Reply to Guardian List of 100 Best Novels of All Time

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I like Middlemarch fine but it's not even my favorite Eliot (Daniel Deronda is).  Dorothea is such a frustrating character.[/quote]
She's frustrating, but also amazing.  I don't need "likeable" characters, and her flaws are such a part of who she is.  And she's so young!  The novel does such an amazing job of showing her idealism turn into heartbreak and disillusion.[/quote]

The novel was one of the first to approach secular humanism as an ideology and moral force separate from any faiths. You now understand why it's beloved of overeducated atheists of certain generations. Despite that the main character is dreary and pathetic and unsympathetic.

My response to the Guardian list is that it reflects the Guardian, warts and biases and prejudices and all, rather than the reading public. Just see their hysterical disclaimer and plea at the bottom of the page to give you an idea of what to expect from the people who had their say in creating this list.

But on the whole, it is a solid list of great books. The ranking itself is silly. [/quote]

It’s weird to me to say “it reflects the Guardian, warts and biases and prejudices and all” when the Guardian is basically just compiling recommendations of 170 other people.

I mean sure you can argue who they picked for those 170 people reflects their biases and warts but a) 170 people is a lot; and b) the list of people they surveyed is pretty broad.

It’s obviously not a perfect methodology— there obviously isn’t one— but it’s not like when Rolling Stone has 5 editors pick the best albums of all time. [/quote]

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