Modern Fiction vs. Classic Fiction

I am again reading Tender Is The Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald. I borrowed this book from my friend's Mom who is a professor in the University of the Philippines. On the one hand it is an excellent thing to do because F. Scott Fitzgerald could write. It makes me want to write, create, pour myself into the world to read his writing. I've been trying to read more modern fiction, more new writers, because that's what we have to do- support each other.

Clearly the public at large is not going to support new fiction authors if we do not support each other. However, it's hard for me to read modern fiction. I just don't like it a whole lot. It's often cold, overly ironic, relying on pointless twists instead of actual truth. The classics are classic for a reason- you can read them at any period and they are still brilliant. Modern fiction is hard, because you have to sift through a ton of crap for a few moments of beauty. And, to me, it's never quite as beautiful as the beauty in Fitzgerald or Hemingway or Dostoevsky or Milton or Homer. I just love reading books. My Mom, is an English Literature teacher and she influenced me in that way.

On the other hand, it's painful. I can never, ever be that good. No matter what. No matter how hard I try or how much time i devote I will always be a middling, boring, trite, solipsistic writer interested in petty things. But I will still continue on writing and reveling in the sheer beauty of my words.