Jens,
When I refer to 'difficult' fiction, I am referring to any fiction which the vast majority of lay people would describe as very difficult or impossible to make sense of.
I am very much a non-fiction reader (math, philosophy) and have a very narrow exposure to fiction. However, I have read a little. As an example of 'easy' and 'difficult' fiction, I'll put some of the books I've read under 'easy' or 'difficult' categories.
'Easy' fiction:
"Lolita" Vladimir Nabokov (great book)
any Hemingway
any Fitzgerald (I really enjoyed "...Gatsby")
any Steinbeck
"Les Misérables" Victor Hugo (great book)
"The Count of Monte Cristo" Alexander Dumas
'Difficult' fiction:
"Absalom, Absalom!"
"The Sound and the Fury" William Faulkner
"Ulysses" (great book)
"Finnegans Wake" James Joyce
and I'm sure there are many others...
("Finnegans Wake" is extremely difficult, possibly the most difficult novel ever published. I challenge anyone to give it a try!)
If you haven't read any of these books and have no idea what I mean by 'Difficult' fiction, pick up "Finnegans Wake" by James Joyce and you will very quickly understand what I am talking about.
I'd like to point out that by 'easy' fiction, I don't mean shallow or unintelligent or not worth reading. I simply mean that the general plot is very easy to follow, although the finer, more subtle points or themes might go unnoticed by less experienced readers.
In 'difficult' fiction, on the other hand, it's difficult to be sure of otherwise simple things, such as: who's narrating? who's the narrater talking about? what is he/she talking about? when is he/she talking about? what in the world is going on here? In books of this sort, one could read 50 or 100 pages into the novel and not have a clue as to what is happening and even question his/her own intelligence.
I am very curious about other people's reading experiences with 'difficult' fiction.
I'm surprised that noone has posted about this yet. There must be well-read people in this forum. This is, after all, a forum about reading!
Lassic
[This message has been edited by Lassic (edited March 28, 2001).]
[This message has been edited by Lassic (edited March 28, 2001).]
[This message has been edited by Lassic (edited March 28, 2001).]
[This message has been edited by Lassic (edited March 28, 2001).]
[This message has been edited by Lassic (edited March 28, 2001).]
