Best novel from your country in your opinion?

Isleifson

Isleifson

Joined Aug 2013
4,921 Posts | 629+
Lorraine tudesque
Linschoten said:
War in Peace is simply amazing, a sort of world in itself; I would also put Anna Karenina ahead of any of Dostoyevsky's works, but it depends, of course, on what one means by 'best'! Different kinds of novels are good in different ways, and I thus don't think that is a good idea to try to build up a list in a single line of the best and next best, but rather a sort of spectrum. In that case one could also include short stories like those of Chekhov, which are as good in their very different way as anything written by Tolstoy or Dostoyevsky; and likewise Turgenev's novels, which are not a monumental as the greatest novels of Tolstoy and Turgenev, but are extremely subtle and suggestive. In England, how is to compare Jane Austen, Charlotte Bronte and Dickens, all great novelists in their way, but so very different? Comparing Jane Austen to Dickens is rather like comparing Turgenev to Dostoyevsky.
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From the Russian : Boulgakov
 
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Larrey

Joined Sep 2011
8,999 Posts | 2,990+
Linschoten said:
Interesting. My favourite Swedish novelist is Pär Lagerkvist, works on a small scale but subtle and concentrated.
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Sure, "The Dwarf", "Barabbas" etc. He tends to go on the lists somewhere to for sure. Might still be better known as a poet in Sweden, but poetry tends to travel less well than novels.
 
Solidaire
Greece

Solidaire

Joined Aug 2009
11,736 Posts | 5,403+
Athens, Greece
At Each Kilometer said:
Back in 1988 a movie directed by Martin Scorsese came out, an adaptation of certain Kazantzakis' novel. An Orthodox priest Pavlos Stratigeas, who is now Metropolitan Emeritus Pavlos, appeared on the Oprah show and spoke powerfully about the Orthodox position regarding this film.

He called Kazantzakis 'an unfortunate' Greek.
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Yes, well the local Greek establishment (conservative political and religious) had been largely hostile to Kazantzakis' thinking and his work, to the point of almost excommunicating him. His socialist political views and his open existentialist questioning of the faith became an anathema for the status quo of the time. It is said that it was because of this strong Greek reaction that he never won the Nobel for literature, even though he was nominated 9 (!) times.

By the way, Scorsese's film is excellent, a good adaptation of the book. And Dafoe is quite an actor.
 
LatinoEuropa
Portugal

LatinoEuropa

Joined Oct 2015
16,680 Posts | 1,342+
Matosinhos Portugal
Novel by Eça de Queirós - The Crime of Father Amaro

Romance de Eça de Queirós - O Crime do Padre Amaro
 
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United-States

PeabodyKid

Joined Oct 2020
4,688 Posts | 2,406+
Peabody, MA
Chlodio said:
For the US, "For Whom the Bell Tolls" is up there. Hemmingway might have one or two others in the top ten like "A Farewell to Arms," "The Sun Also Rises," or "The Old Man and the Sea." Another candidate for top American novel is Mark Twain's "Huckleberry Finn."
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I would say "Catch-22" is my choice.

I think in a poll of English teachers, etc. "Huckleberry Finn" would be the choice. I didn't love it or Tom Sawyer.
 
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DingBat
Canada

DingBat

Joined Nov 2020
2,538 Posts | 2,580+
Canuckistan
We should update this to find the best novel in the last 20 years.

I was reading some article on teaching and noted that this particular teachers class was reading Lord of the Flies. Now, great book and all, but its 70 years old. The Catcher in the Rye is 80 years old. To Kill a Mockingbird is a relatively young 65 years old. Surely there's some novel that's newer that could be injected into the school curriculum? Like, add a new book every 20 years or so, at least. I wouldn't be surprised if some of these books failed to resonate with kids these days due to their age.

Maybe throw in something crazy like "Neuromancer". Even it's 40 years old (gawd I'm ancient).
 
Solidaire
Greece

Solidaire

Joined Aug 2009
11,736 Posts | 5,403+
Athens, Greece
From my readings of international literature, my personal nominations would be (in no particular order):

- "The Plague" by Albert Camus (France)
- "Narcissus and Goldmund" by Herman Hesse (Germany)
- "The Name of the Rose" by Umberto Eco (Italy)
- "The Grapes of Wrath" by John Steinbeck / "The Old Man and the Sea" by Ernest Hemingway (USA) - (I really can't decide here)
- "One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (Colombia)
- "The House of the Spirits" by Isabel Allende (Chile)
- "Darkness at Noon" by Arthur Koestler (Austria-Hungary)
- "The Trial" by Franz Kafka (Czechia)
- "War and Peace" by Leo Tolstoy (Russia)
- "Great Expectations" by Charles Dickens (UK)
- "The Prophet" by Kahlil Gibran (Lebanon)
 
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sparky

sparky

Joined Jan 2017
11,739 Posts | 5,015+
Sydney
Poor fellow My Country by Frank Herbert ....a monster brick of 1400 pages taking the reader in a walkabout the Northern Territory on the cusp of World War 2

Wake in fright by Kenneth Cook ......the descent to hell and madness of a young school teacher who escape by the nearest margin and learn wisdom of a sort
" swearing ..never get drunk again... except in good company"
 
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delta1

Joined Jan 2013
4,375 Posts | 3,311+
Toronto, Canada
sparky said:
Poor fellow My Country by Frank Herbert ....a monster brick of 1400 pages taking the reader in a walkabout the Northern Territory on the cusp of World War 2

Wake in fright by Kenneth Cook ......the descent to hell and madness of a young school teacher who escape by the nearest margin and learn wisdom of a sort
" swearing ..never get drunk again... except in good company"
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So basically, he saw the length of War and Peace, and said "Hold my beer".
 
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Samuraistuff03

Samuraistuff03

Joined May 2023
7,147 Posts | 2,691+
-
johnincornwall said:
Not a fan of Quixote. Who was it said something like- brief flashes of excitement interspersed by vast periods of boredom? All those subjunctive tenses wore me down bit by bit 😀

For me (UK) The Lord of the Rings. Everything vaguely related to that genre that came later is irrevocably derived in some way.

For the US I'd suggest Gone With the Wind and maybe For Whom the bell Tolls. Or, hang on a minute, :

The Godfather
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It's quite recent, but for the US I'd say the Outsiders by S. E. Hinton
 
sparky

sparky

Joined Jan 2017
11,739 Posts | 5,015+
Sydney
Samuraistuff03 said:
for some reason I can't think of an Australian classic
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I've given two of my choices , there is in fact many good read
one could mention "Schindler's ark" which was adapted to celluloid
so was a serie of novel based on a fantastical nannie named Marie Poppins
 
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Linschoten

Linschoten

Joined Aug 2010
18,694 Posts | 3,383+
Welsh Marches
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