1. Nobody is longing to read Proust, but several people are gung-ho.2. Translation variations could be interesting/annoying.3. Eating madeleines is always a good idea, and it feels so literary.4. At least one person is filled with horror at the idea of reading Proust.5. 12-year-old boys won't read Proust, and there's no point in inviting them to do so.6. At least one non-12-year-old person believes that 12-year-olds are good group members.7. The group convener hasn't yet asked her own personal 12-year-old whether he wants to keep reading hard books. He might have better things to do. [Update: I just asked him, and he rubbed his eyes and said, "Sure," but I think he might still have been asleep.]8. Here are the non-Proustian suggestions, in order of mention: Tolkein, Flaubert, Dickens, O'Neill, George Eliot, T. S. Eliot, Cooper, Cather, and T. S. Eliot's "Four Quartets."9. The group convener is acquainted with all the authors on this list but admits that till now she has only read James Fenimore Cooper in comic-book form.10. Of the authors on this list, probably only Dickens would go over with 12-year-old boys, though they might enjoy calling each other "Natty Bumppo." Also, the gangrene scene in Madame Bovary could be a hit.
Time now for you to weigh in again. I look forward to the confusion.
6 comments:
I'm game for any of the above, and I have to admit that I liked Cooper's novel The Prairie when I read it. I am fond of all of the 19th century Russians, and I have wanted to read some of the Eliot novels that I missed along the way, too. So keep me posted!
I'm intrigued by the idea of reading Cooper, and I think Conor (age 12) might be as well. I'm also feeling open to other things, though...
My sense of Cooper, to be honest, combines Zane Grey-ish plots with a pompous and deadly dull prose style. I fear the comic books may have gleaned the best of the Zane Grey action. But I am willing to suspend my disbelief if others are enthusiastic.
I too am game for any of the above.
I've never read any Cooper, but I'm perfectly willing to accept your assessment and steer clear.
My assessment may be completely unreliable.
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