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Post by giotto on Jul 24, 2006 18:52:45 GMT -5
If you could have authored any single work of literature that exists so far, which do you wish you had written?
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Post by pierregambotsky on Jul 24, 2006 19:02:39 GMT -5
Ooooo, tough one...
Well, I'm going to be obvious and say Lord of the Rings, anything else would just be dishonest. It must have been an amazing experience to come up with such a beautiful, intricate world and such a moving story.
I've read a lot of good books, many better than LOTR in many ways to be sure, but none has ever *moved* me quite as much. How about you, Giotto? It's not fair to ask others to share without doing so yourself!
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bo
New Member
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Post by bo on Jul 24, 2006 22:34:31 GMT -5
Lord of the Rings is a great pick. What's interesting to me about that is this: I would've liked to have created Middle Earth -- Elves, Orcs, Hobbits, languages -- not so much the story. It is (forgive me) just another quest story, albeit a great one. But no one has ever sub-created a more fascinating "world of the work" (Wolterstorff).
For me, though, The Wind in the Willows. It's not only the best children's book ever, it's the best by about a thousand miles. In my mind nothing else even comes close.
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Post by giotto on Jul 24, 2006 23:16:37 GMT -5
Me? The Divine Comedy. It's not really even one of my favorites, but it seems like such an important work. Theologians and saints have quoted and meditated from it. Artists have drawn constant inspiration from it. Catholics and pagans alike have to revere the scope, power, and imagination of it. It seems like the most perfect work of literature.
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Post by cristina on Jul 25, 2006 8:22:02 GMT -5
I would have answered "The Lord of the Rings", too. I really love it, and it's appeal is universal. I don't know yet of any work of literature that appeals to both traditional Catholics and "hippie" types.
In the same way that one of the reasons JRRT wrote LOTR was to attempt to create a myth for his native England, sometimes I think someone should try to create a unified myth for our country, the Philippines. We don't have a national epic; what we have are regional epic heroes. I also think the heroic deeds of the regional epic heroes could be made more, well, heroic.
Actually, I have a friend -- someone from our local C.S. Lewis society -- who is already attempting it. (In fact, I told him about these Dappled Things forums)
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Post by hthompson on Jul 29, 2006 21:22:05 GMT -5
I'm also a huge LOTR fan and would have enjoyed the experience of subcreating Middle Earth. However, it took Tolkien a lifetime to develop, and I'm not sure I'd have had the patience...Guess it wasn't my particular cross to bear. I'm consoled by the fact that, as far as Tolkien was concerned, Middle Earth was our earth, albeit a long time ago. I feel as if Tolkien merely drew our attention to the majesty and enchantment already hidden in the ordinariness of our lives and world.
But, to answer the question, if I could have written any book, I think it would have to be Pride and Prejudice. Why? It's probably the most honest exposition of the human heart I've ever read. The Elizabeth-Darcy rivalry/love-affair is so captivating that it's inspired any number of adaptations. People (film-makers most recently) can't seem to get enough of these two complex characters. It's a fairy tale and a quest...In these things, I guess it's a lot like LOTR. Do you think it's fair to say that the most alluring literature has these elements?
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Post by bengeorge on Jul 30, 2006 14:44:25 GMT -5
The Gospel of John.
("Ooooh,good one.")
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Post by deirdre on Jul 31, 2006 10:00:49 GMT -5
The Brothers Karamazov, if only for the character of Fr. Zosimov and his long spheal about his brother and forgiveness - or the Grand Inquisitor. Bril!
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Post by giotto on Aug 1, 2006 8:40:41 GMT -5
Righty-o, deirdre; to have authored anything by Dostoevsky would be an exquisite honor.
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Post by bengeorge on Aug 2, 2006 10:42:27 GMT -5
Someone told me that Dostoevsky isn't as revered in Russia as he is in the West?
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Post by deirdre on Aug 2, 2006 14:45:20 GMT -5
I've never heard that - was any reason given?
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Post by giotto on Aug 2, 2006 22:59:17 GMT -5
Interest in Dostoevsky is kind of like my mom's betta fish... you can never tell if its alive or dead.
However, my last visit to Russia augured signs of life. A statue of the big D outside his last apartment, walking tours, Fyodor-oriented matrushka dolls.
He's a strange fish to place. At the tender peak of 16 I was introduced to his literature by my then girlfriend (who I continued to be prone to up until her marriage last Saturday) & I became convinced, in turns, that I was the Underground Man, then Raskalnikov, then -- heaven knows-- the best of Mitya, or Alexei on an off day.
It might take millenia, but I feel Russia will eventually accept the fact that Dostoevsky is more Russian than Pushkin and Tolstoy combined.
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