Are there such things as "new classics" ?

hmmm....thinking of the likes of Orwell, how about

A Handmaids Tale?




hmmm....The Color Purple?

I know there's others, I have to clear my brain first.


OMG! How could I forget!!!!!

To Kill a Mockingbird....for sure.

The problem with "new classics" is that we can never really tell, because a novel or a piece of music or a work of art only becomes a "classic" if its popularity endures. I would agree that Orwell probably qualifies, but it is entirely possible that he will be considered irrelevant in the future, or just boring. I don't think Margaret Atwood qualifies--she is known outside Canada largely only because of The Handmaid's Tale, and that was more than 20 years ago. Most of the attention the novel got was from the science fiction/fantasy genre, which is not necessarily what Atwood intends in the body of her work. She is become in Canada the archetypal big fish in a small pond. The Handmaid's Tale will probably only survive in university courses, where it is compared to other dystopian novels.

One can never be sure what will become a classic. To this day, university scholars continue to sneer at Jane Austen as a satirist (the typical "sour grapes" reaction of small-time writers who criticize those who are safely dead). Nevertheless, Austen's novels continue to be best sellers, and motion pictures continue to be made of her works. Based on the opinion of "experts," Austen would never have become a classic.

I think we need to define what modern is then.

For me, anything in the last, oh, 50 years or maybe even more I think of as modern, as far a writing.

ok, someone pick a number, so we can go from there.

4

I dunno about that. I'm not Canadian and I've read pretty much all of her novels. Haven't liked the last few, but I'm not sure if it's about her writing or my reading (as in, how I react to the same basic stuff...)

For the last 50 years, I think Joseph Heller's Catch-22 may qualify. Ah, Wikipedia says it was first published in '61.

Vonnegut
Orwell
Asimov
some but not all Bradbury
there must be more, will think on it

I agree with the thought that 50 years would define 'modern'.

come on folks, there MUST be more

Shut up.

Just.....shut.....up.



sorry onyxelle, sometimes I just have to deal with that shewolf or else she gets out of control.

I'll be back, I promise....just not a good time....

Edward Abbey's Desert Solitaire

Someone told me the Harry Potter books will become classics. I have not read any of them. The thing is that the children who read them now may pass them on to their children and grandchildren and thus they may become classics.

Here are two suggestions for modern classics:

Solaris - Stanislaw Lem
2001, A Space Odyssey - Arthur C. Clarke

the confederacy of dunces, surely?

Oh I totally disagree, Setanta. She is very well known & highly respected in many countries, including my own. I've read most novels she's written, the last being Oryx & Crake (2003), The Blind Assassin (2000) & Alias Grace (1996). My all-time Atwood favourite is Cat's Eye (1988). All very different in approach. She's terrific & prolific!

I was quite taken by "The Beans of Egypt Maine" by Carolyn Chute.

I agree completely. I am slightly biased because i am a huge Harry Potter fan, but regardless i do believe the series will be classics.

HP has what may be considered "classic morals" within it, and it is not horribly boring- which discourages many from reading classics. Harry Potter is also one of those books that teaches children the love of reading, and it is good reading for all ages.

One things for sure: I will definitely pass my books to my children.

Really? That's interesting. I didn't think it was one of Chute's best, really.