Classic literature

[Anonymous]

Not sure if this is on the HS curriculum (I didn't go to school here), but I finished the Palliser series by Trollope not long ago (a long-time must read on my list that I just never got to until now). A great read (once you get the flow of the language), with a great insight into the workings of Victorian-era politics, intrigue and economy. Also very interesting characters throughout and just enough romance to keep it interesting - in a very Victorian way, of course

I also find pretty much anything by Mark Twain extremely enjoyable.

[Anonymous]

If you're getting back into classic literature, I'd recommend starting with things that are both classic and reasonably accessible to read. I enthusiastically second The Great Gatsby as a great re-entry point, perhaps with Pride and Prejudice at about the same time. My next tranche would probably be The Scarlet Letter, one of Shakespeare's major tragedies, and perhaps some Wordsworth.

[Anonymous]

Also, I prefer David Copperfield to a Tale of Two Cities. Dickens rocks.

[Anonymous]

I went through a Victorian phase in high school and college and read a lot of Austen, Eliot, Dickens, and the Brontes. What stood out for me was Villette by Charlotte Bronte and George Eliot's Middlemarch and the Mill on the Floss. However speaking from decades later I don't know if they would suit my grown up tastes as much.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I went through a Victorian phase in high school and college and read a lot of Austen, Eliot, Dickens, and the Brontes. What stood out for me was Villette by Charlotte Bronte and George Eliot's Middlemarch and the Mill on the Floss. However speaking from decades later I don't know if they would suit my grown up tastes as much.

I love Villette. It's not as well known but so worthwhile.

What about starting with American literature? Henry James is wonderful. Also Dreiser and Wharton. The House of Mirth is so good. For 20-c literature, you might try John Updike and John Cheever. Cheever wrote a lot of short stories. Also The Invisible Man by Ellison is excellent.

[Anonymous]

I'll try to not repeat suggestions.

Crime and Punishment is very accessible for Doestoevsky. I also love Anna Karenina by Tolstoy. How about some Faulkner? We read The Sound and the Fury in high school, but I think Light in August is more accessible. I'll also second the Trollope recommendation, though I'd start with the Barsetshire County series (the Warden is first). Vanity Fair by Thackeray is also great.

For something more modern, but classic in my mind, how about Toni Morrison? I'd recommend Beloved. Or Margaret Atwood - The Handmaid's Tale or The Blind Assassin.

So much to read, so little time!

[Anonymous]

OK, as a russian lit major, I would never consider any russian lit accessible for a newbie. I think that is a good way to spoil it for someone who is just entering back into the classics.

If you want accessible think Orwell, Austen, Twain, Dumas, and Huxley.

[Anonymous]

Updike[/b] of course, cat believe it took so long for The Jungle to appear on this list. I'd start that book today if I were the OP. That is a great place to start!

[Anonymous]

12:17 here. I forgot two of my favorites, Mr. Bridge, and its pendant novel, Mrs. Bridge by Evan S. Connell. So excellent. You have to read both to get a full appreciation. I'd start with Mrs. Bridge, to start from a woman's point of view (that is if OP is one).

[Anonymous]

Main Street
Pride and Prejudice
Vanity Fair
The Good Earth
Oliver Twist
Jane Eyre
Wuthering Heights
The USA Trilogy (Dos Passos)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I, Claudius

Night (Elie Weisel)

Turn of the Screw, Henry James

This is the sacriest book I have ever read and I have never been able to watch film(s).

The Golden Bowl , James

The Twelve Caesars, Seutonius

Les Miserables, Victor Hugo

War and Peace, Tolstoy

Almost all of Dickens and Mark Twain

Moby Dick (if you can stay awake)

Remembrance of things Past (again, if you can stay awake)

I go to the library a couple of times a week and I just browse to find something I find interesting..

[Anonymous]

Willa Cather and Truman Capote.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Willa Cather and Truman Capote.

Yes, yes! My Antonia is amazing. In Cold Blood... I couldn't put it down. Was literally reading while walking down the street.

[Anonymous]

A PP who forgot to mention Cat's Cradle. It's a riot. Also, a fun book to check out is Beowulf at the Beach, which provides a synopsis of several "classics" telling you why they're worth reading, what are the juiciest parts, etc. Even in Beowulf! Also, he doesn't rate as a "classic," but I love, love Pat Conroy (except that I thought his most recent book of fiction was kind of trashy). He recently published a book called My Life In Reading (or something like that), which takes you through all of the books he has loved as a reader (starting with Gone With the Wind, which his southern mother read and reread to him). I enjoyed it immensely, but you probably won't unless you know his books.

[Anonymous]

Carson McCullers, The Ballad of the Sad Cafe. I think The Heart is a Lonely Hunter is better known, I haven't read it but that is probably a good bet as well. Southern Gothic, but more accessible (and to me, more moving) than Faulkner.

Theodore Dreiser, Sister Carrie. Progressive era, social realism. Struck me as a very modern take on how consumerism and spectacle culture was transforming human relations with the rise of department stores and urban nightlife at the turn of the 20th c.