Wherein We Elect Our Favourite Novels of 1946

Grave spitting ftw.

Some friends and I were visiting the house of a writer with a huge library. I remember us sitting on a couch staring at book spines and debating whether the book was "Titus Groan" by Mervyn Peake or "Mervyn Peake" by Titus Groan. Haven't read it.

Voting 'Tarendol' by René Barjavel, a book with a title not on the nose too much for the English crowd I suppose, so in translation it became 'The Tragic Innocents', which, tbf, is more French than the French title! (and succinct, at that). Tragic Innocents, indeed. The doomed lovers plot never gets in the way too much of the beautiful and languid prose.

PGW ftw

McCullers again for me.

Nightmare Alley by William Linsday Gresham

I don't really enjoy reading pulpy/noir lit but I love love love the film of this.

Vercoquin and the Plankton by Boris Vian

Reminded me I still haven't read Froth On The Daydream, don't think I'm going to get round to buying a copy and finishing it before the next poll, oh well.

The Land Of Foam by Ivan Yefremov

Was interested in the title and it turns out this guy invented this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taphonomy

Williwav by Gore Vidal

Teeheeheeheehee

i read jill last year and loved it, but it has to be mccullers

i read jill last year and loved it, but it has to be mccullers

evidently my phone felt strongly enough about this to post it twice!

Yeah, McCullers for me too: central character is similar to that of The Heart... in some ways, but younger and more isolated esp. in the attic of her mynd, with outer world of small town sharply depicted again---she does walk around and shit---but doesn't interact and change like heroine of prev. book (who is central but the center turns etc amid realigning subsets and individual characters). This 'un turns some but is deep axis, more like if Joyce might have written a novel based in his Dublinersapproach maybe (a much smaller group of characters overall for one thing, than in McC.'s first (hate its dolefully misleading title, refuse to use in entirety)

Also, as usual, I've only read the one.

I voted, but I'm not inclined to stan for my choice, so I'll just fold my hands quietly and observe.

Again a year I've read little. Do recognise a few titles. Seen films and tv of Hornblower.

Read the Gormenghast trilogy and did enjoy first 2 a lot. 3rd was a lot more mundane but then Titus is travelling ain't he?

Warren reporting on Nixon this early?

Didn't know Dreiser and Upton Sinclair were still publishing in 1946.

Stanislaw Lem on deck.

Not a great year for me, I liked The Big Clock alright but find Fearing’s Clark Gifford’s Body much more interesting.

The book was adapted into a film with the same title directed by Michel Gast. Vian had already publicly denounced the adaptation while it was in production, but attended the premiere on 23 June 1959. A few minutes into the screening, he stood up and began to shout out his dissatisfaction with the film, and while doing so, he collapsed and died from sudden cardiac death on the way to the hospital.

Williwaw by Gore Vidal -- with a W, not a V; this was actually very good but not a lot like his later books

The Big Clock by Kenneth Fearing -- wonderful noirish nastiness

Dark Passage by David Goodis -- wonderful mildly daft noirish nastiness

The Member Of The Wedding by Carson McCullers -- beautiful beautiful book, gets my vote

Mr.Blandings Builds His Dream House by Eric Hodgins -- gently humorous

Back by Henry Green -- really very good but annoying in that it breaks the pattern of his book titles (as does Caught), must try harder

Joy In The Morning by P.G. Wodehouse -- wonderful froth

The Honjin Murders by Seischi Yokomizo -- literally bought this 3 days ago

The Dreiser book is a posthumous publication.

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

I know that "I Spit On Your Graves" was written to shock and disgust (I think righteously?) and it did that job on me fairly comprehensively and I don't much like even thinking about it.

My mum had an edition of that with a super cartoony blood drenched cover. Responsible for quite a few childhood nightmares.

Boris Vian died of rage while watching the premiere of a film adaption of that book. This is my favourite bit of literary trivia.

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

Wherein We Elect Our Favourite Novels of 1947