# Nobel Literature Head to America: You Suck **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 30, 2008, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nobel-literature-head-to-america-you-suck/465928 "2008-09-30T22:27:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Tan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/charlie_tan/32/12582_2.png) [@Charlie\_Tan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Tan)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2008, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nobel-literature-head-to-america-you-suck/465928/61 "2008-10-03T05:59:43Z")
Being Swedish, I’ll just say I wasn’t a bit surprised when this started. Engdahl \*is \*a pretentious douchebag and always comes across as condescending in interviews. He also seems totally devoid of any sense of humor. Since he was named secretary (for life, he’s 60 and these guys live long lives), the choices of the Academy has been getting poorer by the year. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2008, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nobel-literature-head-to-america-you-suck/465928/62 "2008-10-03T06:18:00Z")
> [@tagos](#): > > Certainly DeLillo isn’t any sort of contender. What I’ve read of his epitomizes the insularity charge. There are plenty of better American writers. Philip Roth will probably win someday, but when he does I’ll be done with the Nobel for a while. He’s the most overrated (mostly by himself) writer we’ve produced. Meanwhile, Murakami is on my short list. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2008, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nobel-literature-head-to-america-you-suck/465928/63 "2008-10-03T06:25:25Z")
I’ll always be miffed that Mark Twain was passed over. They had almost a decade in which they could have awarded it to him. ---
**Author:** ![Walpurgis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/7ea924/32.png) [@Walpurgis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walpurgis)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2008, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nobel-literature-head-to-america-you-suck/465928/64 "2008-10-03T13:49:28Z")
Like my fellow Scanian \*\*Charlie Tan \*\*says, everything that comes out of Horace Engdahl’s mouth is hyper-pretentious and elitist. He hates everything that doesn’t fit into his narrow definition of good literature, and loves to express the same hatred loudly and frequently. The Swedes are used to it and he’s a bit of a laughing stock here; he’s much like the offensive and socially inept cousin at the family gathering - you learn not to take anything he says seriously. I feel embarrassed for my own country when he inflicts himself on the rest of the world. (I also have it on good authority that he buys cheesy science fiction novels from time to time. But they’re “not for himself”.) ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2008, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nobel-literature-head-to-america-you-suck/465928/65 "2008-10-03T18:08:27Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > I’ll always be miffed that Mark Twain was passed over. They had almost a decade in which they could have awarded it to him. The two non-inclusions I regret most are Borges and Calvino. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Moto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@Mr.Moto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Moto)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2008, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nobel-literature-head-to-america-you-suck/465928/66 "2008-10-03T18:44:11Z")
They missed Dos Passos entirely - though they probably were snubbing him for his later work. Still, his prewar work probably deserved the prize because of its influence at the time and its lasting importance. IMHO ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2008, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nobel-literature-head-to-america-you-suck/465928/67 "2008-10-03T18:52:40Z")
> [@BurnMeUp](#): > > “Most countries have a national sloagan, none of these are ‘We’re number 2’.” He forgot the Commonwealth of Poopsylvania. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nobel-literature-head-to-america-you-suck/465928.md?page=3)