Quote:
Originally Posted by Nicole  JK Rowling hasn't won the most prestigious awards, but she is certainly the most famous author alive today. And so who do we say is "greater"? The author who everyone knows about, or the little-known and soon forgotten author who wins the awards? |
You have to define "greatest". Rowling is certainly famous, and many people have read her books. But that says nothing of their quality. Perhaps if we did say that an award was an indication of quality - so we're using quality of writing as our criteria for "greatness". Then someone who has won a Nobel Prize for Literature - the most prestigious prize there is for writing - imust be a "great" writer. So, Naguib Mahfouz must be a greater writer than Rowling.
When superlatives starting getting thrown around in any discussion, the terms of reference have to be laid down first. Is this greatest as in commercial success, or crtitical acclaim? Because it's a very, very, very rare writer who can persuade people they have both. And that's not Rowling, and it's certainly not Brown.