Great Gatsby: the perfect novel?
Over on the New York Times book blog, there's a spirited debate about the perfect novel. Suggestions have ranged from the well-read -- The Great Gatsby is an early favorite -- to the obscure (Herb ‘n’ Lorna).
I don't get the excitement over Gatsby, but maybe it's just because I can't get the white-clad Robert Redford and Mia Farrow out of my head. If pressed over a couple of glasses of wine (that seems to how the Times debate started) I might pick All the King's Men.
But let's start at the beginning: Can there be a "perfect" novel, and if so, what is it?
I'll throw in another question: Is there a perfect book club novel? My pick here (and maybe overall): Cold Mountain.
Posted by Dave Rosenthal at 9:56 AM | Permalink
| Comments (8)
Categories: Book Clubs, Recommended, Reviews
Categories: Book Clubs, Recommended, Reviews
Comments
I don't think there's a book I hate more than "Cold Mountain." I have the heebie-jeebies right now, remembering reading it in high school, with a disgruntled-poet/veteran/Southerner teacher leading us through it. *shudder*
Posted by: mary | July 16, 2008 11:09 AM
Though it's not one of my favorites,Gatsby could be called 'perfect' by virtue of how it succeeds on it's own terms which is really the only way I could go about thinking about this.
Inevitably a larger book has more chance to reveal flaws, but can reach higher heights. Gatsby has the virtue of brevity, but that's why it isn't more than what it is.
Anyway, how about Midnight's Children?
Posted by: BMH | July 16, 2008 11:41 AM
I found Brideshead Revisited to be nearly perfect, and it is certainly a longer novel. I think I read a while ago that it isn't Evelyn Waugh's best, but it's the only one I've had the pleasure to read.
Posted by: Thomas Bechtold | July 16, 2008 1:48 PM
I think one of the most stunning novels I've ever read was The Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison. That, and Beloved by Toni Morrison.
Not light reading, so maybe not 'perfect' in the sense of being pleasurable or a delightful way to pass some time. These two books are absolute steamrollers of art and intellect, passion and deep wisdom.
For 'perfect' and lighter fare, Charlotte's Web, though not a novel, is an incomparably told story that touches all the bases without missing a stride: life, death, family, disappointment, and redemption.
Posted by: Deborah Stevenson | July 17, 2008 8:56 AM
I never had the opportunity of reading Cold Mountain, however, in my opinion The Great Gatsby was an excellent novel and movie. Social elitism in this novel shows how much people will do in hopes of obtaining riches, and also how the "rich and famous" are really just like us. They deal with the same struggles of day to day living just as we do, and The Great Gatsby actually makes them more human-like and realistic.
Posted by: Araina | July 17, 2008 9:29 AM
Gatsby is the classic story: boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy recovers girl; boy gets shot in the head.
Posted by: Nick Carroway | July 17, 2008 9:45 AM
If there's a perfect novel, it was written by a hack who set out to write the perfect novel. The great novels go wherever they go, perfection be damned.
Posted by: patrick lackey | July 17, 2008 12:39 PM
GATSBY can be considered the perfect novel as it stands the test of time and the story is not corrupted when it is removed from the setting in which it was originally written. Although I am not an American lit fan, I have taught GATSBY to many groups of students over the years and all of them get it. Isn't that the mark of a great novel?
Posted by: tamedshrew | July 19, 2008 7:17 PM