Wherein We Elect Our Favourite Novels of 1971

"The less I think of my early books," the happier I am, Delillo once said. I haven't read End Zone (wouldn't mind if I came across it), but recall Americana (and Great Jones Street) are funny and thoughtful and eerie, though diffuse--you have to make your way through clusters of talky characters in different locales in different cities, traffic patterns--like some Altman movies of that era ("Let's record more dialogue!")--but there are bits I really want to quote here and somewhere else, but won't because they deserve exactitude, and someday I'm gonna buy those books back for it---if you like him at all, check them out, but I can't quite bring myself to vote for Americana, without re-reading---I don't even remember much about how it ends, ditto Fear and Loathing--I'm more inclined to vote for that one anyway. but will pass this year.
The Book of Daniel is a pageturner and *kinda* good, if sentimental, about the Rosenbergs-based couple's early years, but too exploitational, kinda splattery, re the kids--can see how the real Rosenbergs' sons (not son and hot,crazy daughter, as in the book) objected. (They were adopted by Abel Meeropol, the brave high school teacher who earned much ire for writing the words to "Strange Fruit"---not much like the hapless, quickly wilting, pipe-smoking, New Yorker-reading sweater Dad in the book.)

Are all pennames being replaced by birth ones or something. Haven't seen Luke Rhinehart refered to otherwise.

Are all pennames being replaced by birth ones or something.

No.

Haven't seen Luke Rhinehart refered to otherwise.

Blame the wikipedia entry - if it had been structured as written by Luke Rhinehart (a pen name for George Cockcroft) I'd have put it as Rhinehart.

I suspect Tom Sharpe wouldn't be as enjoyable to read as he was when I was 14, were I to attempt such a thing.

In contrast to 1970, I have read quite a few of these - not sure which to vote for though (either Brautigan or Le Guin)

The Dice Man by George Cockcroft Luke Reinhart - Read this when I had just dropped out of uni (or possibly just before) - was very impressed with the concept, if not necessarily the execution, and did actually try living the dice life for a couple of months, sad to report nothing interesting came out of this, just several bad decisions.
Post Office by Charles Bukowski This is the essential Bukowski book isn't it? "This is presented as a work of fiction and dedicated to nobody." - a long time since I read this and not sure if it would hold up, like Miller it has been a bad influence on many young men for sure. Feel like it might be worth taking a look at again someday anyway.
Riotous Assembly by Tom Sharpe Like Matt I read this as a teenager and found it hilarious, though even then I realised it wasn't exactly great literature, not going to dare go back to this one.
The Abortion by Richard Brautigan B-grade Brautigan, so still excellent, this is a story about a man taking his girlfriend to Mexico for an abortion, he lives in a library where people can leave their unpublished manuscripts. More than half the slim volume is a description of his short walk from the library to the car. This is a good mid-point between the slightly-too out-there 60s stuff and the sad, wistful later books, would suggest it as a nice starting point, maybe.
Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson Another one I haven't read for 20 years, suspect this is still good.
The Lathe Of Heaven by Ursula K Le Guin My favourite Le Guin sci-fi novel, a man finds his dreams can re-shape reality and his psychologist takes advantage to reshape the world as he would like it to be. Again, this was brilliant when I was a teenager, curious to see if I still feel this way now.

Just realised these are all books I read between about 1995 and 2001.

Lathe of Heaven is a bit too much of a pkd tribute to be in my top le guin, though as such a tribute it is excellent. Mrs Frisby and the Rats of NIMH getting my vote as an all time great kids book.

PKD without the hint of whining misogyny though.

(he didn't always do that: for inst., Mary of Mary And The Giant is one no-b.s. tough cookie, and he seems to approve) Lathe of Heaven was also a 70s PBS movie or mini-series; I've watched some of it on YouTube.

It's funny what you wrote about The Abortion, Camaraderie, because that was my first Brautigan book. We read it aloud to each other at my nerdy summer camp when I was 15, totally changed my life. (I think Confederate General from Big Sur is my fave Brautigan, tho)

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Wherein We Elect Our Favourite Novels of 1972

i bought malina bc of this poll and i'm just starting it. seems incredibly dope already

I haven't read the book, but the film adaptation by Werner Schroeter is highly unusual and worth seeing.