Literature Worthy

After reading The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky over Christmas break, I have realized why I had the urge to read this teenage story instead of As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner. This is because I can relate to the plot way better. Also, because the diction was much simpler to understand. I am not saying that it was a child's book, but compared to Faulkner, it could be considered that way. The modern plot in TPOBW consisted of a high school freshmen's encounter with drugs, sex, making new friends, having a psychological problem, etc. As a high school student myself, I found it much more exciting to read than Faulkner's story about a traveling family in the early 1900s whose mother just died. But then again, a different reader's view might find my opinion unintelligible. More than likely, it would probably be because the other reader thinks diction and literary devices make a book seem more appealing and award worthy than a book based more on the physical actions that a character decides on. Which comes to my question: what makes a book more literature worthy, plot or diction? Personally, plot creates a spell of enchantment over the reader that only lasts in the short run. How many other modernist plots do you know today that have also written about the same subjects such as sex and drugs? Tons. Yet, diction makes the book more memorable. Trust me, I will never forget my frustration when I first started reading AILD and had no clue what the narrator(s) were discussing. And that is exactly the reason why I will always remember the fifteen contrasting narrators that Faulkner entered into his novel. These specific reasons may be why Faulkner is considered to have wrote many classics such as AILD or A Rose for Emily and why Chbosky is on the New York Times Best Sellers List for writing TPOBW. Even their bragging rights are from a different era. Who knows, maybe Chbosky might be considered a classic author one day, but in reality, he will probably be a nobody after a year or so. These modern books that go through fads, do not have elaborate enough material to make them deserving of endless praise. So even though I thoroughly enjoyed The Perks of Being a Wallflower and stayed up until the edges of dawn reading it, Faulkner will always have a more everlasting impression. Therefore, Faulkner wins.