What makes a great book ...

[StillILearn]

... great?

I'm guessing that we all read for the same basic reasons: entertainment, education, escapism.

Right off, I can think of two or three writers whose names promise all of these things. Sue Grafton and Kinsey Milhone (for instance) equal instant and easy escapist-gratification. And Dick Francis invariably offers up some new and interesting tidbit of information in his horse racing books -- in one it'll be glass blowing, and in another it'll be a lesson in the appreciation of fine scotch whiskey -- and Francis is pretty certain to entertain.

I'll bet you all can think of a half dozen of your own favorite writers to add to my own examples. Stephen King is famous for his entertainment value.

But would anybody call these people great writers?

Who would you name as a great writer, and what do you think puts them just that 'cut above'?

 

[StillILearn]

Well, I'm going to go ahead and bump this one just this once. If it flails and fails and falls to the floor again I'll just let it lie there and rot.

Is J. K. Rowling a great writer? How about John Irving? Do either of these people fit into direstraits's example of an ego-inflated 'superstar' writer?

Who will name just one great writer?

(Please -- no Shakespeares.)

 

[direstraits]

I think JK Rowling is great for having achieved such phenomenal success, but it was largely due to a fair bit of luck too. Sure she can write a good yarn, but Harry Potter was out for a while before it was picked up on and brought forward by the media.

I think great authors make us think and purr in satisfaction, regardless of whether they are commercially successful or not. And that means, everyone's great author is different from one person to the next.

ds

 

[StillILearn]

I think great authors make us think and purr in satisfaction.../QUOTE]

There -- that quote alone was worth the dragging of this thread back up to the surface.

 

[Mari]

(Please -- no Shakespeares.)

Sorry. Shakespeare's mastery of language and meaning was the greatest of the great.

In this thread, I think "great" is being used as "really good," instead of "lasting" and "universal." Rowling is an exciting read. Steinbeck, for example, is meaningful. The Grapes of Wrath is about the strength of family against injustice. Of Mice and Men is about dreams. How does Harry Potter help you reflect on your life, your place in the world, your responsibility to others?