Every year, more or less the end of December, newspapers often make lists of the best of the year. And, of course, this practice includes the best books. I confess that I read these lists with morbid curiosity. Not much to see the number of writers who do not know anything at all, but also noted that fantastic literature is often totally absent from these lists. With its well-known exceptions, but in general, it is often done very little attention. Not so with the thriller, which always falls on a title, something that has always seemed peculiar, to deny.
This year, the Sunday newspaper "El Mundo" decided to loop the loop and get the best of the decade. There is nothing, condensed 10 years of literature in 100 books. The jury was composed of ten writers, journalists, critics, publishers and booksellers and their results are as questionable as expected. Only 10 books have won more than one vote, which means the other 90 were chosen solely by an individual. This can only be defined in one way: dispersion. Published much and, perhaps, apparently very good (or at least that readers love us, which is not the same which is good) and no one is able to reach a clear consensus on who deserves to be part of a course fee.
This reality is what has always made me apologize for that fantastic literature is conspicuous by its absence in such lists. People of a certain generation (mine, not going further) was raised within the paradigm of good books or were unrealistic or were not good. Of course many of us rebel against that idea but at the cost of going through eccentric or just stupid. And that lasted for many years, too.
It is now very fashionable to say that was good Stanislaw Lem and take "Solaris" it up every few minutes. But when I read the 80 newspaper no one seemed to remember the good of Poland, and that that that was alive. That ballast
justifies the people of a certain age (which, today, form the core of critics, writers and publishers of some renown and, as it somehow, power) stubbornly continue to ignore everything that does not smell pure and simple manners.
Fortunately, things are changing, for example, when Lem died was pleased to see such a galaxy of young writers claim him without complexes. And these changes will start scoring well on these lists.
And so, the book number one, that is, the best of the decade up to "The Feast of the Goat" by Mario Vargas Llosa, the two "Your Face Tomorrow by Javier Marias and the three to" The Road "by Cormac McCarthy. So science fiction has a more than honorable bronze medal. Not bad, not bad. Honestly, I never live this moment. As I said in my previous post, the times are changing a lot.
The rest of the top ten most fantasy literature does not include (unless "Brooklyn Follies" by Paul Auster, in 9 th place, including in the field, which can not claim that I have not read the book) but if we look the other 90 titles still appear some surprises, like names, Palahniuk ("Human Error"), Murakami (Kafka on the Shore "," Blind Willow Sleeping Woman "), Houellebecq (The Possibility of an Island"), Ishiguro ( "I never give up"), Cristina Fernández Cubas ("poor relatives of the devil") and Carrere ("I'm alive and you are dead").
not a bad choice, there are great classic horror, science fiction, slipstream, and even the biography of Philip K. Dick. There are 8 books, which seems to me a little but it certainly is a lot compared to a similar list had been made in 1989 or even in 1999 (I hasten to clarify that it is possible that I may have missed a title that I have many references, for example, David Foster Wallace "supposedly fun things Never again will I do "or" Hell "is not translated Tsutsui, looks like I either read it all).
And yet, I still have a certain resentment, a bitter taste in your mouth. Of course I am not so naive as to expect that authors appear here full of ghetto, which are published in Nova, Gigamesh, Minotaur, Bibliopolis, SWAT or the Factory of Ideas. Do not expect to find a China Mieville, Thomas Disch, William Gibson, George RR Martin, Ian McLeod, Neal Stephenson, Ian McDonald, John M. Harrison, IainBanks or similar. Not appear strange that a Ballard or Lem but it is possible that in this decade did not post his best works.
Now what is unforgivable is that no one has fixed that little jewel that is "Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell" by Susanna Clarke and instead if there is room for bestselleros clunkers like "The Bible of Clay by Julia Navarro ( at least not Matilde Asensi ...).
In short, times are changing but still should change a little more.
This year, the Sunday newspaper "El Mundo" decided to loop the loop and get the best of the decade. There is nothing, condensed 10 years of literature in 100 books. The jury was composed of ten writers, journalists, critics, publishers and booksellers and their results are as questionable as expected. Only 10 books have won more than one vote, which means the other 90 were chosen solely by an individual. This can only be defined in one way: dispersion. Published much and, perhaps, apparently very good (or at least that readers love us, which is not the same which is good) and no one is able to reach a clear consensus on who deserves to be part of a course fee.
This reality is what has always made me apologize for that fantastic literature is conspicuous by its absence in such lists. People of a certain generation (mine, not going further) was raised within the paradigm of good books or were unrealistic or were not good. Of course many of us rebel against that idea but at the cost of going through eccentric or just stupid. And that lasted for many years, too.
It is now very fashionable to say that was good Stanislaw Lem and take "Solaris" it up every few minutes. But when I read the 80 newspaper no one seemed to remember the good of Poland, and that that that was alive. That ballast
justifies the people of a certain age (which, today, form the core of critics, writers and publishers of some renown and, as it somehow, power) stubbornly continue to ignore everything that does not smell pure and simple manners.
Fortunately, things are changing, for example, when Lem died was pleased to see such a galaxy of young writers claim him without complexes. And these changes will start scoring well on these lists.
And so, the book number one, that is, the best of the decade up to "The Feast of the Goat" by Mario Vargas Llosa, the two "Your Face Tomorrow by Javier Marias and the three to" The Road "by Cormac McCarthy. So science fiction has a more than honorable bronze medal. Not bad, not bad. Honestly, I never live this moment. As I said in my previous post, the times are changing a lot.
The rest of the top ten most fantasy literature does not include (unless "Brooklyn Follies" by Paul Auster, in 9 th place, including in the field, which can not claim that I have not read the book) but if we look the other 90 titles still appear some surprises, like names, Palahniuk ("Human Error"), Murakami (Kafka on the Shore "," Blind Willow Sleeping Woman "), Houellebecq (The Possibility of an Island"), Ishiguro ( "I never give up"), Cristina Fernández Cubas ("poor relatives of the devil") and Carrere ("I'm alive and you are dead").
not a bad choice, there are great classic horror, science fiction, slipstream, and even the biography of Philip K. Dick. There are 8 books, which seems to me a little but it certainly is a lot compared to a similar list had been made in 1989 or even in 1999 (I hasten to clarify that it is possible that I may have missed a title that I have many references, for example, David Foster Wallace "supposedly fun things Never again will I do "or" Hell "is not translated Tsutsui, looks like I either read it all).
And yet, I still have a certain resentment, a bitter taste in your mouth. Of course I am not so naive as to expect that authors appear here full of ghetto, which are published in Nova, Gigamesh, Minotaur, Bibliopolis, SWAT or the Factory of Ideas. Do not expect to find a China Mieville, Thomas Disch, William Gibson, George RR Martin, Ian McLeod, Neal Stephenson, Ian McDonald, John M. Harrison, IainBanks or similar. Not appear strange that a Ballard or Lem but it is possible that in this decade did not post his best works.
Now what is unforgivable is that no one has fixed that little jewel that is "Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell" by Susanna Clarke and instead if there is room for bestselleros clunkers like "The Bible of Clay by Julia Navarro ( at least not Matilde Asensi ...).
In short, times are changing but still should change a little more.
