Name a book that came out in the last 25 years that will be considered a classic in the future, and tell me why without spoiling the plot. Thanks.
- StephenSome people may immediately shout “Harry Potter!”, but I think those books will go the way of Narnia.
I imagine that Timothy Zahn’s Star Wars trilogy (Heir to the Empire, Dark Force Rising, and The Last Command) may make the annals of “classic”… but only if the next two Star Wars movies do better than TPM.
My money is on something by Nicholson Baker, with the front runners being The Mezzanine and The Fermata.
Some might not agree with me, but I would say Stephen King’s The Stand or maybe It. Be careful of your assumptions. Back in the 1800s, people thought Charles Dickens was a hack.
neptune_1984 raises a good point. Future generations studing literature as an artifact will certainly be more interested in what was financially successful in its own time than what had artistic merit to last the ages. However, the thing with Dickens is, he had both.
King is a little more questionable on that point, especially on the two titles cited, though I did enjoy The Stand up to a point. I really thought It was just the same story with a more corporeal bad guy.
BTW, I love the scene in Star Trek IV where Kirk starts citing writers like Harold Robbins and Jacqueline Susann as literary models of their times, and Spock replies “Ah! The giants!”
I don’t know for sure about Harry Potter, SPOOFE, but I think a lot of people do consider the Narnia books classics-- although I may be missing your point, it’s early and I’ve had no coffee yet.
My picks would be the Philip Pullman “His Dark Materials” trilogy (Golden Compass, Subtle Knife, Amber Spyglass), in the “kids’ books” category, although everyone I know who’s read them has been an adult. My money’s also on some of Stephen King’s stuff to stand (no pun intended) the test of time-- The Stand, and maybe the Dark Tower books if he ever finishes them.
Geez, the scary thing is that some of Stephen King’s books are just about passing the limit of the 25 years as stated in the OP. For an author who is known for his lengthy tomes (and believe me, I love them and reread them to pieces), I’ve always thought the evidence of King as a literary heavyweight can be more clearly seen in his short stories and novellas – The Body, Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption.
I agree with Rosebud that Narnia is considered a classic. Of course, it’s usually spoken of as a children’s classic, so maybe Harry Potter will become more of a “classic book for children” than the current marketing scheme of “a great book for people of all ages” (although I personally think it is a great book for people of all ages, as are the Narnia books – I’m just thinking of where you would find it shelved in a bookstore).
Has it been 25 years since Ender’s Game? (if it has, don’t tell me, I feel like I’m aging at an alarming rate as it is) I think this might get classic status because it’s a science fiction book that is often read (and enjoyed) by people who are not particular fans of science fiction. A genre breaking book, I guess.
A few dark horses that may be in the ruuning – Donna Tartt’s Secret History, Pynchon’s V, some of Cormac McCarthy’s stuff. I would also put The Shipping News on the list – that one is sort of a creeper. I think it will age a lot better than many similar books released in the past few years. I suspect David Foster Wallace has a classic in him, waiting to be written. I don’t think it’s Infinite Jest.
To be fair, I should mention a book I absolutely detest – The Bonfire of the Vanities. It’s already considered a book that does an exceptional job of capturing a particular time and culture.
Hm, I’m a big Zelazny fan and he already has two considered “SF Classics” Doorways in the Sand and Lord of Light. I’d add A Night in the Lonesome October and The Amber series.
[sub]Hey Arden! Amazon has a new edition with all 10 books in one volume!. [/sub]
The Great Book of Amber? I’m trying to read it now, and it’s really just to huge to lug around. Unfotunately, the hardbound editions are a really cruddy binding that falls apart. I recommend the paperbacks.
Sorry, I just can’t buy Amber as a classic. Just not enough polish. It’s hack writing. Entertaining and sparked with genius, but inconsistent in places, and overall kinda cheesy. One might make a case for the Corwin Chronicles, but if you’re seriously including the Merlin books, I think you ought to see Dr. Hillary B. Rand for some electroshock treatments.
The book with the most merit as “literature” that I’ve read lately is The Tooth Fairy by Joyce Graham. It’s a brilliant piece of horror. I also have my eye on Haruki Murakami (The Wind-Up Bird Chronicles, The Hard Boiled Wonderland at the End of the World). I haven’t read his most crictically-applauded works yet but his stuff is definitely destined for greatness.
I was getting the paperback anyway, I prefer that for some reason. (Cheaper?)
Eerily, I was just about to start a thread like this one, although it wouldn’t have a 25-year limit.
I would also draw a distinction between “Mark Twain famous” and “Ambrose Bierce famous,” with maybe a “Dickens/Kipling famous” between. I suspect that Stephen King will be as famous as Dickens. H. P. Lovecraft will be as famous as Bierce, and, I think, recognized as better. I think Lewis will be as famous as Dickens. Other SF authors are a little harder- Zelazny will be as famous as Dickens, IMO. I think that Lem will be, in the US, Dickens famous, at least among academics.
It’s hard to think of anyone who would be Mark Twain famous, since authors don’t really dress funny anymore (except, of course, Tom Wolfe.) King has a chance, since we may see as many adaptations of his stories as we see of, say, Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. Is there any 20th century author whom one could point to as being a Twain-style wit, whose epigrams will be widely quoted? Dorothy Parker is in the right category, but not widely known, perhaps because she doesn’t have widely-adapted novels. Heinlein is a distinct possibility- I have visions of a “Robert A. Heinlein Experience” one-man play, with some guy wearing a Gomez Addams mustache and a silk Japanese bathrobe uttering crusty pronouncements about how you aren’t really human unless you can do math.
-Ben
I totally suck as a literary prophet but what the heck…
A confederacy of dunces by Toole
It’s probably pushing the 25 year mark but it’s unique in outlook and voice. A minor classic maybe but at least a contender.
Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance by Pirsig
In an indirect way it captures some milestone essences of the times. It’s wearing well.
A wrinkle in time by L’engle.
Betcha it’ll stay a loved children’s classic.
The Stand/The Shining by Stephen King.
Both have the narrative sweep and control to last, I think. They may fall into the “historical haunts” category. So what. Human horrors last.
The haunting of Hill House by Jackson.
A much beloved favorite but probably not fair since it’s over 25 years. Classic stuff that will last, though.
There are more, and more recent ones, but my brain is mush at the moment.
Veb
(Dang. Screwed the pooch on the underline coding. Preview, you dolt, preview!)
[Edited by TVeblen on 04-14-2001 at 02:55 PM]
My vote goes to The Stand and his newest one The Dreamcatcher. I haven’t even finished it yet, and I think it’s one of his best.
Steven King will be in the O. Henry category. Incredibly prolific, wildly popular in his day, but not really one of the “great” authors. His writings will be known, but not revered. (With maybe one or two exceptions.)
I agree with TVeblen that A Confederacy of Dunces will be considered a classic.
I want to second the Ender’s Game prediction, if for no other reason than that i think that the combination of readability and serious themes in the novel will make it more and more a Sophmore English standbye, and let’s face it, that’s where most people get thier idea of what the “canon” is from.
One Hundred yearss of Solitude by Marquez.
and
The Princess Bride by William Goldman, because I think they both show the best side of Postmodernism. If anything can salvage that whole movement from the literati of the future, it is these two books.
Neuromancer by William Gibson. Wonderfully well written SF that comments both on this particular historical momment and has “timeless” qualities. With near-future SF there is always the risk of it becoming horribly, horribly dated (i.e., "The USSR has taken over hte world! Ahhh! " type of stuff), Neuromancer just may be good enough to overcome this handicap.
All of those sort of push the 25 year limit, but they are the best canidates I can think of.
Another interesting parellel threaad someone could start would be 'What books wil fall out of the canon in 50 years?"
While I agree they are classics, I read Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance more than 25 years ago, and A Wrinkle in Time has a 35th anniversary edition out.
I’d nominate Neal Stephenson’s Crytonomicon, just because I liked it so much.
If we’re just talking aout Fame, without a requirement that it be Serious Fiction, I think Terry Pratchett’s stuff has staying power, kinda like P.G. Wodehouse.
The White Hotel, by D.M. Thomas- I read this book last year. It came out in 1982, I think. I don’t know how well received it was because I’d never heard of it. Anyway, I found it original, and it somehow deeply involves the reader. Also (IMHO) beautifully written.
On Stephen King as a writer- I think he’ll definitely have some impact on people. Perhaps we’ll look on him as a great classic writer. Perhaps not. But no matter what, I don’t think history will brush over him. His novels have the themes and motifs of “classic” books. Personally, if any become classically known, they’ll include Pet Sem, The Shining, maybe The Stand or IT. Again, no matter what, he has managed to touch readers in general.
If i get any other flashes of brilliance, I’ll reply again.
I think Anne Rice’s Interview With The Vampire is destined to be classic. Forget everything else she’s written, the meloncoly, almost lyrical way she deals with the passage of time, trying to reconnect yourself with other beings and the whole good vs. evil theme. For lack of a better word, I have always found this book to be lush(i.e. incredibly vivid, almost the softness of a soft-core porn style book but not in a sexual way.) Not sure if it’s considered a classic or not, but Milan Kundera’s The Unbearable Lightness Of Being goes on my list as well. It’s one of the few books that I felt the author’s presence without being disturbed. I loved the modern historical setting. I also agree with Stepehn King’s The Stand simply because it connects a rather diverse group of characters ( a cross section of society representing the time pretty accurately, I thought) and how they interact in an unlikely scenario.
The Poisonwood Bible by Kingsolver will probably endure well.
Another could be Microserfs by Douglas Coupland, as far as capturing the essence of a time and place.
Some of Hunter S. Thompson’s work will probably be rediscovered periodically, especially Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas.
The Accidental Tourist by Tyler should hold up.
A couple of authors who I hope are long known would be Richard Russo and Kent Haruf.
Umberto Eco, Don DeLillo, Larry McMurtry, and Ivan Doig will probably be read a hundred years from now.
And though it’s outside the 25 year guideline, small children five hundred years in the future will still know by heart the words of Goodnight Moon.
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- Not exactly novels, but for years to come children will still enjoy anything by Dr Seuss and adults will still wonder what kind of drugs he took (you really have to go to a bookstore and read all of his books one after the other to grasp the total lunacy of them). - MC
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