Diversionary Thursday

Earlier this year, because people slobber like Pavlovian dogs (or cats) at the prospect of useless lists, the editor of the New York Times Book Review polled a couple hundred writers and asked them to vote on what one American novel was the best of the past 25 years, and the results are here:

The winner:

Toni Morrison's *Beloved*

Runners-Up:

DeLillo's *Underworld*

Updike's Rabbit Tetrology (*Run*, *Redux*, *Rich*, *Rest*)

McCarthy's *Blood Meridian*

Roth's *American Pastoral*

I can't argue with any. If you haven't read *Blood Meridian,* do. They also list novels that received multiple votes, and I only disagree with one, Mark Helprin's turgid *Winter's Tale,* though to be honest, I've never heard of Denis Johnson's *Jesus' Son.*

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I know it's still not Friday, but have some

Dismemberment Plan