fluffybunny Posted October 30, 2016 Share Posted October 30, 2016 Which classics have you read that have been uplifting for you? I felt pretty depressed after reading 1984, and a couple of others. So far, for me, these are my favorites for being uplifting: Don Quixote (the entire 1000 pages are wonderful) The Hobbit and LOTR Narnia Series The Giver Over to you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted October 30, 2016 Share Posted October 30, 2016 (edited) Well, 1984 is utterly depressing. That's the point. (The Giver, btw, is not actually a classic; it is barely 25 years old. And I found it rather disturbing and not what I would call uplifting) But there is SO much wonderful fun stuff. Some of my favorites: Thornton Wilder's work, especially The Eighth Day Gabriel Garcia Marquez 100 years of Solitude and Love in times of the Cholera Bulgakov Master and Margarita Steinbeck Cannnery Row is hillarious. Grapes of Wrath is actually an inspiring tale about the resilliance of humans. Dumas Count of Monte Cristo (the revenge is very satisfying) , Three Musketeers (which is actually quite funny) Stanislaw Lem Star Diaries and his other sci fi works Jaroslav Hasek The good soldier Swejk (biting satire on WW1) Edited October 30, 2016 by regentrude 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madteaparty Posted October 31, 2016 Share Posted October 31, 2016 (edited) Seconding Count of Monte Cristo Love in the time of cholera is my favorite book but I don't find it uplifting Edited October 31, 2016 by madteaparty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted October 31, 2016 Share Posted October 31, 2016 (edited) Happy, inspiring feel good book recs S/O Steinbeck thread: I need novels that don't have a tragic/fatalistic worldview High School Literature suggestions that aren't so dark and depressing Help! Need some modern wold literature that is not depressing High Literature which is encouraging Suggestions for meaty but not depressing classics for teenagers Looking for upbeat literature selections Need North American novels that are not depressing!! OK, last one for today… I promise: American Lit, favorite light, funny... American Literature -- happy/uplifting I think humor is very underrated in classic Literature, as our modern society that focuses on the negative, the dark, the ironic. So I'll recommend a good dose of several humorous, joyful books to counteract the despairing worldview of 1984. PG Wodehouse is a master of humor -- he makes it look so light and effortless that you almost discount his work as a classic just because he makes you laugh: Life With Jeeves is a fun introduction to the Wooster and Jeeves characters, and Wodehouse on Crime is a fun short story collection of "crimes", featuring a number of his reoccuring characters. Also James Thurber's short stories such as "The Catbird Seat" and "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty," or his novella-length The Thirteenth Clock which delightfully plays with language. Don't forget O. Henry short stories, such as "The Ransom of Red Chief". And Mark Twain short stories are often bitingly humorous. How about a few humorous classic plays: The Importance of Being Earnest Pygmalion You Can't Take it With You Arsenic and Old Lace You mentioned works by JRR Tolkien and CS Lewis -- more works by those authors might be in order. Tolkien's short stories are very uplifting -- and the first if very humorous to boot: "Farmer Giles of Ham" "Smith of Wooton Major" "Leaf by Niggle" CS Lewis' space trilogy is meaty, and hard things happen in it, but ultimately very uplifting worldview. The first two books of Out of the Silent Planet and Perelandra are really focused on the adventure element, while the third book, That Hideous Strength does paint a picture of evil, which takes most of the book until it's dealt with. Another Christian author I find to be uplifting is GK Chesterton; check out The Man Who Thursday, and the Father Brown short stories. Hannah Hurnard's Hind's Feet on High Places is a very obvious Christian allegory, but is very uplifting, albeit heavy-handed due to the allegorical aspect. Some other uplifting classics: Shakespeare comedies All Creatures Great and Small Anne of Green Gables Little Women Enchanted April The Little White Horse Jane Austen works To Kill a Mockingbird A Christmas Carol Silas Marner Gilead Edited October 31, 2016 by Lori D. 12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fluffybunny Posted October 31, 2016 Author Share Posted October 31, 2016 Wow Lori: thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fluffybunny Posted October 31, 2016 Author Share Posted October 31, 2016 Another one that I just thought of that is uplifting: Gawain and the Green Knight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted October 31, 2016 Share Posted October 31, 2016 (edited) ...Gabriel Garcia Marquez 100 years of Solitude... ... Grapes of Wrath is actually an inspiring tale about the resilliance of humans... Regentrude, I usually agree with you, but I have to say that I had a completely different (non-uplifted) reaction after reading these 2 works. Grapes of Wrath -- a powerfully written book and worth reading, but NOT uplifting at all for me. Yes, I guess it does show resilience, but it's a resilience with no hope for the future. The family keeps dwindling in size due to deaths and menfolk running off, but those who remain keep trying to make the best of a bad situation that keeps getting worse. And thematically, the very end scene of the book in which the daughter, Rose of Sharon, who has just lost her baby to death uses her milk to nurse an old man is ultimately an image of death -- she's not nurishing the future, but keeping alive a dying past. And her husband has run off, so there is no hope of more offspring for a new future. For me, uplifting is about more than "just surviving." 100 Years of Solitude is an incredible work of great poetry and stunnng, creative imagery -- but it is so careless all the way through about people as humans with hearts and hopes and goals, and it has a horribly depressing end. The novel follows a family about whom it is prophesied early on in the work that "the first will be tied to a tree, and the last will be eaten by ants." And that's exactly what happens -- the patriarch, late in his life loses his mind (i.e., his humanity), and is tied to a tree like an animal so he won't wander off; and the last offspring of the 4-5 generations of this family, a baby, is neglected by his parents; as they're off having s*x, the baby is found by ants and eaten because he can't crawl away. There's nothing uplifting about such a low view of humanity for me. Not at ALL trying to be oppositional or pick on you Regentrude. :) I do agree that both of these works are high on the "must read" list of classics. But they are not what I would call "uplifting". Edited October 31, 2016 by Lori D. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted October 31, 2016 Share Posted October 31, 2016 Definitely Jane Austen and Oscar Wilde. Social satire, novels of manners can be very funny. I don't know if that counts as uplifting, but I feel good after reading them. Our Town, by Thornton Wilder - inspires me to pay more attention to the everyday, to the mundane in my life Cry, The beloved Country - beautiful, sad, inspiring My Antonia by Willa Cather 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 31, 2016 Share Posted October 31, 2016 To Kill A Mockingbird The Gift of the Magi Galapagos Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-rap Posted October 31, 2016 Share Posted October 31, 2016 My favorite author is Charles Dickens, and I think every one of his books has a good, uplifting ending. They do cover a lot of complex issues and are generally quite deep with some painful events, but the ending is always hopeful and uplifting. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted October 31, 2016 Share Posted October 31, 2016 Grapes of Wrath -- a powerfully written book and worth reading, but NOT uplifting at all for me. Yes, I guess it does show resilience, but it's a resilience with no hope for the future. The family keeps dwindling in size due to deaths and menfolk running off, but those who remain keep trying to make the best of a bad situation that keeps getting worse. And thematically, the very end scene of the book in which the daughter, Rose of Sharon, who has just lost her baby to death uses her milk to nurse an old man is ultimately an image of death -- she's not nurishing the future, but keeping alive a dying past. And her husband has run off, so there is no hope of more offspring for a new future. For me, uplifting is about more than "just surviving." It is interesting that we come to so very different interpretations. For me, the last scene is a culminating description of humanity's strength: to save another human's life, a woman who has experienced tragedy and who is in dire circumstances commits an act that is completely contrary to societal norms, but gives the gift of life. I find this a beautiful image in the midst of desolation, and I see hope in it. :) And I love how beautifully the author describes everything, and the strength of the mother who keeps what remains of her family together, and how hard they are willing to work for a better future. Not wanting to argue, either - just wanted to explain my side :) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aretemama Posted October 31, 2016 Share Posted October 31, 2016 It is interesting how different books affect us differently. I found Jane Eyre depressing in high school and warned my oldest not to read it when she asked about it in junior high. She read it anyway and loved it. You just never know. A lot of it has to do with where you are in life's journey. My kids found these classics to be particularly uplifting: Homer's Odyssey Xenophon's Persian Expedition Virgil's Aeneid Cicero's Basic Works The Voyage of St. Brendan Dante's Purgatory and Paradise Asser's Life of Alfred Monmouth's History of the Kings of Britain Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing Austen's Pride and Prejudice 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted October 31, 2016 Share Posted October 31, 2016 It is interesting that we come to so very different interpretations. For me, the last scene is a culminating description of humanity's strength: to save another human's life, a woman who has experienced tragedy and who is in dire circumstances commits an act that is completely contrary to societal norms, but gives the gift of life. I find this a beautiful image in the midst of desolation, and I see hope in it. :) And I love how beautifully the author describes everything, and the strength of the mother who keeps what remains of her family together, and how hard they are willing to work for a better future. Not wanting to argue, either - just wanted to explain my side :) I greatly appreciate you taking the time to share this! I always find it so helpful to hear the thoughts of someone else with a very different take than my own. :) It is interesting how different books affect us differently. I found Jane Eyre depressing in high school and warned my oldest not to read it when she asked about it in junior high. She read it anyway and loved it. You just never know. A lot of it has to do with where you are in life's journey. Yes, exactly! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fluffybunny Posted November 1, 2016 Author Share Posted November 1, 2016 Xenophon's Persian Expedition Is there any explicit violence and gore in this book? I'm looking at this translation: The Expedition of Cyrus (which I believe is the name as Persian Expedition?). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aretemama Posted November 1, 2016 Share Posted November 1, 2016 Is there any explicit violence and gore in this book? I'm looking at this translation: The Expedition of Cyrus (which I believe is the name as Persian Expedition?). We read this version: https://www.amazon.com/Persian-Expedition-Penguin-Classics/dp/0140440070/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8 I don't remember explicit gore, the kind you read in The Illiad, but that could be because it has been a couple of years. It was definitely a military story, but what stands out in my memory is Xenophon's leadership. Hope this helps. :) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RootAnn Posted November 2, 2016 Share Posted November 2, 2016 To Kill A Mockingbird The Gift of the Magi My Dd found My Antonia depressing. I personally found To Kill A Mockingbird upsetting, and The Gift of the Magi (O'Henry) just gets me mad at the character's stupidity every time I read it. (I feel the same about The Necklace.) These lists will definitely be YMMV! 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fluffybunny Posted November 2, 2016 Author Share Posted November 2, 2016 The Gift of the Magi (O'Henry) just gets me mad at the character's stupidity every time I read it. (I feel the same about The Necklace.) I feel exactly the same way about those two stories! Not uplifting at all - almost nihilistic. :crying: 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TKDmom Posted November 3, 2016 Share Posted November 3, 2016 My Dd found My Antonia depressing. I personally found To Kill A Mockingbird upsetting, and The Gift of the Magi (O'Henry) just gets me mad at the character's stupidity every time I read it. (I feel the same about The Necklace.) These lists will definitely be YMMV! The Necklace left deep imprint on my soul. I was so traumatized. So of course I had dd read it last year. She was like, "That was the Worst Story Ever!!" :lol: 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fluffybunny Posted November 3, 2016 Author Share Posted November 3, 2016 he Necklace left deep imprint on my soul. I was so traumatized. I hear you! :crying: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kmmama2000 Posted November 17, 2016 Share Posted November 17, 2016 Lots of great suggestions in this thread thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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