, it somehow seems a little self-conscious. That being said, once self-conscious, the only thing to do is double down on it, so I would suggest interspersing a few, more obscure words along with an equal amount of simpler ones. I like the name Eddie, but at the same time as I think on it more it also seems to be the quintessential "everyman" name, with a certain near antiquity attached to it. Personally, I'm not a fan of sentences like "Little shops on either side of him." but I'm willing to acknowledge this as nothing more than preference. Ultimately, and I know this is all too typical a sentiment (to the point of sounding dismissive), it just depends on what you're going for, but by no means do I intend to discourage you; you've definitely got something here.
Thanks for the encouragement anon! I will post next bit!
‘Are you coming in or what?’ commanded the smiling big faced butcher. He stepped back further into the shop, his big fingers pulling at the air, gesturing for Eddie to follow.
‘I’m sorry, I’m not a meat eater, thank you,’ said Eddie. But the butcher seemed not to hear the words. Indeed, Eddie himself seemed not to hear the words. Eddie tried to smile. He wanted it to be a ‘thanks but no thanks’ polite but with an edge smile. But before the smile could begin to take shape the butcher flashed an expression of anger. Eddie suddenly felt the butcher was angry with him, for wasting his time. Eddie was immediately aware of the roughness of the butcher’s voice, the size of the butchers gesturing hands, the redness of the butcher’s face, especially around his snarling smiling mouth. And then Eddie was inside the shop. And the air smelled of old blood.
The butcher made his way behind the counter, talking all the while, his rough northern voice hard for Eddie to follow. Eddie was taking in the surroundings. Old shelving, piled high with tins and cans, with labels he didn’t recognize. Packets of meat. A faded poster on the wall of a smiling cow, and the words, Best Cuts Beef. Behind the glass in front of Eddie cuts of meat and the head of a pig and the head of a sheep. The butcher was still talking, wiping at a chopping board, holding a cleaver.
‘I’m sorry, I’m actually not a meat eater,’ said Eddie.
‘Got the best meat you’ll get in Blackpool mate,’ said the butcher. ‘No lying. Roberts Butchers mate, been here six year. Best meat you can get. Sworn in blood. You been to Blackpool before? You here on your holiday?’
This, 2666 or Austerlitz
absolutely based choices (although I still have to read Solenoid, the other two are fantastic)
>my entire taste in books is formed by shitlib press accolades
Kill you'reselves.
These are kino books, though
2666 is good though kinda slapped together given the circumstance
>no Giochi dell'eternità by Antonio Moresco
You're not entitled to an absolute opinion if you're a monolingual brainlet.
came here to post this, I find it consistently good but there's a definite overreliance on biological terminology to win cheap points in evoking eloquence imo
The Pale King.
why would i read a 21st century book
Moore's Jerusalem.
Under the dome by Stephen King probably
Under the Dome, typical Steven King. It's either aliens, or an indian burial ground. This time it's aliens.
It's a fun read, but you can't call it great literature.
Bleeding Edge
White Teeth by Zadie Smith
One of my favs at least
>21st centurty
>2000
ah frick it, it's close enough
The Bible.
House of leaves
I didn't find it that impactful outside of being just a good book that sets a fantastic atmosphere and relationship with the reader. Maybe that's enough, I don't know. It's no tolstoy.
the bible isn't from the 21's century?
Alan Moore's Jerusalem.
I haven't read anything from this century yet.