The late, great David Foster Wallace.
Photo courtesy flickr.com
I have an interest in all things Gen X. I'm also a fiction writer. So, it's only natural that I would be interested in other authors born during that so-called "baby bust" era, particularly "era defining" scribes. And being the geek that I am, I would also do such things as search for the top whatever (ten, twenty) Gen X books. For sure, such a search would mention Douglas Coupland (SHAMELESS PLUG ALERT:see my recent article: That's so Gen X: Douglas Coupland and Starbucks), at least two David Foster Wallace books (The Broom of the System; Infinite Jest) and some Chuck Palahniuk (Fight Club; Choke).It almost sounds brainless: of course such a search would render those three authors. What better place for my search to wind up than at Amazon, founded by fellow Gen Xer, Jeff Bezos (tell THAT to the next boomer who asks "What has Gen X accomplished?). There I find the twenty best Gen X books and novels list. It starts out wonderfully: Bret Easton Ellis' Less Than Zero ; Bright Lights, Big City by Jay McInerny; and, of course Coupland's Generation X: Tales for An Accelerated Culture and Girlfriend in a Coma.
The great Chuck P. Alive, but not living on one users list. Photo courtesy flickr.com
But then it takes a turn. A quick scroll down the page reveals not only the notorious absence of DFW and Palahniuk, but of the inclusion of three E. Lynn Harris works: Invisible Life: A Novel , Just As I Am: A Novel, and Abide With Me: A Novel . Now, I'm not saying that Harris shouldn't be included in a top Gen X list. But to include three of his works and nothing by other authors, who, to put it bluntly, define the Gen X ethos (as if we had one) better, causes me to scratch my head. Harris was incredibly ground-breaking in speaking about gay African-American men, and his own agent said he wasn't a "literary writer". Granted, this Amazon list is by a reader, presumably not a professional in the publishing business, but lists are an economic powerhouse. When we buy online, we research what we want before we click submit. People often refer to lists as aids in what to buy. Oprah's Book Club list alone probably helps the industry stay afloat. But popularity doesn't equal influence. Bob Dylan never sold that many records, but his influence is immeasurable. Likewise, Wallace and Palahniuk's popularity might pale in comparison with Harris, but their influence is greater. For that reason alone, it should be mandatory that they appear on everyone's top Gen X book list. And Harris wasn't even a Gen Xer.
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Ground-breaking author Harris included in list. Photo courtesy coverbrowser.com
Generation X: feelin' like an Onion contributor each day.
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Comments
fantastic!
Perhaps these writers have written on themes of interest to Gen X, but they're boomers - McInerny, Easton Ellis, Coupland, Harris, Wallace and Palahniuk were all born within the Boomer-defined years of 1946-1964.
It's a good start, and here's the list we did. We also would argue that Coupland necessarily belongs in Gen X, and given all the loose year definitions out there, we think Gen X ought to start in 1961, in the waning years of the demographic boom (which started declining in '57 and didn't bottom out until '71).
johnhughesisdead .com/home/2009/9/2/an-attempt-at-a-generation-x-reading-list.html
Ellis is a dangerous sociopath and pulpist. Ditto Chucky P.
(who's made death threats to those give him bad reviews),
Wurtzel an airhead sophist and plagiarist with a nice ass. The
failure to include Wallace and Jonathan Franzen embody GenX more than anyone else. So, who compiled the list, a semi-literate adolescentt?
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