the "top 10" as selected by ChatGPT
Here's the "top 10 novellas of all time" as chosen by ChatGPT, the popular AI chatbot. Check out what the robots like.
We asked ChatGPT, "What are the best novellas of all time?" Not a hard question, right?
Here's how the AI service defended its answer:
- "This is just a small selection of some of the best novellas of all time. There are many other great novellas out there, and what makes a novella the 'best' is a matter of personal taste."
So diplomatic!
But one pick, by Edgar Allen Poe, is only 26 pages. (The bot actually included two short novels by Poe.) Another is an adaptation from a screenplay and not much of a masterpiece.
Another bone to pick: the selections are all written by men. That can't be right...
Here's a few:
- The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Originally published in 1925, the Jazz Age chronicle has been a mainstay of high school English classes for decades. Maybe it's worth a re-read...?
- The Old Man and The Sea by Earnest Hemingway. A benchmark work for the author's signature short and simple sentences. And a sports story elevated to timeless tragedy.
- The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka. When most people think of "short novels," they probably think of this one. It's also reported to be "the most widely read and influential works of twentieth-century fiction."
In response to another question – "What differentiates novellas from conventional novels?" – ChatGPT offered 5 qualities:
- Compactness
- Intensity
- Conciseness
- Depth
- Tone
Not bad. But a little broad and a little generic. Sort of robotic, right...?
Does AI know best? Check out the "top 10 novellas of all time" as selected by ChatGPT.
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