Wherein We Elect Our Favourite Novels of 1913

A no-brainer, yeah (with apologies to Alain-Fournier).

I was not expecting to see Maria Chapdelaine btw, so props for that.

three of those in my TODO pile, zero in my read pile.

I could vote for my favourite novel ever, but Le Grand Meaulnes is stunning also. I've not yet read Cather.

Only one winner.

Read Petersburg also. Remember it being ok without agreeing with the lavish praise from the likes of Nabokov.

"Anticipates Joyce" made me raise an eyebrow as I was reading the wiki entry for that one.

Yeah lol, a lot of wild discourse on that one from émigré Russians. Real desire of Russians to join the modernist fun but a lot of that comes in from the poets (who also wrote wild prose if not novels), and maybe Platonov.

Austen fanfic isn't my thing, but it's interesting to learn that someone was doing it in obscurity this early.

Very little is known about Sybil Grace Brinton. She was born in 1874 at Stourport-on-Severn in Worcestershire and was subject to ill health throughout her life. She married in 1908 and died in 1928. What she termed her "little attempt at picturing the after-adventures of some of Jane Austen's characters"[3] was her only book.[4] Only a few editions were published, and it remained relatively unknown until it was reprinted in 1998, after it had passed into the public domain.[5]

O Pioneers! is magnificent.

I've read four of these, by Jack London, Wodehouse, Cather, and D.H. Lawrence. I have not read Swann's Way. I voted for O Pioneers!

Oh, I've also read the Wharton, so make that five of them.

Sorry Proust, but I've started this book umpteen times, recognized its quality, but didn't find myself moved to keep reading. The Custom of the Country, on the other hand, is arguably the Great American Novel. It's kind of mean, it's kind of merciless, it's absolutely true to its material and it's all-time.

The Custom of the Country is a great novel, but it concerns the quiddities and agonies of the wealthy, who are scarcely representative enough of the nation to be the sole subjects of the Great American Novel. And it's up against a truly magnificent opponent in O Pioneers!.

OK that is a fair point, though not enough to change my vote. (And I really like Pioneers too.)

have only read swann's way (the only proust i've read so far, sadly) and patchwork girl of oz. so i guess i'm going with ol' swann.

I will try Proust one day honest. But I've read Le Grand Meaulnes at least three times.

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

I've read Proust and Lawrence. For me, the most memorable moment in Sons and Lovers is a description of the father's calm anticipatory morning routine before he goes down in the mines - partly because I have the received idea of mining as one of the most horrible ways to earn a living, and partly because I associate mornings before work with anxiety, pickaxe or no. It was sort of revelatory to see this man looking forward to his shift in the pits with his coworkers.

Proust is probably a better writer in total, though.

Really want to read some more Lawrence. Really liked a lot of the poetry, and a couple of short story collections.

I reckon his short stories and novellas are his best work, really phenomenal at times, and no space for the Do
You Seeisms of his big novels.

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

I've never finished The Custom Of The Country but have tried a few times. Maybe the comic tone of it is harder to tune in to. Wharton is amazing though and The House of Mirth may be my favourite novel.

Allons enfants de la Patrie!

Wherein We Elect Our Favourite Novels of 1914

the aforementioned 3 things on my todo list all came within the top 4... maybe i should add o pioneers as well...