Loooong Titles

piisfun

I have recently taken to comparing the length of titles of Japanese Web novels to the length of the first sentence of the Declaration of Independence.

71 Words:

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

64 Words:

I Was Expelled From the Guild After My Past Achievements Were Tampered With and I Was Recognized as a Useless Burden, but I Was Picked up by the Daughter of the Country’s Top Nobleman and I’m on the Winning Side of Life. The Moment I Left, the Number of Members Dropped to Half? I’m Begging You, Can You Come Back? It’s Too Late Now

MasterLillyclaw

Web novels is Homestuck confirmed. Or getting there, at least.

CG: WHEREIN NUMEROUS VIGILANTES CONFRONT PERIL; ONE OF THEM BETRAYS THE OTHERS; (BUT IT TURNS OUT TO BE PART OF THE PLAN ALL ALONG);
CG: SEVERAL ATTRACTIVE FEMALE LEADS PROVOKE ROMANTIC TENSION; FOUR MAJOR CHARACTERS WEAR UNUSUAL HATS; ONE HOLDS PLOT-CRITICAL SECRET;
CG: 47 ON-SCREEN EXPLOSIONS, ONE RESULTING IN DEMISE OF KEY-ADVERSARY; 6 to 20 LINES THAT COULD BE CONSTRUED AS HUMOROUS;

(59 words but that wasn’t the whole title.)

Shiny

Some English book titles used to be relatively long for marketing reasons. For example Robinson Crusoe was originally published as The life and strange surprizing adventures of Robinson Crusoe: of York, mariner: who lived twenty eight years all alone in an un-inhabited island on the coast of America, near the mouth of the great river of Oroonoque; ... Written by himself.

Other examples include:

The Affecting History Of Two Young Gentlewomen, Who Were Ruined By Their Excessive Attachment To The Amusements Of The Town. To Which Are Added, Many Practical Notes, By Dr. Typo.
Argal; Or The Silver Devil, Being The Adventures Of An Evil Spirit, Comprising A Series Of Interesting Anecdotes, With Which The Demon Became Acquainted, During His Confinement In The Metalline Substance To Which He Was Condemned. Related By Himself.
The Egg, Or The Memoirs Of Gregory Giddy, Esq: With The Lucubrations Of Messrs. Francis Flimsy, Frederick Florid, And Ben Bombast. To Which Are Added, The Private Opinions Of Patty Pout, Lucy Luscious, And Priscilla Positive. Also The Memoirs Of A Right Honourable Puppy. Conceived By A Celebrated Hen, And Laid Before The Public By A Famous Cock-Feeder.
The Travels Of Hildebrand Bowman, Esquire, Into Carnovirria, Taupiniera, Olfactaria, And Audinante, In New-Zealand; And In The Powerful Kingdom Of Luxo-Voluptot. Written By Himself; Who Went On Shore In The Adventure’s Large Cutter; And Escaped Being Cut Off, And Devoured, With The Rest Of The Boat’s Crew, By Happening To Be A-Shooting In The Woods; Where He Was Afterwards, Unfortunately Left Behind By The Adventure.

Lex

I'm always amazed by how long WN titles can be. Another example is "Wakamono no Kuro Mahou Hanare ga Shinkoku desu ga, Shuushoku shite Mitara Taiguu Iishi, Shachou mo Tsukaima mo Kawaikute Saikou desu!", or in English "Though young people recoil from entering the black magic industry, I found its treatment of employees quite good when I entered it, and the president and familiar are cute too so everything is awesome!". I wonder if it's due because they can't count on fancy illustrated covers to catch the reader's attention, it's a cultural thing, or both.

pcj

As a former library assistant, I have to think of the poor library card catalog computer systems which probably have a fixed width field for the title to make searches faster and never expected any book to have titles this long.

saskir

@pcj said in Loooong Titles:

As a former library assistant, I have to think of the poor library card catalog computer systems which probably have a fixed width field for the title to make searches faster and never expected any book to have titles this long.

I shudder thinking back on searching for a volume on an ebooks device. Good luck finding volume 7 when all the other volumes start with

"oh yeah this is a trend to have the whole plot in the title as this makes it easier for others to know if they want it without reading the summary (or is it? Yes it is!) - The history and myth of titles - Volume 10"

Travis Butler

@saskir Also used today as a funny reference to some of those long Edwardian-era titles. For example, the Sorcery and Cecelia books by Pat Wrede and Caroline Stevemer:

Sorcery and Cecelia
or
The Enchanted Chocolate Pot
being the correspondence of two Young Ladies of Quality regarding various Magical Scandals in London and the Country

The Grand Tour
or
The Purloined Coronation Regalia
being a revelation of matters of High Confidentiality and Greatest Importance, including extracts from the intimate diary of a Noblewoman and the sworn testimony of a Lady of Quality

The Mislaid Magician

or
Ten Years After

Being the private correspondences between two prominent families regarding a scandal touching the highest levels of government and the security of the realm

Steven Brust used the same trick for his Phoenix Guards Dumas pastiches.

saskir

Reminds me that I once searched for one of the longest german novel titles. It was (and maybe is):

A novel by Theobald Fuchs (and nope never heard of him).

„Friedhof in Erlangen, 14. Mai , 10 Uhr 30, meine 35. Beerdigung, die zahlreichen Nachkommen streiten am Grab um den Fernsehsessel des 73.-Jährigen.“

"Cemetery in Erlangen, may 14th, 10:30 o'clock, I mean 35, funeral, many descendants argue around the grave over the tv sofa of the 73 year old"

Although reference books are some times even "larger":

One from Brodbek

"Entwicklung von außergewöhnlich aktiven, kooperativen Aluminium−Fluorid-basierten Lewis-Säure/Oniumsalz-Katalysatoren für die asymmetrische Carboxycyanierung von Aldehyden und Untersuchungen zu ihrer Anwendbarkeit in verwandten enantioselektiven Transformationen"

"Development of exceptionally active, cooperative aluminum fluoride-based Lewis acid / onium salt catalysts for the asymmetric carboxycyanation of aldehydes and investigations into their applicability in related enantioselective transformations"

TheGrimLich

@saskir I mean, Ph.D. theses and academic papers aren't really fair game, since the further you get into academic minutiae the more specific you need to be in the title.

Geezer Weasalopes

@thegrimlich said in Loooong Titles:

@saskir I mean, Ph.D. theses and academic papers aren't really fair game, since the further you get into academic minutiae the more specific you need to be in the title.

In some ways, not fair game.

In others?
Heh
It's the same damn thing!

Umpteen bazillion articles being published in Academia, how to tell which ones relate to your field of research.
Umpteen bazillion WNs being created, how to tell which ones fall within the niche(s) you enjoy.
And which don't.

Freakin' long titles for the same underlying reason.

saskir

@thegrimlich said in Loooong Titles:

@saskir I mean, Ph.D. theses and academic papers aren't really fair game, since the further you get into academic minutiae the more specific you need to be in the title.

thats why I separated theses and novels.