Monday, May 12, 2008
FINAL THOUGHTS: Nominees for the best novel of the 20th Century
To the AP Scholars of 2008: Please add your nominee for literary greatness (your book) to this blog. You can take a look at the short story posts that last year's class did. (Relax: yours can be shorter.) Your entry should be no more than a paragraph or two about your book. You should focus on why you think it is great and or readable. If it has drawbacks, explain those and then, you should tell us if you would recommend it and to whom. Add a graphic if you would like, but it is not required. This will be your note for posterity- your very own AP English time capsule for the ages. Have fun with it!
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On The Road by Jack Kerouac
I really enjoyed this book. Essentially, it is about a man, Sal Paradise, who sets off on a series of road trips with his friend, Dean Moriarty. On these adventures, Sal eventually learns a lot about life, relationships, hardships, and, finally, growing up. It is easy to get annoyed with Sal and Dean's constant partying, but once you get past it, it is a really worthwhile read. Kerouac uses themes that can be seen all throughout literature, yet he presents them in a way which makes them seem new, and fresh. Set in the 1950's, Kerouac preserves a period in time when people were just starting to question the societal norms, and a cultural revolution was beginning. Sometimes, people can become frustrated with On The Road, and it has its fair share of critics who say it is little more than drug induced ramblings. I think this is unfounded, though, as underneath the surface, it contains many complex themes, and rightfully belongs next to other great American classics.
My book is Of Human Bondage, which was written by W. Somerset Maugham. I thought this book was fabulous. It seems like the book should be incredibly depressing, given that it’s about an orphan with a physical disability, but it’s not a downer at all. Philip, the protagonist, is excellent. He is far more likable than Emma and I personally felt as though I could identify with a lot of his emotional experiences. I especially liked when he goes to boarding school because all of us reading this blog share that with him. Maugham conveys that and other difficult times with a sympathy that feels genuine and not at all melodramatic. I personally loathe books that seem as though their sole mission is to jerk tears and, thankfully, this is not that sort of novel. There is a lot of pathos but not in the sappy way that makes me nauseated. The book is written with a great sense of irony and humor even at the darkest points.
One of the downsides is that the plot is on the pessimistic side. While that didn’t really bother me, some people might not like to spend almost 700 pages reading about a man who seems somewhat doomed to unhappy circumstances. He doesn’t have the best romantic relationships for one thing, so if those are important to you then I wouldn’t recommend it. Mildred, the main female love interest, is described as being sickly looking and Philip can’t account for anything in her personality or appearance that he likes. Ah, young love.
I would recommend Of Human Bondage if you are at a point in your life during which you have time to commit to a fairly lengthy book. I cannot stress enough how enjoyable it was to read and it didn’t feel painfully drawn out, but it is long. This is a good book for people who want to connect to one individual character rather than invest in a romantic pairing. It’s difficult to convey how amazing this book is in a blog because so much of what makes the book great is in the style of writing and the character development, but I think that most people who are not hopeless romantics could enjoy Of Human Bondage.
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