VS Naipaul declared the novel dead in a New York Times interview last month. (You can also listen to an extract here.)
Now, novelist Jay McInerney, (himself a witness to the tragedy of 9/11) makes a convincing case for the continued relevance of fiction in the Guardian .
Leon Wing's very articulate take on the article can be read here. Leon also provides further proof, (if further proof is necessary!) that the form is alive an kicking by invoking Patrick McGrath’s novel, Port Mungo. (One I'll have to read now - thanks Leon.)
I also fail to see signs of the novel's untimely demise. Quite the opposite. (I've slipped between the covers of John Banville's The Sea now and am totally seduced: this is fiction writing alive and kicking!)
Still, one needs folks like Naipaul to take an extreme position now and again so that others can have the pleasure of knocking him down.
McInvery made me smile with this thought:
The only reason we listen to Naipaul is because he wrote A House for Mr Biswas and A Bend in the River. If the novel doesn't matter any more then his opinion wouldn't seem to count for more than my doorman's opinion.Quite!
6 comments:
Yes, long live the novel, Sharon. The novel is not dead, as claimed by some people in the literary world; good fiction still has the power to resonate within us, to tell us lots of things about our lives and the world we inhabit. There're lots of important works of literary fiction out there, if we only make the effort to look for them, books that enlighten us on things that matter most: love, death, the nature of humanity, etc. Yes, long live the novel.
If it weren't for the load of novels i read voraciously, I would be embroiled in a heady extra marital affair!
Thank god for novels and long live the novels!!!!
adiejin - I suspect that kids are reading much more in Malaysia than they have in the past, because now good books are available more easily. Confess - we also enjoy jumping from one site to another ... but it's a different kind of reading pleasure. We have to help kids discover the pleasure of books ... and it takes committed parents who read to and with their kids to do that ...
Hi Sharon,
Firstly, I've been following your blog for quite some time now and it's really a good read.
I was wondering if you could impart sound advice with regards to getting a Masters in English. I'm really interested in all things books, am an avid reader but have no desire to be a novelist in the future or even a serious writer.
Will obtaining a Masters in English be of any benefit in paving the way to working with books (not actually writing them, if there is what are the options? ), aside from the fact that I am interested in doing it cos well, im interested...?
Would you recommend any particular learning institution (locally or otherwise ) that offer it part time?
Sorry if it seems like a whole list of very *duh* questions but I figured you would be in the know for things like this and I would appreciate it greatly if you could enlighten me some :)
Hi Eng. I don't know a lot about Masters in English courses, but for sure some of the MFA courses in Creative Writing (Masters of Fine Arts) courses in the US and Australia have modules in publishing and editing for e.g. All I can say is shop around - go to British Council and contact the education sections in other embassies to find out about courses. Would be very intersted to hear what you find out!
I hate people who say "we" without qualification. It makes me feel as if he's trying to tell me what to do. It's also interesting that he chose to use his doorman for contrast.. it's as if he has a "regard" scale.. with Mr. Naipaul on the top and his doorman on the bottom. It's as if he thinks less of someone simply because he's a doorman, and not a good writer. It's like he thinks doormen can't have valid, sound and very interesting opinions.
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