An American Tragedy: It Does Get Better

Reading the first chapter of An American Tragedy was something akin to eating a large bowl of dry dog food. The second chapter did little to improve the experience, but by perhaps the fourth, I could agree - at least theoretically - that reading this tome might prove more enjoyable than a doing hard labor in a Siberian prison in a bikini made of nails.

According to Amazon.com, An American Tragedy "was called by one influential critic 'the worst-written great novel in the world.'" Amen. Jason and I have at least consoled ourselves that we can laugh together at the descriptions, which are long and convoluted yet also lengthy but not altogether without that brevity and concision which might otherwise render it charming. (Now excuse me, I have to rinse my brain out with Scope.)

I believe as we work our way through this list, we will benefit by remembering that these novels exist in a historical context, that their literary value is measured not necessarily by the enjoyment that we find in the characters and their stories but by the contributions their authors have made to the body of works we agree to call Literature.

As it goes along, an American Tragedy does get more gripping, and I look forward to our discussion of it.