Posted by Lale on 23/10/2007, 17:07:56, in reply to "Re: Doris Lessing" 1. I had already read 2 books by her But, also, I might have been influenced by a remark I heard Lessing made about her Nobel win, which I found to be tactless, or even, downright ugly: "I'm already thinking about all the people who are going to send me begging letters -- I can see them lining up now." I don't attach too much importance to Nobel, at least I try not to. One year they give it to someone who criticizes China, next year Iraq war, the year after Turkey. If there is "buzz" around someone for defying something, they'll give it to her/him. It is not about literature, they should stop calling it the Nobel Prize for Literature. It is a mechanism for making someone's name heard and I like that because I can go through the list of Nobel winners and see if I would like to read their books. But, at the end, the reader judges for himself/herself. There are many Nobel winners who are not popular with the readers and their dissappearance into obscurity cannot be prevented by a Nobel. Booker prize (or other awards that are given for a particular book) are much more useful. Lale --Previous Message--
99.241.110.248
I ended up not voting for Doris Lessing for our next year's list because:
2. The list of good books were long and the decision was tough
: I guess some of you must have seen Harold Bloom's
: comments on Lessing's win. He said that it was pure
: political correctness, that while she had some
: admirable qualities early in her career, she'd written
: nothing for the last fifteen years but fourth rate
: science fiction.
:
: Bloom is much reviled, but I like him. It's possible
: that he sometimes slights a worthy book or author, but
: I don't think he'll recommend an unworthy one. Few
: critics these days seem willing to make such
: judgements or even believe in them.
:
: Particularly with contemporary books, I want some
: guidance. I don't want to end up wasting time with Da
: Vinci Codes and Kite Runners.
:
: I have never been able to find any Bloom comment on
: Pamuk. I wish I could.
:
:
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