The greatest American writer. Prove me wrong. Pro tip: you can't

The greatest American writer. Prove me wrong. Pro tip: you can't.

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He wasn't even better than his own brother, literally the Virgin Henry vs the Chad William. This thread is over.

that's not Wharton.

The Ambassadors is his best book.

That's not Melville.

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That’s not Melville.

He’s definitely top 5 though.

What did his voice sound like
I need to know

The Golden Bowl*

In terms of formal invention, I agree. But, get ready for this, the most scathing critique, the piercing truth that renders your affections useless and relegates him beneath the likes of any of the 20th century great whites: he is boring as fuck. Literally the Whistler of the novel form. I’ll take literally anyone else, except for maybe Wharton, Dreiser, and Cooper. The clear answer is Melville, closely followed by Faulkner, Hawthorne, Stevens, Eliot, Crane, and, of course, Thomas Pynchon.

One could certainly make a case for that, OP.

which Crane?

just bought a copy of the golden bowl. it was in prefect condition for a dollar.
what am I in for?

I liked the style of The Ambassadors but I gave it up about halfway through because of the pace.

Bump

It’s not just slow pacing, it’s uneven as fuck. The page after page of formless exposition.

H.L. Mencken

Is it your first James?

???

He is a little boring. I haven't read The Ambassadors, but I've read some others. There's only so much "american girl in europe" I can handle.
Anyways, his shorts are the best. No troubles in pacing, the slog, etc.

He was the best writer America ever produced, all others are bunk.

How is he better than say a Melville, Faulkner, Pynchon, Ellison, Irving, or Percy?

Not him but Mencken was a fantastic wit. Better than Melville? I don't know. They wrote very different things. But he is among America's best.

Whoa that's not Melville

A lot of literature that isn't scathing satire of american and european high society is going to age too much for most born in the 21st century. And that's precisely what he wrote on mainly, those were the circles he traveled.

You can't fault him but the fact is that all literature has its time and place.

Bump

That's not EL James... is it?

That's EL James before the birth of her second son.

if you have to ask its Hart

yes, if by James you mean Henry James. ive read William

He sounded like Pee Wee Herman and John Malkovich.

You should read some of his earlier novels first (Portrait of a Lady, Bostonians, etc). His late stuff is hard.