Ficciones

New article this weekend in the Times in regards to the "Greatest Work of American Fiction of the Last 25 Years". Poll results here. More interesting than the solid victory by Morrison is the complete domination of the polling by DeLillo and Roth. I would rank White Noise above Underworld , and am surprised to see Libra, what I thought a minor work included. Also Roth has never struck my fancy. Additionally; congrats to Denis Johnson, collected Updike should not be included(Rabbit I is from 1960 for goodness sakes!), and Confederacy of Dunces should be required reading post-Katrina. My winner of the top vote getters: Blood Meridian. Its raw, unimpeded Violence seems apt, and McCarthy's individual words weigh as heavy as anything since the Jazz decade. Best ommisions of the list, the entire McSweeney's clan, I guess unflinching pretension and quarterly mixtape magazines don't actually get you anywhere. My favorites of the period in question would include:
Richard Powers, catalog- His interweaving of Big themes with contemporary narrative is essential in our current domin-info-troni-caince.
Tom Robbins, Skinny Legs and All- Art and terrorism ten years too early..."to create what did not previously exist"
David Means, The Secret Goldfish Stories- A collection of magic realism that reads like Marques writing iambic pentameter.
Michael Cunningham- Kavalier and Clay- Certainly the most palpably visual novel of the last quarter century.
Now that my opinions are out of the way.. I am fascinated with this poll, especially now. The very idea of the Great American Novel implies the presently profane idea that America has an importance and resonance, and that this characteristic is best expressed through the prose of our native authors. Perhaps we should take a cue from this survey and reconsider our collective pride and identity, not through alarmists news reports and hollow flag waving, but through our shared and unique experiences, especially those collected by our most powerful wordsmiths.