Quote:
Originally Posted by fjtorres
Lots of works age poorly.
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I'd say that hardly any do.
One possible area I considered, while planning this post, is science fiction. If your prediction for the future is wrong, does that make the book worthless? So that
1984 was worse in 1990 than 1980? I don't think so.
Uncle Tom's Cabin? I cried over it when a kid, but when I recently reread it, was disappointed. This was because I'm older, not because the book is older.
The arguable defects in terms of portraying slaves as too compliant aren't something you just notice because Uncle Tom's Cabin is dated. They were instantly recognized, and remedied in Stowe's next novel.
I there anyone who is going to say they can't read a 20th century police procedural because there is no DNA testing? Maybe. It wouldn't affect me, but I'll see what others say.