Call me the greatest American novel
Most people, indeed smart, literate and nice ones, will tell you that “Huckleberry Finn” is the great American novel. Remain aloof! Be polite, of course, but adopt a knowing look. Smile. Tell them, “Well, [pause] if that’s your kind of thing.” Quote Abraham Lincoln, who read “Moby-Dick” but not “Huckleberry Finn” (through no fault of his own, dying as he did 19 years before it was published): “People who like this sort of thing will find this the sort of thing they like.” (He wrote that in a book review — not of “Moby-Dick.”)
Christopher Buckley wants you to read (and re-read) Moby-Dick. I want to talk to Christopher Buckley about fast fish and loose fish — although perhaps I’d better re-read the tale of the great white whale myself before indulging in any delusions of literary insight.
(Hat tip: Lee)
