Kathleen in VA Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 Moby Dick is one of my most favorite books of all times! And it deals with such big themes - the obsessive struggle of Captain Ahab against the whale is so symbolic of the struggle that many have against their own nemesis (or would it be nemeses?). Most, if not all, classics are about so much more than just the "story". :iagree:It's one of my favorites too. Besides dealing with big themes, there are so many parts that are absolutely hilarious (his description of Nantucket comes to mind) and I loved the chapter with the sermon on Jonah. I can't believe how often this book has come up in this thread.:001_huh: Wind in the Willows is also one of my all-time favorites. I love the characters and much of the language is mesmerizing. The theme of friendship through thick and thin makes it dear to me. Several I'd wish I'd never read: The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds (won the Pulitzer in drama one year - not sure if that qualifies as a classic, but in any case - gah!); Catcher in the Rye; anything F. Scott Fitzgerald, Hemingway, and Kafka. I took a course in German literature in college - didn't read anything in that class worth remembering - pure torture. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmoira Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 Hemingway Wuthering Heights Ayn Rand Children's Lit: The Water Babies Raggedy Ann books 5/7 of The Chronicles of Narnia But, but, but I simply cannot comprehend how anyone could dislike The Wind in the Willows. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crissy Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 Anything Steinbeck... anything by Hemmingway or Steinbeck. :iagree: :svengo: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LittleIzumi Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 Catcher in the Rye Moby Dick As I Lay Dying Anything Steinbeck... :iagree::iagree: I really enjoyed Robinson Crusoe (one of the best conversion scenes in literature although I understand the tedium) and Wuthering Heights (although I just want to slap all the characters). Classics that I just don't "get" - my fault or ?: Catcher in the Rye Crime and Punishment The Sound and the Fury Tess of the d'Urbervilles (anything by Hardy) I LOVE Dostoevsky but I don't understand why Crime & Punishment is so popular. I think The Brothers Karamazov should be the big, everyone-must-read-this classic lit piece. Crime &Punishment was only mediocre for Dostoevsky IMO. The Lord of the Flies - Blech! :iagree: Island of the Blue Dolphins 1984, dont think it should be a high school classic. Save for college lit. I dont know if this is a classic, I am hoping not, but One Hundred Years of Solitude, should be banned. :lol::lol: I'm with you on Island of the Blue Dolphins (and as an aside, The Sparrow should NOOOOOT be read in high school!!!!) but I love One Hundred Years of Solitude at college level. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jumping In Puddles Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 I'd like to add Ivanhoe to the list. :blink: <==me trying to stay awake after the 1st chapter! :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jumping In Puddles Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 I LOVE Dostoevsky but I don't understand why Crime & Punishment is so popular. I think The Brothers Karamazov should be the big, everyone-must-read-this classic lit piece. Crime &Punishment was only mediocre for Dostoevsky IMO. I love Crime & Punishment but I read it in my Russian literature class and the prof. led such an amazing discussion of the book in context of Russian language and literature and ideology that it has really stuck with me as a wonderful classic. I remember reading the assigned pages then going back to the dorm after reading it in class and having a whole new appreciation for it. No other book discussions, outside of that class, ever opened my eyes in such a meaningful way to connect with a book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LittleIzumi Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 I love Crime & Punishment but I read it in my Russian literature class and the prof. led such an amazing discussion of the book in context of Russian language and literature and ideology that it has really stuck with me as a wonderful classic. I remember reading the assigned pages then going back to the dorm after reading it in class and having a whole new appreciation for it. No other book discussions, outside of that class, ever opened my eyes in such a meaningful way to connect with a book. Awesone! I had a Dostoevsky class where we went through Crime & Punishment, The Brothers Karamazov, Notes From The Underground, The Idiot, etc. The Brothers Karamazov shone as the best and most emotionally complex work of literature I've ever read, and I just don't understand why Crime & Punishment gets all the love, lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ester Maria Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 I love Crime & Punishment but I read it in my Russian literature class and the prof. led such an amazing discussion of the book in context of Russian language and literature and ideology that it has really stuck with me as a wonderful classic. While I actually agree that The Brothers Karamazov are THE work of Dostoevsky (followed, maybe, by The Idiot), I agree with this reasoning too - I'm quite fond of Crime and Punishment and I think it's actually a good one to start with and a good one to pick as an "exemplary" Dostoevsky reading (even if I am sad if he's reduced to that work alone, but you have to draw the line somewhere unless it's a particular interest). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LittleIzumi Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 While I actually agree that The Brothers Karamazov are THE work of Dostoevsky (followed, maybe, by The Idiot), I agree with this reasoning too - I'm quite fond of Crime and Punishment and I think it's actually a good one to start with and a good one to pick as an "exemplary" Dostoevsky reading (even if I am sad if he's reduced to that work alone, but you have to draw the line somewhere unless it's a particular interest). Good point. It is a lot shorter ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ester Maria Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 Good point. It is a lot shorter ;) I think it simply gets all the love because it's the most read one so it receives much of the attention, but ironically, I don't think I know anyone who has read a more representative sample of Dostoevsky's opus who puts it on the very top. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melinda in VT Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 Awesone! I had a Dostoevsky class where we went through Crime & Punishment, The Brothers Karamazov, Notes From The Underground, The Idiot, etc. The Brothers Karamazov shone as the best and most emotionally complex work of literature I've ever read, and I just don't understand why Crime & Punishment gets all the love, lol. Want to come visit and talk books? I'm trying to read The Brothers Karamazov, and I have to confess that so far, I hate it. I'm not denying it's a classic. And I'm sure once I make it through I will understand why it's worth it to make it through, but it's sure an unpleasant journey. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Veritaserum Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 Wuthering Heights, ugh. I liked Metamorphosis. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ester Maria Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 I'm trying to read The Brothers Karamazov, and I have to confess that so far, I hate it. I'm not denying it's a classic. And I'm sure once I make it through I will understand why it's worth it to make it through, but it's sure an unpleasant journey. Stick with that one, more likely than not, it will prove rewarding when you reach the interesting parts. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melinda in VT Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 Stick with that one, more likely than not, it will prove rewarding when you reach the interesting parts. ;) Thanks for the encouragement. :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmoira Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 I'm trying to read The Brothers Karamazov, and I have to confess that so far, I hate it.Which translation? BK didn't speak to me at all until I tried Pevear/Volokhonsky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommy22alyns Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 So far, Moby Dick and Wuthering Heights. I loved Madame Bovary! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melinda in VT Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 Which translation? BK didn't speak to me at all until I tried Pevear/Volokhonsky. The Garnett translation, revised by Ralph E. Matlaw. I'm 121 pages in and more than a little disappointed the characters haven't started killing each other off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirch Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 (edited) Sure -but I still don't get why Kafka's book is 'classic'. I just don't get it. Something you have to keep in mind too is that with works that were originally written in another language, you're reading a translation that may or may not be very good to begin with, and that it's often difficult or impossible to completely convey the original mood/voice/whatever in another language. Even some words may be difficult to translate if there's not a completely analogous word in English. So it can be hard to see the author's mastery of the use of language, form, and style if you're reading a translation. As far as Metamorphosis, it's an excellent example of existentialism, one of the first. He did a masterful job of evoking senselessness, helplessness, absurdity, etc. It also raised interesting questions regarding what it means to be human--both on the part of the suffering Gregor, hideous on the outside but remaining human on the inside, AND his family, who remain human on the outside, but in varying degrees grow hideous on the inside. Someone mentioned Hardy--his books are some of the bleakest tragedies I've read, yet there is a harsh beauty in the bleakness too. Definitely not fun reads, though. Edited February 23, 2011 by Kirch left out a couple of words! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matryoshka Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 Catcher in the Rye. Oh, how I hate that book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matryoshka Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 Girl of the Limberlost. We just read this for book club - I'd heard how wonderful it was. Bleck. None of the girls liked it, and I have to say I couldn't defend it. We spent most of the book club talking about how unrealistically perfect Elnora was as a character. Love Wind in the Willows, though. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LittleIzumi Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 Want to come visit and talk books? I'm trying to read The Brothers Karamazov, and I have to confess that so far, I hate it. I'm not denying it's a classic. And I'm sure once I make it through I will understand why it's worth it to make it through, but it's sure an unpleasant journey. Have you hit Ivan & the devil scene yet? That was my major :001_wub: moment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
homeschoolmom Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 Several have mentioned they dislike my boy Hardy. I really enjoy Hardy - anything Hardy. Mayor of Casterbridge, Far from the Maddening Crowd, Tess, etc. But I also like Dickens and Hawthorne. Surprisingly NOT Melville. That said I'm now convinced I need to give Moby Dick a try as an adult. If multiple people on this forum can defend it's merit and actually find it amusing (really???) I obviously missed something and need to give it a honest try. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RanchGirl Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 Catcher in the Rye Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hooahwife Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 I don't know about Wuthering Heights, but Moby Dick? UGGGGH!!! Moby DickWuthering Heights Anything by Hemingway Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrappyhappymama Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 Crime and Punishment. I slogged through the entire book, but only because I really wanted to finish what I'd started, and because I kept thinking it had to get better since it is such a 'classic.' Yikes. It's really dreadful, in my opinion. On the other hand, I think it could have been a really interesting short story. Moby Dick. This is probably not a true answer to the question, because I do somewhat appreciate why it is a classic. But it makes my brain liquefy and leak out my ears. I've never been able to finish it. Just not my style at all. And in the Picture Book category... I'll Love You Forever. I detest this book, I really do. It's makes my skin crawl. The first few pages are ok, but then mom turns into a creeper, and I just cannot read it to my children! We've been given the book repeatedly as gifts, and it's always on the top loved kids book lists, so I know I am in the minority here, but, Yuck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parrothead Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 Wuthering Heights. I have no idea how that got to be a classic or why women have been known to romanticize Heathcliff's wandering the moors. Those two families were the most dysfunctional of dysfunctional families. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susan in TN Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 And in the Picture Book category... I'll Love You Forever. I detest this book, I really do. It's makes my skin crawl. The first few pages are ok, but then mom turns into a creeper, and I just cannot read it to my children! We've been given the book repeatedly as gifts, and it's always on the top loved kids book lists, so I know I am in the minority here, but, Yuck! I'm with you there! Hate it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjzimmer1 Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 I may be the only person on the planet who feels this way but anything by Shakespeare. YUK YUK YUK. I'm seriously considering skipping Shakespeare altogether with my kids. I can give them the background and that's good enough in my opinion. If they want to tackle it then fine but I see no good reason to put them through that misery if they don't want to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcgonczi Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 Hands down, Lord of the Flies and Old Man and the Sea. Both of them are just painful. And in the kids picture book category - Goodnight Moon. I'll probably be shot for that one, but it is repetitive and dull. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mama Anna Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 The Lord of the Flies - Blech! I agree! Also, anything by William Faulkner. I never understood how he managed to survive the depression he must have been experiencing long enough to write a whole book. Poor, poor guy! Mama Anna Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crimson Wife Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 Several have mentioned they dislike my boy Hardy. I really enjoy Hardy - anything Hardy. Mayor of Casterbridge, Far from the Maddening Crowd, Tess, etc. But I also like Dickens and Hawthorne. I like Dickens and Hawthorne but cannot stand Hardy. He's too sympathetic towards adultery. That's what I dislike most about Anna Karenina and Madame Bovary as well. Ick, ick, ick. The modern TV equivalent is Mad Men- all these people I know rave about how great the show is but when I watched a couple of episodes I couldn't stand it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather in Neverland Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 Oh, I love these threads. I usually just read them. But I must defend Wuthering Heights. What a great, tragic, beautiful, lyrical, dense, gorgeous tale. And utterly new in its day--the unreliable narrator, the unlikable heroine, the crazy hero. :iagree::iagree::iagree: LOVE Wuthering Heights. But "Heart of Darkness"? AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KidsHappen Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 My daughter was in a production of Alice in Wonderland last year. It wasn't until then, that I had more than a passing interest in Alice. I agree with you here, in that I wondered what Lewis Carroll had been smoking when this was written! Opium I believe. :tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spy Car Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 (edited) Moby Dick is one of my most favorite books of all times! And it deals with such big themes - the obsessive struggle of Captain Ahab against the whale is so symbolic of the struggle that many have against their own nemesis (or would it be nemeses?). Most, if not all, classics are about so much more than just the "story". Finally a woman of taste :D It never fails these threads trash my favorite authors. Painful! Painful! Kafka Faulkner Joyce Camus Hemingway Conrad Dostoevsky Shakespeare Steinbeck Garcia Marquez Where does the madness end? :tongue_smilie: Bill Edited February 23, 2011 by Spy Car Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freethinkermama Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 I'm with you there! Hate it. I'm so glad to see folks with "I Love You Forever" here. I was given this book for my children for Christmas several years ago. I just hate, hate, hate it. It gives me the great horrible willies. And I agree with the Wuthering Heights haters too. I can't stand these characters. Not at all! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmoira Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 Opium I believe. :tongue_smilie: Have you read this? Algebra in Wonderland Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 I really should not have read this thread. People hate Kafka? People want to ban One Hundred Years of Solitude? No one seems to get my beloved Faulkner. No love for Hawthorne. And some people have it in for the Russians, I noticed. :sad: There are a number of books I really, really disliked... (I'm there with you all on Moby Dick and Heart of Darkness)... but I can understand why they're classics. I guess there are actually very few books that I question *why* they're classics. I usually get it even if they're not to my personal taste. Though I admit I used to have this whole strongly anti-Candide thing. But if I'm being an adult about it, I can admit that it's a classic for a reason... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommyfaithe Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 Ok...you all know my loathing for Jane Austen. Blah. And I really can not understand why anyone would force their kid to read The Red Badge of Courage. Stephen Crane was a drunken sot and that book just plain stinks. faithe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmoira Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 It never fails these threads trash my favorite authors. Painful! Painful! Kafka Faulkner Joyce Camus Hemingway Conrad Dostoevsky Shakespeare Where does the madness end? :tongue_smilie: Bill Take out Hemingway, and I'm with you there. :001_tt2: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommyfaithe Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 Thesevare some of my favorite authors as well. I don't see how anyone could hate Kafka or camus.....sigh..... Finally a woman of taste :D It never fails these threads trash my favorite authors. Painful! Painful! Kafka Faulkner Joyce Camus Hemingway Conrad Dostoevsky Shakespeare Where does the madness end? :tongue_smilie: Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spy Car Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 Take out Hemingway, and I'm with you there. :001_tt2: I refuse. Papa was a giant, and I'm about to fix myself a drink in his memory. It seem like the right thing to do :tongue_smilie: Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmoira Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 I refuse. Papa was a giant, and I'm about to fix myself a drink in his memory. It seem like the right thing to do :tongue_smilie:Maybe that's my problem with Hemingway: My drinks aren't stiff enough to appreciate (relief at) the clarity of the prose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slartibartfast Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 I think some people are listing books they just didn't like rather than books they didn't think should be classics. I think some stuff being listed is just weird. There are books I don't really care for that I *do* think are classics and should be read by those who want to consider themselves educated. I totally disagree with almost everyone on this thread (except the Dostoevsky side discussion) It is making me want to bang my head on the table. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slartibartfast Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 I like Dickens and Hawthorne but cannot stand Hardy. He's too sympathetic towards adultery. That's what I dislike most about Anna Karenina and Madame Bovary as well. Ick, ick, ick. Anna Karenina and Madame Bovary had horrible endings with the title characters killing themselves. They seemed a bit more nasty and killy towards adultresses than sympathetic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
celticmom Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 I am from the south and I have never liked or understood(I can intellectually interpret it but emotionally I don't get it) Faulkner. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JennyD Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 I refuse. Papa was a giant, and I'm about to fix myself a drink in his memory. It seem like the right thing to do :tongue_smilie: Bill Ha! It's hard to deny that the man was a literary giant, but unfortunately he just doesn't do it for me, either. I will concede that Heart of Darkness is overrated, but Faulkner? Garcia Marquez? Kafka? You people are making me cry. One thing that I find very interesting about many of the 'classics' is that the books that I enjoy the most are not necessarily the ones that haunt me, and vice versa. And the experience of reading them is so different at different life moments. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caroline Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 I think some people are listing books they just didn't like rather than books they didn't think should be classics. I think some stuff being listed is just weird. There are books I don't really care for that I *do* think are classics and should be read by those who want to consider themselves educated. I totally disagree with almost everyone on this thread (except the Dostoevsky side discussion) It is making me want to bang my head on the table. My least favorite book in the world is McTeague. However, it is the quintessential naturalistic novel, and I understand why it is an important novel to read. It haunts me--Treena and the money and the broken fingers... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 I think all the Hemingway hate on this thread is because he's a writer whose works, in my experience, appeal more to men. In my mind, I lump him in with Updike, among others... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Margaret in GA Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 I think some people are listing books they just didn't like rather than books they didn't think should be classics. I think some stuff being listed is just weird. There are books I don't really care for that I *do* think are classics and should be read by those who want to consider themselves educated. I totally disagree with almost everyone on this thread (except the Dostoevsky side discussion) It is making me want to bang my head on the table. :iagree: Yes, a classic doesn't have to have widespread appeal. I mean, Dan Brown has widespread appeal and his books are not classics. And what is with this Hemmingway and Steinbeck hate? :glare: What on earth? Have y'all tried these books as adults or merely as teens trying to quickly finish the book so you could do something else? I urge you to give them another shot. Clifton Fadiman said when you read a classic you do not see more in the book than you did before, you see more in you than there was before. To me, a classic isn't about the story line so much as an in depth experience. To feel what a character has felt, that's so rare a thing. Margaret, raising her glass to Hemmingway Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spy Car Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 My least favorite book in the world is McTeague. Now Frank Norris? Oy vey! Bill (who is beginning to understand why Hemingway.....) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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