Description: What's all the fuss about?

Transcript:

Oh overrated, I always felt yeah, E.M. Forster was overrated frankly, to take an obvious example, never really got it.  When people go on and on about Graham Green, especially his important books like “End of the Affair” I get puzzled, but I shouldn’t be, I mean there’s nothing wrong with Green and there’s nothing wrong with Forster either, I just feel like what’s all the fuss about.

 What is all the fuss about, damned if I know frankly, I think there must be American writers, Dave Wallace, I think is one of them and probably George Saunders is another who I don’t think the Brits get at all, I think they’re just like why do people-- this is so puerile, it’s so easy, it’s so-- I don’t know what they’re thinking or this is so bratty, it’s so annoying or it’s so broad or whatever they’re saying.  I think there’s a category of American fiction that just doesn’t cross the ocean so well and I think that I’m talking about a strain of British fiction writing, a not inconsiderable strain of British fiction writing that some people-- to some people this is what a novel is, it’s an E.M. Forrester novel or a Graham Green novel, they’re living practitioners in England producing novels that also today seem like well this is what a real novelist is and this is what a real novel is and for some of us in America you just like say “That’s not even a novelist hardly,” that’s sort of a near perfect replica of a novel, it’s so it’s a taste thing.  I think there’s a kind of well made product that Forster pioneered and represents that engendered a great many very well made novels in England in the 20th century that you either think is like what a novel should be or else you just throw up your hands.

 

 

Recorded On: 4/1/08