I usually feel cheerful after reading really good depressing books; angst is good for wallowing and taking me out of myself but depressing gives me manic glee if it's good enough. Really great depressing books are more likely to be funny than really great angst books. And really bad depressing books never seem outright morally offensive to me, like really bad angst books. I think this is because I assume that angst is written to straightforwardly give pleasure, and I am offended by what some writers think will please me.
& I think it is easier for depressing to rise to the level of art than for angst, though maybe only slightly. Some examples of how I categorize:
Art angst: Dorothy Dunnett
Lousy angst: that Susan Matthews torture book, The Sparrow
Art depressing: Kafka, Waugh
Lousy depressing: The Sheltering Sky,Where the Red Fern Grows.
Art angst depressing (the absolute best of the best): Hans Christian Andersen.
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my categories are a little different
Date: 2008-02-20 02:31 am (UTC)& I think it is easier for depressing to rise to the level of art than for angst, though maybe only slightly. Some examples of how I categorize:
Art angst: Dorothy Dunnett
Lousy angst: that Susan Matthews torture book, The Sparrow
Art depressing: Kafka, Waugh
Lousy depressing: The Sheltering Sky, Where the Red Fern Grows.
Art angst depressing (the absolute best of the best): Hans Christian Andersen.