never cared for him. subject matter doesn't particularly interest me and his prose was...unmemorable?

I've only read Huck Finn but I loved it. I heard Tom Sawyer was completely different and more of a real kids story so I've avoided it for a while

>>7799261
his essays are are pretty insightful. read any one of your choice online and tell me what you think

>>7799259
Because he's a racist asshole

I'm still shaking from The Innocent Abroad and I read it 2 years ago. UGH!

I mentioned this in another thread, but I've recently been on a big American lit bender. Reading through Hawthorne's Tales and later novels, James' oft-revered but seldom-read works, plowing through the Snopes trilogy; and after all that, I'm still amazed by Twain's lack of exposure.

Even in his lifetime, he was regarded as a spinner of tall-tales and lighthearted childhood romps; but, personal and financial tragedy marked and embittered his later life, and his later essays and novels show a more cynical, pessimistic and critical insight into the politics and society of turn-of-the-century America. And his historical romances are so often ignored or unremarked, they're an oddity and a treasure even within his oeuvre.

>>7799326
>James' oft-revered but seldom-read works
I purchased a copy of turn of the screw that contains that, daisy miller, and washington square and I loved all three of them a lot. anything else by james worth checking out? Most of my studies of american lit have been 20th century - present and I've been looking for more 19th century stuff

>>7799283
i've read a handful. i remember they were entertaining and all but i can't help but feel annoyed by his "reddit"-esque satire and humor. many things he write/satirize seem to me childishly simple, but he does it with a /iamverysmart/ vibe as if he's stumbling upon some arcane universal truth. not my cup o' tea.

>>7799343
why are you applying modern conceptions of things like reddit to old literature?

>>7799350
reddit is just a convenient shorthand for the kind of sentiment he espoused/invoked in me. you obviously know what it conveys.

The same reason Orwell is never discussed.
Some autists convinced the culture some years back that he was no good, everyone bought into it and now no one posts him because they rightly expect the thread'll go nowhere

>>7799356
orwell is legitimately awful though. incredibly overrated. 1984 is his best book and it's passable at best.

>inb4 hipsters try to say he was a good essayists/his justifiably forgotten other novels are somehow better

what are some essential 19th-century american books?
I've already read Washington Square, Leaves of Grass, and Sister Carrie.

>>7799359
he's not. People have read 1984 which is alright/good not great, get upset that he's 'reddit' i.e. popular for this book, almost certainly have not read anything else by him and then end it there.

He has plenty of great works

>>7799360
I'll toss Edith Wharton in the mix, notably The Age of Innocence.

>>7799287
Give me a break. That was a wonderful book and turned around my opinion on his writing. Too many American children are exposed to Twain through Huck Finn...unfortunately, missing his best work in the process.

>>7799359
overrated perhaps...more plausible overshadowed by animal farm and 1984. He was still a stellar writer.

>>7799360
Moby-Dick