In this week's WG post we're having fun with classics (a classic being defined as anything written over 100 years ago and still in print). The prompts are:1) How do you feel about classic literature? Are you intimidated by it? Love it? Not sure because you never actually tried it? Don't get why anyone reads anything else? Which classics, if any, have you truly loved? Which would you recommend for someone who has very little experience reading older books? Go all out, sell us on it!
During my teenage years I read practically nothing but classics all the time. Most of those books were either required reading or suggested reading (and I took suggested readings very, very seriously.) As I have been a fan of English literature from a young age, my favourite classics were English books. I've read Jane Austen's six novels more than once (my absolute favourite is Pride and Prejudice, but I also love Persuasion and Sense and Sensibility) and most of Dickens's novels too (my favourite Dickens remain Hard Times and A Tale of Two Cities).
I also remember enjoying some French classics very much: Dangerous Liasons by Laclos and The Red and the Black by Stendhal. I haven't dabbled into Russian classics - those I do find intimidating, mostly because of their lenght. Also, characters in Russian novels always seem to have at least three different names and this gets me terribly confused if I'm not paying close attention. I would never dream of getting to read The Brothers Karamazov, for example. As for War and Peace... maybe when I'm retired, if I am so lucky.
What's the appeal of classics? For me, it's about history: the feel of the past, the different language, the breath of past centuries. Getting to know a different culture and civilization is a big plus of classics, I think. On the other hand, classics can be a bit difficult to approach, either because of the difficult language or the different value system in them that makes them harder to understand for the contemporary reader.
2) A challenge, should you choose to accept it: Read at least one chapter of a classic novel, preferably by an author you're not familiar with. Did you know you can find lots of classics in the public domain on the web? Check out The Popular Classic Book Corner, for example. Write a mini-review based on this chapter: what are your first impressions? Would you read further? (For a larger selection of authors, try The Complete Classic Literature Library).
I read the first chapter of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by Frank Baum (here's the full ebook available for free). I remember reading an illustrated, abridged version of this as a small child, but I've never read the full text. The first chapter is sort of intriguing. I'd read further, but maybe not on the screen, as I'm always tempted to skim over a text when I'm reading online. I think I'll try listening to the audiobook. You can get free audiobooks for texts in the public domain at LibriVox. Check that site out; it's full of great books read by ordinary people who offer their reading-aloud skills for the benefit of others.
9 Comments:
I listened to RAFFLES from Livrivox Alessandra and it was great so it is good to see your recommendation here. On my post I listed a few free e-books in the cirme fiction genre too.
Another rec for listening to the classics! I am planning to listen to more classics this year too.
Your paragraph about the appeal and the challenges of the classics was spot on, for me.
I read the Wizard of Oz to my kids and I decided I enjoyed it more as an adult than as a kid.
We are on the same page about Austen and Dickens. :)
I loved The Brothers Karamazov, although I agree, it was a bit confusing at first with all the names and nicknames. But if you wanted to try a much less daunting work by Dostoevsky, I recommend his short story, White Nights. It's really beautiful.
I love the classics, but The Brothers Karamazov is a book I couldn't get into...I got to page 60 and stalled.
I agree about the Brothers Karamazov. I just tried to read it recently and finally gave up. It's one I might pick up again one day, but I think you need to be able to sit and read for long periods of time, long enough that all the characters names get firmly embedded in your brain and you don't have to go, "Now, who is HE???" every time you pick up the book.
I had an old, probably first edition or close to it, copy of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz when I was a kid. I have no idea what happened to it. :(
Ah, last year I read some contemporary classics- To Kill A Mocking Bird and Brave New World. Had been embarrassed that I had never read them.
Thanks for the link to Oz, it's a book I've always meant to read.
If you were going to try some Russian I would suggest Anna Karenina as a good book.
I've always had a hard time with Dickens, but a bunch of people have recommended A Tale of Two Cities, and I feel like I should give him another shot. I've also got a copy of The Red and the Black on my TBR mountain. Looks like that's one I should definitely get to!
Do give those Russian classics a(nother?) try. If you can get past the daunting size and those multiple names, I've found these to be among the most readable of the classics I've tried.
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