Hurdling Time
Booking Through Thursday Challenge for November 19, 2009:
Do you think any current author is of the same caliber as Dickens, Austen, Bronte, or any of the classic authors? If so, who, and why do you think so? If not, why not? What books from this era might be read 100 years from now?
There is a hidden question in this week’s Booking Through Thursday subject and that is “what books will be taught 100 years from now?” There may be many current authors who are the same caliber as Dickens, Austen and Bronte, but if they are not taught in school, then chances are they are not going to make it. Most of us were introduced to the classic authors through school and they would not still be around if teachers had not kept them alive. I’m sure that there are many other classic writers that never made it to the classroom and those are the authors that we do not know about. Can you name any?
My initial response to this question was Stephen King. His literary career is unique and the number of works he has published has far surpassed many other authors. There are two weaknesses of his books that make his books unlikeable by English Teachers and thus unread in a 100 years from now.
The first being that he is very popular. Why pick a book that young kids would read anyway? Teachers are looking to introduce new authors to their students and if they don’t start making King part of their reading requirements now, I doubt he’s going to make it into the classroom in fifty years.
The second being the subject matter. King writes about some pretty weird stuff, which I happen to love. Classroom teachers do not. How many sci-fi books have you read while in high school? I bet not very many.
All of this begs the questions, so who would make it?
Philip Roth
Philip Roth is probably best known for American Pastoral. American Pastoral is about a Swedish immigrant who comes to America to try and make a better life for himself, but finds himself hating America at the same time as loving it. My favorite book of Roth’s is The Human Stain. The Human Stain is about a professor who is fired after making a racist comment; however the complexity beyond that comment is more than meets the eye.
Joyce Carol Oates
What I love the most about Oates is that the subject of many of her books is about female sexuality and how characters react to that sexuality. One of Oates more famous books, We Were the Mulvaneys, explores what happens to a family after a daughter is raped. This book was amazing, but my favorite book (so far) of Oates is The Tattooed Girl. Two seemingly opposite people, a poor girl with a hidden background and a privileged Jewish author, come together and the sexual attraction between the two is both bizarre and undeniable.
There are many more authors that will probably make it beyond a hundred years and these are just two of my favorites. I believe that Roth and Oates have the potential to make it because their books are already being taught in the classroom and teachers will pass on their learning to students.
Mostly I believe that they will endure time because their books symbolize a moment in time. Roth is known for taking a hard look at American society and asking us to look into our deepest desires and fears. Oates portrayal of female sexuality will be looked at for years to come as future women will wonder what life was like for today’s woman. Just as we examine classic authors for a glimpse into the past, future generations will examine Roth and Oates to get their glimpse into our society today.
Who do you think will be read in the future?
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This post has 18 comments
November 19th, 2009
I think that is a good point, that what is taught will endure. But I’ve discovered many beloved classics not through school, but through films that then made me go back and read the classics.
I think part of what makes a classic is what resonates with people, something of truth and beauty that we’re willing to wade through more obscure language and obsolete customs to experience.
November 20th, 2009
Hi Barbara – I agree with your point about classics speaking of truth, there must be a timeless element to the book in order for it transcend the ages.
November 19th, 2009
Good answer, very true. Here’s my link: http://thecrowdedleaf.wordpress.com/
November 19th, 2009
I think that’s a very good point, although perhaps King could be a subject for teachers in the future. The Time Machine by H.G.Wells is a classic and that would have been science fiction at the time…
November 20th, 2009
Good point about The Time Machine. The other novel that I thought of was 1984 that book isn’t your basic drama.
However, I did not read The Time Machine or 1984 in school.
November 19th, 2009
Of all today’s “popular” authors, I think King is the one most likely to stand the test of time. You know, I almost put The Shining on my list, because I think it is actually quite universal, for a horror tale, being a book about obsession. The Stand would be a good one, too. I also picked The Human Stain–it’s brilliant.
November 20th, 2009
Hi Priscilla – I always thought that The Human Stain did not get enough coverage. I completely loved that book and the complex characters in it were brilliant!
I’ve actually never read The Shining! Can you believe it! I think the size always turned me off.
November 19th, 2009
Yeaaa…nice to see someone else is thinking that King will be remembered.
You wrote better argument on this matter than me…Maybe I should Copy-paste your answer
November 20th, 2009
Thanks, Novroz, for the nice compliment.
November 19th, 2009
I almost picked King and Oates, myself. I think they’re both world-class authors, and the fact that they’re both so prolific also would make it extremely hard for scholars of the next century to ignore them.
I’m going to agree with you completely on Mulvaneys. But which King would you pick? Say you only get two or three. I’m going to go with The Stand and possibly The Shining and Pet Sematary, although my personal favorite is Bag of Bones.
November 20th, 2009
Hi Jessica,
For the King books that I would pick, I would have to have Carrie on the list. Also, The Green Mile, and most of his short stories. My favorite story of his is Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption, which the movie Shawshank Redemption is based on. My last pic is Misery, that would lead to a great discussion on fantasy vs reality.
November 20th, 2009
You know, I almost said Shawshank! I have to agree about Green Mile too. I’m not so sure about Carrie, though – King himself calls it ‘dated’ now. It’s definitely one of his best, but I’m not sure it would still make it to the 100 year mark.
Of course, he’s still writing and I’m hoping he’ll keep surpassing his earlier work. I’ve just got hold of Under the Dome, so we’ll see…
November 19th, 2009
An interesting perspective. I’d never considered teachers keeping books ‘alive’, but can see how that might be so.
November 20th, 2009
Hi RD – Most of us are introduced to classics through school and that is what made me think of it. I read a lot as a kid, but it wasn’t until teacher suggested books outside of modern books that I started really reading classic. I think that might be true for a lot of people.
November 20th, 2009
Roth is a great choice. I almost included him on my list, but ran out of time.
November 21st, 2009
Well, classics was never taught in school till junior year in my case and by that time, I have already finished reading all of Austen’s.
I agree that the teachers would be the bridge. But then the future is unpredictable.
BTW, I’ve never read any of the books mentioned on the BTT except from HP (lol). Therefore, I don’t have a strong hold of opinion here.
November 22nd, 2009
Wanted to be sure you saw I had finally gotten back to posting the 20 Questions feature again after my hiatus. Here is your link: 20 Questions with Tracie
November 26th, 2009
Thanks, Rebecca, for letting me know. I saw that they were posted