The Ulysses delusion : rethinking standards of literary merit

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The Ulysses delusion : rethinking standards of literary merit

Cecilia Konchar Farr

(American literature readings in the 21st century)

Palgrave Macmillan, 2016

  • : hardback

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Summary: "Popular fiction follows literature professors wherever they go. At coffee shops or out for drinks, after faculty meetings or classes, even at family reunions - they are persistently pressed to talk about bestselling novels. Questions immediately follow: What do I mean when I say a book is "good"? Why do contemporary novels like these, conversations like these, matter to professors of literature? Shouldn't they be spending their time re-reading The Great Gatsby? The Ulysses Delusion confronts these questions and answers their call for more engaged conversations about books. Through topics like the Oprah's Book Club, Harry Potter, and Chick Lit, Cecilia Konchar Farr explores the lively, democratic, and gendered history of novels in the US as a context for understanding how avid readers and literary professionals have come to assess them so differently"-- Provided by publisher

Summary: "This book asks how avid readers and literary professionals have come to assess novels so differently. Why are the most read novels seldom reviewed, the most celebrated novels often unpopular? Examining the US novel's lively history, "America, We Have Your Novel" provokes conversations that affirm the democratic roots of our reading nation"-- Provided by publisher

Bibliography: p. [183]-194

Includes index

Description and Table of Contents

Description

Popular fiction follows literature professors wherever they go. At coffee shops or out for drinks, after faculty meetings or classes, even at family reunions - they are persistently pressed to talk about bestselling novels. Questions immediately follow: What do I mean when I say a book is "good"? Why do contemporary novels like these, conversations like these, matter to professors of literature? Shouldn't they be spending their time re-reading The Great Gatsby? The Ulysses Delusion confronts these questions and answers their call for more engaged conversations about books. Through topics like the Oprah's Book Club, Harry Potter, and Chick Lit, Cecilia Konchar Farr explores the lively, democratic, and gendered history of novels in the US as a context for understanding how avid readers and literary professionals have come to assess them so differently.

Table of Contents

Preface: Ransoming a Reading Nation PART I: THE CRIME 1. Come and Get it 2. Bring Money PART II: INVESTIGATIONS 3. Reading Lolita at St. Kate's 4. Oprah's Book Club and the Summer of Faulkner 5. Lost in a Chick Lit Austenland 6. What I learned from The (Book) Group 7. Storytelling with Jodi Picoult 8. Re-Reading Rand 9. Writing Wizardry PART III: THE DEAL 10. Redefining Excellence

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