WHAT MAKES A BOOK GREAT?

GREAT: Way above the average

CLASSIC: Of the highest quality; having a value and a position recognized and unquestioned

Matthew Arnold: The best that has been thought and known in the world.

Ezra Pound: News that stays news.

Eva Brann: A great book has inexhaustibility of detail and aspect, well-seatedness in intellect
and imagination, tight fit of matter and style.

Mortimer Adler: A great book must be pertinent to contemporary life, be worth rereading, and
contains great ideas. It must have influenced and is still influencing our belief and ideals.

On the other hand...

The tradition that hands down to us the class of great books is a convention established by the
powers-that-be to enforce their own dominance.

There are no great books anyway, because all books are equally testimonials to the social
circumstances of their times, and the oral testimony of an illiterate peasant may in fact tell us
more than the high-flown propaganda of the classics.

Virginia Woolf: This great book, this worthless book, the same book is called by both names...
so long as you write what you wish to write, that is all that matters; and whether it matters for
ages or only four hours, nobody can say. But to sacrifice a hair of the head of your vision, a
shade of its colour, in deference to some Headmaster... is the most abject treachery.

And then again...

Alice Kober: How do you tell a great book? Your hair stands on end and the back of your neck
tingles.

Italo Calvino: A classic is a book that has never finished saying what it has to say.

FOR THIS CLASS ON CONTEMPORARY CLASSICS, A GREAT BOOK IS A NARRATIVE

THAT HAS BEEN CONSIDERED GREAT BY A SIGNIFICANT NUMBER OF PEOPLE AND
HAS HAD SOME DEGREE OF PALPABLE IMPACT ON ITS WORLD.

A narrative tells a story. It may be fiction or nonfiction, or a combination of both.

How do we measure greatness and impact?
Wide reception determined by:
circulation, reviews, translations, versions (e.g. plays, television serials, feature films)

Criteria for choosing the texts:

impact
gender
country

as wide a range as possible

UNDERSTANDING AND APPRECIATING A TEXT:

Factors that may help in appreciating and understanding the text:

The context: what comes before and after the text, helping to fix a meaning; circumstances in
which an event occurs

FRAMEWORK:

MILIEU - AUTHOR - TEXT - READER - MILIEU

The milieu: environment; social surroundings

the world of the story
the world of the author and the text

The author: her/ his life and other works

The reception: circulation, translations, versions, reviews

THE GROUP REPORT:

AUTHOR

Who is the author?

What kind of life has (s)he lead? What has influenced his/her writing?
What has (s)he said about his/her works?
What have other people said about his/her writing?
How does information about the author enrich our reading of the work?

MILIEU

What is the milieu of the story, and of the book? What are the characteristics of this world/
these worlds?
What could the work mean to its milieu?
How will knowing its milieu enrich our understanding of the work?

RECEPTION

How has the work been circulated? What versions have there been of the work?
How has it been received?
What have people said about this work?

THE TEXT:

The elements of a narrative

(Read: Montgomery, Narrative):

Point of view
Setting
Characters
Plot
Motifs
Subject matters, themes, meanings

Who tells the story?

How does the point of view help shape the storys meanings?

Where and when does the story happen?

Can you imagine the time and place?

What is distinctive about the setting?

How does the setting contribute to the works meanings?

Who are the characters?

What kind of people are they?
Are these characters interesting? What makes them interesting?
Are they good or bad? What makes them good? What makes them bad?
Why do they do what they do? What are their motivations?
How do you feel about the characters? Who do you like? Who do you not like? Why?
What does each character say about human nature?

What is a hero, a heroine, a main character?

HERO: Demigod, man of superhuman qualities; person admired for great deeds and noble
qualities; the main person in poem, play, or story; one who has fought for his country
Who could be considered heroes and heroines in the work?
What motivates these characters?
What are their goals?
Why do they do what they do? How do they change?

What is the plot?

What happens to the characters?
How and why do these things happen?
What do these events mean?

What things and events recur in the story? What could this mean?

What does the work mean? What are its meanings?

What are its subject matters?
What are its themes?
What could the work be saying to us now? What is its relevance to our world now?

How else can we engage and appreciate the work?

Learning is, of course, cumulative and not compartmentalized.

All that we have learned must be considered when we discuss new texts, new topics.
Quizzes and exams will therefore cover everything taken up previously along with those that are
about to be taken up.

You must know and remember all the texts and videos that we have discussed along with those
that will be discussed at the current session.
Bring texts and/or notessometimes, you may be allowed to look at them during group
discussions/ exams/ quizzes.

OUR TEXTS WILL BE IN CONSTANT DIALOGUE ENGAGEMENT WITH US, AND WITH
ONE ANOTHER.