• Quick note - the problem with Youtube videos not embedding on the forum appears to have been fixed, thanks to ZiprHead. If you do still see problems let me know.

Recommend a Classic

boooeee

Dart Fener
boooeee
Joined
Aug 14, 2002
Messages
2,671
So, I have some free time coming up because I'm switching jobs (yay) and I was wanting to find a good book to relax with. I've decided that I want to read a "classic" of lierature, and was hoping to get recommendations from the forum.

My arbitrary requirement is that it needs to have been written prior to 1900.

I read the Count of Monte Cristo last year (all 1400 pages). Definitely one of my favorite books (especially the first third or so at the Chateau D'If; the last third could have been tightened up a bit).

So, which of the "classics" actually deserves its reputation?
 
Huckleberry Finn.

Heart of Darkness makes your cut too. (1899)
 
Last edited:
In my experience, most--not all--classics really DO deserve their reputation. If you want a classic that's funny, you can't go wrong with "The Pickwick Papers" or "Three Men in a Boat" (possibly the funniest book ever written).
 
Skeptic said:
In my experience, most--not all--classics really DO deserve their reputation. If you want a classic that's funny, you can't go wrong with "The Pickwick Papers" or "Three Men in a Boat" (possibly the funniest book ever written).
Click to expand...
Skeptic - You have me intrigued. I had never heard of "Three Men in a Boat", nor its author, Jerome K. Jerome.

Kullervo - I had considered Twain. I've read many of his essays (Letters From the Earth is great), but never a full novel. We were assigned Huck Finn in high school, but I don't think I finished it.
 
Most anything by Shakespeare - read it first, then find a good film adaptation to see what they do with the text.

Personal favourites are King Lear, Titus Andronicus (the film from about five years ago was fantastic!), Twelfth Night, and Henry V.
 
Anything by Jules Verne---but especially some of his lesser known works such as The Mysterious Island or Michael Strogoff.

You also might want to reconsider your 1900 cutoff---over the past few years I have been reading or rereading some of the novels on the Modern Library's top 100 novels of the 20th century. Some are outstanding (also some are terrible, but each to his own). Link: http://www.randomhouse.com/modernlibrary/100bestnovels.html
 
The Count of Monte Cristo is my favourite novel :)

For starters, I recommend The Moon and Sixpence, Lord of the Flies, The Old Man and the Sea, The Once and Future King (in fact, that's a must-read), and Tono Bungay.

Oh, and I second Pickwick Papers.
 
Dante's Divine Comedy. The Dorothy Sayers translation, if you can get it.
 
Also, Beowulf, the Seamus Heaney translation. Does that count? It was written well before 1900 but translated well after.:D
 
"Pride and Prejudice"; "Bleak House"; "Vanity Fair"; "The Brothers Karamazov"; "Don Quixote"; "Huckleberry Finn"; "Moby-Dick"; "Middlemarch."
With the exception of Cervantes, they all are 19th Century. (not by design)
 
Wuthering Heights

Anything by Jane Austen, especially Emma

Alice in Wonderland (bet you didn't see that coming ;) )
 
3 men in a boat had me laughing out loud. It has a Jeeves and Wooster feel. I additionaly liked it because I used live near the Thames in Berkshire so I knew a lot of the places mentioned. The Bells of Ousley is no longer a pub but a Harvester restaurant.
It has a sequel 3 men on the Bummel.

I liked Moby Dick by Herman Melville. A fascinating insight on an industry and way of life now disappeared. It starts with one of the best opening sentences ever: "Call me Ishmael".
 
I'd nominate "Da Vinci Code"

... 'cept it wasn't before 1900

... and it's not all that good
 
I watched the film on DVD 2 nights ago. Worse than the book. Which is saying something.
 
For a classic that was considered a classic eighty years ago, but is all but forgotten today, try Hudson's Green Mansions. Very dreamy feel to it. Sheridan LeFanu is pretty entertaining, if you like horror stories. Poe is worth reading beyond the three stories and two poems you get in high school--how many people remember the funny ones?

And if you'll relax the 1900 rule, there are some truly excellent authors who are currently somewhat neglected, like Jan de Hartog. MR James remains the greatest ghost story writer ever. GK Chesterton's Father Brown stories for the best mysteries. And the writer who wins my Monkey Seal of Approval for being the greatest American writer to date is Pearl Buck. Yes, that Pearl Buck. Only not that horrible The Good Earth. Even the Nobel committee made it clear that the prize was in spite of that book. Her best works are Mandala and Pavilion of Women.

eta: I forgot Lord Dunsany! Read him! If you can find him. It's not easy.
 
wait, there's a 1900 rule???

I didn't take any notice of that.

*re-reads the OP*

Oh, yeah. Well, some of my recommendations still qualify :P
 
the Iliad
the Odessey
On War (Clausewitz)
The Prince
The three musketeers.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top Bottom