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Read it in grad school (for an English PhD). And honestly, that's the only context in which I'd recommend doing so. It's a dreary slog of a book; we were readin
by sramsay 3y ago
Read it in grad school (for an English PhD). And honestly, that's the only context in which I'd recommend doing so. It's a dreary slog of a book; we were reading it more for its historical importance than for any particular literary quality.
But I don't recall anyone at the time (mid 90s) doubting that the book was a forgery -- a somewhat inept mish-mash of Celtic literary figures and motifs. The interesting part was that people went absolutely wild for it. To the point that one can now speak of "Ossianism" as a significant literary movement.
- nottorp 3y agoWell it's a real work of fiction. No matter who the actual author is, the work exists as (not so great, you say) literature, it's not a fake roswell alien. Why wouldn't it have fans or imitators?
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- cafard 3y agoNabokov spoke with respect of it in the introduction to his translation of the epic of Prince Igor. (Or so I recall--it has been a while since I read it.) He knew perfectly well that it was a forgery, but the translations into Continental languages may have been better than the English. Clearly they answered a felt need.