LibraryThing alerted me to this poll for the most influential of 20 southern novels of the 20th century. Since I know a couple of you have opinions on this sort of thing, I'm curious to know what you all would pick. I haven't really read enough of these to make a strong choice, but I would like to see the debate that's happening on South Caroline Educational Television around this poll. Interestingly, I think there are two movie adaptions of the novels that have had a huge influence on how the South is perceived by people outside of the south - Deliverance and Gone With The Wind, although not necessarily positive perceptions. The poll where you can vote is here but do come back and tell me what you think.
Monday, April 27, 2009
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2 comments:
Of the ones chosen, and limited to the 20th century, I think it is clear that To Kill A Mockingbird is probably the most influential (though strangely I've never read it). Gone with the Wind is perhaps more so, but in large part as a movie rather than a novel. I know that for quite a long time it was gigantically popular as a novel, but my guess is that it has faded and certainly isn't assigned in the way that the others are (if you judge merit on such things). At any rate, all of these are certainly eclipsed by Huck Finn but that would be 19th not 20th. It's certainly easy to argue for the "importance" of many of the others in the list but if you have to pick just one- Mockingbird is by far the most read/respected of the bunch.
-tp
Faulkner is up there but I don't know which one.
My favorite depiction of the Southern experience is --Go Tell It On The Mountain--. The characters are immigrants from the south attending a streetside chapel in New York.
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