October 09, 2004

Well, Now That You Mention It, We're Frequent Pub Quiz Participants. But We Couldn't Pronounce Their Names Correctly To Save Our Lives

Oscar Villalon asks whether the Nobel's really worth it: "Even the most erudite among us will have a hard time naming a single book by a great chunk of past laureates. How about that Sigrid Undset (1928)? Who could ever forget her, right? Or how about Par Lagerkvist (1951)? Or Jaroslav Seifert (1984)? Got those names tattooed on the brain, don't you? And if you do, it's because you've boned up on all the past winners for trivia night at the pub."

Posted by DrMabuse at October 9, 2004 10:27 PM
Comments

Par Lagerkvist's "The Dwarf" is an unjustly neglected classic. A truly strange book.

Posted by: Jim at October 10, 2004 03:33 PM

With you, Jim. Undset and Seifert wouldn't be obscure either to serious readers of a certain age -- say, 35 or 40.

Posted by: Sam at October 12, 2004 07:45 PM