/lit/ - Literature

File: 57 KB, 389x600, 2666.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]

Anonymous Wed Jul 21 20:20:53 2010 No.948576 [Reply] [Original]

You guys know your lit better than /r/, so I'm asking here...

A while back I stumbled upon an author and started reading one of his books on Gutenberg but I can't recall who he was. What I remember:

- Wrote satirical/tongue-in-cheek books about history, specifically American history.
- The book I read might have been about the colonists, and in the back of my head I think he mentioned unicorns -- don't hold me to that
- He's dead
- I think most of his books were written in the early 1900s?
- He was American; the wikipedia article on him had some quotes from him regarding American lit/humor.

If any of you can think of anyone that remotely matches, or any books that fit, I'd greatly appreciate it.

Also if that bores you, I just finished 2666 and maybe you'd like to discuss that.

>>	Anonymous Wed Jul 21 20:21:53 2010 No.948584 Fuck yeah 2666! Parts ranking: 5 1 2 4 3 No idea about the author, sorry.

>>	Anonymous Wed Jul 21 20:26:53 2010 No.948604 How is 2666? I see it all the time but never knew what it's about.

>>	Anonymous Wed Jul 21 20:27:53 2010 No.948610 >>948576 I agree with your ranking - 5 and 1 were easily the strongest parts. "Really I've just been talking nonsense"

>>	op Wed Jul 21 20:31:53 2010 No.948630 >>948604 it's massive, and at some points it felt like reading an encyclopedia due to the amount of information being thrust at you. It felt like I didn't follow a plot so much as get to know about everyone's lives. That said, I did like it.

>>	Anonymous Wed Jul 21 20:33:53 2010 No.948643 >>948630 hm...Maybe I'll give it a try sometime.

>>	Anonymous Wed Jul 21 20:34:53 2010 No.948657 >>948604 Best novel since Gravity's Rainbow. It redefined the medium, and is guaranteed to blow your mind.

>>	Anonymous Wed Jul 21 20:37:53 2010 No.948675 >>948657 That's what I'm going to read next after V. So much /lit/ and so little time..

>>	Anonymous Wed Jul 21 20:42:53 2010 No.948704 >>948576 Sounds like Gore Vidal. He wrote a number of books on American history, a few of which focus on the early 20th century. Except he's not dead.

>>	Anonymous Wed Jul 21 20:43:53 2010 No.948707 File: 87 KB, 344x615, gore_vidal.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google] >>948704

>>	Anonymous Wed Jul 21 20:45:53 2010 No.948719 >>948576 Could it be Mencken? Perhaps Twain? They don't really fit, but still...

op Wed Jul 21 20:53:53 2010 No.948768

>>948704
no, but a good thought.

>>948719
Not Twain, but Mencken seems very close, especially considering http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bathtub_hoax - fictitious history is what I'm after here. I'll look through his stuff a bit more (thanks), but I don't think he's quite the one.

>>	Anonymous Wed Jul 21 21:01:53 2010 No.948828 >>948719 >>948768 On that note, everybody should read Mencken. He's like Thompson, only better and 60 years ahead of him.

Anonymous Wed Jul 21 21:33:53 2010 No.949005
File: 31 KB, 533x350, gore-vidal-533.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]

>>948704
You are wrong.
- The book I read might have been about the colonists, and in the back of my head I think he mentioned unicorns -- don't hold me to that

Vidal never wrote a novel on the colonists, nor did he write anything about unicorns.

- He's dead

Gore Vidal is alive.

- I think most of his books were written in the early 1900s?

Gore Vidal was not alive in the early 1900's.

Anonymous Wed Jul 21 21:35:53 2010 No.949011

>>948828
Yeah, everyone but everyone on /lit/ should read Mencken. Incredibly stylist, fucking hardcore critic. Fun fact: Mencken's vicious, vicious, vicious obituary for William Jennings Bryan inspired HST to go into journalism.

Anyway, OP: Ambrose Bierce? Thurber?

>>	Anonymous Wed Jul 21 21:36:53 2010 No.949019 Op may be thinking of John Dos Passos or Theodore Drieser, though I can't think of anything these two men wrote on unicorns.

>>	Anonymous Wed Jul 21 21:38:53 2010 No.949028 >>949019 Would Dos Passos or Drieser ever be considered humorous, though? Like, if we're talking serious fiction, the field of candidates widens greatly.

>>	Anonymous Wed Jul 21 21:41:53 2010 No.949041 Thomas Pynchon

>>	op Wed Jul 21 21:42:53 2010 No.949047 >>949005 see >>948768 (the part where I say "no") >>949011 Nope, looked those fellows up on wikipedia before posting here. Maybe this author lived further back than I thought.

>>	Anonymous Wed Jul 21 21:42:53 2010 No.949048 >>949028 Dos Passos could be considered comical.

>>	Anonymous Wed Jul 21 21:44:53 2010 No.949062 Henry Adams

>>	op Wed Jul 21 21:46:53 2010 No.949069 >>949019 >>949041 None of these fit, I think he was more of a humorist than a serious fiction writer. Appreciate the suggestions, though. I'll furiously wiki any possible options.

>>	Anonymous Wed Jul 21 21:50:53 2010 No.949102 File: 42 KB, 480x480, 1279321037190.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google] Who is Sinclair Lewis for the win.

>>	Anonymous Wed Jul 21 21:57:21 2010 No.949150 >>949102 Is that it op?

>>	Anonymous Wed Jul 21 22:00:20 2010 No.949173 Will Cuppy? Hendrik Willem van Loon? Gelett Burgess?

>>	Anonymous Wed Jul 21 22:02:20 2010 No.949181 You're thinking of "The Unicorn in the Garden" by James Thurber. Who was an American humorist of the 20s-30s. Mostly for the New Yorker. The American prize for Humor Writing is named after him.

>>	op Wed Jul 21 22:03:20 2010 No.949185 >>949102 I know that the author write a book that is specifically a "history" book with an absurd, or at least fictitious, twist. I don't see any of Lewis' books matching that, though his collection is fascinating.

>>	Anonymous Wed Jul 21 22:07:20 2010 No.949205 Dave Barry Slept Here?

>>	Anonymous Wed Jul 21 22:09:03 2010 No.949210 Bill Bryson?

>>	Anonymous Wed Jul 21 22:09:24 2010 No.949212 >>949181 Someone already mentioned Thurber. Op said that was not it.

op Wed Jul 21 22:09:45 2010 No.949214

>>949181
The book I'm thinking of is a history spoof. "The Unicorn in the Garden" is not.:( My mentioning of the unicorn thing could be totally wrong, though.

Just remembered: I'm pretty sure that when I looked up the author's wiki article, it had some quotes from him regarding American humor style. I'll look around for that, but again if you think of something just say so.

>>	Anonymous Wed Jul 21 22:17:27 2010 No.949252 I'm going to take an absolute shot in the dark here and guess you're thinking of Carl Sandburg and that you might have read Remembrance Rock. I've never actually read it myself but I've heard about it and figured one guess is as good as another.

>>	op Wed Jul 21 22:20:54 2010 No.949267 >>949205 This is close, but I know it's a lot older. >http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1066_and_All_That seems to be along the same string as well. Closer!

>>	op Wed Jul 21 22:25:51 2010 No.949295 Also, the excerpts from Dave Barry Slept Here are hilarious. Will likely search out and read, thanks for the tip.

>>	Anonymous Wed Jul 21 22:28:18 2010 No.949307 what is this 2666 is it good?

>>	op Wed Jul 21 22:30:03 2010 No.949319 >>949307 see >>948630 >>948657 and >http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2666:_A_Novel Quite good, but a daunting read. Lots to chew through.

Advanced search
Text to find
Subject [?]Search by post subject. Leave empty for any.
Username [?]Search for user name. Leave empty for any user name.
Tripcode [?]Search for tripcode. Leave empty for any.
Email [?]Search by email. Leave empty for any.
Filename [?]Search by image filename. Leave empty for any.
From Date [?]Enter what date to start searching from. Format is YYYY-MM-DD
To Date [?]Enter what date to start searching until. Format is YYYY-MM-DD
Image hash
Search in	All Posts OPs Only
Deleted posts	Show all posts Show only deleted posts Only show non-deleted posts
Internal posts	Show all posts Show only internal posts Show only archived posts
Order	New posts first Old posts first
Capcode	All Posts Only by Users Only by Mods Only by Admins Only by Developers
Results	Posts Threads
Action	[ Simple ]